January Hymn [closed]

Shepard hadn't seen his daddy in a while. The man's constant presence was a reassuring feeling, yet now that he was gone it felt more like a void. In all honesty, it was stressing the boy out. Every ring of the daycare door, the toddler would snap his head to the side to get a glimpse of who it could be. Waiting on his father to walk through the door with a big grin on his face. The other caregivers at the daycare seemed to have picked up on this, as each time the door opened they would then distract him with toys and games.

Today, they had taken them into the park. Adorned in thick coats, and soft beanies, and warm boots and mittens, the toddlers waddled out of the daycare and into the thick snow on the ground. Their noses, ears and cheeks flushed a red hue against the gelid air. Except for Shepard, who remained just as warm as he was inside. His skin kept its normal tone, and almost seemed hot in the layers upon layers of clothing. The child in question stood stiffly in the middle of the snow, boots covered in the offending cold. An awfully long red scarf spilled down his back and down to his feet.

Rather than play in the snow like his peers, Shepard opted to crouch in the ground and peel off the layers of coats he wore. Lips pressed together with the tip of his tongue peaking out past them, the boy struggled to pull off his jacket. One arm out and the other bent at an odd angle the boy struggled with the zipper, not quite understanding the concept of fastenings quite yet. In fact, they rather pissed him off. Blue eyes narrowed in a considerable glare for someone quite as young as Shepard, he growled and stomped his feet against the powdery snow.

A child taking off his jackets in the middle of the snow? Yeah, that was a cold waiting to happen.

Keirsta was never particularly fond of the winter, however it never bothered her to an extreme degree either. She just required a coat and a hat, possibly a pair of gloves if the weather was particularly frosty. Her muscular build also made for good insulation, and so the cold never truly bothered her anyways.

With the battle at Sofia due to Argona's agitations, Leo had been away. The conversation still played in her mind, with Leo asking her to stay to take care of Shepard in his absence. Several tips from the other daycare workers told her it was particularly hard for him to have his father gone, but she understood it. It made sense to her, Leo was the primary caregiver and with him gone it was bound to leave a hole in the poor boys' heart. Just as her leaving had done, but she held onto the hope that he was young enough that her near-constant absence wasn't as hurtful.

But pain wasn't the topic on her mind. She had vowed to be there for their son as much as she could and she was going to keep it. Most of the daycare workers were inside, but some had decided to take some of the older children out to play in the winter weather of North Dakota. A bright smile was on her face as she came into the daycare, being told that he was outside. A nod and the clearance to go right through to the little park where her boy would be awaiting.

It wasn't difficult at all to spot her boy. His hair color alone was enough to find him, but she couldn't tell what made him catch her eye more. His appearance or just what he was doing. Keirsta couldn't find it in her to be mad at him but simply laughed in a slight confusion and bewilderment as she went over to him. "My, my. Whatever are you doing?" Kneeling down, she took a moment to study the mess the boy had made of his winter gear. His scarf and gloves flung to the ground, his jacket halfway off as if he attempted to wiggle out of it without doing the zipper. Something she herself totally would have done out of sheer laziness as a child.

Taking a moment to pick up the glove and scarf which were slowly soaking, Keirsta did her best to remove the slightly oversized outer jacket from the young boys' body. Quickly folding it up and also setting that across her lap, she gently picked Shepard up and set him within her lap. "You know, mister, it's freezing out here." Her tone was slightly scolding, as her nose pressed into his head and nuzzled him. "Brr! Brr!" It was her distraction to finally fix the mess of other layers of jackets he had on him, for the time being just a simple inner layer being all she could get to properly fit on him.

Blue eyes flashed up, face frozen in a near fit of anger. As soon as Keirsta went to reach for the jacket, Shepard was ready to throw himself into hysterics. All the other caregivers would force the jacket back on. They didn't understand, the down jacket was just uncomfortable! Shockingly, Keirsta did not do that. Shepard recognized her on a subconscious level, as a result Shepard's angry contorted face slipped away. Similar blue eyes stared up at at the woman's own, blond brows knitted together in resigned frustration. Even that melted away as the woman pushed her nose into his hair, her voice bringing a smile to his face. Shepard's small fists holding onto her jacket, feeling the fabric clutched into his fist. Head ducked down, he paid no attention to the adjustment of his clothes.

Swinging feet kicked up some of the snow, pushing the boy off balance. With a yelp, he managed to catch his mother's hand and pull himself back up to balance on her lap. Unknowingly to the boy, giving the woman quite the sunburn on her hand--heat spreading across the bare part of her hand.

With at least one layer of warm clothes on him she deemed it to be a success, one of the other workers in the background telling her just how much of a struggle it was to even get anything to even touch him. A gentle laugh rang into the air, directed both at her boy and the worker. It worked for both. The bits of fabric he had grasped kept a slight feeling of security as she had done her best to balance him without toppling into the wet snow. But her eyes were still trained on making sure he stayed safe, surely a maternal instinct kicking in.

The moment Shepard seemed to be coming away from her lap, her hands outstretched to compensate. "Woah there!" As he had grabbed her hand to push himself back to her lap, what registered first wasn't his strength -- that came to her mind second. No, what registered was the surge of heat suddenly flaring along the spot he grabbed. An instinct to pull her hand away was hard to fight, the muscles tensing in an attempt to leap back. But the flare disappeared as quickly as it at come, and her other hand came around to hold her sons as she checked out the damage.

Right where his hand had grasped was almost a perfect replica of Shepard's fist in bright red on her skin. It perfectly resembled a beginning sunburn, and her brows furrowed in puzzlement. She'd most definitely have to go take care of it, but Keirsta was willing to make the most of the moments she had without pain. Grabbing a little handful of snow she let it balance on the spot as a mini icepack, turning her full attention back to the boy. "You are just growing up on me so fast." This was a question she'd surely have to bring to Leo's attention on his almost-nightly calls to check up on Shepard.

With her unburnt hand she felt his exposed to the open air, knowing without a doubt that her own fingers would be somewhat frigid. Expecting much of the same if not worse, it was a decent surprise to find that they actually felt... warm. Hot, almost. The immediate concern of a fever rose but it was apparent he showed no signs, considering how willing he was to throw off his clothes. Ah, could it be his gift? She didn't want to jump to conclusions if there was the chance that Shepard actually was under the weather, but how else would her son be able to give her a sunburn?

The child paid no head to his mother's concern, nor her reaction to the burn developing on her hand. Rather, he squirmed from his mother's arms, landing in the soft snow on all fours. His bare skin melting the snow around his hands. Puckered lips spread as the toddler found his footing again--holding his hands to his face to inspect the liquid on his hands. Quite honestly, the child was expecting to pick up the snow that the other children packed into half attempted spheres. Shepard merely brushed his hands down his pants, waddled to another bank of snow to repeat the process. Shockingly, the boy was not perturbed by his inability to gather snow in his hands.

After the nth time, Shepard conceded in his loss and merely skirted back to his mother with dripping hands.

Her distraction seemed to be the gateway to freedom for the little boy, as his squirming had allowed him to break free. It snapped her attention back to him, watching as he landed in the snow. At the very least, he still had water-resistant pants on, but she knew from experience a bit of the pseudo-liquid would find its way to chill his socks. As he got up though Keirsta definitely noticed two perfect little circles in the snow, small patches of water. Getting onto one knee to be ready to help and clean away what could very well freeze him, as the water was simply wiped away she couldn't help but grin. Keirsta was never one who believed in helicopter parenting, but she wasn't going to shy away to not be there the exact moment she was needed.

With his snowclothes still buried in her lap, Keirsta took a moment to readjust. Gloves went in her pocket, his scarf draping around her shoulders, and the outer layer of his coat hanging over her arm. She was holding back an inward laugh at the size of the scarf - it perfectly fit her! As Shepard came back with dripping hands, she took the scarf and gently dried off the liquid from them.

An idea popped into her mind. Of course, she would be watching his hands and skin closely for the slightest sign of turning pink or even white. But, in the meantime, if he couldn't pick up actual snow, surely he could still enjoy it? "Hey, Shep, hold out your hand.." She mimed what she wanted him to do with her words, holding out her hands the moment she spoke.

Allowing one of her hands to break from the demonstration, Keirsta made an almost sprinkling motion. From it came little twinkles of 'snow' essentially crafted from her gift. Shepard's own personal snow flurry, and if he reached out to it, he could grasp it. Unlike snow as well, he wouldn't get frostbite or in his case, have it melt. It would simply balance in its tricky feeling, being felt but not at the same time. She doubted such a complex sensation would bother him, but she did hope that he would enjoy having some snow to hold onto. Maybe she could even persuade him to build a tiny snowman with her?

Tiny hands kept close to the boy's chest protectively. Shepard stared at his mother with a frown on his face, blue eyes peeking past blond bangs with an uncertainty. Suddenly, his eyes shot up to the magic snow falling from above, widening as he watched them fall. A singular and reached out toward the flakes, pausing for a moment to catch the adult's eye to check if it was okay. The pleasant emotion on her face was enough for Shepard to reach out with his bare hands.

A squeal sounded from the boy as he began to hop from one foot to another, pulling his hand back, then pushing his hand out again. Beaming, he grabbed what he could from the air and tossed it up--watching the flakes drift back down past his face. As if struck with a brilliant idea, Shepard turned back to his mother with two hands out. Not in the same way she had shown him before--no. Rather, both hands had finger tips touching, then pushing them against the other hand's fingertips.

It was a motion he used normally with his father and the other caregivers. Mostly because he did not know his words yet--but she should know...right?