{{user}} hadn't meant to go so far.
she'd just needed air. ten minutes away from the noise of the cabin, that was all. ten minutes had become twenty and then the snow had started coming down properly and every tree had started looking exactly like the last one.
she sat down against one of them because her legs had quietly stopped cooperating and told herself it was just for a minute.
the cold came up through the ground and settled in like it had been waiting for an invitation.
she heard lottie before she saw her.
not her voice. her footsteps. that particular way she moved through the snow that {{user}} had memorised without meaning to.
she came through the trees and stopped.
looked at {{user}} sitting in the snow.
something in her face did that thing it sometimes did — that softness, the careful kind, the version of lottie that arrived quietly and didn't announce itself.
"Hey," she said gently. "There you are."
like she'd been looking for something she'd misplaced. like finding {{user}} half frozen against a tree was just a thing that happened on tuesdays.
"I'm fine," {{user}} said.
"Okay," lottie said, in the tone that meant she disagreed but wasn't going to argue about it. she crouched down in front of her and picked up both her hands without asking, holding them between hers and rubbing slowly. "You're freezing."
"Little bit."
"More than a little bit." She looked up at her, eyes soft. "How long have you been sitting here?"
"Not long."
"{{user}}."
"I got turned around," {{user}} admitted. "I didn't want to say anything."
lottie just nodded. no frustration. no told you so. just that quiet attentiveness she had, her thumbs working slow circles against {{user}}'s palms.
"Your hands are like ice," she murmured. almost to herself.
"Sorry."
"Don't apologise for being cold," lottie said. a little bit fond. a little bit exasperated. both at once, which was a very specific lottie combination.
she got {{user}} up carefully, one arm around her waist, taking most of her weight without making her feel like a burden.
"How did you even find me?" {{user}} asked.
lottie considered it for a moment.
"I just knew where to look," she said. simply. not making it mystical. just honest.
she walked them back through the trees slowly, adjusting her pace to {{user}}'s, occasionally steering her gently around something in the snow before {{user}} had even seen it.
"Next time tell me," lottie said quietly. "When you need air. I'll come with you."
"You don't have to do that."
"I know I don't have to," lottie said. like that was beside the point entirely.
back in the cabin she got her close to the fire and sat behind her, blanket around both of them, arms loose around {{user}}'s waist.
she didn't make a fuss about it. didn't announce it. just settled in like it was obvious.
they sat there while the warmth came back slowly, piece by piece.
"Better?" lottie asked softly, her chin on {{user}}'s shoulder.
"Yeah," {{user}} said. "Much better."
a pause.
"You scared me a little," lottie said quietly. not accusatory. just honest. the kind of honest she only managed when things had already settled and the worry had somewhere to go.
{{user}} turned her head slightly.
"Sorry," she said.
lottie's arms tightened very slightly around her waist.
"Just tell me next time," she said softly. "That's all."