My Warmth Is Yours

Chapter 3: Icebreaker's Resolve

Aether was stunned by the sight of the beautiful young man, perfectly preserved by the ice. It was only when he blinked and focused himself again did he realise that the reason the youth looked asleep was because they were asleep- or rather, in cold sleep. The young man, whoever he was, had been frozen in a state of sleep or possibly unconsciousness. This conclusion led to a thought, a dangerous thought but one that Aether listened to nonetheless.

Could he be saved?

Surely not- those who are dead are dead, nothing past that. But what if… cryopreserved beings could be thawed, right? It happened to boars all over Dragonspine, and they were up and running (usually at Aether, their saviour, not very appreciative) the second the ice melted, but what about a human…?

"That's really, really, really creepy! Who the heck buries a body in ice? Why does it look like he's asleep? Oh no no no now we've one hundred billion percent triggered some ancient curse, Aether you should never have opened that box, Paimon knew it was a coffin and said it was a coffin and PAIMON WAS RIGHT!" His companion's terrified screeching made him look up and yank her leg before she could fly away and disappear.

“Ok, sure, it’s got a cryopreserved person in it, but what if they’re still alive? He raised his eyebrows. "Don't tell me you've forgotten about that guy in Springvale. He was still alive, right?" The look of sheer horror on Paimon’s face almost made Aether laugh. He could see her reasoning- but he could also tell somehow that the young man in the coffin wasn’t dead.

“What the heck? But if you revive the guy everyone he knows is probably dead! Do you have no concern for someone’s mental state???” This time Aether actually laughed, the sound echoing off the silent cave walls.

“Acting the therapist now? Paimon, if we leave him here, he’ll just get woken up in a time where there’s absolutely no trace of where or when he came from. At least right now, maybe we can help him. Don’t you try to out-logic me, I'm on a genius roll today.” Paimon rolled her eyes.

“It’s not a genius roll, it’s a stupidity roll. And, anyway, if he’s already 90% thawed then why isn't he breathing? Also, what’s with the weird collar thing around his neck?” That comment surprised Aether. He took a closer look at the young man.. Sure enough, a stone collar was set around his neck, with some kind of lock around the middle. Upon getting closer and inspecting it (eliciting another “Why?!” from Paimon,) the back was attached to a chain, linked to the box. It seemed like the chain was a part of the collar, but could be removed from the box. But why would anyone want to chain someone to a box if they were going to cryopreserve them? And where was the key? Having no answer, he turned his attention to the other problem Paimon had raised. Breathing… he looked closer at the figure and realised that he was tense, chest slightly raised. Like he’d been frozen before he could breathe out. “Paimon, can I have a small knife?”

She looked stunned. “Why a knife? What could you possibly use a knife for? Or do you just not feel safe?” he smiled. “No, Paimon, I'm fine. I want to try something, and I promise I won't hurt anyone. I just need a small knife.” Apparently happy with that, she pulled a small knife out of nowhere and handed it to him like she usually did when they sat down to eat. He took it, spun it around in his hand, made sure it was clean, and then leaned over the box. “What it looks like to me is that he’s not breathing because his mouth is sealed shut by ice and he got frozen before he could exhale. So if I use the knife to remove the ice…” he carefully slid the knife into the young man’s mouth and turned it on its side, flicking the ice out and handing the knife back to Paimon. Sure enough, he was right. The youth exhaled and relaxed, now in sleep instead of death.

“See? I was right. The thing is, he’s chained to the box by that locked collar. How do we find the key…?” It was strangely exhilarating, the knowledge that the beautiful young man could be saved with just a little more work. We can do this. Just keep going. We can’t stop now. Paimon suddenly flew over to the box and grabbed something out of the youth’s hand. Aether hadn’t noticed it before, because his hand had been tightly closed, but clearly Paimon had a keen eye. It was an intricate stone key. “Try this!” The sight of the key got Aether excited. He grabbed it out of her hand and fit it into the lock. It worked perfectly- like a clip on a necklace, the collar opened. Interestingly, there was a golden star-shaped mark on the young man’s neck.

The youth’s eyelids fluttered. Aether grabbed the back of Paimon’s cape and stepped back. He knew what it felt like to wake up with someone you didn’t know standing over you. As the young man opened his eyes, Aether had to hold back a gasp. His eyes were an azure grey-tinted teal, contrasting beautifully with the sandy colour of his hair. The Outlander felt a chill run down his spine as this hauntingly beautiful stranger, resurrected from the ice, slowly sat up and locked eyes with him.

Alright. He's beautiful.

Now what?