When Snow Miser and Nina returned home from their shopping trip, they found Heat Miser in the kitchen, getting some bowls, utensils, and pans out and setting them on the counters.

"Hey, we're back," Nina told him. "Where's Tingler?"

"Last I saw him, he was sleeping in the living room," Heat answered. "He spent the entire morning cleaning. I think the caffeine finally wore off."

As Nina went to look for Tingler, Snow Miser began putting the groceries away. "So, you have something big planned for tonight?"

"I thought you were the one with the big plans."

"I mean, what are you going to make?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Heat grumbled, pulling out flour and eggs from a bag.

"I would, actually," Snow replied, trying his best not to sound sarcastic. He didn't want his brother to take anything he said the wrong way.

"Would you? Why? So you have more ammo to use against me?" Heat became defensive.

Snow put up his hands. "No, no! Not at all! I'm genuinely interested in what you're going to do."

Heat Miser took a long, hard look at his brother. Finally, he stated, "If you laugh, I swear I'll throw you out the window, and I might not bother opening it."

"Cross my heart, I won't laugh," Snow told him, drawing an 'x' with his finger over his own chest.

Heat turned toward the counter. "I'm going to bake a cake," he mumbled.

"That's great! I didn't know you could bake," Snow Miser told him, cheerfully. "What kind?"

His brother's reaction startled Heat. Slowly, he turned sideways, looking at Snow out of the corner of his eye. "Chocolate."

"I'm sure everyone will love it. It'll be a big hit!"

Heat faced Snow and narrowed his eyes. "Okay, what's your deal?"

"What?"

"I'm waiting for you to turn it into a big joke! You've always made me into one, so go ahead! Get it out of your system!"

Snow stepped back, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape. "Heat...I'm sorry." When Heat Miser became confused, Snow continued, hanging his head in regret, "I'm sorry I've made fun of you in the past. I had no right to make you feel like shit about yourself or your hobbies. I...I want to be more supportive of you from now on."

Heat thought this over, then nodded, satisfied. "Thank you. I appreciate that." He began setting the rest of the ingredients out.

"C-can I have a hug?" Snow hesitantly asked.

Heat stopped. "Nina is rubbing off on you. You were never this huggy before."

"What can I say? She's magical." Snow shrugged, smiling, sheepishly.

Sighing, Heat opened his arms and hugged his brother. When he pulled away, he stated, "Now, let me have some space."

"Can I help?"

"No," Heat immediately responded.

"Ah, come on. I won't ruin it."

"I'm not taking the risk. Besides, I really want to do this, myself. I want to show everyone what I can do."

"Fair enough. At least let me watch."

"Fine, as long as you stay out of the way."

"Deal," Snow Miser said, then leaned on the counter by the sink. "So, Melvin is going to be coming tonight."

Heat briefly stopped and looked up when he heard Melvin's name. "Yeah."

"He seems to be a pretty interesting guy. You gonna ask him out?"

Heat Miser almost cracked open the egg he was holding. Unfortunately, his brother wasn't known for being subtle. "Why would you ask that?!"

"Oh, come on. It's super obvious you're into him," Snow answered, now sitting on the counter, swinging his legs.

"Hm. I thought I hid it pretty well."

"Nope. I saw you making goo-goo eyes at him in the flowershop."

Heat sighed. "I don't know, okay? I barely know him. It's not like I saw a pretty face and literally picked him up and took him into my house and fell in love with him."

"Ouch. That's oddly specific. And for your information, I didn't fall in love with Nina until she sang at the Christmas party. You took one look at Melvin and fell head over heels."

"It doesn't matter. I doubt he'll even give me the time of day."

"Come on; don't be like that. Give yourself a chance. I bet he'll give you one."

"That's what Nina said. I just hope you guys are right." Heat mixed all the ingredients for the cake in a big bowl.

"You'll never know if you don't take a shot."

"Okay, but don't embarrass me. I really want to impress this guy and get him to at least talk to me."

"I wouldn't dream of it. You deserve someone, more than anyone else I know, in fact."

Heat put the cake in the oven. "Thanks. That means a lot to me."

The brothers continued to talk while Heat Miser began to mix the ingredients for the cookies he was planning on baking for Melvin.

Meanwhile, Nina walked around the house, looking for Tingler. As she searched for him, she found that the house was spotless, no doubt due to his burst of energy that morning. He wasn't sleeping on the couch or upstairs, so she went outside.

In the backyard, Nina discovered Tingler sitting by a tree, looking up at a squirrel. They were both chirping at each other, as if they were carrying on a conversation. Nina stayed next to the side of the house and peered around the back so she wouldn't disturb them.

Tingler spotted Nina and motioned for her to come close. She carefully approached and sat down next to him. Tingler looked at her and kept chattering.

Nina smiled. "What are you two saying?"

"Oh, we were just talking about last night's storm. Then, she saw you, and I told her you are a friend."

Tingler looked up and waved goodbye to the squirrel, who scurried up the tree, out of sight.

"It's so cool you can talk to animals," Nina told him.

"I suppose it is," the Sound Imp stated, humbly. "I don't really think about it much. It is just what I do."

"It's an amazing skill. You must have worked really hard to learn all those languages."

Tingler's cheeks flushed. "Yes. It did take a long time, but what about you? You have many talents. You can fly an airplane and fix things. It takes great skill to be able to do so many things."

"I always wanted to be a pilot. My dad used to cut out pictures of airplanes in magazines and helped me make a scrapbook of them. He told me to follow my dreams, and I did."

"Your father...He...He is no longer alive." The man said this as if he didn't fully process its meaning.

"No. He died when I was a child. We visited his grave yesterday."

"I am sorry for your loss." Tingler was then silent for awhile, looking up at the sky. When he spoke again, his voice was solemn and slow. "I do not know much about death. In the Forest of Burzee, there is no death, no suffering, and no pain. All who live there are eternal and have no beginning nor end." He suddenly looked at Nina straight in the eyes. "What is death like?"

Nina had never been asked such a question before. Technically, she had been very, very close to dying twice. Obviously, he knew of at least one of those times. The way he asked his question startled her. She was so taken aback that she had to pause for a moment to gather her thoughts.

"It...depends on the circumstances, I guess," Nina finally answered. "I can't speak for anyone else. My experiences with it may not be like others' who have actually died. It was very...lonely. Lonely and dark."

Tingler looked at her with a worried frown. "I'm sorry I upset you. It was thoughtless of me to ask such a thing. I was curious."

"I'm not upset. Death is just something mortals don't like to dwell on."

Tingler nodded. "You are very brave."

"Why do you say that?"

"You have been through so much, and will continue to go through more." The usually cheerful Sound Imp was now even more pensive than he had been a few moments before. His voice quivered. "I am afraid for you. What if the Shapeshifter hurts you?"

"I'm more worried about him hurting other people," Nina said. "It's really hard to deal with the anticipation of meeting him. It's always in the back of my mind, but I try not to let the worry consume me. It's not healthy to hold onto feelings like that so tightly." Seeing how scared and anxious he was, Nina assured him, "It'll be okay. Do you want a hug?"

Tingler was surprised at this question, but he nodded. "If you will give one, I'd like one."

Nina gently hugged Tingler. "It'll be okay," she repeated. "Everything will turn out alright in the end."

Tingler pulled away and hugged her. "I should be the one comforting you. It is you who will have to find the Shapeshifter, though I will do whatever I can to help."

"We'll help each other. That's what friends do," Nina said. "We're both going through a tough time."

"There you are," they heard Snow Miser say. Nina and Tingler looked up at him as he walked toward them, and they broke the hug. "I've been looking all over the place for you two." He sat down by his fiancee.

"We were just talking," said Nina. "A lot of stuff is going on."

"So, it is," Snow stated. "Care to share?"

"I'm just expressing my worries and deepest thoughts about mortality," Tingler told him.

"A little heavy, don't you think?"

"Yes, but I'm concerned about Lady Nina's safety. Not much is known about the Shapeshifter. He could be very dangerous."

Snow put his arm around Nina. "We won't let anything happen to her. Right, sugarplum?"

Nina smiled. "You guys are so sweet. I'm sure everything will be okay."

"Do you mind if I join the hug?" Snow asked. "I know I interrupted yours. We could all use one right now."

"Certainly," Tingler immediately answered.

The three of them hugged for awhile, then Nina said, "We should go back inside and get started on dinner. We don't have a lot of time."

"Don't worry about a thing, my snow angel. Tonight is going to go off without a hitch," Snow Miser assured Nina as he helped both Tingler and her up off the ground.

"I really hope you're right," Nina stated as the three went into the house.