Creak stood in a cozy, little room tucked into the side of a giant jungle tree. The room couldn't have been more than a six foot box with a bed completely covering one side. There was a small chest along the wall opposite of the bed and a single chair opposite of the door which was covered by a thick quilted blanket. There wasn't much room to move and the ceiling was only three feet about Creak's head. But it was nice even if it made her a bit claustrophobic.

Bane was laying on the bed, so Creak crossed the room to sit in the chair. Unlike the frosty air outside, the room was warm as if a small fire was warming it.

Bane looked so peaceful as he pretended to sleep. With his sharp, green eyes closed his face seemed softer.

"Do you want to explain?" She asked him. "Or are you just going to let me figure things out for myself?"

Bane didn't open his eyes to look at her. "What do you want to know?"

"Hum?" Creak pondered sarcastically. "Why don't we start with what was that thing and why was it trying to kill me?"

Bane sat up and looked at her. His long, silver hair was a mess and his eyes were the softest she had even seen them. He looked good when he was tired and the realization made Creak blush.

He looked right through her; his eyes on her, but not focusing on her. "You already know what it was. A 'Silent Siren'."

Creak shook her head. "I just made that name up because I didn't know what to call it. That doesn't mean I know what it was or where it came from."

He focused on her, but his eyes weren't angry like they had been the last time she had seen him. He looked sad and worn thin.

'He really does need some rest.' The idea surprised Creak. She had never thought of Bane as a normal creature that need the same things as her.

"Yeah." Gorgos said in such a sensitive tone Creak almost choked on air. "I hope he's okay."

'Really?' Creak couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'Do you care about him? I thought you didn't like any one.'

"Eww gross!" Gorgos spat in her head. "You're right to think I don't care about anyone. I hate you and Bane. And that stupid Vern most of all!"

Creak laughed at the Gorgos she was used to. The world would really never be normal if Gorgos started to care and love people. Creak shook at the thought. It was an idea too weird to comprehend.

"I'd say you know more about it than most." Bane looked at her as if she hadn't just been talking to a voice in her head. As if she wasn't the craziest person he knew.

At first Creak was confused. 'What were we talking about?' She thought.

"The beast!" Gorgos said with so much rage Creak cringed. "Start paying attention you idiot!"

Creak flinched and her head began to pound. "Why would you say that?"

Creak really had no idea the beast was even a thing until it had attacked Stone Cold.

"Well you are traveling with an elf aren't you? Curly hair, overly friendly face?"

Creak cocked her head. "How do you know about Vern?"

Bane smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "How am I talking to you while you sleep?"

He had a good point. "Okay." Creak muttered. "I get it. You don't want to tell me."

Bane frowned as if her words actually hurt him. "It's not that I don't want to tell you... it's just too complicated to explain right now."

Creak wasn't sure she would ever understand, but she refused to blame him for it. She had lied right to her brother's face. She would never hate someone for doing something she, herself, had done.

"Really, it's okay." She knew it was best just not to think about him keeping things from her. "Can you tell me anything about the beast or what I might face next?"

Bane shook his head. Creak marveled at his constant mood swings. The first time she had met him he had been all cold and serious. The second time he had been angry and unreasonable. Now he sat in front of her, sad and half dead, like he had nothing to live for.

"Well if that's the case," she paused to give him a chance to stop her. "I guess I better be going."

He didn't stop her as she pushed aside the quilt door and stepped into reality.

                                             *                *                *

Creak awoke in a molding, abandoned shack. Vern and her had traveled for a day after the beast had attacked hoping to get far enough away that they would be safe. The shack wouldn't have been Creak's first pick for shelter, but it had started snow once they'd left StoneCold. That would have been a problem, but the soft snow had soon turned into a relentless blizzard. The snow so thick they couldn't see a foot in front of them. It had been a blessing they had even found the shack at all.
It hadn't been warm and the boards were so rotted the snow and wind push right through them.

When Creak moved her frozen limbs she found found herself covered in a thin layer of snow and frost. The tips of her ears burned and her nose was on fire, but her bare feet hurt the worst.

Vern had slept wrapped around her to try and share warmth, but it hadn't helped much. Slipping out of arms, Creak got up and brushed the snow out of her hair. Her fingers tangled in the waves which were darker than normal from the lack of sunlight.

Rubbing her hands together, Creak looked down a Vern. Much like Bane, he looked more at peace in his sleep. He was cover in more snow than Creak had been which made her feel guilty. His pointed ears were tipped with black frostbite, the sight making her wince. He must had been using his body to block the wind and keep her warmer.

"Oh, Vern." She whispered, brushing ice out of his curls. "You didn't have to."

With a quick kiss on his cheek, Creak stood up and left the shack. The snow had finally stopped, after falling nonstop for two days, leaving the world white and still. The ground and trees sparkled beautifully beckoning her out of the dreary shack.

With a giggle she jumped into the snow. She knew it wouldn't do her any good to be covered head to toe in snow, but Creak liked to live in the moment. If she died of hypothermia at least she had had a fun time. The snow bit and burned her, gripping her in an embrace that nearly froze her. She wasn't dress for the cold weather that surrounded her. Barefoot and in a thin, woolen dress.

She didn't think about the cold, burning pain that clung to her. She felt that thinking about it would only make it worse and a lot less fun.
Skipping through the snow, that was up to her knees at its shallowest spot, Creak sang.

"Snow. Snow.
Shimmer, shining, glow.
Snow. Snow.
Frosty wind that blows."

She had never been real good at making up songs. Normally she would just sing a song her mom had taught her, but sometimes she just had to sing about what she saw. Sure the words weren't that good, but that didn't make it any less fun.

"Icy trees, slippery slopes.
Snow. Snow.
Dance. Sing so many notes.
Snow. Snow.
Please never go."

Creak had never liked the snow. It was too cold and deceitful. Looking all beautiful and nice only to bite you when you touch it. But, a new feeling had overcame her, making the snow seem more than bearable.
The snow and vast nothingness that surrounded her let her sing without fear. Creak could see music everywhere. In the silent, frosty trees and hills of snow. Music shone through the silence created from the creaking of cold branches in the wind. The king may have made music a crime, but no matter how hard he tried he could never really get rid of it. All sounds were music in their own way and Creak saw that now.

So the snow was beautiful and likeable because it brought with it a new arsenal of sounds. Sounds, that without really trying, made music. The thought brought a smile to Creak's face and a new warmth spread through her.

Falling backwards, Creak swished her arms and legs through the snow. It was cold, but that made her feel alive. Careful not to destroy her mark left in the snow, Creak got up. Beside her was an angle of snow imprinted in the ground.

"The angels fly in a world of white.
Singing until the darkness of the night.
May they never lose their light
or the music that makes their world so bright."

Poems were like songs and songs were like poems. Both made of words and spoken with rhythm. Couldn't most songs be spoken as poems and most poems be sung like songs? Creak like that idea. It made sense to her.

Spinning in circles she danced through the snow leaving a trail of swirls. She hummed her favorite song, a lullaby her mom used to sing to help her fall asleep.

Creak didn't know how long she spent dancing through the snow. It could only have been ten minutes, but it felt like hours had passed before she stopped. Her head spun and she let herself face plant into the snow. She used the opportunity to make another snow angel, one with her face imprinted in it.

She heard a soft laughing behind her and turned with a grin towards the shack. Vern was leaning against the door frame, a smile on his face. He looked warm and welcoming, a sight Creak had only ever seen when she saw her brother.

The painful reminder of Stans hit her when she hadn't been expecting it. Her face pinched as she struggled to hold back the tears that formed in her eyes. Crying wouldn't undo the mistakes she had made. Crying wouldn't bring her back to her brother.

Vern was to her in a rush. "Hey. It's okay." His warmth wrapped around her making her realize how cold she was. He tilted her chin up, so she was looking at him. "You're safe now. Creak, you're safe."

Creak shook with the strain it took to keep herself calm. "I know. I'm okay." She spoke with her face pressed against his chest. "I know."

The worry in his eyes made Creak feel bad. He didn't need to worry about her. He probably had enough to worry about without her in his life. She didn't want to make things worse for him. He didn't deserve that.

Pushing away from him, Creak forced a smile on her face. She didn't want him to worry.

Laughing she sprinted away from him and into the frosted, pine forest. "Catch me if you can!" She called not bothering to see if he would chase her. She had a feeling he would.

Creak knew Vern was fast; elves were known to have superhuman spend. In an attempt to lose him, she weaved through the trees, running in circles to frequently cross the footprints she had already made in the snow. She was sure he was right behind her, but she didn't dare look back. If she looked back it would only slow her down and give him a chance to close the distance that separated them.

Running along a path she had already taken, Creak spun around a pine tree and crawled under its low branches. She had her doubts. Surely he would find her soon.

"Which would make for a perfect ambush!" Gorgos sound a little too happy with the idea she had come up with. Though to be honest hitting Vern in the face with a snowball sound pretty funny to Creak, herself.
Grabbing some snow, Creak pressed it into a ball and waited. She was sure he would be in front of her any second now.

'There!' She thought as the sound of crunching footsteps sound nearby. 'Any second now.'

Suddenly Vern's grinning face was in front of her. It happened so fast, Creak flinch back. His face was only inches away from hers, his grin contagious. He was too close for her to thrown the snowball, which was hidden behind her back. But she had a different idea.

Creak's grin grew larger as she pressed the snow in his face.

"Hey!" Vern lunged for her, spitting out snow.

But he didn't move fast enough, because Creak had already crawled through the tree's needles and out the other side. Jumping to her feet Creak ran like her warmth depended on it, which it did. If Vern caught her now, he would pummel her relentlessly with snow.

"Ha!" Gorgos unsettling chuckles filled Creaks head. "Did you see the look on his face! Oh, poor baby Vern! He looked so betrayed!"

Creak almost choked as she tried to hold back her own laughter. Making any loud sound would only help Vern find her faster.

'Yeah,' Creak thought. 'It was pretty good, wasn't it.'

"ı, ʄơཞ ɬɧɛ ཞɛƈơཞɖ, ɬɧơųɠɧɬ ɬɧąɬ ῳąʂ ɱɛąŋ." Angel fretted. "ῳɧąɬ ıʄ ყơų ɧųཞɬ ɧıʂ ʄɛɛƖıŋɠʂ!"

Gorgos laughed. "That would make it even better!"

Creak found herself rolling her eyes at them. Though Angel's comment left her worried. What if Vern was mad at her? What if he didn't find it funny? Was she really being mean?

'You know, maybe Angel's right. That was mean.' Creak slowed her pace and look behind her. Vern wasn't following her. 'Where is he?'

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it," Gorgos growled. "You shouldn't listen to Angel. Even if you did make him hate you I don't think that would be a bad thing."

That didn't make Creak feel any better. 'Yeah,' she thought. 'That's because you don't like him.'

Creak imagined Gorgos shrugging her shoulders. "You got me there."

Turning forward again Creak screamed. Vern was standing right in front of her with a grin as crazy as her own on his face. Stumbling backwards, Creak's face exploded with a cold as hot as fire. She was blinded for a moment and once she'd blinked the snow out of her eyes Vern was gone again.

"Doesn't feel too good does it?" From the sound of his voice Creak could tell Vern wasn't mad. His arms wrapped around her from behind and he lifted her up. They spun in circles, Creak squealing the whole time. She didn't even know a sound so happy was even able to come out of her. She had spent so long fight to stay alive that she never really lived. Finally she was living.

"Stop! Stop!" She giggled. "I think I'm going to be sick."

With one last spin, Vern fell to the ground taking Creak with him. They spent the rest of the day in the fresh snow, making snow angels and pelting each other with snow balls. Laughing, Creak began to finally live as she listened to birds sing around them.