Shrewd

Kai had been sleeping for several days without waking up once. He hasn't moved even an inch or made a sound. He was almost like a corpse.

Lithia was always hard at work in the morning, healing Kai and sometimes force feeding him food and water. It was a lot of work but it had to be done. 

Due to how high maintenance Kai was, Lithia rarely had time outside of the room. She had neglected her other projects and even meals sometimes. She was determined to not let the child die under her watch.

At night was when she was finally able to take a break. Once she reached the bed, she fell asleep almost immediately. Leaving no time for Claude.

Luar took the night shift and stayed in Kai's room. Nothing had ever happened. 

The cycle continued for almost 5 days before Kai woke up in a daze in the middle of the night. He stared off into the window and froze. 

His body felt numb as if it wasn't his. It must've been due to the inactivity it felt. He tilted his neck slightly and could hear the sound of it cracking. He moved on to his fingers and shook the numbness off. 

Once he was finished, he looked up and saw deep blue eyes impaling right into his soul. It came up closer and rubbed it's head against his legs. Hoping to feel the normal warmth of a human.

"Luar." Kai said, stretching his arm as far as he could and touching the fur of the large feline.

He could feel his head getting slightly dizzy from the sudden movement. He proceeded to lean forward and rest it's head on Luar's large body. It was a rather good substitute for a pillow. 

It was silent for a good amount of time.

Luar was quiet and made sure not to make any sounds. It didn't know why but it felt the need.

"Kai?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Do you feel any pain? In your abdomen..or chest?" 

"No. So it's alright. Let me stay like this for a while."

Snow has started falling heavily upon Gia. Like stones dropping from the sky. In a matter of hours, the snow started piling up upon the walkway and the roofs of people's houses. 

Icicles began to form on the doorways and archways of people's houses. 

"You're the only one I feel comfortable around." Kai suddenly said. "Is it because you aren't human?" 

Luar inched closer and stayed silent. It's watchful eyes glued to the pure white snow.

The swift movement of snow falling felt calming. Like home.

"Wanna go out?" Kai asked, seeing how Luar was staring out into the window.

Without waiting for Luar to reply, Kai slowly placed one of his legs on the ground. Tapping it on the shiny wooden floor. He carefully let the other leg settle on the solid floor.

It was cold. Bearably cold.

Kai pushed himself off the bed and took a step after another. He turned back and looked at Luar with a gentle smile. He walked up to the window and placed one finger on the glass.

He forced it open and could feel small fragments of glass landing on his arm. 

"You're not coming?" Kai asked, half of his body already through the window.

"You're not wearing shoes or gloves and your clothes are too thin. You think you can go out like that?" Luar ranted, finally standing up and jumping off the bed.

"This much is nothing." Kai murmured, already out. He lifted his head and felt slow drizzling on his skin. This was the exact feeling he had back then. 

He lifted his hand and created a particular shape of water in the palm of his hands. The exterior started freezing due to the cold weather. 

With one breath, the thin ice skin melted. 

Kai bent down and touched the snow. This was what he wanted. This feeling. His eyes glowed. 

It felt just like her destastable personality.

He had always wanted to feel warmth from her. Something as small as a nod in the form of a reward when he achieved a milestone. 

Like his first steps or the first time he held a sword against his will.

But nothing. A cold stare full of judgment and hatred. It had always taken a portion of what was filling his mind.

The need of wanting to impress her. To get her approval and her acknowledgement. 

If he took all the lessons, would she start to look at him without her cold glare?

If he was more obedient like a puppet, would she start to spend more time with him?

He would kill a million for her.

He would gladly take all the verbal and physical abuse.

As long as she gave him even a small ounce of attention he craved. Even if he did receive it, it didn't feel good. 

All it felt like was hanging onto a needle that stabbed him while sinking into an endless hole of quicksand.

He wanted to feel a mother's warmth that people had always gushed about.

If she can't return the warmth he gave and instead insist on her cold personality. 

She must love the winter. 

How it freezes and climbs up your body and explores the blood that lies within. 

The shivers it gives. The drowsiness it'll give when one drowns in the cold.

The long excruciating pain that'll never ease.

It'll rewind with a small momentary heat.

As if clinging onto a small piece of hope while one is oblivious to the ice it was building beneath them.

Until one suffocates and the gleam of hope leaves one's eyes. Just dying wasn't enough.

A lifelong scar deserved a life long duration of pain.

"I'll kill you with the thing that compliments you most. Since you love it so much mother." Kai lifted up the snow in his hand and rubbed it against his face.

Kai dropped the snow and felt the frost on his feet. He ignored it and went back into the house.

Lithia stood there, with a half closed door and a worried look on her face.

"Are you okay? Why are you out? What if you freeze? Come back in, I'll heat you up." Lithia said, walking to the fireplace.

The snowstorm had woken Lithia and Claude up. It felt cold around the whole house.

So much so that the fireplace needed to be lit in order to not freeze to death.

Lithia had arrived at the guestroom to fuel the fireplace but all she found was Kai outside in the freezing cold like a maniac.

Kai had made it back into the house with snow all over his hair and lashes. His skin is pale and lips blue. 

Immediately, Lithia let go of Claude's hand and lit up the fireplace. "Please come over. You're worrying me." 

Dragging his feet over, Kai sat down in front of the fireplace. 

He placed his hands near the fireplace while he felt the snow on his head dampen his hair.

"Th-thank you." Kai's teeth chattered but he still wanted to make out a heartfelt expression of gratitude.

Seeing how serious Kai was, Lithia thought it would be better to not ask what he was doing outside earlier.

"Have you ever celebrated Christmas?" Lithia asked with a smile as she grabbed a small box from beneath the bed. 

Lithia handed it over to Kai and watched him open it. He seemed to have been frozen on the spot after seeing it. He smiled and gleefully accepted the gift.

Maybe the warmth didn't need to be given by a mother after all. It felt just exactly like how others described it.

Lovely.