Cold clung to every bit of matter that was exposed to the open air. Frost hung from the pine on the trees and coated the window panes. A layer of virgin snow enshrouded the earth after falling silently from the sky. Valiskar blew a cloud of fog into the sky as he lifted his light greens to stare at the cloud that left his lips. Lashes dark enough o be claimed black mingled with the fallen rich mahogany locks that stood mostly in spikes. His eyes stared out over the horizon as he trudged homeward. Valiskar pulled his parka tighter around his body, hiding his reddened cheeks behind the thick fur as the frosty winds whipped around him and turned his light brown skin a sickly gray. He huffed air into his hands and shivered.”Zut, it’s cold out here.”

Valiskar pushed open the door to his hut and inhaled the scent of well aged meats. Valiskar slammed the door shut behind him and dropped his pack to the ground. He yanked open his parka and hung it on the elk antlers mounted to the wall then slid out of his thick, fur lined pants and hung them up as well. Valiskar was left in a pair of animal hide shorts and shirt. He slipped out of his boots and shook them out by the doorway. The floor to the main room was covered in a large bear skin with the bear’s head attached and facing the fire which was producing the savory smells. Valiskar inhaled deeply again then knelt down and to unload his pack. He unstrapped a few rolls of skins then shook them out. He made a less than pleasant face at the smell of the skins and hung them on the opposite walls. “Have to finish working those later, they reek.” Valiskar then took a few bundles of raw meat wrapped in waterproofed skins and unraveled them. He took inventory of the deer, fox, a little moose, and the thick slabs of bear; all of which that had added to the new skins on his wall. Valiskar smiled at his haul then took the meats and placed them in the small shelving that was built into the ground which led outside into the fridge cold. It was cold enough in the box to chill the meat yet just warm enough from the hut to keep it from freezing.
“Liskar, are you home? Is that you I hear?” Valiskar lifted his head and smiled, exposing a flaw to his pretty face where he was missing a tooth in the upper left row. “Oui, c’est moi. Where are you?” Valiskar rose from beside the box and headed toward the back of the hut where an animal skin hung before a doorway. Before his hand could move the skin, another hand slid it aside. Amber colored eyes peaked shyly between blond lashes while blond tresses fell around a slightly curved face. “Salidor”, breathed Valiskar as he saw the face. Salidor smiled, playing with a stray of hair as a smile came to a honey colored face. Valiskar kissed Salidor’s forehead then tugged on a handful of blond hair. “You need to cut this stuff already. I almost mistook you for a woman.” Salidor’s mouth fell agape and he shoved Valiskar angrily. “You didn’t complain the other night. And how can you take me for a woman? I look just like you except my face isn’t as angular. Why are you such un trou de cul?!” Valiskar chuckled and tugged the hair again. “That is a mystery for the ages. Anyway, what are you making for dinner?” Salidor rolled his eyes and strode into the main room adorned in a pair of animal skin shorts and a necklace of animal teeth. “It’s just a stew of leftovers. Rien de spécial.” Valiskar smiled. “It’s always something special when you make it.” Salidor pointed a bone blade at the male. “Don’t think I’m going to forgive the hair comment and tugging just because you’re trying to sweet talk me.” Valiskar wiggled his eyebrows. “You didn’t mind the hair tugging the other night.” Salidor’s face blushed then he threw the knife across the room. Valiskar barely had time to duck as it landed in the wall behind him. “Shut up,” spat Salidor as he went back to checking the stew. Valiskar raised his hands and said not a thing more.

As the winter progressed, Valiskar came home later and later. It got to the point where he often came home into the middle of the night, coated in head to toe with frost from the wicked storms that would whip up after the sun had set. Salidor often asked where the male would be and Valiskar would always reply with a shrug or a short tale of a hunting expedition gone wrong. Salidor believed him for the first few times, but as the male began to bring less and less meat home to eat, Salidor began to suspect something was amiss. One a milder winter morning, Salidor snuck out in the midst of night and used the light of the moon to follower Valiskar’s obvious footprints in the snow. Salidor followed these prints to a small hut. Salidor ground his jaw and knocked upon the door. A woman came to the doorway some minutes later with a smile on her face “Vali, your early today.” The woman looked up and saw Salidor. Her face paled as Salidor’s amber eyes darkened. The sun peaked over the horizon and lit the snow aflame as she uttered a shriek into the vast nothingness.

Valiskar approached the hut with a sigh, shaking a freak morning’s storm snow from his body. He reached to knock on the door when it swung open with a breeze. Valiskar walked into the hut and stared up in horror. Blood dripped slowly from the cooling body of his mistress as she hung from the ceiling by fishing wire. Her arms were angled above her with the wire slicing into her wrists while her legs hung limply beneath her. Valiskar stepped closer and saw that her eyes were nothing but hollowed out bleeding sockets and her neck was almost sliced through with the wire. Valiskar slowly backed away, feeling the vomit building in his throat as his eyes took in sight. As the male retreated, a blade was placed to his throat. “Give me one reason not to and make it good.” Valiskar swallowed, feeling the blade’s press. “It was just a one time thing.” The blade pressed harder. “You think I didn’t ask her? Try again.” Valiskar swallowed again. “It was a fit of passion had that I couldn’t turn down. She was always out there on the path waiting for me and it just got out of hand.” The blade eased away from his throat. Salidor stepped in front of Valiskar with a dark glare. “Was she any good?” Valiskar shook his head. “You are much better.” Salidor back handed Valiskar with the handle of the blade. Valiskar staggered then slipped in the blood pool, collapsing to the ground with a thud. Salidor took the blade and stabbed it into the male’s hand. Valiskar screamed as the blade ripped apart his hand. “If you’re gonna have an affair on me, at least do it with someone whose some good.” Salidor lifted the hood of his bloodied parka and left the hut, leaving Valiskar still screaming on the ground.

~By LoveAkiochan