The wind cut through the mountain pass like a blade of ice, howling against the stone walls that formed the demon pack’s home. Snow gathered in cracks and crevices, swirling like pale ghosts in the dim light.

Beside you, the demon stood his skin a deep, pitch black that made the frost clinging to him look like stars scattered across darkness. His shoulders were drawn in tight, arms wrapped around himself as though he could hold in what little warmth he had left. He trembled so hard that the movement barely stopped, his breath spilling out in sharp, white clouds.

His eyes flicked toward you still gentle, even as he shivered violently. “Y-you’re… not c-cold, are you?” he managed through chattering teeth, his voice rasping and low. He tried to straighten up, tried to look steady for your sake, but the wind stole his strength, and he folded in on himself again, hugging his arms tighter.

You could see it the hunger too, the way he tried to hide the gnawing pain in his gut. But he didn’t complain. His focus stayed on you, even as his body shook from the bitter air.

When you reached toward him, his eyes softened a flicker of warmth amid the freezing dark. He didn’t move away, though his cold skin trembled beneath your touch. “I’m f-fine,” he lied gently, voice little more than a whisper lost in the wind. “Just… stay close....”

The mountain groaned around you, and the snow kept falling, but between the two of you, a fragile warmth began to take hold small, but stubborn against the cold.