[[Set: Sometime after Lost Future.
Spoilers: For Spectre's Call and Lost Future.]]
Slippery Crossings
When it snowed in America, Luke had learned, people broke out the shovels and the snowploughs. You wrapped up warm, put on your boots and walked to work or school. A little snow was no excuse for lateness.
When it snowed in England, everyone had a meltdown. Four inches of snow was considered abominable.
Roads were closed. Trains were frozen in their tracks. Brits rushed to check on their elderly neighbours and offer cups of tea.
And if you were out of tea bags? Quick- to the shops! Stock up on supplies! Who knew how long the cold snap would last!
While parents panicked, children huddled around TVs, praying for news that their school was shut.
Misthallery didn't have a school. You were either homeschooled (like Charlie and Finch), attended school outside of town (this was the majority of cases, including the Barde siblings) or you didn't go to school.
So was the situation for many of the Black Ravens, barring Louis, Wren and maybe Socket. Luke wasn't entirely sure.
He was just glad he could spend another day in Misthallery, since his dad couldn't get the car out. The professor had called to say their flight from Heathrow was cancelled, anyhow.
They were meant to meet the professor and Flora at the airport, but Luke knew he would see them tomorrow (if the weather improved).
Today, he was playing in the snow with Arianna and Tony.
Brenda, who was suffering from a blocked nose, warned them not to skate on the canal, but they could go sledding down Highyard Hill.
…In an orange rubber dingy from the Bardes' shed.
"How long have you had this?" Luke wondered as Tony dragged it outside. They had never needed a boat with Loosha around…
"It was a gift our mother sent us," Arianna dismissed. Luke knew better than to ask.
Luke was blue in the face by the time they finished blowing the dingy up. He sighed and stumbled into the dingy, sending it shooting down the snowy hill.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Luke!"
"Come back!"
It wasn't quite as thrilling as flying in the Laytonmobile, or zip-lining out of an airship, but Luke felt a rush of freezing air. He looked back when his hat flew off. Arianna and Tony were chasing him, yelling something—
"Watch out!"
The monument in the middle of the plaza! Luke yelped and veered to the left side of the boat. He was aiming for Highyard Arch, but he landed in the ice-covered canal and went skidding, even faster.
He gasped and glanced at the ice. It wasn't cracking (yet).
It was like the ice outside Herzen Castle… He could do this— just think of it as another slippery crossings puzzle.
Luke gazed ahead. He had to follow the route of the river. A turning was coming up. Arianna and Tony would lose sight of him. Looking back, he saw them frantically waving from the edge of Apartment Row.
"We'll meet you at the market," Arianna shouted. "You should—LUKE, DUCK!"
Luke hit the deck, narrowly dodging a bridge. "Thank you!"
Another turn and it should be smooth sailing down to the market.
Bucky's jaw dropped as Luke whizzed past his pier. (Only a day back in town and that boy was having better business than him!)
One last bridge and he would be at the north end of the market. Luke braced himself. The dingy bumped against the bank and he flew head-first into some bushes.
After some minutes, he heard voices— squawking all at once. Had he landed in a crow's nest…?
"There's the dingy!"
"Is it busted—?"
"Forget it, Crow! Help us find Luke!"
Bushes rustling. "Found 'im!"
"Scraps…?" Luke groaned.
Eight pairs of hands hauled him out of the bushes. Then the Black Ravens surrounded him as if he was an injured baby bird.
Marylin inspected Luke's head. "I can't see any bruising…"
"He's s-shaking," Badger said.
"Maybe he's got constipation," Socket mused.
"It's concussion," Wren corrected. "And I really hope not—"
"Does he need sugar?" Gus pulled a lollipop out of his pocket.
"You're not meant to eat with concussion," Louis said knowingly. He held his hand in front of Luke's face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
Luke muttered, "Four?"
"Oh, no!" Louis exclaimed.
"Your thumb doesn't count," Scraps pointed out.
Roddy gave the final verdict. "He'll live—"
He was shoved aside by Arianna and she swooped up Luke. "Are you alright, Luke?" He nodded dazedly and she dusted leaves and snow out of his hair.
Tony returned his hat. "Um… Maybe using the dingy wasn't the safest option… Sorry, Luke."
"It wasn't your idea," Wren grumbled. She shot a glare at Crow, who was checking the dingy for holes. "This isn't the first time he's used one of us as a crash dummy…"
"Actually, it was my idea," Arianna sighed. "I wanted to give you a present you could take home. Crow was just the supplier."
Luke blinked from her to Crow. "But why a rubber dingy?"
"You and your dad used to go fishing." Crow shrugged. "At least, that's what she told me…"
"There are lots of places you can go fishing in America, right?" Tony made a measurement with his arms. "And the fishes— I mean, fish— are huge!"
Luke smiled and sniffed. "Th-thank you. Dad will really like it too—"
"As long as you don't go sliding down any more frozen canals," Crow snickered.
"Don't worry," Luke laughed. There was no place in America quite like Misthallery.
Crow patted the dingy and craned his head at the canals. "Do you think we could all go for a ride?"