I had found him buried under the snow. A boy from a distant dream.
I don't know what brought me to Mt. Silver. Besides, I hated travelling. But I felt something—a calling, something aching in my heart that needed to be there, something echoing in the depths of my very soul.
In case you haven't met me, I'm Citrine. The half-moth girl. The sometimes-I'm-more-mothlike-kind-of-but-I-can't-explain-it type of girl. Though I can explain it; I'll explain it later.
So, I was wandering around the mountain. The wind howled, and the snow fell thick. It was the first time I've ever seen snow before... and I imagined it would be soft and fluffy.
Not like this. It was hard. And cold. SO COLD.
However, I kept walking, kept trudging through the snow, and kept fighting the urge to turn back. But I couldn't... because I had a feeling throughout my mind that this would have something to do with a destiny I couldn't even begin to imagine.
Why'd I even come here in the first place? I thought to myself, annoyed. It's cold and dull and too snowy. As if I'm here to fight Red, for heaven's sake.
"Yeah, right... I don't—" I murmured to myself. But then...
I paused. Because.
..
I saw... something. Something that made me feel faint.
Something that made my heart skip a beat, and not in a good way.
Something that made me shiver all over.
There was a hand reaching out of the snow! And it was the strangest hand I've ever seen. Because it was... blue! And stained with a bit of red.
I thought my heart would stop. Was it... blood? Was there someone injured, buried underneath the snow?!
"HANG IN THERE!" I shouted in panic as I realised the situation.
I then started to change... I had morphed into my more mothlike form. I now had fur, claws, and was a bit smaller, but I was fast. And stronger. Fast with panic, fast with a newfound purpose, as I pulled him from the snow's cold embrace.
And... he was dead.
Or... was he? Because I could've sworn I heard breathing...
He appeared to be missing an arm and a leg, and looked like he had a chest wound. He was wearing a faded red jumper and shorts (who in his right mind would wear shorts in this cold weather?).
He had a fringe that covered one of his eyes, so I leaned a bit closer to have a look—and it was missing.
I now fully doubted that he was alive. I was probably imagining that he was breathing.
Suddenly, I heard a shuddering gasp. My eyes widened.
He was alive! But in such bad shape...
I quickly changed forms again so I looked more human. Wouldn't want to freak out a boy.
The boy, who looked about 19, opened his remaining eye to look at me.
And then, in a voice that seemed like it wasn't used in a while, murmured, "I heard a voice. But I didn't believe it... I still don't. I didn't think anyone would find me, after..."
I opened my mouth but no sound came out. I just looked at him in shock and silence for a few minutes until, in a small voice, I spoke up.
How could he be alive? It was impossible. He looked so cold. And he was blue!
"Who are you?" I asked, feeling incredulous.
He tried to get up, but the pain wouldn't let him, so without thinking, I helped him up, letting him lean on me, even though he was older than me and heavier.
And I unwrapped the dark red scarf around my neck and wrapped it around his.
"Thank you... I'm... Gol—I mean... Blake," he muttered, and he sounded a little surprised because I gave him my scarf.
He almost said another name that I knew, but I refused to believe he was Gold.
"Oh... Blake, I'm Citrine."
"...that's a nice name."
Without a second thought, I blurted, "How are you alive? Aren't you in pain? Aren't you..." I couldn't bring myself to say the horrible word.
He smiled sadly. "Half of what you were about to say."
"Oh... I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. How did you... find me?"
So I told Blake everything. About my dreams, about the aching, the calling in my heart that told me I needed to go to Mt. Silver.
And I told him about how I then saw his hand reaching out from the snow
.
I didn't tell him the part about my other form.
Though…
he listened.
And then, after he listened to my story, he told me his.