Do You Wanna Catch A Snowbird?

by Breathing in Poison

During the Snow Golem Wars, hope was something that only survived on the wings of a snowbird. To Elsa, the birds were more than just hope-they were a symbol of a life that was maybe worth living. But when a snowbird summoning ends in disaster and leaves Anna gravely injured, Elsa must try to control her powers-and the hauntingly beautiful ice phoenixes that come with it.

1. Chapter 1

Do You Wanna Catch a Snowbird?

Snowbird (n); the icy counterpart to a phoenix. Snowbirds tend to be large, eagle-like birds with a crest of blue-dappled feathers sweeping out and flaring behind the head, long, crimson-edged throat feathers-like those of a raven's, black-tipped wings, and a long, sweeping tail. Eyes are all shades of ice-blue, with white accents in the shape of snowflakes. The call of the snowbird is long, complex, and akin to a nightingale's. Every 100 years, or so, a snowbird will regenerate by singing a pure, almost despairing web of magic around itself, sometimes drawing the magic from other sources. Frost would creep over it, and the bird would fall to the ground, shattering into a thousand ice shards. From these shards, a new snowbird would rise, and the cycle would begin again. The official bird of Arendelle and a symbol of hope against the snow golem wars.

In the heart of a kingdom, rimmed in snow-covered mountains and thick, impenetrable forests, the auroras danced over a small, desolate castle and the half-ruined village that clustered at the castle gates. It was a dark, peaceful night, something the residents of the kingdom had wished for for many long days and even longer nights, yet nobody slept.

The light from the aurora borealis brushed over the tear-streaked face of a young, pale haired girl trembling in her bed. Though barely noticeable, the sheets held tight in the girl's crumpled fist had a light dusting of snow peppering the creamy white linen...

The child was then shaken from her nightmares with a rather rude awakening, considering the fact that these were one of the only nights that giant snow monsters weren't trying to break into the castle and devour them all...

"Elsa! Wake up, wake up, wake UP!"

"-Anna? Go back to sleep..." Elsa sat up and sleepily rubbed at her eyes, then shivered as a distant roar floated in through the open window.

Anna pouted. "I can't. The sky's awake. So I'm awake. So we have to play."

Elsa blinked and slumped back under the covers. "...Go play by yourself."

With this, she shoved Anna off the bed. There was an indignant oof, and Elsa smiled slightly before closing her eyes.

Which wasn't for long.

Anna pounced quietly onto Elsa's bed and crept up to her older sister, pulling up one of Elsa's eyelids. "Do you wanna catch a snowbird?" was her sly inquiry.

Anna let go of Elsa's eyelid, but the princess just opened her eye again-and smiled.