Star

He always felt like he was uncomfortably visible against the snow. The long silver hair probably would have been ignored, but the dark grey skin that betrayed his drow heritage stuck out like a sore thumb in the white of winter. People were staring at him again; some were whispering to each other in scandalized tones (how dare a man walk through the marketplace carrying a loaf of bread and some spare fruit, the nerve) and some glared as he passed as though his existence was a personal affront to them, and others cowered and pretended they weren't looking after all as they tried too hard to appear casual. JoJo sighed internally and adjusted the buttons that held his black trenchcoat closed - whatever. They could think what they wanted. At least they weren't throwing rocks this time.

Some of the streets and the various shopfront doors were decorated with little lights and candles. It was charming, JoJo decided as he noticed them. Cute little candlelights calling attention and advertising cute little... somethings. Time was difficult for him to keep track of here on the surface world, but he estimated that the annual winter festival would be approaching again soon. And the holidays meant more people crowding the marketplace, purchasing nonsense trinkets and special treats and talking far too loudly and making the simple act of buying food even more of a slog to get through... no. Don't think about all that now. Just get home, put some tea on, and then you could entertain those thoughts in your meditation. But get home first.

Upon seeing a particularly large flock of people grouping around a lit-up cart, he made the decision to cut through a back alleyway off to his left. Sure, the alleys between Haddashan's Red Light district and marketplace square weren't always the safest place, but he felt he had better chances fending off two or three armed muggers than he did an entire crowd of holiday travelers. It was a faster walk this way, anyway - not to mention quieter.

The snow that lay in front of him was almost completely undisturbed. It seemed to sparkle in whatever bits of the setting sun's light wasn't blocked by buildings or piles of crates and barrels. JoJo stopped just past the mouth of the alley and observed for a moment; it had been falling for most of the afternoon now and a couple inches had spread itself over the town. Even a sketchy old alley could look kind of pretty in circumstances like this. Not even the wind blew as he began moving again, striding casually through the silent back street as he-

Wait. What was that noise?

He stopped, not far from a cluster of barrels leaning against the corner of a building. It would have been very easy for an average person to miss, being so soft, but monks like him were trained to hone their senses and notice everything. JoJo turned to look behind him - no, he was still alone. He returned to his front - nobody else was here.

The noise came again. Now that he was listening for it, it was easier to make out. A cough? It was quiet, and small. Someone must have been hiding nearby... He looked around a few moments longer, coming to the conclusion that the only possible hiding place close by was the barrels. There were three upright, leaning against the browning brick wall, and one laying on its side at an angle. JoJo stepped towards them for a better look...

The first indicator was the snow layer being thinner on the barrel that was on its side. It hadn't been in this spot as long as the other three had, a fact doubly confirmed by the uneven snow imprints nearby that were the size of a pair of feet. They had been partially obscured by what had fallen since whoever it was had left, only becoming noticeable under intense scrutiny. It was, however, very difficult to tell whether the footprints had been coming or leaving. The second indicator was the empty ring made in the snow on the ground - it appeared that this barrel was initially standing next to its brethren and had been knocked over deliberately. JoJo ran his gaze over the remaining three to see if he could piece together anymore.

He heard the cough for a third time. It had grown weaker, and it seemed to be coming from the barrel tipped onto the ground. Was someone inside it? JoJo carefully tucked his groceries, wrapped in their paper, into the deep pockets of his coat and took to one knee for a better look. The barrel was sealed thoroughly. Possibly a little too thoroughly, he pondered as he ran his hand over some of the wood. If there actually was someone in there... oh no... As an experiment, he rapped his knuckles twice on one of the wooden panels.

A few seconds of silence passed... ten... twenty... he stayed patient... thirty... forty...

cough

His eyes widened - someone was inside! Without thinking twice he raised his arm above his head, clenching into a fist and bringing it down with every ounce of his strength on the seam between panels. A jolt went up his arm through his wrist, but he ignored it and brought his fist down again. The noise of the violent impact and bending wood beneath his hand would undoubtedly draw some attention, but he didn't care. He'd finally broken through the outer layer of wood; just a little bit more and he could break it open!

JoJo rose to his full height and leaned back, lifting his leg and stomping hard with his full weight. He felt the heel of his boot break through the wood with a satisfying crunch, and finally he had enough room to grip with his hands and pull with all of his might. The lid of the barrel flew across the alley, bouncing off the opposing wall and landing flat in a slowly building snow drift. The metal ring initially holding it shut followed soon after.

He took a knee again, bending down to peer inside - the person in the barrel was a child. It had to be. No adult of any race could possibly be that small. It wasn't small enough to be a baby, but it couldn't have been that much older. The skin that wasn't bruised black and swollen appeared to be a dark red, and a thin red tail was strewn across legs ending in hooves. The child moved slightly, dark indigo hair shifting to reveal darker red horn nubs... A tiefling, JoJo realized. Half-demon in heritage. A pit settled into his stomach; demon or not, there was still no excuse to do this to a helpless little kid. Had it been here all day, slowly freezing to death?

The child moved to look up at him, light lavender eyes following the movement of his hand as he slowly reached out. JoJo didn't fault the kid at all for the amount of fear visible in their eyes. He stayed still, not moving, not speaking, waiting for them to respond. He could do this all day - the problem was, he didn't think the kid could. Too much longer and severe frostbite could set in; the child was close to death. JoJo could tell just by looking. The pit in his stomach grew. Lavender eyes stayed weakly focused on him, moving from JoJo's own and back down to his hand, and then back up to his eyes... He attempted a reassuring smile, hoping the intent would come across...

And it appeared that it did. While the fear didn't seem to dissipate, something else that he couldn't immediately identify seemed to move in next it. The child slowly uncurled from the fetal position and reached out a thin, shaky arm to grasp at JoJo's outstretched palm. The skin was frigid to the touch. He attempted to keep his grip gentle, but firm as he pulled the child out of the barrel and into his arms.

As he shrugged his long coat off, he looked the child - the girl - over again. She hadn't been left with any sort of warmth or clothing or covering, making her sex apparent once she was out into the light. The girl was shivering wildly, barely able to stand, leaning her full weight against his torso. Even if she was this small, were children supposed to be this light? She felt so fragile next to him. He moved to wrap his coat around her, careful of the bread in his pocket, and caught sight of dried blood on her face. The marks going down her cheek were already starting to clot up, with one particular star-shaped scar forming on her neck in the center of the flaking smear. He fought down anger as he bundled the girl up - if he lost his composure he might only scare her away, and she couldn't afford to be on her own.

Her light weight was reinforced as he stood up again, easily lifting her with one arm. Immediately she curled into a ball again and buried her face in his shoulder - for a second he was convinced she'd lost consciousness. Then she moved to clutch weakly at his shirt, and he was relieved when he felt her breath on his neck. For a moment he considered taking her directly to Braya's orphanage, before remembering that it was clear on the other side of the district... she'd have to come with him. His place was closer. She'd have to stay at least overnight, maybe a day or two. Clean her up, warm her up as best as he could, make sure she eats something and doesn't die in his arms. After that, to Braya. Braya will know what to do. Braya will know how to care for her properly.

JoJo ignored the biting cold and snow coming at his now-sleeveless form, focused once again on getting home. The minutes passed in silence as he moved with purpose. He drew even more attention now - the man was wearing basically a tank top in the middle of winter, the hell is he doing? That's probably what they were thinking. He didn't even spare them a glance, marching down the street and cutting into another alley. Occasionally he'd look down at the little girl in his arms to make sure she was still with him in the world of the living.

The pair finally came up next to the well at the end of his street. JoJo's tiny one-person shack was just coming into view. Home. He couldn't help smiling a bit, mostly at the thought of getting out of the weather, and he looked down at her one more time.

This time she met his eyes. Pale lavender gazed into bold red - the fear within her was gone now, replaced with... something. Something he still couldn't identify beyond being positive. It made the color look brighter, somehow. Fuller. She stared for a moment, and then graced him with a soft smile of her own. His heart skipped a beat and his step faltered slightly; despite midwinter's bite he suddenly felt incredibly warm, the feeling flowing through his chest and into his body as she cuddled up to him again. What was this feeling? Was this normal? Is she magic? Is she doing something to him?

Stick to the plan. Make sure she's okay, give her to the nice orphanage lady. Things will go smoothly from there. It's the best option for her.

Make sure she's okay, hand her over to Braya. Give her to someone else-

Someone else outside of your house-

Someone else you don't talk to often-

Someone else... The pit in his stomach was back again.

No. You have a plan for her now. Stick to it. Stick to it. Stick to it.

Stick to the plan...