Fantasy Blood on the Ice

[PixelPink]

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The cold air made the young woman's breath puff in front of her like so many tiny clouds as she blew on her hands, staring up at the top floor windows where a few lights were already on. The apartments were filling up quickly, it seemed and she glanced down at the sheet of paper explaining the rules and whereabouts of her apartment. The metals were still gleaming in the late afternoon light, and the stone was still without chips, painted an off-manila. Off to the right were the dumpsters between buildings B and C, but she turned right to building A. The snow dampened the sound of cars that passed. Once inside warmth spread through her, footsteps dampened on the entrance carpet where she wiped her feet and headed up the stairs; passing other movers like herself. She only carried two boxes and a dufflebag, though. A young couple at the beginning of her hall on the second floor laughed with their friends and she couldn't help but smile. It was all ahead of them. The small card the landlord had given her was a slightly tight fit in the reader, but the door unlocked with a soft click and she bumped it open with her hip.

The walls were bare, the kitchen was bare, the den was half-bare. She let herself smile again at what a perfect clean slate the apartment represented and took a deep, giddy breath before stepping inside. Without wasting time she began unpacking her dufflebag, stuffing her clothes unceremoniously into the built-in dresser inside her half closet before yanking out a large cardboard tube and box of sticky putty. The walls were first. Filled nearly edge-to-edge with posters and canvases of gaming characters and anime she enjoyed or thought was beautiful. The movers wouldn't make it until the late evening, so she set about working on the kitchen first, pushing her earbuds in and turning up the volume until her phone blinked a warning at her.

She was home.

 

[DistressedDisaster]

The brisk air around him was a welcome contrast to the heat from his body as he jogged back towards his apartment. He'd settled what little possessions he'd moved in with fairly quickly, and had left out on a run around the area. This would help him familiarize himself a bit more with the new area, as well as burn off some of the anxious energy that bounced in his chest upon the thought of adjusting to new neighbors and a new environment. Still, the cold was piercing, even with the exertion of exercising.

He was reluctantly forced to retreat back to his home, untying his jacket from his waist to cover his shivering arms from the harsh chill settling in. God he hated the cold. Ever since he was little, he'd always been more susceptible to the shifts of temperature around him. One of the many things that hindered his day-to-day life. Either he was too cold, too hot, he'd forgotten to eat, or lost track of time and fucked up his sleep schedule with one night where he didn't notice the time until hours after his self-imposed curfew. Hopefully this new environment would keep him more attuned to his surroundings. Surely he'd more easily be made aware of the time, simply based off the lack of noise in the later hours of evening. Unlike his previous home, shared amongst a trio of roommates who seemed to lack any need for sleep or silence.

Upon reaching his door, he pulled out his keys and quickly entered without sparing too much time glancing at anyone in the hall with him. And once the door was closed and locked, he headed to relax on a cot he'd purchased during his move, tugging the thin blanket around his shoulders to help further abate the lingering chill of outside. Soon enough, he found himself lightly dozing atop the sheets, allowing himself a brief rest after his run.