I close my eyes just to look at you
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The morning was cold, much

like many of the mornings prior had been, and the icy snow nipped at the feet of the young

woman who traveled across it. The sun was shrouded in smoky colored clouds and the wind that

blew through the forest did nothing to help the cold of the air. In her arms Rachias carried

a velvety red blanket, which she had folded neatly and carried in her arms so that it

shielded her hands from the cold of the day. The girl had taken the time to clean the

blanket, pulling out the bits of dirt and debris and finally giving it a good wash. It had

taken some time to dry due to the cold weather, but now that it was finally finished, she

wanted to rush it over to him.


Rachias knew the path to his cottage well and had even come up with a shortcut or two to get

her there faster. In her mind, the sooner that she got the blanket to him, the better,

because who was there other than herself to help him make it through the winter? Certainly

he wouldn't try to start a fire on his own, nor could he likely keep one burning, which

meant that they would have to take extra care to keep him warm during the cold days to come.

Rachias turned quickly down one of the final paths to his cottage, picking up her pace as

she went along. Since their last evening together, Rachias had been excited to go and see

him again.


It was the scent that hit her first, the familiar smell of burnt wood mingled with the

scent of burnt plastic and various other materials. The scent seemed thin in the air though,

but when Rachias turned the corner, appearing out from behind a row of clustered trees, that

was when she saw it. In a matter of seconds her heart dropped, her body's only reaction

being to stop completely. She stood there, eyes wide and heart pounding so loudly that she

couldn't even hear the breeze that whipped past her. All that was left in that little patch

of land was a pile of charred debris and the absence of snow that seemed to cover

everything else.


Fighting away the urge to stand and stare, to cry out for her father, Rachias forced herself

into a full run, not bothering to stop until the moment that she was practically on top of

the burnt remains of the cottage, blanket strewn aside like nothing more than trash. She

could feel her legs shaking beneath her, threatening to send her to the ground, but despite

that she dug. Despite the bits of frayed wood and metal that cut at her hands and arms as

she tossed aside the pieces of her father's home, she dug. Bricks and wood and melted

plastic, all tossed aside in her frantic search, and then there it was.


A bone. Some sickening proof that someone had been in the cottage when it went up in flames.

Any strength that she had left was sucked from her body in and instant and the girl went

toppling forward, barely catching herself, sending bits and pieces flying as she hit the

rubble. She wanted to sob and cry and scream for him but her breath was gone, her voice was

nothing, and her head told her it would do no good. She saw them then, beneath a charred

plank of wood. A pair of skulls, or what was left of them. Confusion and anger and sadness

filled her all at one time and in that moment she had no doubts that her father had perished

in the fire.


Finally, Rachias pushed herself from the ground, pulling her legs around beneath her to sit

in the middle of the burnt down cottage. Despite the dampness of her fur, the thin trickles

of blood that ran from her arms and hands, and the wind that beat against her, she was numb

to the cold. Quiet, the girl breathed a warm puff of breath into the cold air and closed her

eyes.

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