*snap*

A branch cracked under Elena’s foot as she stopped to look at the beautiful scenery in front of her, somewhat lost. Dred was sitting on the edge of a cliff and in front of him was a huge valley, at least a thousand meters below them. Thick snow covered the bald trees and light gray clouds filtered the sun rays. Strange, though beautiful birds soared through the air and a mountain covered in snow stood on the other side of the valley where dark clouds were gathering.

“How come you are using your demon form, Dred?”

“...”

“You said you would use it when it was necessary.”

“It is, right now,” his deep, serious voice entered Elena’s ears, while he was still looking towards the valley. Dred heard the crackling of dried leaves and felt two knees touch his back.

“Woah... this height is beautiful yet dreadful.”

“I think so. It’s similar to what I feel now,” Dred replied with a chuckle.

“Even though you can fly?”

Turning around, Dred raised a brow, showing a surprised face. Kneeling down behind him, Elena crept closer to the edge and after taking her place beside Dred, she hung her legs over the edge.

“I can’t help but wonder if you just said this randomly or implied something and meant it metaphorically,” Dred pondered loudly, his hand under his chin.

Making a thoughtful face, Elena asked with a cheerful tone, “Who knows?!”

“You are so cruel…”

“Hehe, I can’t deny that.” After a short silence, Elena spoke again, “So? What is it that you wanted to tell me?”

“You know it already, don’t you? Why bother asking?”

“Because I could be wrong and I want to hear it from your mouth.” Turning to the left, Dred was met with Elena’s burning gaze.

“A-ah fine… don’t look at me like that or you will burn a hole into me.”

“Then say it already.”

“Easier said than done!” he grumbled upon hearing Elena’s demanding voice.

Finding his throat and mouth dry, his muscles stiff, he sighed loudly. Focusing on Elena’s eyes, he said, “I like you.” You averted your eyes. She must be unsure.

“Like or love?”

“Giving a question as a reply? I won’t say it before I see that you are truly ready. You seem to be lost at the moment,” Dred replied, gazing into the depths of her green eyes. Looking down, he saw her clenching her fists in her nervousness.

“Is that what you think? I think differently. I do like you but I can’t say that I-” she stopped speaking as she saw Dred’s hand moving towards her face and place his finger on her lips.

Leaning closer, he pushed his hand forward, touching her face, his fingers on the back of her head, and whispered into her ear, “Shh, don’t be like an immature little girl just because you are lost at what to think or feel. You aren’t like that.”

“No, I just-”

Grabbing her wrists, he pushed her on the ground, his knee between her legs. He said nothing and just looked into her eyes, which were darting around for a short time until stopping at his irises. “I appreciate honesty, Elena.”

“What do you want from me then?” her gentle voice echoed in Dred’s ears.

“Everything. I keep thinking how nice it would be if we felt the same way. I don’t know how cold it was last year, but this winter is definitely colder for me. You know, you just came in and took my whole world with you. So now… now I want to haunt you. I want to take your whole world too.”

“I want you to feel as if you were surrounded by snow but you couldn’t move alone. Not without me.” Resting his palm on her chest, he pulled back his head. “Your heart is beating so quickly.”

“...” Staying silent, she closed her eyes.

“I know that my words have serious weight, but I wanted you to know. I can see that you would accept me as a lover in your current mindset too, but I don’t want that. I don’t just want to be a lover. I want to be more to you.”

“More?” she whispered, feeling that Dred’s lips were maybe no more than a millimeter away from hers. As she opened her eyes for confirmation, she saw Dred’s burning gaze, which made her heart pound even quicker.

“Yes. I’ll carve out my home in you. But remember that I- I’ll always be your home,” he said in a gentle tone as he gave a small kiss on her forehead. Slowly pulling back his hand, he stood up and walked towards their small camp. “Take your time, I’ll be waiting,” his deep voice resounded in Elena’s ears.

Raising her head, she looked after him before falling back to the ground, her hair sprawled out under her head. A shiver ran through her body as she felt the cold of the ground slowly eat through her armor and cool her body. It’s so cold now. His hand was so warm, she thought, showing a melancholic face to the sky.

“Haah- you stupid cat. Why did you even change? Now you are playing with me…” she sighed out loud.

“And he left me here on the ground!” she snapped a random branch on the ground into two halves. “And he touched my chest too… though not in that way.”

Turning on her side, she remembered his words. “Don’t be like an immature little girl just because you are lost at what to think or feel.” Why did this have to come to my mind again…? I know that I’m liking him, but… ARGH! Screw you!

Sitting up, she put the tip of her finger on her cherry lips. “This bastard got me interested… and he called me manipulative.”

“Arsehole…” she muttered as she pulled up her knees. What should I do? I’ll just go back for now, though it’s definitely going to be awkward. But I’ll get by, as always. A few seconds later, she arrived at the camp, only to see her friends sitting silently.

“What’s going on?”

“That’s something I’d like to know as well. Dred told us that he would be waiting for you on the mountain at the other side of the valley. You surely know what kind of place he was talking about. But what happened?” Audrey questioned Elena, her tone showing her worry.

“Uhm, did he say anything else?”

“He said that you shouldn’t go unless you know what you want,” Jake raised his voice as he thought, she won’t tell us what happened, for now, that’s for sure… argh! Damned curiosity never dies!

Sighing loudly, Elena sat on the ground with a pouting face, He is pressuring me intentionally. He… he wants to control my emotions by giving me something and then taking it away. Oh boy, and this is turning me on… Wait, no. It should be the other way around! But fine, I’ll play along. Clenching her fists, she stood up and looked at her friends. “Let’s make a temporary base here. I need- I need some time if you don’t mind.”

“We can wait,” Audrey said with a gentle voice.

Smiling back, Elena nodded her head as she muttered a small 'thanks'.

“Let’s get to work!” she added cheerfully.

----

*crunch* *crunch*

Dred’s feet sank deep into the fresh, thick snow as he walked on the snow-covered mountain. Turning around, he saw the cliff where he sat not long ago. Looking up, he saw the black clouds and the falling snow.

“It’s really cold here. I should build a cabin, for now, there is a smaller forest anyway,” he muttered as he made his way towards the forest. With his monstrous strength, he easily pulled out the trees from the ground and cut thick planks from them with his claws. He created an outline of the cabin with Earth Magic and put the planks into the grooves he left in the earth walls. He used his Mana to compress the earth, clutching the planks and getting a cozy, small cabin as a result.

“Heh, why am I even doing this? I guess it’s better to do something than to just sit in an earth house…” he mumbled to himself. “I wonder... What will she think, what will she say? I hope that this distance will do good for her mind.” But so long as I’m beside her, she won’t be able to realize what kind of feelings she has for me.

With those thoughts, he got to work and used his magical power to create a cozy home for himself and maybe… his future lover. What will become of them? He couldn’t help but wonder.