Neris leaned against Ocieros' other arm as he ate, her cold body draining whatever heat was there. Once Carmine was gone, he put his arm around her and pulled her closer, rubbing her side, ribs and all, for more warmth. She curled up and rested her head on his chest and shivered. "Red's coming soon, isn't it?" she asked, trying to see if that book was indeed a present. At least there was someone in this family who'd look at her and just see her. The others... they didn't mistreat her or anything, but acted as if she were a ghost. She learned early on that silence and a little bit of acting (mostly ignorance) went a long way, but she hadn't learned to reach out. Nobody did it to her, after all, so aside from books, there was nobody to teach her. Now that she thought about it, she never spoke more than a full sentence in a day when Ocieros wasn't home, and that was when she was lucky. So when Ocieros came back from his first war, she did the exact same to him, only for him to talk to her. She never really thought about why... it didn't matter back then. She tilted her head. What would life be like if Ocieros wasn't around? Never born, or just died in a war... She turned her head away. Don't think about it.<br/><br/>He nodded.<br/><br/>She blinked. "I'm really late then," she commented. Almost fifteen and nothing to show for it. No thanks to Carmine. Neris vaguely remembered a night in the middle of Black where she was shivering and sleeping, but waking periodically, in the other room (otherwise Carmine wouldn't sleep). It was either a really cold Black that year, or the hunger had finally caught up to her. Either way, she was shivering a lot more than usual and was also sniffling before Carmine finally came over to give her another blanket, telling her something akin to<i>If you're not around, Ocieros won't come home</i>. The next day, instead of neglecting her, Carmine gave her a little bit of gruel to eat. Just enough to coat her stomach. She didn't dare ask for more. And that's how they passed the rest of the days waiting for Ocieros to come home from war again.<br/><br/>She never told Ocieros.<br/><br/>Just thinking about that made Neris shake harder. Ocieros paused, frowned and pulled a blanket over her. He nodded again, trying to offer her some roast. Neris finally took it, but she just nibbled at it. The juice was good, but her stomach twisted in on itself as the meat hit her tongue. She never liked meat. The texture always unsettled her. She didn't know why, but she still ate it, more for Ocieros than anything.<br/><br/>They sat there for a good moment, the silence just getting louder.<br/><br/>Ocieros was about to get up when... "Do you know why?" She suddenly asked, wondering what he thought.