T'was the night before Christmas and Sora was ready
For all sorts of fun
Like snowballs and sledding
But there was something that Sora forgot:
That islands are tropical
So all of his plans would be for not…
Normally not a morning person, Sora was surprisingly wide-awake and happy to be up at five in the morning. He had invited Kairi and Riku to go sledding and have snowball fights, which were super awesome. He had had so much fun when he visited Christmas Land, he knew his friends would find sledding fun, and he just couldn't wait to get a good shot in at Riku's head.
His mom was just groggily pouring herself a cup of coffee when Sora rushed down the stairs. She watched him a few moments as he shoveled cereal in his mouth, then as he dropped the now-empty bowl into the sink seemed to realize just how strange this sight was.
"What are you doing up?" she asked, her voice somewhere between that of someone half-asleep and surprised.
Sora was already pulling on his shoes. "Going sledding with Riku and Kairi. Maybe make a snowman."
He was hurrying out the door and thus didn't hear when his mom called after him, "What in the world is a snowman?!"
Riku and Kairi were waiting by the paupu tree already when Sora got there, dressed in shorts and T-shirts—certainly not dressed for snow. Sora seemed confused. "What, no gloves? Snow's cold, you know."
"Yes it is," Riku said. "I've seen it. And look, I know we've been away from Destiny Islands a while, but I can't believe I have to be the one to remind you that it doesn't snow around here."
Sora could've sworn he had seen snow before in Destiny Islands. "But what about that time when we were eight?"
"That was on the school trip to the volcano park a few islands over," Kairi replied. "The park was so far up, we were in a cloud and your hair froze."
"Oh yeah, now I remember." He grinned. "Riku forgot his jacket and—"
"No, that was you," Riku corrected, rolling his eyes. "So, any other bright ideas while we're at it, Mr. Snow-For-Brains?"
Sora thought hard. The park rangers certainly wouldn't let them sled in the volcano park, and there was no guarantee that there would be snow. It was abnormally hot today, actually, so even the tallest mountain in Destiny Islands might not have escaped the heat.
"We could go to Christmas Town. They've always got snow there, and maybe we'll see Santa!"
"Sounds like a plan," Kairi said just as Riku said, "And listen to singing elves? I'll pass."
Sora and Kairi looked at each other, then burst into laughter, much to Riku's irritation. "Aw, come on, Riku. Live a little," Sora said between snickers.
It wasn't long before Riku gave in, chuckling a bit himself. "All right, Christmas Town it is. But if I here even one elf song, we're gone."
They all agreed this was fair, and so headed off in a recently acquired Gummi Ship, provided courtesy of the King and friends.
They landed the ship in Christmas Town, and Sora happily dove face-first out of the Gummi, expecting there to be snow to break his fall. What he found, however, was grass and hard ground. "Hey! What gives?"
"Spring thaw?" Kairi suggested as she helped Sora back to his feet.
"But it's winter!"
"Hi Sora!" said a nearby elf in a bright, squeaky voice. "What brings you here? Oooo! And you brought friends!" He elbowed Sora's calf, since that was as high on Sora as he could reach. "She your girlfriend?"
Riku was the one who answered. "Sora wanted snow, but apparently there isn't any here, so we'll be going."
But Sora wanted answers. "Where's the snow?"
"Oh, that." The elf gestured vaguely to a kiddie pool where a bunch of elves were playing and to where Santa was laying on a lawn chair getting a tan. "Heat Miser decided today was the day that he'd make the North Pole warm and sunny, so no snow. Just sunshine." He sighed contentedly and flopped back in the grass. "Snow Miser'll send a storm tomorrow, probably, so there'll be plenty of snow by Friday."
"Aw, but I don't want to wait until Friday!"
The elf shrugged. "You could always try Arendelle. Even if there's no snow there, I hear the queen can make snow just like that," and the elf snapped his fingers.
Sora looked hopefully at his friends.
"Do you even know where Arendelle is?" Riku asked flatly.
"I'm sure we can figure it out. We've got a map."
"You don't know how to read maps."
Sora looked pleadingly at Kairi, who laughed. "All right, I'll play navigator. Besides," she added, "I'm the only one who hasn't really seen snow, so let's go!"
It was a long Gummi ride to the world of Arendelle, but well worth it. When they got there, there was a mountain of snow already on the ground, just begging to be made into snowmen and snowballs and snow-angels, and this time, Sora's dive head-first out of the Gummi did not lead to a bloody nose.
Merry Christmas, Ju-chan!
