Patrolling the Cocytus was either an incredibly boring job or an extremely dangerous one, especially if the souls that had arrived for last decided their time had yet to come and sought revenge on those that had put him there- Couldn’t they get that angry with, say, the Judges that threw him there? Or even better, with themselves, for being heinous traitors? If it was just a couple of corpses being particularly rebellious, Valentine could easily take care of them, a swing of his claw was even too much for such ridiculous excuses of beings, but what he felt, that day, was quite different.
The Harpy had been walking for a while, completely ignoring his precise position in the apparently endless land of ice, for the simple reason that he was following something that called for him, the aura speaking louder than the howling wind as the Specter just crossed spiky paths and stepped over centuries-old corpses. What was that- Aura? Sensation? He couldn’t understand, nor describe it, but he could tell for certain that it was…Strong.
Call it luck or simple attention, but after hours of aimless roaming, Valentine did found something- Or rather, someone. Someone rather tiny. ‘By the Gods, what is a child doing down here?’ The Specter narrowed his eyes, as if trying to take a better look: the boy didn’t have the appearance of a corpse, nor that of a lost soul that had wandered into the wrong circle- It looked quite alive, to be honest. Not to mention that ominous aura radiating from him- It came and go almost rhythmically, but now it was just gone.
“…Harpy Valentine.” His voice didn’t betray the confusion he felt, at the very least, so he crouched down in front of the child, inspecting him from up close. “And you are?” Certainly, the Harpy realized he probably looked like a nightmare on legs, with his Surplice being quite spiky- In the eyes of a child, that really must’ve looked monstruous and yet he didn’t run away.
Suikyo reached out for the creature's face... and tried to push it away. It didn't budge at all. The motion made Suikyo stumble, taking a moment to right himself and scrunch away from the unfamiliar thing. It was casting a shadow though, and it's feet...well they weren't backwards but they weren't feet. Not a ghost but this couldn't be human. None of this made sense, this place or the funny pink haired thing.
"...what are you? What's a harpy valentine?"
He was shaking, from the cold, not fear. He was probably too cold to really feel afraid of anything, he was losing feeling everywhere else so why not his heart too. With the ground covered in ice Suikyo thought the shivering might slide him across the ground.
Why was it so easy for everyone else to die and yet every minute in this paralyzing cold dragged on? "When do I die? It's taking a long time." It hurt to talk, his lips splitting from the cold wind, every word felt as if it was creating factures at the corner of his mouth. He shivered so hard he thought his shoulder was going to fall out of the socket from the motion. It was hard to even think.
"'m cold," he told the funny thing, voice barely a whisper, pitiful. Suikyo wasn't sure if he was asking for help. Why would this thing help him, it had no reason to.
