Light streamed through the gaps in the hall room windows, old cobwebs billowed in the draft. Outside, a snowfall of cold, powdery snow: the woods looking more comfortably harmless in the mid-morning rays, the thin spruce trees with a dusting of powder on their limbs and needles. Kurt used to love winter.

The vivid sun glinting off the expanse of diamond like crystals all around him, footsteps crunching on the snow covered floor. The freezing chill the air that brought crispness to the leaves, bejewelled with frost. He recalled pulling a woollen hat over his reddened ears, tightening his scarf over his blue-tinged lips. Even with the frosty weather that coated the woods and caused him to shiver in cold, he adored how winter brought peace and quiet.

The world changed after Elizabeth disappeared. The winter winds howls hazardously and it bit his skin; the forest suddenly seemed barren and lifeless before him. It was bitter cold. Both the weather and his soul, it seeped around him, wringing him to numbness. Kurt never thought he would ever feel the same way towards the seasonal change again, it would always remind him of how it took everything he loved away; how he would never once again feel much in the icy arctic.

Not till Blaine Anderson appeared.

If anything, Kurt Hummel had thought he felt only two kinds of emotions strongly: anger and or worry. It was atypical to feel vaguely amused or even sad. Those sensations were usually half lived, not that he minded, it felt bizarre on occasions, something he wasnt used to at all.

But Blaine, this oddball of a boy materialized and Kurt couldnt comprehend the sudden surge of emotions the boy had and gave him. Whatever Blaine felt was like a fusillade of bombs. Kurt never experienced anything like that before; he never had to question why anyone felt anything. All the misery, humiliation and content that illuminated out of Blaine had actually impinged on him.

The deluge of sudden lament Kurt felt for the boy was strangely off putting.

He knew for a fact that Blaine wasnt just this simple trinket. He had layers over layers. After all, the Wendigo wouldnt have spared him if he wasnt special. Not that Kurt knew much about the strange boy; after all the only reason why they were tracking down Burt together was the fact that Blaine knew about said beast.

And after that? Kurt frowned faintly, narrowing his eyes, as if glaring holes into the floorboards. It would seem almost heartless to never speak to the boy again; not that he would even have the chance too. If the Wendigo appeared and didnt even try to take them out, it meant solely that the beast had something malevolent in plan and it was slowly just waiting them out.

Kurt had quite about enough with the Wendigo. If destroying the beast meant that he had to risk his own soul, then soul be damned.

He stole a quick hesitant glance at the chair where Blaine was sitting on. The curly haired boy was examining his wounds, well at least, where the wounds used to be and Kurt grimaced at the memory of the fight that they had. It was strange, he thought internally, still watching the other boy, odd that Blaine wasnt as fragile as he thought. Even after the werewolf and Wendigo brawl, with his lack of rest, the other managed to stay vigilant, as though he had practice.

He wasnt just Blaine Anderson, the human, Kurt decided, he was something more.

Blaine, seemingly to realise the sudden gaze on him, had fixed his bright hazel pools onto the hunter, his mouth split into a bright goofy grin.

"We are nearing the Mermans lair," Kurt ignored the beam and resolved to figure out the peculiar teenager later, "Rachels emergence slowed us down; we shouldve passed it by now."

The other boy didnt get the hint.

"We should really get moving." The brunette remarked, waltzing over to his weapon and quiver, swinging it over his shoulder.

At that Blaine yelped in realisation and nodded, literally jumping off his seat, knocking the wooden chair over. Rolling his eyes, Kurt shot a dagger glare, over at the boy who took his place beside the hunter; grabbing his sword and placing it gently back into its sheath.

Shrugging his brown hover sack into place, Blaine acknowledged Kurts disgruntled glare with a ten watt smile eagerly. Curling his lip, the hunter ignored the boy who was leaning uncomfortably close into his private space. Seemingly oblivious, the dark haired companion was bouncing on his heels, looking fervent to begin the trek to a death trap.

Frowning, Kurt wondered if the boy even comprehended the situation they were in: they werent in dire trouble but only time would reveal the trickery of the Wendigo. Moseying his way to the huts exit door, he narrowed his eyes at the sudden bluster of snowy winds. The buffeting winds were prevalence in the woods; he and Cooper had seen the snow storm once and Kurt gave an internal grouse to be facing said setback once more.

"Snow storm." Blaine whispered from Kurts left, materializing beside the hunter.

There was a long pause.

Kurt ran his fingers down his face, letting out a groan of distress. If they ran out with an oncoming snowstorm, goodness knows if they will be able to find shelter; but if they stayed here, precious time will be wasted. The scuffle with Rachel was a bump on their journey, a hindrance that stalled their route and the brunette was not exactly the most patient of beings.

Even knowing that Burt wasnt possessed by the Wendigo did not ease the worry in Kurts heart. He knew for a fact that the beast was just buying time and waiting it out.

"Should we stay here?" Blaine prodded gently, sounding unsure of himself.

Kurt pursed his lips. Staying in the creeping mold of the dusty tomb dark hut was not the best of ideas; for instance, they would be wasting precious daylight and secondly, staying still would not dwell well for the beasts that hunted during the day. However, if they left the hut, the snow storm would no doubt cause even more problems than they had to deal with if they stayed indoors.

He tested his weight on the rickety floorboards, his boots leaving fresh tracks in layers of dust.

There was another option. He noted dully, peering ever so slightly at Blaine Anderson, whom looked worse for wear, even with his wounds healed miraculously, it did not ease the physical fatigue that plagued him. Kurt wasnt sure how long the snow storm would last either – perhaps it was only a passing one and they would be on their way in a few hours.

"Well?" Blaine prompted, tapping Kurt lightly on his shoulder, "Should we stay or leave?"

Kurts frown deepened. It was either: stay in a dark enclosed space with Blaine for god knows how long or leave the hut to seek the mermans lair. He reckoned it was better with the latter. Hiding in a hut like a bunch of recluses did not bode well, especially when Kurt certainly did not enjoy the company of said curly haired boy.

"Brace the whiteout and find the mermans lair. Its not too far from here and the mermaids are all hibernating, so they wont find any trouble with us." The hunter replied after a moments hesitation.

Kurt was vaguely surprised when his companion did not even show any sign of questioning the risk and merely just nodded.

The snow flurry wasnt as heavy as he thought; the hunter pondered as they mounted the crumbling steps and crossed the huts exit to the snowy threshold of the forest. The once idyllic morning rays were covered by the windy buffeting snow, pressing hard against their backs. Not caring if Blaine followed behind, the hunter began to trek deep towards the spindling trees in the distance, the hut disappearing as they made their way towards the mermans lair.

A vast mist stretched away into the deep woods, the path looking lost beneath clumps of snow and fallen trunks. They had to hurry. Kurt leapt over a giant trunk slick with moss and snow and the path took a sharp turn. Behind he heard Blaine scramble and trip through the wild woods like a blind man with the mist clouding their view; the hunter left it to his instinct to figure out the direction of the underwater cave, afterall, it wasnt the very first time he had to find the place.

The Merman was an odd creature and Kurt, as a child, couldve never fathomed the gruesome fat beast from the dainty fairytale mermaids he was taught to believe in.

Well, at least, they didnt look like that at first glance.

They had to find some way to lure their prey in after all and unlike the sirens, they werent able to sing. Underwater, their shimmery features sparkling and glimmering, magnified by the clear glassy water, ruby long locks looking as soft as the petals of an orchid.

Men who have been mesmerized by their soft pale skin and fragile green scales moulded together, stood close to the edge of the lakes or river, trying to dip their hands in to touch the almost luminescent creature had been the easiest sort of prey. Consumed by lust and greed, they would find themselves sprung at and dragged into the depths of the river where they would drown. Those who managed to somehow struggle back up to the surface had a bigger problem coming.

On land and unconcealed, the mermaids looked repulsive. Mermaids were far from good-looking; they were scaly disgusting creatures with jaws full of sharp jagged fangs and slimy scaly faces. Their beady eyes and pouty lips were enough to scare even the bravest of all hunters away.

The worst of the lot was the king of all mermaids; the Merman.

He had always imagined the king of all the dainty creatures as a dark haired menacing feature, swimming through the corridors, his strong arms beside his muscled chest, his fishtail; long, powerful and gleaming moving in rapid motion propelling his mighty body smoothly through the clear water.

He never expected an old slouchy ravenous half fish man who shrieked for nothing but human male meat. The brunette hunter recalled a few times he had to make his way down to the lair where the Merman held his female victim as hostages in exchange for stout male humans. The Merman had insisted that eating other human males would bring him immortality and Kurt remembered scoffing at that.

He couldnt kill the beast, however, Kurt snorted inwardly at the vivid memory of him stabbing the creature with a silver dagger, for it to bounce off the monsters thick fat blubber. Impenetrable was his skin and his head – the hunter gave up on trying to kill and reason with the beast.

Thankfully, in the winter, the Merman lay dead asleep. Not that Kurt was troubled whichever way, the beasts that lived under water were more of a nuisance than a real problem.

"Theres the frozen river path!" Blaines exclamation broke the hunters train of thought. Glancing furtively to the direction of which the other party pointed to; true enough, there was a frozen lake, leading up to a waterfall, ice-covered and immobile.

Kurt let out a sigh of relief.

At least they had found the place without much trouble; they could trudge through the abandoned tunnel holes in the cavern behind the waterfall. The Merman had made it that he could cross to different part of the forest underground, digging tunnels that span from one end of the forest to another. Unfortunately for him, Kurt had found the cavern rather useful for himself and had unwelcomingly used it on various occasions.

If the hunter recalled clearly, one of the tunnel brought them close to the heart of the forest. Proceeding forward, the two of them hiked up to the frozen stiff waterfall and found the eroded cavern, well hidden under snowy blankets of moss and vine. Behind them, the snow storm began to grow heavier and Kurt couldnt help but feel somewhat thankful that his companion wasnt as slow as Cooper.

The cavern wormed its way half a mile into the hill. The walls below the ridge smoothly curved to the floor and the walls above arched a few feet up to stalactites. Small, loose stones littered the floor of the cave mouth. Kurt stepped in, watching his shadow dissolve into the dark dank cavern.

Before he could warn Blaine about the sight he was about the behold, the other boy had scrambled in his backpack for a torch and was hurriedly turning it on. Bright beige of the torch flickered to light and radiated the deep cavern, bathing it in a glow of yellow. Kurt rushed to slam his palm against the other boys mouth, anticipating a scream of terror.

Oddly enough, Blaine was soundless, though his eyes widened and shone in an almost morbid fascination.

The glow of the torch had revealed frozen shapes in the dark deep cavern, jade colour tailed beasts curled up in what seemed to be thin solid ice cubes. The shrunken bodies bore an uncanny resemblance to human beings. It seemed faintly like a museum display. Deep in slumber, the mermaids werent going to wake up anytime soon. Kurt hastily removed his hand from Blaines mouth and dusted it gawkily onto his pants.

"I thought you would panic." He mumbled an explanation, shrugging nonchalantly.

The dark haired boy scratched his head sheepishly and grinned.

"Ive done my fair share of research, Kurt." He offered boldly, "After all, Ive always wanted to be a hunter."

Rolling his eyes at that, the hunter grabbed the torch light from the boy and stalked off unceremoniously. Ducking past the stalagmite looking ice cubes, Kurt braced himself for the biggest one of all. In the exact position a few years back, sat the throne of the Merman and uncourtly, the Merman frozen in the throne. Muscled and stout, the bright crimson hair of the Merman fell to his arched eyebrows and over his shoulders; his iridescent turquoise scales curled up neatly like a snake.

Blaine let out a gasp and halted.

"Thats the Merman?" He quizzed, half whispering in slight shock. "I thought he was –"

"Plump? Foul? Obesely ghastly?" Kurt cut in brusquely, "Not as charming as this one trapped in ice?"

There was an embarrassed cough.

"Thats a little over a top, Kurt." The boy muttered behind him, "I was about to say less pleasing to look at."

The hunter scoffed.

"They are trapped in their own slime and that ice-like goop conceals their true nature." Kurt elucidated his companion, "If they remained as unpleasant as they truly are, people who explore these caverns would know the real truth of the matter."

There was a pause.

"Sounds a lot of human beings and their use of makeup." He added dispassionately, flicking his wrist at the Merman that sat frozen on his throne.

At this, Blaine let out a grunt of disagreement.

"Why do you have to constantly mock humans?" The curly haired boy grumbled exasperatedly, "Its not like a mortal wholly wrecked your life! You are the one making things difficult for yourself."

"In retrospect, it is." Kurt hissed back, glaring at the other now, "Keep clinging onto your fairy tales, Blaine Anderson, until the price for believing them becomes too high. The world isnt as appealing as it seems."

"You can believe what you want, and I can believe what I want." The other boy sounded resigned as he shuffled forward, shoulder to shoulder with the hunter.

There was a sigh that escaped the dark haired male and Kurt reeled away from the touch.

"The existent monsters arent the ones with fangs and rotting skin, the kind a young child might be able to wrap his or hers mind around – they are monsters with human faces, so banal you dont recognise them for what they are until its too late." Kurt peered over the Mermans throne and found three sectioned tunnels, the middle one leading to the surface near the heart of the forest. "I dont need to believe them. Ive seen them."

Carefully threading across the cavern floor, Kurt headed to the middle tunnel, the world etched in charcoal until his torch light shone brightly against the stone walls. Realising something slightly amiss, he turned back swiftly, only to realised Blaine wasnt following him.

"What are you doing?" Kurt gritted out.

"Thinking." Blaines voice echoed out in the cave.

"Cant you think and walk?" The hunter snapped back, irked by the others behaviour.

"No." Came the taunt reply.

Before Kurt could spontaneously slice the boy, a sudden realisation dawned on him and he backtracked to where Blaine stood, staring at the Merman, unblinking and hazel eyes clouded over with something close to –

Interest.

The hunter froze.

"Blaine." He grabbed the boys shoulder roughly, trying to peel his gaze away from the Merman but to no avail. "Blaine, look at me."

But the curly haired boy was having none of that. His gaze lingered on the beast in front of them; and he remained still, observing and unmoving. Part of Kurt was incensed; of all times to be obsessed, why now? Another fragment of the hunter was curious; why the Merman – unlike the others who have lusted over mermaids.

He cleared his throat, trying to catch the attention of the boy. It didnt work.

Unable to shift the attention, Kurt flicked Blaines head with a finger. There was no response out from the other boy so the hunter tried kicking his shin, even pulling on Blaines ears. Nothing could knock him out of his sudden intense examining of the Merman and the hunter groaned in frustration.

This isnt good. Sighing and resigning himself to fate, he hastily stepped in between the frozen Merman and Blaine Anderson, and locked his gaze upon the boy; feeling slightly humiliated and self-conscious of the situation he was in.

Slowly, Blaines dazed gaze trailed up to the hunters own ice blue orbs, seemingly in a trance like state. They were inches apart but the brunette knew he had to find some way to snap Blaine out of his stupor; many men who explored the Mermans caverns in the Winter never left till Spring – not that they were able to.

Kurt scrunched his nose in mortification.

"Thats right." He began, voice shaking faintly as he grabbed a hold of the boys shoulders, "Keep looking at me, okay?"

Steering the boy in a direction away from the Mermans throne, Kurt fumbled with the torch in his hand. Instead of shining the torch on the unfamiliar grounds, he focused the bright glow on his face, causing Blaine to gawk blankly at him instead. Gently guiding the curly haired male away, a wave of relief washed over Kurt when he saw life return back to those hazel pools; albeit up too close.

"W-what?" Blaine blinked perplexedly, mouth agape as Kurt hurriedly pushed himself off the other boy, hiding his ignominy.

"Congratulations." Came the aloof declaration, "You are utterly and completely in love with a fat turd."

The curly haired boy looked muddled for second before it registered in his head. At once, his face turned blotchy beet red in embarrassment and Blaine glanced away, covering his face in horror. Kurt forced himself from rubbing salt into the boys wound and merely studied his nails nonchalantly, smirking at the groan that came from Blaine.

Rolling his blue eyes, Kurt left the cavern full of mermaids and advanced into the tunnel with Blaine following silently behind him. Even though he was partially glad that they had decided to keep mum, the hunter had a probing query for the other boy – usually, it was women who were attracted the Merman; why did Blaine fall prey to the monsters charm then?

"You are welcome." The hunter spoke after trudging through the tunnel for a few soundless minutes. "Thats the first and last time I ever stand uncomfortably close to you." He jested coolly.

Blaine, however, did not seem to take the joke lightly.

"I disgust you, dont I?" He murmured, face unreadable in the dark.

The brunette blinked. What was he going on about? Ignoring the sudden sober tone in his companions voice, Kurt shrugged it off, casually mentioning that Blaine had already repulsed him at the start and whatever that happened wasnt going to change anything.

Blaine let out a grunt of despair.

Whatever was irking him, Kurt didnt want to find out. Instead of prodding the boy further, he remained quiet, brushing off the sudden awkwardness in the air and attributed it on the rugged weary walls surrounding them. Cold air filled every corner and warmth seemed to have never tried to crawl its way in the tunnels.

There was a sharp shout and a thud as Blaine fell; he seemed to have stumbled on the jagged rocks beneath them, strangely something that Cooper would do instead of him. Shining his torch on the boy, Kurt watched in indifference as Blaine heaved himself off the ground and sighed unabashedly, rubbing his face in exhaustion.

"Do you require rest?" The hunter enquired coldly, eyeing the other boy sceptically.

"No." Came the biting reply.

Kurt frowned but forced an insult down his throat.

They continued on forward, silence wafting over them like tongues of dense fogs licking over. It became vastly clear that something was definitely bothering the other boy but Kurt refused to concern himself over matters of emotional turmoil. If anything, Blaine did not seem to want to discuss about it either and the hush, even though unnerving, was rather satisfactory.

It would probably take them a few hours to trek through the tunnels – unlike the Merman, they couldnt slide through the tunnels with mermaid mucus – not that Kurt wanted that at all. The quietness seemed to have finally unnerved Blaine because after a moment of walking without chatter, he spoke up.

"Im sorry about that." His voice was muffled under his hands, it sounded as if he was covering his face in discomfiture, "I was never affected by mermaids before."

Kurt raised a brow in disbelief.

"You must think so lowly of me now, huh?" Blaines voice wavered slightly.

"Ive seen worse." The hunter commented blandly.

There was a pause.

"Worse?" Now the dark haired boy sounded less solemn and more baffled.

"Ive seen beforehand, lustful men thirsting and finally drowning countless of times before. Cant be blamed," the brunette smirked archly, "After all its only normal for mortals to feel like that. It is, after all, human nature."

Instead of getting offended, Blaine let out a low whisper.

"Were on the wrong page." He muttered.

Kurt halted.

"I thought you would be disgusted because –" Blaine stopped, bumping onto him abruptly.

There was a disquiet pause.

"Go on." The hunter prompted, engrossed now.

"Theres a reason why Im not attracted to Mermaids but the Merman," Blaines voice dropped down low.

Is it because you arent completely mortal? The hunter turned to stare at the his companion; the dim light of the torch covering most of the boys face in shadows. Is it because you arent what you seem? Tension rose in the small space of the tunnel and just when Kurt was about to beat the answer out of the other boy, he spoke.

Inaudibly but undoubtedly.

"Its because Im gay."

Kurt deflated.

"I am sorry if I repulse you, I understand if you dont want to talk to me anymore or if you really think Im –" Blaine babbled on, running his hands through his deep dark curly hair as Kurt watched, completely disinterested and feeling faintly cheated.

Just when he thought Blaine wasnt an ordinary human; he proved to be so much more human than ever.

"Are you done?" The hunter monotoned as his companion tried to catch his breath from speaking so much. The curly haired male nodded grimly as he looked up to seek some sort of response from the other party.

Kurt shot him a dark glare.

Blaine cowered.

"Is that really it?" The hunter enquired, ignoring the sad puppy look on the others face. Blaine nodded cautiously, watchful hazel eyes on the brunette.

Sighing, Kurt turned away and continued on their venture.

"Wait –"

"You know," He cut Blaine off abruptly, "Here I thought, you were some sort of cross pollination of beast and human but its just plain mortal Blaine."

At that Blaine inhaled sharply.

"It takes one to know one." Kurt mumbled, waving his torchlight at the boy, "Really now, I thought you were special."

A few seconds was what it took for Blaine to finally comprehend what Kurt was trying to say and another few seconds for him to actually try to hug the hunter – strangely enough, Kurt didnt push him off but instead rather bluntly told him to respect their private boundaries which Blaine nodded brightly at.

It was a matter of time before their journey would be over anyway, Kurt mused darkly. At least, only for one of them.