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Sampo was incredibly cold. He didn't know why, but the breeze felt like it was biting him. It didn't help much that he got into a bit of a fight with a fragmentum monster, those little shits.
His clothing and belongings were either torn to shreds or, to put it simply, blown to pieces.
He trembled, barely making it back to the borders of the city. He interacted with the mechanism to open the gate. Stumbling through it once it did. Sampo could hear the metal dragging on the snowy ground.
"Is it just me….or is it colder in here than it is out there?" He questioned himself.
It couldn't have been. The walls were made to prevent the wind from spilling over as much.
"Agh…" Sampo doubled over. Promptly wrapping his arms around his torso.
"What is going on…?" He uttered under his breath. He sucked in as much air as he could before stumbling on his knees.
Once he was standing upright again, he kept walking forward. Being lost in the labyrinth of the Backwater Pass wasn't ideal. He was cold and tired and…so tired. His feet kept moving, but his shoes were soaking wet. Making each step painful as he took them.
He kept walking.
How long had he been walking?
Sparkle was so selfish sometimes. She has the ability to travel around at high speeds that help her get around while he had to bear walking on his on two feet? Not a single offer for help?
Granted he wasn't sure how she could've helped him. But…ugh, whatever.
Walking….walking….walking.
Such a monotonous thing. You only really notice it so when you have nothing else to do.
He wondered if Gepard liked walks.
Sampo imagined that he did.
Gepard always had so many responsibilities. But he never enjoyed being idle for too long. He supposed that it was a result of being a pillar relied on by so many people.
It's admirable. Sampo really liked Gepard.
Curious.
Sampo never thought that he would think of Gepard of all people during a time like this. It's been years.
So….cold.
Sampo tsked. It's beginning to piss him off. Why is it so cold? The stellaron had long been contained, hadn't it? There was no reason for it to be this cold.
He decided to sit next to a geo marrow heater for a bit. It helped. Not much. But it's better than nothing.
Sampo's eyes trailed around the place. had the halls to the city always been this dull? He didn't remember life being so….he didn't know—lifeless?
His eyes started to close.
He was so sleepy.
He fought back the urge to sleep for a moment. Reaching into his pocket to retrieve a tiny box. It was noticeably handmade, adorned with Sampo's colours but with accents of Gepard's too.
Sampo had never felt so nervous before. It wasn't a feeling he disdained, it he didn't enjoy it either.
He pressed a button and it opened. A ring. With a blue gem encased in a beautiful silver ring. One he had bought himself during his visit to Planarcadia. He was proud of it. Even the trailblazer complimented his choice—and how much work he had put into the case.
Would Gepard like this?
Would Gepard say yes?
Sampo felt a soft smile climb on his face. He was too tired to push it any further.
He closed the case and pressed it against his lips.
He'll be home soon.
Just…yawn, give him an hour or two.
Everything was warm now. A nice warmth. Sampo liked it.
Serval stood in front of a tombstone. Her usually bright smile reduced to something more solemn.
Lynx had left, couldn't handle the hurt that had come from seeing it. Serval didn't blame her. She held no contempt for her baby sister. Everyone handled grief differently. Serval would like to say that she handled it well. Especially after…Cocolia.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Geppie?"
She smiled as she crouched down. She brushed off some of the snow that had fallen on the tombstone. She read the name again. Something inside her wishing she hadn't known it so well.
GEPARD LANDAU
Cherished son, brother, captain.
Died the most honorable soldier Belobog has ever seen.
"I don't suppose you're feeling any less than delighted?" She said. Her attempt at sounding upbeat falling just short of being successful.
"I….never thought I'd see the day where I'd be preforming without you in the audience. The day I turn a little older than you than I was supposed to."
Serval got on her feet, turning slightly to face the tombstone next to him.
"Sampo died a couple days ago. A lance right in his stomach. The workers said he would've died a painless death. The lance was from an ice fragmentum monster, so it froze everything numb."
She looked back at Gepard.
"I expect that you know this already." She said once more before patting the tombstone.
"I hope your wedding in the afterlife is just as grand as the one you planned while you were with us."
She took two cases out of her pocket.
The red and blue case went to Sampo. The gold and blue one went to Gepard. So that they could take them and place them on each other's fingers like they had dreamed of so passionately like before.
"I was never the one to really embrace Mr. Koski with open arms. But, he was perfect for you, Geppie." Serval felt a couple tears flow down her cheeks. Though, today, she didn't wipe them away.
"So perfect that you two planned to propose to each other in the exact same way. Under the Everwinter Monument. At 1:43am."
She turned around, finally looking up at the sky.
"As your big sister, you have my blessing." She sighed, the clouds above. She could've sworn that it took the shape of her brother and his husband-to-be. But when she blinked the vision vanished.
"Welcome to the family, Sampo."