Snow
"There is an old saying that if you look up into the sky while snow is falling and make a wish on the flakes as they go past you, that the wish will come true," with a small sigh that none of the children could notice because of their drooping eyelids, Terra closed the book softly and told them it was time for bed. The group of kids all stood up and made their ways to their beds, ready to enter the world of dancing apples and speaking frogs as soon as they settled in. Terra gathered up the infant named Lonnie from his bundle of blankets in the cracked bassinet and kissed him on the cheek before setting him down in his crib next to his big sister's bed. Then she started kissing each child on their cheeks as a part of their nightly ritual.
Luckily for Terra, the orphans were being very sweet and obliging that evening.
After this was done, the young adopted mother snuffed out the candles and blew out the oil lamps, making the room grow dark very quickly. The mint haired woman tip-toed out of the room, smiling to herself as she reached the dusty floored hallway to find that one of her lanterns had been blown out already. The darkness stretched across the walls and floorboards, making the space seem as if it was hiding many little secrets that are not there when it is light.
Terra pulled her sweater closer to her body as a gust of chilling air swooshed by her. The room where the children slept was nestled in a cave, and was surprisingly warm at all times, but as soon as somebody ventured out into the hall to reach their own bedroom, cold air crept in from the tattered house above.
The young woman shivered as her feet tried growing accustomed to the icy floor, and made for the staircase leading upstairs. Making a mental note to send Edgar a letter with an idea for a small heating device for the house, she climbed the stairs.
"I really need to buy a pair of slippers the next time we're in town…" Terra murmured to herself, glancing at the tall grandfather clock in the corner of the ground floor landing.
Terra was not on her way to her bedroom, really, she wanted to check the night sky for any sign of cloud cover before she crept back downstairs. It was a nightly task she had to do so that she could grab more blankets from one of the other houses they used for storage just in case it was going to rain or snow.
She passed the fireplace that had the remains of coals in the hearth, some of the coals still glowing orange.
A pale glow came from the window, making the woman think that the moon was full that night. To her surprise, she saw that she was mistaken.
Snow was falling softly on Mobliz, already coating the ground and buildings with a thin white blanket. The white fluff did not give away any hint of stopping any time soon.
Resolving to make her way to the closest house for blankets, Terra slipped on a pair of Duane's boots he left near the door.
Her sweater proved to be little protection from the cold, which tripled once stepping outside. She winced as the wind blew flakes into her face.
Willing herself warm, her magic seethed from her middle into every vein, making the snowflakes melt into droplets of water when they touched her face.
Terra tried her best to hide her magic as much as possible from her orphan brood, and her fellow caregivers Duane and Katarin. She felt like they would be afraid, and she could not afford for them to feel so, especially since she was their "Mama."
But on cold nights, once everybody was asleep in their beds, Terra would allow herself to let her magic surge out. And on warm summer days, despite absorbing the sun's energy and having it fuel her magic, she would have to splash water on her forehead and armpits when nobody was paying attention so they would not suspect that the heat had no negative effect on her.
Terra enjoyed exploring her human side, pushing her natural magic back as much as she could, and tried doing things without the aid of her powers. She liked heating water and lighting fires with matches instead of merely conjuring it up out of thin air. She also liked wrapping bandages around her children's cuts and scrapes with healing herbs bound in the bandage instead of whispering "cure."
So far, nobody in her new family suspected anything out of the ordinary besides her hair. She would feign ignorance of its origin, or joke that she ate too much spinach when asked.
Having let her magic fall into disuse, Terra felt herself growing weary more quickly each time she allowed it to come out.
In the closest house, she found a high stack of quilts in the pantry next to packs of letter paper and pots of ink. Wrapping her thin arms around as many of the quilts as she could, she heaved them out and stumbled back to the door. Snow flurries had been rushing inside while she got the blankets, and blew into her face as she went out the door, pulling it shut behind her with a foot.
She trudged through the snow, which was accumulating at a fast pace on the ground, her mint hair fluttering behind her as she hurried back to the main building.
Quiet as a mouse in a forest, Terra went downstairs, and went to work. Feeling like a blanket fairy, she spread a quilt out on top of each of the slumbering children. She smiled down at them as she saw that some of the kids had gone into one another's beds for warmth and comfort.
Lind and Daisy were cuddled up together in Lind's bed, his little sister sucking on her thumb, sighing when Terra put the extra quilt over them. Lind, ever the protective big brother, squeezed his sister closer, nuzzling her hair.
She folded over a smaller quilt for baby Lonnie, and tucked it around his small sleeping form.
Once finished adding the final touches for her children's comfort, Terra tiptoed into the back room where she usually slept. She never felt comfortable sleeping far from the kids, and insisted on setting up a bed in that tiny room.
The mint haired woman dropped into her blankets and curled up in her nest. There was a small window at the very top of the rock wall with a pane of glass, and she could see the snow falling outside.
Snow was one of the first things Terra saw when she woke up in Arvis's home in Narshe, and back then, she thought that the world was one big snow storm, until Locke whisked her away.
The soft puffs of ice made her content inside, reminding her of her friends, and kindness. Soon, the young woman was asleep, and that night she dreamt of Locke, Arvis, Edgar, all together in Narshe, talking in a lively manner while the snowstorm went on outside.
A/N: I've been working on finishing some drabbles and one shots. I hope this one was nice to read. Reviews make me motivated to write more.*hinthint*If there are any little mistakes, let me know please!