Icy winds were beginning to rake across Southern Island; the chill desecrated plants with barbs of frost and froze the morning dew to hang like claws on the edge of windowsills. The island's metamorphosis underway; the sky had turned black well before the clock struck five, winter was well on its way to manifesting. The princess could see the cold in her own breath, even if she couldn't feel it on her skin. Of course, the changes weren't limited merely to nature; above the roofs of her citizen's homes Blaze watched plumes of black-grey smoke rise to mingle with the starlight, grit salt crunched beneath her feet as she walked and took in the festive decorations that surrounded her. Neon lights sat in store windows and hung from lampposts, depictions of snowmen predated the snowfall, varying greatly in scale, and the colours of red, green and gold had become unavoidable.
Of course, these changes weren't bad; she was simply seeing them in a new light. A few months ago she'd regained memories of a time that'd been erased, where she'd lived in another world and fought burning monsters to heal a long destroyed world, and, with that recollection, an improved appreciation for her surroundings. As the feline took in those sights she felt justified in the tinge of excitement and nostalgia welling within her. Not justified enough to grin when looking upon such things; but then the person she was going to visit, to deliver a gift, most certainly would. His smile absolutely warranted her own, while remembering had renewed the way Blaze saw this world he would be experiencing it for the first time.
Some of their last moments together had been spent in a snowy place but at that time they'd been much too focused on achieving their goal, not a moment to hesitate and take in their surroundings. But here in the Sol Dimension, while there was, of course, the risk of pirate attacks, the danger to both the world and their lives was far less imminent. He'd be able to fully invest himself in the season and Blaze desperately wanted to share in that experience. The presents she carried with her was the first step toward that, she just hoped she'd taken his measurements correctly. Her grip tightened around the handle of the large paper bag as she continued to push forward.
Breaking free of the island's, admittedly small, urban sprawl the cat had arrived on the eastern beach. Just before the horizon and just beyond the reach of high tide she could see a ramshackle hut, made mostly of driftwood and scrap metal, her destination. Two long wires, gleaming in the moonlight, ran from the hut toward the sea; the home's main source of power was tidal energy. Curiously no smoke was puffing from the home's small chimney despite the chill being strong enough to brittle the sand beneath her feet. As she paced she stared out to the ocean; she could see clouds occasionally smother the far-off starlight. It appeared tomorrow's forecast of snow would prove true, that was all the more reason to deliver this gift tonight. She'd pick up the pace at that thought but upon her arrival, she hesitated in the doorway. She could hear the sound of voices inside though over them the sound of something being hammered, likely by the raccoon whose home he'd taken up residence in. The warm, orange, light spilling from her friends' home illuminated the surrounding sands.
Blaze's inner thoughts were suddenly obstructing her. Was this weird? It wasn't like she hadn't bought things for him before, it wasn't like he had money to spend himself, but those hadn't been gifts like this; they'd been food and drink rather than something material… something more permanent. She peered down into the bag; the gift was still neatly folded, just as she'd left it. It'd be foolish to come this far and turn back and even if she did what would she do with the present? Hide it? Burn it? Save it for when she had a spine? No. She had to do this now. Gritting her teeth the feline reached up a gloved hand and rapped at the whitewood door.
Immediately Blaze heard a shout over the sound of metal on metal. "Mate, you get the door; I'll keep workin' to fix her! I think I've almost got it!"
"If you're sure you can handle it Marine." Blaze felt tense but she'd hardened her resolve, this effort wouldn't go to waste. The door opened without even the sounding of a latch, a warm light glowed from the inside and silhouetted against it, standing in the doorway, was Silver. "Blaze! You should have just come in, how-
He'd paused mid-sentence, his eyes had widened and his mouth was hung slightly agape. He took a step towards her and, much to her surprise leaned, down… but not just down, he'd leaned in closer. His face was unbearably close, the cold-air mist from his breath very almost touching her. "You l-look really… uhm… eh…" His eyes clamped closed, for a moment only to pop open wide; "D-Did you get shorter? N-N-No, n-not that, wh-what I mean is… uhm… y-you look d-different." He caught himself again; "A-A good different! Like it's… you…eugh…" Did he really have to lean down? It wasn't as though there height difference was that significant, just a couple... maybe four inches when taking everything into account?
She tried to maintain eye contact, bearing her amber orbs to his shining yellow ones. "I-I''m wearing winter clothes Silver, I-
She cursed that stutter, looking away and raising the bag before herself; "I got you some too, s-seeing as the season's almost upon us-s. I came to give you them." Despite her explanation, she could still feel his eyes upon her; the light from his glowing symbols mixed cyan with orange at the corner of her eye.
To be fair her change in wardrobe had been rather dramatic, of her common clothes only her white gloves remained; everything else had been replaced. In leaning down he'd clearly noticed the absence of heels, replaced by heelless boots that were inner-lined with fur, and that her hair had dropped from its usual high ponytail; having been loosed it fell just past her shoulders, hanging rather flatly. Her white tights had been replaced with black ones, in fact, the colours of her entire outfit had changed. Her usual garb of royal purple and magenta had been swapped out for a long, a-line, coat coloured tan and soft pink. The tan colour coated the hem and cuffs of her jacket, as well as her boots, while soft pink made up the majority of that coat's material. The buttons of the coat, crafted to look like small bows, had a colour best described as a strong red that verged on a shade of pink.
He'd been about to take the bag only for a groan to sound from within the cabin. The hammering had suddenly stopped. "Mate, she's your Shelia, you should've said she looks great rather than just good and different! Honestly, she comes all the way out here to-
"M-Marine, please!" He cut her off, even cast in shadow and cyan light his blush was obvious. Blaze quickly tore her gaze from him in an attempt to lessen her colouring… only for him to keep speaking and deepen it. "B-But she's um… you… i-it's very p-pre…" Silver's head shook, quills jostling with him, "You… look very pr-pretty. I… um… i-it's nice seeing you w-with your hair down. It looks… uhm… w-wonder- Y-You look wonderful!"
"That's more like it mate!" The raccoon called out, another foolish attempt to encourage. Blaze, glowing both with warmth and embarrassment, opted to stare at her feet and continue to hold the bag out rather than reprimand Marine or give him a response. Her initial sheepishness at giving the gift had been compounded with first their height difference, of which his close proximity had been a byproduct, and now a compliment coupled with the heckling of a young girl. To be honest, Blaze hadn't heard much praise of her appearance, especially not praise so juvenile yet genuine. The compliments she was usually paid were capped or preceded with Your Highness or Your Majesty or something of that ilk, it felt like the world was spinning.
"Sh-Shouldn't you be fixing the boiler Marine? We're… um… Blaze and I…" He'd stated to Marine rather taking the bag… would he please just take the bag? Blaze could feel herself growing hotter and hotter.
She wouldn't let him finish though, taking advantage of his stuttering she shouted; "I'm a shipwright, not a plumber! You shouldn't count on me to look after water, I'm used to keepin' it out!"
With a sudden bout of confusion, the redness faded from his cheeks. "But didn't you make that boiler?"
The hammering resumed as the young girl took a huffy tone, "That's beside the point! Making somethin' and fixin' it is totally different. If I had the stuff to make a new boiler I would, that'd be way easier!"
"S-Silver…" Blaze, managing to break through her embarrassment, met with his eyes once again. "If it's cold in there these will help, a-at least until it's fixed. I thought that, seeing as this is your first time experiencing winter, you might want to…" She took a deep breath, "I thought that you might want to experience it to the fullest. I've managed to procure some additional time off this season so perhaps we could spend it together?"
Finally, he took the bag from her grasp, his blush replaced with a broad smile. "I'd love to spend it with you!" Did he have to use that word, so soon after leaning in close? Had he forgotten already? So naive! "I've not seen snow with these eyes yet and there are lots of traditions, right? I've read about a few but actually doing them would be wonderful!" There was the happiness she'd expected, she couldn't help but smile a little as he did. The over the top gestures he performed only made her grin grow gesturing wildly all the while. "I've never even worn clothes before, this is a great way to start! Come on in, I'll put them on!"
Blaze hesitated. She'd intended to deliver the clothes, offer to spend time with him, and leave. Did she want to see him in them so soon? If it did snow tomorrow she would undoubtedly see him all dressed up but-
The hammering briefly paused. "Mate, come on, you've got to be freezing out there! Come freeze inside with us!"
Her smile fading the cat rolled her eyes before stepping indoors, door swinging closed behind her. The hut had changed a lot since Silver had arrived; the hedgehog's psychokinesis and the raccoon's ingenuity made a powerful creative combination. Silver could move materials with ease and with his psychic knives cut them down for Marine's use; be it wood, metal or rock. The house's most notable change was that it'd quadrupled in size, this allowed them to have individual bedrooms (rather than bunkbed style hammocks) and a shared kitchen/living space. Despite that some things remained the same, this house was owned by a disorganised little girl and a man who'd never really had a home so, of course, it was messy; books, bits of metal and wood, tools and pirate paraphernalia littered almost every surface. Fortunately, the kitchen area was remarkably clean; Silver often cooked for the three of them and clearly, Blaze's chiding of his station had taken some effect.
Turning from her surroundings to Silver she found he'd pulled the garbs from the bag, grinning widely as he looked upon them; thus reigniting the princess' grin. He'd been intent on slipping them on there and then, only for a shout to stop him in his tracks. "Ew! You shouldn't be getting' dressed and undressed around folks mate, I know you're new to clothes but still! You shouldn't be gettin' dressed so publicly. Go do it in your room ya weirdo!" Blaze turned to the raccoon only to find a, rather convincing, look of mock disgust on her face. What was she doing? There was no reason he couldn't get dress-
"Oh, s-sorry! Yeah, I've never really… alright, I'll go!" Before Blaze could understand what Marine was doing Silver had ducked into her bedroom, when she looked back to the young girl there was a broad grin on the girl's face.
The shipwright pulled away from the boiler, bounding up to the princess and posing as innocently as she could; hands held behind her back and head slightly tilted. "So mate… you technically just asked him on as many winter dates as you want, didn't you?" She pulled in even closer, "Strewth, well done!"
"Marine, stop it. Right now." Blaze bore down on the Raccoon with her sharp amber eyes but, surprisingly, the glare had no effect.
"Mate, he's only a door away, might want to keep your voice down." The attempt to appear innocent had quickly turned devilish, that toothy grin was looking far more devious. "Did you really ask for time off just for dating?"
Blaze's teeth grit but through them, she spoke; "Things always slow down for the winter months, festival planning is complete and next year's budget is already approved. Besides, some time off still means I'm working every day even if it's only for a handful of hours and I'll constantly have the emeralds on my person. It's not really a break." The princess sighed, "And of course if something does come up I'm to rush back to the palace as promptly as possible."
"Aww," Marine cooed, her smile faltering. "When you said that I really thought you were gettin' a proper break, well at least you're spendin' what little you've got on smoochin'." Her head lowered, "Could you… um…" Her devilish smirk returned, looking up to the princess, "You better help me fix the boiler or I'll tell Gardon you snogged him! That those clothes you got him are kissin' clothes!" Swallowing her anger and embarrassment Blaze looked over her, in the far corner of the room sat a large wood-burning boiler of Marine's own design (meaning it looked like a deathtrap but was likely highly effective). There was a gaping hole in its side. "…I might've tossed a test cannonball in there, j-just a small one"
On the floor in front of the boiler was a piece of sheet metal Marine had been working with a hammer, clearly trying to bend into the shape of the hole to then weld atop it. Rolling her eyes, she made one demand of the raccoon. "Ask properly, say please."
"I mean… I was gonna but with the situation, I thought I could…" The girl was looking away, fidgeting with her hands. Finally, she turned back to the princess. "Fiiine, please help me fix the boiler mate."
With a thought the tip of Blaze's right forefinger was alight, she raised the sheet to the gaping hole and in a single fluid motion soldered the metal in place. With a second movement, having increased the flame's temperature even further, she cut loose the excess metal and gently placed it down. The princess palmed the inside of the furnace, making sure it'd been properly sealed, before setting her forefinger flame upon the wood housed within the heater. Immediately it was set alight, she sealed the furnace door and snuffed her finger. "Just ask nicely the first time Marine, if you do I'll be more than willing to help you; I'm sure others would too."
"With the two of you together I could make some really good ships..." Marine tapped at her chin, having completely ignored Blaze's advice. "I wonder-
Silver's bedroom door opened, Marine's words fell on deaf ears as Blaze turned. This was… it was… certainly surprising seeing him in clothes, to say the very least, but to say more... well Blaze was struggling to find words. The princess felt her heart skip a beat; while she'd been radiating warmth before the fingertip she'd just lit suddenly reignited. She quickly snuffed it but in its place, she could feel redness had swept from her chin to her ears, w-was she sweating? She'd imagined what he might look like when she picked out the outfit but actually seeing him in it was a rather different experience. It was… it was almost too cute; the excited smile on his face and the dusting of red across his cheeks was only adding to the outfit's shockingly sweet effect.
Easiest to describe was the boots, at least when her eyes were upon them she didn't feel like she was melting. They were heavy brown walking boots with dark blue toecaps and a red inside; visible on the loose hanging tongue… though it was only loosely hanging because he'd clearly failed to tie his laces. Of course he had; he'd never had to tie shoes before, he'd probably never tied a knot in his life. Visible just behind that extended tongue was a pair of woollen cyan and red socks, the same colouration as the next part of the outfit; his flannel shirt… if she could only bring herself to look that high.
"Blaze?" And now he'd spoken so she'd have to look up, oh no. The tomato tinted princess felt an elbow in her side, a gift from Marine, and slowly found the nerve to meet his eye… only for him to immediately close them; a soft smile gracing his face. Tiny smatterings of red dotted his cheeks and the very tips of his ears, "I didn't know wearing clothes felt like this. I never want to take them off! They're so comfortable and warm." Blaze wasn't sure she could stand that. While she'd surely get better accustomed to seeing him like this the heat raging across her face felt like it'd never leave. His eyes opened as he continued, "Thank you so much, I-I really love them!"
As he gestured his gloved hands popped free of the zip-up fleece that topped the outfit, coloured a soft navy save for its cuffs, collar and hem; those exceptions were coloured an almost pinkish red… the same pinkish red as the buttons on her coat. Was that intentional? Had she done that subconsciously? She felt like she was on fire. The clothes themselves were embarrassing enough but the way he was wearing them? He hadn't bothered to button up the shirt, nor had he zipped up the jacket; his chest fur was pushing out from the gap, the fluff raised high enough up to brush the base of his muzzle. Realising she'd been staring at that spot in particular Blaze swallowed, turning away. "I-It's just a gift, but I'm glad you like it." This was far too much for her, she should have just given the bag over and left; at least she'd have delayed this!
"Are you alright Blaze? You've gone very red." Oh no, she could hear him drawing closer; "I know the flu's supposed to be more common at this time of year, do you need anything?" He'd been blushing since she'd arrived yet he had the gall to ask if she was overheating? What-
A pair of hands were placed atop her shoulders; lightning eyes locked with honey ones before closing, there was that damn height disparity again; she'd been forced to look up in order to meet them. He was leaning in, why was he leaning it, what was he-
Their foreheads met, he'd leant down and was pressing his head against the gem at the centre of her forehead. Her temperature had been high before but now it was soaring, her eyes darted across his face, down to that chest fur mere inches away. She felt her breath hitch. What was she supposed to do in this situation, what did she want to-
"You're really warm Blaze, I want to experience the season with you but if you're sick you shouldn't push yourself. I don't want you hurting yourself." Oh no, oh no no no; he'd gotten the wrong idea. But what could she tell him? That he was the reason she was boiling? That Marine had, not inaccurately, compared their future outings to dates? That it was probably going to snow tomorrow and she wanted to see him then? That he was too close and she thought she might explode? That he looked adorable?
"Um… I… S-S-Silver…it's just…you..." Why was her tongue failing her in the most vital of moments?! Why was she growing hotter and hot-
"Blaze fixed the boiler mate, can't you feel it? It's already swelterin' in here!" At the sound of a whining call from beside them, Silver pulled back a little. Quickly turning away Blaze found Marine lain on the ground, overdramatically dragging the back of her hand back and forth across her forehead. "It's boilin'! This is way worse than the cold, no wonder she's burnin' up!" It wasn't, Blaze might not have felt temperature like a normal person but she knew the house was still frigid. For a moment the young girl ceased her act, catching the princess' eyes in her own bright blue pools. There was a small smile on her lips; a look that conveyed the repaying of debt… was it for the boiler? Regardless the young raccoon resumed her lying; "It's so hot in here! And so quickly, I-I-I must be a way better plumber than I thought!"
"Oh, I guess didn't notice, I was already feeling so warm in these clothes." His hands dropped from her shoulders and head pulled away fully, no longer leaning down quite so much he smiled; light redness had returned to his face. "I'm that's all it is, I-I was really worried for a moment. I can't wait to spend winter with you!"
Again she couldn't help averting her gaze, staring back down to his untied boots. "L-Likewise…"