Valentine hated winter. It was cold like hell had just frozen over and he just had to have the shittiest cold resistance known to mankind. To make it worse, he was standing outdoors at the front porch of the Rosales' manor. He came here right after classes just to drop off Shay's notes and all the homework she'd been missing after her little incident before heading home as soon as he could.

He knew he should really feel bad for Shay but the more selfish part of him wanted to feel sorry for himself for being the person to bring her class notes in this winter. Why couldn't it be any another season? He'd already managed to pass on his mission to the first person that answered the door (He'd guess it was a sister of Shay but he couldn't seem to care more to be sure). Now, he just really wanted to be back home where it was warm and comfortable and he could lie around with something warm to sip to ward the cold.

Alas, the odds were against him and the weather decided to turn on him right as was about to leave. He wished he could say he was prepared with the layers of cloth he wore today but he could still feel the chill seeping in. The young demon felt his knees knocking together from the cold while he stood there. He considered asking to stay in the manor until the heavy snowfall passed, but he didn't feel like imposing. His hands were already tucked away but not even the gloves kept them warm.

Valentine groaned, dropping down into a crouch in an attempt to keep what was left of the heat he had from his clothes. His head rested on top of his knees; hissing under his breath: "I hate winter so fucking muuuch."

Valentine almost jumped hearing a voice behind him. Reflex made him turn around to meet the speaker, only to find another stranger. Well... he wouldn't quite say 'stranger'. He'd caught them at the corner of his eye a few times when he visited Shay, otherwise, he knew nothing of them.

The teen straightened up his posture to not look any smaller than he felt, but this exposed him to the cold even more than he could handle. "Valentine," he corrected, barely opening his own mouth to hide the shaking of his jaw. "but Val works just fine."

The demon knew about the forecast, but he'd been sure it wouldn't be a huge problem if he only hurried. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the situation now and the snowfall had caught up to him in the end. He opened his mouth to speak, tell the other that he would be fine on this way home, but a thought crossed his mind to keep the words from being spoken. The cold was already making it difficult for him to stand outside, let alone having to walk all the way back to the orphanage. What more if it were to get worse?

"I-I wouldn't want to impose," he said, feigning to not mind the cold. His actions only seemed to give him away though, from the way he curled into himself. "I only came to drop by some school work."

Valentine returned their gaze with a mildly challenged one from himself. For a fleeting moment, he was willing to run through the snow to prove a point that he was in fact dressed well enough for the weather (to whom, he wasn't sure quiet yet). But that meant breaking off from the staring game he'd decided to have with them; it kept him grounded on the same spot. Maybe it was that, or it was the offer of warmth just pulling him back to the front door.

Despite feeling the tip of his fingers freezing over, Valentine's scrutinizing gaze didn't let up. He really wanted to disagree, tell them they couldn't know the first thing about his will to survive despite the cold, but even Valentine knew they were right. Dumb snake biology. There was a number of things he would have said at the moment, but none turned out coherent enough in his thoughts to be an acceptable retort.

With a heavy sigh, the teen relented and turned to the doors where the other stood. "For the record, this is still proper winter wear," he grumbled as he passed them; a poor attempt to justify himself honestly. He was sure there was no point in it. Just by walking through the doors was enough to make Valentine feel less off an icicle in the middle of the winter but he chose not to step any further until the adult turned to address him.

The demon child stood there for about second or two, rubbing his gloved hands together to ease off the uncomfortable frost at his fingertips."....Sorry. I wasn't expecting the snow to get this heavy this soon," he muttered, almost like it was difficult for him to say the words aloud.

Valentine regarded the other one with some level of irritation--unamused for the most part to have been replied to him the way they had. If he hadn't been freezing outside moments earlier, he would have words but that was no way to thank someone who had just offered to help him, was it? A grumble passed his lips but none of it would have been coherent enough to be understood by anyone except Valentine himself.

The snake demon remained quiet instead, following their lead when they waved for him into another room. His steps became measured and cautious as he approached them. He wouldn't have been as cold as he did earlier, but his shoulders still seemed to curl forward, but the younger one was unaware of any of these changes from his posture.

Grassy green eyes flickered from the crackling fire to the person who stood next to him, and back, as if quietly asking permission before he stepped any further into the room. Valentine hid the lower part of face into his scarf as he spoke, though rather curtly: "Thank you. But I think this is fine." A pause; a moment for his thoughts to catch up with him. "I mean it's not really necessary! This is fine as it is... err... How should I call you?" It always felt weird when people knew his name and he kept missing the others'.

If Valentine looked a little out of his element, then that wouldn't be too accurate to pinpoint his actual thoughts. The space wasn't anything he'd lived in but it had the same air that reminded him of home; but there was also the presence of an adult he didn't know a lot about that put him on edge. They didn't seem like he would do him harm, but the snake demon hadn't always been a great judge of character.

Valentine moved only after they found their way into the chair--and he was sure they would stay there for that moment-- before moving towards the fire. "Rin Yang," he echoed. He still couldn't decide if he should be calling them 'Rin' or 'Doc' after mentioning they were a medic. Something to worry about later. "For the family, or something?" he asked. He kept his gaze down on his hands as he pulled off the gloves off them, but Valentine kept his guard up for a bit longer. He decided to sit close to the fire, hugging his knees close as he basked in the warmth that touched his skin.

"I think they'll believe it if I say I'm here for Shay. She's set on making me her notebook buddy for life I think." Valentine spoke softy; his voice sounding a little far off as he kept talking. The teen moved his curious gaze back towards Rin, "Do you actually stay here or is it because Shay isn't feeling okay?"