Chase sighed. It was hard not to feel distant and aloof when the location one was in matched that description, as well. The entrance to the mine was closed; no one mined in the winter, and besides, it was dangerous. Not that it was a popular hangout even in-season, anyways. Somehow, he had managed to wander past the sparse forest, into the small patch of trees and snow. There was a hot spring not far away, but the thought of stripping down, even to settle in the steam, nearly killed him.


The boy shivered as he rubbed gloved hands quickly over his arms, trying to generate heat. It was freezing cold. But something compelled him to stay put.

Kitty was shivering, but attempted to come to the mines anyway despite her hate for winter. It seemed even more cold, but she was in search for minerals for her store and she couldn't find any good ones on Waffle Island. That is why she took the long trip to get here and to her enjoyment it was wasted because the mines were closed. To her dissapointment Kitty headed down past the sparse forest making her way home. Then something stood out from the dead frozen earth, it was a guy just standing there. As Kitty walked by him he was just rubbing himself together, making her say, "Why in the world are you just standing there?"

Chase blinked. "What are you doing out here?" he blurted out. "It's, like, five degrees outside." He stamped his feet, sending a cloud of snow into the air. "And, to answer your question, I'm not doing anything. Just standing here." He paused. "Don't you- oh, wait. That's right. I gave you the day off." He smiled quickly at the girl, and then added, "How are you, Dylan?"

"Dylan?" Kitty questioned with an angered tone in her voice. "Who in the world is Dylan? I'm Kitty." She crossed her arms wondering what was wrong with this guy. Perhaps he had been standing too long in the cold and he was hallucinating or something like that. It was strange for someone to mistake her for someone, even someone she hadn't met yet too. "Do I even look like a Dylan?"

[BRAINDEAD. Sorry, Kitty. xD]


Chase squinted a bit. "Oh!" He exclaimed. "I'm sorry. It's hard to see with the snow falling." He motioned at the flakes fluttering down, landing in his hair and coating his shoulders. "Sorry 'bout that. How are you, Kitty?" He grinned as he emphasized the last word. "And my question still stands--what are you doing out here?"

[It's okay. It makes an intresting start.]

The guy apologized for what he did, so Kitty guessed it would be okay to forgive him this once. She uncrossed her arms and held them out watching the snow slowly pile up in her hands. Swiftly she shook them clean and decided to reply to his questions. "Just peachy," she said a little less angry, but she was still bugged by the mines. "I was going to look for some minerals for my forge, but the mine is closed." She let out a deep sigh with her breath showing in the air, just the site of it made her shiver. She smiled back at him, but it felt weird because she had never met him before. "How about you ummm...? What's your name?"

Chase let his hands fall to his sides. "I'm sorry," he said smoothly, walking over to her and extending his hand. "I thought we'd met. I must've heard your name somewhere. I'm Chase. I own the general store in this town." With his free hand, he brushed some loose powder off of his jeans, and he thought. Somewhere in town, he had overheard whispers of some medical problem that Kitty had...but he couldn't remember what it was. Anemia? Narcolepsy? It would be rude of him to ask, and besides, she seemed to be functioning perfectly well. He shrugged it off and waited for the girl to accept his handshake.

He apologized again, but this time he didn't have to. "People gossip about me?" Kitty asked raising a brow. The whole senerio was weird for Kitty, nothing like this had happened in a while to put her in such a conundrum. Chase extended his hand towards Kitty and at first she had difficulties shaking it, afterall no one she met so far would do such a formal gesture as this. Perhaps the guy had manners and knew how to use them correctly. Neitherless she shook his hand for a brief moment. "I live on Waffle Island and, well as you should know by now I own a forge, or a smithery, or whatever you want to call it."

He grinned quickly. "Why is that so hard to believe?" he asked, curious. "Both this town and the one you live in are small. People talk." He shrugged dismissively. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, anyways." He smiled quickly, apologetically. "By any means, Kitty, it's nice to meet you." He released her hand and immediately stuffed both of his fists into his pockets, where he found little warmth. "You own a forge? That's interesting," he mused, making conversation at that point, uncomfortable though he was.

Kitty hated standing out in the cold this long and couldn't hardly stand it. By the time she got back to Waffle Island she'd make a fire and warm up by it and not leave her house for a day or two. "Yeah, it's a nice little place," Kitty said rubbing her hands together to create friction. Before long her teeth would probably chatter. Naturally annoyed by the weather Kitty did what she'd normally do. Complain about it. "Uhhh...," she said now rubbing her arms. "It's so cold! I can't stand it! I feel like I'm gonna turn into a popsickle stick."