Charlie’s eyes slowly cracked open as the man delicately began brushing some of the snow from his body. His eyes widened slightly as he recognized Valentin, and he opened his mouth to say something but his frail body was gripped in a violent coughing fit instead. He didn’t fuss or really move at all as the man carefully pulled him from the little corner that had very nearly become his grave, wrapping him up carefully in a blanket as he did so. This was one of the times where Charlie was grateful for his small stature, it certainly made the process of lifting him up and moving him about much more streamlined, even if his clothes were waterlogged. His body had given up on shivering to maintain warmth long ago, and his muscles had grown rigid and stiff as they began to freeze as a result of the bitter temperatures. The pain had long since subsided into numbness, but nearly as soon as the heat from the car hit him a burning sensation began to return to his skin. Despite how painful it was he welcomed the sensation, finding it quite a bit more comforting than feeling absolutely nothing.<br/><br/>Despite the man’s gentle, comforting words, Charlie wasn’t sure that he would be alright. Frostbite had set in on a variety of his extremities, though it wasn’t clear to him yet whether or not he would be losing any of said body parts. The thought of that alone was rather frightening, though it was nowhere near as frightening as the prospect of the horrific death that would have awaited him if Valentin hadn’t thought to come and fetch him. He’d fought for the entirety of his life to stay alive, despite his misery, because of the fact that the concept of death terrified him. It might not of, were he not attached to his lovely little parasite, but he was fairly certain of the fate that awaited him after death, and it would be even more torturous than the life he had lived thus far.<br/><br/>By the time they arrived at the house Charlie was fading in and out of consciousness, despite the pain that should have kept him fully alert. He didn’t remember Val lifting him out of the car, but the next thing he knew they were moving into the front doors of a rather large establishment of some sort; he assumed it was Valentin’s house, though he briefly wondered how much money a man had to have to afford a house of this size. His eyes were cracked halfway open for a few brief moments and he examined the front foyer with blurry and unfocused vision before he was dragged back into unconsciousness, his body slumping to the side against Valentin once again. When he came to again, it was to a new voice; the individual was clearly aged, and he had an accent that Charlie couldn’t quite place in his current state, he simply knew that it was rather pleasant, and that the man’s voice could easily lull him into sleep. He most likely would have drifted off again as well, if it weren’t for the fact that his clothes had been stripped, the heavy weight they were administering to his weak form finally being lifted. He hummed softly at the freeing sensation, and his body began to shiver lightly again as Val carefully wound a blanket about him, swaddling him like an infant.<br/><br/>He forced his eyes open slightly and lifted them carefully up onto Valentin as the man carefully drew him into his lap and finally settled in. Charlie let out a heavy sigh and he nodded slowly at the man’s question, resting his head carefully against his shoulder and nestling in as close as he possible could.<br/><br/>“I-It b-b-burns,” he whispered quite simply once he’d finally managed to find his voice again. His vocals were slurred and the words he spoke were barely recognizable, a clear sign of fairly severe hypothermia, though it was obvious that he would be suffering from such a condition after what he’d just been through. The entirety of his body now, save for his hands and feet, felt as though they were being submerged in a tub full of boiling hot water, despite the fact that he was still quite cold to the touch. The pain was growing to be less of a comfort and more of a disturbance as it increased in intensity. Despite the fact that the young man had been through Hell and had clearly experience a myriad of torturous situations in his life he still didn’t handle pain very well, and this sensation was no different from any other. His teeth began to chatter lightly and he pressed his filthy face a bit more firmly into Val’s shoulder in an attempt to stop the involuntary movement. As he did this he began attempting to push off the blanket that Valentin had wrapped him in, feeling as though he was burning up, against despite the fact that his body temperature was still frighteningly low.