A note for anyone confused after seeing previous snippets with Elias using he/him pronouns. Elias is genderfluid and a shapeshifter, so she’s presenting very femme in this story. Just a heads up to avoid confusion!
The chill in the air was sharp and solid, each breeze like sandpaper on Elias’ cheeks. She didn’t wander through the perpetually wintery regions so far north very often, and every visit reminded her of why. That cold found a way to seep into her bones and stay there, a slow takeover until the involuntary shivers came like clockwork.
At least she was better prepared for it since the last quest that took her into the tundra. She’d chosen a shape that stood shorter than her usual, stockier. She’d opted for plenty of natural padding – thick curves and plenty of tummy to protect her core. Her hair was longer and darker red than she usually kept it – something to help absorb whatever warmth from the sun she could.
She’d bought some hard-weather clothes from a group of traders that frequented the area, so she knew the gear would last and it would work. She was well insulated in hides lined with downy fur, and boots that had a hardy grip on the frozen ground. They’d even given her a pair of sungoggles for when she eventually reached the snowy areas. The coat had a lovely collar of soft rabbit down that occasionally tickled under her jaw, and similar tufts stuck out of the thick gloves she wore over her hands.
She was an adorable bundle, and it put a certain spring in her step.
Eral, by contrast, was not so cheerful for the climate they’d wandered into. It came as no surprise; he stood only six inches tall, and his little leafy wings were paper thin after all. They’d managed to get a few tiny scraps of hide for him to haphazardly tie to himself, but the traders had nothing to offer that was made for pixie size.
Continue reading “Tiny Pixie Hands”
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