"What the hell was that?!" I said, yelling out the top of my lungs as we stood on the avalanche that just fell.
"A natural disaster. Happens." Ciel responded, way too calm. I took a couple steps towards him, angrily, but my feet just sunk lower and lower on the snow.
"Who the hell are you, and why did we just go through that?!" I growled, pointing my finger towards him like a sharp icicle.
"Oh, relax. You didn't die, did you?" Ciel brushed snow off his sleeve, as if near-death experiences were mundane. "Ciel Voldrald, at your service!" He paused, then continued. "Though 'service' might be a generous term." He said, enthusiastically.
"I still have one more unanswered question!" I was more calm, but still yelling.
"What's that?" Ciel asked, picking his ear. "Why did we go through all this?! Obviously!" I spat a little as I yelled at him.
"Where are we again?" He asked. Which was confusing, but also irritating. This guy wasn't taking me seriously at all. "The Ogawagi clan!" I shouted, my voice slightly cracked.
"We're not in the clan yet. Is it the North or the South? I was sure I was headed North..." His fingers traced an invisible map in the air. "North, South... details blur after the third avalanche." Ciel continued to look around, he shuddered slightly. "This place is cold... Where's the clan?"
I stepped forward, towards him. I pointed towards the clan gates. "There. And it's obviously cold. You headed North, but didn't expect to be cold?"
He glanced back at me. "You don't seem very cold." His gaze pierced through me, I could tell he was looking at my ring.
"I'm... used to these climates." Right after I responded, he spoke again, without waiting. "Fancy ring... you engaged?"
"It's none of your business, either way." I put a hand over my ring, protecting it from his gaze. "Why did you come here in the first place?" I spoke, defensively.
Ciel simply walked away, down the snow into even more snow. He was walking towards the Ogawagi clan gates, which were barely visible at the moment.
"Answer me, damn it!" I was getting angrier, I jumped down behind him. "Don't just walk away from me!"
I ran towards him and grabbed him by the shoulder. "You think you can just stroll in through the clan gates like that? You'll get killed!"
"So, you'll just work your princely charms and get me in through the gates. It's that simple." He said, turning around again to walk.
"It's not that simple, idiot! The Gate Guards answer to no one, under any circumstances, except for the clan head or their commanders." I said, pulling him back before he continued to walk towards the gates again.
"Wow, you guys are pretty strict. In my clan, I could work anyone through the gates by confirming my dad is the clan head. Which he is, I'm his first son..." He looked around. "Thanks for the heads up." He tapped me on the shoulder.
"Speaking of your clan," I said. "The Ogawagi don't like the Voldrald. So there's simply no way you're getting in."
"Yeah, I know of that." He said, walking again. He did change his route though. "The Voldrald aren't very fond of the Ogawagi either."
"So, then why are you here? Overall, it just doesn't make sense for you to come here." I followed behind him.
"I have my reasons... But I can say I'll be doing some research here." He hopped over a fallen tree.
"Are you here for diplomatic reasons? You know, you being the Prince and all." I walked around the tree instead. "You could say that and get through the gates."
"I don't have proof. And I'm not here for diplomatic reasons either." He said, walking towards the walls of the clan.
"Wait, so you're a spy?!" I yelled, in panic.
"A spy? No, of course not!" He yelled back. "Don't say stuff like that, you'll alert someone!"
"I want to alert someone in case you're a spy!" I took a step towards him.
"I'm not a spy, so calm down. Got it?" He said, quietly. Almost whispering.
"So, then what are you? You're not answering any question I ask!" My voice dropped down too, I was calming down as time passed.
"I'm here for research. And not the type of research I'd bring back to my clan, if you must know, I've cut ties with my clan." He ran his hand over the stone wall. "It's been a while, too..."
"You've cut ties? Why would anyone do that?" The question slipped out, a mix of genuine confusion and suppressed admiration.
"I have my reasons. But I'm not on bad terms with my clan, either." He took a couple steps backward, still not looking at me. "So, don't go getting any ideas on your own, got it?"
"Then what? You don't answer any question I ask you." I turned towards him, watching him step back.
"Some questions are better left unanswered, my friend." He started stretching his shoulders and legs.
"What are you doing?" I watched him stretch. "I figured since you can't let me in through the gates, I'd carve my own path..." He cracked his fingers and neck.
"Wait, what are you talking about? I can't just let you sneak in!" I yelled again, looking around if anyone was near, or if they heard me. "After all, that's what destiny's about. Carving your own path!" He said again, before rushing towards the clan gates.
"Stop," I yelled, but it ultimately would result in nothing. Ciel jumped up and then grabbed onto the stone walls. He then started climbing. He was also very fast, too, I didn't even know there were any ledges on these walls!
I wanted to yell behind him, but I didn't want to risk him getting caught. I didn't know why. But I just watched him climb, maybe I was amazed, before he faded away, crossing towards the other side. And that would be the last I'd see of Ciel Voldrald...
Until nine days later. Then I saw him again, or rather, I found him. I found the Prince of the West, sleeping on the bench with most of his clothing ripped apart, he was half-naked.
I slapped him on the face a couple of times, waking him up. Sleepily, he looked at me as the sun shined above my head. "Oh, nice seeing you..." He mumbled, before turning around to sleep again on the bench.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I yelled, but I had to keep my voice down because people were staring. "Sleeping." He simply replied.
"Yeah, well you'll be sleeping outside the gates if anyone sees and reports you sleeping half naked on a public bench!" I said, trying to pull him off of the bench.
"Great way to treat the homeless!" He yelled, attracting the attention of people on the streets, before sitting up on the bench.
"I thought you were here on research. Did the scrolls attack you?" I gestured at his clothes, or rather the lack of them.
"I got into a... fight last night. And the night before." He rubbed the back of his neck, probably from sleeping on the bench. "And also the night before that."
"What kind of fights are you talking about?" I finally pulled him out of the bench.
"Bar fights." He simply said, again. "Come on, we'll get you some new clothes." When he stood, I could see bruise marks over his chest and slashing scars, they seem to be the work of claws.
When he noticed that I saw his scars, he said, "You should've seen the other guys." He said, before yawning. As sleepy and beat up as he looked, his eyes seemed the same. His piercing gaze, sharper than any blade and his eyeballs were calm, as that of a wolf.
"So what kind of clothes are we talking?" He leaned on me, and I wrapped his arm around my shoulder as I helped him walk. "I don't know, what kind do you want?"
Ciel chuckled. "Wow, you gonna spoil me, rich prince?" Ciel's smirk cut through his bruised facade, a wolf testing boundaries. I sighed. "No. I'm only gonna get you something with fur, so you don't freeze to death while sleeping on the streets."
"Fox fur, bear fur, or-?" He said, but I responded angrily. "I'm gonna leave you naked if you don't shut up." Though harsh, my words had no real bite to them.
"I prefer darker colours. Black, or maybe grey. I also want a cloak." He listed with his fingers, one by one. "And no fur, it makes me itch."
I clenched my fists, gritting my teeth. "Anything else I might assist you with, your highness?" The words dripped with enough sarcasm to freeze the air between us. Ciel tapped his chin with his free hand, before responding. "I'd like some coffee. Or tea. Anything warm will do."
"You're seriously making me reconsider what I'm doing here!" I took in a deep breath, before exhaling. "How's your research going, anyway?"
Ciel seemed to think about it for a moment. "It's not really... going, yet."
"Really? Tell me what it is, and maybe I can help you out with it." I spoke, genuinely.
"What? No way. If you want my help, I want my explanation." I stood next to him again. "Fair's fair, right?"
"I guess so..." Ciel said reluctantly, he rolled his eyes. "I need a map."
"A... map?" I asked, scratching the back of my head. "Which one? There's a lot of maps." I looked around, before seeing the cartographer in the corner, hidden behind the carpenter and the little toy hut.
"Or did you want to make a map? I didn't take you for much of a mapmaker... but I guess it makes sense." I said, while imagining Ciel drawing a map.
"What?" He replied, he sounded surprised. "Me? Mapmaker? I don't even like drawing."
"You don't?" Now, I was surprised. All the kids around me loved drawing. "I do!" Especially carving on ice. With ice picks.
"Good for you, but I didn't ask." A couple of kids ran by us, one of them hit Ciel. Ciel stared into the kid's eyes, confused, with his ugly expression. The kid stared back, but quickly, he ran away. I think he cried, too.
"No, what I need is a map that already exists. I don't know where it is, exactly, but it's here in your clan." He said, as he kept walking with his hands on his pockets. Now, his chest was even more visible. "It was made over ten years ago."
His expression mysteriously darkened as he mentioned the time. A strange silence seemed to follow him, like a shadow just beyond perception. As curious as I was, there were even more curious eyes around us. Mothers pulled children closer, traders paused mid-conversation, their gazes locked on Ciel as if he were both stranger and specter.
"How about we move quicker? You really need a fresh pair of clothes." I grabbed him by the arm and walked hastily alongside him.
I wasn't sure if I was leading him to clothes or more trouble, but either way, I was already too far in to walk away. Even though I had willingly put myself in this place, there was something about him; something reckless, something fearless, that made me feel both drawn in and dangerously exposed. For reasons I couldn't quite name, following him didn't feel like a choice anymore. Somehow, I knew that whatever path he was carving, I might end up walking it with him.