Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

A/N: So after what seems like forever, I finally bring you a much shorter chapter 2!

Chapter 2: Blizzard

Alice was an exceptionally good cook. Her hotpot – both heart and aromatic – was received with many compliments as steaming bowls were quickly emptied, with one or more one going back for seconds. She had made a plentiful supply of the delicious meal, having enough left to pour into a large container for Uriko to take back for her own cabin mates.

With stomachs sated, everyone was crowded around the television – all apart from Yugo, who was consigned to doing the washing up after hitting Uriko with a spoon when she'd teased him about 'wolfing' down his food like a hungry dog.

Gado had gotten a log fire going in the hearth, almost a little too proud of his effort, as if he'd done something particularly masculine despite it being an achievable feat by anyone with the clear instructions on hand. Though thankfully, it didn't require them to rub two sticks together.

A TV quiz show had just finished, leading straight into a weather report, which to their surprise was warning of blizzard like conditions in their area that evening and overnight.

"Well, I guess that means we'll be battening down the hatches," Jenny said, nursing a fresh cup of tea between her hands.

"It doesn't matter, really," Alice considered. "I'm sure we're all pretty tired from all the travelling. A nice quiet night in will does all a world of good." She laid a hand on Uriko's head – the girl was sat cross-legged beside her, slightly vegetating after her meal. "I think you should get back to the others with that food before it gets cold."

The cat-girl stretched out her limbs and slowly stood. "Okay." She swung her arms around her sister, giving her a tired hug. "Thanks for the food, sis. You always make such yummy stuff!"

Alice patted her back affectionately. "It wasn't all me! You helped, too!"

"All I did was chopped carrots!" She giggled and parted the hug, heading over to the island countertop to collect the warm container of food. "Bye-bye!" She said as she headed for the door, glancing over at Yugo who was still over the sink, washing utensils. He eyed her, sensing her glancing his way, and had to smirk a little at her playfully blowing a raspberry.

With a bid of farewell, Uriko left, just as the snowfall started – softly at first, with only small snowflakes floating down, though within the hour, it was coming down heavily like a thick white curtain, almost obscuring everything a few metres away from the cabin.

Long and Xion had settled on one of the couches, completely engrossed in thick paperback books they'd brought with them, while Gado and Jenny had occupied the other, the latter cuddled up against her lover as they watched the television. Yugo had settled down in front of the fire after his duty of pot washing and was playing a game on his phone. Alice had gone to stand by the lounge window, staring out at the heavy flurry of cascading snow, the blustering wind picking it up in its clutches and scattering to create thick blankets on everything it touched.

"I hope that old woman will be alright," the rabbit Zoanthrope said, idly leaning against the window ledge.

"The woman in the reception cabin?" Yugo asked without even looking up from his game. She made a small noise to indicate that was exactly who she meant.

"Momoyama will be just fine. She's as tough as they come," Gado said, turning away from the television to regard the young woman at the window.

Alice turned with mild surprise. "You know her then?"

"Oh yes, Madame Momoyama was a secretary for a regular client during my mercenary days," he told her. "She was the kind of woman you didn't want to get on the wrong side of."

Yugo smirked. "So, definitely not a mercenary then?" He had just remembered the little conversation in the car earlier regarding the woman.

Gado shook his head. "No, but she did have a mean right hook if you disrespected her."

Kenji was probably right when he said 'You never know', Yugo thought with a quiet chuckle.

"Even though she could be grumpy, she always went out of her way to help people. She and Kinoshita particularly had a good rapport, so when she retired not so long ago he hired her as the manager for his cabins. He knew how much she enjoys keeping busy, so she was his first choice. She doesn't really have much family so it wasn't too much trouble for her to move out here. She has her own small cabin on the grounds to call home."

"That's good," Alice commented. "Well, I hope she made it back into her cabin before the snow started coming down hard." She jumped when something bounced off the window, and glanced out, confused albeit concerned. "The wind is really picking up now. It's starting to get scary out there."

Gado detached himself from Jenny – who gave him a pouting glance – as he walked over to a box on the kitchen wall. He opened it, looking over an array of switches there. He found the one he wanted on the top row and flicked it down. There was a low hum and suddenly the outer shutters started to slowly close, much to the fascination of the others. The open area began to darken, prompting Yugo to flick on a standing lamp close by. Only thin streams of light peered through the cut out shapes in the wood.

"That should protect the windows," the lion Zoanthrope assured.

Alice drew the curtains with a shiver. "I think we're going to be in for a long, cold night."

It was a surprise for Uriko's cabin mates when she brought back food for their grateful consumption. It didn't take long for every morsel to be gobbled down and for the group to eventually congregate themselves in front of their own television. ShenLong had been the one to choose the evening's entertainment: some high octane action movie with more explosions than actual plot development. The tiger sat back with a beer, engaged with some amusement by the B-grade acting and unintentionally hilarious death scenes. Nagi was sat resting her legs across his lap as she watched the action on screen, nestled comfortably in a cache of pillows. Uriko had monopolized a chair all to herself, cat earphones on playing some funky J-Pop and playing one of her handheld games. Her tongue poked out as she concentrated hard on beating the current level. She was close to her end of level boss fight.

Shina had closed the outer shutters, doing so on a text advisory from Alice as the wind started to pick up with avengeance, and had taken a place in front of the lit fire, which she and Kenji had gotten going some time earlier. The aforementioned mole Zoanthrope was sat reading one of his books on the couch next to Cronos, who was staring with an almost bewildered gaze at the flashing images on the television screen. When Shina noticed the Prince's expression, she swivelled around.

"You okay?" She asked him.

He drew his attention away, still somewhat dazed. "Oh yes, I am fine."

"You seem a little..." She rotated her hand trying to think of the right word to encapsulate his expression. "... Overwhelmed. Not your kind of movie?"

"Oh, um... Well, I must admit the movie is not one I would usually think to watch, but, well..." He seemed abashed all of a sudden. "... You see... it is very rare I get to watch television."

"It is?"

"Yes, well, we do not own a television..."

ShenLong turned, sheer disbelief plastered across his face. "You don't have a television? You're a prince! You should have fifty televisions... and a harem of lusty whores!"

Shina scowled deadpan at the tiger. "Don't be a dick, ShenLong."

"No TV?" Nagi asked in a less patronising manner, trying to divert the young prince's attention from her obnoxious beau. Cronos shook his head to confirm. "Wow. I don't think I've met anyone who doesn't own a TV."

"We have one of those sophisticated projectors for playing movies and such," Cronos said, clearly feeling awkward. "But they are mostly really old movies. Artful masterpieces, as my father would say. Nothing like this..." He indicated towards the TV, just as a car blew up when it gently brushed against a crash barrier.

"You really have been sheltered," ShenLong remarked, taking a sip of his beer. He jolted as Nagi poked him in the side. "What?!"

"You have no tack," she stated plainly before turning her attention back to Cronos. "You know, I'm sure once you've been subjected to enough television over the next few weeks you'll come to appreciate some of those old arty movies a bit more." Another car exploded on screen – for no reason. "They don't call it the idiot box for the nothing."

"Not all the shows or movies are going to be this, uh, dumb," Shina said, patting Cronos's knee. "Though I'm sure you've seen plenty of weird stuff when you've watched a TV. You're not a stranger to the experience after all."

"True. I never turned down the opportunity to watch television when staying in hotels or at relatives homes. It is always fascinating to watch cookery programmes with angry chefs. Or maybe they were not actually angry at all and it was just a language thing..."

Shina chuckled. "I do enjoy those languages that sound unintentionally irate when they're just trying to be polite..."

Another explosion and copious amounts of screaming later, ShenLong was laughing hard at an impaled man on the screen, ignoring the cringing faces around him.

"Oh man..." He took a swig of his beer. "... That guy just got himself a second asshole."

"What are you reading, Kenji?" Cronos asked, hoping to distract himself with meaningful conversation after giving up on the over-the-top action.

The mole looked up. "Advanced Trigonometry."

"Oh... is it a good book?"

"Complicated would probably be a better word."

ShenLong snorted, giving Kenji a sideward glance. "Geez, could you get anymore nerdy?"

Kenji flipped to the next page, not looking up. "Your emotional inferiority over your lack of an actual education is very sad indeed."

"Look at him, showing off with all his big words!"

"What, as opposed to you showing off your sheer stupidity?" He flipped another page casually.

ShenLong would have reacted with anger, if not for a man onscreen falling into a vat of porridge... which promptly blew up – just because it could – and for the fact Nagi gave him a look that sort of implied that he'd been asking for it. He simply grunted and finished his beer, deciding he'd probably choose a more opportune time to slap the boy upside the head.

Completely oblivious to the absurd movie and the conversation between her companions, Uriko continued to tap away at her game, ears filled with the sugary-sweet music. She quietly chuckled to herself after completing another level successfully. "I love magic pandas..." She garnered a few confused glances but nothing was said in response to her quiet enthusiasm as she ploughed on into a new level.

As the night set in, the weather worsened. Fierce winds accompanying the heavy downpour of snow jostled winter-gnarled trees until they began to shed branches big and small, carrying them away on more violent gusts into the heavy veil of falling white. Inside the two cabins, the occupants did their best to ignore the howling winds as they settled down for the night.

The sound of some sort of debris clattering off the roof briefly caught Gado's attention as he stood at the sink in the en-suite. He wasn't too concerned by the blizzard, the cabin was built to stand against the worst the weather had to throw at them, and he'd said just as much as part of comforting words to a concerned Alice before retiring for the night. The forces of nature may have been blustering unabashed, though the cabin would stand strong through it all. But it wasn't the weather that was at the forefront of his mind as he stood at the sink, the hot water still running into the ceramic bowl. No, he was more concerned right then about how damned tired and old he felt.

A vacation had certainly been on the cards for some time, but he had been putting it off as more and more important United Nations work took up nearly every hour of every day. When it came to securing and protecting a future of equality for all Zoanthropes, he was more than dedicated to fight his cause and plough on until his last breath; but even he had to admit to himself that the long hours were playing heavy on his war-battered body. Compared to many, he was sturdy as a horse, but he knew he'd pushed himself too much in this last year or so. Maybe he just didn't want to admit to himself that he was middle-aged, afraid that doing so would mean he'd start losing his edge. He'd been warned to slow down, to adapt his lifestyle as he was getting older, but he supposed his pride had gotten in the way of logic and reason.

It was probably why he felt a certain amount of self loathing and annoyance as he stared at a small bottle of pills now resting on the countertop before him.

Well, you reap what you sew... He grumbled as he uncapped the bottle and popped out a single pill. Pouring water into one the glasses by the sink, he tossed the pill into his mouth and washed it down with only the slightest grimace to the chemical tang hitting the back of his throat.

"Are you finished in there, honey?" A sultry voice asked in the doorway.

Discreetly, he tucked the bottle back into his wash bag, avoiding clattering the contents to draw attention to her keen ears. He turned – switching off the tap behind him – to face Jenny in her rather revealing negligee. All lace and no imagination, not that he'd ever minded that.

"Just finished," he said, striding to the doorway, snaking his arm around her waist. "Shall we see how comfortable the bed is?"

Her smile was delectable, and despite his silent concerns, he certainly didn't want to let down his virile partner. He captured her lips with his own, at the same time managing to flick the bathroom light off, leaving their passion highlighted only by the tempered glow of the bedside lamp.

"Night-night everybody!" Uriko's called out throughout the cabin

Shina finished pulling on her PJ bottoms, lifting her head in acknowledgment to the girl's vibrant voice. "Goodnight!" She responded, hearing muffled responses from below – maybe even a grumbling curse from ShenLong, but she wasn't paying that much attention to him.

The bathroom door opened a jar. "Jeanne?" Cronos's voice hesitantly called through. "Am I safe to come back in?"

"Yeah, I'm dressed," she assured, watching as he finally appeared in the doorway, having changed into his own expensive silken nightwear in the bathroom. He fiddled with the last button at his neck as he wandered over to the bed. "It must be odd for you to wear so much to go to bed," she remarked, brushing off inwardly that the words sounded quite lurid.

"Yes, I am used to wearing far less back home. The nights are always so warm there." He pulled back the covers and climbed gracefully into the bed. "It really has been quite a while since I wore a full pyjama set."

She nodded, casting aside a fleeting seconds thought of how casually they were just climbing into the same bed. He didn't seem particularly bothered, maybe still quite happy with the idea that it was just like a sleepover. Oh how she wished for that touch of naivety that made him such a charming young man; he hadn't been truly tainted by the lewdness of the real world. She hoped these two weeks wouldn't ruin him too much.

It had taken a lot of promises and persuasion before Cronos had been given permission to come along for the trip. His pompous father was not an easy man to negotiate with, but he owed them a lot – particularly her father Gado – for securing peace within the Zoanthrope Kingdom and not actually having him arrested for some of the experiments that had been going on behind the scenes. She had made certain that King Orion could do nothing but agree to his son taking a well earned vacation.

Shina climbed into the bed beside him, tucking herself in. She glanced over at her bedfellow, who was also just settling down. "I'm sure this is a downgrade in size."

"It is fine. The bed is very comfortable." He smiled over at her. "And the company is nice as well."

She laughed over a brief second of embarrassment. "I guess I'm just the consolation prize for it being a smaller bed. Like an extra hot water bottle. Heaven knows I appreciate another warm body with these kinds of temperatures." She thought she saw the hint of a blush on his cheeks and wanted to smack herself. Then again, maybe she was imagining it, her own mind just a haven of debauchery.

"Hopefully it will be warm enough."

She leaned over to turn off the bedside light.

"And..." He said, causing her to pause mid-motion. "You are definitely not a consolation prize."

Shina gave him a small smile, somewhat flattered, not that she'd readily admit it. "Goodnight, Cronos."

"Goodnight, Jeanne."

And the light went out, plunging the room into a thick blanket of darkness. Shina settled down, lying on her back, staring at the ceiling, which she eventually began to make out i much greater detail as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. It shouldn't have felt awkward, and she certainly shouldn't have allowed her head to swim with such confusing emotions about her companion lying next to her. She was ready to chastise herself – she, a veteran of the battlefield since her early teens, going all soft and acting like a blushing school girl. It was far from her usual self. She refused to let any ounce of conflicted emotion rise to the surface, her face a stiff mask of composure.

Maybe it was just so perfectly timed that some odd noises coming from the room below drew her thoughts onto something more tangible. Her sharp feline hearing quickly distinguished the muffled sounds for what they were, turning her expression into a scowl.

ShenLong and Nagi were certainly making the most of their bed. The spurious's moans and the tiger's husky purring was more than enough to paint a vivid picture of their activities. They were not afraid to start their vacation full throttle.

Shina glanced over at Cronos, just about making him out in the dark. He was staring right back at her, the whites of his eyes wide and bright in the darkness, certainly quite surprised about what they were hearing.

The awkwardness came back tenfold, but she quickly replaced it with a more potent emotion: anger.

She slid to the edge of the bed, unfurling a leg out from under the covers – ignoring the slight chill that greeted her – and stomped hard on the floor.

"God damn it!" She shouted. "Can't you save that until everyone is out of the cabin?!"

She distinctly heard ShenLong call her a 'frigid bitch', though Nagi mumbled something a little incomprehensible to him and their activities became a little less noisy. Sighing grumpily, she tucked her leg back in and clung tightly to the covers. She glanced back at Cronos, who she could see was smiling.

"What?" She whispered.

He shook his head, chuckling. "You are quite fearless, Jeanne. I was certain he would storm up here with that temper of his."

"N'ah... it would be too much effort to pull on his pants..."

Seconds later, they were consumed with semi-hushed laughter.

As the blizzard reached its full intensity, the temperature plummeted dramatically. It could be felt with a chilling bite inside the cabins.

Yugo snuggled up to Alice's back, both quivering in the dark beneath their cocooned duvet. Even with getting the extra blanket out of the top of the wardrobe, they were still battling to fight off the cold.

"I thought the heating was supposed to be on?" Yugo remarked, his teeth on the brink of chattering as he spoke.

"You'd have thought so..." Alice peeked over her shoulder as she felt her beau move suddenly, and watched him climb out of the bed. "What are you doing?" She quickly flipped the covers back down trap the heat back in after he'd left.

Yugo touched the radiator. It was only marginally warm. "I don't know if it's turned itself off. Maybe there is some way I can get it to switch back on."

"Gado said it was automated."

"I'll figure a way!" He said, though he was not quite sure how he was going to achieve that. When it came to technology, he just left the tough stuff for Kenji to figure out. Too bad he was in the other cabin.

He pulled a sweater on over his sleeping clothes and padded towards the door, quietly opening it and slipping out into the open room. It was even colder out there. He didn't look for a light switch, he just folded his arms tightly to his body, burying his face partly into his deep hooded neckline and guided himself towards the kitchen area where he could locate the central heating panel.

He watched his own footfalls over the flooring, hesitating as he came to tiled flooring. As his bare feet touched the cold ceramic, he hissed, the sharp chill like knives. Knowing he was close to his destination, he looked up.

A shadowy figure was stood before him.

He let out an undignified noise, attempting to fall back into a fighting stance, but instead jammed his back into the corner of the counter.

A flicker of silver glistened against a crack of light from the shutter-clad window to quickly reveal who was there. Yugo's eyes adjusted to stare at a placid Xion, standing in a robe with a glass of what appeared to be water in his hand. There was a moment of awkward silence as Yugo tried to regain his composure. And dignity for that matter.

"What are you doing sneaking around?!" Yugo asked in high-pitched whisper. He was surprised he hadn't sniffed him out or sensed his presence. He cursed himself for being too relaxed, though he tried to justify that his nose was buried in his sweater that was potent with his sweat and the expensive cologne Alice loved to have him wear. Xion was almost like a ghost stood there, his very power essence practically negligible, like he was walking around trying to not to be felt. It was almost a little creepy.

"I wasn't sneaking around," the silver-haired man said smoothly. "I was getting a drink."

Yugo grumbled, wanting to retort in some form, but he was too cold, and now he had a pain in his back right above his kidneys. Xion, not one to delve into small talk, drifted past him with gliding steps. Yugo watched after him as he returned to his room, completely unaffected. He quivered, partly from the cold and partly from having to deal with such an enigma of a man.

Getting back to the task at hand – certainly with more focus as he was starting to freeze his balls off – he approached the counter on the back wall at the far corner near the stairs, and glanced at the small panel there for the heating. Pushing a button the corner, the small screen lit up in a subdued green, revealing the current temperature inside the cabin – nigh on zero Celsius, and the reading outside, which was definitely far below zero! A little icon in the corner indicated that the heating had actually just turned itself back on. So it wasn't turning off as he'd first thought. He'd pretty much gotten out of bed for nothing. He blamed it all on having the log fire on earlier that had probably tricked the system to turn off for much longer than needed.

Yugo grumped all the way back to the room. He hurried in, swiftly shutting the door behind him.

Alice slowly sat up. "What was that noise before? Was that you?"

Yugo opened and closed his mouth, averting his gaze. "Xion was prowling about in the dark like a God damned ghost."

She smiled behind a hand. "Bless you. Your yell was so girly."

"I'll give you girly!" He tossed his sweater off and leapt onto the bed, scrambling under the sheets to slip his hands under her pyjama top.

Alice squeaked with shock, trying to get away from him. "Your hands are cold!" She clamoured, batting at him as he chuckled against her back. "You fiend!" He touched her feet with his own and she let out a strangled cry, trying to kick him off. "Cold-cold-cold-cold-cold!"

He chuckled, settling against her as her thrashing ceased with the warming of his appendages, though she did jump as his slightly chilled lips brushed against her neck to lay a kiss there. "The heating is coming back on, by the way."

Her response was to hit him with a pillow.