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With a thick blanket wrapped around him, Tree shivered. The winter was his least favorite season by a long-shot, and this one was especially harsh. He had borrowed Fanny's weighted blanket, Marker had willing given up his blanket, and Pin had even knit him a blanket. Combined with the blanket Two gave everyone, that was four blankets. And yet, for some forsaken reason, Tree was still cold. And it wasn't just the blankets, either.
Tree also had a space heater, meant to warm his room. He kicked up the thermostat to a (rather warm) 79 degrees Fahrenheit, and even had a thick scarf and gloves. He had everything he possibly could have to be warm, and yet, he was still cold. Like the cold was eternity, and he would not be free. Plus, typical warm drinks for winter time made him feel weird, so Tree couldn't even escape the cold through hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles. A small thing Tree was jealous of Marker for.
What Tree wanted, more than anything, was just relief from the cold. It was freezing. Maybe a warm bowl of soup, fresh from the kitchen, or maybe something hot to physically hold close. Tree didn't know what would help warm him up. All he knew was that he yearned to be warm. Yearned to be relieved of the cold weather plaguing him. No matter what method.
Of course, he had asked for his teammates to occasionally check in on him (just so he did, y'know, freeze to death. Surprisingly likely in plants!), and just as he felt himself yearning for relief, there was a knock. Tree tried to be loud, but just didn't feel the energy for it. All he wanted was warmth. The request was right there, he just had to ask.
"Come in..."
"Air, you sound absolutely miserable."
Fanny came in, barely opening the door and closing it right behind her. She took a good look at Tree - in four blankets, the look of misery on his face.
"Dude. Are you still cold?"
"Y- yeah..."
"...Do you want, like, soup? Actually, scratch that, I don't care if you do or not, it's going to help. I'm also going to grab something else with it. Just to keep you warm."
"Thanks..."
Fanny left shortly after, leaving Tree once again to wallow in the cold. But now he had hope - relief would be soon. He had no idea what the "else" was that she promised, but it was meant to keep him warm. That sounded promising. The space heater did warm up the room a little bit, but the freezing cold won against the space heater (probably because warm air rises... maybe he should try to make a higher station for when it's freezing cold...).
Time seemed to crawl slower than a snail. Every second felt like agony, the promise of relief simmering away as he sank into misery. What if Fanny never returned? What if she couldn't find what she was looking for? What if all hope was lost for him and his state? What if he was bound to die here, alone, freezing cold, trying to fight back with blankets and a space heater? What if his relief never came?
Fortunately, not much longer Fanny returned, with Marker and a few items in tow. Of course, there was the soup (hooray!) which Marker held. Fanny, meanwhile, had some kind of blanket-like shape, but it clearly wasn't, as it had a cord attached to it, ready to be plugged into an outlet at a moments notice. They didn't leave the door open for long, closing it as soon as they were both inside.
"We- brou-ght soup!"
"And a heating pad. Should keep you warm."
"Thanks, r-really..."
Tree took the bowl of soup from Marker. Using the spoon to take a single spoonful of the soup, the feeling of warmth instantly start to flow through his body. Finally, proper relief that actually worked. A small smile wormed its way onto his face, a smile of happiness and relief. While he enjoyed his soup, Fanny set up the heating pad she brought, finding a close enough outlet to plug it into.
"The heating pad should let you have heat directly on you, as opposed to the space heater only spreading heat around the room."
"Thanks a lot, really."
"No problem. We don't want you dying of hypothermia."
Tree smiled, carefully balancing the soup he had while retrieving the heating pad Fanny brought. Just from the touch, Tree could tell it was going to be very helpful for keeping him warm. Not only was it extremely warm, which was perfect for him, it wasn't too big, either. Just by nestling it into his blanket "fort", he felt way, way better. Warm. It was perfect.
Well, almost perfect. What made it perfect was Fanny giving him a peck on the cheek, and telling him to "stay warm, don't die, and maybe try to read a bit to distract yourself."
Yeah, maybe he could live. Maybe he could survive the cold.