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The cold chill of the winter air blew through the closed windows, seeping in through the cracks you assumed must have been somewhere there. Or maybe it was through the walls. Maybe the roof was to blame, or the foundation itself. It was almost certainly a result of age. Huddling closer to your own body under the blanket you took from your bed, moth-eaten and faded, you exhaled like it was a curse. Grim was curled up on the armchair, having the only other salvagable blanket in the whole of Ramshackle. You couldn't tell if he fell asleep or not. The worst part was that you, inevitably, had to move from your vaguely warm position. Regardless of whether you regened on your vow to clean more of Ramshackle or not, you had to eventually get up. With the way things were going, it would likely be to just sleep in your bed. Hours have passed much faster than you had expected, despite you only having stayed in the one spot. What a waste of a day without classes.
Still, you couldn't change the past. And you were fairly certain you'd do the same thing tomorrow. The days were hardly getting any warmer as you inched closer to the peak of winter. Looking back at Grim, you considered waking him up. You were somewhat bitter, still, about him burning a few of the good blankets you had first found in the dorm. Or about the fact that he almost lost the dorm. And, honestly, many of his actions since the two of you met. How terrible he was, always finding new ways to torment you while you struggled to adapt to such a dramatic change in scenery.
You were still a bit pleased he was generous enough by now to surreptitiously leave bits of his food in your bag. You were less pleased with the scent of tuna sitting in your bag for several hours. It was the thought that counted, or so you told yourself.
He still hadn't moved, even when you called out his name. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of his tendency towards setting things ablaze when he startled, you opted to leave him be. You had gone through the trouble of cleaning out the fireplaces, and you hardly needed magic to start a fire. You didn't, however, have much in the way of tools for such a task. Having Grim around was incredibly useful in this endeavour, and you never considered what to do without him. Still, you could start by moving firewood to the basin of the fireplace. Wrapping the blanket even tighter around your jacket-covered shoulders, you stood up and ventured towards the windows. You kept it there so you wouldn't have it underfoot while you moved about, but now you reconsidered it. The windows were drafty from afar, but even more so up close than you had imagined. Another exhale that sat between exhaustion and frustration escaped you, your breath a ghostly pale in the air. You picked up the logs, your blanket unraveling without the tension. Shuffling back to the fireplace, you laid them down with a small thud.
You hoped that the warmth you produced on the small corner of the sofa you had huddled up in earlier had retained some warmth. Your only joy was the lack of rain during such weather. The leaks were far more manageable when the snow refused to melt.
You looked back at Grim, only to see him peeking over the edge of the blanket. He shifted once the two of you made eye contact, wrapping himself up in his own blanket before briskly strutting over on all fours. You didn't know how late it was, but you wouldn't be surprised if it was the dead of night between the silence and chill. Maybe that was why Grim didn't say anything, instead silently asking if he should light the fire with his curious gaze. You nodded and he set it ablaze in little time at all.
Figuring it may simply be better to sleep in the longue now that a fire was lit, you moved back to the couch. Grim trailed after you, still clinging to his blanket. As you rearranged the pillows and laid down, you briefly wondered if sleeping with an active fire was any good. Unfortunately, the couch you were on was close enough to the fireplace and thus already far warmer than before.
You already started falling asleep before even finishing getting comfortable. If it wasn't for Grim suddenly jumping onto you, you probably would have. He muttered out some half-sleepy sounds you figured must have been an attempt at words. He did, however, succeed in depositing his blanket on top of you as he burrowed under your own blanket. You let out something that was half yawn and half sigh as you moved Grim into a good position, cuddled against you. You then shifted his blanket around to add more warmth to the both of you. His little blue flames didn't burn you, but were warm regardless. Tomorrow you would definitely get some chores done, but for now, you were more than content with cuddling up on the couch and sleeping in whatever warmth you managed to scavange with Grim.