The Death of Winter

The red haired man took his glare to Liz before walking off, vanishing behind the corner. Keiran, in his thoughts on the Summer Spirit, almost missed her question. "Oh... It will begin in December, as is custom for many states who do not see snow." If he was successful in his endeavor, he would be the one watching over the snow while his High Spirit brethren were alive and immortal.

"I'm afraid your brothers must wait a few more months before the snow shows itself." Keiran bagged the novel and the journal before handing it off to her. "Thank you for frequenting the store. Both the owner and I appreciate it."
 
"It's no problem. I like coming here." Liz said before taking her books and nodding to Keiran. "I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully!" She walked out of the store, not noticing that she had dropped a piece of paper from her purse. It was full of writing, both sides covered in a neat, cursive scrawl. It seemed to be talking about some story.
 
Keiran was about to go back into his book when he noticed a paper out of place. Reaching down to pick it up, he read it over, seeing it was not in his own thin, neat handwriting. It had to have been something of Liz's, as she'd been one of the few people to frequent the store. He folded it before putting it in his pocket. Only a few minutes passed before he pulled it out and read it again. It was about a story, which explained the journal. He hadn't taken her for a writer, but it was a nice change to see.

The day turned to night and back to day again, and Keiran was back in his spot, but he wasn't reading. He stood, shoulders straight and eyes glowering at the man in front of him. It was the same bulky and fierce man from the day before, but this time, he was speaking directly to Keiran.

"I don't see why you're here. The Summer Spirits are handling the season just fine without you icy bastards jumping in."

"I am not here to interfere with summer. I am only here to help winter. You must know winter is dying."

"Is that so? Seems fitting, seeing how many people are out running around enjoying the sun, not your snow."

"...I understand far better than you, Sarin. I request that you leave, now." The man was no longer playing around, and Sarin shook his head, exiting the store. Keiran sighed, sitting back down and glancing at the floor. Now that the Summer Spirits were truly aware of the situation, they might try to take advantage of it.
 
Liz was walking to the store when she bumped into the man exiting the store. She dropped her book and journal, taking a step back. "Shit, I'm sorry... I wasn't looking where I was going." She knelt down and picked up her books before walking into the store. She smiled and set the Harry Potter novel down. "Hey, how's it going?" She asked, starting to look through the aisles again. She was in a nice dress today, a forest green cardigan complimenting the dress nicely.
 
The man simply growled at her before he walked around her and went around the corner. It seemed he was more agitated, but then again, when she entered the store, so was Keiran. He didn't answer right away, keeping his eyes on the ground.

After a moment, he said, "It is... going." He slid his hands into his pockets, remembering the scrap of paper she'd dropped. "You discarded this without that intention," he said, unfolding the paper and letting it rest on the counter. His eyes glanced over her form. She was better dressed than the previous day, for reasons he didn't know. Still, he could appreciate her good sense of fashion.
 
"Oh! Thank you..." Liz said, taking the paper quickly. "You didn't read it... did you?" She asked, cautiously folding it and putting it away in her purse. When most read her writings they had good things to say other than she rushed it a bit, but she had been working on it and was a bit nervous to show anyone any of her writings.
 
"I did," Keiran said, seeing no reason to lie to her. She seemed a little shy about it, so he attempted to soften the blow. "I thought your writing was fine. There is no reason to be concerned about it, or think that you have not done well. Is it why you purchased the journal?"
 
Liz smiled and nodded. "Thank you, and yes... I actually have always wanted to be a writer." She said, smiling. She pulled out the journal which was already half full. She flipped through it a little bit, happy with it. She sighed as she leaned against the counter.
 
"It is certainly an under-appreciated and noble career." He watched her flip through her journal, the pages thick with writing. "It only took you one night to write so much? What is your story about?" he asked. Her little note hadn't said anything about what her story was going to be, at least as far as he'd read.
 
"Well... it's about a girl who lives in a sexist society and is trying to find her way to becoming a warrior." Liz said, shrugging. She looked over at Keiran. A nervous laugh bubbled out of her as she looked down at her journal. "I know, stupid..." She commented, running a hand through her hair.
 
Keiran gave her the slight smile custom of his facial expressions, but this one seemed just a little warmer. "If your society is placed in an era where that was common, then it is not stupid. I believe you could weave a wonderful story based on such an idea. If it is your dream to become an author, then you will find a way to succeed."
 
"It is, but... life just doesn't want me to, I guess." Liz said with a melancholy smile. "I can't afford to be a writer. Besides, I couldn't find a publisher." She walked away from the counter to look over the books. She ran her fingers across their spines. "But hey, November should start coming soon. That means snow in Minnesota."
 
Kieran could only offer a shrug of his shoulder. The ways of humans and their currencies weren't something he was familiar with. However, he glanced away at her comment about the snow. Normally, he would have been glad for the cold. Now he was fearing it. The High Spirits had told him they, and he, would die on the first day of snowfall. Kieran didn't know when that would be. If November was creeping up on them, then so was December. He decided that it would be a question to ask them on the beach that night.

He looked outside the window, finding she had come in later than normal. His time with the Spirits would be soon, and he had to make sure Liz was gone. How would she understand if she knew he wasn't real?

"I will be closing the store soon. I walk to my home, so I will need to leave within a short time," he said, hoping she would understand.
 
"Oh! Then let me help you lock up and walk you home. I don't live too far anyway. I live in an apartment complex not far from this bookstore." Liz said with a smile, looking over at Keiran. She had to thank him some way for letting her read those Harry Potter books. This could be the perfect way!
 
His words certainly had the opposite effect, and with the way she'd lit up, he didn't know how he could say no to her. "I... that would be nice," he said, hesitating. She was showing him kindness as he'd done to her, but conversing with the spirits would end up being more important. He supposed he could walk and then leave again, which would fulfill both of their desires.

"I will close now then. I do not believe anyone else will enter here." Keiran picked up the keys, and after they both left the store, he twisted the lock so no one else could go in. Pocketing the keys, he said, "Shall we go?"
 
"Lead the way!" Liz said, happy to walk with him. She looked around before turning to Keiran. "So, what do you like to do? For fun, I mean." She asked, out of the blue as they walked, a bit nervous as she played with her dress. She seemed uncomfortable in it, almost as if she felt out of place in the fancy piece of cloth.
 
Spirits had no real sense of 'fun,' but Keiran tried to oblige her all the same. "I read in my home and in the book shop. It is relaxing, and there are plenty of things that I can look over." The technology of today's world wasn't entirely lost on him, but he didn't think it was very stimulating to sit around on a computer all day or watch television.

"What about you?" he asked, doing his best to pull the conversation off of him. The more she pried into his life, the less of a cover up he had.
 
"Not much, a little writing and sometimes I like to dance." Liz said, not wanting to tell much. "Excuse me for asking, but why do you like snow and the cold so much?" She asked, curious. The girl was intrigued about the man and wanted to know a lot more about him. She looked over his stormy gray eyes, captivated by how different they were from her own blue.
 
She did want to know about him, and he couldn't brush her off, lest he wanted to lose her friendship and possibly his only means of saving his race. "I was... born on the Winter Solstice. You may know it as the first day of winter. It is... something my... family grew old with." Keiran had no real family, only those who created him.

"It reminds me of them, so I live as if I too will grow old with it." He didn't speak like he would have children or even really grow old. He realized how it sounded, but there was no turning back. "I would like to see everyone enjoy the snow as I do."
 
"Then you should see the Minnesotan kids. They can't get enough of it. Snow means possible snow days which means snow ball fights, snow forts, snow angels, and snow men." Liz said, chuckling. "Though that is cool. Being born on the winter solstice and all. I was born in the summer, but I've always liked colder weather better." She said, not looking where she was going and hitting a pole. She backed up, blinking as stars seemed to dash across her vision.