"Red? Where are we going?" Provence asked.

"Red hunting. Provence join Red. Doctor's orders." Red answered simply, like her words explained everything. She supposed they did, but a part of her was still confused as they made their way through the Lungmen streets. Trash littered the side walks, as did the corpses of the Reunion members unfortunate enough to cross their path. If they were taken down by a few of her crossbow bolts then Red's knives did the trick of effectively silencing them.

"Oh. Are we on a mission?" She asked. There was so much going on here, Provence just wanted to understand what their roll would be in this mess.

"We give Doctor support as needed. That is all."

"I see. Is it a stakeout then?"

After spending some time with Red, Provence liked to think she was beginning to get a grasp on the other's lingo. Keywords here being 'liked to think'. Red was a bit of a mystery in terms of behavior, but her intentions seemed innocent and sweet which was what mattered. The other Lupo offered up some pretty weird requests, from petting Provence's tail to cuddling to going on late night strolls to stargazing on the roof of Rhodes Island's flying airship. She was beginning to get the sense that Red was looking for more than friendship but didn't know how to ask. A part of her wondered if Red even realized what her actions meant? Sweet Red, with her strange wording and innocent eyes and bloodlust for hunting wolves (bad wolves that is, which was made clear by the end of their first meeting).

How strange her life was becoming if she was pondering over this when she should be focused on fighting. But some part of her didn't mind. Life shouldn't be boring and if Red spiced things up then what was the harm?

"Steak? No. Not steak. We are providing support. We are hunting." Red sounded awfully pleased with her choice of words. It was hard to see her expression with the red hood shadowing her face, but Provence was pretty sure she was smiling.

"Uh. I didn't mean . . . never mind."

Something told her explaining the difference would be a wasted effort here. Fighting came first, words semantics could come later. And hopefully later there would be other things too. The pair had been planning for a lazy day together before they'd been called out. Well, before Provence had been called out. Red had already been assisting Dr. Kal'tsit while she had been back at base waiting for her return.

"We're here."

"Gah!"

Provence almost collided with Red as the Hunter suddenly came to a careening halt. They were at the mouth of an underground tunnel of sorts. An acrid smell mixed with sewage water. Snowflakes glistened as they fell to the ground around them, but that wasn't the strangest thing about this scene.

No. It was just how cold the air had become.

Ice sprung greedily up from the ground, crusting around her weathered boots. Her fluffy tail that brushed the ground felt the sting of ice too. She lifted it up gingerly into her arms. The tail tip was covered in ice, the shards a glistening black. Whatever was causing this wasn't normal. She instinctively perked her ears and sniffed the air. There was no unusual sounds besides the gusts of wind and what might have been the faint trickle of voices coming from inside the tunnel.

"Is Provence alright?"

Red' ears were twitching, hoody pushed back to allow the triangular points to maneuver freely. She seemed totally unbothered by the extreme chill in the air, the white puffs of air coming out of her mouth as she exhaled were small clouds of unperturbed form. One of her hands gripped Provence's arm. The skin to skin contact sent a shiver up her spine. Provence blamed it on the cold.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. W-why is it so cold here? I know it's winter but this is a bit extreme for Lungmen, isn't it?" She searched for any clues as to what was causing the sudden chill. The terrible suspicion that the tunnel held the source crept into her mind, teasing at the worry she felt and amplifying it. The sheer temperature drop here was bad enough, but there was no telling how much worse it was inside the sewer.

The sewer where Doctor, Amiya, Greythroat and Blaze are. What if they're in danger?

There was no machinery out here to cause the change in weather, nor were there any casters present, something Red affirmed by checking every nook and cranny of the buildings nearby. Provence kept her crossbow poised in her arms, ready in case something decided to come out of the tunnel in question.

"No one's out here. We're alone." Red reported when she returned.

Provence nodded. "I figured as much. Should we go in?"

The catastrophe messenger in her was dying to get a look at the source of the chill. The part of her that valued her life was demanding she run for the hills. The latter was studiously ignored. That part of her always went ignored in the face of discovery. She supposed others would say that was dangerous, but who were they to judge. In this world you either lived with the danger or hid away in fear.

And she wasn't going to hide.

"No."

"No?" She stopped in her tracks. The snow on the ground crunched beneath her boots, or maybe that was ice. Little flakes of powdery white drifted from the air, one of them landing on the bridge of her nose. Provence bit back a sneeze.

"We've received orders to wait out here. Guard the perimeter." Red said inlay of explanation.

She frowned. "But they're dealing with FrostNova down there. Shouldn't we help them?"

Red looked at one of her knives, running her fingertip along the sharp edge. Her touch was feather light, enough pressure to feel without piercing the skin. Provence had seen Red do this a few times previously and still hadn't the slightest clue as to what it meant.

"Normally yes. But this isn't normal. If we are told to stay then we must stay."

"Oh." She couldn't help feeling a bit deflated. So much for getting action today.

"Don't be sad. There's always next time." Red reassured.

Provence shook her head. "I know there'll be other chances to fight but . . ."

"Not with her?" Red guessed, tucking the knife in the safe confines of her coat.

She nodded. "Yeah. I kinda feel bad for her. Infection like that has to be brutal."

"Mmm, it is." Red agreed. "But everyone has to die sometime."

"I didn't say anything like that!" Provence exclaimed.

"You didn't have to. Red understands."

And something told her Red did understand, just not in the way that Provence envisioned she might. The two wolves sat in silence for close to an hour, just watching the snow fall, and then . . .

"I went hunting today, found another wolf."

Red sat on the ground, heedless of the black ice. Provence went down to her knees to join her companion, wincing slightly at the cold. The weird ice that had frosted onto her tail earlier was no longer active. Whatever was causing it must have been losing strength. She tried not to imagine the implications.

"I heard. Crownslayer right?"

"Yes. She looks like wolf, but not true wolf."

She raised an eyebrow, perplexed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Means what it does. Lyudmilla is complicated. Dr. Kal'tsit agrees. Too bad she's on the wrong side. Very skillful, but not as much as me, would have been good asset for Rhodes Island."

"Hmm, I'm not so sure about that. From what I heard she's pretty high up in Reunion. I don't think someone like that would switch sides." Provence murmured.

With how cold it was getting she found herself shuffling to be closer to Red. The other Lupo seemed relatively pleased by her actions, wrapping an arm around her in a sort of side hug to pull her closer. She blanketed her big fluffy tail on their laps. Red stroked the fur gently, pulling at the melting ice shards with precise fingers. The gesture made her let out a sigh at the gentle warmth.

"I doubt it too, but there's always hope. That's what Doctor Y/N says."

Provence shifted in her position, leaning more against the other Lupo. It was hard to describe Red's scent outside of purely wild. Fresh air, ozone, pine, grass and a hint of ice from the atmosphere surrounding them. It spoke of the hunter in her. She wondered what Red thought she smelled like. Hopefully it was something good. Strange how Provence worried over something like this. Maybe it was just because she knew how important scenting is to wolves. Judging by character took a whole new meaning when you understood half of it by breathing in the air around someone.

"Dr. Y/N is so kind. It's hard to believe the Doctor behaved in any different way." Provence murmured. She knew what sort of territory this discussion was approaching; Red wasn't a fan of talking bad about the Doctor, or talking about the Doctor's past for that matter.

"Yes, it is. But Doctor was different once. Kal'tsit hopes old Doctor never comes back."

"Isn't that a bit harsh? Surely gaining back a few memories wouldn't be the end of the world."

Provence bit her lip, holding back a sneeze. Just because the source of the chill had gone didn't mean it wasn't still cold. If they stayed here for much longer she suspected one of them —likely her— would come down with something. Once again she inwardly face palmed for not dressing better for the weather. But nothing could be done about it now.

"No, probably not, but then . . ." Red trailed off.

"Then what?"

There was a wry smile to Red's lips with her next words. They spoke a tiredness she hadn't seen from the hunter thus far. "Some burdens would be returned. And while some things should be remembered others are better left forgotten."

Provence sighed. Those words so cryptic were a maze of hidden messages she was too cold to ponder over. So her heart spoke for her. "If something ever happened to me would I be forgotten by you?"

You're such an idiot. Why would you ask that?

Minutes passed. She was about to retract the question entirely when Red finally gave her response, making her freeze up in surprise. "No. You are very important to Red. So I will not forget you, just like you would not forget me if I were to die. I-I love you Provence. I-I didn't know what this feeling was at first but—"

Heart hammering in her chest, Provence found herself pulling Red up right against her. They shared a kiss under the cold night air and for a moment she felt nothing but warmth and happiness. Red met her with equal fervor when she realized what was going on, tangling her hands in Provence's tail as she leaned into her. They broke away only once the need for air finally struck them both. Gasping for breath, the pair smiled at each other.

"I love you too," Provence said. And she did.

*******

A/N: So this pairing came back by popular demand. Wasn't sure where the chapter was going when I wrote it but I think it went well. Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote and comment! Suggestions are welcome!