Two Rivers Isle This world is only gonna break your heart

Ulrich was so cold he was almost unable to understand anything Adylaide was saying. As they lay there, curled together, he could feel one side of him growing marginally warmer, while the rest of him continued to freeze. They could not stay there forever. A den would have to be found, somewhere out of the elements. But he was still too cold to walk.

Adylaide scolded him as a mother would, and Ulrich, had he been able, would have hung his head in shame and, if he were honest, a little embarrassment. But he was far too cold for all of that. Ady, he said, without thinking, without realizing that he had just used her nickname for the first time in his life. Only her parents and siblings had called her that. I'm s-sorry, he said. And then he turned his face into her fur to hide from the cold. Her fur was thicker and plusher than his, and beneath it, her skin was warm. He kept his eyes closed against her fur, feeling the tip of his nose unfreeze, and smiled where she could not see.