Ava's Story

There was nothing special about the day that dawned, except for the fact that it was unusually cold, even for a winter's dawn. Ava woke, cool in her bed which oddly felt too big, but she lay there lethargically watching the way the watery light filtered through the blinds at her window. She blinked slowly, reluctantly dragging herself from sleep, as much as the few motes of sparkling dust rhythmically attempted to lull her back into unconsciousness. The drowsy chill was uncomfortable though, so at long last she roused herself, kicked back the bed covers and let her legs fall over the edge of her bed. One more gathered moment, and she stood, trudging sleepily to the window. It took her a moment to untangle the ties that controlled her blinds, brow furrowed slightly in concentration. Eventually she opened them, flooding her room with early morning sunlight.

Sunlight seeped in, almost as though reluctant to disturb the half asleep girl that tottered around her room. Ava spent a few moments, gazing at the street outside, and the field opposite her bedroom window, contemplating how she'd spend her day. It was a Saturday, so there was no school. Her nose wrinkled slightly as she thought about the studying she had to do though, discouraged further by the unpleasant chill that was starting to make it's way through to her bones. Despite the cold though, and the time, she could hear movement from within her little apartment. The casual bickering of her twin housemates was almost enough to make her smile. Regardless of the weather, that thing alone reminded her that it was just another Saturday.

There was a pause in the muffled arguing from the kitchen, and the smell of a cooked breakfast began to waft towards the young woman. Ava groaned, suddenly realising she was hungry. She placed a hand to the flat plateau of her stomach, feeling it rumble as though it was little more than a deep echoing pit. That decided it then. She'd start her day with whatever Yuri and Eiji had made. But first, she'd need more clothes than the shorts and tee that she wore to bed. Her steps had a little more spring to their step as she made her way to her dresser to pick out an outfit for the day.

As she got there, she paused, a small smile on her lips as she noticed the calendar that she'd hung on the wall. Grabbing a pen, she crossed off the date. It wasn't long now until her birthday. Ava smirked slightly, the familiar excitement for the day returning as she pulled on a pair of jeans. She'd never really done much for her birthday, but Eiji had accidentally let slip about the small party he and his sister had been planning for her. Her toes curled with excitement again. Restlessly, she hopped from foot to foot as she pulled a blouse over her head, more or less completing her outfit. Her stomach rumbled again as the sweet, alluring scent of cinnamon wafted towards her, and Ava all but ran for the kitchen.

She was caught by the sight of the library book that she instantly recognised as soon to be overdue, and her groan was one of dread this time. Grabbing the offending book, she left her room, now knowing she'd have to catch the bus into the main city to return it. "Dammit," she muttered to herself, closing her bedroom door behind her. Now she wouldn't get to enjoy her breakfast. Her bag was where she'd left it, on the kitchen counter, so she unceremoniously dropped her book into it. A bemused Eiji looked at her.

"Everything okay?"

The question was genuine, confused at Ava's foul expression. Yuri, however, was having none of it as she piled a plate full of cinnamon toast and shoved it towards her silently. Ava rolled her eyes in reply, but was almost distracted by the inconvenience of the book by the heavenly sight of the toast. Taking a piece, she put it in her mouth just as Yuri questioned what her plans were for the day. In answer, Ava continued to eat the sweet toast, pointing at the offending book in reply.

"Got to return this book... Catch you guys later though?" Ava tried to smile at them around her breakfast, even as she picked up another triangle of toast for the road. She cast a glance at her bag, checked her phone, keys and book were in there, then sent her housemates a resigned, mournful, goodbye glance. Looking out at the dismal weather again, Ava shrugged a coat on, threw her bag over one shoulder, and left.

The cold was the first thing to hit her. It was sharp, bitter, and biting. The ground underfoot was slippery in patches, as though it had iced over during the night and hadn't yet melted with the new day. Ava sighed, checked the time, and made her way to the bus stop, hands shoved unhappily deep into her pockets. A chill breeze blew at her, stirring her red hair, and making her eyes water. She tilted her head down, scowling at the floor and not even looking at the space in front of her as she walked towards it. Evelynn would return this library book even if it was the only thing she accomplished that day.

Ava had stopped at the bus stop, attempting to shelter from the sleet beneath a tree, not that it provided much cover as it's leaves drifted around her booted feet. She pushed her bright hair back, out of her face, eyes narrowing as she looked up and down the street. It was so quiet, not usual for this time of morning, but she supposed that the weather was keeping everyone in. She sent a wicked glare at her bag which held the book. She would much rather have stayed home and enjoyed a lazy morning and a warm breakfast. She could still smell the cinnamon. Sighing, she cast a glance up and down the street. There was only one other individual, but he or she was too far away. They were merely a dark silhouette against the white of the day.

That was when she saw the bus, sighing with relief. Eager to get out of the weather, she found herself stepping forwards a little too quickly, a little too uncertainly. One heel slipped on the ground, and as everything slowed down, she belatedly realised that the ice was causing havoc on the bus's tires too. It's headlights glared at her, drawing closer too fast, faster than she could even think to move out of the way.

The moment ended quickly. Her breath held, there was suddenly a dark mass in front of her, pressing her back out of the way and all she could do was allow whatever it was to carry her back. Whoever it was gripped her tightly, almost so it hurt, and she was held tight against their body. For a moment, Ava forgot to breathe as the bus slid past them, landing against the tree she had been sheltering under just a moment ago with a crash that shattered the snow-filled silence of the morning. The quiet returned then, and Ava suddenly realised she had been holding her breath.

Head spinning, she let it go, taking stock of her situation. She was pressed tightly against a man, his arm and his body protecting her from the bus and the spray of snow so that not a drop had landed upon her. She shivered nonetheless, wondering where she'd be now without him. She released her breath, and drew in another, deliberate and slow, and suddenly all of her senses were filled with him. His scent, the blackness of of his clothing and how his chest felt beneath the layers of too rough clothing beneath her ungloved hands. Reality slipped. For a second, all she could see were two bodies. She could hear music, of a type she'd never heard before, and two people, both eerily familiar moving sublimely in time with the heady thickness of the music.

"You'll be fine."

His voice almost echoed, but it grounded her. Catching and gathering herself one last time, she extracted herself from his embrace, and frowned. Blinking blearily, she looked at the bus, then at the snow-drenched man in front of her. Flushed, her hair wild, she parted her lips as though to speak. When no words came out, she closed her mouth, and tried again.

"I... Thank you," she uttered softly, frowning a little. "I'm not really sure what happened there... Do I know you?"

Pulling his eyes away from her, he closed his as he pulled out a piece of softly roped string. Sliding it through the back of his neck and under his hair, only to lift it all and tie it back. It took a few wraps of the string, but it was soon tightly secured, probably making him look the part even more. Snow slid from his hair as he ran his fingers through the tail to whack it off. He would have worried about his ears, but it had seemed he'd forgot the fact as to why his hair was down in the first place. He could always do human form, but it was too much effort. Then there was also the fact he didn't like humans, only one was an exception.

"I...thank you" She began but seemed unsure while frowned. "I'm not really sure what happened there... Do I know you?"

Opening his eyes one again to stare at her, this time his hands tucked into his sleeves. "One needs to know someone to stop snow from splashing the other." It wasn't a question, it seemed more like he was taking note of that. Straightening his shoulders he glanced over his right shoulder in the direction across the road as if searching. "Do I know you?" After a moment of quiet he finally repeated her question. Slowly he exhaled after taking in a long inhale, but it wasn't like a human, you couldn't see hot air circle around him like you would others. He glanced down at her in her direction. "Not in this life time." One would think that to be an insult, but he didn't say more or correct his tone he said it in.

"I could take those, it's on my way." He reached out and flicked her back that revealed a book's edge. "It's not safe for you." He took a step forward as he moved his hand to her elbow, guiding her off the ice that he now stood on with no problem, you think his foot wear would for sure make him slip, but he stood on the ice as if it were rock ground.

Close to her once again, but this time, his hand didn't pull back, seeming to forget it was even on her. The act was natural to him, it was a sign of protection, something he had always done. Even if the protection was a minor thing, he wouldn't even want her to get a scratch, his greed wanted all of her safe. Again he took a step closer, almost touching her body with his. He had acted as he if wanted to say something, but no words came out of his closed lips, but his eyes said it all.

Just then the sound of a small howl like scream broke through the cold wind, almost blinding in with the sound. It was as if he were being called. This caused him to let go and pull back, letting reality hit him again. "I have to go, just don't go out in this weather." His voice was almost like a pleading warning as he looked her straight in the eyes.

Ava watched as the stranger tied back his hair, still a little shaken from her almost-fall. It wasn't until his hands dropped back down that some small part of her noticed the odd shape of his ears, though it was a thought she set aside instantly. Compared to how her morning had gone so far, it was the smallest most insignificant detail. She looked up as snow began to spiral down, barely feeling the first flakes starting to settle on her lashes. It was just another bizarre element of the day.

"One needs to know someone to stop snow from splashing the other."

She frowned up at him, and it took her a few moments to process his words. Did he mean to imply that they did know each other? And what was he looking for? She felt dazed, unfocused, like an individual snow flake in the flurry that was starting to dust the crown of her head. She rose a hand to brush it off. "Do I know you?" Ava had to wonder at the direction his gaze took, the lost, wondrous tone of his voice. He seemed just as certain as she felt, that is to say, not at all. It made her smile slightly, just the corner of her lips. They shared that, then, at least.

"Not in this lifetime"

What was that supposed to mean? Ava frowned, but the question grounded her again. His tone was rude, but the words gave her a distinct sense of deja vu that distanced her from whatever the man meant by the words. She shrugged, inwardly.

His next words, when they came accompanied by his hands, went almost unheard. Ava stepped back, letting the man guide her back away from the ice with his lithe agility. His grip on her was gently possessive, and she found she had to tilt her head up to meet his gaze. They were stood so close, close enough that were she to take a breath, their bodies' would brush just slightly. She exhaled softly, but she had remained herself enough that when he offered to take her book for her, she refused.

"No... No, it's okay. I'll do it myself. Thank you, though, for the offer."

She smiled up at him warmly, though it faded to a more questioning expression as she read the desire in his eyes. Her breath caught again. What did this man want from her? She didn't step away though, until a sharp sound shattered the delicate silence between them. She stepped back, careful not to slip again, and clutched her book to her chest.

"I have to go, just don't go out in this weather."

"Sure, okay. Thanks again, anyway. See you around, maybe."

Ava nodded slightly, and extracted herself from his vicinity. Her brain told her body to take another step, but her body didn't move. She had to close her eyes to turn away, and when she did, it was suddenly easy. She started to walk away, her boots loud on the icy ground. If the bus wasn't functioning, she'd walk to return her book. Not that she would tell this stranger, because for all it looked like, she walked back in the direction of her house, and the further she strode, the more herself she felt.

He bowed his head slightly, also pulling his eyes away. Once she was out of sight a gust of wind swirled around Saito's body. After the gust faded, a beautiful white fox with two tails had appeared on his shoulders. She had blue fancy markings on her face that lit up in a slight glow and he eyes to match.

"You smell of human. Were you eating? I thought humans wasn't to your liking?" The fox's voice was slow and sounded like echos of spirit's soul. "It is odd seeing you in this realm, it's been centuries my dear old friend."

Saito reached up and slid his long white fingers through the fox's short white fur. "She has returned Yukina, but she's different this time around... I could feel it. I was nothing ore than a stranger." His eyes had become dark, full of anger and sorrow.

"Hm, perhaps my dear friend, she just needs to be awakened like all the other times."

"If anything, I want to avoid it. The less she is apart of our world the better."

"You speak as if she isn't apart of us Saito." Yukina arose from his shoulders only to glide in the air before him, to look him straight in the eyes. "She is fated by the soul to you. She is apart of this world and of ours. We both know she isn't like any other human and she will remember sooner or later. Then there is the point, you couldn't be less fated to her as well."

The look in his eyes changed into pain and almost suffering. As much as Yukina was right, he didn't want that. Even if this time he had to kill himself to prevent it, he would.

Yukina hissed at Saito. "Don't be stupid! You might be Greed, but to take your own life won't make anything better. If you were to die, your siblings would ruin us all. You know just as much as I that you are the line that keeps them from destroying everything!" Yukina's markings started to fade from blue, purple and into a bright red of anger. The clouds even began to quiver into a dark gray. "You need to fix things! Her time is almost up and you need to stop wasting it by fighting yourself. You already know what would happen, you've been there several times. Fix it and it would be over and you'd only have to go through this pain countless more times... Are you not tired yet, Saito?"

With that, Yukina left Saito under the dark clouds that had begun to snow. If he already had troubles with the Snow Spirit, who's to say he could fix anything? Looking down at his wet clothing he sighed. It was the time he had probably cleaned up and looked the part, then figure her out from a distance. Perhaps it was time to change things. He hadn't noticed how much the Fox was right until now.

---

Time had passed and he had done just that. Cleaned himself up and made sure to watch her from afar. The more he followed her unseen the more her scent covered the area. It had been a long time since he had felt at peace. It was nearly pathetic that a scent alone would make him feel that way. It also had a poor side affect to his fingers. They tingled with the lingering touch left over from earlier when he had touched her. It was almost annoying of how weak he had become in this moment.

Ava's day improved drastically from there, and she soon set the bus accident and the not-quite-stranger from her mind. Walking via her house to grab a coat, she'd soon been offered the twins' company. Accepting gratefully, she'd laughed a lot more as they walked to the library as a trio. The walk hadn't taken them too long, and they'd made short work of returning the book that had started it all off. Yuri had made a small joke about the quality of some of the literature in the library, which had set them all giggling quietly.

Leaving the library, the snow had begun to fall heavier. It swirled around, whistling, almost aggressively through her hair and she'd gasped as the cold hit her sharp and quick. The twins had reacted similarly, instinctively stepping towards each other.

"It's so cold!" Ava had gasped, shouting over the spontaneously violent weather. She had begun to shiver, feeling the cold deep. Wrapping her arms around herself, she looked at her friends, and then around. Everything was a haze of white, the snow darkening the previously bright sky ominously so that everything the sun's light touched had an eerie, watery glow to it. All, that is, except for the orange neon blur across the road. Ava couldn't read what the words said, but she gestured to it with one pale hand and, as one, Eiji and Yuri had nodded. Together, they held hands to cross the road, stumbling through the tinkling door of a quiet coffee shop.

The three looked at each other, noting the white that adorned their coats and eyelashes, eyes bright with the quick thrill the lashing winds had brought to them. They shared a moment of silence, then burst into laughter, relieved to be in the comparatively warm shop. Smiling, Ava led the way to the counter.

"The snow is unbelievable today. It's so cold!" She repeated numbly, pausing to direct her words to the green-haired woman behind the counter, and pass over enough money to pay for a hot chocolate. The others agreed, paid, and then they mutually agreed on a set of chairs by the front window of the coffee shop. Ava gratefully sank into the warm couch. She sighed softly, and cast her gaze out of the window, barely listening to the random chatter between the two twins. The silhouette of a streetlight belatedly reminded her of the man she'd met earlier. She blinked, and turned back to them as their drinks were placed on the table between the three of them.

"I almost slipped in front of a bus," she told them out of the blue, adding quickly to quell their worries, "There was someone there though. I mean, he made sure I was fine"

"No! Who?"

Inundated with questions, Evelynn couldn't help but laugh at the incredulity of her friends. Surely it wasn't that much of a big deal? She Ava filled them in with the details, waving her hand to disregard their worries. Yes, she was okay. No, she wasn't hurt. No, she hadn't fallen. No, she didn't know who the man had been. That had caused her pause, still uncertain as to why he was so familiar.

Sighing, she took a sip from her drink. Her hands shook slightly, filled with the cold, and she lapsed once more into another daydream. The background music changed, hauntingly familiar, and she warmed her hands on the ceramic of the cup.

Her whole body began to warm, but there was a slight breeze on her neck. It came and went, rhythmically, not quite in time with the music, but it took her a few moments to realise because her whole body was meltingly warm, as though she'd woken wrapped in a toasty cocoon of blankets on a cold morning. She smiled, without realising. A slight pressure on her hands, around her waist, and the top of her back. The breath on her neck. Belatedly, she realised the warmth was coming not from just her hands, but from behind her, where a tall man all in black held her securely against his chest. Sighing contentedly, she turned to look up, just as the shrill screech of a phone reminded her of the coffee shop.

Ava snapped out of her daydream, almost dropping her drink which was now lukewarm. Looking around for the source of the noise, heart pounding, she watched as Yuri answered her phone. She felt shaken, pale. Had she really fallen asleep?

"Hello? Yes, she's speaking... No, he's my brother... Okay... Yes... Sure... What? No!... Of course... We'll be there... We're going now..."

Yuri looked up, trembling, her phone unceremoniously clenched in her hands.

"It's mom. It's our mom. Eiji, oh my god, she fell again. They say they hit her head"

Ava frowned, reaching across the table to take her friend's hand. Moments later, they'd gone, Eiji and Yuri, to find their shared mother refusing Ava's company as she wouldn't' be allowed in to see her anyway. Shaking slightly, Ava finished her drink, then sat back to take in the weirdness of the day.