「 want it all 」 — open, hope & snow

[HAYLEY]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri; font-size: 8pt; color: black; line-height: 22px;"]☁  hayley, contrary to what jackson might say, was not... overprotective. she was an appropriate level of protective of her daughter, who happened to be small and only just recently getting over a cold. not wanting to take her outside seemed like an appropriate level of protectiveness, but jackson had pointed out that, if she was going to grow up in a place like flintlock, she'd best get used to it from a young age, and hayley had to agree... to an extent.

so she sat outside, a stones throw from the front door of the lodge. seated, the snow reached halfway up her abdomen, and her knees were up, seating hope on them to keep the baby above the snow. she held her in a seated position, and hope stared at snowflakes passing by her face with the innocent, wide eyed wonder that only a baby could possess. she was plenty bundled up, wearing the smallest coats they had as well as an outward blanket, and multiple hats. there was no way in hell hayley would be letting her daughter learn what cold was any time soon.

❝that's snow,❞ she explained to the month-and-a-half old baby, unable to keep from smiling at her as she watched the closest snowflakes, focusing on them briefly before moving on to the next, smiling herself. ❝you've gotta learn to love it, hopers, because it snows a lot here.❞ she mumbled, grinning at her.

[ just a wholesome mother and baby chilling in the snow ]

[JAY]

[align=center][div style="width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-size: 8pt; font-family: calibri; letter-spacing: 1px; color: ;"]Snow and cold were two things that Jay despised about the winter months. The farm saw snow for a month or two before it melted away, seeing as the area was normally quite warm and dry, but that did not necessarily mean that Jay was built for a mountainous terrain such as this. He was going to try to keep close to the Lodge for the next few months, at least until it was safe to travel around again.

The man's boots crunched against the snowy path as he approached the door of the main Lodge, an icy breath tumbling from dry lips and into crisp air. He would have stayed inside all day if he could, but he could not neglect Angus's feeding time. He tended to get grumpy when he was starving.

His attention was drawn to that of Hayley and her infant daughter, who he had seen briefly but never officially met. Jay had not been around such a small child in a long time — years, even. The sight of a baby girl tended to deal him with much more heartache than most would have thought; not that he'd mention anything about that, of course. As Jay came closer, he managed, ❝ At least she looks like she's enjoyin' herself. ❞ He didn't know what else to say, frankly. His greyish hues lingered on the happy infant, and a part of him wanted to grin, but the corners of his lips were deprived of the will to do so.