When Nicole and Jasper returned home, the courtyard lay open and silent beneath the pale winter sky. Frost clung to the stone, and the air bit just enough to sharpen the senses.
Nicole was bundled tightly against the cold, a light cloak wrapped around her shoulders, her hair braided neatly into two thick plaits that rested over her chest. She looked smaller than she truly was contained, guarded but Jasper knew better. As the months had passed by she was getting use to the cold weather though Jasper insisted on bundling up.
Jasper shed no coat. He never did. His usual dark attire clung to him easily, unaffected by the cold, as if winter itself knew better than to challenge him.
"Two blades," he said, tossing her a matched pair.
Nicole caught them cleanly.
They moved to the center of the courtyard, boots scraping against stone. Jasper circled her slowly, assessing her stance.
