Snow Angels in Knothole
It was quite a curious sight to come across first thing in the morning right outside of Castle Acorn. Sally pulled her navy blue snow jacket tighter around her, feeling her jacket's soft fur tickling her cheeks. She waded through heavy snow, her leather boots crunching underneath a light layer of ice. Feathery snowflakes trickled down from above with the dull gray clouds swimming in the sky above Knothole Village. She caught a few snowflakes in her palm and kept her eyes on the girl in front of her.
Nicole was face-first into the snow. She waved her arms and legs, creating snow angels. She rolled over, eyes closed, and made another snow angel. To Sally's bewilderment, she was dressed in her regular attire without any hint of winter wear. Counting five snow angels, Sally chuckled.
A wry smile spread on her face, and she knelt by Nicole, asking, "So, early morning snow angels, is it?"
Nicole's ears flicked in sudden awareness. Her head immediately popped up from the snow. She gasped, almost covering her mouth only to sigh. Smiling at Sally, Nicole rose from the snow. She glanced at her snow angels and smoothed her hair back.
"Good morning, Sally. It's quite a beautiful day, isn't it? I think this is the first snowfall Knothole has experienced in a long while," Nicole said, tilting her head.
Sally nodded, peering at her village and watching younger children dash through the snow. She found Amy and Cream making snow-chao with Vanilla waiting behind them with cups of hot cocoa. The trees were coated in fresh snow with their voluminous branches a stark white. Simply bumping into the tree would have knocked down a plethora of snow. The crisp, chilling wind blew and Sally shivered, but it was pleasant compared to the humid summers Knothole endured. A few Freedom Fighters were having a snowball fight with members of the visiting Wolf Pack out of the corner of her eye. She heard Antoine's shriek, turning around to find Sonic pelting him with rapid snowball strikes, and Antoine took off after the guffawing hedgehog. Rolling her eyes, Sally returned her attention to Nicole.
"No winter gear?" Sally asked, gesturing to Nicole's outfit.
"Not needed. I may be tangible, but I've changed my physiology so that I wouldn't feel the cold, That way, I'm perfectly fine with my regular clothes," Nicole said, "but you look very nice in that coat. I don't think I've seen it before."
Sally beamed, twirling around as if she was a child again modeling her mother's youthful dresses. "Rosie gave it to me. She said that I would need it since I don't exactly have too many wintery clothes. Knothole hardly ever gets snow."
"With the warm weather we've been having throughout autumn, I'm actually surprised. Winter is a rarity in Knothole." Nicole flicked her gaze to the sky, observing the snow trickling down. She extended her hand, a mystified glaze crossing her eyes. The snowflakes tickled her palm and melted. She marveled over the intricate designs within each crystal. She rubbed her fingers together, rolling her palm for the liquid to drip onto the snow.
Sally returned her attention to Nicole's snow angels, and a light bulb flicked to life above her head. She crouched by one of them and rolled onto her side, prompting Nicole to ask what she was doing. Grinning, Sally flopped onto her back and spread her arms and legs. She swiftly pumped her limbs from side to side to make her own snow angel, asking for Nicole to do the same.
Nicole beamed, and to Sally, she was like the sun. She fell onto her back by Sally, laughing and making her sixth snow angel. She felt Sally's hand reach for her own, and Nicole grasped it, giving her princess a light squeeze. In tandem, they made their snow angels with their hands helds tightly together.
Sally leaped to her feet, dragging the yelping Nicole with her. She slipped her arm around Nicole's waist before their balance could be lost, and she steadied Nicole. Looking over her shoulder, she nodded and gripped her hips. Nicole leaned against Sally, resting her head against Sally's pointed shoulder.
Their snow angels were one, fingers laced and nestled close. The designs mimicked their creators, and Nicole only wished their snow angels had been looking at each other. She went to speak only for the words to die in her throat when azure wind suddenly whipped at her face, launching clumps of snow at them. Holding in her gasp, Nicole brought her arms up to shield her face and heard Sally cry out in frustration.
When Nicole reopened her eyes, her mouth dropped. Their snow angels were utterly destroyed, slashed away by icy gales. She looked around, eyes wide and mouth clamping shut.
"Oooh, Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sally shrieked, jerking her head over her shoulder and jabbing her finger out.
In the distance, Knothole's hero skidded to a stop. He looked over his shoulder, sheepishly grinned, and he shot back over to her. Following her finger, Sonic whistled at the destroyed snow angels.
"Whoops! Sorry, Sal! Sorry, Nicole! I guess I wasn't looking where I was running again," Sonic said, scratching the back of his head.
"I know you were escaping Antoine, but you should be more careful," Sally said, waving her finger, and Sonic haplessly shrugged.
"I will, I will, I-oh! He's finally caught up! See ya, girls! Enjoy the snow!" Sonic laughed, whirling around and taking off into the distance. However, as soon as he took off, he slammed Sally and Nicole with another blast of snow. Apologizing over his shoulder as Antoine rushed past the glowering duo with snow slipping off their bodies, Sonic sped through the trees.
"Oh, he's still like a little boy. That hedgehog will never look where he's going," Sally groaned, pinching her brow.
Rubbing Sally's back, Nicole said, "It's okay, Sally. Let's make some new ones. In fact, I have an idea on how to make them perfect."
Guiding Sally back onto the snow, Nicole clutched Sally's hand. She leaned forward, pecking Sally on the lips with demure sincerity. Sally felt a rush of scarlet warmth to her cheeks with enough force to combat the cold, and Nicole giggled, matching Sally's pure, flushed expression. Sally smiled, immersing herself in Nicole's fondness as Nicole began to lift their hands together. They made their new snow angels, hand in hand again, and their love only grew more and more.