The Death of Winter

"That does mean quite a lot. Thank you." He opened his eyes to look up at her, but her eyes were no longer on him. Her hand had been warm, and not the kind of heat he despised. It was... human. He liked it. And then he had to remind himself that he wasn't human, and he never would be.

Still, that didn't stop him from getting up and moving from behind the counter to hug her. It seemed he was comfortable with touching her after knowing her for some time.
 
Liz blushed when Keiran hugged her and returned it before letting go and clearing her throat. "Ahem, so um... how does the whole 'bringing power back to the winter spirits' work?" She asked, still sort of confused on this whole ordeal. She noticed in her head that the spirit was sort of hot... which was hilarious considering he was anything but in terms of temperature.
 
Heat radiated from her cheeks, and Keiran released her, the awkwardness of his action showing just slightly. "I... I do not know for certain. The High Spirits told me that I would need to garner the belief in winter again. I do not speak as you do, so I cannot gather a crowd and press my will upon them. Someone like Evelt should have been sent." Evelt had been the noisiest of the older spirits, but that had been it: he was old by human standards. Keiran, being the most recently created spirit, had youth, someone who could make the younger generations believe.

"I suppose the first thing would just be... you believing in me. Voicing or thinking such a thing may help. I am not sure."
 
Liz thought for a moment. "Wait... I think I have an idea to get people to listen. It's not exactly a sure-fire way but it would gain some attention." The brunette thought aloud, noticing a poster for a national writing contest.
 
"How would you accomplish this?" he asked before noticing her glance at the writing contest poster. "...You would write about me? About the Spirits?" They'd always kept their presence secret, letting humans believe that science was behind it. While the natural weather assisted the Spirits, it was ultimately their job to keep watch. "I do not know how the humans would react. You believe so much in science. What you consider magic is not as welcomed."
 
"We just need to get them to believe winter is important, yes? We don't need them to believe in the spirits." Liz explained, hoping what she said was true. "I could write about the importance of winter, why we need it, and why an all year summer would be dreadful for our world."
 
Keiran nodded, seeing where her plan was going. It was good but... "How long do you anticipate this to take? And do you know if the humans would react to it the way we need it to? If it does not, I need power now.... and soon. Sarin and Nanili will come, and if your words are not enough, then I will still be weakened further."
 
"The judging starts tomorrow. It's a one day, national thing. Hopefully it will make someone believe..." Liz said, pulling out the journal and starting to write. She wrote quickly, even though she wasn't looking at the paper.
 
Keiran watched her before he sat back down. "You can sit over here with me, if you would like. There is another chair here," he said, gesturing to the short chair behind him. "How do you intend to write this? I am sorry if I am breaking your concentration but... you understand the gravity of the situation we are in."
 
"I know, and it's a simple way, honestly. Persuasive writing." She said, walking over to sit with him and continuing her writing. "Give them facts on why winter is important and why we can't have an everlasting summer."
 
People came and went in the shop, and there seemed to be no sign of Sarin or Nanili. In between customers, Keiran alternated between watching Liz and sleeping. He was fascinated on how she could write so quickly, yet know what she wanted to say. The fascination was fleeting due to his sleeping, but it was still there. He managed to keep up appearances whenever someone came in, but with Liz, he just seemed to let go. He was comforted by her presence, enough to where he wasn't worried about what she thought, only what she believed about him.

The sun was rolling behind the horizon, but Keiran left the light on as he tidied up some fallen books. "Thank you for keeping my true identity secret."
 
Liz was quiet. It took a while before Keiran could notice that the poor girl fell asleep. She was nearly drooling on the desk in front of her, her notebook now filled to the brim with writing. She had just finished and needed to type and print it out to submit her submission and send it to the people hosting the writing competition.
 
Keiran gently tugged the journal from her grasp, one hand resting on her head. The young woman had written so much, and he decided to skim through it. She hadn't heard him, but she had kept his Spirit side hidden from the rest of the world. Everything else was persuasive and well-thought out. Could this really be the key to getting his strength back? He didn't know.

"It's time to wake up, Liz," he said, normally cool voice soft.
 
Liz shifted before waking up slowly." Wh-what...? Where's my...?" She asked, looking around, trying to remember what she was doing and where she was. She looked over at Keiran and stretched. "Oh, did I fall asleep?"
 
"You did. Everything appears to be in order with your writing," he said, giving her a gentle smile. He closed the journal and handed it back to her. "I thank you for keeping my true self secret. I do not know how humans would react to such a thing." Keiran picked up another fallen book, replacing it on the shelf with careful precision.
 
Liz smiled and rubbed her head, a bit embarrassed. "You're welcome... I should type it up to send it in." She held the journal close as she watched Keiran pick up the book and do his things.
 
"I will walk with you." It was easier to keep an eye on her if she stayed alongside him, but he wouldn't ask to stay in her home. It was presumptuous and humans didn't often take to that kindly.

He finished putting the books away before he and Liz left the store. He locked it up and they were in the process of rounding the corner to walk down the street when a neon orange and yellow flare shot down and nearly hit them. Keiran was quick to defend Liz and the journal. If they lost it, her only chance to tell the world about him would be lost.

"Going somewhere, High Prince?" a feminine voice sneered. Nanili stood, tossing a ball of flame in the air. Keiran stilled, watching her closely. "You're weaker today. I saw you attempting to sleep and regain strength. Didn't work, did it?" She laughed at her own words as if they were a joke. "Time to die."

She slammed a fire ball in their direction, but Kieran brought up his cold barrier, holding it there just as she was. However, the effort was weighing on him.
 
Liz was frozen for a moment, scared to move before quickly running off. She held her journal tightly in her arms, keeping it out of sight and out of reach. She ran to her home, hoping that she could move quicker than the spirits.
 
Nanili watched Liz, the fire beam weakening for just a moment. Keiran took that time to go on the offense, skirting his barrier to launch a nice spike in her direction. She was forced to dodge, and then a barrage of fiery and icy missiles began to be thrown. Luckily, the area wasn't very populated, otherwise the humans might have gathered to watch the spirits battle.

Keiran was exhausted, but something must have hit, for Nanili stopped her heated assault. Bright blood poured from an ice shard stuck in her leg, and her glare was evident in the dark. She didn't say anything to him, but her gaze held enough of a threat. She disappeared in a show of smoke, and Keiran stumbled back to the apartment complex.

He went to Liz's home first, opening the door. However, he didn't make it home because he instantly collapsed on her floor, cold clouds of air huffing in hard breaths.
 
Liz had locked the door so when something turned the knob, she checked to see it was Keiran before quickly helping him inside, laying him on the couch. She started to look him over, trying to find anything to help the poor man. She took out an ice pack that she kept in her freezer and held it close to Keiran's forehead.
 
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