My feet tread lightly as I move through the somewhat frozen sidewalk.

It had rained this evening and the chilling air had turned any moisture into ice. It was cold, but my body was used to it in my light layers. My cheeks are flushed and the tip of my nose is a flaring red colour and I march past the people on the sidewalk. I can’t help it when I let my thoughts consume me as a couple passes by merrily.

Their lives were so simple and boring… I’d give anything to have something like that. Just one day of black and white… But I can’t do that now. There’s no way I could just turn away from this life now.

I have to save him.

I scrunch my eyebrows in anger at my current strain of thought and shake my head in protest. This isn’t what I should be thinking about, it’ll distract me right now.

My eyes pop up from the ground and I slow my steps as I pass by a bustling coffee house. The outdoor seats only have a few lingerers by them and I smirk when I take note of a young man seated by a potted tree.

I stop my foot steps and pull my cell phone from my pocket, flicking my long blonde locks over my shoulders in fake amusement.

“Hello? Oh, we haven’t talked in such a long time,” I coo in a high voice.

This whole act was wearing on me.

“Ah, I miss you too! What’s new?” I continue with although there is no one answering from the other end.

I nod but my eyes look to the young man as he leans against the railing, his jacket pocket brushing against the branches on the small shrub.

When I get close to the brush, I slink a hand into and I try my best to grab control of the greenery brushing through my fingers.

The small branches inch themself closer to his pocket and easily sneak inside of it. I can feel the leaves wrap themselves around the wallet and pull it out swiftly. It falls to the ground near my feet after.

My now free hand slips into my pocket as I grab the tube of chap-stick and when it emerges, I toss it to the ground near the object of my desire.

“Wow, you sound busy!” I giggle in all too adorable manner.

I lean forward, loudly complaining how I just dropped my make up so I’ll have to call back in a few minutes. I grip my fingers around both the chap-stick and the bursting leather object near it and begin to move forward.

Stealing may not be morally correct but it helps me get by… It was so easy around these people too when they were so oblivious to the world of magic or anything close to it. Being an Earth elemental had its advantage when you were surrounded by greenery. People loved to plant anything and everything without knowing the properties of its strengths; if it would bow down to someone’s control or not.

I smirk to myself as I begin to hear a man’s voice erupting from the outdoor area.

“Where’s my wallet? What the hell!”

I chuckle and shake my head as I trot down the street, staying careful of the various patches of ice on it. There are plenty of feet moving around at that point so I decide to pick up my pace.

When I make it a few blocks away and round a corner, I take note of an enchanted building that I passed by on a daily basis: Connor’s shop.

I stand just outside the shop, gazing into the window and wonder just how long it had been here for. The owner, who I guess as Connor, is stalking up the stairs with a fairly muscular man with a cute yet rugged face.

“How old is she?” I ask aloud.

Suddenly, the windows darken and I am left staring at my own reflection. I look the same I did a hundred years ago. It may be a different environment, only living in this town for the past year, but it hasn’t worn on me whatsoever. I guess there was an advantage to being linked to such mythological mania; I certainly wasn’t aging at the same rate as the colourless people.

There were no wrinkles around my almond shaped eyes, their brown colour matching my love for the Earth. I smile before turning around to walk to the alleyway that was five minutes from here. There was an abandoned cellar that I had taken over when I moved here and it was attached so a small apartment building.

As I move, I take note of the build-up of ice become more prominent and try to step carefully in my leather boots.

“Ah, seriously…” I breathe through pursed lips as my feet step carefully over a large section of ice. It stretches quite far and I try to guide my feet across it.

I hear heavy steps behind me and roll my eyes at the thought of someone running on such grounds.

Really? Was it really necessary to move quickly when you could slip and fall?

“Wait,” a male voice says from behind me.

I’m suddenly nervous… Did the man from earlier see me? Maybe he had magical qualities about him too.

I feel a hand grip my shoulder in a light manner and gasp. Surely no one saw me.

I try to move faster but feel my feet give way on the ice and begin to fall forward. My eyes squish close and I prepare for a hard fall.

I’m expecting to feel the sleet beneath me. I’m expecting bruises along my arms tomorrow. I’m expecting icy cold… Not warm arms and hands.

I’m panting quietly when I open my eyes and take note of a man very different from the one at the coffee house that is gripping my head from bouncing against the pavement. He’s half cradling me in his kneeling state and I begin to wonder if he has hurt his knees from the fall. My hand is on his chest and my fingers are clenching the fabric of his sweater in them. I can feel his muscles and I flush as I enjoy the feeling of them in my hands. When I lift my gaze to his face, our eyes connect immediately and I study his face.

He has curious eyes and dark hair that does a bit of a wave as it hides his forehead. His lips are tinted a dark pink and I can make out his hot breath as it takes form in the night air. There’s something I find incredibly attractive about his nose and I don’t know why I seem to think so as I stare at him.

“Ellin…?” the man suddenly asks.

His voice isn’t incredibly deep, but it’s also not high pitched either. It’s the perfect balance.

“Fi-Fiana,” I stutter, somehow awestruck by this man’s being, “My name is Fiana.”

“Sorry… I’m N,” he tells me with a somewhat quiet voice.

I can feel my heart beating irregularly as I feel oddly familiar with him. We stare at each other for another minute before he shakes his head, moving his eyes away from my face as a strange emotion flashes through them.

“Let me help you up,” he mumbles as he stands, his hands landing on the small of my back as they help me into an upright position.

“Thank-you…”

He nods with a somewhat melancholic smile, “Yeah, of course.”

I look to the ground as I struggle with the situation at hand. I want to keep talking to him, but why do I feel like I need to?

“Okay, I’ll see you around,” I tell him as I turn around to continue my trek to my cellar.

“Yeah… I’ll see you around.”

I smile at him over my shoulder before moving forward, once again my mind racing but with a different topic; who was he? I knew his name was N, but I have this strange sense I had met him before… Surely in my one hundred years I would remember a handsome face such as that.

I turn the corner at the alleyway, my legs getting goose bumps on them briefly.

“It’s so cold,” I whisper to myself as I come up to the cellar door.

I kneel down to open one side of the doors when I hear faint foot-steps. I look up and my gaze is met with the gleeful eyes of a black cat perched by the edge of the cellar doors.

“You must be cold too, kitty,” I say.

My hand reaches forward and the cat immediately presses its face against my palm, its tail flicking in happiness as I greet it.

“No tags,” I mutter as my fingers scratch its neck, “Well, kitty would you like to sleep inside tonight? I don’t have much, but there’s a bed perfect for two.”

I smile and give the cat a wink who, for some reason, seems almost frustrated at the latter half of my comment.

“Well, come on then,” I urge as the cellar door sits open.

The cat jumps down the few steps and once I make my way down, securely fastening the doors shut, I turn around to see the feline paused and taking in its surroundings. I only have one large open concept room with furniture scattered neatly about. The cat looks almost judging and I scoff as I watch it tread carefully in the room.

“No need to judge, my friend.”

I pull my jacket off and throw it on the wooden table, kicking my shoes off as immediately flop onto the queen sized mattress.

“Ah, sweet rest,” I coo as my face rubs against a pillow.

The cat jumps to my night stand, staring at the strange plant by my bedside. He moves his paw to flick at it and I smirk in response.

“It’s jasmine, kitty,” I begin with as lift my fingers to it, “It’s helpful for sleeping, to be honest. So hopefully we can both rest well tonight with this by our side.”

The buds have not bloomed yet and I question whether or not I should play with the greenery by my side… There’s no one here to question me, so why not?

My fingers lift to graze it and quickly the buds bloom into tiny white flowers. The cat pauses all movement and stares at me peculiarly before I giggle.

“Don’t tell anyone, kitty, it’s our secret!”

The cat, who I am now assuming is a male, perks its ear in curiosity but then slowly steps onto the bed and moves toward me. My eyes have half closed and sleep is close.

I can’t help but smile as the black cat presses himself against me and I bring the covers over both of us as I enjoy my mini space heater for the night.

Cats had always been my favourite animal, especially black ones.

My eyes shut themselves as sleep takes over me and I am left to cuddle my new friend for the night.