One by one, the rest of Mother Nature's children arrived at the house. There were 11 total, whom Nina had already met. There were Lightning, Thunder, Earthquake, The Tides, the Four Winds (North, South, East, and West), and of course, Heat Miser and Snow Miser. Melvin also came with Heat.
Chatter filled the air as the elements spoke amongst each other, confused. Mother Nature had not told them the reason she wanted them over there, and they were even more confused since she was nowhere to be found.
Snow Miser looked at Nina and nodded once everyone had gathered in the living room. Nina took a deep breath, then talked over the noise. "May I have your attention, please?"
Gradually, the talking died down.
"We're all here because Santa Claus is missing," she announced, loudly enough so everyone could hear. "A few of us have looked around the area, but we haven't been able to find him. So, we're asking all of you to spread out and search for him. Hopefully, if we all work together, we'll be able to bring him home soon."
Most of the others nodded and spoke in agreement. They all knew who Santa Claus was and how important he was to the people of the Earth.
North Wind glanced around the room, frowning, unimpressed. "Why should we listen to a human?" he spoke up.
Nina calmly explained, "I don't think now is a good time to get into that. We don't have a bunch of time; Santa may be in danger."
"I believe I would be the one most suitable to lead the search," North Wind insisted, putting a hand on his chest to gesture to himself. "After all, the North Pole falls into MY territory."
"We'd never get anything done if YOU were in charge, windbag," Heat Miser said, rolling his eyes. "We'd just be listening to your speeches about how great you are."
"Hmph. At least I have powers, and I have been around much longer and therefore have more experience than a measly mortal." North crossed his arms. "It's obvious I should be the leader."
"I'm more than capable of leading this operation," Nina firmly stated, growing impatient. "What's more important is that we start looking for Santa."
"Well, I'm not taking orders from a stupid, insignificant human."
"Watch yourself, brother dear," Snow Miser hissed.
North rolled his eyes. "Of course we can't say anything bad about your little play toy. Who are you kidding, Snow Miser? The only reason you want to have anything to do with her is because she's new. She won't be any good to you once her appeal wears off."
The room went deathly quiet. Heat Miser immediately looked at Snow. Melvin gaped.
Nina broke the silence when she saw her lover's infuriated expression. "Snow-"
"You know what, North?" Snow interrupted, pointing at him. "All our lives, I've put up with your bragging and self-centeredness. You're a egotistical, selfish blowhard, and although it's annoying, I've tolerated it. What I WON'T tolerate is you being disrespectful to Nina."
"I don't understand what's so "special" about this one," North huffed. "She's been nothing but trouble for our family. I don't see why you go out of your way to defend this puny bitch."
Snow Miser immediately drew back his fist and punched North Wind in the face, knocking him on his back. As North struggled to get up, holding his hand over his nose and cheek, Snow told him in a deep, dangerous tone of voice, "Don't you ever disrespect my future wife again. Get the fuck out."
North stood up straight, clearly shocked. This only lasted for a brief moment, then he cleared his throat and smoothed his hair, gathering what was left of his dignity. Silently, he walked out of the house without saying another word to anyone.
An uncomfortable silence fell over everyone who remained in the living room. Snow Miser then asked Nina, "Are you okay?"
She nodded, trying to keep her nerves steady. "Thank you for standing up for me."
"Of course, honey. I couldn't let him say that stuff about you."
Heat turned toward Melvin, who was still gaping. Heat closed Melvin's mouth.
Nina began calming down. "If anyone else has any objections, speak now. We can't waste any more time."
Nobody said anything.
Nina took a deep breath, then pulled out a map of the North Pole. "We need to get organized and split up." She laid out the map over the coffee table. "We'll divide ourselves into teams of two and cover a 100 mile area." She separated each team into different directions, then stated, "We'll meet at Mrs. Claus's at this time tomorrow unless Santa is found before then. I'll get some radios out of my plane so we can keep in touch. Any questions?"
Everyone understood. They all went to Mrs. Claus's house, and Nina gave each group a radio. Once Nina sent them off, the teams went their separate ways.
Before Nina and Snow left, Snow asked, "You sure you want to marry into this family?"
"Absolutely," Nina replied. "I've put up with bigger bullies than your brother."
Snow Miser smiled, knowingly, his eyes sad. Then, they got into the airplane and took off.