He paused, his hand held by hers now. He turned to look, seeing the confusion in her eyes, and his own grew to match. Then a bit of hurt hid in his own and he wore it plainly. He mumbled softly, [b]"I know you're not a threat."[/b]

[i]'You're one of the only good things that has ever happened to me.'[/i]

He then clasped her hand that held his, looking her directly in the eyes. He didn't try to mask his pain, at both her thinking that he thought her to be a threat to him, as well as what made him nervous. He lifted her hand up to his shoulder, then pressed her fingers gently against the back of his neck, in the safety of the hood of his cloak, allowing them to touch the flesh where his tattoo was. He left her hand rest there, as his eyes slowly filled with tears but he didn't speak, he just looked at her.

After several long moments, [b]"I wanted to keep holding your hand."[/b]

With his other hand, he wiped away his tears as he could no longer see her eyes through them. So he shared with her exactly how he was thinking. [b]"But it's cold here. It feels like..."[/b] he gulped, [b]"Metal against my skin. Cold, hard, painful metal."[/b] He rolled up one of his sleeves, holding up his wrist so she could see. The scars were faded but it was obvious he had worn chains there. [b]"And it made me think of gloves I have. I don't like them either. They are tight. Too tight."[/b]

Then he clasped her other hand between both of his, letting his sleeve fall back down. [b]"I like holding your hand. It feels what I think snow feels like. Cold, yes, but soft, gentle, close. Not painful, not like metal. Not like chains."[/b]

He took a deep breath, [b]"I saw some children playing with the snow, and they were so happy. Watching that made me smile."[/b]

Then a nervous smile, [b]"You're snow. And I want to hold your hand. But mine gets cold, and I don't want to wear gloves."[/b]

He'd heard her words about Viden, Scalvoris. One a place she wanted to take him one trial, the other a place he'd come from. It made him think of his mother, hopefully happy and free there. [b]"You thrive on a couch with a blanket too. Cold isn't everything."[/b]