TWD - Cold hands

Back into the snow storm shenanigans for the pale kids ✨ better stay put and warm until the worst of it passes!

An easy guess, here's another collab with the homie SilvesterVitale 🔥 who went absolutely bonkers with the shading and all the special effects, as well as the initial sketch, and Eli's flats.

Go love on Sil's version! 


Previously happening at The White December:


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E:

They trekked through the snow but it didn’t take long before they reached a cliff wall. Was this not the way? Clearly not. Eli looked up and around, but the visibility was so bad he could barely make out what was up or down.

A small stone fell and rolled down the cliffside from somewhere close by. The sound of it echoed. Eli was just about to turn and say something when he felt Skagerrak tense up under him and he was just about able to hang on for dear life as the stallion spooked from the echo, tossing himself to the side and away from the sound.

It was uncommon for Skagerrak to spook like that, but the poor visibility and the strange sounds of the echo did grant some new experiences. Once the stallion had calmed down Eli corrected himself in his seat, muttering under his breath. “Jesus fucking Christ,” as if he hadn’t given Hiri an elbow for cussing just minutes ago. He did a quick look around to make sure Maja was still with him, calling for her, and eventually spotted her. She was almost blending in with the snow.

“We’re ok!” Eli now called out to Hiriel whom he had no visuals of anymore. His voice echoed between the cliffsides. “Hiriel!?”

H:

It didn’t take too long for Hiriel to loose complete sight of her teammate, neither the dark figure of Skaggerak nor the delicate dog. Soon enough, they were separated.

It was only a muffled voice she managed to hear through the wind, which seemed to hit heavier by the minute. Hiriel stopped her mare and renoved her hood, leaving her at the mercy of the elements, but hopefully able to hear slightly better. She hushed her mare and took a better hold of her mecates in case her voice would startle poor Angèle again, and after inspiring as much as she could, burst out in a strong but crystalline voice.

“ LIEUTENANT PORTER!!!”

Opting for his title as the shortness of his first name would have easily been swallowed by the commotion of the wind. Then lending a careful ear to the wilderness.

E:

Skagerrak thrashed with his head, thoroughly unhappy still even if he had settled some after the spook, he was pacing around in the same spot while Eli tried to listen for Hiriel’s voice in the wind. He did hear her. The very clear voice rang through gusts of wind, but from what direction it came was difficult to make out. He removed his glove and dug into one of his coat pockets, pulling out a compass. If he was able to make out a broad general direction from where Hiri’s voice came, the compass could help him stay on course.

“HIRIEL! KEEP CALLING!” he shouted into the white void, making use of the rather powerful vocals he possessed. A few new rocks fell and rolled down the cliffside. Whether it was caused by the resonance from the shout or because of the wind was unclear, but it didn’t make Skagerrak any happier, he was used to his rider's voice however.

H: 

Hiriel perked up instantly as Eli’s strong voice could be distinguished in the chaos of the storm. So instantly she did as told, 

“ELIIIIIIIIIIII! OVER HERE!! ” Hiriel shouted back, whistling loudly, regretting not packing anything for such situation, not a single flare, no distress whistle.

“COME ON LIEUTENANT!!” She still managed to tease through the gust of wind.

E:

That clear voice rang through the wind like angels singing and the way she used his old rank from way back did increase the warmth in his face. If he had been with anybody else out here Eli would probably have struggled to hear them through this weather. The echoes were distracting, but he had checked the compass on her first call after his and determined that he needed to travel south-west. 

With a soothing hand he reassured Skagerrak that things were ok before asking him to move forward. The stallion did a small reluctant side step before moving forward but Eli had his eyes on the compass and together, with Maja in tow, they moved south-west towards Hiriel’s vibrant voice. She shouldn’t be far, right? It was just the weather that muffled the soundwaves and even tho it felt like much longer, as if time was creeping forward, it only took them about five minutes until Hiriel could be seen through the array of white snow.

Eli probably smiled more than he was aware of at the sight of Hiri’s rosy cheeks and a tension that had its grip on him during it all now was let go. All of a sudden he found himself without words. What the hell was this? What would one say after reuniting after a thing like this? Being lost for words wasn’t really something that happened to him often and he awkwardly offered another smile.

“No more mishaps now, right?” … good enough.

H:

A sigh of relief escaped her as the dark silhouette of Eli and Skagerrak cut the veil of snow. More than happy to see them unharmed, just as much for Maja still in tail. She smiled at them warmly, even if they were far from out of harm ways.

“I can’t promise!” Hiriel answered with a cheeky smile, insinuating she could very well be trouble. She promptly raised her hood again, covering her ears that were all red from the cold and the whipping of the wind.

“We should find a shelter to wait it out,” Hiriel shouted over the never ending flapping noise of her equipment and coat. “It’d be safer!”

E:
At this point, he didn’t know if her cheeky smile was a good thing or not. But he hoped it was good and he answered with an uncertain but brave smile.

With one hand shielding his eyes from the snow Eli nodded. It was probably the best thing they could do right now, find shelter and just hunker down until the weather cleared. He removed some frost from his eyelashes the best he could with his gloved hand and then spied as far as the snowfall would let him.

“You think some rocks would do?” he shouted and pointed towards a pile that looked like rock formations in the distance.

H:

Hiriel nodded at his proposition, anything truly would have been enough for a small break from the storm, even if it was just from the protection of a few rocks. Hiri urged Angèle forward, hoping that the ground was steady and safe under that belly deep snow, cautiously leading the way towards their fortune shelter.

Once there, she didn’t loose a second to dismount and spread the blanket over her mare and all the equipment, shielding her as much as she could from the weather, her own comfort being secondary for now. Needless to say that Angèle happily kept her head near the rock formation, keeping her face out of the wind’s harsh blows and completely ignoring the stallion that she was being forced to stay with for the time being.

“Are you good?” Hiriel asked Eli as soon as she was done with her own tasks, ready to lend him a hand.

E:

Following close Eli made sure to not lose Hiri and Angèle again even tho it wasn’t far to the rocks they had spotted. It did look like a decent shelter, he concluded when seeing it up close. Dismounting he removed his gloves again, holding them in his mouth while rearranging a few things to be able to cover Skagerrak and the equipment with the blanket.

“Mhmm.” Eli replied, tasting the leather with the gloves in his mouth. When he was sure everything was secured and the stallion shielded from the weather as best as he could be he took his gloves from his mouth and turned around but the snow under his boot gave way because of ice beneath it. He fell on his behind and slid down the little slope that led in behind the rocks.

“Ouch…” he muttered, exhaling a sigh of frustration before getting up, but left a bloody palm print in the snow.

H:

Hiriel only had the time to take a step torward Eli keep him from fallling before he was already on the ground. Angèle in the meantime stepped sideways as the scene happened. 

Of course Hiriel didn’t miss a second and noticed that red stained snow almost instantly.

“Show me.” She requested, or moreso, commanded, removing her own gloves before stretching her own hand towards the man so he’d let her inspect the damage. And if he ever thought he could refuse her help, he definitely thought wrong.

E:

Maja walked around Eli as if she was making sure her human was ok. “It’s alright, girl. I’m fine,” he said and gave her a little ear rub before dusting the snow off his coat, that’s when he noticed the blood on his other hand. The cold and the impact from falling had numbed the area enough for him to not have noticed that the ice had cut him at first and he was about to put his gloves back on when Hiri commanded him to show her.

“It’s just a graze, I’ll be alright,” he said but did give her his hand. He felt it now tho, the heat and stinging sensation with a subtle pulse.

H:

“Don’t be a fool.” Hiriel instantly answered, way away from the usual  interactions where rank weighted in. And hell she did not stutter. 

Hiriel’s hand, slightly colder than his, cupped it while the other delicately brushed his pàlm to remove the snow around the cut. Needless to say her focus didn’t leave the wound while she addressed him again.

“Don’t put your glove on.” She let go of his hand, her eyes going back up to his. “ we’ll clean it and put a bandage on.” Of course, this wasn’t a proposition. And it was made increasingly clearer as Hiriel turned around to fetch her first aid kit under Angèle’s blanket.

E:
He let her inspect the gash in his palm. It stung when she brushed the snow away but even if his reflexes told him to pull his hand back he didn’t. It made him feel all warm in his face tho and he moved his other hand up to open a gap in his scarf around the neck to let in some of that cold air.

“Ok...”Eli nodded as he met her eyes when she looked up at him. Her instructions were clear and obedient like a child, he listened to the medic and did not put his glove on, instead, he waited with his gaze following her when she turned to go and get the things she needed.

H: 

She grabbed the kit and went right back to Eli, offering him a soft smile despite her rather serious handling of the situation. 

Reaching him though triggered an instant reaction to put her hand on Eli’s forehead, his flushed cheeks worrying her enough to check for a fever. Crooking his hat in the motion and having no thought for decorum, but coming to a negative diagnosis settled the pale lady. 

“Come, let’s sit” Hiriel gently urge him, closer to the rock wall.

E:
When she touched his forehead he had to prevent himself from gasping for air and instead inhaled deeply but quietly while sporting a rather stiff posture till she seemed satisfied and removed her hand. He was confused by this impulse to check his temperature, but he came to sit with her by the rock when urged to. He removed his cap and the earmuffs for now. They had become damp from all the snow and felt cold rather than keeping him warm.

“What’s the verdict, doc?” he asked with a small but cheeky skewed smile, enough to put one of his canines on display. He enjoyed being taken care of and he was well aware of it himself too, that it was a weakness of his. While waiting he rested his injured hand on his knee, palm up.

“I don’t have a fever do I?” he asked, now not entirely certain if he did or not as he did have a flush or warmth just minutes before, but he felt fine. In all honesty, as an immortal he couldn’t remember when he had a fever last, it happened so rarely. 

H:

“We definitely should amputate right here.” Hiriel stated in her best professional manners while making a line at about the height of his elbow. Then had a quiet chuckle before sitting herself next to Eli, taking his hand on her lap without any hesitation. 

“It will sting a bit.” Hiri then added as she started cleaning the cut, keeping her eyes on the task as she answered his concern.

“I thought your skin looked rather red, but it might just be from the cold.” Hiriel stated without even considering for a second the possibility of a simple blush. “It would be safe to keep an eye on that though!”

E:

Eli stupid-stared at the line she pointed out at his elbow for amputation and then scoffed when she chuckled.

“You know, there is a part of me that would not have doubted that you’d carry a bone saw with you somewhere in your packing. And I somehow find it endearing, even if maybe a bit morbid,” he admitted with a bashful smile but scrunched his nose as soon as she began cleaning the cut in his hand. It did sting a bit.

“Oh… I did feel a bit warm earlier, but I feel fine now.” Eli knitted his brows a bit in thought, thinking she maybe was right, that he should keep an eye on it if anything changed in his well-being in the coming days.

H:

“A medic never reveal the content of their satchel.” Hiriel said with a small wink and a smile, “Endearing or not, I sure hope you are not planning on needing that kind of intervention under my watch.” Then presented the surroundings with a an open hand “Not here at least!”

Soon enough Hiriel placed a gauze pad over the cut, effortlessly wrapping Eli’s hand in a bandage, testimony to how often she did so in her past.

“As long as you feel fine now.” And as if to make sure, she let go of his now bandaged hand to put hers to his forehead again, fair to say that the coldness of her fingers made it rather inconclusive in the end. 

E:
“Oh really?” He said with raised eyebrows. “So, if I rummaged through your packing for… whatever reason, it wouldn’t be impossible to find that bone saw. I believe it.” He concluded with a small chuckle, whether it was true or not, while she wrapped his hand with a bandage.

“I will do my utmost to try and stay out of any more trouble, no promises tho, cause I’m riddled with bad luck, but I do feel hopeful that amputation won’t be needed-” he said but fell quiet soon after when Hiri put her hand back against his forehead. A silent murmur of a nervous laugh escaped him and he took her hand from his forehead.

“Your hands are cold.” he cupped his around hers and blew some warm air into them, then closed them around hers. “Thank you for taking care of my hand,” he said sincerely with a grateful look in his eyes. 

H:

“Let’s just say rummaging through my belongings may result in an amputation.” Hiriel stated while raising her index in the air, eyes closed, making sound like more of a certainty. Just to finally send him a cheeky smile and continue, “so don’t try to find the bone saw.”

When the focus shifted to her own hands, Hiriel just watched the scene happen, eyes a little wider and cheeks tinted a bit brighter. Wasn’t she the helping hand here? A bit stunnned, she eventually spoke again:

“Anytime. Just let me know when your luck run out again; I still got plenty of bandages.” Hiri still found in herself to joke, a sheepish smile on her face as if suddenly hit by the weight of the intense proximity

E:

Eli pulled a face of fabricated fear which was then followed by a smirk, one of his more charming ones.

“Ohh, Ms Dean, I won’t touch your stuff, I promise,” he said, holding his hand up as if he was swearing an oath. He then looked down at her hands again, giving them a little rub between his before reaching for her mittens, blowing warm air into them, and then delicately helping her to put them on.

H:

“ Lieutenant. That is a safe choice for your good health.” Hiriel chimed in, obviously playing as much as he did.

And when Eli helped her put her mittens on, she could only smile warmly at him, amused but also touched by the amount of care he offered her. The gentlemanly ways could still sway her heart rather easily on that front. “ Thank you.” The pale lady simply added as Eli deemed it good enough, before getting comfortable next to her.


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Hiriel (C) Emii-M
Eli (C) SilvesterVitale