Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Phew… I know you said this place was quite cold, Lea, but I didn't expect the chill to be this bad. I can barely feel my fingers even with these gloves on…"

Sophia bundled herself tighter against the numerous blankets she had already been provided, trying to conserve her warmth as much as she could amidst the harsh cold blowing in from Hoarfrost Reach. While she had heard of how unforgiving the New World could be, experiencing the continent's natural conditions firsthand left a rather jarring impression on the aspiring scholar, who had come all the way across the sea to further her knowledge, this time in the field rather than solely from captured or deceased monsters. In fact, the poor woman had nearly gotten frostbite while surveying some of the local fauna up close, which was as exhilarating as it was uncomfortably cold.

With that said, though, getting back to base camp made all of the trouble she went through to get here completely worth it. Not just because she now had a blissfully warm fire to heat her frozen bones, but also because of the gorgeous specimen of a woman currently brewing her some soul-soothing eggnog.

"That's the New World, for you." Lea replied, giving Sophia a small shrug before adding a few more spices to their beverages. "I'm surprised you even wanted to come all the way out here, honestly. You never struck me as the outdoorsy type, Sophia."

"Not in the slightest." Sophia replied, mustering up a tiny smile as she explained, "But the mass migration of Elder Dragons is too tempting of an event for any self-respecting researcher to stay away from. Even myself. There's just too much data to leave unaccounted for, and I find that completely unacceptable!"

"Well, you certainly picked the best time of the century to come, that's for sure." Lea joked, chuckling mirthfully while Sophia did the same, albeit much quieter. "Just give it some time. You'll get used to the cold just like the rest of us."

Sophia wasn't entirely convinced, but ultimately replied, "If you insist."

As they fell into silence again, with Lea stirring their eggnog while Sophia attempted to write something down in her notes despite her chilled fingers, Lea couldn't help but muse about why she felt so obligated to help this woman, who she had only known for at most a month or two and yet had grown so close to. There had to be something to it, yes?

While the handler wouldn't deny that the woman was quite attractive, though also rather odd at times, it felt as if there was some other force bringing them together on this ancient continent. Maybe it was fate working its magic again, much like it had when the New World was rediscovered again?

Whatever the case, though, Lea was grateful they had met… even if Sophia was a total weirdo about monsters. Especially the Brachydios. Some of her notes on the creature alone made her shudder just at the mere thought of them.

Soon enough, their eggnog was ready, and after one final taste test to ensure everything was satisfactory, Lea evenly rationed the beverage into two large mugs and made her way to Sophia. True to form, the woman was buried nose-deep in her notebook, the sight of which had Lea chuckling again as she held the researcher's warm drink just in front of her eyes. "Here. This should warm you up."

Sophia was a bit startled by her blocked vision, but was quick enough to shoot the handler a grateful smile. "Thank you."

Wordlessly, the researcher carefully took her mug from Lea, setting her precious research notes aside for a moment. She was just about to take an overly generous sip when Lea suddenly parted her blankets, seating herself just next to the aspiring scholar and covering both of them back up. Sophia couldn't help but blush at the woman's closeness, which left her cheeks red from something other than the cold.

"M-must you scoot so close to me?" Sophia asked, feeling a lot warmer despite not taking a single sip of her eggnog.

"Assuming neither of us want to risk freezing, yeah." Lea replied, giving Sophia a tiny smirk as she countered, "That's not a problem for you, is it?"

Sophia remained silent for a moment before softly responding, "No… I suppose not."

Lea chuckled at that, and Sophia was quick to do the same. In fact, the researcher even pressed herself a bit closer against her companion, believing that the added body heat might help to more quickly thaw out her chattering body. Or so she told herself.

Whatever the case, though, Lea didn't seem to mind, and Sophia was grateful for that fact as she finally began to sip at her eggnog, instantly feeling her body beginning to warm up as the delectable liquid slid down her throat. And yet, even by the time they both finished their drink, the researcher firmly believed that Lea's presence had warmed her up farm more than her sweet-tasting refreshment.

Maybe field research wasn't so bad after all.