~ CHAPTER 20 ~

Snow was sprawled comfortably across the large pillow atop his sleeping spot, reading through the needlessly wordy history scroll he'd been given for homework. It's like they were trying to make it as boring as possible, he thought as he tried to digest the same paragraph he'd been reading for the past several minutes.

Green was sitting by his side, quietly perusing his own scroll. It looked comically oversized in his hands, but that didn't appear to bother Green as he diligently read through it. Or rather, read through parts of it. He still wasn't terribly proficient in reading dragon script, but Snow thought he'd been progressing at an impressive rate.

Wordlessly, they continued to work through their respective scrolls, just like they usually would on their days off. But something is a little different today, Snow thought, as Cliff's soft sleeping sounds echoed throughout the otherwise silent cave.

Usually, Cliff and Peacemaker were out of the sleeping cave by morning to go spend their day off with their other friends. And while Peacemaker had long since left, Cliff was still sleeping soundly in his pile of pillows up on the rocky ledge.

Snow had been waking him up every day for the past two weeks, since he always seemed to be deep in sleep even when the morning rolled in. Today, he decided instead to just let Cliff sleep until whenever he naturally woke up, considering it wasn't a school day so they had no classes to attend.

I hope he doesn't mind, Snow thought with a bit of worry as noon rolled around. He'd been asleep far longer than Snow thought he would be.

Finally, he heard some stirring noises from the ledge above, followed by a long yawn.

"Well look who's finally up," Snow called from below.

The drowsy dragon poked his head out from atop the rocky ledge. "Good morning, Snow."

"…It's long past morning, Cliff. I think you mean 'good afternoon.'"

"Noon?!" Cliff exclaimed, falling off of the ledge and onto the floor with a crash.

"Are you all right?" Snow asked with alarm.

"Ow," Cliff said as he got onto his feet, but he looked unharmed. "I'm fine. More importantly, why didn't you wake me up?"

"Sorry... I thought you'd like to sleep in for once," said Snow, with his head hanging down. "I'm sorry, that was probably stupid of me."

"Well, I can't deny that it was pleasant," Cliff admitted. "So thank you for that."

A small wave of relief passed through Snow's scales after hearing that.

Cliff yawned once more before continuing to speak. "I thought you'd forgotten about me when I woke up without seeing you up on the ledge. I guess I'd gotten used to your face being the first thing I see every day."

"Is that… a bad thing?" Snow asked cautiously.

"Not at all," he said, as he stretched away the morning fatigue. "It makes waking up a little less terrible."

Snow was pleased to hear that. He very much enjoyed waking Cliff up every morning.

"Good afternoon, Green," Cliff called to the scavenger, who rudely didn't even look up from his scroll.

"Sorry, he's just very focused," Snow explained. "He probably didn't even hear you."

"That's okay," said Cliff, strutting over to Snow's sleeping spot to take a look at his scroll. "What were you reading?"

"Nothing interesting. Just that one history scroll that Webs assigned to us as homework. It's a real pain to work through."

"Want me to help you out?"

Snow looked at him with surprise. "Aren't you gonna go hang out with your SkyWing friends? It's our day off, in case you've forgotten."

Cliff waved his talon dismissively. "Nah, I'll stick around here. It's past noon, so they're probably already getting into mischief without me."

Snow felt a stab of guilt in his chest. "I should've woken you up..."

"No no, don't feel bad. They're a handful anyway. You've given me the perfect excuse to just relax in the sleeping cave all day."

"Oh. Well in that case, yes I'd like your help," Snow said. Cliff was unsurprisingly adept at history. Probably had to study a lot of that back at the palace, thought Snow.

But before they could get started, Snow heard footfalls approaching the sleeping cave entrance, followed by the prompt appearance of Shiver the IceWing.

Snow yelped mentally at the sight of her and instinctively moved behind Cliff.

Her perfect, proper posture and emotionless demeanor were just like he remembered them from self-defense class. Though she still looked terrifying to Snow, he had to admit that her glimmering light blue scales were pleasant to look at. He glanced over the long, crystalline spines lining her back, feeling a bit ashamed that his own spikes were so unnaturally short.

"Who the heck are you?" asked Cliff, standing in front of Snow with a protective stance.

She curtly bowed towards Cliff and said, "I am here for Snowball."

Cliff regarded her with a confused expression, before turning to Snow. "Do you know her?" he whispered.

"She's an… acquaintance," Snow replied, unsure if 'acquaintance' was the right word.

"Oooh," Cliff said, with a knowing look. "I see. You've got a date. Wow Snow, I didn't know you had it in you."

"N-no! That's not it at all," Snow corrected, immediately flustered at the thought. "She's the IceWing I sparred during self-defense class and then made that deal with."

"Deal?" echoed Cliff.

"I didn't tell you about the deal?"

"I'm pretty sure I'd remember if you told me you made a deal with an IceWing."

I forgot to tell him about that whole encounter, Snow realized. I was so distracted by Cliff getting accidentally slashed by Canary that it must've slipped my mind.

"Well," Snow began, "the basic gist of it is we agreed that whoever lost the fight would have to take lessons from the other. If I lost, I'd have to take her 'IceWing lessons,' and if she lost, then she'd have to take my 'kindness lessons.' I somehow managed to scrape out a draw, so now we both get to give each other lessons."

"I see," said Cliff, sneaking a glance at Shiver, who was still politely standing by the entrance.

"May I come in?" Shiver asked.

"Oh, er, yes. You may enter," Cliff replied.

She walked into the cave with a flawless gait, stopping a short ways away from the two dragons. "My name is Shiver," she said, with another curt bow towards the SkyWing. "It's an honor to meet you, Prince Cliff."

"Oh, you're Shiver," Cliff said. "One of Canary's clawmates, right?"

"That is correct," she said with a nod. "I must apologize; I hadn't expected you to still be in the sleeping cave by noon. I had intended to come and fulfill my agreement with Snowball when he was alone, so as not to bother any of his clawmates."

"I can leave, if it'd make you two more comfortabl–"

"No!" Snow interrupted. A little too loudly, he realized, as both of the dragonets gave him a curious look. "I mean… no, you don't have to if you don't want to, Cliff. This is your sleeping cave too after all. We can't just kick you out."

"I have no problem with Prince Cliff being audience to our lessons," Shiver added.

Snow leaned in to whisper into Cliff's ear. "Please don't go. I know I'm supposed to be working on my confidence and all, but IceWings are still very scary. I'd be more comfortable if you stuck around."

"Hey, that's totally fine with me," he whispered in return, putting a warm talon on Snow's back. "I'm your knight in shining armor, remember? I'll protect you."

Snow gave him a wobbly smile in return.

"Besides," Cliff continued quietly. "I think this is going to be hilarious to watch."

Snow looked back to check up on Green. His head was still buried in the scroll, completely unfazed by the events that had just occurred. Did he even notice Shiver walking in? Snow wondered. His level of focus is astounding… and a little worrying.

Not entirely trusting Shiver around Green, he picked up the scavenger and dropped him off in his enclosed room, closing the door after him. Impressively, Green still didn't look up from the scroll, even as he was being hauled into a new location.

He trotted back to Cliff's side and nervously looked to Shiver, who appeared somewhat impressed by his ability to move Green without him noticing.

"Shall we begin?" she asked, her face as steeled as always. "There is a lot we need to work on before you can pass as a respectable IceWing."

"A-actually, I was hoping we could start with my lesson, if you don't mind. It won't be too long or anything…"

Snow had fortunately been planning out his little lesson for the past few days in preparation for this event. He very much doubted any of it would work, but there was no harm in trying. And maybe her lessons won't be so bad if I soften her up with mine first, he hoped.

"Very well," she said with a sigh. "Let's get this over and done with. Teach me how to be 'kind.'"

Snow straightened up and began speaking. "The first step to being kind is complimenting others," he explained. "Compliments are a very useful and easy way to make others happy, and would go a long way to making you friendlier."

Her brow creased ever so slightly, and her face had 'this is ridiculous' written all over it. But nevertheless, she diligently continued to listen.

"I noticed you had a lot of… negative things to say during our brief interaction in self-defense class," Snow said. "If you balanced it out with some more positive comments, you'd be a lot kinder. Why don't you start off by trying to give me a compliment?" he suggested.

"All right," Shiver said, clearing her throat. "Snowball, you are beautiful."

Cliff almost barked out a laugh, but quickly covered it with a cough. "Are you sure this isn't a date, Snow?" he asked, looking far too amused.

"It's not!" Snow said, beginning to feel flustered. Maybe I should've done this in private after all…

"My apologies," Shiver said. "By the looks on your faces, I gather I did something wrong. Was my compliment lacking?"

"N-no, it was definitely not lacking. I'm very flattered… but it might be a bit too strong of a compliment. Maybe tone it down a little in the future."

"You want my compliments to be… less strong?" she asked with confusion. "Why would I want to be less strong in anything? We IceWings prioritize strength over all."

"Well, there's a time and a place for compliments like those, but if you tell someone they're beautiful out of nowhere, they might get the wrong idea…"

She tilted her head perplexedly.

Snow sighed. "They might think you're trying to… court them."

"Ah, I see. I understand how that could be an issue," she said with a pensive expression on her face. To her credit, it looked like she was genuinely absorbing the lesson as best she could.

"Casual compliments should be more subtle," Snow continued. "You want to make others feel good about themselves, without coming over the top and making them think you're expressing romantic interest. It's a very delicate art."

Shiver nodded studiously.

"Wow Snow," Cliff said. "You really know what you're talking about. I didn't realize you put so much thought into this stuff."

"Well, I don't have to think too hard when it comes to complimenting you, since you're an amazing dragon in so many different ways."

"Daww, thanks Snow," Cliff said, playfully head-butting Snow's shoulder.

"Interesting. So that is how it's done," Shiver said, mentally taking notes. "I'm rather impressed that you've managed to develop such an interpersonal relationship with the prince of the SkyWings. Maybe there is a purpose to excessive benevolence after all."

"I've found that flattery is very effective on SkyWings," Snow educated.

"Hey!" Cliff said. "Actually yeah that's pretty accurate."

Snow thought for a moment. I need to approach this from an IceWing's point of view if I want Shiver to actually learn. She needs to see the benefit of being kind, or she'll have a hard time taking it seriously.

"You may think being kind is unnecessary, but it has its uses," Snow said. "Being kind to others is a great way of making friends. I think you'll find that with your current… attitude, making friends with anyone that isn't an IceWing will be difficult."

"Hmm, well I admit that I've had very limited interaction with members of other tribes…" She shrugged. "I don't see the value in developing a companionship with them."

Geez, what kind of dragon doesn't want friends? Snow thought to himself. "The value is having someone to talk to, to trust, and to share your experiences with. I think you'll find life is a lot more enjoyable if you have friends by your side."

Shiver looked at Snow with a confused (and somewhat condescending) look.

He sighed. "Just… take my word for it for the time being. The next part of this lesson is for you to learn how to make friends. You can start by making friends with Cliff. Is that okay with you?" Snow asked Cliff.

"Of course! I don't mind being your assistant, Professor Snow," Cliff responded with a smile, entirely entertained by the whole faux-class scenario.

Shiver stood up even straighter now, looking more attentive. "I shall give it my best effort. I can definitely see the value of befriending the prince of the SkyWings."

"Okay, kind of missing the point, but that's fine for now," said Snow, as Cliff briefly frowned at her. Not off to a great start. "Everyone has a different method of making friends," Snow lectured, "so just do whatever feels natural."

Shiver nodded and turned her attention towards Cliff. "Prince Cliff, I request that we become friends, as you would make a powerful ally for the IceWings."

"Really?" Cliff asked with a raised eyebrow. "That was the angle you decided to go for?"

"Don't you agree that it would be a good way to bridge the gap between SkyWings and IceWings?" Shiver asked earnestly. "Especially after the political unrest caused by the capturing and murder of numerous IceWings due to the late Queen Scarlet's involvement in the War of SandWing Succession–"

"Stop!" Cliff interjected. "Three moons, I can't believe how bad you are at this," he said, putting a talon on his forehead. "This isn't a political arrangement between two parties. You're supposed to be trying to make friends, Shiver. Ignore the fact that I'm a prince and just pretend that I'm a regular dragon."

Shiver cocked her head to the side curiously. "But why would I want to befriend you if you were just an ordinary dragon?"

"All right," Cliff said. "I give up. This is hopeless."

Oh boy, this is gonna take a lot more than one lesson, Snow realized. "…We'll call it a good first attempt."

"I take it I did something wrong?" Shiver asked.

"It's okay," Snow said. "You tried your best, and that's all that matters. We'll work on it in the future. Let's switch over to your IceWing lessons."

"Thank goodness," Shiver said quietly.

"Thank you for taking me seriously," Snow said. "I was kind of expecting you to just ignore whatever I was saying, but it looks like you were paying attention."

"Well of course," Shiver said matter-of-factly. "A deal is a deal, and I give a hundred percent to everything I do, even if it's some silly nonsense like learning to be kind."

Bit of a rude thing to say, Snow thought. We'll have to work on that too in the future.

"I only hope that you treat my lessons with the same respect," Shiver said.

She switched to a more dominant posture, looking impressively like a professor as opposed to a student. It was enough to make Snow remember how much he was dreading this.

With no idea what she had planned, Snow braced himself for the upcoming IceWing lessons.