Strifehartwinterweek2k16.
Themes: Friends Or Family.
"Sora! Keep away from the roads," Leon warned for the tenth time as his young and energetic son ran along the human pavement and left a trail of frost behind him.
The young frost fairy nodded with a giggle and moved away from the black tar roads covered in grit and salt- dangerous to tiny, transparent frost fairies such as they- and ran through the grass instead. The blades of grass were easily twice as tall as Sora was, and in some cases thrice more. The only indication of his whereabouts was the tail of frost he left behind him and the occasional blade that rustled out of his path.
Leon felt a hand against his back and looked over his shoulder to see Cloud frowning at him, "Let them play, Lee, they're not stupid." As he scolded, he waved to Roxas who was chasing Sora's trail of frost down and widening it until it covered the entire garden plot. The two young fea creatures laughed too high and quiet for humans to hear, everything they touched (plus a radius) turned the moisture into tiny ice crystals.
It was that time of year again when their powers multiplied and grew with the tilt of the sun. Their simple, nomadic lifestyle leaving a clear path behind them. Leon and Cloud could each walk the length of a human roof at the top and the entire house would be frosted down to its foundations. Sora and Roxas, as only seven-year-old frost fairies could frost a small back garden after running around, back and forth for several minutes.
Leon frowned, growing sulky as his mate reprimanded him. "He was too close."
Cloud rolled his eyes "You worry too much," he corrected. He hovered over the car mirror they'd been perching on and held a hand out to Leon, his wings causing tiny flecks of snow to form in the air as he hovered. "Come on."
Swallowing a snappish retort Leon took Cloud's hand and flew over to the window where their two twin sons were peering through the glass at a human child, who was hypnotised by the snow. Leon landed on the windowsill beside his boys and all around him, for many times his teeny height of a few inches', frost formed. They had no fear of being seen by the humans, their bodies were too light, too transparent, and elemental for a person to catch more than a glimpse of.
They were too fast to catch, too nimble to get trapped and their powers of frost were the only indication that they had been and gone.
The human's breath formed mist on the other side of the glass, Roxas and Sora staring in awe at the human up close. Roxas put his hand up against the human's, the massive hand of the child big enough for all four of the fea family to fit on comfortably. The human child may have been behind glass, but Leon would have never allowed his kids so near otherwise.
Roxas traced the lines in the human's skin and looked at Sora, "This one has an X on his hand." Sora hovered by his head and agreed, but grew restless, needing to be on the move while Roxas was utterly fascinated by the hand on the other side of the glass.
Cloud patted Roxas on his head and tugged the boy around his middle to get him to leave the window pane alone, "I think the window's had enough frost, Roxas," he advised, tossing the boy upwards and into a new scatter of snowflakes, the boy shrieking with delight.
Sora jumped after his beloved twin and caught his feet, hanging from them with crows of laughter and Roxas's complaints. Leon rolled his eyes, running a hand along the outer window sill to colour the rest of the house a steady white too, smiling to himself at the happy bickering of his small family.
Oh, they vexed and taxed his patience to no end, but he couldn't do without them.
Cloud, ahead of them, was jumping along the wooden pikes of a picket fence, each one getting a subtle coat of ice upon contact, and a second one when the twins followed in Cloud's footsteps. Their jumps clumsy and fun, "Roxas you're cheating!"
"No, I'm not! Pa!"
Cloud shrugged and pushed them into the next garden with a strong but harmless shove, "Come on, your Aunty Tifa's going to miss you if you don't get a move on." Successfully dismantling the argument that was brewing.
Leon flew overhead and saw the edge of the town, a little wood with a little lake was their destination and though there were uncountable delays to indulge in childish games his family was making good time. They'd arrive before the sunrise.
Below, Sora suddenly let out a shriek of pain and Leon was instantly by his side. The young fea was hovering, holding one foot and whimpering at the soreness radiating from the sole. It was glowing a little less than the rest of him, something that indicated contact with salt …
Leon at once saw the edges of a sandpit where Sora had tried to run and quickly brushed the sand off his son's skin to take away the vaguely salty sting. Barely wincing himself though the minor salt partials were irritating his palm. Thankfully it was a naturally occurring salt. The type processed by humans was so potent it could dissolve a frost fairy in the most horrific ways in under a minute.
Sora buried his head into Leon's chest, "Dad it hurts!"
Leon flew them up to the fence where a worried Cloud was waiting, Roxas hovering, biting his lip and looking like he might cry. Cloud looked at the light soreness caused by the sand and conjured a new layer of frost like a bandage to cover Sora's foot.
Leon rubbed Sora's back, mindful of his delicate wings "It's okay, Sora. It's just a little sea-salt."
Sora's eyes widened at the mention of salt. "Am I gonna die?" he trembled, his wings vibrating with his anxiety.
Cloud's hand tightened on his shoulder, Leon answered, holding Sora's chin up to make sure he understood, "No Sora. Sea-salt isn't as bad as the stuff the humans put on their roads. It will sting for a little while but keep putting frost on it, and you'll recover before tomorrow." He ruffled the boy's hair "Now you know what will happen to you if you touch the grit on the road, only it'll be much worse."
Sora wiped his eyes, Roxas put a hand on his shoulder "Does it hurt badly Sora?" Sora shook his head and held Roxas's hand back when the boy offered it. "Wanna race to the next human's window?" Roxas asked, a jump in his step as he issued the improvised challenge.
Sora's eyes lit up with determination "Okay, headstart!" he yelled as he flew towards the nearest glass.
"Sora!" his brother whined.
Cloud smirked, "Let's keep them above ground for a while."
"That's what I've been saying for the whole trip," Leon grumbled, his wings unfurling to swoop after the seven-year-old twins, but Cloud's hand on his chest stopped him.
His mate was looking down, a slight ashamed blush on his face "I'm sorry for before … you were right. They did need to be careful … I-" Cloud's hands held Leon's sore palm as he cut his words off with a soft gasp. Cloud didn't touch the soreness, but he breathed a layer of frost over the surface, a guilty expression on his face as the icy sparkles started to dilute the lingering salt.
Leon stepped closer and spoke when Cloud met him properly, "I'm fine, so's Sora." Cloud nodded, looking down again until Leon's hand on his chin prevented him from hiding. "You couldn't have known this would happen. You just … wanted them to enjoy themselves."
"At the risk of their safety?" Cloud countered bitterly.
Leon smirked, "That's why I'm here, right?"
Chuckling, Cloud shook his head and lost the forlorn look, to Leon's relief. The taller fairy took flight with Cloud's hand in his and sighed at the new predicament their kids were getting into with a spider's web. "Let's just get them to Tifa's in one piece. I think they've learnt their lesson now."
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