There was a considerable chill in the air. The kind that often accompanied blossoming winter that nips the flesh and speckles it with a crimson tinge. It was not the favored temperature of Mayu Tsuzuki. She loathed that which sucked the heat from her body like a ravenous vampire on the prowl. It preyed on the helpless; those that were less fortunate, leaving them sick and weary. It was a disease all in itself, that thing which ushered in a unwanted freeze time and time again every year.

Winter.

She wasn't never against the season itself, for it brought about an unfamiliar cheer to the air. People were often happier during the Winter months. Christmas did that to many, even those that were bitter or eager to bring others to ruin. A brief respite came over the world, giving one another a chance to amend differences or invite chances where none were considered. It always pleased her, warming her heart despite the cold and allowing her reason to endure the powder that caked the ground like frosting on a much too dreary cake. No matter how often the Maiden of Dreams chastised the season through dark looks or snide commentary, deep down beneath the veil of loathing was a girl who quietly hoped it would return. Perhaps with much more blessing and faith than the previous year.

It wasn't for that reason that the girl's large apartment, which she'd moved into following her escape from the Temple with the aid of Toby and Minoko, was no cooler than the weather outside, however. It was cool enough to make the tiniest of hairs on the nape of the neck stand erect like spines from a porcupine; nigh as deadly. She'd grown a preference to it in the past few months; a desire that bloomed in her gut and her heart.

And her soul.

That globule which made her whole--it wasn't her own anymore. And she knew it. It made her crave different things in her life: chilly temperatures was just one of them. Was it because the one that she was infused with desired them? Was there no compromise to the manner in which she began exhibiting her traits? Mayu didn't even know if Martyr liked being cold. Her hands were always icier than a cube in the freezer, only warming when they took on that calming green hue.

Her interest in food had shifted. For a changed, she actually wanted to eat. Not just a helping of somebody's soul, either. Food. It had never been an interest in her mind; always preferring to go through the day with eating as little as possible. A bite here, a corner of a cracker there. Things that kept those close to her appeased and to prevent asking questions.

There was no stopping the transfiguration. Her eyes, the shape of her body. Even her chest had?

"Nygah!" she groaned into the pillow that she was smothering herself in. Every last one of her thoughts were nagging her like an incessant child poking her repeatedly in the shoulder. No matter how hard she tried, they'd always return to, "What would Wakana say if she saw me today?"

She knew, too.

"Holy CRAP CRACKERS, you got boobs!!! Bigger than mine, too!"

It'd be never ending torment about having a chest, especially considering the number of years Wakana would strike her down with a well-timed, "Bend back for me, Mayu? I need to write something down and I need a flat surface."

"Nmgh," she groaned again, turning herself over on one side to rise from the comfort of her bed. It was a four post bed, accentuated with drapes that were always drawn back to enable constant perspective of her surroundings. She wasn't used to a bedroom that made her old apartment look like a small cardboard box in terms of space.

And boy, did she have space.

She threw the blankets aside and slithered to the edge of the mattress, exposing the cream complexion of her legs to the cool air, drying away the smallest gleam of sweat that had formed from her rest. The nearby window, sealed away by heavy, durable curtains, still bled some lighting through, informing her of the time.

"Midday? I thought I was in bed soon enough to get up before n-noon," she murmured to herself as she slid from the bed, mismanaged a leg that was still snared in a blanket, and toppled straight out onto the hardwood floor.

Her disconcertment was brief as there was a knock on the door. "Everything all right, Mayu?"

It wasn't Tracy's voice. The rabbit was required at the Temple Mayu fled from in order to keep her whereabouts a secret. And, knowing that, the girl couldn't help but be excited about having the opportunity to finally be alone.

"A-Ah, y-yes?" she tossed back, unaware of the inflection in her tone.

There was a momentary pause before the voice returned, "Very well. There is somebody looking for you, I believe. If you would quickly get dressed and see to them?" Footsteps heralded the voice's departure from her spacious bedroom.

"A guest? Who--" she cut herself off with a sour look aimed at her tangled leg. "?Damn it."

***

Dressing herself in a dark coat, unbuttoned with a similar button down shirt beneath it with a pale blue tie and a skirt that barely managed to reach the mid of her thigh, she plodded out of the bedroom. Had she not worn her stockings, she would have felt far too naked for her own good. Her hands were making the finishing touches on her tie when she skimmed over the contents of her living room.

Nobody was there.

"Who the heck--" she started, pausing only to peek in the direction of the open kitchen, "--was talking to me? And where's my guest?" The question was tainted with a foulness to it, unsatisfied with the direction her new day was taking her. Like a mouse out of its cage, she scurried to the front door and threw it open, trudging out into the hall that would inevitably take her down to the first floor of her new building.

She favored the building's aroma. The halls were dusted with the scent of lemons--only vaguely exaggerating the aroma to hide the smell of bleach. And--was that lavender? It calmed her senses; preventing her from keeping a scorned look on her face that brought an indentation where her brows furrowed close together.

The elevator trip, when she arrived at it, was brief. It was only one floor she had to concern herself with traveling, which brought her into the main lobby of the apartment complex. Minus the chandelier, which was some variant of gold with those bulbs that resembled melting candles, the lobby was fairly lackluster to the girl's eyes. The walls were all painted a dull white shade, and the carpeting was far too luxurious in texture and color. While she favored royal red--it seemed like the building itself was trying too hard to promote its exquisiteness.

Her hardened expression, sour like she'd bitten into a rotting apple, lightened at the sight of Raelyn, who was stepping in and out of the automatic doors of the building.

It couldn't hurt to simply watch the fairy for the time being, could it? Aneira proved to her that all fairy, no matter the type, could do some rather peculiar things when they were unaware others were watching them.

A hand smothered a grin that was eager to present itself--masking it with the need to clear her throat before she answered her friend.

"A-Ah? y-yes," she answered, her words laced with that smile that she could conceal but not rid herself of. Her gaze rose from Raelyn to acknowledge the automatic sliding doors that she'd taken advantage of since she was a little girl.

"Are you? h-having fun?" It wasn't the first thing that entered her head, but it was less rude than her initial question of, "Just what are you doing here?" She was thankful for her politeness during times such as these?

"I'm a l-little sur-surprised to see you here. Did T-Toby let y-you know where I was?" She couldn't restrain the twitch of one brow that hinted at underlying agitation at him. Only he and Princess Minoko were supposed to know of her whereabouts in order to prevent any accidents from unfolding. She was considered a criminal at this point--a fugitive on the run.

Hng? relax? You're not hungry for any souls? ri-right? now?

"Wo-Would you like? to come up? I can ma-make s-some tea?" She motioned to the side as she stepped away from her blockade of the elevator, thumbing the button to call for its presence.