Just a note: remember this is written from Winter's perspective. Just because I write something, doesn't necessarily mean it is true! It only means that Winter believes it is true...


Chapter 2: Stickwalker

Winter turned his snout up toward one of the full moons and inhaled. The smell of pine wafted through the air like it always did near Jade mountain, but it was more aromatic at night-when it was cool out and there weren't ten million other silly dragons distracting him.

He sighed. Watching the moons always reminded him of... her. For awhile, especially when he'd been spending time out in Possibility and around Pyrrhia in search of scavenger dens, he'd found a lot of peace in staring up at those bright globes. Many peaceful nights he'd been lulled off to sleep by the blissful images the moonlight inspired, the thoughts of... redemption and second chances.

But it was just fantasy, he knew that. He'd always known it. It was just hard accepting it. If only it didn't have to be that way. If only he could either pull those perfect images out of his mind or crawl into his own head and live there... Would there be much of a difference?

It was times like these where he actually found himself envying Darkstalker. He always envied animus dragons and those with powers, but these were the only moments where he'd really let himself think about it.

When did I become so pitiful? He wondered. When did I lose my... nobility?

He snorted.

Maybe it was around the time I literally lost my nobility.

He inhaled deeply again, again savoring the sweet scent of pine in the cool night air. Being cooped up in Jade mountain with the constant body heat and the insipid mutterings of the happy dragons with homes, and parents, and lovers, and things to laugh about—it disgusted him more and more, day after day. He felt particularly jaded whenever somebody called him 'Blizzard-claws,' because apparently 'your claws are as cold and aggressive as your personality,' as one less-than-subtle Nightwing had pointed out with a laugh. Nor was he partial to 'Winty,' which Kinkajou had taken to calling him, and would have been almost acceptable had other dragons not adopted its use to annoy him.

He sighed again, and followed that up with another deep breath. Cool air and sweet, sweet pine, with just a subtle after hint of citrus. What a nice mixture...

...Wait a minute, citrus?

"Oh, ho, ho."

Winter's head jerked back to meet the origin of the familiar voice. A voice both sultry and deep, yet refreshing like a cool breeze and accented with all the wiles prevalent in the female pitch. "...Summer?"

"What are the chances? Going out for some fresh air and running into Prince Winter."

He turned away. "I am no longer a prince." He grumbled. "I'm afraid whoever told you that is... a bit out of the loop."

She snorted. "I thought once a noble, always a noble...?"

Winter turned to face her with his shoulders straight, his brows raised, and his snout turned in a tight frown. He quickly looked her up and down, as if skeptical this ridiculous dragon could really be real. "Do you-"

She cut him off with a cacophony of laughter.

Winter startled. "W-Why are you laughing?"

"That face! For a moment I thought I was speaking to King Winter. Ha ha ha!"

He turned away and sneered, his cheeks heating up. As much as it pained him to admit it, she was right—that had been the exact sort of demeanor he'd been trying to avoid since his falling out with the Icewings, and indeed that exact expression was one of the more difficult gesticulations to discard.

...And she brought it out of me in seconds. He thought with both annoyance and curiosity.

"Anyway," She perched next to him on the edge of the cliff. "You were saying?"

He sniffed proudly. "I was saying, my father once told me 'you either live nobly, or you die nobly.' So no, once a noble, not necessarily always a noble."

"Yeesh..." She said shifting uncomfortably. "Sounds like a real happy-claws."

"Narwhal was anything but a happy-claws. He was a noble, one of the most respected in the Ice Kingdom, which doesn't always translate to 'happy,' or even well-liked."

"Hmm," she put a thoughtful talon on her snout. "Did anybody like him?"

"I think my mom did. I know she... respected him. A lot of dragons respected him. The whole tribe did."

"But did they like him? Did she?"

Winter paused. "I...I don't know, I..." He looked over at her intently. His face steadily turned to surprise, and then immediately into rage. "I-It doesn't matter! This is none of your business anyway!"

Summed smiled back at him. Winter waited for a response, but she stayed as quiet as a mouse, her snout still upturned into that maddening smile.

He stared at her, examining her, trying to figure how she could just ignore his outrage.

It's like the smile from before, Winter thought. Mocking, invincible... But, it's gentle too, just gentle as it had been when she'd walked into history... Ugghh.

He sighed. He'd opened his wings, prepared himself to stand up and march away, but he just didn't have the energy. If this girl wanted to sit next to him and make fun of him then let her. He didn't care.

His eyes turned back toward the moon and his wings drooped a bit. He inhaled again. The scent of pine still lingered in the air, but most of what he smelled now was citrus.

Blocking the smell of the trees... Irritating.

He inhaled again, this time longer, deeper, but careful to breathe as silently as possible.

She faced him. "Feel free to ignore me if this is a... trifling question? But could you tell me a little bit about the Kingdom of Ice?"

He turned toward her with a cocked brow. "You want to know about the Ice Kingdom? Why? What for?"

"Because I'm interested. I haven't gotten to talk to many Icewings, and they don't usually like talking about their homeland much..." She played with her talons and looked bashfully down at them. "I guess you might not want to talk about it either, but... You were talking about it before, so I figured... that maybe...?" She smiled at him.

"Hmm," Winter stared off in the dark abyss of the forests surrounding Jade academy.

People don't usually ask me about the Ice Kingdom. They're usually fine with whatever they read in scrolls or hear from that barbarian Webs, but she..."

He turned to face her.

"Okay," he said finally. "I'll tell you a bit about it. What do you want to know?"

"Hmm... Oh! Was it cold there?"

Winter frowned, and she started to giggle.

"Sorry, sorry. Just tell me whatever you want. Whatever you think is most interesting about it. You'd know best, after all."

"Hmm, that's true, I suppose I-" His voice caught in his throat. He paused, his body stiff. "A-Actually," he turned to face Summer. "I know almost nothing about you. Like where you came from, for instance?"

Summer flinched a bit at the bite in his tone. "Oh, I guess I could-"

The sound of a stick clacking against the ground from behind caused her to go silent. They both looked back. Starlight moved with slow, edging steps out of the cave's mouth. He went straight for an old boulder and rested against it, as if he needed it for support.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Winter and Summer exchanged glances. Winter's heart was pounding but he wasn't sure why. For some reason, he dreaded the conversation he knew would come if Starlight didn't head back inside. Why did he feel like he was being caught-

"-Is somebody out here?"

Winter inhaled and looked at Summer, and a moment later, she answered:

"Yes, it's just us."

"Ah. You sound like... Summer, right? Funny finding you out here." He smiled softly, with the commanding respect fit for an elder dragon. "I hope you're not trying to escape from us already! If it was Tsunami, I promise you she gets easier to handle over time."

Summer chuckled politely. "No, no, nothing like that."

"That's good. And who is 'us?' Do you have company?"

"I am also here." Winter added begrudgingly, trying not to sound too terribly begrudged.

"Oh my, here one day and already making friends with the royalty... And hello, Winter, I assume you're being nice to our newest student?"

He snorted. "I'll have you know I have been extremely cordial." Winter added haughtily.

"Oh, yes." Summer added. "He's been a real charmer. He's only gotten blindly mad at me once in the last twenty seconds."

Winter frowned at her. That you know of...

Starflight smiled. "Sounds like you're both hitting it off. If that is the case, I'll head back inside."

Winter flushed and looked back and forth between Starflight and Summer. "Wh-What...?"

"You don't have to do that!" Summer said with her most polite tone. "You just came outside!"

"No, no. I just needed a little fresh air and a chance to stretch my legs. I'm alright now. You both make sure you're not out here too late—you have class tomorrow."

"Yes, Starlight," Summer replied, playing the part of the perfect student.

"...And... don't do anything dumb." He smiled awkwardly and turned to walk away, one stick-guided step at a time.

Winter's chest puffed up and he nearly gasped. "I am not-We are not-!" he stammered. "We are not going to do anything dumb. If, if that is what you mean."

Summer giggled.

"Good." Starflight called back. "I'm holding you to that."

"You don't-you don't have-!" Winter's teeth clenched. He reached out, as if to stop him, but immediately lowered his talon and sighed with frustration. He scooted about an inch away from Summer and turned to face the sky again. "I should really be heading inside soon. It's late."

He waited for her to say something mocking, for her to turn the phrase around on him somehow and reduce him to the laughingstock he apparently was. To tease him about how he hadn't gone in yet, and about how he'd been blushing and stammering moments ago. Maybe she would work in an insult about how his claws were cold and abrasive-

"-Yeah," she yawned. "Me too. I'm getting pretty tired."

Winter looked over at her, his eyes glaring.

She got up and started to head back to the cave. "It was really nice talking to you Prince Winter. Next time make sure you tell me all about the Ice Kingdom, alright? You promised."

"I did not promise," he muttered, his eyes following her warily. "And stop calling me prince. I am a prince no longer."

She laughed. "You prove it every time you open your snout. Once nobility, always nobility."

He sighed as she walked back into the caves.

"Live nobly, or die nobly..." He said to himself. The image of Narwhal splayed out and bleeding on the battlefield appeared in his head. "...That is what nobility is."