Bright golden eyes opened wide at the sound of fists pounding at a bedroom door. Silver slung his legs over the edge of the bed, pulling back the patchwork duvet, and forced the sleep out of his hazy eyes. It must have been early, light was only beginning to flicker through the curtains, his mouth was dry and his head still felt a little heavy. He grew a hand through his quills, grumbling a little as he fully returned to the world of the living; they'd been up so late last night making plans, he'd thought he might get to sleep in a little longer.
Regardless he rose, rolling cracks out of his shoulders, and opened the door… only to be assaulted by a blast of freezing air. A little past the chill and brightness stood Marine, though she wasn't the first thing to catch his eye. No the first thing to meet Silver's eyes, in a rather more literal sense, was a spinning ball of cold crunchiness that smacked him in that exact location. As he stumbled back, more in shock at the impact and cold than in pain, the Raccoon's guffawing filled his ears as she made her way into the room, "Way too easy mate, way too easy! I knew this was my best shot so I took it! You're gonna be on guard the whole day after that but at least I got a hit in!" By the sound alone it was clear she was bounding up and down; couldn't stand still having succeeded in her attempts.
Silver drew his hand from his eye, feeling the cold on his fingers his eyes were cast down only to find clumps of white powder… slowly turning to water. It almost stung to touch as he pushed his thumb into it, so incredibly cold, but as he scraped off more of the cold mass it clicked in his head. "I-It happened then, it snowed?! Already?!"
"Too right mate, there's not too much of it but it's still fallin' and what's there is the good stuff! Perfect for snowballs and snowmen and all sorts!" A wide grin burst onto the hedgehog's face, as he looked to the young raccoon he found this happiness was shared. As he and Blaze had yesterday Marine too had taken on winter clothing; garbed in mud-green wellingtons and thick woollen mittens, though the remainder of her outfit was crimson. She wore a heavy looking hoodie and baggy hiking trousers, when combined it made for a very warm looking outfit but her hat completed it. It was a brown bobble hat but, woven atop the brown was a layer woven to look like white icing and loose flapping holly leaves; a Christmas pudding hat! Over Silver's, sleep-laden, attempt at analysis Marine continued to shout; "There's not so much on the beach, the tide came in and washed it away, but the town looks incredible mate; and you should see the castle! Come on come on! I want to have a snowball fight!"
She grabbed at his arm, attempting to tug the hedgehog toward the cold, but he managed to dig his feet in; "I should get dressed first though, right Marine? That's a big part of this isn't it?!"
The young girl heaved a sigh, releasing him and darting into their living area; leaving patches of white snow with every step. "Fiiine, but I won't wait long! Hurry up, hurry up!" With a wave of his hand Silver closed the door, recalling it was gross to get dressed in front of someone, and turned to the clothes he had been gifted. His shirt and hoody had been neatly folded (well… folded to the best of his ability) and set atop his rickety driftwood desk, heavy brown boots atop them. With a wave of his hand, the pile was unfolded and the clothes spread into the air, the shoes shot off toward the roof, closely followed by the jumper until only the shirt was in front of him; hanging in the air before him. With another wave the shirt unfurled itself and gravitated toward him, slipping up his outstretched arm it rounded his shoulders before catching the second; with that, he was one third dressed. The boots dropped, thunking on the wooden ground before him, but the coat still hung high. Silver leapt into the air, the jumper slid onto his shoulders and over his arms; as he landed his feet slipped into socks and back into his boots. Finished!
He looked much too proud of himself, a wide grin stretched his face and the new warmth reddened his cheeks. Silver rushed to the doorway but with his first step, his left boot was left behind, in stepping back to retrieve it the right came off. Ah yes, for as good as this outfit was it seemed the boots were broken; they refused to stay on his feet and had these strange threads on the front of them, threads he had no idea what to do with. Well if he couldn't walk in them, Silver sheathed his feet, thin teal aura coating his person as he (boots included) lifted off the ground. Hovering no more than a foot in the air he shot through his bedroom door, over the living room mess, and out into the cold; with a wave of his hand the front door was closed and the internal latch fell into its locked position. He'd done this out of reflex though, unintentionally, as more than ninety per cent of his person was being overwhelmed by the world surrounding him. He'd only seen snow once in person and, at first, those memories replayed in his mind; how close it was to their separation… but just as a second snowball struck his cheek those memories were cast aside, while it was important to remember he wanted to make new memories in this place! Snowfall on the beach, how flecks of coldness took nest within his quills, the way winter chill tickled his exposed muzzle and made his breath vis-
A third snowball struck him, breaking up against his psychic shielding but peppering him with cold pebbles; "Come on mate! A moving target's harder to hit, more fun to wallop too!" His attention finally turned back to Marine, in her mittened hands the young raccoon was rapidly rearming herself with an orb of snow. Silver, not even certain it would work, brought his glowing hands together. Snow was torn from sand but this first grasp was imperfect, making a malformed hunk of snow in the hedgehog's grasp rather than a smooth sphere like Marine was craft-
"Four strikes! Mate, I've seen you fight; are you holding back or something? This is a snowball fight, it's serious business!" Silver wasn't paying attention to Marine's words though; instead, he was fully focussed on the mass floating before him, each time he brought his hands together it grew more and more spherical until eventually…
His right hand raised, he shot higher into the air, "Alright Marine! Take this!" With a pointed gesture the frozen meteor, bigger than his head, began to race toward the little girl.
Even before the snowball made contact Silver realised he had, maybe, got a little too into this. The white orb spun as it escaped his psychic grasp, tumbling toward earth backed not only by gravity but his own throwing prowess… of course, he hadn't put everything into it but that didn't stop it shattering on impact and knocking Marine flat on her back; legs shooting up behind her.
Immediately Silver shot down next to her, boots crunching on earth as he rapidly uncovered the poor girl's face, "Marine?! Marine are you okay?" Before he could fully uncover her face the raccoon had sat straight up.
She was, incredibly reassuringly to the hedgehog, beaming even if much of her face was still plastered in ice. "I don't care if she's your lover mate, when we all have a big snowball fight you're on my side. You might be slow but when you get going you pack a real punch, Blaze's powers are probably rubbish for snowball fights but you…" Marine held her finger directly in the hedgehog's face but, due to her mittens, it looked like she was half threatening to punch him; "We're going to beat everyone else in town, won't even need more than the two of us; the whole coconut crew will be runnin' scared!"
He continued to brush snow off of her, face twisted into an awkward grimace. "We'll see Marine." Her face fully uncovered he helped her to her feet, allowing her to dust the rest off, "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Hmm…well…" Silver had come to know the look Marine now wore, gripping one arm and looking quite sorry for herself. She dramatically turned to look up at him with her largest eyes, a pout on her lips, "My legs do feel a little wobbly, can I get a piggyback?" Well, she'd made worse requests with that face; staying up till the twilight hours and ice cream for breakfast. He returned to the air but brought in his knees, lowering himself so that she could clamber on, immediately he felt a pair of hands on his long back quills and her legs kick past his sides. "Alright! Let's go! To the castle steed, I must meet with the princess!"
He wouldn't argue with her chosen words as realisation struck him, Blaze was an early riser but it was still rather early… perhaps she hadn't awakened yet! They could surprise her with this new snow, hopefully, she wasn't busy today; this was the first snow, they had to do something! Even if it was just a little walk or watching it fall from her window, he wanted to spend this moment with her!
Marine whooped as they ascended, the pair receiving a cowl of snow as they reached a height of around thirty meters, before suddenly they shot off; racing in the direction of the palace. Though the palace, in all its frost-coated splendour, could be seen ahead Silver found his eyes drawn to the streets beneath them. As he dodged and weaved around smoke plumes, rising from chimneys rather than burning buildings, he saw all manner of things. Children playing in the snow as he and Marine had, not only tossing snowballs at one another but rolling the snow to form makeshift figures with carrots for noses and sticks for arms, whole families had gathered in gardens to experience the season, elderly couples clung to each other to avoid slipping while younger pairs sipped steaming drinks… this was wonderful!
Holding on tight to Marine's legs he allowed himself a joyous flourish, spinning right as he picked up speed. Rather than being surprised the raccoon on his back urged this on, yipping and calling out faster as they rocketed over the gardens and toward the palace. Had Blaze had experienced things like that before? He couldn't see her doing so alone certainly; well then he'd just have to take the lead! That would be-
"Silver come down here at once!" Coming to a sudden halt, Marine clattering against the back of his head, Silver looked down only to find a familiar Koala (garbed in his usual blue hat and shirt, sword at his side) shivering and staring up to him from the palace gardens. "You can't keep flying into the princess' bedroom, especially not at such an awful morning hour! Do you even know what time it is?"
Silver began to lower himself, prepared to talk to Gardon, only to feel Marine fumbling around behind him. Quite suddenly a snowball rocketed across his line of sight; striking the elder guardsman square in the forehead. Marine had collected the sizable snowfall they'd caught and dealt him a direct hit, without hesitation she shouted; "Go, mate, go! While he's distracted, grab your Sheila and we'll bounce!"
Unfortunately, having known the koala for quite some time now, Silver knew that if he did he'd be receiving a second-hand earful from Blaze… he'd rather they both not endure a scolding. Meeting the ground with a crunch, taking in the wilted and frozen royal gardens, Gardon made his approach; snow fully cleared from his brow. Marine meanwhile had dropped from Silver's shoulders and was, rather poorly, hiding behind the hedgehog. Standing before Silver Gardon stood to full attention, his beady eyes like daggers as they tore across Silver's frame. "So that's where those clothes went, I assumed as much. While it's true the princess has the majority of today off she was out until late last night and surely needs her rest… I have no doubts you two are responsible for that."
Again, before Silver could act, Marine took point; her head popping out from behind the grey hedgehog; "Just because you're her dad doesn't mean you can keep her from her boyfriend Gardon, it's true love; can't you see that?! Boo, bad dad, boo!"
Immediately Silver felt himself redden, turning back to the Raccoon, "Blaze and I-
"I-I'm not that kind of guardian Marine, you know that! L-Looking after her is my duty, not my responsibility." Looking to the Raccoon, while there was no blush, Silver couldn't tell if that was sweat on his forehead or dampness from the snow. His eyes didn't look as sharp as they had a moment ago, his shivering has ceased entirely, "I server the crown, the defender of the sol emeralds, and nothing m-more… a-and that includes letting her sleep!"
"Who're you tryin' to convince?" Marine had seemingly regained her confidence, now standing in front of Silver (who was quite glad the spotlight had been taken off of him for once). "It's weird seein' you all nervous Gardon, usually you're all professional. Are you scared your little girl is growin' up? Daaaw, don't worry I'm sure you'll have plenty of grandkids to fuss over soon."
Feeling the world drastically warm Silver had to butt in, "W-We're not, Marine i-it's not like that! I've told you before, I wou-
"Yeah yeah; you would love to date her and give her big smooches, you're just too much of a coward right now. Both of you are, but over this winter and all of your dates, I'm sure things the two of you will come to terms with your feelings and just kiss… like a lot." She was clearly having far too much fun with this, "Then Gardon'll be your father in law!"
His awkward look turned to a deep frown, breaking from his attentive stance in his frustration. "Now look here young lady, I-
Their argument was interrupted by a pair of double doors swinging open, "I see I was not mistaken in overhearing voices, I'd expected you to come to my window Silver." Blaze had arrived, dressed in her winter clothes. If he somehow hadn't been blushing before he would be now, the outfit was exactly as he remembered but seeing how the snow fell upon it and how she looked in the snow… it spread a warmth through his chest beyond even the comfy clothing she'd given him. "Good morning Marine, I hope you weren't giving Gardon any trouble… and likewise, I hope Gardon wasn't giving you any trouble?"
Immediately Gardon was back at attention, his cool and professional head mostly prevailing over prior embarrassment. He took a deep bow. "My apologies your highness, I assumed you were still taking rest. I hope this petty squabble did not awaken you? I apologies most thoroughly for my part in it, I should not have allowed Marine to goad me in such a manner." Despite this shift, as he rose, sweat was clear on his brow.
"It's fine," a glare thrice as sharp as Gardon's was turned on Marine, "I know how she can be. We'll be leaving immediately, she'll be out of your hair and you can take a well-earned break; you must be freezing in your uniform."
"It's nothing I cannot handle but… if that's what you wish, are you sure I won't be required?" Even as he said that the Raccoon had returned to shivering, Marine's snowball likely hadn't helped the elderly koala stave off the cold.
"I've got the sol emeralds on my person and besides Silver is with me, that should be more than enough protection for them. Put the evening's paperwork in the library and take the day off, I won't have you freezing."
"Aww, she does care for her dad," Marine mumbled, having ducked back behind the hedgehog.
"As you command your majesty…" The koala's brows furrowed for a moment but he quickly shook whatever the look meant off, "Do enjoy yourself today. It is wonderful that you've made such a close companion. Please excuse me." And with a final bow, he vanished behind the palace doors.
"Well, I best be off too mates, don't need a third wheel on the first of your winter dates after all, besides I'm pretty sure I saw a good snowball fight on the way over. Don't burn his tongue too badly Blaze!" And, before either of them could complain, the raccoon was bounding her way through the snow; surely smiling all the while.
It took a moment but eventually Silver mustered the courage to speak up, turning to his partner, "S-So… do you want to go for a walk or… the town looked-
In taking a step toward her Silver's shoe had come out of his boot once more, he jumped as his left sock met with the icy ground. He planted his foot back in the shoe but, by the time he'd done so, Blaze was muffling a laugh. "Yes, let's go for a walk."
