"Oh, the weather outside is frightful, But the fire is so, delightful... We've got no place to go... Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..." * ❆*
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PART TWO Let it Snow
"Look up! A dead bird!"
Leo's face reflexively tilted up to the sky, only for him to rub his forehead with a deep sigh as I burst into yet another fit of laughter.
"That one was a bit of a gruesome joke, Mikey."
But I was bored out of my mind.
I'd been eagerly pointing out things the whole time we were walking, but there were apparently no signs of life today. Leo must have scared them off. Though, it's not like we looked like we were hunting or something awful like that. Neither of us had our main weapons with us — I saw that small tantō glinting on Leo's belt, though. Exactly! He's scaring them away.
I suddenly plopped down onto a rock next to the river we were apparently following. Leaning over, I poked a finger into the water and-
"BRRRR!" I gasped sharply, abruptly yanking it away and scooting backwards. "It's FREEZING dude!"
Leo's eye ridges raised. "It's winter, Mikey. Of course the water will be cold," He pointed out.
"Hmph," I rolled my eyes dramatically in response, turning away with a playful pout.
But it soon faded into an unreadable expression as I pulled my leather-padded knees to my chest, looping my arms around them and staring down at the icy water, deep in thought. The river was a few meters in length in this area, flowing along steadily, a few chunks of ice lapping at the snowy bank.
I heard Leo settle down to my left. Eyes glanced over at me every now and then. I silently kicked my feet. Though curious, I uncharacteristically waited for him to speak up about his own thoughts, not really wanting to share mine.
"So why did you want to come out here?"
I blinked; blinked a few times again. I looked over to him, face scrunched up in confusion. I wanted to say, 'Why can't a dude wanna go for a walk in the woods?' — or, perhaps; 'To look for more seven-legged mutants of course, duh!'
But instead, I found my gaze settling back onto the water before us.
...
"I miss him, Leo."
...
After a few moments, there was a sigh. A hand hesitantly rested on my left shoulder.
"I know Mikey... It's only been several months. You can take as long as you need — these things can be... complicated to deal with..." He trailed off, eyes turning away then. "... But in a way he's still here, he's still with us, always. And we all still have each other, too."
