Wind pushed white flakes of snow around the hill as a tall figure moved in the storm. It released a puff of air, leaving a visible cloud of fog that dissipated shortly after from the wind. It trudged through the soft snow-covered ground, behind her a sled with sticks held down with old rope, the steps erratic in pattern. It dragged through and left trails that would be refilled with the soft cold and wet powder. A small cottage loomed in the distance, almost looking like a hill with bright light in the blizzard. The figure hurried towards the building, and knocked on the door. It creaked open, and the face of a short statured girl looked through for a moment, then the door swung open. "Ate Elise is back." The figure rushed in, pulling behind her the sled, and the door closed behind her. The figure pulled down her mask, revealing her clear, pale skin. "It was a bad run today. We might need to budget our wood for the next few days." Elise pulled her hood back, uncovering her raven bob. She sat down at one of the mattresses and removed her snowy coat and sighed as she looked out at the blizzard. Her cold, black eyes stared out as if she were looking for something. The figure of another little girl peeped from a trapdoor on the ground and gasped in glee as she pushed the door all the way open to run and hug Elise, who turned and smiled at the other girl. "Hey there, little trooper. Glad to see you in a good mood." The lass looked up and grinned at her, "I was a good girl today! I helped clean the dishes while you were gone! Right, Auren?" She turned to the short woman whilst being in Elise's somewhat  warm embrace. "That's Ate Auren to you, Linn." Auren faced the two with her arms crossed and one side leaning, a smirk making its way to her dry lips. "And maybe you were... Only a little helpful?" She teasingly looked at the little girl, "Not to mention, Haryei told me that you splashed him with the warm water we were saving for your bath." Linn looked at Auren in playful dismay. "Not true! Haryei is a liar and stole my potato one time!" Elise chuckled at her reply to Auren, "Well, you should know by now that Auren is anything but a petty liar. If she says something like that, I'd doubt it didn't happen." Linn let out a loud 'hmph' and let go of Elise, stomping back into the trapdoor room. The two older girls watched her as she went back. When the trapdoor closed, Auren let out a sigh. Elise looked out the window, noticing the storm had weakened a bit. "How long has it been since the world froze over, Elise?" Auren walked over to her friend, looking out the window. A long pause of silence lingered between them aside from the whistle of the wind outside.

"I'm... Not totally sure. It's probably been a year." Elise gazed over the gray and white hills as she spoke. "Remember the lake we used to wade in?" Auren turned her head towards Elise, "You mean the one where I nearly drowned in because I was too short and didn't know how to swim? Yeah. Kinda miss it, actually." Auren chuckled a little as she recalled the moment, then the smile disappeared. "It's gone now, though. Frozen into a block of ice. It all went by so fast, it's..." Elise listened to her friend trail off in her words, which was followed by a sigh. Her eyes gazed up at the sky through the frosty window, which was still a little gray. The harsh blow of wind was gone, and was replaced by a gentle zephyr. The snowflakes looked like they danced around as they slowly fell to the ground. The crackling of the wood in the furnace adjacent to them was the only sound between them and their returning quietude. Elise stared out  in a catatonic state, and Auren knew they didn't have anything else to talk about anymore. She sighed and went over to a shelf beside the furnace, in which it held a few extra blankets. She grabbed one and went back to Elise, who was still staring out. She placed the blanket beside her, pat her shoulder, then left to check the trapdoor room. Elise watched Auren leave her in the corner of her eye, then unraveled the blanket to put around her lanky body. It was warm as a result of it being placed near the furnace, and there were patches of it that were slightly burnt from being too near. She continued to look out at the window, her eyebrows furrowed in guilt. The room seemed to grow colder as she stared in melancholy. It was already cold, and the room felt emptier than it already was. She looked over at the fire, the bright, warm glow of it reflective on her eyes. Blood dripped onto the blanket, but she didn't notice.

The storm had picked up again, even stronger than before. The wind blew against the cottage wood, the whistle of it eerily letting its presence be known. Elise's eyes were slowly falling, her tired state brushing against her eyes every so often. Her vision began to blur as her eyelids came to a close. Sleep had taken her.