The silence continued for the rest of the journey, accompanied by your booted feet crunching the leaves underneath you along the cold path. All the while fog clouded your face against your smallest sigh, filling the air with the cold airs evidence. Ace on the other hand looked way too calm against the harsh conditions of the weather.

You sighed again, with irritation this time, wishing you too had powers that would block out the cold surrounding you. The weather had changed drastically in only a few days, forcing you to adjust to its whimsical ways. Your relationship with Ace -however- had not gone through any drastic changes. It hadn't even shown hints of changing at all. You walked at the same pace, but on this silent but resolute path, there was a distance. He walked a little faster, you attempted to catch up. There was no balance. Only a common resolution.

He had disappeared on Drum island only to come back and lead the way to another destination. Walking with a satisfied smile and light steps he had only told you to collect some food for the journey and you had. He didn't tell you where he had gone and you didn't ask. You knew it was futile to ask. You also knew too much to have the need to ask.

You knew a lot of things. Maybe some even he wouldn't want to know. Or maybe some you wish you didn't either. But you did, so you stayed silent and followed him leniently. Letting him lead the way across the cold path that carried small droplets of water that were slowly turning into snow. Like autumn slowly turning into winter. Winter that you had come to hate.

Ace turned to look at you, acknowledging your existence after a long time on the road, his hand hanging off the side of his bag casually. He had interpreted your sigh as a complaint. He stopped now, fully taking in the view of you. Your red nose matched that of Rudolf the reindeer. Before you could understand his actions another cloak was covering you, layering on top of the one you were already wearing. You noted that it was the one Ace had brought with him.

If someone saw how the two of you were close enough to gaze at each other's pupils, forming a slight space to display the white snow that was slowly covering the earth, they would say this was a scene of affection. But both of you knew it wasn't. It was pity. An unearned sad sympathy. A scene that did not fit the story you had created. You took a step back. You did not need his pity. But you did not take the cloak off either.

This was the way the journey had gone the last few days: You working hard not to bother him and him bothering to help anyway. You wouldn't complain, you would not be weak. Cause it felt as though you were the weakest. Seeing you weren't willing to talk Ace simply turned around. Resuming the silent walk.

You paused. Allowing some distance to form between you, watching the dark patches of his footsteps across the snow.

-"Thank you." you finally spoke. After deciding that there was enough distance between you two. He didn't show any inclination as to whether he had heard you.

Ace only slightly smiled in response.

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The remainder of the uninhabited road was boring enough to forget. As you walked, the white sheets of snow slowly covered the bare tusk and shrubs of nature, engulfing not only you but the surrounding area with its cotton like visual. Even though Ace was carrying most of the stuff you guys had packed, slightly swaying it as though it were a swing, you still lagged behind. You blamed it on the snow that had fallen on top of your head and shoulders and that was kind of true. The cold air affected you more than it could possibly ever affect Ace. Making it hard to enjoy the view or the walk. Its wet but icy quality forced one to walk across its domain in auto pilot. And you were doing just that, going through the scenery in studied monotony and rubbing your hands together once in a while subcouncliously, making sure not to lose sight of the black hair in front of you. You spent the rest of the walk gazing at the fog coming out of your mouth, forming tiny clouds across the clear blue sky. That was until your eyes picked up a small scenery in between the trees, covered with a layer of snow similar to everything else.

Ace heard the pause of your footsteps crunching the snow and turned to check. Coming face to face with an expression that was whiter than the snow falling across your face.

-"Hey, where exactly were we going?" You asked him, aware of his eyes even through your alarm.

-"...We are between Arabasta and Drum Island." He responded, trying to understand what had made you so startled. "You good?" he continued, not knowing what to make of such an expression. Not knowing enough to understand.

-"Let's take a break. Alright?" Ace stopped moving now, concluding that you weren't fine when you didn't answer his first question.

You didn't know whether to agree or disagree but your legs had already given out before you could decide, forcing you to sit on one of the large rocks above the snowy wet soil. He lit up a fire as you simply stared at the snow. But your brain willed you to look up. To stare at the little scene as though it would give you all the reason as to how you had wound up back here. How out of all the possibilities you had taken this road.

-"Do you know this place?" Ace asked once you didn't speak up. He had taken notice of the way your eyes were trailing over a certain rock and the tree towering over it. And you did.

-"We met here." Your voice cut across the cold air, shaking a little. Or maybe it felt as though it did. Ace paused.

-"Someone you were close to?"

In front of you stood the place where you had come into this world. A forest covered in snow. In between Arabasta and Drum island. The place Ace had first seen you. The place you had first seen this world.

-"I don't know."

Ace didn't speak up. Maybe that hurt you even more. Say Ace, were we close?

-"Where are you?" The words came out of your mouth like you were breathing them out in an exhale. Ace looked back at you, now thoroughly confused. But you didn't care, you couldn't notice. You just wanted -no- needed answers from him. For him to remember even just a little of what had happened or how he had come to die.

-"Why did you leave me here? Why did you die?"

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Supp anyone play genshin here?

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