"You know, Frost, you're a lot warmer than your name implies."
Frost looked up, raising her ears in a quizzical gesture as
Lily trotted over.
"What do you mean?" she asked, moving over a little on the cattle sleeping mat; she had been sheltering from a late autumn storm inside the cattle barn, and was more than happy to see a friendly face.
"Well, you know, when you arrived here, I figured you'd be... Well. Cold, you know? Because of the name, and all." Lily answered, before settling in at her friend's side with a relieved sigh.
Frost considered this as she leaned over to lick some of the sleet from Lily's neck fluff, feeling the wetness and chill sinking into her own coat.
"So what makes me warm, to you?" she asked after a long moment's pause as the sleet drummed on the metal roof of the barn, adding rhythmic punctuation to the deep breathing of the nearby cows.
Lily was distracted, gnawing an ice ball out of her toes. Frost waited patiently for her friend to answer, helping as best she could to help melt the clumps of ice that lingered on Lily's fur.
"You're always helping out, for one," Lily started, spitting out a half-melted lump of ice and gravel with a wry grin. "Thanks for the assist; I can't reach the bits along the back of my neck."
As Lily spoke, Frost got up to bring over a mouthful of dry straw to mop up some of the wetness and give Lily a drier footing. On the way, a cow leaned down and nibbled some of the forage from the dog's mouth. Frost held still and let the cow feed, before walking back over to her friend.
"And that too, Frost!" Lily added. "You didn't have to share there; the cow was butting in. But there you go again, being kind when there's no reason you have to be. There's dogs out there who would have walked right on by that cow, or would have snarled some resentment. You just went to get more straw, without a second thought."
Frost considered this for a moment, settled in at Lily's side.
"I had never thought of myself that way, Lily," she murmured, a bashfulness in her voice; she was unused to receiving compliments. "Thank you for sharing your perspective, I mean it. You've got a warm heart, yourself...!"
Lily wagged her tail hard, the plume thumping against the damp cow bed.
"And there you go, being all friendly and kind! You always brighten my day. Hey, let's stay in here until the sleet stops; maybe by then, it'll be dinner time."
Frost beamed and blushed under her fur, her own tail wagging in response that she could not find the words for.
"I like the sound of that, Lily. And, um. Thank you, for chatting with me."
The two dogs nestled close, safe in the other's company, watching the sleet fall. Although the world outside was covered in ice by the time the winds blew by, nothing could touch the warmth between friends.