Winter was coming soon. Zane knew that much, and wanted to enjoy the fall weather while it was still there, so he had decided to take a walk to a a part of Phoenix Forest where he hadn't been before. Sapphire Hill wasn't that far away from his house, but he thought that it would be nice to finally see what it looked like and just enjoy some time outside on such a nice day. He was enjoying having time to just do as he pleased, but he knew that sooner or later, he would need to get a job or he would run out of money. He could only live so long off of his savings, and when those were gone, if he didn't have a job, he might have to leave Phoenix Forest. He frowned at that thought. Even though he was still pretty new in town, he already thought of it as his home, and certainly didn't want to have to leave it to return to his old lifestyle.

Even though he loved Phoenix Forest, he still sometimes missed parts of his old life. He missed writing at times, and sometimes thought of picking up a pen and jotting down whatever came to his mind. He also missed his mother and two brothers, and often wondered how they were doing. He was sure that his brothers were doing fine; they always managed to succeed, no matter what situations they were faced with. He did worry about his mother, though. Was she still upset over his father's actions? He had felt bad about leaving his family behind when his mother probably needed the most support, but he didn't think that he would have been able to stay for very long. He could only hope that his brothers were supporting her the best that they could, and that she had managed to find some sort of happiness for herself.

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Elena left her house, the general store was closed today so all she had to do was go and make something of her day. She didn't really know what she wanted to do. It seemed like a long time since she had had a good time. Mostly she had stayed inside, but winter was coming and it was one the last times to get out before the snow. Though Elena didn't mind the snow at all.

Heading to the forest Elena looked down at her feet, and the leaves crunching underneath her converse shoes. She tucked her scarf more around her brunette hair. She felt a little like a marshmellow in the jacket but she didn't care since it kept her warm. Elena didn't seem to care about a lot of things as long as they were comfortable or anything, she was just painfully shy when it came to people.

Entering the forest she could tell even though she wasn't watching in front of her but her feet. It got a bit darker and she knew then where she was. For some reason the forest felt nice, she knew about the Guardians and that seemed to give the forest a buzz of curiosity for her. But as she was walking and getting used the feel of the forest she bumped into something, which felt like a someone. She was looking at her feet so it wouldn't have been a tree, or a bush, so definitely a someone. "I'm so s-sorry."

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Zane had become so immersed in his own thoughts that it came as a complete surprise when he felt someone bump into him. He turned around to see what had run into him, and saw a girl who was likely a few years younger than her. "No, it's fine," he said, in response to her apology. "It's partially my fault. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." He gave her a half-smile before holding out his hand for her to shake. "I don't believe that we've met before. I'm Zane." He was pretty sure that he hadn't seen this girl at any of the festivals he attended, and he had never seen her around town.

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Looking up lightly Elena blushed heavily when she saw that the person she had bumped into was a boy. He was holding his hand out to her, and he introduced himself. That was how some people in the forest were, polite and they liked to talk. Elena was painfully shy, and she didn't know what to do now, though she figured that now she would have to talk to him since she was the one that had ran into him.

Taking his hand lightly with her gloved one, she looked at their hands and not at his face. "I-I'm E-Elena." She chanced another look at his face for a split second before looking down again.

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Zane smiled as the other person introduced herself. He was now sure that he had not seen her before at any of the festivals. "It's nice to meet you, Elena." It was nice to have met someone else in Phoenix Forest, since there weren't that many people that he knew yet. "What brings you out to Sapphire Hill today?" He knew that the hill was a popular place for picnics, but he assumed that it was much too cold for her to be doing that, especially since she did not have a picnic basket.

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"It-it's nic-nice to m-meet you t-too." Elena muttered softly staring at their feet again. She was so embaressed, first she bumped into him and now she didn't have a good reason for why she was at the hill in the first place. She had lived here a long while, but most people probably thought she was new to the town, since she hardly spoke to anyone. O-on a w-walk." She stuttered still staring at her feet.

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As Elena began to talk more to him, he noticed that she stuttered as she spoke. He wondered if she might be a bit shy, noting that she was also staring at her feet as she spoke. "I'm on a walk, too," Zane said, giving her a small smile. "It's the perfect way to enjoy what's left of the fall weather." His smile faded as he thought about how close winter was; he was sure that there were only a few days left before the first snowfall.

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Elena nodded softly. "Y-yes i-its v-very nice." Elena was a bit excited for winter, sure her birthday was coming up but she still enjoyed the snow. Everything seemed so peaceful in the winter. Looking back up at Zane she noticed that he looked a little upset. "D-do y-you like w-winter?" She blushed softly as she decided to look more at his face then her shoes, her mother had always told her it was impolite to talk to her shoes instead of the person.

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Zane nodded in agreement with her. "It certainly is nice out," he said, smiling and taking a breath of the crisp fall air. It was great to enjoy this weather before the winter weather arrived. His smile soon faded as she asked if he liked winter. "No, I really don't like winter at all," he said, his lip curling into a bit of a frown. [b]"It's much too cold for my taste, and I really don't like having to walk through the snow." He paused a bit before asking her the same question. "What about you, Elena? Do you like winter?"

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Elena shrugged softly. "I-I am not a f-fan of the c-cold." Elena shifted her weight and looked at the tree passed Zane hoping it would look more like she was looking at him. He looked rather handsome though. "But it is r-rather p-pretty." She liked winter because of the snow, but not the cold, if it could be snowing and a bit warmer it might be perfect.

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Zane was glad to hear that she did not like the cold. He could not understand how anyone could enjoy being practically frozen as they walked around town. He had to admit that she was right that winter was pretty, though. "It is," he agreed. "But it is still much to cold to enjoy," he quickly added, not changing his opinion on winter based on one fact that was in the season's favor.

Elena nodded glad that it was still somewhat warm that day so the walk was bearable, most of the time in winter it got pretty cold, but it was nice to sit inside by the fire and drink some hot coco while the snow fell softly outside her window. Elena smiled softly at the thought, it was a rather peaceful scene. She also liked some of the holidays in winter. Though she had never once recieved a gift on the gift exchange day, but she always did give her mother something. Realising that she was being quiet again she blushed slightly and thought of something to say. "S-so are y-you n-new to P-Phoenix F-Forest?"

"Yes, I am pretty new here," Zane said, nodding his head. It didn't feel like he was that new anymore, as Phoenix Forest had begun to truly feel like home to him. However, it still felt quite different from his life prior to coming to the town, but he was all right with that. It was nice to just be able to enjoy life, instead of going from place or worrying about his mother. Thinking of her made him feel a pang of guilt about leaving home, but he quickly shook the thought away, reminding himself that it was better not to dwell on such a thing.

Elena nodded her head softly, that would make sense on why she hadn't seen him around, though it wasn't like she was around to see anyone. She had lived in the town since her father had died when she was younger, everyone knew her mother and brett but not her. She wasn't quiet sure if that made her happy or sad yet. "I-I h-hope you l-like it h-here."

Zane smiled. "I really hope I like it here, too." He had really enjoyed the town so far, and found it nice that he had been able to settle down. Perhaps he would be able to even find that special someone for himself, and start a family. However, he knew that such a thing would not happen for a long time, and was content to just enjoy life as it came at the moment. "Do you have any family in town, Elena?" He asked, wondering if she lived alone as well. He knew that there were a lot of people living alone in the town, but there were still others around who had family members in town.

Elena nodded, she hoped he would like Phoenix Forest too. It had been so quiet for so long, she was ready for more people to start moving in. If Zane stayed then that would be good. When he asked if she had any family she nodded softly. "My m-mother and old-older brother." She lived alone though, her mother was trying to make her more independant, and her mother hoped that Elena would find that person to help her open up, Elena figured her mother wanted to see her happy since her father died.

Zane smiled as she said that she had family in Phoenix Forest. "You have an older brother?" He said. "I have two older brothers, actually. One is a chef, and the other is a lawyer." He then remembered about his half-sister. "Oh, and I have a half-sister as well," he said. He hadn't met his half-sister yet, but he knew that her name was Lorraine. He realized that he probably would never meet her now that he was in Phoenix Forest, but it didn't bother him too much. Seeing his half-sister meant seeing his dad again, and he wasn't ready to do that yet.

Elena nodded softly. "Brett... he w-works at the c-clothing s-store." Elena loved her older brother, he was so much stronger and more confident than she, but when their dad died he opened his own clothing and accessories store and Elena and her mom were left to the general store. "T-that sounds nice." Zane seemed to have a bigger family and a bit more interesting than hers, though Brett was pretty interesting.

Zane smiled as she talked about her brother. "Really? Well, I might just have to stop by there sometime, then," he said. It would be nice to be able to meet Elena's brother, and maybe he could even buy some new clothes as well and support her brother's business. He nodded his head in agreement when she said that his family sounded nice. "My older brothers are great. I really look up to them." He had always wanted to be just like them when he had been growing up.

Elena nodded. "I-It's h-his form of a-art." Thats what she thought anyways, she liked all the clothes he made, she was wearing some at the moment. Blue jeans and a flannel blue shirt and scarf to match. She dressed well but she didn't have the personality to match them. "I-I also l-look up to m-my b-brother." She respected him and his decision but she still stayed by her mother's side at store.

Zane smiled. "That's a really unique form of art to have," he replied. Writing was his form of art, but a lot of people wrote; it wasn't anything special. Elena's brother had a really different and useful talent. "I think a lot of younger siblings look up to their older ones," he said. Saying that, he wondered if Lorraine would ever look up to him. It was odd to think that he had a younger sibling now, after he had been the youngest in the family for so long.