Bittersweet (WIP)
Lynx and a Snow leopard caught up in a storm become more than strangers...
The forbidding winter wind tore at the vigor of whoever was trapped in its breadth, chilling them to the bone and leaving them but a shell of who they were. Anyone enthralled in the wind and snow was faced with the challenge of getting out or getting to shelter. An unlucky feline happened to be caught in such harsh weather, knowing of the consequences of extending his stay. He trudged through the snow, the extreme weather incapacitating his natural briskness. Seeing what he thought to be a shelter, turned out to be nothing more than a haphazardly laid pile of logs. The chilled lynx deciding to muster whatever strength he had and make a small opening in the logs in which he could somewhat shelter himself. Curling up into a ball and holding himself for warmth, he waited.
The other feline nearby was in a strikingly contrasting position, lounging by a slowly dying fire, relaxing and letting the day melt away. The decision was made by the feline to keep his little fire going for a while more, noticing he was out of wood, he fetched his snow gear (Even snow leopards need some sort of warm clothing for this weather), and headed out into the bitter wind. Upon arriving at his wood pile, he took a small log out and set it down beside him, noticing the pile was a little unorganized, he decided to arrange the logs as he should have done a while ago. He suggested to himself that he just knock it all over and put it back up in its arrangement, proceeding to just that. He gave a couple of lower logs a kick and most of it fell down, he began to pick up logs and stack them. He noticed the brown fur of an animal upon picking up a log that happened to have fallen on top of the animal, he moved the other logs off and turned the figure over, he was completely unresponsive but breathing. The leopard began to drag the furred figure to his house, arriving at the cozy cottage, he put the lynx, as he now saw, by the fire in an attempt to warm him. He realized the fire was still in need of wood, so he rushed back to his pile and brought back 2 of the dryer logs, throwing both in the fire and waiting for them to ignite and revive the dying flame. Seeing that the lynx had no warm clothing and is not as suited for the climate as he was, he went to retrieve some blankets, enveloping the lynx in warmth.
The lynx woke up to the sharp pain of pins and needles in all his limbs, soon followed by warmth, his first thought, a question of if he had died. He tried to move his fingers and got results of little success, until he finally managed to move one of his digits, wiggling it and then moving on to the others. He had all fingers in control and moved on to his hand, soon able to move it as well. He continued until he could move his arms and legs. Attempting to speak he parted his lips, but failed to make a sound, he gave up and let himself bathe in warmth, quickly losing the pins and needles. He found that it was hard to stay awake, and gave in to the welcoming darkness.
Heat resonated off the ceramic mug the snow leopard was holding, it was filled with warm tea and was to be given to the sleeping lynx. The leopard set the mug on a table near the fire, slowly setting the mug down on a small coaster. The snow leopard's ears twitched as he heard a quiet dinging sound, he turned towards the, still sleeping lynx, and saw he had not been disturbed by it. He walked back to the kitchen to get another cup of tea, this one for himself. He filled it with hot water and placed a tea-bag in it, holding the string of the bag to the rim of his cup. Then he took a spot by the fire, as he was getting a bit cold himself, the soft radiating glow from the fire gave the room a warm and comfortable ambiance, as the leopard had wanted it to when he had it built. He let out a quiet sigh and sipped at his tea idly and occasionally looking at the lynx, watching him as he slept, though not to be a creeper, just to see if he was going to wake up soon. When it came apparent that the lynx was out cold, he stood up, and walked into his bedroom, set his almost empty mug on his bedside table, and flicked off his small lamp. He laid in the bed with his arms above his head, and stretched a little, letting out a small and quiet squeak. Once he had finished his small stretch, he closed his eyes and let his arms fall down to where they were most comfortable, at his side. He rolled onto one side and kept like that, as if he was waiting for someone, though he didn't have a mate, or anything of the sort. He sighed, this time with a hint of frustration, maybe loneliness, though that's something he was used to. His thoughts shifted towards the lynx a couple of meters away, dismissing most of the things that came to his head, as they were things the lynx would have to agree to. He sighed again and cleared his mind, as this helped him to fall asleep, and it did, seeing that he was now out like a light.
The lynx woke with hazy memories of what had occurred. He saw blurred visions of the storm, being carried into the cabin he's now in, and sitting by the fire. He slowly stood up and stretched, but winces in pain before he could even get up, he puts a paw on his forehead and grimaces. His head throbbed from a terrible headache, he can't really do anything about it right now, since he doesn't know where the medicine cabinet might be, or if his host would mind him going through his stuff/house. He frowns and settles back in his blanket pile, falling asleep soon thereafter. He wakes again about an hour or two later, sunlight cutting through the snow to fall on the hard wood floor that surrounded the fireplace and flooded into most of the house. His headache had regressed to a dull oscillating pain, thankfully. He groaned as he tried to get up, still just as immobile as he was earlier. But he had at least regained his ability to form complete thoughts, which now filled his head. Things such as 'Where the FUCK am I?', 'Who's house is this?', and 'How long was I out?'. Questions he of course did not know the answer to, but he had hoped to find out soon, because as he is now, he is just as much in the dark as he was when he was sleeping. Thankfully for him, his host was now awake.
The leopard rolls over under his sheets, grumbling and rubbing his eyes, starting the day today as he starts the day almost every day. He puts his feet on the ground and thrusts his blanket robe off of him, and welcomes the day with a little stretch. He yawns and lazily walks into his kitchen, not much he wanted for breakfast, cereal will do for today. He grabs a bowl and sets it on his kitchen table, but in doing so, notices his houseguest has awoken, and is sitting on the couch opposite the fireplace. The lynx's ears had perked up when he heard the cabinet open, and he turned around to see the snow leopard setting his bowl down. They lock eyes and someone has to break the silence, "Well, welcome to my cabin." The snow leopard begins to introduce himself, "I'm Gale, if you were wondering." The lynx nods and introduces himself, "I'm Arrak, and thank you for, well... saving me I guess. I'd be pretty upset if I died." The leopard smiles and nods, "No problem, just a little bit of my time and I saved someone's life, it feels pretty good." The leopard finishes getting his breakfast out and offers Arrak some cereal, which he declines stating "I'm not hungry, thank you."