The disclaimer saying that I don't own any Galaxy Ranger characters is buried in a snowdrift somewhere. Just another cute fic that ran through my cute little brain.
Snow Goose
"This was a great idea Dad," Zach Jr. called out to his father as they rode. "Going for a ride in the Colorado Mountains."
"Yeah I'm glad you guys were able to get a day off so we could go riding," Billy Sawyer grinned as he rode his winged horse Sundancer on the ground. Zach Jr. had a robo steed of his own as Zach rode Brutus and Shane rode Triton.
"Well how else are you going to break in your new robo steed?" Zach looked at pride as he watched his son ride a glistening gold horse with a white mane.
"He's great Dad," Zach Jr. grinned as he patted his mane. "Caesar is a great horse!"
"Thank you Master Zachery…" Caesar spoke with youthful enthusiasm.
"It was about time you got your own horse anyway," Shane smirked. "But why did we have to come up all the way here in the snow to ride?"
"Because it's fun," Billy said. "What's wrong with riding in the snow?"
"Supertroopers don't exactly like the cold," Shane reminded him as he absently pulled his jacket closer with one hand.
"Maybe we can change that?" Zach Jr. had an idea. "Let's dismount here for a bit!" They were in a medium sized flat field on the edge of the woods. "This is a perfect place to make a snowman!"
"That's not a bad idea," Zach grinned as they dismounted.
"So what exactly is the purpose of a snowman?" Shane asked.
"It's fun to make them," Zach Jr. explained. "First you roll a huge snowball for the base. A slightly smaller one for the body and a small one for the head."
"Let me get this straight," Shane stopped. "You do all that work for nothing? And that's fun for you?"
"You also get to decorate the snowman," Zach gave his friend a look.
"Decorate it? With what?" Shane blinked.
"Sticks, rocks," Zach Jr. smiled.
"I've got some extra carrots I brought along for Sundancer," Billy suggested.
"Great! Let's go!" Zach Jr. grinned.
It was a bit puzzling for Shane as they started. The concept of playing around in the snow instead of looking for shelter was foreign to him. But he found that simply rolling the large balls of snow was not as simple as it had been explained to him. The snow did pack well and stuck together but as he rolled the larger balls he found they grew to be heavier than expected. The exercise was oddly exhilarating and quite enjoyable.
Of course Shane did have to put his own spin on decorating.
"Goose! The carrot does not go there!" Zach snapped. "Not funny mister!"
"You have no sense of humor," Shane grumbled as he put the carrot in it's proper place. "Okay, they're decorated. Now what? Do we use them as target practice?"
"No, Goose we leave them there," Billy smirked. "They're like little monuments."
"But won't they melt?" Shane asked.
"So?" Zach shrugged. "It was still fun to make them."
"Hey I've got another idea of what else we can do," Billy realized. "We can make snow angels!"
"Is that like snow men?" Shane asked.
"Nope it's something totally different," Billy lay in the snow. "Goose lie in the snow a few paces from me."
"You mean just lie in the snow?" Shane blinked. "On purpose?"
"Just do it," Billy gave him a look.
"All right…" Shane did as he was told. He lay next to Billy a few feet apart from him. "Now what?"
"Do this," Billy spread out his arms and legs and then moved them up and down.
"What does that do?" Shane blinked.
"Just do it Goose," Zach grinned. "I think I'll do it too." He lay down in the snow along with his son and they began to imitate Billy's movements.
"All right…" Shane grumbled as he did so. "But this is kind of cold. Why are we doing this?"
"You'll see," Billy grinned. "Okay now get up but try not to disturb the imprint behind you."
Shane did so. He looked at what was left behind. "So that's a snow angel?" Shane cocked his head and studied it. "Huh."
"I haven't done that since you and your sister were little," Zach smiled as he absently ruffled his son's hair.
"Da-ad," Zach Jr. said, embarrassed.
"Did your father ever do this with you?" Shane asked Billy.
"Actually it was my Mom," Billy said softly. "Father was always busy…But he did make a snowman with me a few times. And we went sledding and had a few snowball fights."
"It sounds like you had fun with him," Shane said softly.
"Yeah," Billy sighed. He looked a little sad.
"Did you ever miss those snowball fights?" Shane had an idea.
"Well…" Billy began. Before anyone could react Shane had grabbed some snow and dumped it on top of Billy's head. "HEY! OKAY! YOU'RE DEAD!"
"Yeah right!" Shane snorted. He barley ducked a flying snowball. "Nice try Captain!"
That was when Zach Jr. hit him from behind with a snowball. "HEY!"
"The first one was a diversion," Zach smiled. Then he was hit with a snowball. "Okay Gooseman! You are going down!"
It turned into a huge furious fight with every man for himself. "Do these humans always act like that?" Caesar asked the other horses. Being a new model he was very inexperienced with human behavior.
Sundancer responded with a neigh while Triton gave a dignified huff. "My human never used to."
"Oh let them play," Brutus said. "They are having fun."
"I suppose this type of exercise is good for them," Triton conceded. Then a small splattering of snow landed on his head. "Hey!"
Sundancer had flown and hovered near a tree branch covered with snow and knocked it so that the snow had landed on Triton's head. "Some horses have no manners!" Triton snorted as Sundancer laughed.
Meanwhile the snowball fight had finally finished. Even though Zach and the boys had teamed up to take out Shane, he was clearly the victor. "All right! All right! Goose! We surrender! We surrender!" Zach lay on his back.
"Goose!" Zach Jr. grunted as he lay back in the snow. "No fair! You said you never played in the snow before!"
"I didn't," Shane smirked as he held a snowball. "But I never said anything about snowball fights. Trust me, you get in a snowball fight with a bunch of Supertroopers, it's a matter of life or death!"
"How did you get snow on an island?" Billy asked.
"We had simulation rooms," Shane explained. "To help prepare us to fight in any climate. Now that I think about it, it was your father that taught us how to make and throw snowballs."
"Really?" Billy's eyes widened. "No wonder I couldn't beat him in a snowball fight."
"That's right," Shane grinned. Then a blob of snow fell on his head. "HEY!" He looked up and saw that Sundancer had also shaken some snow from a nearby branch of a tree. "Very funny horse…"
"Come on," Zach got up. "I think it's time we headed back. Who's up for some hot cocoa?"
"I know I am," Zach Jr. laughed as he climbed on Caesar.
"This was great," Billy said as he got on Sundancer. "I'm really glad you came with us Shane."
"I'm glad I was here, kid," Shane smiled, knowing deep down he would treasure this memory in years to come.
