As the boys played in the front yard, Eira watched from the steps. The leaves were nearly all fallen from the trees, covering the ground. The autumn chill caused her to pull her scarf over her face, shivering. She looked down to her swollen stomach and asked...
"Are you two cold?"
She cradled her pregnant belly with her other arm. Meanwhile, Dammon held Briar down in the grass and joyfully tickled him. The boys giggled in laughter. Fisher the cat slipped next to Eira and settled beside her, curling up and falling asleep. Eira lifted her head, looking around for her husband as the boys' laughter echoed through the yard. Meanwhile, ice crystals formed above.
It was then the sound of shoes sliding and a loud thump thudded behind her. Fisher jumped up and bolted. Eira turned sharply to see that her husband, Nimraph, had slipped on a frozen puddle and dropped his book. As he indignantly huffed, Eira immediately turned and bolted up. She dashed over to Nimraph, extending her hand, "Are you okay!"
Nimraph only started laughing, "Quite fine, silly me for not being more observant."
He pulled himself up with her help and kissed her nose, smiling. He crouched to pick up his book on the chilly ground, "Did not realize it was so cold out here!"
Eira nodded, giggling a bit, "Yeah."
She adjusted her cloak and wrapped it around both of them, "This is pretty cold. But the boys wanted to play outside."
As she spoke, she glanced over to the boys. Briar was chasing Dammon around and around the hobbit wagon. On top of the wagon, the black cat Obsidian observed the two with curiosity.
As Eira helped Nimraph with the book, she felt something cold on her nose. She blinked rapidly, trying to see. It was a water droplet on her nose. Strange, that did not feel like rain...
She looked up, spotting tons of little white specs falling from the sky. A moment of panic. She only saw ash from the sky when there was a great fire! And Mount Doom flashed before her eyes. She froze, looking up in terror. No. No, if there was fire or lava, she needed to get the boys and-
"It's snow, my love. Very common up here." Nimraph placed his arms on her and gently whispered, awakening her from her fright.
Eira blinked for a moment, looking to Nimraph with wide eyes. Thanks to her complete trust in him, she was already calming down. As her heart rate returned to normal, she looked up at the white flakes and reached out tentatively. One snowflake gently floated onto her palm, only for it to melt.
"Oh! It melted!" She squeezed in surprise.
Nimraph chuckled softly, "It is frozen water. If you manage to catch one without melting it, it looks like..."
He pulled a charcoal stick from his pocket and started to doodle a pretty crystalline snowflake in the margin of his book. Eira peered in interest, gasping at the design as snowflakes dusted her hair and clothes. Her eyes widened in adoration, "I saw pictures of those! I thought it was just some neat artistic design!"
She looked up, eyes growing misty, as she asked in childlike wonder, "Egfor told me they can cover the entire ground, blanket the ground in snow. And all those stories Ristiinna told me about Forochel... These little things?"
She reached out in attempts to catch more snowflakes.
Nimraph grinned, "It's very much real."
He paused and nodded. "Admittedly, I am unsure how much we can get here. Angmar, when a winter storm hit, could get snow up to my waist or higher. Ris's home is under thick, thick lays of it that never melted."
He added quickly, "The boys will pick it up and throw it, you have been warned."
Little did he know that Egfor was the real threat.
The boys were squealing in delight at the snow and running around trying to catch the falling flakes on their tongues. Eira once again caught an elegant snowflake in her hand. A tear slipped down her cheek as the delicate snow melted. She was in awe, looking up and watching more snow fall. She let snow coat her face, huddled with her lover under her shared cloak. She gazed up at the snowfall, unable to break away from their dance as they fell.
"They're so... beautiful..."
The girl once enslaved by the evils of Mordor was returning to innocence.
