A deep sigh escaped Herbert’s lips, clouding, winding off with the wind. It was good to know he had not upset the Dmitri; in the brief duration of their acquaintance Herbert had formed the impression that he was a rather genuine and warm-hearted man, who took pleasures in simples things, like good beer and raucous laughter.  People of such quality were rare indeed, a saddening truth, that Herbert had come to accept, which is why he savoured meeting them so much in passing. Rather, he used to; he didn’t tend to get about much in recent times, regrettable, but necessary.

“You are a good man.”

Now the small figure had drawn into view Herbert could fully appreciate the fragility of person before him; a slight frame and spindly limbs, all the more accentuated by her tight fitting legwear. That she didn’t blow away was a surprise in itself. 

He raised his hand in an awkward gesture, somewhere between a wave and a salute, when Dmitri introduced him. Some of the colour drained slightly from his face when he saw the wings upon her back. If angels were condemned, what hope had he? She was not as Herbert had expected angels to be, and it was possible she was not; she would be by far one of the most humanoid creatures he had seen on the icy capped rocks. However, in all the jumble of theories and thoughts in Herbert’s mind, he could not disregard that he may have died, for he knew not what lay beyond the veil. Angel or not, she seemed friendly enough, another head to help keep safety in numbers. Perhaps there would come a time where Herbert would find answers, but they were not going to find them standing idly in the snow.

The bone creature flapped its two branched limbs, bobbing somewhat at the new friend, standing on the edge of his shoulder, chittering in a way that one might be forgiven for thinking affectionate.