#and if i hear one more thing about slopes or snow or sleds

[blinkblonkpostal]

Yo broski

Do you eat bugs and worms and critters

Asking for a friend

-not Troy

…

Troy is swear to all the trash and cogs that are down here I am going to STRANGLE YOU

No. I don’t eat worms, at least not intentionally. I eat normal food like everyone else in Reclaim.

Also, I feel like the assumption that I would is kinda fucked up Troy, thats like if I assumed all uplanders eat snow or whatever that cold stuff is, since its all you have up there and TALK ABOUT.

[gumnut-logic]

If there was one thing Virgil Tracy missed while living in a tropical paradise, it was snow.

Not the cold. Not the need to dig out the car to drive it, or the physics hellhole of icy roads.

No, it was snow in the woods. Those days where is just fell gently to the ground, whisper quiet with no wind. The white fading to grey in the distance. The crispness of the air. The starkly naked trees no more than skeletons of their former selves.

The stillness.

The silence.

“Hey, Virg! Alan’s found the toboggan! Wanna ride?” Gordon jumped out from behind a tree, likely fully aware of what he was doing. His bright yellow scarf and hat had a couple of red stripes and he stuck out like a sore thumb against the monochrome landscape.

Virgil let his shoulders drop, just a little. “Be there in a minute, Gords.”

His fish brother tilted his head like the puppy he was and took a step towards Virgil, obviously curious. “Whatcha doin’?”

Virgil didn’t sigh. No, not at all. “Just taking a few photos. Got an idea for a painting.”

“Oooh. Got any good ones?” His brother started making his way down the gentle slope and stomped through fresh snow, leaving a wide trail of disruption behind him.

Virgil held up his hands. “Gordon, just….don’t disturb the snow. It’s pristine. Don’t churn it up…please.”

Carnelian eyes lit up with the power they now knew they had. “What? Like this? And Gordon jumped to his right, leaving a gouge of little-brother-sized proportions.

“Gordon!”

The brat grinned, holding his hands up placatingly. “Okay, okay, I get it.  I’ll leave you and your camera alone.” A smirk. “Don’t get lost. Thunderbird One would make much more of a mess than I would.”

Glaring at Gordon was always a futile activity, but Virgil always found himself doing it anyway.

And as always, Gordon just laughed at him, this time turning around and taking a step back towards the cabin.

Only to collide with Alan, who appeared out of nowhere, riding the found toboggan, whooping then squawking as he collided with his brother.

Gordon must have seen Alan at the last possible second, because instead of a pair of broken legs, he was suddenly airborne, somewhat flailing, and ended up headfirst, feet sticking up in the air, in a snowdrift.

Alan skidded to one side, flipped the toboggan, and pretty much ended up in a similar position further down the slope. Except he still had one arm free and a faint ‘I’m okay’ wafted up the hill.

Gordon righted himself with some struggle and sat up, hat missing, snow in his hair and eyebrows. “Alan, what the hell?!”

“That was AWESOME! Totally wild, dude.” A red-headed terror barrelled down the hill and Virgil questioned several of his life choices to date.

Alan held up a hand and there was an appropriately awesome high-five that echoed across the valley. “A total wipeout! You okay, Gordo?”

“I’m putting a dead fish in your sleeping bag!”

“Do that and I’m telling Grandma about her lasagne!”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Gordon struggled up and out of the snow, stalking down the hill towards his brother and their guest. Brandon had an expression of absolute glee on his face and Virgil vaguely wondered if either of his brothers remembered that the social media rockstar had a camera in his hat.

“I would so! A dead fish would be worth it!” The glare on Alan’s face reached atomic levels.

“Worth the Stromboli incident?”

Alan exploded, much like the volcano in question. “You swore you would never tell!”

“You could have broken my legs!”

“You were in my way!”

“Your way was on the other side of the mountain where the sled runs are! What if you’d hit a tree?!”

“I wouldn’t-“

“You hit me! Now get your ass back up there and show me that you know what you are doing!” There was much glowering of older brother over younger brother and Virgil had the distinct feeling they had both forgotten he was there.

“Am I hearing a Gordon teaching moment?” It was whispered and a little amused. John appeared at Virgil’s elbow.

Virgil arched an eyebrow, turning quietly to find a swaddled burrito standing beside him. Was that two…no, three scarves? “John?”

“What? It’s cold and snowing.” His brother blinked a snowflake out of one eye and Virgil was forced to bite back a grin at the goofy expression his brother inadvertently made. The man had a hat with earflaps over which he had installed the fluffiest ear muffs Virgil had ever seen.

They were also the pinkest.

“Who gave you those?” Virgil was going to bite through some part of his mouth shortly if he didn’t at least let himself snort.

“Grandma.”

“You’re wearing Grandma’s earmuffs.”

“No….yes….what? I was cold!”

“I noticed. So, what are you doing out here?”

John scrunched up one side of his face as another inconvenient snowflake landed on his cheek. “Our Master and Commander ordered me to attend those three idiots.”

Gordon chose that moment to drag Alan up the hill by one earmuff. Brandon scampered up behind them, muttering, no doubt, a commentary. Thankfully, Eos was watching the vlogger.

“That and if I didn’t leave, I may have been tempted towards something drastic.”

Virgil slumped just a little. “Bad?”

“Are you kidding me? He backed the hoverchair into a bookshelf and nearly killed himself. Bibliocide, except the books tried to kill him!”

“Is he okay?”

“He lived.” John sounded undecided as to whether that was a good thing or not.

Virgil glanced at the snow, disturbed by two loud and rambunctious siblings and their partner in crime. A sigh. “I’ll see to him.”

“Thanks, Virg.”

“You owe me.”

John snorted. “I’ll check the spreadsheet.”

Virgil left his brother with a glare and trod through the snow back up the hill.

Yeah, he missed the snow…maybe.

-o-o-o-

He found Scott sulking in the library.

One of the bookshelves was in pieces on the floor, books scattered everywhere and Scott sat in a corner in his hoverchair glaring out a window.

Virgil had stripped off his boots, coat and hat in the hall, but despite shaking himself off, he still found both snow and water dripping off his clothes onto the carpet. Another thing he didn’t miss about snow.

He put his camera down carefully on the table, thumbing a melting snowflake off its case.

Scott didn’t say anything or even acknowledge his presence. It was to be expected. The previous week had been hell. His brother was a rainbow of bruises down one side, starting with a black eye and ending with a busted ankle.

The worst part of it was that his injuries had been in vain as the rescuee had died shortly after being rescued. Through no fault of International Rescue, it had just been one of those things.

It had hit Scott hard. It was the tip of the iceberg and the straw that broke the camel’s back and a whole pile of other metaphors Virgil wanted to ignore. In summary, it sucked, Grandma called it and sent them to Canada for a vacation.

Canada in January was a very cold place.

But it was a warm cabin with plenty of those luxury touches a wad of billionaires required and there were winter sports galore to be had.

Unfortunately, three days in, Scott was still a mess and Virgil still hadn’t found a crack in his brother’s maudlin.

The library had large windows, most with seating for reading below, so, without a word, Virgil quietly sat down beside Scott and stared out into the snow.

The vista was truly beautiful. The house sat at the top of a hill and they could see across a frozen-white, lake-filled valley draped in pines and skeletal trees.

The howling form of both Alan and Brandon running from a yelling Gordon wasn’t something you usually saw on the postcards of the region, nor the waddling form of burrito John following not far behind, but Virgil, and no doubt Scott, had long ago become used to that kind of scenic interruption.

“They’ve grown up.”

Virgil blinked. “What?”

“Last time I saw them in the snow, they were just kids.” Scott’s voice was quiet and a little lost.

Virgil snorted. “Physically perhaps, mentally is debatable.”

As if to prove his point, John balled up a massive bomb of snow and dumped it on Gordon’s head.

Virgil’s eyebrow arched. John starting it? John usually ended it.

“They have grown. So much.”

Virgil’s heart twisted at his brother’s wistful tone. “Yeah, I guess. But they haven’t lost their spark.”

“No, no they haven’t.”

Scott kept staring out into the snow.

Virgil watched him a moment. “And neither have you.”

That prompted his brother to turn and look at him. The bruised eye was healing but it would be a while yet. It lop-sided his face and dulled the blue of his irises, both sclera bloodshot and red. “Sometimes, Virg, I wonder.”

“I don’t.”

That almost brought a smile from his brother, even if it would have been a condescending one. “No, but then you’re biased.” Scott sighed and shifted uncomfortably in the chair, turning to stare out the window again.

Virgil exhaled quietly. This was getting them nowhere. Three days and his brother was still sad.

It was understandable. Hell, Virgil had been there himself.

Perhaps that was why it hurt so much. He knew what his brother was going through and that was the last thing he wanted for him. For any of them.

He couldn’t fix it, but by god, he would try to help.

Rescues didn’t always need a Thunderbird.

Sometimes they just needed a little love.

“Come outside?”

Those eyes flicked to Virgil. “Why?”

“For me?”

“Virg-“

“No, really, I want you with me.” He drew in a breath. “You always come with me into the snow.”

It was unspoken as to why and technically it was dirty pool on Virgil’s part, but he had run out of options.

Scott’s lips thinned, bringing his split lip into contrast as the blood was forced out.

“You were fine out there earlier.”

Virgil shrugged.

“You have been fine on every snow rescue for the last ten years. I wouldn’t have sent you if you weren’t.”

“That you know of.” Okay, it was a risk, but this was Scott and be damned if Virgil was going to let him rot inside for the entire week.

“What do you mean?” Those red eyes widened.

“I mean, I like it when you go with me out into the snow.”

Scott frowned enough to wince. He was obviously caught between big brother concern and the knowledge that Virgil was just manipulating him.

Gordon ran past the window yelling like a banshee, followed by Brandon hooting like a loon.

It was enough to snap Scott out of the stare-down and have him glaring out of the window again.

“Why exactly did we invite Brandon Berenger on this trip?”

“Alan wanted some company of his own age. Sucks being the youngest some times.”

Scott grunted.

“Hey, we’re doing both of them a favour. Brandon has no brothers or sisters. This is a big thing for him. And Alan…needs friends.” He tilted his head a little. “Besides, Brandon looks up to you.”

That earned him another glare.

“We all do.”

Scott sighed. “Are you finished?”

Virgil straightened where he sat. “Depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether you will come out in the snow with me or not.”

Scott’s exasperated grunt was a victory. As he turned the hoverchair around, he didn’t stop glaring at Virgil for one second.

Virgil ignored it. “I’ll help you get dressed.”

“I’m not an invalid.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get your ass into something warm, I want to show you the view before it stops snowing.”

Another grunt and his brother headed off towards his rooms. Virgil stood to follow and couldn’t help but smile just a little.

It was a step in the right direction.

If he had to drag his brother the entire way, he would.

But then, once they were outside, he had back up.

-o-o-o-

More if you want it, but not much...

[estrel]

It’s in the Knowing (that Wishes Come True)

destiel december 2020 prompt: sledding + spn advent calendar 2020 prompt: wishes wc: ~1.4k

[READ ON AO3] 

“Dean, you had,” Sam huffs, “infinite possibilities at your disposal. And you wished for–for this?”

Dean’s a little confused, too, looking out at the mountains. Almost every inch is covered with a layer of snow, but by far, the hill they’re standing on has the thickest blanket. Dean’s feet sink into it a little when he shifts his weight, studying their surroundings.

Apart from the clearing they’re in, the place is littered with trees. Dean’s gaze follows the trunks up, until he’s looking at the sky, which is quickly losing light. He thinks he can make out the beginning twinkles of constellations, and when he laughs, a puff of frosty breath obscures them for a moment before fading off.

Then he smells it—something like firewood, he thinks, and turns towards it. Eyes still searching the tops of the trees, Dean catches sight of a thin column of smoke, likely from a cabin nearby.

A few feet away from them, a tree branch packed with snow loses its hold, and the whump of the snow hitting the ground startles Dean out of his thoughts.

“I don’t know, man,” Dean says, “It’s not like I really had a choice. I just, you know, just had this thought, I guess, and now…we’re here.”

He turns back to Sam, who focuses on Dean once more, seemingly having caught sight of the smoke too.

“I’m assuming…those have something to do with it?”

Dean’s eyes follow the direction Sam’s finger is pointing to, which is a somewhere on the ground and behind Dean, off to his left. Just at the edge of the hill sit two sleds—the old, wooden kind that seem like they’re always one good bump away from splintering into a million pieces, but somehow never do.

He chuckles, moving towards them to check them out, when Sam urgently pats his shoulder. Dean swivels around, taking in Sam’s confused—but not shocked—expression, and once more tracks his stare to see what he’s looking at. 

Dean finds himself mirroring his brother, but otherwise smiling despite himself.

“What took you so long?” He hears himself say, feels Sam looking at him weird in response. If this was his “wish,” then this only made sense—it’d just been a matter of waiting for him to show up.

Cas levels him with a stare that says ‘really?’ and Dean moves to meet him half way.

“Jackets,” Cas says, handing Dean a thick black one that looks like it’s meant for snow. Dean takes it. “And Jack,” Cas adds. With a gentle tilt of his head, Dean looks over and sees Jack, not too far away, walking briskly towards them with something small in his hands.

“You two always come out here practically naked,” Cas says, leaving Dean and handing Sam his own jacket. “And the lumberjack outfits are fine for when it’s any other season, but you do realize it’s the dead of winter, right?”

“Well, you…” Dean starts, about to tell him off for the dress shoes and trench coat he’s never seen without, except that Cas isn’t wearing them, he’s…

“Cas, is that—are those—are you wearing boots?” Sam asks, a lilt of amusement in his voice.

Cas looks down, frowning. “These are my snow boots. Dean got them for me last Christmas.” He shoots Dean a confused glance, as though Dean should be in on this, and Sam was the one acting deluded. Dean can’t really bring himself to care, too busy smiling at the rest of Cas’ outfit.

He’s about to comment on the snow pants, which are black and baggy over Cas’ lower half, but Jack makes it to them just in time, pushing something into Cas’ chest.

“You forgot your beanie,” Jack explains, and then looking up at them, “I thought you guys came out ahead of us so you could ‘get the sleds ready.’ Cas and I started on the cookies so they should be done by the time we get back.”

Dean watches Cas slip the beanie on, losing his breath a little at the sight. The thought occurs to him—when he’s looking long enough to notice Cas’ red nose and ears and cheeks—that angels don’t usually get cold.

“Hang on—you left the oven on unattended?” Sam says. Pulling his eyes away from Cas, Dean chuckles at the wild look on Sam’s face, like he’s half ready to bolt for the cabin to stop it from catching fire.

“Of course not.” Jack frowns at him like he should know better. “I charmed it with the spell you taught me. It’ll shut off automatically when it’s done.”

Sam relaxes, forcing a smile. “Right. Uh, Dean? Can we talk for a second?”

Dean follows him around to the nearest tree, which is far enough away that Jack and Cas probably won’t hear them over their own conversation (Dean thinks he hears something about hot chocolate) if they talk quietly enough.

“We can’t stay here,” Sam says, “We have to find a way out.”

Dean wets his lips, “I know, Sammy, but…” He looks over at Jack and Cas.

Sam is quiet for a second before he notes, “You want to stay.”

He shrugs. “Just…just for a little while longer. We can–we can go sledding, eh? We haven’t done that since we were kids! And then—then we can figure out a way out of here.”

Sam has a look of growing concern on his face, something Dean thinks is teetering too close to pity.

“What?” He jokes, “You’re telling me you don’t wanna see those two sled? It’s not for us, Sam, it’s for the nerdy angels over there.”

His brother manages a smile, which is a relief. “Sure,” he says gently. Dean pretends not to hear it, heading now for the sleds and waving them all over.

He pulls the sleds apart, placing them each by the hill’s edge, but not so close that sitting on them would be enough to send them flying down the slope.

“Okay,” Dean starts, “How do we want to do this?”

Dean knows the answer before anyone says it. Better stated: he knows his wish before anyone else does.

“The logical route would be to pair up,” Cas says seriously, “You and Sam have done this before, so each of you gets a sled.”

Dean feels his chest go tight with anticipation for a second, and then it subsides. He nods.

“Good idea. Who—”

“I’ll go with Jack,” Sam interrupts, a wry smile on his face. Dean quirks his lips in a smile, cocking his head to the side in a mild ‘screw you’ gesture to his brother. He turns to Cas.

“Well, hop on then Louise and we’ll sail off this cliff together,” Dean says. He waits for the recognition to spark in Cas’ eyes and he smiles—for real this time—as Cas situates himself in the front of the sled. He spares Jack and Sam a glance, amused at how Sam is struggling not to take up most of the sled with his legs, before sitting down behind Cas. 

And he stays like that for a moment, sitting awkwardly and gathering his courage, until he musters up enough to wrap his legs around him.

“I’m nervous,” he hears Jack say. Dean thinks, Me too. Sam laughs and reassures Jack that it’ll be fine.

“Okay, uh, you’re gonna have to lean back once we kick off, alright?” Dean instructs, trying to remember how to do this. 

“You promise I won’t fall?” 

Dean swallows. “Nah. I’ll hang on to you.”

“Let’s race,” Sam says. He can feel him staring and avoids Sam’s gaze. He’ll blame the tint on his cheeks and ears on the cold, if Sam ever asks. 

Dean scoffs, “You’ll lose.”

“Prove it,” Sam responds, and then he’s pushing off and leaving them in the dust.

Dean’s surprised by the laugh that escapes him, and then he’s pushing off too, and he and Cas are propelled down the snowy slope after the others.

Cas leans back as instructed. Dean’s pretty sure the guy can feel the rush of his heartbeat with his back on Dean’s chest like that, but Dean can also feel Cas’ steel grips on his legs, nails digging into his shins. 

He laces an arm around Cas’ chest, pressing him closer. “I’ve got you!” he reminds him. 

There’s a beat, and then over the sound of the wind whipping against their faces, Cas says, “I know.”

-

tag list (ask to be added/removed):

@castiels-a-lamp @jellydeans @writtenmemxries @cestladean @randomblabbling @fluffiestlou @dreamnovak @weird-dorky-little-d @depressivedemonnightmaredean @jackleslongcon @friedchickenangelwings @galaxycastiel @destielle @dickspeightjrs @on-a-bender @organicpurplepants @casbelieves @samuelswinchester @spacegirlstuff @seffersonjtarship @winchester-novak @professorerudite @squintingg @holmesemrys @imnotrevealingmyname @festivemish @good-things-do-happen-dean @angxlsgrxce @casandeans @castielscrookedtrenchcoat @destiel-in-its-natural-habitat @gracelesschoice @superduckbatrebel @iheardyourprayer @top13zepptraxx @that-one-fandom-chick @scoobydean @destiels-canonahhhhhhhhhh @maxguevra @cursed-or-not @i-think-im-humanbut-cant-besure @fitinmypoems @madilineskingdom @awolfnamedaliac @castee-yel @tearsofgrace @credentiast @fivefeetfangirl @my-favourite-hellatus @gray-is-neutral @sunflower-vol-28 @ensignabby @ar-bi-trary @lulu-zodiac @y-yo-a-ti-dumbass @castielology @nguyenxtrang @destiel-bitches @supergaycas @deancasology @miadeline @save-the-sloths

[imjustthemechanic]

The Price of a Soul

Part 1/? - Agent Russel Part 2/? - The Letter Part 3/? - Miss Lake Part 4/? - The Stewardess Part 5/? - An Assassination Part 6/? - Fallout Part 7/? - Face to Face Part 8/? - Deals, Details, and Other Devils Part 9/? - Baggage Part 10/? - Private Funding Part 11/? - Just Passing Through Part 12/? - Party of Four Part 13/? - Resolute

Sure enough, something shows up on the sonar.

-

Their final stop before the search could begin was the tiny village of Resolute, which consisted of a few houses huddled around a little sandy bay in the midst of an otherwise breathtakingly inhospitable landscape of craggy rocks and ice.  The beach itself had to serve as a runway for a nail-biting landing in the arctic darkness, but Howard pulled it off with a smile and then got out a sextant.

“I’m gonna double-check our position before we turn in,” he said.

“I’ll get some supper out,” Lake offered.

“You really think we’re going to let you anywhere near our food?” asked Peggy.

“Suit yourself,” Lake said with a shrug.

As it turned out, they did not need to start on their rations.  The town itself was inhabited almost entirely by the local Inuit people, who rarely saw visitors and many of whom did not speak good English, but Peggy could find no fault with their hospitality.  A party of them soon approached the plane to ask if the group were lost and to offer food and warm clothing.  Peggy assured them that she and her companions were quite all right and just passing through – but when she thought of the army rations stowed under the seats of the airplane, she simply couldn’t refuse the offer of a hot meal.

This consisted of flatbread with berries, venison soup, and rhododendron tea served up in one of the little kitchens of the town, while out the north-facing window they could see the green curtain of the aurora borealis moving sinuously across the sky.  Howard spread out a small navigation map on the table, and pointed to their position.

“We’re here, and it looks like Kay’s coordinates are just west of us,” he said.  “We’ll start on the exact spot and go in a spiral outwards.”

Lake nodded and swallowed a mouthful before turning to the house’s owners and asking them a question in what Peggy had to assume was their own language.  There was a surprised reply, and then what sounded like an exchange of pleasantries before the woman pointed to the west and began describing something, using her hands to indicate a thing that had moved across the sky.

Peggy’s heart quickened.  She had no idea what Lake had said, of course… it could be she’d asked this woman to play-act.  It was better not to get her hopes up.  And yet in that moment, for the first time she found herself thinking that maybe, just maybe, Lake was telling the truth.  Maybe the Valkyrie really was out there.  Maybe they really were here to bring America’s lost hero home.  If that happened… would she trust Lake thereafter?  It was hard to say, although she doubted it.

“She says they saw the plane go over and come down in that direction,” Lake translated.  “They didn’t think it had crashed at first, because they didn’t see an explosion, but a hunting party found part of the wing on the rocks a few months later.  A mother polar bear had dug her den underneath it.”

“We’ll have to be careful, then,” said Peggy.  She had no desire to run afoul of any large carnivores.

“A couple of shots will drive it off,” Howard said.  “Or make it into a very nice rug.”

“A conversation piece, to be sure,” Peggy observed.

Their hosts had no spare beds but did offer them extra blankets so they wouldn’t be too cold sleeping on the floor of the plane.  That was just as well, Peggy realized, because otherwise Lake would have had no bedclothes at all.  She looked quite comfortable curled up with her head on her folded coat, and it made Peggy wonder what sort of places she was used to sleeping in.

Halfway through that thought, she realized she was on the verge of feeling sorry for this woman, and quickly quashed it.

In the morning they got up well before it was light and ate a quick breakfast.  Howard buckled himself into the pilot’s seat, Jason took up his position next to the sonar equipment, and Peggy and Lake sat on opposite sides of the plane so that they could watch the landscape on both sides.  A crowd of children from the village turned out to watch the plane take off, and waved as they roared into the air.  Lake smiled out the window and waved back.

Peggy kept her eyes glued to the window as they flew out over the frozen ocean.  On a sunny day, the light reflecting off the miles upon miles of ice and snow would have been blinding.  In the pre-dawn, there was very little to see at all.

“Okay, okay!  We’ve got a reading!” said Jason eagerly.

Lake started to get up, but Peggy held up a hand.  “Don’t you dare,” she said.  “The last thing Howard and Jason need is you carrying tales of their technology back to Russia with you.”

“This isn’t patented yet,” Jason agreed.

Lake seemed to think about it, then reluctantly sat back down again.  Peggy stayed seated, but moved so that she could see the paper unspooling.  Based on the lines his pens were tracing out, it seemed like the top of the ice was quite flat, but the bottom very craggy, and the seafloor beneath gently sloped down.  The black trace suddenly jumped up to above the other two before falling back down again.

“See that?  We just passed another little island,” said Jason.  “This one I think is no more than maybe a hundred yards across.”

Lake pressed her face to the window.  “I don’t… I guess we’re already passed it.”

“You might see it on the way back,” said Jason.  “Or it might be totally buried in snow.  Fresh snow isn’t dense enough to show up.”

They pressed on.

The sun rose slowly, throwing the icescape below into startlingly high relief.  Every rock, every crack, and every stunted bush had its own coal-black shadow stretching away to the west.  Peggy squinted, trying to spot anything that looked artificial, but in this light every shape seemed to have the same unnatural sharp corners.

“Oh, look at that!” said Lake.

“What?” Peggy asked, and then made out a long, snaking crack between ice floes, with shapes moving along it almost like cars on a road.  For a moment Peggy had no idea what it was, but then a shadow showed that they were, in fact, narwhals with their long tusks, using the space as a highway to keep breathing as they headed south.  She wondered where they were going.

The cetaceans were in view for only a few moments before the plane left them behind, and then Peggy heard a dreamy sigh from Lake.

“Unicorns of the sea,” the woman said happily.

Peggy was a bit puzzled.  “You said you’d been here before.”

“Yeah, but I’ve never seen a narwhal,” Lake told her.  “There are so many unspoiled places still left in the world… maybe I’ll get to see some of them.”

“The view isn’t very good from prison,” Peggy replied darkly.

“Hey!” Jason said suddenly.  “Hey, hey, Howard!  Turn around and fly over this area again!”

Peggy turned around to look.  There was a scribble on his polygraph paper, where for just a moment, all three pens had twitched and drawn over each other… just as he’d said they would when encountering a man-made object.  Her heart quickened and she turned to look out the window again, but there was nothing visible there except ice.  The landscape outside tilted as the Skytrain made a wide turn, and Peggy squinted… would their be any sign?

Something glinted in the sun.  Was that ice, or metal?

“There it is again!” said Jason.  “That’s loud.  It’s got to be either rock or metal.  Fly around east-west this time so we can get another angle on it.”

The plane swung round again.  They passed the narwhal highway, though the sun was now too high for the individual animals’ shadows to be seen.  Their lane of open highway sparkled as the water moved, and Peggy wondered if all she’d seen earlier had been a puddle or a bit of unusually smooth ice.  This time it seemed to take much longer for them to get back to the same spot, but then it happened for a third time.  The needles zagged wildly across the paper, and Jason beamed in triumph.

“Did you get our heading?” he called to Howard.

“Got it!” the reply came back.  “Does anybody see anything?”

“I may have seen a piece of something metallic, but it’s very hard to tell in all the snow,” said Peggy.

“All right, we know where to look now, heading back to Resolute!” Howard said.  The plane began to turn again.

This seemed to come as a surprise to Lake.  “We’re not landing?” she asked.

“This thing isn’t designed to land on the ice, Doll-Face,” Howard replied.  “We’d probably go right through.”

“And here I thought Howard Stark would have more tricks up his sleeve,” said Lake.

“Now you’ve done it,” Peggy told her.  “He won’t rest until he’s made it work.”

- 

The locals in Resolute were interested to hear about the results of their quest – Peggy suspected that very little ever happened in such a place, and this was the most excitement they’d seen since the end of the war.  There were congratulations all around, and Howard had no trouble renting a pair of sleds and teams of wonderfully fluffy malamute dogs to pull them.  To Peggy’s surprise, Lake seemed to fall in love with these animals immediately.  She knelt down to ruffle their thick coats and let them lick her face, cooing endearments to them in English and the local language both.

“You wouldn’t have struck me as a dog person,” Peggy observed.

“I had a friend who absolutely adored them,” Lake told her.  “If I met these pretty boys and girls and didn’t tell them how much he would have loved them, he’d haunt me to the end of my days.”

Peggy wouldn’t have wanted to take too much advantage of the people of Resolute and their hospitality, but the alternative was those rations on the plane, so she allowed them to be invited for supper again.  It was very much the same as the previous meal but that was all right, as was the fact that Lake and a couple of the children were trying to give Howard and Jason lessons in Inuktitut.  That gave Peggy an opportunity to let her surroundings fade into the background and analyze her own thoughts.

Did she believe they’d found the Valkyrie?  It squared with the descriptions Lake claimed to have gotten from the locals, but Peggy still didn’t know if she’d been truthful about that.  There certainly wasn’t any sort of secret base, though, unless it had somehow been built on the seafloor and the ice allowed to re-freeze above it.  That seemed enormously impractical.  How would they bring in people and supplies?  The locals would surely notice, unless everything were done by submarine… and if there were submarine traffic in the area, there would probably not be any shy cetaceans like the narwhals.

But if it were the Valkyrie, then what did that mean?  How had Lake ever managed to find the place, and why, having done so, had she chosen to tell nobody but Peggy?  She very much doubted it was just to be nice.  She wanted Peggy to feel in her debt… she’d gone to the effort of coming along on the expedition to be sure they all knew who had made this possible.  She was going to want some kind of repayment.  Was all this just to secure Peggy’s help in getting Dottie back to the USSR alive, or was there something else?

She knew better than to ask.  Lake would not give her an answer.

Peggy also wondered what she was going to do if they found the Valkyrie.  Lake had described Steve’s body lying there above the plane, having been forced out the windows as seawater poured in.  That meant if they uncovered the wreck, it would be one of the first things they saw.  Peggy had to prepare herself for that.  When she’d thought this was all some kind of trick, she hadn’t needed to worry about her own emotional stability but now that the specter of actually finding him had reared its head… she didn’t know if she were ready.

And that was absurd, because Peggy had always lost Steve Rogers three times.  The first had been when she’d heard the radio go dead, and knew that he was thousands of miles away dying among fire and ice.  At the time she’d sat there and sobbed mindlessly for a while.  Phillips had patted her back and assured her it had probably been quick.  She’d drifted through the next few days in a kind of numbed haze, wanting desperately to get drunk but not allowing herself to do so.  Steve had not been able to get drunk when his lifelong friend had plummeted into a ravine, only days earlier.  Why should Peggy be permitted the privilege?

She’d lost him again a week later, when she’d waited all night at the Stork Club, knowing he wouldn’t be there but hoping against hope.  Of course he hadn’t come.  At sunrise she’d finally gone home.  When she’d heard Steve die on the radio, Peggy had felt hollowed out, as if she had no room for anything inside her but sorrow.  Leaving the Stork Club, she’d felt resigned and empty.  She was a tiny mote whose hopes and dreams and loves meant nothing in the face of a cold, uncaring world, and she would have to live with that.

The third time had been when she’d poured the vial of blood into the East River.  That had been sad, but peaceful.  It was time to let him go, and Peggy was ready to do so.  She would move on, and follow his example as best she could.

Could she really lose him a fourth time?  Could she look at his corpse in the ice and know that this time there was no room for even the most fleeting of fantasies, that the truth really was as cold and hard as the arctic ice?  Peggy didn’t know, and she wasn’t even sure she wanted to find out.

[god-fucking-dammit-mizutani]

melt into you

Rating: G | Word count: 1915 Tags: Future Fic/Epilogue, Family Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Snow Summary: It’s been a long day. Read Below or on AO3

"It's still really coming down."

Koushirou starts at the comment, trailing off on the sentence he had just been reading aloud from his tablet. Instinctively his eyes dart to the sliding door window. Flurries twirl about themselves, this way and that. It is barely any different from when Koushirou last glanced outside, but the already settled snow has risen past the empty ceramic pots Taichi had bought with the intention of starting a garden last spring. It had never really gotten off the ground.

Or even, well, in it.

Koushirou cracks a smile, watching the winter storm for a moment longer. He had been tuning out the sound of the wind rushing by the windows, but he hears it now, howling through the cracks, as if begging to be let in.

In response the heater whirrs audibly.

But still the memory of the cold causes a quick shiver down his spine, a phantom chill over his hands. Although the afternoon had seen a brief end to the snowfall, it had been consistent all through last night, piling up along the roads and parks within the city. Koushirou would have preferred to have spent the day indoors, where the heater could shield them against the winter, but he had been outnumbered easily and so a trek to the park had inevitably become the day's activity.

Koushirou feels the soreness in his legs from trekking up and down hills all afternoon, fighting for a foothold in the billowing snow of the slopes.

Still, he had found himself quite enjoying the experience, sheltered by the sound of familiar, mirthful laughter. Some of it had been his own, cheeks rosy from more than just the cold nipping at them. Tree branches over their heads had been heavy, bending under the great burden of last night's snowfall, dusting across the park here and there on a rogue wind. Against the gray sky the tall lamp posts along the park's main path had been bright. To Koushirou it had looked almost like something out of an old-timey picture book, or a scene frozen in time inside a snow globe.

"Wonder if we'll get snowed in."

He blinks, his eyes taking back in the view of their backyard where the streetlights sit gracefully atop the fresh snow.

"Looking that way," he answers. He hums when there's no chorus of cheers, his eyes darting down to his right side where a thick head of dark hair rests heavily against his arm. He leans forward, cautiously, doing his best to not make any jostling motions and, "Oh."

"What's—" Taichi starts as he turns the corner around the kitchen wall, but Koushirou signals for him to be quiet with a quick finger to his mouth. He halts at the lip of the living room. Steam rises from the mugs clutched in either of his hands as his eyes lower along the couch. "Oh."

Koushirou follows Taichi's gaze down to his left this time. A shock of red fans across his dark slacks. Gently he brushes back the bright locks of hair to reveal a soft, serene face, long dark lashes pressed against pale cheeks. He finds his lips turning upward as he watches her breathe evenly, completely unaware of the world around her.

"They're exhausted," he reports, unnecessarily. The weight against his right side shifts further down, but when Koushirou checks there's no sign of the boy waking. "Storytime must have been the final affront."

"I bet." Taichi's laugh is purposefully tamed, though Koushirou wonders if either of them would stir now if a hoard of monochromon came rampaging through their house. "I'm beat and I only climbed the hill twice. They were running up and down all day. I almost thought we'd have to drag them home to get them to leave."

Koushirou titters. "Technically, Hotaru was dragged home."

"Not by us." Taichi cracks a grin that Koushirou finds himself easily mirroring.

"True." His fingers run through her hair again. She lets out a tired little huff, but otherwise barely stirs. "She took quite a tumble on the ice there."

"Yet Akihiro was the one sobbing," Taichi remembers, leaning back to rest  the mugs on the breakfast bar counter. "Kept dragging her around everywhere on that sled."

"It was very sweet." Koushirou turns his head to press his smile into the untamed, dark hair of his son. "He's quite unstinting in succor." He keeps  like his father  to himself.

"I'll pretend to know what that means." Koushirou catches Taichi wrinkling his nose down at the mugs. "Guess the hot chocolate was a waste."

"Pour them in a thermos," Koushirou suggests. "I'm sure they'll want some tomorrow."

Taichi disappears back into the kitchen without a word. Koushirou listens to the sound of the cupboards opening and closing, followed by a whispered,  "Aha!"

A soft chime calls Koushirou's attention back to the tablet still in his hand. Clicking it back open he scans the message quickly before telling Taichi, "Jyou wants to know if we have sufficient rations should the storm last the rest of the week."

"What, is he planning on bringing stuff over himself?" Koushirou can hear as he pours the liquid of both mugs into their new container. "In this weather?"

Koushirou stares at the message again. "Perhaps with Ikkakumon?"

Taichi barks out a laugh in the other room. "Just imagine a bunch of emergency duffel bags on his horn.  Harpoon torpedo!  Right onto the front doorstep. Like a newspaper boy."

"Taichi."

"Sorry."

Akihiro murmurs something in his sleep, head nodding forward. Koushirou gently recalls his arm, stiff from underuse, and let's the boy lean in further, replacing it around him instead. He slumps further down, almost into Koushirou's lap, with a quick, heavy snore.

A stampede of monochromon indeed. Not even a harpoon torpedo through their living room could wake them, Koushirou surmises.

The telltale sound of the refrigerator popping open is followed by Taichi's report of, "We'll survive."

"I'll inform Jyou."

"Tell him my idea about the duffel bags."

"No."

Taichi emerges back from the kitchen, another set of mugs in his hands. This time he makes it all the way to the sofa, holding one of them out for Koushirou to grab. "Your tea."

Koushirou takes the offered mug, his ring clinking on the ceramic as he wraps his fingers around it, balancing the tablet on his lap. With a smile he says, "Thank you."

Now with one of his hands free, Taichi braces himself against the back of the couch. Koushirou feels his heart quicken as he realizes the other's intention and although he gives a weak protest of, "Taichi," he still tilts his head up to press his smile against his husband's own.

"They're asleep," Taichi offers after the chaste kiss. And true to his words, there's no chorus of groans, but it does nothing to cure Koushirou of his personal embarrassment.

He had thought by now he would be used to this— that after years and wedding vows and raising children together, nothing would phase him quite so much. And yet, still, Taichi never ceases to make his heart flutter, to bring a flush to his cheeks with even the simplest of gestures.  

As he leans back up, Taichi's eyes drift towards the view of the sliding door window. He sounds soft, wistful, when he says, "Snow always reminds me of August."

His gaze seems distant. Koushirou wonders if his husband is watching the current snowfall, or if his mind is replaying one from almost a quarter of a century ago.

Sometimes, his own does, even when the sky is clear and the humidity sweltering.

That one summer had changed each of them in some way. Himself, perhaps, especially. At times he wonders, if they had never gone to that other world, had never faced those tribulations, how would things be different now?

Unconsciously he trades the mug to his other hand, brushing his fingers back through Hotaru's hair, tightening his arm about Akihiro. Like a reminder that they're there. That he's really here.

Taichi sends him a quick smile, long and unbidden, just the way he always had; before camp or summer blizzards, tinged now in a way that is undeniably with love, and Koushirou finds himself believing then that no matter how the road had been paved, no matter the bumps and cracks along the way, it would have always brought him here.

But he's still immeasurably grateful this particular route had brought him to Tentomon. Life without him seems quite unimaginable now and he almost wishes he had been here, today, too.

"Me too," Koushirou agrees, quietly, taking a tentative sip from his mug. But when he looks back out towards the blizzard, Koushirou realizes, he hadn't been particularly thinking about that summer at all today. Not until Taichi had mentioned it.

His mind had been occupied with winter afternoons, nippy but warm, gray skies brightened with laughter. Hills, once pristine and glittering with rare sunlight off freshly packed snow, marred with foot prints and sled trails. Hair clumped with snow and toothy grins with little gaps.  

Koushirou hides his smile in his next sip of tea. New memories were taking their own place in his heart, occupying parts of his mind, but certainly no more or less important to him than those before them. They were all part of his own journey, after all.

Unable to move, Koushirou holds out his arm with the mug, motioning quietly for Taichi to put it on the center table. Wordlessly, he complies as soon as Koushirou gathers back his attention.

"Thank you," Koushirou says.

Taichi smiles at him before his expression takes on a more considering look. He places down his own mug next to Koushirou's.

"Taichi—" he starts cautiously as the other man scoops their daughter off the couch and into his arms.

For a moment Koushirou worries she'll actually wake up, but Hotaru just murmurs a soft, "Papa," her arms instinctively wrapping around her father's neck from far too many nights being carried to her own bed. Her eyelashes barely flutter.

"It's fine," he says. Koushirou can't discern if the sentiment is meant for him, or for her sake. He doesn't seek clarification.

Taichi falls into the now free cushions, completely flush against his other side. Hotaru's head lolls back, cradled against Taichi's upper arm, fast asleep.

To his right, Akihiro mumbles again but remains still.

Taichi yawns, dropping his head on Koushirou's shoulder. "Were you going to finish the story?"

He smiles down at the black screen of the tablet, leaning his cheek against Taichi's head as his fingers pass through their son's unruly hair. He doesn't think the ending will be much of a surprise. Most of these stories come with a promise; a happily ever after. A quarter of a century ago, he may have found that predictability lackluster. Lately, he doesn't quite think so.

Rather, Koushirou finds, he looks forward to it.

"We can finish it tomorrow night—" he yawns himself "—when the kids are awake."

Taichi makes a short noise, something distant and barely there. Koushirou's own eyes feel heavy. They should get up, he knows. Make it to their respective beds before they all wake up with cricks in their necks. They really  should, but the couch is warm, comfortable, and Koushirou is surrounded by some of his favorite people and he can’t  really be bothered to change any of that.

(He only partially regrets the sore neck.)

[eerythingisshaka]

Ficmas Day #13 “Last Christmas, I Gave You Y’lan”

[Y’lan Noel x Reader]

Word Count: 1.2k

“Come on and hurry up!  WE don’t have all day to be out here!”

Your friend calls to you from the bottom of the hill, having already slid down it fifty-leven times.

You shiver at the top, holding the cord to your sled tightly in your hands.  You are fearful of heights, and even more so in combination with speed, AKA falling.

“I’m thinking about it!”  you yell back down to her.

“Don’t make me come up there!  Or I will gladly push your ass!”

“No!”  you yell back, feeling your anxiety rise again.  “Please!  Have a damn heart!  I’m nervous!”

“You. Will. Not. Die!  Look at that baby going down!”

Next to you a white girl with pigtails, barely out of Kindergarten sits in a plastic pink sled, gleefully screaming and giggling all the way down as she zooms past everyone.

“She’s not grown enough to know danger.  I got common sense!”

Your friend high-steps through the snow to make her way back up the hill.  She is over you for sure and is ready to ruin your day because you refuse to take yourself down a 45 degree ramp.

You contemplate running away, turning from the beginning of the slope to head back to the parking lot when someone’s silhouette catches your peripheral.  

It’s strange how when you aren’t looking for something, it can just jump out at you like something you forgot you wrote down a week ago or a spider in a corner.  Just suddenly, you turn in the exact direction of surprise and it finds you without warning.

He waves, looking strangely happy to see you.

“Y’lan?”  you whisper to yourself.  His name leaving your lips hits your chest like an auto crash.  You feel breathless as you attempt to walk back the opposite way you came.

“Hey!  Wait up!”  he says.  

You stop in your tracks, closing your eyes tightly to silently pray that this doesn’t turn into a thing.

As he stands in front of you, you catch his familiar scent: delicious, submissively but not tame.

“How’ve you been?  I wouldn’t expect to see you out here.”

You shrug avoiding his gaze to look preoccupied by your surroundings.  “Yeah, I mean, new year, new me I guess.”

Y’lan’s eyes look at you suspiciously as he nods slowly.  “Just in time for the end of this year?”

“No, for next year.”  

He builds his thoughts carefully, pointing at every idea with his finger.  “But if today marks a new year for you...and it’s December...then this year-”

You scoff walking past him totally embarrassed.  “Yes, I guess that’s true, I misspoke.  You’re a credit to English speakers everywhere.”

Y’lan follows beside you.  “I wasn’t trying to offend you.  I just wanted to catch up.”

“Why would you want to catch up?  We haven’t spoken in over a year.  What’s there to talk about?”

Y’lan smiles nonchalantly.  “A lot happened in a year, you know.”

You look at him and sigh.  Of course a year is a long time.  But how can he expect you to be ready to talk after how things went left last year.  

You sit down on your sled, looking over the edge.  Y’lan squats next to you.

“You want a push?”

“No!  I mean, just some space for now.  I can’t deal with this now.”  

Y’lan looks off in the distance.  “I was never mad at you for not saying...it back.  I may have been too quick to come up with the words for what I was feeling but if you didn’t feel it too, I wasn’t mad about that.”

You raise your hands in an attempt to bat away his words.  “I can’t do this right now.  I don’t want to hear this.”

“Then hear this.”

As quick as you heard your friend, you are rolling down the hill at 10, 20, maybe 40 miles per hour.  At least you feel it that way as you scream and hold on for your life, spinning with your legs in the air as you hit every curve and bump in the ground going down.

If anyone asks you, you would say the slide lasted ages, but the 10 second trip down was over with a thud in the snow wall that lined the bottom.  You sit just where you are for a minute to catch your breath.  Your heart beats in your throat as you reassess your life having flashed.

“See?  You didn’t die girl!”  your friend’s voice carries from a distance.

Footsteps approach louder in your direction.

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

You look up and see your handsome ex standing over you with an extended hand.  Your sigh of relief was more directed at seeing him then having gotten over your traumatic episode so you take it gratefully.  

As he stands you up, your hands hold each other’s for longer than necessary.  You feel the warmth of his hand through your glove.  You miss this closeness with him.  Sharing a space unapologetically.

“I wasn’t sayin I didn’t love you,” you start.

“Ok,”  he says.

“I didn’t realize until later how happy I was to hear it.  But then I just wasn’t prepared for the responsibility.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Looking to him, you go on saying, “I would have your trust, your attention.  It wouldn’t just be weekends doing our thing, we would have to pick out a place to live and maybe talk about family life together and I wasn’t ready to plan all that.”

Y’lan rolls his head back, having received the information.  “Girl, I wasn’t trying to domesticate you.  I just love you, is all.  We coulda had our same weekends and date nights and late night phone shit just now I’d say I love you at the end of it.”

“And then what?”

Y’lan stretches his eyes searching for words to combat your aloofness.  “Maybe things get more serious, or maybe not and we cool where we are.  I don’t know, you didn’t let it happen to know.”

You feel your heart deflate knowing this now.  “I get it.  You know I move past things too fast sometimes.”

Y’lan’s face softens.  He knocks your fist against your chin lightly with his.  “Pssh, not like how you got down that hill.”

“Oh yeah.  Fuck her for that.”

You finally let go of his hand, brushing snow from your legs awkwardly.  “I’m glad I got to see you now.”

Y’lan nods.  “Me too.  Did you and that neighbor dude ever work out?”

You took a minute to try and remember.  “Oh!  Paco?  No, he was a friend that got my groceries sometimes.  I hate the fees for the store to do it, but a smile at him is free!”

Y’lan laughs at this.  Between his teeth and the snow, it’s a tough contest for which is whiter.  

You smile back saying.   “What about you and ole girl?”

“What ole girl?  I ain’t got an ole girl.”

“Good.”

Y’lan hisses.  “Wow, she still a savage, huh?”

You fix an imaginary crown on your head.  “The baddest!  But also crazy you aren’t snatched up.”

Y’lan looks at you with a glint in his eye that’s one second too long, making you both laugh as he rubs his beard inconspicuously to hide the pleasure of you gassing him.  “How about if you’re done here, we can go get a coffee, warm up out of this snow?”

You shrug.  “I guess I can do that.  I’m certainly sick of this outside shit.”

@chaneajoyyy​

[dragon-kazansky]

A fantastic Christmas: Theseus Scamander

Chapter fourteen - Sledding

As promised, Theseus came to pick you up the following day. With no work to worry about, he arrived early afternoon. He had a plan, something he hoped you would enjoy. It was another thing he hadn't done since he was a child. You sure do bring out that side of him.

"Grab your coat." That was all he said when he arrived.

You grabbed your coat, hat and scarf. He smiled at the sight of your scarf. The fact that you even still had it made him proud.

He didn't tell you exactly where you were going, but when you arrived to the park with a steep slope in it, you had a pretty good idea what was going to happen. You turned to him with an amused look as he led you up the hill.

"Sledding?" You chuckle.

"Is that alright with you?" He looks unsure as he asks, but you can see the way his lips twitch upward ever so slightly.

"This is great!" You grab his hand and pull him up the hill the rest of the way. Just the feeling of your hand in his sends his heart soaring.

Once at the top, Theseus grabs you both a sled each and hands one over to you. You set them down and sit in them, looking at one another.

"I'll race you!"

"Oh? Alright." He chuckles.

Theseus makes sure you're both lined up fairly and then nods at you. You both push off and let gravity take over as you gain speed. He hears you squeal as you both ride down. When you reach the bottom you turn to him, giggling.

"Race you to the top!"

He stands up instantly, grabbing his sled and rushing up the hill. You're quick to grab yours and chase after him. It's a close call, but the snow gets in your way, slowing you down. Theseus throws his hands up in good humour at being the winner.

"Very funny." You chuckle. You set your sled down and get back on it. Theseus does the same.

This repeats several times until you're both too tired to keep going back up the hill. You both end up sitting off to the side, sitting pretty close, watching everyone else have their fun. There is something really relaxing and comfortable about sitting with Theseus like this. You feel like you grow closer to him every time you both see each other.

"Shall we grab some hot chocolate and then head back?" He turns to you, his gaze is soft and his voice comes out all silky and sweet.

"Sounds like a plan to me." You smile.

Theseus stands up and holds his hand to you. Your heart begins to race as you settle your hand in his. You stand up and walk in perfect sync with him to the stall at the other end of the park. His hand is nice and warm. You're sure he gives your hand a little squeeze.

Theseus orders you each a hot chocolate and you both stroll slowly back, letting the warmth form the cup seep into your hands.

"Today was fun."

"First date a success?" He looks at you, seeking approval.

"Oh, yes!" You chuckle. "I wouldn't say no to another..."

Theseus has to try so very hard to contain his excitement.

"I'll start planning another date then." He can't stop himself from smiling.

"I look forward to it."

Two empty cups and a pleasant walk later, you find yourself at your front door. You turn to Theseus who stands there admiring you. He soaks in every detail, from the redness of your nose, to the snow settling in your hair.

"Thank you for today."

"Thank you for accepting." He chuckles awkwardly. You smile as you lean in a kiss his cheek.

"I'll see you later then."

"See you later."

You smile at him once more before heading inside. Theseus waits until your door closes before heading off. He feels all giddy and happy. He is sure there is no better feeling than this.

[bunivys]

cafeteria tray/cardboard sheet sledding aka how to kiss your datefriend in a snowdrift bc you’re idiots and went flying into one 

hey anon! thanks for sending this in, and I’m sorry it’s a little late--but here we go! I hope you enjoy! ❤️❤️

Winter fell over Greendale like a blanket. Sabrina woke to find all the color had drained out of the yard that morning, replaced with a sheet of snow, shimmery under the light of the sun, and as thick as the frosting Hilda generously smothered on her cakes. She had stared out of her window for several minutes, taking it in, before she decided to wake the still snoozing warlock in her bed.

“Nick, it snowed!”

“That’s wild, babe,” Nick said unenthusiastically from underneath the heavy quilt on her bed, his curls disappearing as he dug further into the bed. 

Her lips fell into a pout and she spun away from the window, charging for the bed. He made an ‘oof’ sound when she collided with him. 

“Why aren’t you excited?” she asked, peeling back the quilt enough to see his face. He opened one eye to look at her.

“It happens every year, Spellman, it’s not exactly news. An old toad in a cauldron, as they say,” Nick mumbled. He lifted the quilt, and before she could react, he had her wrapped up in it with him, back pressed up against his chest with him pressing a kiss to the back of her neck. “And more importantly: it’ll be there when we wake up.”

“Don’t be a Scrooge, Nick.”

“I don’t know what a ‘Scrooge’ is, so I can’t be insulted,” he explained smugly.

Sabrina would not have the first snow of the winter be ruined by her boyfriend’s love of sleeping in, so did what she was certain would wake him up: she wiggled back, her backside bumping up against him. She wasn’t surprised to find what she did waiting for her, and Nick nearly jumped at the action.

“Woah, Spellman,” he croaked, his arm pulling her back in so that she was snug right up against him. She felt him grin against her neck, the hint of teeth against her skin sending a warm shiver down her spine. “If that’s what you wanted, you should've just told me.”

Sabrina turned in his arms and faced him, her smile devilish. “Great, you’re awake. Let’s get out of bed.”

Nick’s grin fell away into a look of betrayal. It only made Sabrina’ smile grow. She kissed him quickly on the lips, slipped away from him when he chased after her, and ran off toward her closet to get dressed. 

“If I come out and you aren’t dressed, I’m going to spell an outfit onto you, and you won’t like what I pick.”

The last time Sabrina did that, Nick ended up in Ambrose’s purple ‘Aloha from Hell’ top, so he sighed and got up, not wanting a replay. He still had his room back at the Academy for his things, but given how many nights out of the week he tended to stay over at the mortuary—not at all to his displeasure, of course—Sabrina had given him some space among her own clothing to store some of his. No one had ever welcomed Nick like that before, and it had taken him some time to fully come to terms that he was welcome there, at the Spellman home, with her.

After layering up, Sabrina tugged him down the stairway, excitement ringing in each step she took. She was practically bouncing down the steps, wrapped up in a burnt orange sweater and thick jacket, while he descended wearing his usual dark attire, trailing her like a grumpy shadow.

At the bottom of the stairs, Ambrose was already waiting for them, Hilda fussing over him as she wrapped a newly knitted scarf around his neck. She gave his head a pat and greeted Nick and Sabrina, while Ambrose grinned and held up a thick sheet of cardboard. Sabrina instantly brightened at the sight of it, Nick oozing confusion beside her.

“Come on, it’s tradition!” Sabrina squeaked in elation, before she tugged him out through the front door, Ambrose already way ahead of them. 

“What is going on?” Nick asked.

Ambrose answered, “You’re about to have the time of your life, Scratch. Come see how us Spellmans welcome in the winter.”

With a brow raised, he watched as Ambrose took one of two sheets of cardboard and raced out into the snow, tracking footprints through it as he did. His confusion shifted into shock as Ambrose headed for the somewhat steep slope headed toward the woods and slid, belly side down, onto the cardboard. Then he was gone, sliding down the hill with a holler of joy.

“Why?” was all Nick asked.

“Because it’s fun,” Sabrina answered, slipping her hand into his. “Come on, you can ride with me your first time.”

That was how Nick ended up seated behind her on the other sheet of cardboard, staring down the slope of the hill in curiosity, and a hint of fear. The Spellmans were truly a wonder, he thought. He understood mortals doing odd things, given they lacked magic, but the Spellmans—Ambrose and Sabrina, more specifically—did odd things because they were fun. 

Sabrina pushed off and then they were moving, and Nick didn’t have much time to consider anything else. 

As they slid down the hill, her hair tickling his nose, he smiled, because, surprisingly, he actually was having fun. However, when he looked past Sabrina’s head, he noticed they weren’t slowing down, despite approaching a large snowdrift.

“Um, Spellman—”

“Hang on, Nick,” she shouted back over the wind. “These things don’t exactly have brakes so you’ll just have to—”

Her sentence was cut short as they collided, rolling over each other as they landed. Sabrina ended up on top of him, the back of Nick’s head resting several inches into the snow. They looked at each other for a moment, both slightly dazed, before they started to laugh. Nick wondered if he had ever laughed so hard, even covered in snow as he was.

Sabrina was moving, crawling up his body from her awkward position. “Remember my first winter at the Academy?” she asked. “You walked me one morning, and we ran through the snow. I told you I was looking for someone special.”

Nick’s cheeks stung and his stomach hurt from how hard they had laughed. He said, “And I told you that I was looking to be special, that I would stick around, just in case.”

“I love that memory,” Sabrina said through her smile. “And I love you.”

“I love you too, Spellman,” he replied, cupping her cheek. She leaned down, pressing her cold lips against his. They faintly heard Ambrose calling for them from somewhere in the yard and then Prudence’s judgemental tone as she sulked out of the house, but neither of them moved, too caught up in one another. Once, Nick had no one to welcome him in from the cold, now he had several people, and one very special one. 

“Come on,” Sabrina said when they finally drew apart. “I can hear Ambrose trying to talk Prudence into sledding with us, and I want to watch her cut off his head.”

[lelitachay]

Frozen fanfiction: Søsken

Summary: Even though Anna loved her sister-in-law, she couldn’t help but notice there was something peculiar about Elsa. Everything starts to make sense after an accident and a forced family reunion.

Modern AU. Kristanna - Frohana - Kristoff & Elsa BrOTP.

Chapters 1 to 10 - Here  

Chapter 11 - Repercussions    

Chapter 12 - Time apart

Chapter 13 - Guilt

Chapter 14 - The way I see it

Chapter 15 - Reconnecting

-

Finding home

Elsa kept looking at the notebook as she tried to come up with a solution to the Maths problem in front of her. She had already surpassed the stage where she wanted to pull her hair out, and she was now simply looking at it with disdain. Part of her believed life was torturing her for lying to her brother the previous night.

It didn't matter how hard she tried, or how many times she looked at her notes, she couldn't think of a possible solution. With a tired sigh, she threw her pencil on the table and exclaimed, "I give up. This is impossible."

"For the last time, it's not impossible. Have you-?"

"... checked my notes? Yes, I have." Elsa didn't care if it was rude to interrupt her teacher, the Maths problem had drained all her will power, and she just wanted the answer. "I've got no idea what I have to do."

"Yes, you do," said Anna laughing. "Think of everything we've talked about so far… What do you-?" Anna's question was interrupted when the door of the cottage suddenly opened and her boyfriend came in. "Kristoff?"

Taken aback, Kristoff could only look at Anna sitting at the table. When his initial surprise wore off, he asked back, "Anna?"

Saved by the bell, thought Elsa as she closed her books. She liked Anna's Maths classes; but the fact they had been working and practicing since early morning was making Elsa feel exhausted. And she guessed her tiredness was the main the reason she couldn't come up with a logical answer to the annoying Maths problem.

"Elsa…?" It didn't take long to realise his sister had planned their meeting behind their back and he wanted an explanation.

Anna, noticing Kristoff's warning tone, looked at her stunned too. Until that moment she thought it had been a coincidence Kristoff showed up when he did, but Elsa's calm expression let her see she had been expecting her brother all along.

She looked at them both and only offered a sheepish smile. Truth was she had no idea what to say in her defense. She put her books away as quickly as possible and hurried to the door. Before Kristoff or Anna had the chance to complain, she said, "sit down and talk. Don't you dare look for me until you solve your problems." And with that, she walked out the door leaving the couple alone in the cottage.

Even if she knew Kristoff was going to get revenge for what she'd just done, Elsa couldn't stop feeling proud of her decision the previous night. In the few seconds she shared with them, she was able to notice they seemed happy to see each other, though a little nervous.

I'm sure they're already putting their differences behind to plot my murder. Elsa chuckled at her silly thought and tried to choose what to do next. She wanted to give them some privacy, so staying in the house was out of question. She looked around and smiled when she noticed her motor sled was a few meters away from the entrance. She cleared the path leading to the vehicle with her powers, making sure she could get to it, and soon she was riding North towards her slope. She hadn't been there since the accident, and part of her wanted to see how the place looked like after two months.

The last thing she expected when she got to the slope was to find it in perfect shape. There weren't excessive amounts of snow, and every single flag she had used to mark the limits was still standing. Making Elsa wonder if someone had been working, or using, the place regularly.

She got off her snowmobile and stayed on the edge of the cliff, looking down at the forest and enjoying the view for some time. It had been so long since she had taken the time to drink in the view and truly appreciate how peaceful the North mountain was. She couldn't understand why people would pick the city and its apartment buildings over something like that. There, in the middle of nowhere,she was free. She had a world to explore and a life to live. Far away from the constricting walls that had hidden her existence for years.

She still remembered clearly the first time Kai and Gerda had showed her the mountain, letting her explore a world she didn't know existed. It had been the first time someone told her she was allowed to have fun with the powers too. Gerda had explained that, there, her powers could become part of the landscape and no one would ever complain, because in the North mountain snow was always welcomed. Her mother's words were still ingrained in her brain and Elsa guessed they were part of the reason she found inner peace in that place. They were the reason she had found her place in the world all those years ago.

Her memories were interrupted when she heard footsteps behind her back. Very few people roamed around that part of the mountain, so she turned around to see who was interrupting her peaceful moment. To her happy surprise, it wasn't some lost tourist. It was Marshall.

"For a moment I thought you were frozen. You weren't moving," said Marshmallow, waving at her.

"You didn't look too worried if that were the case."

"What was the point of hurrying up if you were already dead?" he asked with the most neutral expression he could master. Marshmallow had the tendency to make the most unsettling comments in such a calm and collected way, he always made people believe he was being serious. Only a scarce group of people understood his humour, while the rest simply looked at him as if he was mad as a hatter. To his good luck, Elsa was one of the few who understood the different tones he used when he was trying to be humorous.

"It's nice to see you care," she said as she tried to stifle a giggle. It didn't matter how hard she tried to pretend his jokes were inappropriate or unsettling, she always ended up laughing at them.

He smiled at her and sat down by her side.

"What are you doing here?" asked Elsa when she noticed he was not going to say anything else. She considered herself a person of few words, but Marshmallow could easily beat her at that.

"I wanted to ski on my own, and I knew your slope was a great place to do so."

"You've been using the slope?" She should have known he was the one behind the slope being in such good shape.

"I have." He looked at her to make sure she wasn't bothered. "I hope you don't mind."

Elsa looked at him and smiled. "You've been taking care of it too, right?"

He nodded and explained, "I tried to make it more safe. Finish some of the work you started."

"Marshmallow…" Elsa's eyes widened at the thought of him doing so much work. She knew the ski resort demanded a lot of time from him and he was usually exhausted afterwards. "That's a lot of work. You didn't have to."

"Well, I had a lot of clients this season thanks to you, the least I could do was make sure this place was being taken care of."

"It's more than you should have done."

"It's my way of saying thank you," he answered and returned his sight to the mountains in the horizon.

Elsa kept looking at him with amazement. Even if she knew Marshmallow was hard working to a fault and he rarely complained about the things he had to do, she was surprised to find out he had been working so much only to thank her for a few extra clients. "Well, thank you. It's nice to know my work didn't go to waste."

"It's an amazing slope. And the view is beautiful. I've been coming here whenever the tourists get on my nerves."

She smirked and asked, "You've been living here, then?"

He laughed and pushed her slightly with his arm. But he didn't complain, he had to admit he wasn't the most patient instructor out there.

They continued talking about work and life at the mountain during some more time until it began to snow. Marshall got up, complaining about being cold, and suggested it was best to leave. She was about to get up on her own when Marshmallow surprised her by picking her up from the snow. Elsa shrieked and put her arms around his neck, not wanting to be dropped. She was thankful they were in the middle of the mountain and he couldn't notice the snow around her. "Marshmallow, what are you doing?!"

"You are going to hurt your leg if you keep walking in the snow," he said, matter-of-factly. "I'll take you to your snowmobile."

Elsa was mortified by the fact he was carrying her in his arms. She wanted to tell him she wasn't sick, and that she could walk with the help of her crutches perfectly well; but he was being so careful and sweet, she didn't find in herself the will to do so. "You could have warned me, though," she chose to say instead.

He chuckled as he sat her on the vehicle. "You were going to go on for minutes explaining why you didn't need my help. Picking you up like that was faster."

"I don't care," she said, crossing her arms. "Warn me next time you do that."

"Aye. Aye." He moved his hand from side to side dismissing her request. He picked up his skis and began walking in the direction of the path that led to his home.

"Where's your motor sled?" asked Elsa as she looked around trying to find it.

"I thought it was a nice day to walk earlier today," he sighed. "Now I regret my decision." He wanted to ask her for a ride, but he just continued walking instead.

"I'll take you home," offered Elsa.

"Are you sure?" Part of him wondered if she had just read his mind.

She stopped the snowmobile right in front of him. "Of course."

Marshall was more than thankful Elsa had offered to take him home. The snowfall was getting stronger, and his cottage was quite a far distance from the slope.

"I almost forgot," he said as they were getting closer to his cottage. "I've got your gear at my place."

"What gear?" asked Elsa, loud enough for him to hear over the sound of the snowmobile.

"Your skis and other things I found at the slope. I think they are yours, they were close to the cliff."

Marshall jumped off the motor sled and helped Elsa get down. He wanted her to wait inside while he looked for her things. He opened his door and five kittens rushed outside to play in the falling snow. "No, no," he complained, running after the cats. "Stay inside you creatures."

Elsa burst out laughing at the sight of Marshmallow running after the animals. The cats were white as snow, making it difficult for her to spot them in the distance. So all she was seeing was huge guy running from one side to the other in the snow.

After a minute, he was able to pick the last one up and walk back towards his house. The cats playfully biting and scratching his hands, begging to be put back down. "Ow! Stop it."

Elsa laughed once again and helped him by keeping the door opened for him. "I didn't know you liked cats."

"I found them on the side of the road. Some ass left them on a box." Once inside his home, he let go of the cats, which soon began playing and wrestling each other.

A tender smile plastered on Elsa's face. She still couldn't understand why some people would consider Marshall intimidating. He was only taller than average and somewhat shy, making him seem more serious than he really was; but it only took a few minutes to realise he was softer than most. "And you kept all of them?" she asked, surprised he hadn't gave the animals away.

"I felt bad separating them," answered Marshall from the other room where he was looking for her things.

"Have they got names?"

"Not really. But I do call them Snowgies."

"How fitting…" She watched them wrestle one another on the floor, making her giggle at the their antics. She had always liked cats, but she rarely had the chance to be around them. Sven and his distaste for cats being the main reason.

Before she knew, Marshmallow was back, standing in front of her with several things in his arms. "Here. This is all I found. I couldn't find your skis though."

Elsa recognised the gear immediately. The skis were the ones she had lent Anna the day of the accident, together with a couple of gloves and poles. "One of them broke in half when I fell. The other must be somewhere in the forest." She pursed her lips at the thought of her own skis. They were a lot more expensive than the ones she lent her students, and she was sure she was going to miss them.

"It's a shame, they were a good pair."

"Thanks for picking these things up. I can't afford losing any more equipment." When Elsa picked all the things Marshall was handing her, she realised there was no way she could travel back home with all the stuff. However, she soon came up with a solution to her problem. "Have you got any plans this evening?" she asked, hoping Marshall would say no.

"Not really. Why?" He bent over to pick one of the gloves he had dropped, before the cats used it as a toy.

"Would you like to help me carry these things home and stay for dinner?" Before you know it, you'll be asking him to stay for dinner,Anna's teasing voice resonated in her head the moment she asked the question, making Elsa feel really embarrassed all of a sudden. Before he got the chance to answer, she said in a hurry, "my brother and his girlfriend will be there too."

He opened his eyes, not really understanding Elsa's clarification. "O- okay?" he said, not sure what to answer, as he handed her the missing glove.

"Okay," she repeated, taking a few steps back and avoiding his eyes in the process. She knew she liked Marshmallow as friend, and she believed there was nothing wrong with wanting to share some time with him; but Anna had a way to mess with her head. Resulting in her friendship - if she could call it that - with Marshmallow becoming more awkward than it already was.

If Marshall noticed Elsa's embarrassment, he didn't comment on it. He simply picked his keys and walked out the door, holding it open for her as he admitted, "I like the idea of sharing a meal with you and your family."

-

Idunn sat uncomfortably in the Bjorgmans' living room. Agdar and Kai were exchanging pleasantries while they waited for Gerda to prepare some coffee before they began discussing the matter at hand. Even if the older woman was still against the idea of sharing Elsa's past without her consent, she had explicitly asked for them not to start without her.

In the meanwhile, Idunn took the time to look around the room, trying to find a photograph of Elsa on the weren't many photos in the room, but she hoped she could at least see a glimpse of Elsa in one of them. She was so focused on her task at hand, she didn't notice the steaming hot coffee Gerda was offering her. She apologised for her distraction, and focused once again in the people around her. She hadn't slept much the previous night, her anxiety keeping her awake for most part of the night. She, like her husband, wished to find out more about her daughter; but she wasn't sure she was ready to face the truth.

"Thank you for giving us a chance," said Agdar once Gerda was sitting beside her husband. The man was used to take the lead in important meetings at work, and he was usually the first to break the ice whenever a delicate subject needed to be addressed.

"I think it was necessary to meet and talk. I'm sure we can all agree we want what's best for Elsa." Everyone in the room nodded, understanding the girl's well being was more important than their inner wishes. "I know you wish to know more about Elsa and her life before she came to live with us," explained Kai to Agdar and Idunn. "However, I'd like to hear your story first."

Idunn opened her eyes at the request. "Is that absolutely necessary?" Talking about her past to Anna had taken a emotional toll she wasn't expecting, and she was sure retelling the whole story to the couple was going to be just as hard. Especially knowing they were going to judge their decisions more severely than Anna.

"I won't let you get close to my daughter unless you do," replied Kai in a firm voice. He believed the Arendelles deserved to know what had happened to their biological daughter; but after Agdar had said they deliberately left her in the hands of Weselton, he thought it was best to know their story before he could trust Elsa's past to them.

It was a shock to hear Kai speaking in such a way. Even Gerda turned to look at him with worry. He was usually one to jump straight into business, but he rarely let his feelings show. This time, however, he made sure the couple understood his love for Elsa and how serious he was about his request.

"I understand," said Agdar, trying to avoid a confrontation. He chose to believe the man had a justified reason to hear their past first. "We are here to take responsibility for our actions. Telling you our part of the story is the least we can do." And with that he began telling the older couple their story.

They made sure to explain everything they had gone through. They knew it was possible Kai and Gerda weren't going to understand their motives, but being a hundred percent honest was going to help them a lot more in the long run. It took them almost an hour to tell their full story. Including the time they had tried to find Elsa in the different orphanages. As their story progressed, Agdar could notice how Gerda and Kai were becoming more invested in in it, asking questions and clarifications.

"As you can see… We tried to make the right thing. But life had a very peculiar way of telling us it was too late," said Agdar as he finished their story. "We accept our mistakes and we know Elsa's got the right not to forgive us, but all we want is for her to know we did care about her."

Gerda stayed silent while Kai continued asking a few more questions. She knew he was already trying to tie their story to what they already knew about Elsa, and see if it matched.

Before hearing their story, Gerda had been completely against the idea of sharing Elsa's past with the Arandelles. But now, knowing they had been lied about Elsa's whereabouts, only made her think that maybe Kai was doing the right thing. She wasn't completely sure their reasons for leaving Elsa behind were justified, but it was obvious they had truly tried to do what they thought was right. Being young and inexperienced had forced them to abandon their daughter in a desperate attempt to give her a better life; but their plan had backfired, resulting in Elsa enduring things a child shouldn't have been exposed to. She couldn't help but feel bad for the couple, they seem guilty enough as it was.

"Well, that's our story," concluded Agdar, once Kai's questions were over.

"I guess that means it's our turn," said Kai, looking at his wife.

Gerdad nodded but stayed silent, thinking it was best to let Kai handle the situation and explain Elsa's past to them. It was hard for her to talk and explain everything that had happened before Elsa entered their life.

"Days ago you asked where we had found Elsa," began Kai. He wanted to answer their main question before he told them how everything had happened. "Well, to put it simply, we adopted her after Douglas Weselton's clinic was searched and seized by the police in Romsdal."

Idunn and Agdar gasped at that. They had tried to come up with different scenarios where the couple had found Elsa; but, the possibility of the police being involved, had never crossed their mind.

"But Weselton's clinic was closed… How is that possible?"

"I'll try to explain everything that happened in Romsdal during those years as best as possible. However, I need your word that you will keep everything I'm about to tell you to yourselves. I'm taking a personal and professional risk by letting you know all these details."

Kai's seriousness made them accept his request in a heartbeat. They knew the man was a respected police officer and they believed in his words. After all, he had never given them a reason not to trust him.

"You are correct about the place being closed to the public, Agdar. It was no longer working as a clinic at the time, but for years it worked as a center of illegal medical procedures and experimentation. There were a couple of doctors who valued more the profits they could obtain from their experiments than the health of the people they treated."

A sudden sense of coldness took over Idunn's body. She knew she needed to listen to everything Kai was about to tell them, but she already could tell it was going to be harder than she imagined.

"Let me start from the beginning, before the official clinic was closed…"

The police department in Romsdal had the lead something dubious was going on in the clinic before its original closure. Following the legal procedures, they requested information to its owner, Douglas Weselton. The man in charge of the institution and his collaborators complied to the request, giving the authorities the permission to search the place.

At the time, they couldn't find anything atypical about it and, since both the clinic and its orphanage followed the correct standards, the original suspicions dissipated. Forcing the police officers to think the lead was the result of false accusations and professional jealousy.

However, to everyone's surprise, a year after said event, the clinic legally closed its doors. Weselton referred his patients to other clinics in town, and he made sure every child in the orphanage was taken to different institutions in neighbouring cities. Every step for its closure followed all the legal requirements. Not raising any suspicions, and resulting in the authorities dismissing the event to a personal decision on Weselton's part.

Everything remained more or less the same in Romsdal for the following four years. Until one day, the police department began receiving information about illegal medical procedures taking place in the city. Doctors and nurses claimed someone in town was treating patients outside the medical system.

The complaints stated people with the lowest incomes were leaving the official medical centres in favour of unregistered clinics. No one knew exactly who the responsible were, but the old clinic soon resonated in the head of those who had taken part in the original investigation.

Without proper evidence, it took the police department a few months to gather enough information and evidence against the illegal doctors. It didn't come to a surprise when the new evidence linked the old clinic and orphanage to these practices, giving the police the opportunity to search and seize the now 'abandoned' place.

By seizing the place, the police officers in charge of the procedure were able to find Douglas Weselton, among other doctors and nurses, working illegally in the abandoned building. But that was not the only thing they found. They were shocked to find a teenage girl - no older than thirteen - in one of the rooms. To make matters worse, she had been drugged minutes prior to the police intervention, and she was in a deplorable health condition. The state the girl was in forced Romsdal to get in contact with Trollheim's police department and arrange for her to be transferred to the city's main hospital.

Romsdal authorities requested the girl's existence to remain secret during the first few days, trying to keep the minor away from undesired attention until they knew for certain who she was and where she was from. To their bad luck, she didn't exist in the clinic's registries and everyone of the defendants denied ever meeting her, making the task of finding out her identity a lot more difficult.

By a whim of fate, Kai and Gerda ended up being part of the selected group of people that was allowed to stay in contact with the girl after Romsdal's request. Kai was part of the police division in Trollheim which had been sent to assist Romsdal's officers, and help in the NN girl's case. While, Gerda, on the other hand, happened to be working in Trollheim's main hospital at the time, being one of the selected nurses to attend to the girl in question.

Against the doctors' initial guesses, it took the girl several hours to wake up after she was admitted into hospital. It also took several minutes for her to understand she was in a different environment. She wouldn't allow doctors and nurses get close to her and she would remain silent whenever they tried to find out information about her. It didn't matter how many times they reassured her they were there to help her feel better, she remained silent.

Gerda, not agreeing with the doctors and officers' methods to approach the girl, had taken the time to stay in the room longer than necessary each day, trying to earn the girl's trust. It was only after three days, and a lot of work on Gerda's part, that they were able to find out her name. Elsa.

At the beginning the relationship between Elsa and Gerda had been awkward and difficult. Elsa didn't seem to trust anyone dressed as a doctor or nurse, making her work a lot harder than it already was. Whenever Gerda tried to do her job - instead of simply keep the girl company - Elsa would stop cooperating. Taking Gerda a lot of time to complete her tasks.

The girl wasn't bad perse, and she didn't fight her back like other nurses complained she did; but she wouldn't let Gerda come close to her. Always begging and resisting her attempts to approach her.

Elsa's constant begging to be left alone pained the old woman deeply, but it only fuelled her will to help her. Day by day, Gerda was able to find out more and more about her. But to everyone's disappointment, the little information Elsa could provide was useless to the police investigation. She had no surname. She had lived all her life behind closed doors, spending most of her life in Romsdal clinic. And as far as she knew, she didn't have a family.

In the meanwhile, the evidence against Weselton and his colleagues kept piling for their illegal medical practices, but the police officers had no information they could use to link Elsa's existence to them, besides the fact she had been found in one of the rooms of the clinic. To make matters worse, there were no records of a girl of her characteristics disappearing. And every piece of information the girl in question could provide was a dead end. Making everyone wonder who Elsa really was.

The head of the police department in Trollheim had been ready to go against Romsdal's requests and reveal Elsa's existence to the public in a desperate attempt to find out something about the girl, when he received a disturbing call from the hospital. One of the doctors in charge of Elsa's case called claiming the girl was nothing but 'the result of the creepiest kind of experimentation.' Out of thin air, Elsa had frozen the hand of Gerda, after the nurse had unintentionally hurt the girl with a needle.

This new piece of information stopped the decision to let the public know about Elsa. Those in charge of the investigation made sure no one outside the selected group of people was informed of the incident. Dealing with an NN was hard enough as it was, to now have to face the challenge of said person being the result of illegal experimentation. Only a few police officers and doctors were trusted with Elsa's secret in fear people would try and hurt the girl, or demand impossible answers.

The incident between Elsa and Gerda had caused concern among those involved too, changing the way some of the doctors and officers treated the girl. Most of them stopped their visits, and the very few who still dared enter the room were more careful around her. Making Elsa feel more isolated inside the hospital room than she already was.

Gerda, in spite of being the one who had been in the receiving end of Elsa's powers, kept visiting Elsa, making the accident a turning point in their relationship. Elsa began to open up more to her when she noticed the old woman could see past her powers and still treat her like a normal person; not forcing her to take drugs nor changing the way she treated her.

As time passed, her pleadings to be left alone transformed into requests for Gerda to be careful around her. Showing she wasn't against the offered care and treatment, as they had originally imagined. On the contrary, she was only afraid of hurting those around her and being punished for it.

Elsa's health began to improve after the first month. She looked more healthy and had more energy, driving Gerda to spend more and more hours with her, taking a more nurturing role than her job required. The two of them spent their time talking, drawing and reading stories together. From time to time, Gerda tried to get Elsa to share things about her childhood and her time in the clinic, but to her disappointment she never shared much.

There came a day, however, when Elsa got carried away in a conversation and told Gerda about a boy her age named Kristoff, her first and only friend. Gerda, curious to know more about her past, prompted her to tell her more about her friend. Great was Gerda's surprise to find out she was the girl her son talked so much about.

Once Gerda told her husband the news, and the police department found evidence that Elsa had in fact lived in Trollheim's orphanage; the head of the police department asked for the orphanage to be searched. This gave them access to the orphanage's registries, where they found more than enough evidence linking Weselton's clinic with the institution. Unauthorised money movements and new nurses becoming part of the staff in dates that matched the time Elsa had been transferred. Elsa's identity was still a mystery, but at least they had more information about the girl's past.

A month and a half after Elsa's hospital admission, the doctors considered she was healthy enough to be discharged, requesting the authorities to find a new place for Elsa to stay. But no one knew for certain what to do with her. Her powers were dangerous and she could barely trust other people.

"Please, tell me that's when you adopted her," begged Agdar, interrupting Kai. He had been doing his best to help Idunn calm down, and he wanted the story to be over. He desperately wanted to reach the part where Elsa found a family. His wife had begun crying uncontrollably when Kai explained the state Elsa was found inside the clinic, and she hadn't stopped. She kept blaming herself over and over again for leaving Elsa in the hands of a monster like Weselton.

Telling the whole story had been more difficult for Kai than he originally imagined. He knew the couple was going to have a hard time accepting the things Elsa had been through, but he hadn't imagined Idunn was going to break down the way she did. He had been patient and had tried to give the woman enough time to pull herself together, but as soon as he mentioned something unpleasant she would break down once again. Not finding the strength to continue, he looked at his wife requesting her help.

Gerda, who had been silently crying, understood her husband's silent request and continued, "the idea of leaving the hospital caused Elsa great distress, resulting in her freezing her bed and almost hurting the police officer standing close to it." She took a deep breath to calm her nerves down. Remembering that day still made her blood boil. "The man was an intolerant prick who began to yell, demanding the doctor to sedate Elsa. Not thinking twice about it, I stepped in front of Elsa and begged for them to be reasonable and give her some time to calm down on her own…"

"What happened then?" Agdar's broken voice prompt Gerda to continue.

"Contrary to what one would believe, my intervention only infuriated the officer and I was kicked out of Elsa's room. The moment I was taken out of the room, Elsa began to cry and beg for me not to leave her alone. The ice around her bed began to advance towards the men still inside the room, making me fear Elsa was going to something she could regret." If she closed her eyes, Gerda could still hear the cracking sound of the ice on the walls. "Luckily, Kai and his superiors arrived just in time to see what was going on." Gerda looked at her hands, she remembered that day vividly, Elsa's cries resonated in the back of her head.

"We took them out of the room before the ice reached them, avoiding a disaster," said Kai.

"I stayed with Elsa that night," continued Gerda. "And I think that was the first time she truly opened up to me. She explained she tried her best to control her powers, and how it was really difficult to do so. It didn't matter how hard she tried, the ice manifested whenever she was stressed. And people punishing for her mistakes only made matters worse." That night was the first night Elsa had accepted a hug from Gerda too. The little girl had been so scared she was going to be left alone, she had clung to Gerda. "At that moment I knew I couldn't leave her side."

"By the time Elsa and Gerda woke up the following day, I had all the necessary papers for her custody." Kai thought it was time to wrap up their story since they had shared the most important details of Elsa's childhood. At least those they knew. "We were the best chance she had out there. We both wanted to be the family she needed and we thought we had the means to help her find justice."

"A couple of months after we were given her custody, the judge granted us the possibility to give her our last name and formally adopt her," finished Gerda. The heartbroken and guilt-ridden expressions on Agdar and Idunn didn't go unnoticed by the woman. She knew their world had come crashing down on them, and she felt truly bad for them at that moment. Hoping to lift their spirits, she offered some comforting words. "But as you can see, things worked out for the best, one way or another. She found a home, and she's been part of our family ever since."

Agdar dried a couple of tears and looked at the older couple. The immense gratitude he was feeling towards the older couple couldn't be put into words, but he tried anyway. "Thank you so much for loving Elsa just the way she is." He averted his eyes, feeling immeasurable shame. "Something we clearly couldn't do."

"You may have made a mistake, a terrible one. But for what you told us, you did it because you were trying to find a better future her." Kai could see the love they felt for Elsa was real. And In Kai's opinion the man to blame for Elsa's suffering was no other than Weselton. Their story only convinced him that the unscrupulous doctor had played with the young couple from the start.

To be honest, this chapter was hard to write and edit. There were so many things I wanted to include and explain, but I didn't want to make it long and boring. There are still a few things to explain along the way but we can finally say Elsa's past has been revealed. I hope things are clearer now. Many of you already had the idea Elsa had been subject of illegal medical practices, but here's the confirmation. You were right. Elsa powers are not magical, they are just the result of Weselton's experiments.

-

I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as the previous ones. I would like to know what you think of Elsa's back story. Does it make sense to you? Was it what you were expecting? Feel free to comment and share your thoughts.

I wanted to thank everyone who had taken the time to read, like and review this story so far. I hope this story is living up to your expectations.

Tagging: @swimmingnewsie @melody-fox, @kristoffxannafanatic, @kristannafictionals, @neptrabbit, @skneez, @ellacarter13, @wondering-in-life, @who-i-am-8, @fanfictionrecommendations-com, @815-allisnotlost, @khartx, @joannevixxon, @betweenthedreams, @lilrann, @burbobah, @rileysfs, @zutonium, @earlvessalius, @blood-jewel, @disneydreamer8901, @the-sky-is-awake, @disneyfan103, @the-magic-one-is-you, @anamaria8garcia, @welovefrozenfanfiction, @bigfrozenfan-archive, @bigfrozenfan, @frozen-snips  @deisymendoza  @zackhaikal123 @cornstarch @roostercrowedatmidnight @wandering-bard-from-the-id, @showurselfelsa @fuzzyelsalikeiduna @when-dawn-arrives​ @drafteedragon​ @snowycrocus​ @tare8chan​ @localarendellian​ @wabitham​ @roostercrowedatmidnight​ @aries1708 @tare8chan, @just-your-local-history-nerd, @dontrunintofirexoxo @daphmckinnon @poketin

As always if someone wants to be tagged, or no longer be tagged please let me know!

[madpanda75]

“Snow Day”

Rafael Barba x Reader

Prompt 7: Snow for @thefanficfaerie‘s Christmas OTP Challenge

Rafael walked down the hall, his apartment door just a few feet away. His entire body sighed in relief. The weekend was finally here. While Rafael would normally use that time to catch up on paperwork, he walked into his home that Friday evening, wanting nothing more than to relax and spend the next two days with you.

“Y/N?” he called out, only to be greeted with silence. Figuring you were still at the office, he shrugged off his coat and headed into the kitchen where he spied a note on the counter.

“On the roof. Come meet me.” It read in your loopy, cursive handwriting.

As odd as your request was, Rafael complied, taking the elevator all the way to the top of the building. A strong gust of wind smacked him in the face the minute he opened the door to the rooftop.

Rafael instantly spotted you, leaning against the ledge, your hair whipping around as you gazed out at the city. He smiled and walked towards you, past Mrs. Kwan’s flowerbeds and Mr. Russo’s boxers frozen on the washline. Wrapping his arms around you from behind, he placed a tender kiss on your cold cheek. “What are you doing up here, mi amor? It’s freezing,” he purred.

“Do you smell that?” You asked, completely ignoring his original question.

Rafael sniffed the air. “I smell garbage and vent fumes.”

“Not that.” You turned to face him. There was a slightly wild look in your eye. “I smell--”

“Y/N,” he warned. “Don’t say it. Please don’t say it.”

“Snow!”

Rafael threw his head back and groaned. Over the years, he had learned that you had an uncanny way of predicting when there was going to be a snowstorm. It seemed as if all you had to do was say the word “snow” and the next morning there would be 6 inches on the ground. “Y/N, how do you know this? It’s been sunny and clear all day.”

“I have a sixth sense about these things. It’s in the air. I can feel it in my bones.” You shivered and closed your eyes. “That cool sharp sting that makes your skin tingle.”

Rafael arched a brow. “I think that’s called hypothermia.”

“Don’t tease your wife,” you said, playfully smacking his arm. “You watch, tomorrow morning you will wake up to find snow covering our street.”

“Well then we better get inside before we get caught in the storm,” Rafael teased, rubbing your arms to bring some warmth back into your limbs.

*****

Later on that evening Rafael lay in bed, checking on some emails while you were brushing your teeth. The 11 o’clock news playing on the TV suddenly switched over to the weather report.

“Alright folks, get those shovels out! Stock up on that toilet paper and bread because it looks like we’re getting some snow,” announced the meteorologist.

You ran out of the bathroom and pointed at Rafael. “Aha! See! What did I tell you!” You exclaimed with a mouthful of toothpaste before going back to the sink to spit.

“Ok, you were right,” Rafael said with a sigh. He shut down his laptop and placed it on the nightstand, getting comfortable under the covers.

You walked out of the bathroom with a smug smile on your face. “I usually am.” Turning off the lights, you went to the window and pushed back the curtain, looking out at the street below. Your hot breath fogged up the glass. “I love when it snows. The city always looks so beautiful. The world becomes soft and quiet. It’s so peaceful.”

Rafael snorted a laugh. “Sure, if you think treacherous ice, grey slush, and delayed trains are peaceful.”

“Says the man who arranged our ski trip to Gstaad next month,” you retorted and crawled into bed.

“Gstaad is different. That’s a vacation. I can ski and then just relax by the fire with you.” Rafael wrapped his arm around you, nuzzling his nose against the top of your head.  “It’s not like in New York where I slip on black ice in my new Italian loafers and end up in a dirty snow bank that a homeless man just used as a urinal.” At that last part, you tilted your head up to meet his gaze. “Hypothetical situation,” he replied.

You sat upright, a light bulb going off in your head. “You know what you need? A snow day.”

“A snow day?” Rafael repeated and sat up, his eyes widening.

“Yep, tomorrow you and I are gonna go outside and play in the snow. Who knows, maybe we’ll even melt that icy heart of yours.”

Rafael playfully pinched your side causing you to giggle and squirm. “Says the woman that ended up marrying the man with the icy heart.”

“Actually it was the suspenders and gorgeous green eyes that did it for me. Besides deep down I know you’re a total softie.” You booped his nose with your index finger. “Come on Rafi, unleash your inner child. Have a snow day with me. Please.” You cupped his face and gave him a slow, sensual kiss, your tongue brushing up against his before pulling away with one last playful nip to his bottom lip.

“Not a very fair tactic.” He leaned forward for another kiss only to have you place your hand against his mouth, effectively stopping him.

“So does that mean yes?” You jut out your bottom lip and pouted while batting your lashes, giving him big doe eyes. You knew he wouldn’t be able to say no.

Rafael rolled his eyes and took your hand off his mouth. “Fine, I’ll have a snow day with you,” he grumbled.

You squealed with joy and lunged towards him causing you both to flop back down onto the mattress.

“You know I can’t say no to you, cariño,” he purred, kissing you deeply.

“You’re too good to me. Best husband ever.” You laid your head on Rafael’s chest and dropped a tender kiss over his heart. “Trust me. A few hours outside in the snow and your mind will be forever changed,” you said with a yawn. In a matter of minutes you both were fast asleep, your limbs entwined while outside the snow began to drift down.

*****

You bounced on the balls of your feet, watching Rafael eat the snowflake-shaped pancakes you had made for breakfast. You had already scarfed down yours, excited to go out and enjoy the winter wonderland that seemingly appeared overnight. “You’re doing this to torture me, aren’t you?”

“What’s the rush, Y/N? We have all day,” Rafael said, taking a sip of his coffee.

“I’m just excited to spend the day with you but you’re right. I’ll just sit here and patiently wait for you to finish eating.” You sat down next to him, drumming your fingers on the counter and jostling your legs. Rafael leisurely swirled a forkful of pancake around some syrup before slowly putting it in his mouth. It was pure agony.

As soon as he had finished his breakfast, you hopped out of your seat. “Ready to go!”

“I guess so,” he mumbled, finishing the last dregs of his coffee. “What’s first on the list?”

“I’m glad you asked that.” You smiled and led Rafael to the hallway closet, pulling out two sleds. “Surprise!”

He shook his head incredulously. “Where did you get those?”

“I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” you said with a wink. “Now come on. Let’s try these babies out!”

You walked arm in arm with Rafael to Central Park, making your way over to Pilgrim Hill which had the steepest slope. Although it was still early, there was already a crowd of people beginning to form. Rafael glanced around nervously. He hadn’t gone sledding since he was a little kid. Aware of the fact that he wasn’t a spring chicken anymore, he couldn’t help but envision himself sliding down the hill and shattering his hip bone.

On the other hand, you didn’t seem to worry at all about breaking any bones as you sat in your sled at the crest of the hill. “You excited?”

“Something like that,” Rafael replied, getting in his sled.

You planted your hands on the ground on either side of you. “Ok, on the count of three. One, two, THREE!” Using your hands as leverage, you propelled yourself forward by pushing off the ground, careening down the hill.

Rafael could hear your whoops and laughter all the way down. Now it was his turn. Cautiously, he wiggled his body forward, his sled teetering before falling over the edge.

You looked around for Rafael, finally spotting him flying down the hill. Just as he was about to make it to the bottom, he hit a snowbank. Rafael’s sled caught some air, hovering several feet off the ground only to come crashing down. He fell out of the sled, landing face first in the snow.

“Rafi!” You ran towards him and rolled him over, wiping snow off his face. “Oh my God, are you ok? Are you hurt?” You asked in a panic, scanning his body for any injuries.

Rafael sat up, a smile slowly spread across his face. “Let’s do that again!” He grabbed his sled and started to run back up the hill. “Come on! I’ll race you down next time. Loser has to buy the winner hot chocolate!”

You laughed and ran after him. “Hey! Wait for me!”

*****

You lost track of how many times you and Rafael raced down the hill. When you both were exhausted and no longer in need of your sleds, you decided to give them to a nearby family and went to a coffee shop. Rafael may have ended up winning the majority of the races, but he still insisted on paying for your hot chocolate. The pair of you sat at a small table by the window, watching people enjoy the snow.

“So what’s next?” He asked, after finishing up his drink.

You stood up and took hold of his hand. “Follow me.”

There was a lot more in store for Rafael’s snow day— building a snowman, having a snowball fight, and just enjoying each other’s company. By the afternoon, you both were starving and stopped by your favorite Italian restaurant, only this time Rafael was the one with the surprise.

You left the restaurant to find a horse-drawn carriage waiting by the curb. “Thought we could take this home instead of a cab,” he said.

The carriage was white with plush red cushions. Evergreen garlands and sleigh bells adorned the outside. You approached one of the horses and softly stroked his chestnut brown fur. “How did you plan this?”

“You’re not the only one with a few tricks up their sleeve.” Rafael beamed and opened the carriage door for you.

Once inside the carriage, Rafael lay a blanket across your laps as the driver picked up the reigns, signaling for the horses to go. The sun was just beginning to set and a light snow started to fall. He smiled watching your face light up while riding through the snow-covered streets. You were absolutely radiant, a free-spirited woman who he had fallen madly in love with. You brought so much joy to his life.

“What?” You asked when you caught him staring.

“Nothing. I just had a wonderful time today,” he replied, wrapping his arm around you

You clutched your chest and gasped. “What’s this?! Could it be that Rafael Barba actually had fun in the snow?!”

“Yes, I admit it. You were right.”

“I usually am,” you teased and kissed the tip of his nose where a snowflake had landed. “Get used to it.”

Rafael glanced down at your mouth before looking up to meet your gaze. Cupping your cheek, he kissed you deeply. His tongue parted your lips, gently caressing yours. You shivered and pressed your body up against his.

“You’re incredible,” he whispered against your lips. “How did I get so lucky?”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” you replied, passionately returning the kiss.

Moving your scarf out of the way, he dropped a kiss to the sensitive spot below your ear as his hand slid underneath the blanket, stroking your knee. “Want me to warm you up when we get home?” Rafael purred, biting down on your earlobe, his hand inching up your inner thigh.

You nodded and softly moaned, tilting your head to grant him further access. “Excuse me?” You called out to the driver. “Are we there yet?”

***** 5 weeks later*****

It was Rafael’s first week back at the office after your ski trip in Gstaad. He had been working late every night, trying to catch up on what he had missed. Luckily, he had managed to leave early on Friday and come home to surprise you. “Y/N?” He called out when he opened the door. Only you didn’t respond.

An overwhelming feeling of deja vu began to sink in. He set his briefcase down and took off his coat, walking into your apartment in search of you. “I hope she isn’t on the roof again,” Rafael mumbled to himself before calling your name again.

“I’m in the bathroom,” you softly replied.

Normally Rafael would give you your privacy, but you were acting strange. In fact you had been acting strange ever since your vacation. “Are you ok?” He asked through the bathroom door.

“I’m fine,” you said after a long moment. “You can come in if you want.”

He opened the door to find you sitting on the edge of the bathtub. “Mi amor, what’s going—” Rafael immediately went silent when he noticed the pregnancy test lying face down on the sink. “Is that what I think it is?”  You bit your lip and nodded. Rafael’s eyebrows shot up into his forehead. “Are you...I mean does that mean you think you’re...” His voice trailed off, unable to finish his thought.

“I don’t know. I think so. I took a test when we were in Gstaad and it was positive but I wanted to be sure. Did you know Schwangerschaftstest means pregnancy test in German?”

“Nope, didn’t know that one.” He ran a hand across his face, warily eyeing the test. “So..ummm..what can I do? Do you need anything?”

“Will you just sit with me? We still have two minutes on the timer.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Rafael sat next to you and took your hand in his. Neither of you said a word to each other. It was the longest two minutes of your lives. Finally the alarm on your phone went off.

You audibly gulped and nervously glanced over at Rafael. “You check. I’m too scared.”

“Of course,” he said, squeezing your hand in reassurance. He went over to the sink and flipped the test over to see the results. Rafael’s heart skipped a beat. Two lines. You were pregnant. A smile slowly spread across his face as he showed you the test. “It’s positive.”

“Really?!” You exclaimed and instinctively pressed a hand to your stomach.

He nodded, his eyes shiny with tears. You screamed and stood up, immediately jumping into his arms. Rafael laughed and held you tightly, kissing every inch of your face that he could reach, your happy tears melding with his.

You sniffled and looked down at the test. “You know, I’m pretty sure we conceived this baby during our snow day.”

“You mean that night after the sledding and the carriage ride, we did this?” He asked, gesturing to your stomach.

“What can I say? It was the snow,” you said with a shrug.

Rafael grinned and placed his hand over your lower abdomen, gazing down at his child’s home in wonder. Bending down, he kissed your stomach before standing up to pull you into his embrace, giving you a tender, sweet kiss.

From then on, every first snowfall of the year, Rafael would think back to that perfect day and the beautiful miracle that came along with it. All because of a little snow.

@glimmerglittergirl​ @southern-magnolia​ @sweetcannolicarisi​ @delia26​ @obfuscateyummy​ @sass-and-suspenders​ @eclecticminded​ @thatesqcrush​ @katmstanton​ @amirightcounsellor​ @beltzboys2015-blog​ @letty-o​ @sonnysdoll​ @lyssa1385​ @sweetsummertime99​ @burningsorr0ws​ @gibbs274​ @izzythefanfreak​ @riodallas​ @babypink224221​ @livxrafa​ @esparza-army​ @obsessionprofessional​ @ottosuricato​ @melsquared79​ @dreila03​ @frenchiefoxy​ @tropes-and-tales​ @thecraziestcrayon @goodluckfindingone

[gumnut-logic]

Something missed

Just random, not sure where it is going, and posted before I hurriedly run out the door. Not proofread in the slightest.

-o-o-o-

If there was one thing Virgil Tracy missed while living in a tropical paradise, it was snow.

Not the cold. Not the need to dig out the car to drive it or the physics hellhole of icy roads.

No, it was snow in the woods. Those days where is just fell gently to the ground, whisper quiet with no wind. The white fading to grey in the distance. The crispness of the air. The starkly naked trees no more than skeletons of their former selves.

The stillness.

The silence.

“Hey, Virg! Alan’s found the toboggan! Wanna ride?” Gordon jumped out from behind a tree, likely fully aware of what he was doing. His bright yellow scarf and hat had a couple of red stripes and he stuck out like a sore thumb against the monochrome landscape.

Virgil let his shoulders drop, just a little. “Be there in a minute, Gords.”

His fish brother tilted his head like the puppy he was and took a step towards Virgil, obviously curious. “Whatcha doin’?”

Virgil didn’t sigh. No, not at all. “Just taking a few photos. Got an idea for a painting.”

“Oooh. Got any good ones?” His brother started making his way down the gentle slope and stomped through fresh snow, leaving a wide trail of disruption behind him.

Virgil held up his hands. “Gordon, just….don’t disturb the snow. It’s pristine. Don’t churn it up…please.”

Carnelian eyes lit up with the power they now knew they had. “What? Like this? And Gordon jumped to his right, leaving a gouge of little brother-sized proportions.

“Gordon!”

The brat grinned, holding his hands up placatingly. “Okay, okay, I get it.  I’ll leave you and your camera alone.” A smirk. “Don’t get lost. Thunderbird One would make much more of a mess than I would.”

Glaring at Gordon was always a futile activity, but Virgil always found himself doing it anyway.

And as always, Gordon just laughed at him, this time turning around and taking a step back towards the cabin.

Only to collide with Alan, who appeared out of nowhere, riding the found toboggan, whooping then squawking as he collided with his brother.

Gordon must have seen Alan at the last possible second, because instead of a pair of broken legs, he was suddenly airborne, somewhat flailingly, and ended up headfirst, feet sticking up in the air, in a snowdrift.

Alan skidded to one side, flipped the toboggan, and pretty much ended up in a similar position further down the slope. Except he still had one arm free and a faint ‘I’m okay’ wafted up the hill.

Gordon righted himself with some struggle and sat up, hat missing, snow in his hair and eyebrows. “Alan, what the hell?!”

“That was AWESOME! Totally wild, dude.” A red-headed terror barrelled down the hill and Virgil questioned several of his life choices to date.

Alan held up a hand and there was an appropriately awesome high-five that echoed across the valley. “A total wipeout! You okay, Gordo?”

“I’m putting a dead fish in your sleeping bag!”

“Do that and I’m telling Grandma about her lasagne!”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Gordon struggled up and out of the snow, stalking down the hill towards his brother and their guest. Brandon had an expression of absolute glee on his face and Virgil vaguely wondered if either of his brothers remembered that the social media rockstar had a camera in his hat.

“I would so! A dead fish would be worth it!” The glare on Alan’s face reached atomic levels.

“Worth the Stromboli incident?”

Alan exploded, much like the volcano in question. “You swore you would never tell!”

“You could have broken my legs!”

“You were in my way!”

“Your way was on the other side of the mountain where the sled runs are! What if you’d hit a tree?!”

“I wouldn’t-“

“You hit me! Now get your ass back up there and show me that you know what you are doing!” There was much glowering of older brother over younger brother and Virgil had the distinct feeling they had both forgotten he was there.

“Am I hearing a Gordon teaching moment?” It was whispered and a little amused. John appeared at Virgil’s elbow.

Virgil arched an eyebrow, turning quietly to find a swaddled burrito standing beside him. Was that two…no, three scarves? “John?”

“What? It’s cold and snowing.” His brother blinked a snowflake out of one eye and Virgil was forced to bite back a grin at the goofy expression his brother inadvertently made. The man had a hat with earflaps over which he had installed the fluffiest ear muffs Virgil had ever seen.

They were also the pinkest.

“Who gave you those?” Virgil was going to bite through some part of his mouth shortly if he didn’t at least let himself snort.

“Grandma.”

“You’re wearing Grandma’s earmuffs.”

“No….yes….what? I was cold!”

“I noticed. So, what are you doing out here?”

John scrunched up one side of his face as another inconvenient snowflake landed on his cheek. “Our Master and Commander ordered me to attend those three idiots.”

Gordon chose that moment to drag Alan up the hill by one earmuff. Brandon scampered up behind them, muttering, no doubt, a commentary. Thankfully, Eos was watching the vlogger.

“That and if I didn’t leave, I may have been tempted towards something drastic.”

Virgil slumped just a little. “Bad?”

“Are you kidding me? He backed the hoverchair into a bookshelf and nearly killed himself. Bibliocide, except the books tried to kill him!”

“Is he okay?”

“He lived.” John sounded undecided as to whether that was a good thing or not.

Virgil glanced at the snow, disturbed by two loud and rambunctious siblings and their partner in crime. A sigh. “I’ll see to him.”

“Thanks, Virg.”

“You owe me.”

John snorted. “I’ll check the spreadsheet.”

Virgil left his brother with a glare and trod through the snow back up the hill.

Yeah, he missed the snow…maybe.

-o-o-o-

TBC

[copias-thrall]

Any hcs for going sledding with papa III, Copia,& the ghouls I don’t have snow yet (blessing and a curse. Curse cause I really wanna go sledding), but I thought this would be a fun little ask since it’s December

Hi nonny! IT’S STILL SLEDDING TIME I SWEAR.

The lot of you rent a little chalet for a long weekend—it’s one of those places where you can ski out the door down to the lift. In fact, The Clergy has an “understanding” with the nearby ski slopes.

Papa III can’t wait to go sledding with you! This is something from his childhood in which he never got to indulge—maybe it was because his nannies had no time to take him, or maybe it’s because it was deemed too dangerous for an heir. But now he’s Papa, and if you want to careen down a snow-covered hill with him in a sled or inner tube, he’s going to make it happen. He purchases top-of-the-line, designer snowsuits and tinted goggles for the both of you wear, and he makes sure only to have sleds made from top-quality materials. Sufficiently outfitted, you make it to the top of the hill (his Ghouls abandon the two of you to your own devices pretty early on while they participate in their own shenanigans). The snow is white and dazzling, and you can hear the delighted screams of the others—people that become dots as they slide downhill. You can tell Papa is a little anxious by the way he’s gripping your hand—even through the gloves—but when you look up at him, he just flashes you a beaming smile. “Shall we, dolce?” He snuggles into you as the two of you skate downhill across the packed-in powder. He’ll never admit to being slightly trepidatious about the whole scheme (he’s been told since birth its a dangerous activity), but the whole time you’re just whooping it up and your energy is contagious. Pretty soon he’s tugging you back up the slope for another go. A race with one of the Ghouls ends with the two of you eating snow pretty hard—and at first you’re afraid Papa will throw a tantrum, but he just laughs and challenges his bandmate to best out of 3. Later, once the sun takes the warmth from the air and your garments are beginning to dampen, Papa escorts you to the lodge restaurant for some hot chocolate and cheese fondue to warm your bones.

Cardinal Copia: This is one of those activities he just had convinced himself was unenjoyable. Growing up without parents (or that many friends) left him on the sidelines too much—so you have a lot of baggage to deal with in getting him out onto the slope. The first pass leaves him feeling like the whole thing was a mistake—his fingers digging into your arms and himself frozen in terror—even as you had a great time, sandwiched in between his thighs as the two of you sailed down the hill. Copia is not a man who can let go easily, and unfortunately you guys quarrel a bit before you can come to an understanding—he has to go down the hill at least one more time with an open mind, and if he still doesn’t like it, you agree to let him spectate. The second time, he wraps his arms around your waist and buries his head into your shoulder. Halfway down—as you're laughing at the rush—you feel his grip loosen and his head tilt up. It’s progress, and he begrudgingly admits that another time or two down the slope might be ok. He never quite matches your exuberance, but a smile replaces the thin line on his lips, and he even lets out a breathy “Ah!” when a slight bump in the hill causes the two of you to go slightly airborne. The sun’s still out when he suggests you both retire to the chalet—he didn’t realize how tiring climbing in snow uphill would be. You must admit that stripping off your snow-damp garments and dozing in front of a crackling fire sounds mighty good right now.

Aether: Has heard of this “sledding thing”. He knows the Siblings around the Abbey often wait for the first snow to go out and engage in such an activity. He agrees to go because he’s super-curious about this human activity. Once at the top of the slope, he’s a little anxious—but it’s more about the anticipation than any fear. You tell him to hold on tight as you push off; the whole way down he’s making nervous chittering noises—and you’re concerned that he’s afraid—but the instant you reach the bottom, Aether is jumping up and pumping his fist in the air. In fact, for the rest of the day you can’t dissuade him off the slope for any reason—even for the hot chocolate break you take in the afternoon. By the end of the day, you’re pleasantly exhausted—if a little frozen—and looking forward to cozy sweaters and some warm stew back at the chalet … but then Aether finds out they do night sledding. And who can resist the bright, hopeful eyes his give you.

Dewdrop: Has definitely snuck off Abbey grounds to go sledding (but: shh—don’t let The Clergy know). Has his own sled he DIY’d into a speedy vehicle—a fact you learn only after you’ve gone down the hill. You’d just gotten settled when Dew had started adjusting flaps and fins that appeared out of nowhere. You’d been about to say something about it when Dew hissed at you to lean forward, and suddenly your vision was filled by the rapidly-approaching slope bottom, the chill wind burning your cheeks. When his brakes hadn’t worked, he’d pulled you off into the snow, where the two of you continued forward on momentum before finally being stopped by the snow mound you’d created. Dew had jumped up, cursing, to run after his sled—more intent on fussing with his alterations than you and your mouthful of snow. He disappears for a while, Swiss laughing after him. When he reappears, he’s serious as a heart attack, sled under his arm. Are you ready for round 2? Here, you can control the rudders.

Swiss: If you think Dew was the only one sneaking out to go sledding, you don’t know the Ghouls very well. The two of them have a “friendly” rivalry on whose sled design is the best. He’s pretty confident in his design—and don’t you want to be on the winning team? Unlike Dewdrop, Swiss performs a pretty elaborate safety check and dubs you his first mate. “This,” he points at a flap with a claw, “is to speed up. This,” he points at a fin, “is to slow down.” You and him make a pretty good team as he calls out directions. He doesn’t beat Dew the first go down—but you and him also don’t eat a facefull of snow. So. By midday the two of you are a well oiled machine—being able to fly down the slope even as you’re able to maneuver around obstacles. Dewdrop wants another go? BRING IT ON.

Rain: He’s always wanted to go sledding! He completely overcompensates, and you have to delayer him so he stops looking like a starfish. He’s completely entranced by the sled, and you give him a basic tutorial on how to maneuver it before the two of you even make your way onto the slope. On the first couple of runs, you bracket Rain in as you guide him into correctly steering the vehicle as he teeth purrs in joy. Soon enough, however, he commandeers your sled and makes you switch places. Snow is just frozen water: HE’S GOT THIS. The two of you make a pretty formidable team once Rain has got his captain’s hat on. While Dewdrop and Swiss compete to see who built the best sled, Rain does calculations in his head to use the wind and the drag of the snow to get the two of you at maximum velocity. Here you thought your Ghoul was going to be all sedate and snuggly, but now he’s barking out commands, intent on winning the competition he wasn’t even invited to.

Mountain: The adrenaline rush of speeding down the slope doesn’t even interest him. He just wants to cuddle you close and enjoy the journey—the burst of powder under the rails; the crisp bite of the winter wind; the way the color of the evergreens stand stark against the snow. He leans back, trailing his claws behind you in the snow as he enjoys the feel of the snow under his fingertips. You don’t get as many runs in with Mountain because he’s always wandering off—isn’t this a nice spot for snow demons? Wouldn’t you like a crown of pine needles? Look there—it’s a rabbit with it’s winter-white fur. You can’t even be mad about it as you finally make it back to the top, one hand holding your winter crown in place as you easily swoosh back down the slope.

Cirrus & Cumulus: These women are a team and you’re just along for the ride. Like Mountain, they have no interest in the fastest run competition—they just want to have a good time. They already know a thing or two about sledding, and they sandwich you in between them as they fly down the slope, careful to avoid the other sledders. They fuss when they think your gloves are too damp and your cheeks too red, making you take a midday break to warm up and dry out. The fire is a hot commodity, but they growl and hiss at anyone (Copia is no exception) who tries to get between you and the flames. While some of the others skip lunch entirely, these two make sure you have a hearty bowl of soup as they refresh with some raw roast beef sandwiches. You’re warm, full, and ready to take a nap in their Ghoulette pile, but they came here to sled! Now that you’ve been fed and warmed, it’s time to get back out there! When they hear there’s night sledding, they’re quick to join Aether with their puppy-dog eyes.

[zach-the-fox]

Frostfur Episode 6: Grim Forecast

We’ve put a lot distance between us and the ghost city of Winterhome. Thanks to Emmy, these new sleds make it easier for us to schlep supplies. Of course, I’m not too excited to be pulling it, given the weight of the cargo is heavy, along with the warthog, for most of the journey. Carly has to suffer, too, but she’s carrying less than I’ve got. Just shows how gender really plays a role in an apocalyptic ice age. I just keep pressing onwards with my friends, and not a moment do I ever stop to look back at the city of the dead. We’re bound for New London, now, and we shall not stop. The terrain becomes harder to climb, as the sled of supplies make it difficult to ascend this new slope.

Carly struggles to tug the sleigh, letting out a grunt. “Ugh! This thing is so heavy!”

“Don’t be such a child,” I comment. “Look at me, and all of the stuff I’m hauling. I’ve got more things than you. You’re only carrying half the amount of supplies. You want to carry the rest of this up the mountain?”

“You’re quite the cheeky one. I think I shall suffer with my “half-load” instead.”

“Come on, guys,” Emmy spurts. “Let’s not argue until we’ve made it to our destination.” I pivot my head toward her and ask her how long it would be to reach the city. “We’ve got a while’s journey till we head to New London. We need to be prepared to stop and camp.” A while’s journey? Seems it’ll take longer than I had previously suspected. Then again, where else do we have to go? Our homes are probably buried under mounds of snow, so there’s no going back there, and Winterhome is a lost cause. Does this mean New London will be next?

I turn my head back to the front, only to see a strange silhouette piercing through the fog created by the roaring winds and snow. All my thoughts have shifted from the journey to this new shadow, causing me to stop in the snow.

The cat halts beside me, noticing my mood. “What is it, Zach?” My mind is too fixated on this particular object to give an answer, yet she and Emmy look beyond the misty atmosphere and know what has me at surprise. As the winds slow for a bit, we start to make out the features of this strange shadow; a tall building with some peculiar devices on the roof. It’s most likely a weather station set up by the scientists from Winterhome. “What is that?”

“It looks to be a weather station,” Emmy answers. “A team of scientists have set up here to keep tabs on the weather. Maybe we should check it out.”

“What?!” spurts Carly. “What in God’s name could possibly be in there that we’d stop and delay our arrival in New London?”

“Perhaps some of the contraptions survived, and could help us on our journey,” the warthog explains.

Those devices could actually prove to be useful. Another thought crosses my mind. “There may be some food there, too. It could take us longer to reach New London.”

“I don’t know,” Carly responds. “It doesn’t seem too safe up there.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Lass,” I assure her. “You have a trained soldier at your disposal by your side. I won’t let anything bad happen to you or Emmy, I promise.” The cat lets out a sigh, feeling defeated as her vote has been outnumbered by her two friends. She accepts our encouragement, and the two of us proceed to the weather station.

It’s quite a struggle with the prevailing winds and bombardment of snow pellets, as well as the mountain’s slope with the heavy supplies weighing us back. Yet, all these factors, despite slowing us in every way, do not prevent us from reaching the flat plateau. It takes us probably about a minute and a half to battle the elements and an additional couple of seconds to reach the door, then a few more seconds to knock it with the butt of my rifle and walk inside, after tying our sleds to some support beams outside. Holding my torch up, we begin to comb the entire shelter, seeing anything that could be of use. Up on the roof of the station, we can see the silent city of Winterhome, still standing in the distance as we’re far away from it. As the three of us continue wander around, we check everything and everywhere, searching the area for any signs of life as well, yet we see none. There’s nobody here, but everything seems to be operational. What were these scientists working on?

On the desk nearest to my right, I notice several notebooks, opened and filled with scrawled writings. These must be the notes the scientists were working on. Looking through the already-opened pages, they predict that the great cold is going to get much worse. What’s more troubling is that the observations ended abruptly months ago. They were tracking the weather and knew that it was coming… I wonder what else they recorded. Flipping through the entire book, I scan every written entry and record of knowledge, piecing together what was gathered and how it all happened. Emmy and Carly join my side as we all learn how the eternal cold had started:

The great mountains of Krakatoa and Mount Tambora have been very active, spewing ash up into the skies, creating thick smog. The blackened clouds hovered into the atmosphere, covering about seventy percent of our world’s atmosphere. The large “blanket” was responsible for dimming the sun, causing the temperatures to drop and bring in an early winter. As the writings go on, the scientists have reported hearing news of massive crop failures and the deaths of millions. Many had flocked to churches and places of worship to ask God for forgiveness of their sins in an effort to reverse the catastrophic events, but it was too late. Anarchy and unrest spread among the world, eventually bringing an end to many of the nations. The British Empire and the United States, however, created a pact to develop several installations, known as the “generators”, to act as heating city centers in the north. Their locations were thought out because of the rich coal deposits discovered in the icy artic. This was both nations’ last attempts of saving their populations and rebuilding society.

“This is not a happy story,” comments Carly. “Not one I’d want to read before bed.”

“That’s because it’s not meant to be,” explains a feminine voice from behind. We quickly turn around to see a purple rabbit standing before us, dressed warmly in an attire much similar to Emmy’s, suggesting she’s one of the scientists who was working here. Her wide, emerald eyes and long, smiley mouth with two teeth showing give us an eerie feeling. My arm wraps around to grasp my rifle, which rests firmly on my back. “How interesting for a couple of souls, such as you three, to enter a now-abandoned place.” Emmy and Carly inch closer to me, nearly hiding behind my back, making it more difficult for when I pull my gun out. “Did I frighten you? I did not mean to, for I get that quite frequently. I won’t hurt you, do not fret. My name’s Brook, and I am pretty friendly.”

“Where are the scientists who ran this place?” asks Emmy.

“They’re all gone,” the rabbit says. “Left this place behind as soon as the frost came in, taking everything but the equipment. There’s not a can of spam or even a crumb of bread left. So, if you are looking for food, you will find none. I was part of the research team, but I came back here to salvage anything that could be of benefit to my survival. Who are you three, might I ask?” We formally introduce ourselves to her. “Zach, Emmy, and Carly. Pleasure to meet you three. Any reason you have come here? Perhaps for shelter?”

“Somewhat,” I answer. “We’ve stopped here to see if we could find anything useful to help us with our journey to New London.”

“New London?” Brook repeats. “I don’t believe I’ve heard that name before. Is this a new settlement being developed?”

“Yes,” Emmy answers, taking a step away from my leg. “It is the location for London’s citizens to evacuate to. You see, we’ve just come from Winterhome, and we’re-”

“Winterhome?!” she interrupts. “You three manage to escape like the others?” Others?! What does she mean by that? There are other survivors? “I’ve heard what had happened there. Everything fell faster than the snow.”

“Actually,” Carly begins. “We weren’t in Winterhome when the chaos happened… We were supposed to be there, but we found everyone was dead.”

“Not everyone,” Brook tells us. “Many have fled the city after the explosion. Some did not survive in the frostland, though. It’s hard to adapt to the change in what nature had switched to.”

My paw relaxes from my rifle and returns to my side. I feel bad for this poor woman, being alone and out to fend for herself. The next thing I say will cause my friends to balk at me. “Hey, why don’t you come with us to New London?” Both the warthog and cat quickly dart their eyes at me. They must think I’m mental, which I was right.

“Accompany you lot?” she asks. “What is there in New London? A chance to survive?”

“A chance to live,” I respond.

“Zach,” Emmy whispers. I lean my head closer to her. “Are you sure you can trust this rabbit? I don’t feel too secure with her.”

“As with I,” adds Carly. “I know she’s out here by herself and I feel bad as well, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

“Where is your compassion?” I question them both. “The world has plunged into a never-ending winter and many are still struggling to survive. There doesn’t seem to be any hope left in people. When I joined the army, I pledged to my country and the people that I’d help those in need and strengthen their will to fight on. For the Lord’s sake, come with us, Brook, please.”

“You have much heart,” Brook replies. “I shall come with you, then. Lead the way.”

I then turn to Emmy and Carly. “Shall we continue to New London, then?” They nod. We leave the comfort of shelter and ready our sleds. With our new companion, her help is much appreciated, aiding us in pulling the supplies with us as we venture to our destination. I just hope New London is set up and in well-working order, because that city is our last chance any of us have to surviving our new reality.

[iwhumpyou]

Mountain (Part 4)

Masterlist.  Riva.

Part 3.

~#~#~#~#~#~

The snow started thirty minutes after they entered the trees.

Their path was easier, in one sense, because most of the way sloped gently downhill, making the sled extremely manageable.  Twice Riva had to divert her path – once because the ground had disappeared into a hollow and the second because it had tilted the slightest bit uphill.  The only trees around were evergreen, fortunately, so there was enough space to maneuver the sled.

Visibility, on the other hand, had dropped significantly.  

Riva couldn’t make out the trees anymore – she kept her hands outstretched, waiting to brush against pine needles before adjusting her course.  She kept a tally in her head – one correction right was followed by a correction left, no matter how difficult it was to keep changing the sled’s direction.

They didn’t have a compass. They didn’t have a flashlight. She was stumbling blindly in the darkness, hoping, praying that she was heading in the right direction.

The rope to the sled, she’d twisted around her wrist.  If she lost it – if she couldn’t find it again – she called out to Frederik every once in a while, when her breathing became the only thing she could hear, but his voice was getting fainter.  Weaker.

And now snowflakes were drifting onto her nose.

She exhaled a harsh breath, paused to tug the scarf tighter against her face, and continued walking. The snow didn’t matter.  The winds hadn’t started yet, so things weren’t truly dangerous.  They were just flurries.

“Riva?”  Frederik sounded lost.  Quiet and scared and defeated.  “It’s snowing.”

“I know,” she said, and continued to drag him to a salvation she couldn’t see. 

“How –” he cut off with a cough, and her next step faltered.  It wasn’t subzero.  Thank all the gods for small mercies.  But it was still below freezing, and they’d been out here for an hour and a half already.

Riva had at least been moving.  Frederik didn’t even have that.

“How long till the town?” he asked hoarsely after he regained his breath.

She took a deep breath of sharp, icy air.

From the ridge, the trees had been about halfway down.  The slope leveled out significantly once they reached the trees, and the tree line ended before the town.  The distance between the trees and the town was maybe half the distance covered by the trees in total.

Once they got out of the trees, Riva would have an answer.  If they got out of the trees.

“I don’t know,” she said instead, and tried not to cry.  The trees would freeze on her face anyway.

~#~

The moon broke through the clouds twenty minutes later.  Riva nearly cried in relief, tugging the sled forward to the patch of white she could just barely see through the tree trunks.  It took another fifteen minutes to navigate through the trees, but they were finally out of the woods.  A clear, unbroken stretch of white lay between them and the blinking lights of the town.

“Another half an hour,” she said, turning to Frederik, “We’re almost there.”

He didn’t respond.

Riva felt ice spear through her heart.  “Frederik?” she scrambled back, crouching by the sled, “Frederik!”

His eyelids fluttered and she dropped to her knees next to him.  Snow had piled up in the sled despite what was clearly uncoordinated movements to push it out and Riva cursed herself, because she should’ve thought of this. She shoveled the snow out with her gloves, the cold biting deep through her thermals as her fingers cramped even further.

She brushed the snow off of Frederik as much as she could, shaking out the top blanket in between the ropes, and trying to avoid jostling his broken leg.

“Frederik,” she repeated, her voice going high-pitched as her eyes started burning again.  “Frederik, you need to stay awake.”

“Cold,” he breathed out.

“Please open your eyes,” Riva begged, “Frederik, please.”

Francesca would kill her if anything happened to Frederik.  And Riva would let her because it would be her fault – if she had been the one injured then Frederik would’ve found a way to get them to safety.

His eyes fluttered open and his gaze focused on her.  “M’face,” he mumbled, “S’cold.”

Riva chanced removing her left glove and hissed as she patted his face – he was right, it was freezing.  She took off the other glove and rubbed her hands before placing them on his face, trying her best to warm them up.

When his skin was no longer icy cold, she took her scarf and wrapped it around his face instead.  The snow had died down, and she could pull the collar of her jacket up.  She hurriedly tugged her gloves back on and picked up the rope.

Her fingers spasmed as she grasped it tightly, but she ignored it and set her jaw.  “You can’t go to sleep,” she warned, and Frederik mumbled something she took as agreement.

The town was a half hour away.  She could do this.

~#~

Twenty minutes through, they hit a little snag.  The route wasn’t downhill the entire way.  Riva had somehow managed to steer them into a small hollow, and the way back up was steep.

“Go,” Frederik croaked out. Riva turned to him, frantic.  He was staring at her, dark eyes calm.  “Go to the town.  Get help.  It isn’t far from here.”

“But – I can’t leave you – I don’t –”

“I’m protected from the wind here,” Frederik motioned to the slope, “And you can’t pull me up on that – no, Riva, you know it’s true.  The town isn’t far.  Go get help.”

Ten minutes to get there. However long it took to find help, and then ten minutes back.  Riva bit her lip and cursed – every moment she spent here dithering was another moment wasted.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Riva promised, something stuck in her throat, “You cannot go to sleep, Frederik, you have to promise.”

“I promise,” he said, trying to give her a smile.  It looked more like a grimace.

Riva took a deep breath and turned towards the town.  Climbing up was difficult – her fingers ached, slowly going numb, and the snow slithered past her jacket and into her boots.  It was freezing cold and Riva could hear nothing but the wind howling in her ears.

The clouds were gathering again, creeping closer to the moon and Riva forced herself towards the town as pinpricks of cold assaulted her face.  The lights were gleaming, streetlights on the empty, snowed-over streets. The closest buildings were dark and empty and Riva forced herself through the snow, nearly a foot high in places as she struggled to get closer to the streets.

She couldn’t make out any movement, any sign of life beyond the streetlights and she exhaled, impatient, trying to move faster –

She stepped wrong. Something gave way beneath her left boot and Riva fell into the snow, off balance and surprised.

The pain didn’t even register at first.  She scrambled back upright again – she needed to find help, she needed to get back to Frederik – and made it ten steps before her left foot began to throb.

It didn’t feel broken and Riva cursed before shifting her gait to a slower hobble, one that put less weight on the injured ankle.  Twenty steps further, and it became apparent that it was, at the very least, sprained – a jolt shuddered up her leg with every step.

Riva gritted her teeth and kept moving.  She was finally at the town – the ground under her boots became harder and she was soon stepping through a few inches of snow, and not a foot.  But the buildings to either side were closed and dark, no sign of light or movement.  She limped forward, her heart clenching at the dull light of the streetlamps against the piles of snow.

The town was small, one main street and a couple of roads branching off, but she couldn’t even see any lights on in the houses, the roads were covered in snow – what if this town was abandoned, what if no one was here, what if this was a trap and the van Vorsens were waiting –

A burst of laughter and noise came from further up the street – a group was leaving a building, light spilling out onto the snow.

“Hey,” Riva called out, and had to clear her throat and try again.  “Hey!” she shouted, waving her hands, “I need help!  Please!”  The group paused, turning towards her.  “I need help! My friend is hurt!” she limped closer and the group exchanged glances before moving towards her.

“Please,” she repeated, when they were closer, “I need help.  My friend is hurt.  He’s back there,” she waved in the direction of the mountain.  “Please.”

The group looked at her, and then turned to each other, speaking fast, and in a language that Riva couldn’t understand.  She felt dread slowly pool in her stomach. 

“Help?” one asked, “Need help?”

“Yes,” she said, “Please. My friend is hurt.  He is in the snow.”

“Friend hurt.  We help,” they said, stepping forward, “Where?”

Riva fought the urge to collapse in relief.

~#~

Part 5.

[jacqofspectre]

A few months ago I had a dream about a different way to begin the start of Steven Universe and I wanted to post a story I created based off of that dream.

Steven Universe began living with the gems when he first got signs of his powers at the age of 9. He’d been slowly training for a while and he’d met Connie in a different way, that I didn’t get to see. And basically as his training advances, he still wasn’t allowed to go on missions with the gems.

He was pretty young to be training anyway but he insisted on it because he wanted to be cool like they were. Fast forward, when he was about 12, he’s gotten pretty good at summoning his shield, sometimes even more than once, but that’s pretty much all he could do besides being able to open roses room. (he’d been secretly doing endurance training a lot without telling the gems or his dad.)

And soon he noticed that the gems still hadn’t tried testing him on any missions, or even letting him see how missions were. The gems reasoned taking him on missions was a bad idea because they thought he was still too young and they wanted him to have a little bit more freedom as a kid with Connie before he learns of the tragic fate of corrupted gems.

(In canon, Steven didn’t go on missions til he was 13 so it was understandable for the gems in this dream au to be like, “not yet”.)

But Steven knew his potential and he knew he had a destiny, which he overheard from pearl and garnet cuz pearl can’t keep her mouth shut, and garnet seemed to be showin a lot more of Ruby’s side. He wanted to help, so one day, he hears about a big mission they were gonna go on and he sneaks into the temple to overhear the details.

Steven was the typical kid being curious, so he decided to prep himself to accompany them on the mission, even if they said no. He wanted to show them he was able to help and that he was strong. He put on his puffer, and some warm clothes and filled up a bag with items he thought he’d need.

So the day comes where the gems are like, “we’re goin on the mission, Steven!” And Steven’s like, “can I come?” In his sweet kid voice, and they’re like, “oh, Steven, I wish you could, but You’re just too young right now. Stay here and guard the house for us. We love you.”

And he’s nodding, watching them as they warp away, and as soon as the warp finished glowing, he jumps on at the last second, to not be noticed, and it works and they don’t see him come along.

The gems are already in another room and Steven’s standing in awe of this base that they’ve warped to. It’s a completely glass room(floors, walls, and ceiling are made of glass, and it’s one way glass so he can see out but the outside reflects the scenery so you wouldn’t know it was there.) And this base, Half of it overhangs off of a mountain.

He falls back onto the warp pad, afraid of stepping off the glass at first, but then he manages to feel it’s strength, and it feels pretty sturdy. He walks around the room, taking the rest of it in. It looks much like the control room of the moon base, but Steven wouldn’t have known that.

He makes his way to an inner room of the base, that was cut into the mountain. The mountains that were around him, were snowy, but you could tell this place was warm, as the snow was melting. It was overcast, but not snowing, and it was pretty windy. You could even hear the sound of the wind hitting the glass walls and floor, and maybe something else out there as well. The mountains were jagged in some areas, but most had flat plains around them and even some tops of mountains were flat enough to make little bridges to other mountains

Steven goes into the next room and sees the gems were about to start their mission. Pearl was asking garnet a few more future questions to keep herself feeling confident and amethyst was doing something to her whip.

The moment they heard the other door open, they looked over, and saw Steven, who was pretty embarrassed he’d gotten caught so easily.

“Steven??! What are you doing here?! You have to go home right this instant!” Pearl exclaims, walking over to make sure he’s in no way injured.

“I’m coming with you guys!” He says and smiles, begging them internally.

“Oh, no no no, you are going to go right back home and wait for us there. This is a very dangerous mission, and you could get h—“ Steven cuts her off.

“But pearl, every time I ask, you guys always say no. One day, you’re gonna need me and I won’t be there to help you. Please! Just give me a chance!”

Amethyst was fine with him going, as she’d seen him doing his late night extra practice behind their backs and she was even gonna root for him, but garnet spoke up before she could.

“Steven, I know we treat you like you’re a child, and it seems like we don’t believe in you, or what you can do, but the fact is.. We care for you so much, and this mission is not an easy one. It’s going to be very difficult and long, and at your level of training, you aren’t ready.”

Steven looked down at the floor, upset. “I just want to help...” he slams his foot on the ground, and yells, “You guys have never let me come on any missions, even though I train so hard! You don’t have any faith in me! Well I’m not going home! I’m coming with you, whether you like it or not!!”

And this begins the long back and forth between him, garnet, and Pearl. Steven’s being defiant and slightly throwing a fit, and garnet and pearl are trying to calm him down, while trying to work his way back to the warp pad. Usually, garnet could just pick him up, but she didn’t this time.

They called his dad and Connie was apparently on her way to hang out with him, so she was brought along, and they both also tried to talk him out of doing anything that could hurt him. They were in the warp room now, and he was keeping himself away from the warp pad. Amethyst blocked off the door to the other room, and Connie and Greg are still trying to get him to stop.

And he realizes that there’s no way they’re gonna let him go now. They were guarding the other door, and it felt suffocating being the only one who believed in him.He knows he could prove to them he’s strong enough, and he kicks the glass floor in defeat, and notices that the floor... “the floor is glass..”

He thought to himself, he’s got one shot at proving it to them and he ain’t backing down. He summons his shield and he pretends to charge garnet and pearl, but instead, he slams his shield onto the floor as hard as he can, and it breaks a jagged circle into the floor and essentially, there’s a full second of stunned silence and then everyone simultaneously yells, “STEVEN!” as he falls to the mountains below.

He hits the snow with a soft thud, as the updraft made him float slower, and he sleds all the way down a part of the mountain to another mountain connected to it, and as he stops, he notices the backs of his hands were a little cut by the glass, and he winces at the injury. He has no time to waste though, so he starts running, and continues for a while, feeling a bit lost but he only ran in one direction so he kept note of it and stopped to take a break. A loud roar was heard over the mountain and Steven decided to go into a nearby cave first, just to keep himself safe. He bandages his fingers and decides nows the time to go catch that monster.

Making his way towards the sound, he remembers what garnet told him about the monster. It was a blue snake-like creature that eats things that glow blue, could dig holes like a worm, and had a roar that could stun you if you didn’t cover your ears. He walked for some time, stopping to take a few breaks, but kept his mind aware of the way back, that is until he found the monster. It was peacefully eating some glowing blue plants, while slithering it’s tail as if it was pretending to be on guard. Being so close to a monster that big was extremely scary, but also a first for him. He took a deep breath and steadied his nerves, as he thought of a plan of attack. If he could trap it in one of the stone caves with his shield, it could be stuck long enough for him to get back to the gems and show his efforts, but he’d no idea how to.. then he saw it, some glowing blue plants in front of him and he smiled, picking them up, knowing his plan.

He jumped out in front of the monster, waving the blue plants and shouting, “HEY YOU! COME AT ME!” And then he ran, making sure to use his shield as a sled over slippery or steep slopes. He was chased near a high cave and managed to dodge, forcing the monster to run inside. He expanded his shield to act as a wall for the monster as it tried to turn around, and it couldn’t escape, as the shield was keeping it stuck in like a door.

“Woohoo! I did it!” Steven yells and gets closer to the monster to see what it looked like and the monster roared, causing steven’s ears to ring, and it banged on the shield, causing him to fall back in alarm. But the shield wasn’t budging and Steven calmed his nerves.

He was so happy, he was about to go back and tell the gems but he realized.. he was lost.

“G-garnet will know where I am though. I’m sure about that. And besides. I got my backpack and I have some food so maybe I’ll be able to-” he picks up his bag and and the glowing blue food fell out, prompting the monster to screech louder. A mountain of snow from atop the mountain he was on, began to fall. He backed away from the slope and realized that he was about to end up in an avalanche if he didn’t run away. But then the monster would get buried and he’d lose it in the cave! He didn’t have much time to think of a plan as the monster banged against the sheild again, like a gong, while still screeching and causing the mountains snow to fall further.

“Oh no!” Steven bolts away from the mountain and makes another shield to sled down but the shield hit’s a rock and he flies off, hitting his back against another a boulder, winding himself. The snow that was tumbling down was about to hit him, and he wasn’t able to move, not to mention his ears still ringing. He tried to get himself to breathe, but the air on the mountains was thinner and it was too hard to do fast enough.

“So this is where I die?” He thought, beginning to cry, “I fought with Dad, and the gems, and Connie and I could have apologized, but I didn’t...” He didn’t want to be here without them. He wanted to go back to them. He should have listened...

“WATCH OUT!” A voice yells, and jumps in front of him. His wet eyes blurred his vision, and all he could see was red. When they came into view, he could see this person wasn’t normal looking. They were short and square, and really red. they managed to melt the approaching snow with their hands like something the gems could do, and as Steven managed to get himself to move, he noticed a rock was coming from above, and he managed to get up and push the red being out of the way, and they tumbled down the mountain. He opened his eyes and it seemed he was in his shield- no... a BUBBLE?!

They reached the bottom of the mountain, into a valley that was still the top of another mountain, and the bubble popped, causing both of them to sink into snow.. the red being got up, and helped Steven regain the rest of his breathing.

“Wh-who are you?” Steven asks. The red being blushes, speaking like some sort of cowboy, “I’m just a traveller through these parts! I saw you introuble and I decided to help!”

Steven noticed something shiny on the beings hand, and sees her gem, “You’re another gem! But why are you in these mountains? Did you get lost here? I also got lost here. And I’m a gem too!” He asks, extremely intrigued by her. The red gem stammers, but nods and goes along with his words.

“That’s right! I’m a gem! M-my name’s Ruby.” She says with a nervous smile. Steven didn’t seem to notice her anxietys, and decided that some company was better than none.

Basically, Garnet split back into Ruby and Sapphire right after Steven had crashed through the floor. Hence why Steven got away so easily. And see, Ruby also had believed in Steven, and could feel he was going to be mature enough to handle a mission like this. But sapphire disagreed, only focusing on one path for him. So Ruby shot back, “because you only see him as a child! Can’t you see how he’s been acting these past months??” And Ruby said she was going to find him without Sapphire to show that she was right. And sapphire was too upset to stop Her. Sapphire stayed with Greg and Connie. Pearl and Amethyst went along too, but Ruby went alone, trying to put herself in his shoes, remembering the paths he could have taken if he used his wits. And she found him, but because it was supposed to be a secret she was a part of garnet, she kept her mouth shut and tried to play the part.

Ruby used Steven’s bandages on his wounds as he had scraped his back from before, while also keeping him warm by making a fire with her feet and some loose firestarters in steven’s backpack. The smoke blended with the wind and it disappeared as soon as it rose.

“S-so what brings you to the mountains, S- Er, human? These are dangerous parts. And it seems... you aren’t that prepared for something like this.” Ruby says, sounding more like a sheriff in the old west, she kept surveying the towering rocks above her, making sure there was nothing to attack them.

Steven looked down at his cut up hands and sighed, “I... I was trying to show them that I was able to go on missions with the gems- my family. But I guess they ended up being right. I really am too young to take care of myself...”

Ruby frowned, wanting to tell him he was wrong about how he felt about himself, but she had to keep character, thinking about how he felt in her head.

“So, you’ve just been lost in these mountains?” he asks.

“Yea, uh, I’ve been here for decades. Haven’t been able to find my way home.”

Stevens eyes lit up, “Home?! You have a home?!! Are there other gems there?? What’s it like?? Do you know the crystal gems?!! Were you guys friends?! How—“

Ruby covered his mouth shut, “that’s too many questions for right now, maybe you should worry about keeping yourself alive while I figure out a way to get home.” Steven’s brain lit up and he remembered his compass, pulled it out of his pocket, “ I actually was trying to find my way home but I have no idea which way to—“

“A COMPASS! Oh perfect! if we go east, we’re sure to run into the end of the mountains! Nice job, Steven!” She exclaims.

“You’re welcome!” He says confidently, and they get up to go, but he stops, “wait... how do you... know my name??”

“Wh-What?” She doesn’t understand.

“I never told you my name.”

“Y-Yeah sure you did.” Ruby flushes redder.

“No I didn’t. I wasn’t even fully sure if I should have trusted you, Ruby. D- do you know the crystal gems??!” Steven questioned, stepping back just a bit.

Ruby knew her plan was failing but she didn’t want to tell steven yet who she was because she was scared he’d try to run away and he was already injured, but she had no idea what to do. Sapphire was usually the one to know what to do, but... no. Sapphire’s no help either right now. Ruby’s gotta figure this out for herself.

“Okay, Steven. Sit down and listen for a second.” Steven sat down and she prepped herself for the truth, when Suddenly the roar of the monster was heard just over the mountains.

“I’m G-“ was all she managed to say before the monster was seen tumbling over the hills.

“Oh no, my shield! It must’ve poofed when I used that giant bubble! We have to run! Let’s just go east and maybe be gems will find me! My friend Garnet has future vision! She can save us!” He says, and starts running.

Upon hearing his trust in garnet, Ruby realized their predicament long before he did. Garnet wasn’t coming to save them.

“Steven!” She yelled, and he looked back. She hadn’t moved an inch.

She could see he was trembling and cold, as the wind blew around them. Telling him Garnet was gone would make him lose all hope, and there’s no way they’d make it trying to just run away with Steven being so tired.

She pumps herself up and yells with sheer determination, “We can beat it! We just have to try!”

He shook his head, “I already tried! I failed! There’s no way we can-”

“But this time you have help! We can do it!” She gestured to him and herself. “You just need to not give up! Isn’t that what a crystal gem is?!”

Steven looked at the monster, and felt the pain on his back. He knew just as much that running away wouldn’t work. And he searched for a way to get the monster trapped or maybe even poofed, anything at all, and then he remembered the snow. And he looked up to the mountains around him and one of them had a big slab that jutted out, holding a nice piece of jagged ice, with snow on top, hanging off of the edge. It was perfect for his plan. He mustered up his courage, and took a deep breath.

“Ruby! I’ll distract the monster and lead him under that rock,” he points her to the ice, and exclaims, “You gotta melt the ice so it’ll fall on it!”

“Right!” Ruby yells, surveying the mountain herself. They begin their attack. Ruby used her gauntlet to crush holes in the mountain wall, to be able to make her way to the top. Meanwhile, Steven didn’t have to grab more blue stuff since that monster was already angry at him. And it begun its chase.

He threw some shields down into the ground to act as obstacles and walls for the monster to have to get around, and realized that he could trap it if he could make that bubble he had before in shape of a shield. Steven dug deep to try and find out how to make a bubble again. He ran and thought and ended up making more shields, depleting more and more of his energy. And when ruby finally got up to the top of the mountain where the ice was, Steven was literally out of breath and he ended up finally making a bubble for himself in desperation, to stop from getting hit by the monster.

Steven saw that both he and the monster were under the ice and he just needed to keep it there for a few seconds. The monster moved like a snake and began to curl itself around Steven to pop the bubble he was in.

“RUBY, NOW!” He yells and Ruby jumps, slamming her gauntlet down in a scream of fiery rage, cracking it off at the perfect moment for the ice block fall, and Steven tried to roll away somehow, but the coiling monster popped the bubble.

Steven had no more energy left and the monster wrapped Steven on the end of it’s tail, staring him straight in the face. But it noticed the ice coming to crush them both and as if it wanted to keep Steven alive, it whipped Steven away from the crashing ice, knocking his front against one of the mountains. The monster screamed as the ice pierced it and it poofed almost immediately. Ruby, still at the top of the mountain cheered with joy, and hopped back down, “We did it, Steven! We actually did it! I can’t believe...” and she stops chanting, seeing Steven, who doesn’t look conscious, or in any good condition. She runs over to him, feeling terrible, and she doesn’t know what to do.

“There you are!” Is heard from behind her. It’s Pearl and Amethyst.

“Steven?! What happened!!??” Pearl asks, but Amethyst cuts in, “ it doesn’t matter!! We need to get him to rose’s fountain right now!!”

Pearl cradles Steven in her arms, “will it even work?” And Amethyst, who’s seen all to well when a human is injured from her times as a wrestler, nods, “it has to!”

Ruby starts to cry, “This is all my fault” and Amethyst reassures her, “Everything’s gonna be okay, Steven’s gonna pull through just fine! Now hurry, back to the base! We need to get him to the fountain before anything else bad happens!”

Ruby and Pearl make their way back, quickly, as pearl gracefully manages to jump easily over the mountains, and Amethyst stays behind, noticing the shine of something reflecting off the snow, the gem, it was the one from their mission, “They actually poofed it?!!”

Sapphire meets up with Ruby again, as the gems make it back to the warp of the fountain as they inch closer, sapphire starts talking, “I’m sorry, Ruby. I should have listened—“ but ruby just hugs sapphire tightly, holding in her tears.

“I’m sorry that we didn’t think to work this out together. Steven might not have gotten hurt if you and I had just listened to eachother in the first place.”

Sapphire smiles, with a tear down her eye, “you took the words right out of my mouth!” And they share a sweet kiss before ruby continues,“Steven’s not a normal kid. He understands the “severity” of these missions.” and sapphire’s like, “you’re right, dear. My vision was clouded by what I thought he’d do if he had been acting on the instincts of his youth, but through you I can see that his childlike charm isn’t always going to show. I understand now” and they hug and ruby spins sapphire around, and they fuse back into garnet, but this time, they won’t make the same mistakes.

They reach the fountain and Pearl gently rests Steven into the water, to heal him. And he floats under the water, as rose had always said, fully submerging what you need healed was the best approach. Amethyst manages to make it with greg and Connie just in time as well, and at first, nothing happens, and the water around him turns ever so slightly redder, and everyone waits. Connie hides her tears, crying into Greg’s shirt, as they all feared the worst, but then the water around him began to glow, and Greg says, “wait look!” And she turns to see his wounds magically healing. She let go of Greg’s shirt and came closer to the fountain, and steven opened his eyes and coughed, swimming back up to the top to breathe. Connie cheered, jumping into the pool with him, and giving him a big hug as he regained his senses, “what happened?”

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Connie exclaimed.

Greg was also teared up, and he answers, “we thought we lost you there, kiddo”. And Greg goes down to give steven a hug and kiss.

Steven smiles, “Did we win? Did we defeat the monster?!

Pearl looks at garnet in a bit of confusion as ruby basically forgot the gemstone. But amethyst smiles, “yep! Got it right here!” Garnet wiped her eyes and gave pearl a hug, and Steven smiles, then remembers earlier, and he apologizes for his actions.

Connie and Greg were just happy to see him okay, and told him as such, and Amethyst applauded him for his efforts. While Pearl also apologized for not giving him a chance.

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. For now, let’s get you home to rest,” Garnet smiles.

The next day, where steven’s at home still recovering mentally, Garnet comes into the room through the warp pad.

Steven notices her entrance, “Garnet... I wanted to talk to you!” He says, and she nods, coming over to sit on the edge of his bed with him.

“I wanted to say.. you were right. I really was too young to deal with all that mission stuff. All that mapping, and the strategizing, and the snow! I was underprepared... I shouldn’t have doubted you. You were just looking out for me. You didn’t want me to get hurt. I’m sorry.”

Garnet shakes her head, taking off her glasses to look at him,“Steven, I’m sorry. I know you feel I was right, but the truth is, I was wrong.”

“What?! B-but you have future vision! I was being stubborn! There’s no way you were wrong!”

Garnet let out a chuckle, “There’s more to it than that. I was at war with myself. I didn’t want to believe you were capable of something like this. I was only seeing you as a child, and because of that, I was only able to see you in grave danger if you joined us. But that was wrong. If I had allowed you with us, everything would have turned out okay. For you, for me, for the rest of the gems. But I still refused to believe that you had changed. That you were capable of change. You’re growing up. And I’m so proud of how you’re coming along. Thank you, Steven. You’ve shown me that I too can change.”

Steven‘s heart warms, and he smiles up at her, “yer welcome,” and they share a big hug.

“Wait!!,” he stops. What happened to that Ruby I met?! Did you see her?? Is she okay?!”

garnet’s laughs, “She’s just fine Steven. She went home!” And Steven smiles,“I’m glad she did.”

[icarus-suraki]

fabric asks: cotton, eyelet, lace :)

This got so long, ha ha ha ha fuck....

cotton: what’s your favorite time of the day? This is sort of ironic because I really, really like to sleep, but I actually like early mornings. If I have to be up, if I'm already up, if I miraculously get up, I really like early mornings.

Maybe it comes from having to get to school basically before dawn in middle school and high school--I mean, when your first class starts at 7:30, you're up pretty early. So I remember riding the bus in or being driven in and the sky was almost always interesting in one way or another.

We had a major, major hurricane here in 1996. I was in high school and my dad was driving me to school (it was on the way to work for him) and it was the morning before the hurricane made landfall. And he and I were both decidedly distracted by the sky. It was already humid (I mean, they are tropical storms, hurricanes), but it wasn't cloudy or raining. In fact, it was surprisingly clear, but the wind was up and coming out of the east instead of the west. So the wind was already coming in over all the miles between us and the Atlantic ocean. There were only a few shreds of clouds, but dense clouds, that were blowing along and they were all golden in the light. I saw a lot of sunrises and early mornings in my school years and I really remember some of them.

Honestly, I see a lot of early mornings now, but it's harder to admire them when I'm the one driving, lol.

eyelet: what’s your favorite place? My bed? Mmm, yeah... 

Actually, it's the house I grew up in during the time we lived there. It's all changed now, so it's not really the same place, but it's probably my favorite place. It's nothing to speak of, just a 1-story 1970s ranch house in a neighborhood of more ranches and occasional split-levels. But, I don't know, I like it.

Like, it faced fully east, so remember how I said I liked early mornings? The morning sun would just flood my room. And it was up on a hill that flattened out into the cul-de-sac, then sloped down again on the other side of the street, down to a little creek. So we had the best view out over the trees on that far slope. In late winter, late in the day, if it was clear, the sun would set with the light at this almost horizontal angle and in this dark golden-orange color. But half the light would be blocked by the hillsides, so only part of the trees across the cul-de-sac would be lighted. It was like the sun was already low enough that the tops of the trees were dark, and the bottoms of the trees were in the shadow of our hill, but the trunks and the rising land behind them were all orangey-rosy-gold.

And our hill was ideal for sledding when we got some big snowstorms (and we did, too). You could start at our carport (later a garage) and launch yourself down the whole hill, slide across the road, and then if you aimed right you could slide all the way down the clear side of our neighbors' house all the way to the creek. I can literally taste that sour-cold snow smell right now lol.

And all the grass and trees--we had this huge old oak tree that snapped off in the 1996 hurricane I mentioned up there earlier, which was a shame, but we had so many big trees. And this one random white oak that grew in the middle of the backyard but it had moss on its trunk and violets and little white starflowers (I don't know their real name) grew around it. All the moss along the side of our yard, too. And the apple tree that was at the back of our house, trained up along the chimney. And my dad's radio antennas strung up in the trees too. And the people behind us and their elaborate landscaping (which was forbidden territory, which made it sort of magic?). And the forest of feral bamboo. And the walking trails and the little pocket parks. And the patch of pine trees in those two or three yards (and no other kinds of trees). All the dogwoods in spring and all the leaves in fall (and we had a tarp that was made to cover a 1970s Buick, so it was Not Small, that we used to haul leaves out of our yard and we'd measure leaf collections in Buicks, but that made some amazing leaf piles for jumping in). And the various pets in the neighborhood. And the neighborhood pool in the summer, which is where I got to hear a lot of music for the first time.

If I keep going like this, I might cry, because I really do miss it so much.

It got harder and harder to enjoy as we all got older because, after a certain point, the parents would start looking at you funny when you were walking around in the woods. They all came of age in the 60s and 70s, so they probably thought I was looking for a good spot to smoke weed, drink, make-out, whatever. But, no, I just wanted to pretend to be an elf for a while longer--and not a refined, Tolkien, High-Elf elf either; this was a much more earthy, muddy kind of elf. It sucks that there was this unspoken cutoff point and you were supposed to be more interested in dating and college and jobs and "going out" with friends. My folks enforced that cutoff in a major way, but only in regards to college and jobs. No more fooling around outside unless it has a purpose.

I still want to just go play around in the woods like I used to. And there are woods around here--plenty of them, too. But when you're in your late 30s, you do get stared at. When I go on a walk in one of parks around here in my ordinary clothes, I'm almost weird for it. Like, there's lots of people walking, but they're all in workout clothes and they're just powerwalking around this lake, talking on their phones or with their two or three powerwalking friends. And I'm just slouching along in my flipflops, looking at leaves. I get some odd looks and I don't like it. I really wish I could just play elf again (inb4LARPing, though I might yet cosplay Deedlit before I get too old).

I don't know, does an era, does a time count as a place? Because these places at that time are my favorite time and place.

I could literally talk for years about that whole neighborhood.

lace: what is your favorite constellation? I have a special place in my heart for the Pleiades. This is not unusual, and you might even call it basic, I know--but I'm allowed.

First, my zodiac sign is Taurus and the Pleiades sit in the constellation of Taurus.

Second, in my New Age-tinged teen years, the Pleiades were always held in high regard for everyone into alien contact or close encounters. It was like the Good Aliens came from the Pleiades.

Around that time, there was this quiz going around via email, like a chain letter--remember, this was about 1995 or 1996, so these forwarded emails were like proto-memes or ur-memes--that had about 100 questions or so to determine if you were a "lightworker" or a "starseed" or if your soul was from Atlantis or if you were somehow connected to aliens and psychic powers and all that (what it really tested was how much your tastes aligned to what would now be called the "aesthetic" of "new-agecore"). It's kind of classic now, and a bit cringé. Anyway, that had two or three questions about the Pleiades, so of course that made them a bit more "my thing." (I grew out of that phase, but I do kind of miss it. It was probably more good for me than bad back then because it gave me something to hang on to: school may suck and I have no friends, but I'm ~special~ and maybe the aliens will let me come visit them.)

Third, I loved wearing my mother's old leather gloves in the winter when I was very young. She mostly wore them to drive and then would take them off, so I'd put them on. I was 4, 5, 6 years old, so even though my mother is tiny, these gloves were still huge on me. And she'd always say I looked like Maia in Mary Poppins.

Not the movie, the books. In one of the stories, Maia, one of the Seven Sisters, comes down to London to do Christmas shopping for her six sisters and asks Jane and Michael (I think it's just the two of them in this part?) for advice. It's very cold and Maia doesn't have any gloves and is usually illustrated all dressed in gauze and she's cold. So Mary Poppins gives Maia her gloves, which are entirely too large for her hands, but they keep Maia warm as she goes back up to the stars again.

So this is me, evidently...

And last, but not least, I have really bad vision. Like, really bad. Like, completely horrible. Like, I cannot function without corrective lenses at all. So I could kind of sort of see some constellations but the stars were always a bit fuzzy (thanks, astigmatism) and not, like, the points of light poets like to say they are. Twinkle? Nah, they're just fuzzballs, but I digress.

Except that one night, sometime in the fall (I remember it was cold), I was looking up at the sky and I saw something like a star in the corner of my eye. So I looked at it but I didn't see it. Looked away, saw it; looked at it, didn't see it. So I messed around a little and finally saw this kind of cloud of stars that I could only see if I didn't look directly at it. And that's kind of magic. So I learned that was the Pleiades, which is actually a place where stars are being born right now.

So, for me, it's the Seven Sisters. And reading that stories about the Pleiades might go back to when all of humanity was still in Africa really moves something in me.