Eliza and the beast awkwardly sat at opposite ends of a long table, a bowl of soup infront of each of them. Eliza gave the beast a small smile before gently picking up her spoon and gracefully taking small sips. The beast however was less graceful as she guzzled down the soup, spilling it everywhere. Eliza gave her a disapproving frown and she turned bright red, picking up the spoon embarrassingly and trying clumsily to hold it in her big fury hands. Eliza couldn't help but giggle, taking pity on the beast as she took the bowl in her hands and sipped from it to make the beast feel less uncomfortable and awkward. The beast smiled as she did the same and the two seemed happy and content.

When she had finished, Eliza gently placed the bowl on the table and wiped her mouth with a napkin as the beast licked her fur. "Thank you beast. That was very nice" she broke the awkward silence with a genuine, grateful smile.

"Kyra" the beast spoke, earning a puzzled look from Eliza. "My name is Kyra. You can call me that if you'd rather. I know it's not the best or most intimidating name but-" she rambled, somewhat embarrassed by her name but felt confident enough to tell Eliza.

"I think it's a beautiful name" Eliza smiled reassuringly. "And it fits that beautiful, kind heart I know is hiding behind that tough exterior"

Kyra softly chuckled as she excused herself from the table.

*

The two decided to get some fresh air outside later that afternoon despite the bitter snow. Kyra offered Eliza a beautiful, red fur snow coat which Eliza gladly accepted, feeling it's warmth wrap around her like a hug. When the snow has stopped falling, they decided to venture outside.

Eliza pulled her hood over her neatly tied ponytail and took Kyra's hand as Kyra led her outside, her cape fluttering in the soft breeze. She didn't seem put off by Kyra's large, fury paws which confused but also reassured Kyra. Eliza gave her a small smile as they noticed beautiful birds chirping in the snow. She took out a handful of bird seed and placed it in Kyra's paws. Kyra knelt down but the birds immediately ran away. She sighed and frowned but Eliza gave her a reassuring smile. Eliza knelt down beside her and took the bird seed, sprinkling it and creating a trail. One of the birds followed it and perched in Kyra's paws. Kyra beamed as she gently lifted her paws, admiring the beautiful blue bird.

Eliza leant against the tree as she gazed at Kyra and the bird. "There's something sweet and almost kind. But she was mean and she was course and unrefined. But now she's dear and so unsure" she thought to herself, realising something within Kyra had changed, or perhaps it was always there and just needed someone to help release it. "I wonder why I didn't see it there before"

With a smile on her face, Kyra glanced up at Eliza, who quickly and awkwardly looked away, a bird landing on her finger gracefully. Kyra couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as a big dopey grin was painted across her face, her jagged teeth sticking out. "She glanced this way, I thought I saw. And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw" She looked back over at Eliza who was now seemingly talking to the birds. Eliza used to be more scared of her but now she seemed a lot more comfortable and there was a certain glisten in her eye. Thoughts flooded Kyra's mind but she quickly shook them away. "No, it can't be. I'll just ignore. But then she's never looked at me that way before"

Eliza noticed that Kyra was in a world of her own and grinned, realising a perfect opportunity. Releasing the bird, she gracefully knelt down and gathered a ball of snow before throwing it at Kyra, her aim perfect. Kyra was shook out of her thoughts, the birds fluttering away, as her focus shifted to Eliza who was giggling away. Initially, her eyes showed one of anger and Eliza's face dropped. Kyra blinked, realising that she had to be nicer if Eliza was to fall for her and break the curse and besides, Eliza was only joking. She chuckled and picked up an even larger snowball, belting it at Eliza as it hit her square in the face. Eliza chuckled as she put her hands up in surrender, knowing she couldn't beat Kyra in a snowball fight.

Kyra chuckled, feeding the birds again, as Eliza looked at the birds in the tree and spoke gently to them as if they could understand what she was saying. One flew down and perched on her shoulder. "New and a bit alarming. Who'd have ever thought that it could be. True that she's no princess charming. But there's something in her that I simply didn't see"

The two glanced back at eachother with bright smiles on each of their face's and they gazed into eachothers eyes, getting lost for a moment before Kyra led Eliza into the warmth.