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Aph smiled at the boy's words. Only now did he notice that the kid might have been insulted by his offers of help. Strange, it hadn't occured to him that Isi might be put off by his piggy back rides. Aph wondered why it just felt so natural for him to want to help the young man...

"Hold on tight," Aph said once again, and he opened the door, heading off towards his building at a quick jog. "Keep up, Riv! We're going home!"

Another flash distracted Aph for a moment, but he shrugged it off, keeping his mind on running. He was so cold! The wet jacket was freezing quickly, and the only thing keeping Aph going was the brisk pace. He could only imagine how uncomfortable his young friend was.

Aph was so focused on putting one foot in front of the other that he startled when he heard Rivener's voice:

"We're here," the Frei said, angling up the stairs in front of Aph and opening the door for the two humans to hurry through.

The trio then jogged up the stairs, Aph already thankful for the warmer inside of the rickety stairway. He hoped the boy wouldn't say anything about the ratty building Aph lived in. Up to the fourth floor, and into the hallway, down to apartment 5. "Riv, help me out please?" Aph said, motioning to his pocket with his chin. He was too cold to fumble around, and he would need to put down the boy before doing that...

Rivener tucked the whale under his arm tighter, and then reached over with a hand, searching around Aph's coat pocket until he found the key. The Frei unlocked the door deftly, and hurried in with a sigh of happiness.

Aph walked in, and it was like entering a solid wall of heat. The temperature inside the apartment was at least five to ten degrees hotter than the hallway. Finally here, finally safe, Aph kicked off his boots and carried Isi over to the chair by the radiator, the chair Riv normally preferred sitting in to warm himself. The man put his cargo into the chair carefully, and pulled off the boy's boots before they trailed snow everywhere; it was most likely melting at an incredible rate. Only once the boots were put away, did Aph look at the boy and furrow his brow in worry. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Aph chuckled, removing his coat as he did so, hanging it by the door where Rivener had already hooked his. "I'm fine. I may not look it, but I'm a rather strong guy, apparently! I bet my legs are going to be sore tomorrow, but for now I'm fine." Aph walked over to the kitchen, grabbed the one chair that normally stood ignored at the table (Aph never used that table, he normally ate in front of the TV) and dragged it over to the radiator where he could also warm himself.

Rivener was now lying on the couch with his camera and the knocked-out whale. He took another picture of the critter on the couch, and then put the camera away; he needed both hands free to pick up Beauregard and whoosh him through the air while humming a tune, smiling. He really liked the little whale, when it wasn't running away.

Aph looked around his place, only now realizing that he hadn't cleaned it. It was in no shape, really, to be entertaining people. "Uh, don't mind the mess. Can I take your coat? I'll hang it with the others and it'll dry faster, there's a small radiator below the hooks."

Aph was at least thankful that all his painting stuff had been put away yesterday, to make room for Rivener's little film effort with the camera. The man didn't feel confident enough to have others seeing his works.

Aph brought the jacket by the door, hanging it next to the other two that were already dripping onto the floor. He returned to the boy's side and sat in the kitchen chair, looking out the window above the radiator.

"Well, I honestly don't think of you that way. You see," Aph settled into the chair more comfortably, raising a hand to run through his snow-wet hair. "I'm kind of a compulsive helper. I'd offer anyone the same things I offered you. If you were a kid with normal-strength legs, I would still have asked you to hop on my back, because I could still run faster than you." Aph smiled meekly. "I just worry about everyone else's feelings, everyone else's comfort, a lot more than my own... So don't feel that I'm treating you special."

There was something else Aphismet couldn't put his finger on, something that made him want to help the boy; not because of his legs, but simply because he looked like someone who needed a friend. Aphismet always had a tendancy to be a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen to problems... Isi looked like he truly needed someone to talk to, sometimes.

"Listen, I know we just met, but I feel like you're a little brother to me. I don't have any family, so maybe I'm just grasping at straws, but... Well, I guess I'm saying that you're welcome here anytime you want."

Rivener peeked over the couch's back, looking at his keeper and the kid sitting in his chair. Riv hadn't quite made up his mind about the boy yet, but he did like the whale a lot. "If you come back, bring the whale!" the Frei interjected with a pleased smile, propping the critter up in the air as he spoke, to make sure there was no question as to which whale he was referring to.

"Th-there was a fire," Aph said, wringing his hands and keeping his eyes down. "When I was seventeen. An accident." He cleared his throat and forced himself to smile at Isi. "They died. I never had any aunts or uncles that I know of, so I'm on my own."

The man got up, clearing his throat again. He headed for the kitchen, eager for something to do to change the subject. "H-how would you like some hot soup? I still have a few bowlfuls of soup left from yesterday," Aph noted, opening the fridge.

Rivener fell back on the couch with a smile, holding the whale up at arm's length, making the unconscious critter float about gently.

Aphismet blinked in surprise at the other's words, then smiled. "Seems we have lots more in common than we thought," the pizzamaker said, placing the two soupbowls in the microwave oven to warm.

Rivener smiled as the whale twitched. He lifted his thumbs, keeping the whale propped up in his palms, and flipped up the flippers softly, almost cooing at the little creature as he made it "fake-float". Rivener wished he could keep the whale, but he wouldn't ask for it, he was too prideful. He'd settle for having it visit him... Maybe someday he could get a pet of his own. The Raevan laughed lightly as he played.

The oven dinged, and Aphismet brought the bowls over, keeping one for himself and handing the other to the boy. "Here, it'll make you feel better inside." Sinking back onto the chair, Aph ate his soup quietly, enjoying the warmth, looking out the window at the lazily falling snow. "This turned out being a pretty nice night," he said.