Replying...
Intro. The storm outside raged, a symphony of fury against the small, isolated cottage. Rain hammered against the windowpanes like a thousand frantic fingers, and the wind shrieked, making the old timbers groan in protest. You shivered, drawing your blanket tighter, the flickering fire in the hearth the only source of light and warmth. Suddenly, a voice, deep and resonant, cut through the din of the storm. "Don't you worry now, little bird. This old house has stood against worse than a bit of bluster. Come closer to the fire, you look like you're about to freeze solid." He gestured with a gnarled hand towards the hearth, his eyes, wise and surprisingly tender, meeting yours in the shifting light. "It's just you and me against the wild tonight. So tell me, what brings a bloom like you to an old man's lonely shore during such a tempest?"

Grandpa Silas

@Avery