In wintertimes past, she had felt the cold as it nipped at her skin, watching the blue and the green fight. But she had never seen them so close. "Home," they would call out. She would stare, wide-eyed, her hair whipping around her face. She knew that smile. The one they all wore.

Ivory and copper, she reasoned, were sufficient enough to make a wonderful thing. That was the prototype of success. The tusks weren't very malleable, but they could be carved. She spent hours perfecting the defense.

They liked to smile. They knew smiling was scary. They knew nobody could stare at a mirror too long before it distorted.

A new mineral. Redstone. It was discovered. No, she didn't know the name. It worked better than copper. It just needed an activator. It even emitted a faint glow. If she couldn't find a light source...

But they stopped smiling when they saw you. That was the scary part. They always judged you. Wanted you. Knew you. Even when you tried to disguise yourself. To fit in.

Dogs didn't like it. It got in their fur and burned. She had to put it inside the ivory. That was more difficult. Pesky things. She might replace the ivory.

They wanted to eat you alive. They knew how. One negative thing and you might just let them have you, free of charge. It was so easy. Their teeth could gnaw right through.

Glowstone. A new mineral. Discovered by... Brine? She met him. It was so much brighter than redstone. Theories were that dust-like lichen had been bioengineered, escaped containment, and infected the Nether gold. Very useful.

They wanted you. They wanted every you. If you didn't submit, they would take you anyway. They hated you as much as you did.

She stationed them in the snow. They looked like heads with the features carved out and replaced with torches. They were pretty.

They weren't alone in the cold. She could protect them this time.