"What are you doing still out here?"
I turned to see Kale frowning at me.

I'd walked a little farther from the lodge to collect some kindle. I had been running low for a while now though his question was quite valid. I'd been out here far longer than needed.

I currently held a bundle of twigs and such in my arms with a fair sized log pile on my sled next to me.

"I was just watching the snow fall." I told him looking back at the sky.

Soft dark clouds flew above us, covering the atmosphere almost completely. There were only small specks of sky where I could spot a couple of stars. Large wet flakes were falling somewhat slowly, yet their pace had recently sped up a bit and now it was coming down steadily.

"You can do that from inside." He told me and I felt his hand next to mine, which was very warm.

I flinched, looking over at him, but then realized he was just taking the sled from me. Letting go of it a bit sheepishly, I tucked some of my hair behind my ear, then pulled my beanie over it to keep it warm.

"But you can't see it all from behind a window." I pointed out as he pulled the sled forward to get it out of the small dip it had been snowed in.

"You're going to freeze out here, you won't freeze inside." He retorted and started turning my sled around.

"But don't you ever just stop and look around you?" I asked and he turned to look back at me.

"What do you mean?"

I swung one of my arms out, gesturing at the forest around us. "Just look at this place! It may be cold and a little dark at times, but it's so beautiful. The Evergreens, the snow, the crystalized frost on the other trees. It's wonderful." I smiled and looked back over at him to see that he was staring at me. Dropping my arm, I looked down, kicking up some snow.

"Go ahead and say it, I know I sound crazy." I murmured with a pout.

"You are crazy. Standing outside with a snow storm on the way and you're not even wearing a coat." He walked over and grabbed my now free hand, enveloping it in such warmth it stung my fingers.

"Come on, let's go inside."

A bit reluctantly, I started following him, letting him pull me back to the lodge. It was alight with warmth and I found a small smile rest over my lips. I'd never seen it like that before.

We paused for a moment, not yet going inside. I looked up at Kale wondering why we'd stopped and saw that he was looking out at the darkening forest.

"It is beautiful." He murmured before opening the door, having me go inside first. My smile grew a little, but I tried to contain it as I put the kindle away.

Kale started helping me with the wood before hissing. Immediately, I took the logs he'd been holding away from him.

"Sit in front of the fire and take off the coat. I must have forgot to change your bandages this morning, so they're probably not helping as much as they could."

He frowned but nodded, heading over to the fire place.

I put the rest of the logs away in a small closet next to the fire place before taking my sled around back and putting it somewhere I could find it after the storm.

It was coming down fast now, small and large snow flakes covering the ground. The snow level had risen by the time I got back to the front door. There wasn't a terrible difference, but I still shut the door quickly behind me.

Walking over to the window, I looked outside as it continued to snow.

"It's coming down pretty hard now." I murmured before turning to look at the fire place.

The flames were a fairly decent size and Kale sat in front of them with his shirt off to the side. He was trying to take off his bandages, he'd already removed the ones on his face, and was now unwrapping the ones around his arms.

My face started burning with warm blush. But since I'd been out in the cold, Kale didn't think anything of it when he looked my way.

"Hey, you have fresh bandages right?" He asked and I nodded, quickly heading over to the dinning room to a small medical closet. I used this time to calm and partially scold myself. He's injured, get a grip girl!

I grabbed more bandages and a patch for the large wound on his side.

When I came back into the living room, Kale had finished unwrapping his arms, which were bruised but there was no blood. However his side was another matter.

Apparently we'd left them on too long, or perhaps it was just the method he was using to remove them. But the scabs that had formed on his side were starting to rip and tear from his skin, causing him to bleed.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like some help?" I asked him, setting the wraps down as I went into the kitchen to grab some ointment that would help to prevent scarring.

"No, I'm fine, I've got it." He said through gritted teeth before barking angrily as he ripped more of the scab.

"Stupid insufferable bandages!" He growled as I walked over and knelt next to him.

"Mind if I try?"

He frowned at me as I held out my free hand before huffing as he handed me the  unraveled wrapping bandage. I set the ointment out of the way so it wouldn't be spilt, continuing to unwrap his torso gently for him.

"I'm sorry about this, I must have wrapped it too tightly." I said softly as I unwound the wraps.

When I'd finished, he was still bleeding. But now, it wasn't too bad, his deep wound had lessened to a large gash. After cleaning it, I tried to apply the ointment, which made Kale stiffen and hissed when it touched his gash.

"What are you doing? Stop touching it!" He leaned away from my touch and growled at me to get me to stop.

"Are you really going to throw a fit when I'm trying to help? The ointment will help your skin to heal smoothly, preventing scars." I told him simply and gently grabbed his arm. This was partially to keep him from moving away from me, and partially as a way to tell him that it was ok.

He grumbled, but tried to hold semi still as I finished putting it over his wound.

Once that was finished, I put a large patch over what was still bleeding from his side and taped it carefully. Then I grabbed fresh bandages and started re wrapping it around him.

"Does that feel better? I would have done this before, but I was in a bit of a hurry to stop the bleeding." I told him as I pinned the wrap to keep it in place.

"It's fine." He muttered, grabbing his shirt from off the floor.

"How about your arms?" I asked him as he slid his shirt over his shoulders.

"They've healed mostly, it's just my side now." He muttered as he buttoned his shirt.

"And your face? Does it sting? The cut wasn't too deep was it?" I asked, gently touching the side of his face where the cut had been located. There was light scarring just behind his eye, but other than that it seemed fine.

Kale brush my hand away with a somewhat irritated look, but he wasn't aggressive with his actions.

"What are you? Some kind of nanny? I'm fine." He said as he got up.

I pouted a little, looking down at the ground as I picked up the ointment bottle and screwed the lid back on.

"When I found you, you were nearly dead. I just want to make sure you're ok." I told him as I got to my feet.

He looked over at me, his expression one of pleasant surprise. I looked right back at him before feeling a teasing smile pull up my lips.

"Even if you are a bit childish."

His face immediately changed to a slightly open mouthed offense. His reaction made me burst into laughter.

"I am not childish!" He protested.

"No of course not, especially when you threw a temper tantrum at the market." I giggled.

"They were way over priced! I simply persuaded them to fix their costs." He said to me while folding his arms.

"You growled like a wolf pup demanding things be made your way." I told him with a smirk as I walked calmly into the kitchen.

"What about you? You didn't do anything! You should have said something about the prices, they were obviously too high." He frowned, following after me.

I opened the cupboards to put the bottle away.

"Perhaps I should have, but we can't change the past, only better ourselves for the future." It was something my father used to say whenever he made a mistake.
They were wise words, even if he only used them to keep himself out of trouble with my mother.

I turned around after shutting the cupboard and saw Kale standing behind me staring down at me.

"I don't understand you." He said softly with a shake of his head.

A simple smile was what I gave him in return.

"You don't have to understand me." I shrugged and slipped passed him, grabbing a few mugs and a kettle. "I know you don't like tea, but how about some hot chocolate?" I asked, pouring some water into the kettle.

"I..I like hot chocolate." He admitted as I turned on the stove and set the kettle on the burner.

"How about some marshmallows?" I hummed, grabbing a bag out of a small bread box on the counter.

I liked to make home made bread when I had the time, but I often didn't have the luxury anymore. So instead, it's where I keep sweets and the like, forgetting they're there until the moment I'm really in the mood for them.

"As long as you don't put too many in it." He said while folding his arms.  I hummed at that, looking back at him and holding out one of the mugs.

"But they make it so much sweeter." I smiled as he took the mug from my hand slowly. Perhaps it was just me, but something in how his fingers brushed mine made my chest feel lighter.

"You really are a child." He told me while raising a brow and shaking his head once again. He seemed to be trying to convince me that this was a bad thing, but really, I'd never been so comfortable in my own cabin. Acting like this, felt good.

"And Children like sweet things, as do adults, don't deny it, you already told me you like hot chocolate." I smiled, and to my surprise, he broke a smile.

"I suppose you've got me there. Thank you for helping me Aubrey."

Those words, they brightened my entire night.

I had a large smile on my face as we continued to talk to each other. We drank the hot chocolate together, and sat in front of the fire. Just sitting there in a comfortable silence, I don't think I've ever been so happy.