Hello everyone! Yes, I'm alive and writing once again. I won't go into the gory details, but lets just say I've spent all my time writing essays and exams the past two months (around 10 essays and 7 exams including midterms), so I have done no creative writing what-so-ever :( But my term is over and I've got some spare time, so here I am!
Since I haven't been writing in the past little while, I felt like I needed to get used to writing the characters again before I jumped back into "Shattered," so I figured, why not write a collection of Christmas oneshots that is a companion to "Shattered"? So, here it is. Each oneshot will be based of a quote from one of my favourite Christmas songs: "Wintersong" by Sarah McLachlan and show a Christmas memory for each of the characters based on the families I created for them in "Shattered" and "Hide and Seek." There are five: one for Finn, Stork, Aerrow and Radarr, Piper, and Junko. I'll post one each day for the next 5 days, which leads us right up to Christmas! I have 3 of the 5 already written, so I don't think the task will be too difficult!
And to my "Shattered" readers: Thank you for your continuing support and patience. Think of this as a little treat and re-introduction before I get back to the main fic. I'm hoping to have at least one chapter out before the year ends. Please enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Storm Hawks, nor the song "Wintersong" by Sarah McLachlan (there is also a new, lovely version released this year by The Canadian Tenors ft. Sarah McLachlan that I encourage you to check out).
And now, we start with Finn:
"The lake is frozen over,
The trees are white with snow,
And all around,
Reminders of you
Are everywhere I go."
"Come on, Grace!" Finn called across the lake, waving to his sister.
"I would, if you wouldn't go so fast," Grace complained as she hurried to catch up with her little brother.
The girl's skates scrapped the ice, leaving a thin trail in the light layer of newly fallen snow. She twisted around in a figure-eight, just to annoy Finn, who had yet to master the trick. The younger boy's pout was met by his sister's gleeful grin. As Grace busied herself with some more fancy footwork, Finn skated to the edge of the lake, where the snow was piled high from an earlier clearing of the ice. Quickly patting snowflakes together into a tightly packed ball, Finn couldn't hide his smirk as he stood and turned to await his sister, the potential missile hidden safely behind his back.
An unsuspecting Grace approached. "Now who's the slow—eek!"
The older girl never finished as Finn's expertly aimed snowball hit her on the shoulder, the icy flakes melting against her wool scarf and down her neck.
"Not funny, Finn!" Grace protested her brother's giggles as she ripped off her scarf and shook off the snow. "Oh no, it's gone down my back! Well, I hope you think it's funny that we have to go home now. I can't stay out in this cold with my back covered in ice water!"
Finn stopped laughing, but he just couldn't get his grin to vanish. He allowed Grace to grab his hand and lead him to the other side of the lake. There, they untied the blades from their boots before walking up the path to their town.
It had always been a favourite activity of their family to go skating once the lake near their town had gotten a good layer of ice. They'd take the short path through the woods, admiring the snowy coats of the trees and the sparkling kisses the sunshine gave to the wintery land. Finn and Grace's parents had taught them to skate almost as soon as they could walk, and the four had taken every opportunity to glide across the frozen lake. Even though it was now only the two of them, Grace insisted they keep up all the family traditions. This being their first Christmas season without their parents, it seemed to be even more important to Grace than ever to keep these little memories alive.
"I'll make hot chocolate when me get home—just like mom used to," Grace said cheerfully, as they trotted through the trees. "And add a few more logs to the fire. I hope it's still burning. Dad was always the best at that sort of thing."
Finn just nodded, his gaze on the ground before him.
"Are you alright, Finn?" Grace was always quick to pick up on her brother's moods.
"Fine." Finn responded, but the dullness in his tone told Grace the opposite. However, it appeared she didn't want to push the issue, as she said nothing more. Neither of them were feeling all that cheery these days. Grace was just trying her best to fake it for Finn. He wondered if Grace knew he was just as perceptive of her true feelings as she was of his.
Entering the house through the back door to the kitchen, the pair kicked off their boots and shrugged off their jackets. Grace collected their wet hats and mittens, hanging them by the fire after throwing on another log. She then headed back to the kitchen to turn on the kettle for the hot chocolate.
Finn peeked through the doorway between the kitchen and living room, Grace having left the door ajar. He watched his sister search through the cupboards for the hot chocolate mix and marshmallows. She was reaching for two mugs when her hand paused. Finn had to stand on tiptoe to see what her fingers were grazing: their mother's favourite teacup.
Grace's hesitance lasted only a moment. Her hand moved on to take down the two mugs next to the cup and before she closed the cupboard firmly. Grace was stirring chocolate mix and milk into two mugs when Finn heard the choked sob. She was trying to hold it all in again.
Finn pushed to door open with a loud squeak of the old hinges. Grace stiffened, frozen at her spot by the counter top. Coming up behind his sister, Finn reached up and wrapped his arms around her waist. Grace was quick to wipe her eyes and pat Finn's hand.
"Almost ready, Finn." Grace didn't turn around, they both knew any attempt at strength would fail if she did, "Go wait by the fire and I'll be out in a minute."
Finn didn't argue, but he scuffed his feet slowly to show his reluctance. He plopped down on the couch with a sigh. He lazily turned his head to the crackling fire, having always been amazed by how the flames engulfed the charred logs. Finn had hardly settled back into the cushions before Grace entered the living room, carefully balancing the two mugs and a plate of cookies on the tray. Handing Finn his mug, Grace took her own and lay the tray and cookies on the cushion between them.
The siblings quietly sipped their hot chocolate and nibbled on their sugar cookies. Finn glanced at Grace through the corner of his eye. She was staring into the fire, her eyes showing the far-off look of thought.
It took Finn a few more minutes to get the courage, but he finally asked: "Why are we doing this?"
Grace did nothing for a moment, then suddenly appeared to realize the comment was directed towards her. She glanced at her little brother with a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"
"Skating, and hot chocolate, and fires," Finn elaborated.
"Because it's tradition." Grace answered, eyes still on the fire. "It's what we always do."
"But why?" Finn still didn't understand.
"To remember the past and special memories."
"Like mommy and daddy?"
Grace paused before she spoke again. "Yes." She finally turned to look at him. "It's important to keep traditions, Finn. If we do things we used to with mom and dad, it will help us not forget them."
"But I don't need all that stuff to remember mommy and daddy."
Grace was taken aback, she could do nothing but stare at her little brother. After a moment, she gave a weary sigh and fell back into the cushions of the couch. "Do what you want, Finn. I'm not forcing you to do anything if you don't want to."
Finn was confused. Why was Grace so sad? Was it his fault this time? He could never tell anymore. Placing his mug back on the tray, Finn slid off the couch. He made his way over to the pile of boxes in the corner—the Christmas decorations Grace had planned for them to put up the next day. Coming to the old rocking chair that stood beside the boxes, Finn found what he was looking for folded neatly on the seat: his quilt—the one Grace had made him for his birthday with all the special pieces of fabric she'd collected over the years.
Grace was already back to staring into the fire, oblivious to her brother's movements. She sat, a still doll, as Finn moved the tray to make room to sit next to her. It wasn't until he draped the quilt over both their laps that Grace sluggishly turned to her gaze away from the flames.
"This is all I need to remember." Finn said simply.
Grace's lips turned up slightly in a nostalgic smile as her hand swept over the multicolour tapestry. Her fingers stopped over a rough, black patch.
"Dad's old pants." she whispered.
"He ripped them skating, remember?" Finn asked, smiling at the memory of his father's many falls.
"Yes," Grace chuckled softly. "He was never very solid on his feet, was he?"
"Mom said it was like he was always walking on ice, even on dry land!" Finn laughed.
"And dad would say it was only so she wouldn't get bored, having lots of muddy shirts to wash and ripped pants to mend."
"And this one!" Finn pointed to a white patch with green holly and red berries, "This was mom's table cloth."
"You're right." Grace sat up, leaning closer for a better look. "She saved it only for Christmas, but we still managed to stain it beyond help."
"That's 'cause she used to put real chocolate in the hot chocolate," Finn commented.
"It never came out that time after we spilled both our mugs, when we were fighting over the last cookie," Grace recalled.
They both laughed, remembering their mother's exasperation. Wrapping an arm around Finn's shoulders, Grace gave a content sigh as she pulled her brother closer.
"Thanks, Finn." Grace gave him a kiss on the check, to which the younger boy scrunched his face in annoyance. "I guess we don't have to do everything the same as before. It's not the same, after all. Things... change. We should make new traditions to go along with the old ones."
"Yah," Finn agreed, pleased that he was able cheer up his sister.
"Oh, remember this one?" Grace laughed, pointing to a piece of brown felt. "That's from that hideous gingerbread man costume aunt Kate made you two years ago. I should put those pictures in a safe place. They'd be great blackmail material when you get older and are an even bigger handful!"
As always, thanks for reading and feel free to review.
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