I'm back! And no, before you say it, I'm not dead. Nor are any of my stories, except maybe Occupational Hazard... I've taken these last few months to just, well, relax. During the summer I worked, made a few bucks, that's about it. And now that I've got used to the whole 'school' thing again I'll be more active, hopefully. As you may have heard, I've been writing a Mass Effect/Dead Space crossover with a few buddies of mine. That's where most of my time has gone recently actually... But anyway, enough about me down below is a short-ish chapter 1 of a new story I've been thinking about for a while now. And what better time to upload it then now! Enjoy!

Sergals © Mick39

Writing and basically everything else © Me (mcdeno)

Winter's Warmth

-Chapter I-

Thomas let out a long breath, wiping the sweat from his brow. He’d been chopping wood for what seemed like such a short time, yet as he looked up he noticed the sun was already near setting. A stiff gust of cold air hit him, ruffling his raven black hair and making him shiver. It was just another reminder of why he was out here, winter was fast approaching which meant it was time for him to start stockpiling food, wood, and water.

Picking up an arm full of lumber and the axe in the other, he made his way back towards his cabin. It was a simple thing, his cabin, one room a fireplace and a shed outside for food and tools. A couple of his buddies help him build it a couple years back, and it's been his home ever since.

When he arrived at the shed he made sure to put the axe neatly inside, before promptly went off to stack the rest of the lumber. It was a relatively easy job, though it was still a tedious one.

The sun was just touching the horizon when Thomas finally finished his work for today. He would be out here again tomorrow, no doubt, chopping more wood. The possibly of hunting was there as well since his meat supply was low. He would also have to make a run to the nearest village to trade some long lasting food for winter.

Thomas gave a sign as he neared his door, this was the drawback of living off the land. He made his way over to the fireplace, taking hold of one of the many logs and tossing it in. Starting with his boots, he began to undress, it wasn't a long process since he would begin to sleep in most of his clothes anyway. He threw one last log on before he laid himself down on his bed where the toils of the day quickly caught up to him.

Thomas awoke to the sound of thunder and the steady pattern of rain hitting the roof. Lightning would occasionally strike, illuminating the small interior of his home.  He slowly made his way out of bed, casting a glance out the window as the wind and rain howled. Trying to determine the time was pointless, the heavy rain and dark clouds left the sky a listless gray. That at least told him it would be raining for a while longer.

“Guess I'm not hunting…” He sighed to himself.

Once dressed, he grabbed a pot, filled it about halfway with water and set it gently on the rack to boil.

Thomas patiently sat by the fire while the storm continued outside, it had calmed slightly but the rain still persisted. He was just about done cooking his pot of oatmeal when he heard a knock at his door.

He sat motionless for a second trying to think who it might be, he was expecting company but didn't think she would come during the storm. His house was near impossible to find unless you knew where it was, even then it was still a challenge.

Another set of knocks came, these slightly harder. At that, Thomas had a good guess of who it was.

“Coming.” He said gruffly, taking the pot off the fire and making his way to the door. When he opened it he was greeted by the familiar figure of a sergal.

“Kendra, come in.” He ushered her toward the fire.

“Hello, Tom.” She greeted him with a lick on the cheek.

“Here sit, you need to get dry.” He said, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around her form. “Did you run all the way here?”

“Just about.” She nodded. “It was fine at the beginning, but the rain wouldn't stop and  I started getting cold.”

“Rest up and get warm.” He responded, rubbing her ears. “I'll get you some food.”

Grabbing two bowls, he filled them both with oatmeal and took a seat next to Kendra.

“Here.” He muttered, handing her a bowl. “It's just some oats, I don't have much meat left.”

“Do you still have your bow?” She asked, eating another spoonful.

“Aye, I do.” He replied. “Only a couple arrows left.”

“I only need one.” She said with a smile.

“know, I know.” He said, returning her smile. “We should get some rest. Not much we can do today anyway.”

"Ok." She agreed, finishing up the last of the food. She then placed the empty bowl on a nearby table.

If there was one thing she missed while at her village, it was snuggling up next to Tom in bed while they slept.