Barbara
>>*Cold. She was always cold. Lumi didn't hate the cold nor did she love it. It more so had to do with her strange condition. Her feet trudged through the powdery snow... Her ears twitching with every crunching sound made from her crushing the snowflakes. She had managed to get herself lost again, and to no surprise her winter ball wasn't exactly helping.* 

*Lumi held up the glowing orb, a map made of ice magic encircled her. She paused for a moment to survey her surroundings for the hundredth time, yet to no surprise, it made absolutely no sense to her. ~I could've sworn I was just there...~ she thought to herself. She huffs and furrows her brows. She was definitely not interested in another round of hide and seek with herself.* 

*She clutched her tails as she always did when she was nervous. Her frostbitten hands curled around the soft fluff of her large tail. It looked like a cloud if you stared at it long enough. Oh how she adored her tails. Such soft comfy pillows, meant to give her warmth and she thought they added to her looks.* 

*Lumi was a small figure. Her hair was fluffy soft and white... Something that framed her face nicely, and covering the lavender coloured stripes along her cheeks. Her cheeks, which were a soft rose colour... Against her gentle pale almost snow white skin. It sparkled like the snow, and she was never too fond of that. She kept one of her tails around her shoulders like a scarf, to regulate her temperature. Did it work? No. But it was one hell of a fashion statement. Her small size seemed to be that of an ant compared to the large trees and mountains that surrounded her... How uncomfy.*

>>*Beginning to feel her temperature drop, Lumi's ears lowered and almost pinned to her head. She let out a soft whimper as she began to look for shelter. Of course in a landscape like this, there wasn't much she could do. Lumi waddled over to the area with the most coverage, settled into the snow, and revealed all nine of her tails to wrap herself in a cozy cocoon. Now all she had to do was stay put while her temperature went back to normal. Her nose gained a little bit of frost on the tip, and her eyelashes as well. She sneezed a little bit of frosty mist before whimpering and closing her eyes. Just a little longer...*
Fred
*Meras bowed his head against the bitterly cold winds, cursing the innkeep who had said to head to Hearthstead for news of corsairs. He never would have come here had he known he'd have to trek through the blasted Khalvirs to get there. The merchant convoy was waiting on the banks of the river, hoping the storm would pass, but he couldn't afford to wait it out. His Oath compelled him to seek out all corsairs and pirates, and any other evils he was informed of, and destroy them. It drove him like the icy gales drove the icy snow around him.

He glanced up, his sputtering torch barely casting any light. It had grown colder, and he needed to find some kind of shelter. At least the trees were numerous enough he could tel he was still on the path, turning back whenever the forest grew thick. The wind howled, and before long, Meras knew he wouldn't survive the night if he didn't find shelter. He began to scan the surroundings, hoping for a hunter's cabin, or perhaps a fallen log he could shelter behind until morning, when he spied... A patch of greyish-silver fur against a fallen tree. With no idea what it was, he angled his horse and approached, gripping his sword tightly in case it was a wild animal. It looked strangely warm, the snow having melted back a bit from the edges. As he jumped down, the bundle stirred, and he found himself face to face with a silver and lilac kitsune, with bright purple eyes starting quizzically at him.* 

"Hello?"
Barbara
>>*The cold air blew through her ears and she simply couldn't stop wiggling them. The sound of it was like something that was hollow, and it bothered her. She felt herself get colder with time, and she was slightly concerned as to why her tails weren't really doing their job.* 

*She tightens all nine of them around herself, and surveys the area. It was so quiet. So... Dead. There was nothing here but herself and her thoughts. At least, that was until she saw a figure approaching. Her heart skipped a beat at the sudden realization that she wasn't alone... And it wasn't the good kind of realization. She tensed up and tried to cover herself as much as possible, in hopes that he didn't see her.* 

*Lumi's fur colour was typically a pure white... But her tails did tend to give her away with the extra hints of lilac and silver. Her ears were by far the worst, as the outer fur was black. Then suddenly she came face to face with the man. She looked up at him with a slight worry, yet a slight curiosity in her eyes.* 

*He was a large man... He towered over her and she could only imagine how he would tower over her while she was standing. She took a second to survey him, before ultimately deciding he was a threat, and her large ears pinned to her head. She backs into the tree, and seemed to be trying to bury herself. "Hello?" He said. That startled her, but she stopped her shenanigans and froze, looking up at him. Her voice was soft yet worrisome as she spoke:* 

"Please don't hurt me-"
Fred
*The snow and wind bit sharply against his face as the Kitsune shrank back, ears pinned, and begged for mercy.* "Fear not, fox, for I wish you no harm. I only sought to seek shelter, as it appears you have. Perhaps I may share this windbreak with you, and with a little luck, start a fire?"

*Meras turned to his horse and fetched a large piece of sailcloth, and some rope. He walked over to the fallen tree and using the large copper rings at the edge of the fabric, lashed it tightly. He used his sword to hack a forked branch off a nearby tree and propped the cloth up in the middle before tying the corners fast and creating a small shelter. Then, he fetched flint and tinder, and breaking small pieces of wood off the tree, made a small pile. 

Meras whispered a small prayer to his God, asking for grace to guide his hands. He struck the flint against the steel rod, and bright sparks flew and caught in some dried moss, beginning to smoulder. He leaned close and blew, the embers bursting into flame, and carefully fed it sticks of increasing size until a bright, warm blaze lit up the driving snow. In the shelter of the log and cloth, the air was still and quickly warmed.* "Come, join me by the fire and warm yourself."
Barbara
>>*His words of reassurance seemed to only partially reach her, as she gave him a look of suspicion. She looked around as if there was anything for her to really look at... She's been walking in circles for hours. She could probably relay the terrain by heart now. However, even though she should be able to do that her memory was already failing her. Contradictory much. She was suddenly distracted by a rock. A very ordinary rock, but it was definitely a rock. Lumi narrowed her lavender eyes, examining it.* ~Has that always been there?~ *She thought to herself. It was just then that she had realized the stranger was talking to her.* 

*She turned her big eyes to him and scrunched her nose just a tiny bit as some snow flakes landed on her nose. He was quite large so looking up at him cause more snowflakes to land on her face. Before she could answer, she sneezed some frosty snow, and curled up again.* 

"Sorry..." *She said in a soft and small voice. It was clear she was still rather frightened by the man, however she didn't want him to freeze out here. That would simply be horrible. "You can stay for a bit if you'd like-" 

*She watched curiously as he collected his material, her head tilted to the side with one ear aiming higher than the other. As he began to work on the fire, the sparks startled her slightly and she shrunk back again. However, the beautiful dancing light that followed caused her eyes to widen and her pupils to dilate. She looked from the fire, then to him, and at his invitation which she heavily misinterpreted, scooted over to his side. Her body pressed against his and her tails went around his lower body, keeping them together. She was shivering just a bit, and as his body heat along with the fire warmed her, the frost along her body slowly thawed. Lumi let out soft delighted purrs in response*
Fred
*He had noticed the timid creature shrink back at the sparks. Poor thing has been heavily mistreated, he thought to himself. Her sudden fervour at his invitation therefore caught him off guard. He was opening his mouth in protest when her soft tails and fur insulated him from the cold and he began to feel his limbs again. Her purrs had her petite frame vibrating against him. Every curve was pressed into him.

He pulled his head up from where her ears tickled at his chin and surveyed their surroundings. The first glimmer of day was beginning to show to the east, and the wind seemed to be letting up, although thick flakes still fell from the sky. He threw another branch onto the fire and tried to extricate himself from the tails.* "Thank the gods I found you, or both of us may have frozen to death. I have plenty of rations on my horse, although they are nothing fancy. Can your species even eat human food, or do you need to hunt? I'm afraid I have no fresh meat."