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Winter

"The parakeets sing ta-weet-ta-weet-ta-weet, and the stars twinkle all night…" Winter sang chirpily as she shifted around the buckets of paint in her room. There were no bloodstains to cover up this time, but the walls were much too plain, and she thought that a splash of colour would make them feel happier.

"And the monkeys frolic a-eet-eet-eet, while the rockets fly on by…"

She grabbed a paintbrush at random and dipped it into the bucket of yellow paint, watching as bright drops of thick liquid fell from the bristles.

"And the moon is full tonight, tonight,"

She dragged the brush across the wall, letting the line sway and wobble with her hand, paying no mind to the stray branches of paint from the errant hairs of the brush.

"and the wolves all howl, aa-oooooooh…"

"Maybe leave the howling to the actual wolves Trouble."

Winter felt a smile stretch across her face at the dry voice. When she turned and saw the familiar white-blond boy standing in her doorway, the smile only grew wider.

"But howling is fun, and I like howling. Surely the wolves won't mind?" she said coyly, skipping over to him.

Jacin chuckled. "Well, you can ask them. I'm sure if we just follow the loudly complaining prodigies we'll find Wolf hanging around Scarlet somewhere."

Winter tilted her head. "What could they be complaining about? The battle is done, the dead are sleeping, their wounds are closing and the walls aren't bleeding. What is there to complain about?"

Jacin shrugged. "Some people just can't take it when their life is anything less than perfect."

"Those people are silly. Life is so much nicer, with a bit of imperfection."

"Only a bit though. Too much imperfection can be pretty bad." Jacin said, reaching up to brush his hand against the scars on her cheek.

In that moment, Winter swore she could feel her heart swell with happiness, like a balloon grows when it fills with air.

"Yes, only a bit." She agreed, wrapping her arms around Jacin's torso and squeezing him tightly. She could clearly imagine his ice-blue eyes rolling with amusement as his own arms gently settled around her shoulders.

This… this was by far the best thing that came from the battle. Not the death of Levana, not the healed walls, this. Jacin, holding her and smiling at her and gazing at her and…

A shiver of happiness ran down Winter's spine. And kissing her.

But, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't just let herself bask in the bright light of Jacin's affection this time. There was something she needed to do first.

"Jacin," she murmured, "there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

Winter hesitated. "You know that the scientist Dr Erland is designing a prototype to help Cinder-friend control her powers?"

"Yes?" he said, a note of wariness now carrying in his voice.

"He has finished his first prototype." Winter told him. "And I've volunteered to test it."

"What?" Jacin stepped back, though his hands stayed firmly gripping Winter's shoulders. "Winter what were you thinking? The skies know what kind of damage that thing can do to your mind if it goes wrong!"
"My mind is already damaged Jacin." Winter said, "And the device's primary function is to stop any damage caused by neglect of powers, specifically powers relating to the mind. As far as I know, I'm the worst case of such neglect currently. This device could help me, Jacin."

"Or hurt you." He reminded her, "Most likely hurt you."

"I have complete faith in Dr Erland's abilities." Winter assured him, "Remember, he already had a device to build from."

"Yeah, a broken device!"

Winter sighed and placed a hand on his cheek. "Jacin, please. You heard what the doctor said. My mind will only become more broken as time goes on. This device can stop that. I can finally be not-broken-anymore. Yes, I know there's a risk." She said as Jacin opened his mouth, "But isn't everything worth having?"

"Not when a risk is this high." Jacin argued.

"But the highest risks give the sweetest rewards." Winter countered. "Trust me, this will be worth it. I can be better, Jacin. Please, just let me do this."

Jacin didn't like it. Winter could see it in the way he clenched his jaw, in the shadows in his blue eyes, and in the frustrated crease of his eyebrows. But he sighed and looked her squarely in the eye. "Okay."

A/N: Sorry this is so short. This is really all I wanted to say in this chapter.

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