Citizen 532 Sunniva

Sunniva heaved a deep breath of the cold air before exhaling with a shiver. The weather was getting colder and everything in her body screamed that it was awful, but all she could think about were the beautiful stories the others would tell. Everything blanketed in small ice crystals, turning everything before you white and sparkling. She could barely wait, the autumn festival had come and gone. The carved and festive pumpkins had since been eaten or fed back into gardens or animals. The tree’s were void of leaves, and the wind had reclaimed most of those fallen back to the woods to compost over winter and feed the next spring.

As she walked along, she watched her breath escape her nose. She had quite a bit of time to think to herself as she heard that her friend was feeling unwell, probably why she hadn’t seen them in quite a few days. Especially in this chilly weather, Sunniva wanted to check on their well being. She had made a trek into the city to grab supplies that she couldn’t get from her garden herself, everything she would need to be able to make a nice hot stew and a fresh loaf of bread for her companion. She smiled, knowing her friend would do the same for her if the need ever arose.

Sunn squinted then, shifting the scarf she had tied around her neck for a little bit of extra warmth. Had she just seen something fall from the sky? It wasn’t rain though, it fell slowly, carried onward by the wind. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, before looking upwards. She started to see more. Small, singular flakes of snow began to fall all around the soft orange colored rexal. Her eyes grew wide with joy, the snow started light but soon grew dense as the flakes began to combine before touching the ground. All around her the snow clung to everything, the tips of the drying grass, branches of the trees, and herself. 

She playfully stuck her tongue out and tried to catch a few of the flakes, and chuckled once they melted quickly. Who could ever hate this season? This was beautiful! All she would need to do would be maybe make some warmer clothes to help insulate herself a little better. She just realized she was shivering from standing still. Maybe she should get a move on, she couldn’t wait to talk to her friend about the snow. Perhaps it would even cheer them up! Hopefully they were well enough to make a fire, if not she would have to start one.

The snow was now an inch or so deep, enough for Sunn to begin leaving footprints. She could feel the cold radiate through her feet, but it wasn’t unbearable. Her thick soles protected her feet from most dangers, I guess this also helped insulate them. Once she had been moving for a while again the cold slowly faded away and her shivers had mostly subsided. She shook the snow that had begun to pile itself on her body off onto the ground, marveling at just how fast it was pouring from the skies above.

Before long, she saw what she was hoping for. In the distance and over one more rolling hill, the distinct sight of smoke, and the smell of it too. That's good, she thought, at least they were warm. Now to just get them fed. She rounded over the hill and looked below her, her companion’s well made house stood covered in a white blanket of snow. Her garden was unrecognizable, the only thing that let her know it was a garden was the fencing around it to try and keep the animals from her delicate plants. The signature pine tree in her yard also looked glorious, the striking white against green was inspiring! Sunniva suddenly wished she had the talent for painting, as she wanted nothing more than to capture these moments laid out before her. 

Descending the hill, the path was now no longer visible, she left deeper prints as she approached her companion’s house and gave a soft knock at the door. A raspy “Cominggg” was heard from inside before the door was pulled open, revealing a hunched rexal swaddled in a large warm blanket. They quickly beamed with happiness as they saw Sunniva standing in the doorway, wrapping their arms and the blanket around her in a warm embrace. “Please, in, in! Out of the snow.” She said, brushing the snow from Sunn as she passed through the entryway.

Sunn turned then, unloading her bag of goodies on the table. “I hope you’re hungry!” She exclaimed, “This weather is perfect for a hearty stew and I’ve more than enough ingredients to make that happen.” She said her voice was calm and soft. She was just glad to see her friend was alright. “If you  feel up to it, would you mind making sure the fire is ready and setting up the pot while I take care of the chopping?” She smiled before letting her gaze wander back out the window, mesmerized by the snowfall. “It was such a pretty walk over here.. This is my first time seeing the sky spit out anything beyond rain.”

Author: Atrocias