Welcome to Gaia! ::

The snow that had been covering the city for the last few days made actually getting together with Afton a bit harder. One or the other of them had to trudge through the snow and sometimes it just wasn't worth it. It had made the last few days lonely which was why Hartley had been so happy to see his friend and an overnight bag earlier in the day.

Afton had used the excuse that it was the weekend and they were both off work and didn't have anything else to do.

Either way Hartley was overjoyed to see his friend and was trying, though not as well as he'd like, not to seem like an excited puppy about it. They had plenty of things to do and just having Afton around was something that tended to calm Hartley down anyway. They'd eventually ordered pizza and started playing games while the sun crept lower in the sky.

Hartley looked up from where he'd been skimming over a guide for Afton, trying to work out to do a particularly tricky prat, when he heard the question. "A walk might be nice to help with the extra calories from dinner and give your hands a break." There was a grin on his lips as he set his laptop aside and stretched.

He wasn't so sure about the outfit thing though. Sure Afton's maybe, it covered him up. But his was still shorts and no sleeves and it was snowing. "I've gone out with Sumi a couple of times and, i guess I haven't been too cold but," He bit his lip as he thought about the whole thing. "Do you really think the powers help with the fact that it's snowing?"

Sumi had said they should power up more often though. Neither of them would get used to it if they kept hiding from it.

"Right but ... we have to go outside first to transform. Sumi said not to do it in the house." The kitten had warned him that doing it inside or close to home wasn't a good idea in the event someone else was watching. "So we'll need coats anyway." He slid off the couch before padding over to the door so he could pull on his boots and tug the small coat closet open.

"And you're supposed to offer to keep me warm or are you learning nothing from your hero characters?" He grinned, teasing as he tossed Afton's coat to him.

"That's cause I have less meat on me so I get cold easier than you." He shook his head, grinning as he pulled on his hat. "And once we transform I wont have all the fluff. I've got shorts on."

Sure his outfit had fluff on it but it wasn't enough to keep him warm. Afton at least had on pants and long sleeves.

"But if you want me to hold your hand and keep you warm until we get somewhere safe I can do that. You just have to ask nicely."

"Yea they're still in my pocket from earlier." He stuffed a hand into his coat pocket and shook them so they'd make a bit of noise. Ie'd left them in there since any time he went out he had to take his coat. Couldn't forget them if they were always in something he'd wear.

Once they were outside he locked up before pulling out his gloves to tug them on. It was colder out since the sun had gone down and he figured even a short walk was going to take lots of bundling up.

"That would make sense but ... why would magic make sense?" He huffed slightly, pulling the fluffy collar of his coat up around his ears.

"Sometimes I'm not sure it's not 'batshit' but at least having you around too makes it a little more bearable." If he had to do this alone, despite Sumi and the rest of their support network, he didn't think he'd make it. Afton at least made it all seen more real and more like something he could handle. With Afton by his side it didn't seem impossible.

They headed out onto the sidewalk and Hartley lead his friend toward an unused alley he'd started powering up in when he needed to. There was a fire escape to get up to the roof and the alley technically had two other exits if you knew the area.

Seeing someone, Afton, transform was still strange but once Afton was settled in the mantle of Bermuda he dug out his pen. Holding it up he called out to his homeworld and felt the soft green vines wrap around him.

Sometimes Hartley wished he could see what he looked like and then others he was sure he didn't actually want to know.

When the light faded he was set back on his feet and rubbed his arms automatically. It wasn't warm but it also wasn't as cold as it should have been. "Well, i guess it works a bit"

He looked up when Bermuda pointed, eyes widening as he saw the streaks of color crossing the sky. "Wow ... um, yea. Roofs." He snagged the end of the fire escape to haul himself up before looking back to make sure Bermuda was following. "Wonder what's going on. We're not high enough to get the aurora."

When they reached the roof he paused, brushing some snow out of his hair before looking up again. It, whatever it was, spread across the whole sky as far as he could see.

"What...."