The Weather Outside Is Frightful

[Bartok Evergreen]

Bartok always wondered what snowflakes looked like. And another year would go by without him knowing. But what he desired to see more this year was a snowflake dancing on the tip of Al's nose. Too bad he wouldn't get to see that either. For one she wore a mask, and two he was still blind. Oh well. His imagination could do the rest.

Along with the blood red button-up shirt and black silk vest, he wore a stylish long wool coat to keep out the bitter cold. A slight wind was blowing through the streets of Vale, with frost falling from the sky. He walked along with Al away from one of his favorite places to eat, a ramen shop called "Ittouya". They had just eaten there and now were on their way towards a mall for the classically late holiday shopping.

"What did I tell you? Ask for more meat, and he gives you more than you can handle. Or, what other people couldn't handle." Bartok sighed in happy satisfaction with the hot and delicious food in his belly.

[Al Ciendra]

Al was alongside him, her face covered by her usual steel mask as she herself wore a heavy brown coat and a red thick fluffy winter cap, her ears clearly showing through the fabric as they stood up straight.
She was not a big fan of ramen, but the man running the shop really had been generous, so even she was happy.
"Hm, I'm positively surprised, but still not full, next time we are going to a steak house."
She said with a bit of a disappointed tone, reaching under her mask to scratch at her fangs, it felt weird to not have sunk them into some proper food.
"So what should we do next ?"
Al asked, as once they had left the shop the cold breeze already caught up with her, and she wrapped her arms around her chest, she really did not like going out in this kind of weather, specially since the snow was making her view all blurry.

[Bartok Evergreen]

"Steakhouse? Done. Medium rare." Bartok squeezed Al's hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. She took her hands from his to wrap her body in her brown coat. Al, cold? With her Semblance making her body warmer than normal and a big coat on? Maybe she was susceptible to the sudden cold. He shrugged off his long coat and laid it over her shoulders, tugging the front to cover her exposed hands.

"Lets..." The mall they were at was an strip mall, all entrances outside and subject to the cold wind and snow. "Let's find a store with stuff you wanna look at and head inside. Then we book it for the next store, alright?" He asked, rubbing her back. With only a shirt and vest the cold was touching his bones already. But for Al to be warm? It was worth it. He'd warm up later.

[Al Ciendra]

Al was a little surprised as she felt the extra weight on her body, she looked behind herself to see that Bartok had given her his coat.
"Huh, wha- wait ?"
Al hugged the coat closer to herself, sighing as she felt the warmth seep into her...this was nice.
But she could see Bartok freezing, Al frowned, it was sweet how he wanted to keep her from the cold but not thinking of himself wasn't a good idea either.
"Here, so you don't catch a cold."
Al snapped her fingers, as a flame appeared in front of Bartok at a save distance, it was like a small floating campfire.
"But yeah, let's do that, next time we go out in this weather I'm bringing a thicker jacket."
She said and continued walking.

[Bartok Evergreen]

Bartok stopped and held out his hands, gauging the distance to the small floating fire. She could have used this to warm herself up, but Bartok wasn't going to complain. This way they had a way and an excuse to help eachother out rather than being selfish. The season of giving, right?

"And maybe your cloak, so I can have it." He chuckled, keeping his shivering to an absolute minimum, no more than a shake every minute. He warmed himself with Al's flame and headed towards a clothing store. "Anything you might want in here?"

[Al Ciendra]

Al did just get that idea as well, she really could have just used her flames to warm herself, but...getting to wear Bartok's clothes was nice too, either way Al quickly headed for the clothing store.
"Uhm...yeah, winter gloves, I don't have the money to buy that thick jacket right now."
She sighed, man she really had to think of a better way to ask her not so tech-savvy parents for money, she didn't have income of her own after all, so she still had to rely on them.
Al entered the shop, a chime going of as she opened the door.
As Al then turned to Bartok with a look of confusion on her masked face.
"Wait, how the hell do you shop for clothes ?"

[Bartok Evergreen]

Bartok nodded decisively. "Gloves it is then. Might do you better than a better coat, anyhow. Extremities, blood flow and all that." He entered the store with them and was hit with the warmth and smell of clothes, all sterile smelling, with a hint of some air freshener that a worker had sprayed around a few hours prior. Pumpkin?

SHe asked him how to shop for clothes. He lifted an eyebrow. "You find the clothes you like, see the prices and if it's within your budget, and then you decide to buy them or not?" He wasn't sure how she didn't understand how shopping worked-

"Oh, you mean ME me!" He laughed. "Well, I feel them. I know my own body pretty well, so I can feel how long something is and if it will fit. A lot of these printed stickers for sizes don't really have any feeling to them, so I have to examine everything. Takes a while. Or I just get an employee or Erin to help me."

[Al Ciendra]

Al slumped forward a little at Bartok's reply, the gloves she was holding threatening to fall out of her hand as she just stared at him for a solid minute, was he actually serious ?
Oh, yes, yes he was, but he was also a loveable idiot.
Al smiled as she tried her best to hold back a laughter at Bartok's expense.
She was not about to embarrass Bartok in public, but a little giggle could be heard as she held her hand over her mouth, which didn't really do anything considering her metal mask was still on her face.
"Yeah, you'd think an 18-year-old girl would know how to shop, right ?"
She sighed, shaking her head as she looked at the gloves, feeling them a little in her own hands.
"I could never tell if some clothing fits just by touching it, so that's pretty impressive."
She put the gloves away, as she didn't actually like them, and began looking for some new ones.
"If you want to, I can help you look for stuff, finding some gloves that fit me shouldn't be too hard."
She shrugged, as she turned back to the self with all the gloves, groaning as she saw some designs, so many of them were just so tacky or entirely bland, no good middle ground.

[Bartok Evergreen]

"Right, well, I didn't want to assume. But yeah, you helping me with clothes would be great." He walked over to her and the gloves. Hearing her groan he frowned and started picking up the gloves, feeling them and their size. One hand of his grabbed hers soflty, his fingers feeling hers. It was a soft gentle touch, mostly just to familiarize himself with her hand once again. And hold her hand. He held out one of the tacky pairs. "These will probably fit. But I'm guessing the design is not quite right? Should we find another store or keep looking?"

[Al Ciendra]

"No, not really, I just need some simple black gloves, but all of these have girly winter designs on them."
She groaned as she threw the pair she was holding back onto the pile, as she then turned to another pile, a happy laugh could be heard as she seemed to have found something.
"Ah perfect I found some gloves for me, I found something for you too though, hold still."
Al stowed her new pair away as she suddenly slid something over Bartok's shoulders, it was heavy and reached down to the knee's.
With a click, she closed it around his front and stepped back.
"Huh, that cape does look really good on you."
She leaned in, close to his head.
"Plus, it would be nice for cuddling."
He could hear a certain tone of expectation in her voice.

[Bartok Evergreen]

Bartok put the gloves he had found back on the pile, wondering how he was going to find something for her based on its color when she announced that the search was over.
"Hm? Wai- wha- hold on I-" Bartok stammered, not really used to people draping things on him. As far as he could tell it was heavy and very long, coming around his front even. As Al assessed him he felt the fabric from inside and wiggled his shoulders a little.

"A cape? I haven't worn a cape before." He said, moving his knees a little to feel how it responded when he might walk in it. When Al leaned in, his ears stood on end and his eyebrows raised. He smirked and wrapped her in his arms, letting the cape fold around her as well. "Hm... Yes, I think it would be nice for cuddling, among other things. Like parties." He gave a quick kiss to the mask.

[Al Ciendra]

Al giggled at the kiss, while still leaning against Bartok she looked around for just a second, before pulling her mask up and kissing him right on the lips, she yet pulled her hood just a bit deeper into her face.
She held it for just a bit, before moving back and pulling her mask back on.
"So, gloves for me, cloak for you ?"
Al asked, that same expectant tone being heard in her voice again, she would show him the puppy eye, but unfortunately Bartok was immune to her most powerful spell!
She really hoped Bartok would buy himself that cloak, since she did not have the money to do so.

[Bartok Evergreen]

Bartok wasn't expecting her to be so bold as to give him an actual kiss in public, but it was a welcome surprise. He wanted to stand just a little taller after that. She pulled her hood more over her face when she retreated, and a quick scan around didn't indicate to Bartok that anyone was watching or reacting to it. He took off the cloak and folded it over his arm.

"So it is, cloak for me. Then off down to the next store, yeah?" He asked, walking and leading her to where he was hearing the cash registers.

He'd pay for his own cloak and her gloves, being insistant on paying, before braving the cold once more.

[Al Ciendra]

"Nah, let's just go home, I'm freezing my tail off, this kind of weather is just a bit too cold for me."
Al put on her new gloves, smiling as she felt the warmth of her own body finally staying where it meant to be.
"Thanks for buying these, I really should have asked mom to make me some when I was still home."
She took his hand, hers now being wrapped in winter gloves was very warm, as the thick material just made her high natural warmth all the more apparent.
"We still have some cocoa, right ?"

[Bartok Evergreen]

"Home already? You're just wanting to snuggle with this cloak, aren't you?" He smiled. "I think it's a bit too cold out here for me as well. Two hot cups of cocoa, coming up!" He grasped her hand and felt her warmth. She was a heater in this weather, a flame in the blizzard.

[Al Ciendra]

"Hey, can you blame me ?"
She asked, leaning into his shoulder, and said cloak, it was super warm and fuzzy.
"Yeah, I miss summer, so much!"
She sighed, moving away from Bartok as she spun in the snowed ins street, leaving little curved lines in the snow as she stopped in front of him, with a small stomp causing fresh snow to fly of.
"So, lets hurry!"

About an hour later.
The smell of hot chocolate filled the small dorm room, as two cups and a large can sat on a plastic tray.
Al had just thrown herself on her bed, now dressed in her red hoodie and some gray jogging pants, long socks with a flower pattern clad her feet as she had her legs dangling over the side of the bed.
"Hey Bartok, did you find the cookies by now ?"
Al asked, looking towards the bat faunus who was standing in the small corner of the room that was basically a small kitchen, with a counter that had a built-in sink, some shelves for tableware and a small fridge, as well as a microwave and toaster on top of the counter.
There was a shelf overhead that Bartok was currently searching for the cookies Al had bought god knows when ago.

[Bartok Evergreen]

Bartok stood as she spun away from him, seemingly twirling and playing in the snow. There were only a few things in his life that he wished for sight. It was times like these. She must have looked so cute out there, red cloak flying over the white snow. He smiled, trying to imagine the sight but decided he couldn't do it justice.

Later, Bartok was searching for cookies. He could smell them, they were somewhere in here but he couldn't examine packages beside feeling them and their contents. Al had quite a lot of snacks but it wasn't long before he pulled a container out and put his nose to it, then nodded. "Got 'em. Or they were right next to the cookies and took on their smell." He moved over to her and sat down on the bed, showing her the cookies. "These them?"

[Al Ciendra]

She looked at him fumble around and smiled as he grabbed the pack of chocolate chip cookies.
"Yeah, thats them."
Which she eagerly opened once he handed them to her and poured the whole package into a bowl.
"Yeah, I avoided eating them till now because I knew I would eat the entire pack in one go, but if I share them it should be fine."
She giggled, as she grabbed her first cookie, dunking it into her cup of hot chocolate and then just tossing the chocolaty pastry into her waiting mouth.
"Delicious!"
Al said, not waiting till she finished chewing but somehow still speaking in an inteligible manner, yet she was a quick eater so her next sentence was easier to understand.
"There's nothing better than cheating on your diet, right ?"

[Bartok Evergreen]

He chuckled, dangerously close to spilling his hot chocolate as he watched her devour a cookie. "Oh yeah, I'll help. Scooch over." There was plenty of room, but he wanted an excuse to cuddle as close as possible to her, the bowl of cookies moved to be on each of their legs. Bartok took a bite of a cookie, tilting his head at the question. "Cheating on your diet? Are you on a diet?"

[Al Ciendra]

Al smirked a little as she shrugged in an exaggerated manner.
"It's not really a diet, I just try and keep track of how much and what I eat, you know, keep it at least somewhat balanced, even if that means eating...vegetables."
She seemed to flinch a little at that last word.
"I don't know what is it about them, but I just can't get myself to like em, maybe it's because they always get stuck on my teeth ?"
She sighed, leaning against him, her head on his shoulder.
"I really should not complain about my traits, though, considering who I'm talking to."

[Bartok Evergreen]

"Well, how are you eating them? Not raw, I hope. Or steamed. You have to really cook them through, add some spices and salt to them. I totally understand the meat-loving, believe me. nothing better than sinking fangs into a slab of juicy meat. But vegetables can be delicious and even juicy if you prepare them the right way."

He chuckled and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her tighter against him. "Ah, don't worry. I don't resent being born blind or anything." He took a sip of his hot chocolate. "I mean, there are some things I wish I could see. Like you, for example. But being blind mixed with my ears have given me senses that no one else has. So it's a give and trade thing, I suppose."

[Al Ciendra]

"I know how to cook vegetables, my mom made sure of that, she wouldn't let me leave for Beacon if I didn't learn to make myself a salad or other such stuff."
Al sighed as she leaned closer to him, now intentionally rubbing her cheek to his.
"Because of that, making burgers, tacos or wraps is the best way to eat veggies. I just can't afford to do so every day of the week."
She laughed, sadly, Al did not have that kinda money.

"Yeah, you are right about that."
Al paused for a second, just rubbing her chin.
"Now that I think about that, your hearing is crazy good, like mine isn't bad, but you can hear what clothes people are wearing, I can't do that, at all."
She just stared at him, and up at his ears, the urge to touch them was very apparent suddenly, she wanted to test them more.

[Bartok Evergreen]

"Well, it took a while for me to understand what I was hearing. I had to learn about different cloths and clothes and how they sounded when rubbing against other things. A lot of time spent at stores, let me tell you. But I think that's how I came about my impeccable fashion sense." He took another sip of his hot chocolate. "My hearing also means that unless I really try to tune them out, I can hear almost everybody on this floor."

She was staring at him, with her face pretty much pressed to his he knew when she was facing him. He smiled and would give her a soft kiss. "All I want to hear right now is in this room..."

[Al Ciendra]

Al was pretty amazed by all the things Bartok could hear, sure she could hear some other people, but not the entire floor.
"Wow, that's kinda nuts, really how have you not gone crazy yet, or have severe tinnitus all the time ?"
She reached up and wanted to scratch his ears a little.
But his compliment made her stop, how could a guy be this cheesy yet so sweet at the same time.
Al had to giggle, as she just gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, before she moved down, laying her head on his lap while still looking up at him.
"You know, I never thought cheesy and sweet mixed well together, but you proved me wrong."
She said, and took another cookie, looking at it for a second before chowing down.
Yeah no, she liked cheese, but it would not do well with something like this in any other circumstance.

[Bartok Evergreen]

"You know, I've probably used Aura to protect my ears more than I have against actual attacks against me. I've gotten to reflexively protect my eardrums if something gets too loud. And learn to tune things out." He heard her reach for his ears but stop. "Go ahead, you can touch them. Not a worry." After she'd lay her head down in his lap and much on the cookie he'd take a hand of hers and lean down so she could touch his ears.

"You think I'm sweet?" H hand of his was idly stroking her shoulder, just feeling her skin. "Well, maybe you have a sweet tooth, ey?"

[Al Ciendra]

Al laughed as she got up by again.
"Nope, getting way too deep into cheese territory."
She gave him a little smack on the shoulder.
"Like moldy blue cheese territory."

She took a swig of her hot chocolate as she now sat beside him again.
Looking up at his ears, Al was very curious, but she stopped thinking about it for now, her desire to relax was just a bit bigger for now.
Suddenly a question popped in her head.
"Do you think humans are weird ? Like...they have no traits to distinguish them from each other, not that I can't tell humans apart, but it just feels like something is missing."
She leaned against him again, absently chewing a cookie.

[Bartok Evergreen]

Bartok just smiled and took the hit, going back to his own hot chocolate and drinking in the quiet comfort of being with Al. Then she asked a question that he hadn't thought of before. He thought it over for a long moment.

"Well, maybe not physical features, like big ears or a tail or different hands or feet, but they are different from each other. They way the walk, their voices, the clothes they wear, how they smell... all different. We smell more like animals at times, the scents mixing a bit. But that's just how I see people, whereas you see with your sight. Hair color? Facial structure is usually pretty different, and voices are still a thing."

"What about you?"

[Al Ciendra]

Al did agree, of course facial structures, voices and so on were all different regardless of species, would be real wierd if there were clones of people.
But thats not what she meant.
"Thats not..."
Al started but she just shook her head, she had already lost her train of thought and discussing appearances was hard with Bartok anyway.
"...nevermind."
She laid back and sighed, sipping more on her hot chocolate as she then looked to him.
"What about me ?"
She was confused, what did he mean ?

[Bartok Evergreen]

"Well, what do you mean then? How do you view the difference between humans? Or, how do you find it hard to tell the difference? Why do you think they're weird?"

Bartok wasn't sure what she was getting at, really. But it seemed to be something she was curious about. He took a long drink of his hot chocolate, almost finished. He stole a cookie of hers and munched on it.

[Al Ciendra]

Al sighed as she waved around a cookie in the air and laid down on the bed.
"I...urgh okay!"
She held her hands to her head, which got some cookie crumbs in her hair.
"Maybe it's my bad sight, it most definitely is actually, but when I look at a faunus I see their traits and I just immediately recognize them. For example: Bright colorful feathers, that's Ax. Big pointy ears and fangs, that's you, bushy black and white tail, that's Erin and so on. With humans, I have to look real close, so unless I hear them speak, I'm not gonna recognize them at a distance, sure they also have their unique things, but with them, it mostly boils down to fashion choice, not how they themselves actually look."
She finished her rant with another sigh.
As she turned to him and laid the side of her head on his lap, now eating the cookie she was waving around and getting some crumbs on his pants.
"Does that make more sense ?"