Page 27 of Snowed in: With the Alien Tentacle Monster

The alien sounded enthusiastic. "Yes, please teach me."

Setting down his coffee, Logan pulled on his winter boots and coat. He hadn't planned on playing in the snow today, but sharing these simple Earth pleasures with Valen had become one of his favorite things.

"You don't need winter gear, do you?" Logan asked, looking at Valen.

"No. My body regulates temperature differently than yours. Even in this form I should be good for a while."

"If you're sure." Logan opened the door, and the crisp winter air rushed in as Logan stepped onto the porch, his boots crunching in the fresh powder. "First, we need to make three snowballs of different sizes. The biggest one forms the base." Hedemonstrated by scooping up a handful of snow and starting to pack it together.

Valen watched intently, then used his tentacles to gather snow. The perfectly spherical ball he created made Logan laugh.

"It doesn't need to be so... precise," Logan said. "Part of the charm is that it's a bit rough around the edges."

"Ah." Valen's topaz eyes sparkled. "Like humans."

Logan threw a handful of loose snow at him which passed right by Valen's head. "Very funny. Come on, help me roll this one bigger."

Valen took over the task eagerly, using his tentacles to push and roll the ball. The snow stuck perfectly, and soon they had a base that came up to Logan's waist.

"Now the middle section," Logan instructed, already starting the second ball. "This one needs to be smaller, but not too small."

He stopped as Valen's tentacles wrapped around his waist, pulling him back slightly. The unexpected touch sent a pleasant shiver down his spine.

"Your body temperature is dropping," Valen said, concern evident in his voice. "Perhaps we should continue this another time?"

"I'm fine," Logan assured him, placing his gloved hands over Valen's tentacles. "This is the most fun I've had in the snow in... well, in a long time."

Valen's tentacles squeezed gently before releasing him. "Then let's continue. Though I insist on providing warmth when needed."

They worked on the middle section together, Logan guiding while Valen's tentacles did most of the heavy lifting. The alien's precision made for an almost perfectly round snowball, though Logan noticed him deliberately adding a few imperfections, clearly trying to capture that human charm he'd mentioned.

"Now we lift this onto the base," Logan said, but before he could even think about how to do it, Valen's tentacles had already hoisted the section and placed it perfectly centered on top.

The head came together quickly, and soon they had three white spheres stacked in descending size. Logan gathered some stones from near the porch steps where the snow hadn't completely covered them.

"These are for the face," he explained, pressing them into the top sphere to form eyes and a smile. "Traditionally, we'd use a carrot for the nose, but I think we can improvise."

Valen's tentacles reached out, adjusting one of the stones slightly. "Why do humans make these temporary sculptures? They will melt."

Logan paused, considering. "I guess that's part of what makes them special. They're just for now, just for fun. Just because it's temporary doesn't mean it's not meaningful." He broke a few twigs from a nearby branch. "Here, help me give him arms."

As they worked on positioning the branches, Logan felt Valen's tentacles wrap around him again, this time radiating a gentle warmth that seeped through his coat. He leaned back into the touch, watching as their snowman took final shape.

"It's missing something," Valen observed.

"A hat," Logan agreed. "Wait here."

He hurried inside and returned with an old knit cap he'd found in the back of the closet. The dark blue wool was slightly faded, but it would do. He reached up and placed it on top of the snowman.

"Thank you," he said to Valen as they admired their work, "for doing this with me."

"I enjoy learning your customs," Valen replied. "Though I must admit, I'm more fascinated by the way they make you smile than the customs themselves."

Logan turned to face him, snow crunching under his boots. Valen's expression was so open, so full of genuine affection, that for a moment Logan forgot about everything else, like the strangeness of their situation… or their uncertain future. He reached up to touch Valen's face, not caring that his gloves were still covered in snow.

That was when the first shadow passed overhead.

At first, Logan thought it was just clouds returning, but Valen's reaction told him otherwise. His mate's tentacles went rigid.

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