Evelyn's grip on his arm tightened.
"Ryven, what is going on?" Her voice was low, but it was shaking. "You disappear, you don't answer anything, your location is at a hospital for a full day, and then I see you walk out with her?"
Ryven glanced around. A couple people in line were trying not to stare.
He couldnt explain his condition to her here. What would other people think? The public hates dreamers!
He turned toward Vale, who was studying Evelyn, her eyes moving up and down.
"Let's talk outside!" Ryven said, grabbing her hand, storming out of the shop with everyone's eyes on them.
Surprised, Evelyn merely let it happen, leaving Vale behind in line.
The bell chimed loudly as they stepped out, the attention of the entire café pressing into their backs.
The cold hit him immediately.
It stole the breath from his lungs and bit straight through the thin hospital fabric like it wasn't even there. Ryven sucked in a sharp breath, shoulders tensing on instinct.
'How did it get so cold so fast?'
Snow was beginning to fall.
Not heavy, not yet. Just thin, dry flakes drifting down between the towers, catching in the artificial light strips bolted along the walkways above. They melted the second they touched his skin, leaving behind pinpricks of cold that spread across his arms and the back of his neck.
They turned the corner, entering a small and packed alleyway, wires emitting from the walls and ground, tracing back to a warm generator which probably powered one of the units or the coffe shop itself which sat at the base of one of the older stack-buildings, the kind of rugged looking ones that had gone up when the city ran out of ground.
From inside the coffee shop had felt warm and close, all soft lighting, hanging plants, and fake wood panels meant to imitate a kind of comfort the city didn't have room for anymore.
Out here, the illusion broke.
Above the cozy storefront the structure
climbed floor after floor, the brick facade giving way to exposed steel ribs and dark glass. Reinforced beams wrapped around the lower levels like a cage, thick and industrial, bolted into the older foundation that had never been meant to carry this much weight. The higher it went, the more it stopped pretending to look human. Balconies shrank into narrow slots. Windows became reflective strips. Entire sections were just metal plating and vent grates.
New homes, stacked on top of old ones.
Every balcony had something on it. Laundry racks. Water tanks. Satellite dishes. Fold-out sleeping pods. People standing shoulder to shoulder just to be outside.
The street outside the alleyway was just as packed. Layers of walkways crossed above the road, connecting one building to another. Delivery drones threaded through the gaps between traffic lights and transit cables. A line for a food stall wrapped around the block and disappeared into the entrance of another tower.
Unlike in the expensive hospital, people were everywhere.
The people weren't really moving fast nor slow, it was more like the flow of water, with streams of dark and white clothing with the occasional piece of colorful clothing.
"You dragged me out here in a hospital gown," she said, watching Ryven shiver. "You're actually going to get hypothermia."
"Yeah, but I dragged you out here because I couldn't say anything in there." He said, releasing a small chuckle as his teeth clattered.
"Well hurry up and talk then!" She said sharply, folding her arms.
Ryven sighed as he moved closer to the generator, trying to stay in the heat.
"Me and my family were driving home from an event on New Year's Eve. We had the music blasting, and we're doing anything we could to keep each other awake."
Evelyn listened closely, seemingly expecting some mention of disaster.
"As we were almost home, we passed an intersection and heard a distinct sound of honking…"
Evelyn listened closely as Ryven told his story to what felt like the 5th time over the past few days.
He told her about the massive spider, the way it imitated and pretended to be the ones he loved and how he almost died. He told her exactly what he had become, and why Vale was helping him. Hell, he even told her of what happened in the lunar plane last night.
And through it all, she remained quiet, just until the end.
"So you are… a dreamer now?" She asks, shaking her head as if that would change something.
Ryven nods his head slowly. "Mhm."
"And… what does your dad think about this?" She asks.
Ryven sighs again. "He's having a tuff time. He's worried about my mom, so we haven't had to much time to talk, but he's told me that I did what I should've to survive."
"What does that mean?" she asks, chuckling out of the craziness of this situation.
"I don't know…" he says regrettably, "but im still his son, and from what I've been told, he doesn't seem to love me any less."
Her brows furrow, but before she could say anything, Vale turns the corner.
"It's quite chilly out here isn't it?" she asks, seeing Ryven quiver next to the generator.
"You should've told me to dim the cold," she said, handing Ryven a coffee holder with three hot drinks.
Evelyn and Ryven stare at her as she snaps her fingers, watching as the snow around them immediately slowed, flakes drifting lazily before disappearing altogether. The sharp bite of cold that had gnawed at Ryven's arms and shoulders eased, replaced by a gentle warmth radiating through the alleyway. Steam rose from the generator, curling around their legs like a protective curtain.
"The wind should settle now," Vale said, her voice calm, almost effortless, as if the chill had obeyed her command simply out of respect. She tilted her head slightly, gray eyes sweeping over the alley. "It's not gone entirely, but you should be able to breathe without feeling like the frost is trying to bite your lungs."
Ryven flexed his fingers, surprised at the sudden comfort. The wet sting of snow on his skin was gone, and the biting cold that had made him shiver just moments ago had faded into a mild, manageable chill. He glanced at Evelyn, who blinked in disbelief, gripping his arm as if she expected the warmth to vanish any second.
"You… did that?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Vale merely looked at her and smiled. "Yes. My powers grant me the control over both ice and snow."
She reaches out, lightly grabbing Evelyn's chin, forcing her eyes to meet her own.
"Isn't that amazing?"