The night air was cool and crisp, being close to transitioning into the winter weather. Anyone who stepped outside could see their breath when breathing, a cloudy mist flowing before their lips before disappearing and having another puff of visible air. Bundling up in a warm bulky jacket, gloves, and a scarf was the only way to remain comfortable when walking in such a cold breeze. After finishing his shift at the Inn, Nolan tried getting some sleep in his room but for a couple hours he just tossed and turned endlessly. It was hard to say exactly why, but he had a lot of things on his mind. Not so much bad thoughts but ones that kept him up and wondering. He threw on a yellow scarf, white sweatshirt, and some baggy pants before heading out of the Inn to be exposed to the quiet night.

In Summer, things were more active at night since kids didn't have school and were often up later and people just seemed to have more going on. However, when stepping outside, Nolan was met with a quiet street and nearby buildings starting to dim their lights gradually as it got later. Nolan slipped his headphones on that were previously hidden in the pocket of his sweatshirt and turned on the switch of his music player before starting to walk alone. The stillness of the night was a little bothersome to him, reminding him of one of those scenes in horror movies when a person is all by themselves and suddenly something pounces at them. Nolan's eyes briefly glanced around him as he walked before shrugging and smiling. Well, he didn't live in a horror movie and there weren't any criminals on the island, so he was fine.

His feet trailed up the little river that ran through town all the way into the outskirts, where the tall reeds of grass swayed in the wind and crickets chirped from all around. The music beat through the headphones, being a distant drum sound from anyone else listening to it. Nolan slowly walked as his eyes gazed at the river, watching the ripples of water and the twinkling lights in its reflection. Tilting his head up, Nolan saw what looked like hundreds of stars together like a whole blanket of them in the sheet of dark blue. "Wow~" Nolan chimed to himself in awe, slowing down to a halt as his eyes rested up at the stars above him. It's times like these when you realize how small you are compared to the rest of the universe.

It was going to be another cold night. Sitting huddled together Abi and Cole watched as their fire slowly died out. "I'm going to get some more wood." Abi only nodded as she pulled the blanket they had scavanged from somewhere, ok Cole stole it, tighter around herself. Cole had some other acquired items on to help keep him warm but with winter coming they were going to need some serious help.

Walking along the river he blew air into his hands and rubbed them together. It was cold but he had to protect Abi, she was only on this island because he had brought her here. All because he was looking for a family he couldn't even remember. It was frustrating that his memories still hadn't come back but Abi said it would take time, that he couldn't expect them to come over night.

Cole had an armful of twigs and such that seemed dry enough in his arms when he spotted a young man standing by the river. He was staring up at something so he looked up as well to see the stars decorating the sky. "Wow." He said just like the other male, not that he was copying him or anything. That was when he sneezed and dropped his pile of sticks. "Rats." He said as he sighed and crouched down to pick them up.

Nolan's mouth was partially open, his breath puffing into little misty clouds in front of his lips while gazing up at the sky. There were hundreds of them above and only every once in awhile were there that many in plain view. There were probably a few different constellations somewhere in the ocean of stars but Nolan's breath was taken away by the sight and all he could focus on was the setting. The music lightly drumming in a low beat in his ears, Nolan didn't even notice the presence of another person nearby, being swept away from reality and continuing to look up.

A sudden sneeze from behind him drew Nolan's attention, his eyes widening before he pulled the headphones down so they rested around the back of his neck, the earpieces remaining over the front of each shoulder with the music beating still. The young man turned himself slightly so he could see if anyone was nearby. He caught sight of a young boy, crouching down to pick up something. What was a kid doing out this late? Especially so far away from town? Nolan didn't expect to bump into anyone and seeing a little boy all by himself wasn't normal in Saffron. Of course, he used to leave the house all the time at night, so the kid might have just been getting some fresh air. Still, it wasn't safe for kids to be outside at night like this.

Nolan had two options-- approach the kid and see what was up or to just simply start walking again, carrying on with his own business. Nolan already knew he couldn't just walk away, it wasn't something he'd normally do whenever a person looked troubled or if they needed help. Walking through the grass, he got closer to the young boy before stopping in front of him and kneeling down. It looked like he was trying to pick up sticks, so Nolan grabbed most of them and stood back up with the sticks in the grasp of his arms. "Heyo!" Nolan greeted, waving with one hand as his other arm hugged the sticks. A friendly gaze remained on his face, not wanting to scare the boy and think he was some weirdo who wanted to eat children, "What's a young man such as yourself doing out so late? I hope you're not running away from home!" An amused smile spread, obviously teasing the kid as he held the sticks forward to him.

Cole noticed that he was no longer the only one picking up the sticks. The other male seemed to have joined him in his quest to pick up the twigs and such that would help keep him and Abigale warm for the night. It was kinda cool that the other was bothering to help though most people he had met so far were really nice. Though no one was going to mention he had only met two people besides this new one.

"I wouldn't run away!" Cole stated as he looked at the other male. "My friend and I are just lacking a roof." He said smiling sheepishly, it was kind of embarrassing mentioning that he didn't really have a home and that he wasn't the only one that was now making their home in the forest here. "What about you?" He asked curious, this was the first boy he had met on the island or at least was going to have a conversation with.

Inspecting the other male Cole knew that he was going to be a lot older than he. Though the few people he had met were it seemed. "I'm Cole." He said grinning at the older male. "You aren't going to like turn me in or anything are you?" He said hoping that the other wasn't if he wasn then Abi was going to be all alone in the forest tonight. There was no way he was going to drag her into trouble.

Keeping the sticks tucked securely under his arm, Nolan quietly inspected the child. His face wasn't familiar to him and it didn't ring a bell at all-- maybe a new kid to Saffron who moved here with their parents? That happened a lot in the fall right when school started. The kid looked pretty young, maybe 11 or 12, which was about the age of his own little brother. Nolan liked kids, though sometimes there were the rebellious annoying ones that got one his nerves, but more often then not they always managed to put a smile on his face.

At first, Nolan didn't entirely understand what the kid meant about not having a roof over his head. Orphans weren't something he often ran into and the idea wasn't at the top of his mind. First thing he'd ever assume was a kid running away, then a kid needing some fresh air because of stress at home. "I couldn't get any sleep! The Inn was kind of noisy, so I wanted to take a walk while listening to some tunes." He answered with a grin, "Of course, I didn't expect to run into anyone! Especially a kid on the loose~" With how quiet town was, he honestly thought there was a festival somewhere that he missed or people were being weirdly scared away by the air outside.

After thinking about it a little more, it dawned on Nolan that Cole was an orphan. Lacking of roof was a big giveaway but being that orphans weren't super common on Saffron, Nolan had to think about it for awhile. He still wasn't certain but since he just ran into the kid, he didn't want to attack him with questions about whether he had parents or not. If Cole was an orphan, it might be a sore topic or one that got annoying having to answer. "I'm Nolan!" Nolan introduced himself with a smile, holding one hand against his chest, "Don't worry about getting turned in, I wouldn't do that! It's not like your a criminal, right? Unless if you kill people with innocent cuteness!" Laughing a little, he pat Cole on the head before taking his hand back and looking up at the sky. "Isn't the sky cool tonight? There's usually not so many stars up there!" Nolan said in awe.

Cole puffed out his chest, his manly pride was being attacked again just because he was little. "I'm not a kid! I'm almost a teenager." He said proudly, he didn't have a lot of stuff to be proud of so his age and his being a guy was all he had. No memories to go off of, and his best friend was a girl who was always scolding him it was a lot for a boy almost getting hit by his hormones to deal with.

He was baffled, Nolan kept calling him cute and his manly feelings were severly damaged now. "I'm not cute!" He exclaimed. "I'm, I'm handsome! Or something like that..." The last part was a mumble, he was really just trying to get past the cute part. Then he felt a hand on his head and he felt that whole 'I'm a teenager statement' flowing away, he didn't have any relatives and just that pat on the head felt supportive, family like, like what he had with Abi. Turning his head up he nodded slightly. "It sure is, can't see a whole lot of stars in the city." Cole said as he gazed at the stars wondering if he had any family staring at them too, besides Abi of course.

The boy puffed out his chest in a manly manner, making Nolan grin and laugh a little. He wasn't the type of person to think every kid he looked at was cute but this when definitely was on Nolan's list of 'Cutest Kids on Saffron'. Alright, so Cole wasn't exactly a little kid. Compared to Nolan, he might as well be, but being older than Cole he couldn't help but look at Cole like a young child. "D'awww, but you can be manly AND cute! It's hard to pull off but... I think it's possible somehow!" Nolan answered and held a hand against his chest before smiling playfully, "I mean, look at this guy here! Right? Right?" The goober many called Nolan Rivers really needed to put a lid on his silliness sometimes. To the shy people, it often scared them away. Of course, it also drew in some as well since outgoing people helped shyer ones come out of their shell. It was sort of a fifty-fifty chance on either sides.

"Hmmm... but, you know, I think you're right. Being handsome might be more manly than cute." Nolan added after a moment as he shrugged his shoulders, his hand dropping to his side. Being called cute by girls was always fun and he adored the compliment but if a guy called him cute, Nolan might be more offended. It was just one of those things. He couldn't really blame Cole for preferring handsome over cute because of this. Looking up at the sky, Nolan's energy mellowed a little more and he nodded. "Nope! That's one of the great things about Saffron. You could see this stars anywhere and during the spring, all the flowers blossom perfectly. I've never been to the city but I know there's no place like this one." He didn't have to travel to know that Saffron had something special about it. Not a single person looked at Saffron Island and called it 'just some normal place'-- it had mysteries, beauties, and many stories for all.

Gazing up at the sky a bit longer, Nolan tilted his head down to look at Cole. His smile softened as he thought more of the young boy's situation and he started to feel a bit bad. "Hey, you're safe and warm out here right? It's really cold outside and will only get chillier once Winter comes..." He said with obvious concern, though still smiling so Nolan didn't look too worried. He found that smiling made situations more comfortable for both sides. "I'd hate to know that someone's freezing their butt off out here." Nolan added with a smiling broadening at Cole before lightly ruffling the top of his head with a gloved hand. Not having a home, the boy must have had some kind of shelter out here. It wasn't just the weather that made Nolan a little bit worried but also the wild animals out once the sun set. Babies, children, young teens... they were pretty easy targets for a hungry wolf looking for food.

Cole tilted his head and looked at Nolan. He was funny, and odd but he liked him! He never really had too many guy friends but he was sure Nolan was going to be one. If he ever had an older brother he wished it would have been Nolan so far. But he just couldn't remember. Cole just laughed. "You're funny!" He smiled brightly at the other meaning his statement as a compliment of course.

He nodded his head enthusiastically. "Of course!" Ok it wasn't often he was told he was right and Nolan saying he was totally inflated his ego a bit. Looking back up at the stars he nodded again. "Yeah, my memories are fuzzy but I think they are prettiest here." It was nice thinking that maybe he could remember some of his past, not that many could remember a time from before they were two but he wanted to know.

Cole looked at Nolan somewhat shocked for a moment but then grinned. "We're ok." He said stuffing his hands into his pockets while balancing the sticks in the crook of his arm. "We make sure to have a fire, and we have some stuff that I uh found." He grinned sheepily at his sudden mentioning that he was scavaging around for stuff.

Nolan's face brightened upon the young boy saying he was funny and put a hand on the back of his neck, somewhat rubbing it as he smiled at him. Being called funny was a lot better than creepy so he couldn't complain nor did he mind it. "Thanks! I take that a compliment~" Nolan chimed, almost in a sing-song voice. Finding company out here wasn't predicted by him since he figured most people would be in their homes but he was delightfully surprise to find someone out here that was friendly. Sometimes people could be so anti-social... but this young man was far from that case.

Nolan didn't know that Cole had lost his memories before, therefore he simply gave a nod to what he said. "Oh, yeah, remembering things can be pretty hard sometimes!" He agreed naively before he flicked the switch off on his tape player to prevent the entire reel of music from playing so he'd have to rewind it. Nolan kept the headphones around his neck, though, and put both hands inside the pockets of his sweatshirt to keep them warmer.

"Good! I'm glad you're at least keeping warm, then." Nolan replied with a cheerful gaze. Honestly, if he critiqued the kid on his living it'd just come off as a nagging adult. The boy probably got it a lot too and Nolan knew that a lot of the time, it could just sound like a broken record repeating over and over. A small smile over his lips and he tilted his head at the boy. "I see... so, you scavenge for things then?" He questioned, partially wondering if the boy might have ended up stealing but not wanting to bring that up. When Nolan was younger, he stole candy from stores and stuff like that so he wasn't that strict against kids who did that sort of thing. Mostly seemed like a part of growing up.

"Well, if you ever need help with anything, let me know alright? I won't bite you." Nolan offered cheerfully, wanting to help out if he could. Of course he didn't expect the boy to throw himself at him and ask for help but he wanted to at least let him know that there was someone he could turn to. After a moment, Nolan's eyes widened and he said, "Oh, hey, I haven't told you my name yet!" It was obvious that he had just entirely forgotten about the whole introducing yourself thing and had now remembered. "I'm Nolan Rivers. What's your name?" It wasn't very often Nolan talked to a kid like this other than his own brother and he found himself enjoying it. The boy looked to be around the same age as Nolan's brother, too, so it was sort of reminding him of that.