I drew @ilovegt ‘s characters Trevor and Bennett from their comic. These guys are my absolute favorite! It’s such an orignal comic and I could ramble on and on about how amazing it is, go check it out if you can!

For more information, DM me on tumblr, or Email me Zealivus@gmail.com all sales final.

Did this drawing of winter (and Claus) which took about 2 hours, I’m really happy with how it turned out

I made a gt mini animation ^^// hope yall like it

Winter and Claus comic Chapter 1 part 2

Chapter 10

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Winter composed himself before walking out into the main room where Ryan was boiling honey and current, already making jam. Winter managed to lightly chuckle at that. Well, it was now or never, if winter didn’t rip off the bandaid now, he wouldn’t have the courage to later.

“Hey Ryan, i-uh…i have something to tell you” winter gulped nervously, already sweating.

Ryan didn’t look up as he stirred the berries over their little electrical heater “yeah? What about”

“i-i made a new friend” winter said shakily, hoping to ease the human into it.

“Oh? Did a new family move in or is it one of the neighbors?” He asked curiously.

“i-uh…neither…he’s actually lived here longer than we have.” Winter stuttered out nervously.

“Really? Why haven’t I ever seen him around? Or have i?”

“Uhm…w-well the thing is..he-” winter had to say it, he took in a shaky breath, his palms clammy “he’s the human boy!” He finally blurted out.

Ryan stopped stirring and furrowed his brow “how’d you manage that?” He said with a tone of suspicion.

“I-uh- wait you’re not mad?” Winter was baffled, he was sure he’d just be yelled at and breaded again, then again, this was Ryan.

“I’m waiting to be mad when I hear the whole story. You clearly aren’t dead and I haven’t heard the humans asking calls to pest control, so I assume you are either lying or have a reasonable explanation” Ryan said. This was the side of Ryan that winter admired so much, logical, calculated, waiting and observing until knowing the full story to make judgements.

“Okay so, basically” winter proceeded to explain the entire situation, though spared the gruesome details about the pain claus had accidentally caused to him, to Ryan. The other borrower listened intently. After winter had explained himself Ryan thought for a few minutes before replying.

“so, let me get this straight, this human-”

“claus”

“Right, Claus, caught you-because you were being careless again and not following protocol- and questioned you. And when you didn’t answer his questions he just let you go?” Ryan asked, clearly wary of any human’s words.

Winter nodded “and don’t forget the part about-”

“yeah yeah, i’ve known about the father being abusive, humans are really fricked up creatures. So you decided to go back to him after he let you go because…you felt bad for him?” Winter nodded in earnest “okay, and now the two of you are friends?”

“Well its longer than that but yeah! And he and i just had a talk about boundaries and he agreed to respect my wishes!” Winter said defensive things to his friend.

Ryan hummed thoughtfully, pursing his lips once more in thought “I suppose that’s better than him trapping you. But do you understand the risk? He could turn on you at any second. I know you consider him a friend but you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt. That’s how borrowers live. You’ve told me how you feel about him, and you’re basically an adult at this point so i won’t withhold this from you but i need you to promise me that the second anything seems off, if he says something that could indicate he wants to harm you or other borrowers in any way, you need to leave him. Promise me that winter?”

Winter gasped, overwhelmed by the respect his brother had for him “of course, I promise ! Anything. Thank you Ryan!!” Winter hugged Ryan tightly, which was at an awkward angle considering Ryan was still making jam.

“I don’t agree that talking with a human should be allowed, but at this point it is your decision not my own.” Ryan awkwardly said, a twinge of smile on his face, embarrassed by his little brother’s excitement.

Winter pulled away excitedly “okay! How about you watch me and him interacting together that way you can voice your concerns and i can talk to him about it! You can hide out of sight so he doesnt know you’re here if you want.”

Ryan nodded thoughtfully “that would be a good idea, I’d like to keep an eye on him just in case.” With that, winter got ready to go visit his new friend.

Winter and Ryan walked through the tunnels leading to Claus’s room, Ryan parting ways to find a better spot to watch and Winter peeping out the hole that opened up on Claus’s bookshelf. Immediately winter’s face lit up when he saw Claus at his desk scribbling words on what the borrower assumed was more homework.

The borrower cleared his throat before calling out to the human parallel to him “claus! Hey claus!” The human startled, jumping back a bit when he noticed winter. His furrowed brows loosened and an adorable grin filled his face “whin!” He exclaimed, though keeping his voice soft so as to not disturb the borrower’s ears. He went to grab the borrower but flinched back, remembering the borrower’s vivid description of how being grabbed made him feel.

Claus offered up his hand, open palm facing up “do you uh-i mean you can get on if you want” he said, still smiling nervously like the dork he was.

Winter looked up at Claus and nodded, timidly stepping into the human’s open palm, shaky and wobbly at first, but once he sat down in the center of Claus’s hand, he remembered why exactly he had been longing so much for this touch the previous night.

Winter had no shame as he cuddled up against the human’s curled fingers, leaving Claus speechless and quite flustered. Claus cleared his throat and moved back to his desk, causing winter to perk up “is that more homework!?” Winter said, jumping up with excitement.

Claus chuckled, loving the borrower’s enthusiasm “you know, i think you may be the only person in the world who gets excited over homework” he said, setting his open palm down on the desk, expecting winter to get off.

Winter had other plans. The borrower carefully clambered up the human arm, sending a heavy blush along with goosebumps up Claus’s spine. Winter made himself right at home in his favorite place, the crook of Claus’s neck. The borrower smirked as he felt the human pulse rapidly increase as winter trailed his tiny cold hands along the warm skin of Claus’s neck.

“So what are we learning about?” Winter said.

The clarity of winter’s voice when he was so close to Claus’s ear further flustered the poor human, and winter was relishing every second of it. “I-oh w-well uhm..we-uh..” Claus mentally slapped himself, his brain was going haywire at the moment and failed to form convergent thoughts or sentences. “Uh quadratics” he spat out. It was, in fact, human sciences, not algebra. But…winter didn’t know that.

Winter leaned real close to claus’s ear, smirking as he anticipated the outcome of his actions “oh~ and what are quadra-mal-atics” winter said in a terrible attempt at being suave.

Fortunately for the little borrower, even this awkward attempt at flirting worked because Claus was already a flustered dorkass mess, and winter had somehow managed to push every button on Claus’s fluster meter.

“I-uh-the..the uh…well..the mitochondria…with the cell, uh and then…the uh claus.exe has stopped working” claus pathetically pointed at random parts of the paper. At this point he was beyond saving.

For the next half hour, winter continued pestering and poking at claus, and every time without fail, claus would get flustered and scramble around. The afternoon was filled with laughs from winter and pathetic groans of defeat from claus. Truly a sight to see.

Chapter 9

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After wishing Claus goodnight, Winter began his long trek through the walls back to his home. When he arrived back, the borrower peeked his head through the curtain separating his and his brother’s rooms. Ryan was fast asleep in his cloth corner. Winter didn’t really get why his older brother always opted for the pile of scrap fabric over their sponge beds, but he supposed it was understandable. At their size, the sponge beds were more scrappy and scratchy, and they were far too small for it to actually be plush against their bodies. But still, borrowers weren’t akin to waiting supplies. Winter had manufactured a way to carve out portions of the sponge to fit his sleeping habits and positions.

Winter shrugged it off and went to the water room. The dripping wire that funneled dew out of the drains for filtering was a great idea. Winter had come up with it after seeing one of the humans books about the mechanism. This way they didn’t have to venture out into the sink to get water every week. Winter stepped over the small pile of threads he assumed Ryan had brought back from their parents house. The borrower grabbed his micro tip paintbrush and dipped it into the massive bottle of toothpaste he and Ryan had managed to sneak out of the human toiletry bag one time. He brushed his teeth with the coarse fibers of the brush then rinsed with some already boiled water.

He shuffled into his night clothes and went to his room, nestling himself in bed. For one reason, he found himself missing the comforting warmth of Claus’s hand, his neck, the way the human’s pulse thrummed so melodically, like a lullaby. Winter shot up, sitting in his bed trying to process what it was he was thinking. Sure, Claus wasn’t as scary as he had first thought, but was winter really fantasizing about sleeping on Claus instead of his safe…spongy bed? What was wrong with him? Claus was supposed to be scary, winter was small, a borrower, Claus had proven different ways in which he posed a threat to the borrower. So why did winter crave to feel the humans touch? Why did he want to be embraced like they had earlier? What the hell was wrong with him!?

The borrower sighed, shaking his head to rid himself of these thoughts. Not now, it was too soon. He didn’t even know claus. So what if he had the humans schedule fully memorized, including holidays. So what if winter knew the different breathing patterns that Claus had depending on how deep his sleep was? That was irrelevant. Just normal borrower stuff. It didn’t mean that winter….*liked* claus or anything. He was just overthinking again. After all, what borrower wouldn’t like being surrounded by a gentle safe warmth? It was instinct, in his nature. He was just doing what he was supposed to. With these thoughts out of the way, winter laid back down to sleep, though not without tossing and turning a few times.

The next morning winter was awoken by an annoying amount of poking to the face by none other than his older brother.

“Ngh….RYAN!!” Winter swatted at the other borrower’s hand as he groggily sat up and glared drowsily.

Ryan laughed, a deep, warming sound that echoed through the creaky hollowed out part in the wall where they lived. “Common lil whinny~ its time to get up. The red currant ain’t gonna pick themselves!” Ryan grabbed Winter’s hand and dragged the stubborn borrower out of bed.

Winter groaned and complied, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes as his brother dragged him out “didn’t we harvest some before you left last week?” Winter yawned as Ryan finally let go of his hand.

“Well yeah, but I gave that stock to mom and dad, remember?” Ryan said chipperly. The mention of their parents made winter’s face sour.

“Ugh. Fine we can go, but at least let me gear up man. I swear don’t you know the first thing about borrowing? The early worm gets caught remember” winter grumbled as he pulled his shirt over his head. The walls were drafty today, which meant they’d need to prepare for cold weather and wind.

Once winter had finally gotten dressed and eared up, his overly energetic brother wasted no time in pulling winter through the walls and vents until they reached the small garden. The mistress of the house often busied herself and the little girl here during her husband and stepson’s ‘little spats’ as she so underwhelmingly called them. Nevertheless, the garden is a welcome and appreciated resource for the borrowers residing in the area. Fresh fruit and vegetables were hard to come by for most borrowers so of course, winter’s neighbor’s often used the garden themselves.

By borrower courtesy, winter and the other borrowers in the area also helped grow the garden, doing menial tasks that took groups such as pulling weeds and planting extra seeds that weren’t fully buried. Winter had realized quickly that if the humans thought they were good at gardening, they would plant more, which meant more supplies and resources for the borrowers in the area.

As they reached the current bush, which was Ryan’s obvious favorite, the borrowers set out their fruit bag. It was an old jewelry bag that was the size of winter himself, but the mesh pattern was breathable and the perfect size for holding berries.

Ryan scrambled up the bush as winter set out the bag and prepared to catch the falling berries. One by one, Ryan used his blade to chop the berries off the stem. Each one was the size of winter’s head. current was a spherical red berry mainly used to make jams. It was the easiest berry for borrowers to use because the skin was very thin and the seeds were easy to spot.

Winter hummed contentedly as they filled up the bag half way. Ryan clambered down the tall plant and hopped down to winter. The two made quiet conversation as they lugged the bag of berries back home.

“so…uh…how was the trip?” Winter asked awkwardly.

Ryan raised an eyebrow “surprised you asked at all, seeing as how they treated you.” The other borrower pushed his lips in thought as he walked backwards “i guess it was alright, the usual. Mom’s doing well. Apparently the humans started fostering yet another kid. I kinda forgot how loud that place was honestly, glad im back here anyways.”

Winter nodded as he led both of them into the drainage pipe, hopping down and gently lowering the bag through the grates “did…did anyone ask about me?” Winter asked, a look of faint hope sparking in his eyes.

Ryan sighed, knowing the question would come up “I mean, you know how it is, i don’t want you to hurt your feelings but if I’m telling you honestly, they’re so caught up in their own little world that they don’t care man. Although~” Ryan smirked as if remembering something.

Winter perked up momentarily “although…what?” He said as they both stepped into the hollow interior of the wall, their footfalls echoing quietly as they walked.

“Well, Pat asked how you are, you know how she is” Ryan smiled coyly, as if his words held deeper meaning.

Winter sighed and deadpanned “common Ryan, she can’t still have those feelings, you and I both know how it ended last time” he looked down blush ringing his cheeks “plus even if she did, it wouldn’t work anyway. Not with me living two days’ journey out. Just leave it as is, "Winter said in a more stern tone as the two borrowers finally reached the interior wall, pulling away the old soda can in place to hide their entrance.

Ryan just shrugged "whatever you say bro” he said as he let go of the bag. Winter stepped into the other room and removed his gear as Ryan started the pot. Winter checked the mini wristwatch hanging next to Ryan’s bed. The borrower silently cheered, because Claus would be getting home soon.

“Ah-” Winter caught himself, looking at his brother through the curtain door, he chewed on his knuckle’s anxiously. He would have to inevitably tell Ryan about claus, it would be for the both of their safety, and if he didn’t aren’t Ryan about the human then that could end terribly for the both of them later.

Chapter 8

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As Claus cried, winter tried his best to console him, gently cooing and patting the human’s thumb. He winced as he felt the human’s fingers glide along his back in what Winter assumed was the human petting him. The attempt was…uncomfortable but bearable. He knew how vulnerable Claus was at the moment and decided to sacrifice his own comfort this one time.

Claus gently cradled winter to his chest, he pet the borrower calming himself, rubbing the soft fur of the tiny one’s tail and hair. He felt his hysteria grow less intense as he focused solely on the tiny being hidden in his palms. His fingers drifted and felt around the tinies body, focusing on the tiny limbs and textures on the borrower’s small form, pressing the tinies chest, poking his legs and fiddling with the borrower’s ripped jeans curiously. Claus was in a daze, calmed down but unaware of the discomfort the borrower felt.

Winter flinched and whimpered quietly as he was groped about and manhandled by the enormous suffocating digits. He was being used like a sensory toy, like something to fidget with. The thought that Claus was using him as an object nauseated the borrower. He felt panic rise within him, his throat tightening as his lungs constricted.  A weak cry escaped zeal as the human pressed into a bruise concealed under his shirt.

He felt the world around him suddenly jolt, Claus’s fingers shot away from winter’s body like he was made of burning hot coal. His dazed expression changed as he snapped back to reality, his blue eyes darted down in concern and met the startled gaze of winter. He blinked rapidly, studying the borrower’s submissive posture from where he sat in his hands. A quiet gasp escaped Claus as he met the once again fearful gaze of the borrower.

“OH-oh shit…no-w-whinn” he muttered, seeming to shrink away from the borrower. Tears welled up in his eyes.

Winter immediately scrambled up, quite evidently shocked by the human’s unusual reaction. Past times he hadn’t cared to notice if winter was uncomfortable but now…for some reason he had changed.

“I-uh…hey…uhm” winter gulped, still shaken from the experience of basically being felt up. He inhaled and exhaled shakily before speaking again “Claus…hey…it-it’s okay…well not okay…bu-but you didn’t know.” He said awkwardly, torn between his aroused fear and his newfound care for the human.

“Im sorry-im sorry whinn-i-i” Claus seemed to be panicking again, winter needed to act fast.

“Claus! Listen. It’s not your fault.” Winter said, standing up and wobbling as he walked on the surface of the human’s hand. “Shh, just breathe okay? Calm down. Then talk”

Claus nodded, attempting to slowly regulate his breathing. Winter looked around, the dark environment wasn’t helping with the anxious atmosphere.

“Are you comfortable enough to go back into your room?” Winter asked softly. Claus whimpered, a sound that broke winter’s little heart. Winter stumbled back and fell on his bum as the human shifted to stand. Winter clung onto the human’s thumb, not used to the human actually carrying him yet, thankfully Claus was at least careful with how he handled the borrower. Winter could faintly sense how hard Claus was trying, his footfalls more quiet than usual, softer. He moved slower and cupped his hand to his chest protectively.

The glow of the evening light hit the pair as they came out of the closet together. Winter didn’t expect the human to settle them both in bed, but apparently that was Claus’s intention.  As the human slumped back against his pillow, winter timidly scrambled up the human’s chest, perching himself in the crook of the human’s neck. He cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Hey Claus” he said quietly, but loud enough so the human could hear. A startling but soothing rumble came from the human’s throat shaking the borrower slightly, a sound of intrigue. “Uhm, we…need to talk. About you, and about me.” He said.

Claus shifted, keeping his voice low to not hurt winter with their current proximity “i-i shouldn’t have treated you like that. Or how I did when we first met. I-i treated you like you weren’t-” Claus gulped as the sickening memories of his past actions swelled up “-like you weren’t human. I-im sorry. I’m so so sorry Winter” his voice broke with disparaging pleas, silently begging to be accepted once more.

“I know. And that wasn’t okay. It’s never okay. But…I still forgive you, it doesn’t take the pain away, I’m still scared of you. But-” winter spoke gently. Claus practically shattered when he heard how the borrower expressed his continual fear. “-but i believe you can change. You didn’t know any better, and that’s not an excuse. But … .we can set boundaries, make it so that we don’t have these kinds of miscommunication anymore okay?”

Claus gasped, holding back a sob of relief at the words. “W-whinn” he whimpered, his voice warbily with emotion, this was the first time someone was willing to give him another chance, willing to try to move forward. “I-ill do anything. I want to be your friend, can I be your friend please?” Claus pleaded, his voice weak with strained emotion.

Winter chuckled quietly at the humans comment, sad but understanding. From what the borrower could gather, he and Claus weren’t so different. Claus was alone in the world, everyone rejecting him and leaving him cast away. Winter had similar experiences when he had been in his struggle with hurt. Borrowers just did not believe in depression, or the dark urges and thoughts. Winter had felt like an outcast in his home, when his parents told him he was ungrateful as a borrower, that borrowers struggled to survive and he was a freak for having thoughts of death like that, winter was crushed. No one understood him. Not even his brother. When he moved away, sure his brother helped him settle down, sure his brother did visit but…he would never understand what winter had gone through. And that feeling, of not being able to lean onto anyone, not feel supported, to constantly feel alone, winter knew why Claus was so afraid of him leaving.

“Claus, of course were friends, best friends. We gotta stick together okay? I’m not going away any time soon, okay bud?” Winter gently  placed a hand on Claus’s neck. The miniscule touch sent goosebumps down the human spine. The borrower was so gentle, so understanding and Claus couldn’t understand why.

“Bu-but im…im a bad person, no one likes me…you’re too good for me” Claus whimpered, his dark thoughts returning.

winter frowned “no!” He demanded, snapping at the human.

Claus looked down as the borrower clambered up his face and stood eye to eye with him “no?”

“no. From now on you aren’t allowed any deprecating talk, or else!” Winter said, a confident smirk playing on his lips.

“O-or else?” Claus sniffled.

“yep! You dont wanna mess with me bud!” Winter perched himself on the human’s chest.

Claus let a small giggle escape his lips, which made winter stumble. Winter’s face lit up upon seeing the positive reaction from the human.

“Ahem-now, down to business!” Winter corrected himself, pretending to be very serious while holding back his own giggles. “First thing to put in order is this, you need to ask before picking me up and touching me. If I initiate the touch, say climb into your hand then it should be fine, but its always good to ask, just in case”

Claus nodded, mentally taking notes as the borrower spoke. His eyes drifted to the soft fluff on the borrower’s head, and at this proximity he could see the borrower’s elvish features. His grey eyes truly were beautiful with the way they sparkled and glimmered playfully. Gods he was just so perfect. Claus flinched back, a bright red filling his face as he realized his thoughts.

Winter smirked when noticing the humans red face as he continued listing off their boundaries for each other.

They sat like that for hours, after talking through their issues, they had casual conversation. It was so comfortable. The sun eventually set, and with it came the tiredness. Winter, being a borrower, was heavily nocturnal, so he watched, smiling softly as Claus drifted off to sleep. The borrower clambered down the blankets of the bed, reaching the floor to head back home after the long day.

“Goodnight Claus” he whispered fondly as he entered his tunnels

Chapter 6

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[TW! Self harm/Abuse]
6 days. Nearly a week since Winter had first been caught by the human. After he had left Claus mid breakdown he returned home, terrified of what he had just experienced. The first few days Winter could barely get out of bed, the sore bruising turning vomit inducing colors. He felt miserable , his head still throbbing from the extreme sound levels he had been exposed to when Claus full on yelled at him. The borrower had fashioned ear muffs for himself out of two half’s of a mini pom-pom, which helped with the sensitivity he had now.

His brother had returned home from his trip on the 4th day, and winter had to make an excuse about accidentally getting caught in the laundry basket while trying to get extra cloth. Ryan was skeptical but shrugged it off. Borrowers were alway finding exotic ways to get hurt, so Winter’s story wasn’t too far out there.

Now winter sat in his makeshift bean bag nest he had fashioned from an old sock. Contrary to what one might believe, it didn’t smell terrible. The rice that winter had ground for the filling had been infused with dried lavender seeds they had picked last autumn.

“I’m about to go out, Do you need anything?” Ryan popped his head through the thread curtain of winter’s bedroom and asked. He had his gear all nicely polished and clothing creased from where the borrower had neatly folded them the night before. Ryan was just like that, always had to have things organized and neat. Thinking about it, Claus seemed to have a similar habit.

Winter just shook his head, a sad smile pulling at his lips from the thought of the human being like his brother. “No, i dont think i need anything. Be safe out there-” winter paused, thinking about Claus. How would the human react if he found another borrower? It was unlikely but still possible. Winter bit his knuckled anxiously “-and uh…careful about the human, the teenager…he-hes been acting strange recently an i dont want you getting caught”

“No problem Winny, thanks for giving me a heads up.” Ryan smirked and winked. He ducked out of the room and yelled a quick “bye!” Before leaving. Winter sat, picking at the stray threads of his bean bag as he thought.

He supposed Claus had changed how he viewed humans. Of course, that wasn’t to say he wasn’t still scared, that was just being rational. But he didnt seen the creatures as bloodthirsty monsters anymore. Heck! Winter had tried to console the human in his time of distress. It was strange…he was scared, but he sympathized with Claus. It wasn’t the humans fault he was so big, he was just born that way. And his size didn’t really make him any less human.

It had been a few hours since Ryan had left, which was normal. What snapped Winter out of his thoughts was the loud crash and sudden yelling that had come from the room above. Winter flinched. The human man was at it again. He always made so much noise, but then again, that was just humans for ya.

Winter jolted when he heard Claus’s voice, distressed. He used to just ignore the humans, but now that he had met Claus, seen the humans…well, *human* side, he felt guilty ignoring it.

The borrower sighed, feeling conflicted. It was getting loud, he heard a harsh thump on the floorboards that made up his roof. A strangled cry that sounded like Claus rumbled through the wall. That did it. Winter grabbed his scrappy gear and ran into the tunnels.

Zeals heart pounded in his chest, his body still ached as he navigated the tunnels trying to get to Claus’s room. He had heard the humans rushed footsteps as he retreated to the bedroom, so finding the location wasn’t an issue. The issue came when Winter arrived in the bedroom and the human was nowhere to be seen. The borrower quirked his head, allowing his ears to pick up on the sounds around him.

There was muffled sobbing coming from somewhere…Winter turned himself around in circles until he pinpointed the location of the sound. The walk in closet. Winter sighed and made the long trek along the hardwood floor. He squeezed himself under the door of the closet. It was dark, the carpet rose up to his knees as he fumbled around. He had always hated going into closets without a sled, it was almost worse than walking through mud.

Winter looked around once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, trying to see Claus. He found the human, whimpering through his sobs. He was curled up in the farthest corner, it was too dark to see what he was doing but winter felt the overwhelming and completely illogical urge to help him.

Even though it was scary. Even though he could die. Even though the human had already broken his trust and paused him away. Everyone deserves a second chance, especially when their actions were formed in panic and fear.

Winter was panting quietly as he finally reached the human’s feet. The borrower gulped in air as his eyes drifted up to the human, curled up defensively and crying weakly. A trickle of dark liquid dribbled down the human’s arm and dropped like a leaky pipe from his elbow onto the carpet. Winter didn’t risk touching the human suddenly, scared he might startle the human. So indeed he spoke up in a soft, yet loud voice.

“C-Claus” he called out. It was likely that the human wouldn’t even hear him. After all his voice was so-

“w-win?” Claus whimpered, his voice raw and cracking from his crying. He shifted around, his head poking out from his huddled up ball as he looked around in the darkness for winter.

“Im-im here…hey…it-its okay man…” he said softly, clambering up the human’s pant leg and plopping himself to a sitting position on the human’s knees. That’s when the smell hit him. The sharp metallic smell, like burning copper.

a strangled whining whimper escaped Claus, he dropped something that had been in his hands and scooped winter up, startling the little borrower. “I’m so sorry” he cried softly as he held the borrower to his chest. His voice sounded so painful, so pathetically helpless.

“Uh-i-t’s…okay…a-are you hurt?” He said, his voice muffled from his cupped position on the humans chest. A weak sob escaped Claus.

“i-im scared…” his voice broke and his hands held winter closer, tighter, while still being gentle. It was evident by the humans breathing that he was crying.

“Hey im here…its okay…” winter didn’t really know how to calm the human down. How could a creature so massive and all powerful be scared of anything? It seemed impossible to winter. “Why…why are you scared?” He asked quietly.

“m-my…da-dad..he…i-i..” Claus choked up. For some reason, unexplainable to Winter, he felt the strong feeling of possessiveness for the human. He wanted to protect the human from dangers and his fears. He knew of course, he was far too small, too helpless, to physically protect the other. He would have to just find another way to comfort and defend the human.

winter squirmed around and eventually climbed up to the human’s neck, gently patting and rubbing the skin as the human cried. “Shh~ its okay…talk when you’re ready okay? Are you hurt?” Winter repeated.

The borrower felt dead form at the pit of his stomach as the human whimpered and nodded.

He shakily inhaled and spoke “w-where are you hurt? Claus…can you show me where it hurts?” He asked, bumping back the lump forming in his throat. He needed to be strong for the human.

Claus shifted, causing Winter to grip tightly to the human’s neck. In the dull light of the closet he saw the human pulling down his sweater sleeve revealing dozens of fresh horizontal slits in the skin.

A startled gasp escaped winter “c-Claus who..who did this to you?” He felt horror and anger swell together inside him as he awaited the humans answer.

Claus’s voice was strained, barely a whisper as he said the singular word that Winter had been dreading hearing. “Me”