Sometimes, you just have to look at the weather outside to get ideas for writing. Even when it's frightful. -mitch
operation s.n.o.w.c.a.t.
written January 3rd, 2021
Snow. It is one word, an event of nature that is a source of magic in a cold winter. The pups all loved winter. But nobody loved the winter more than Everest. Since she was born in the South Pole, she could brag that she was practically born in the white blanket. A husky like her couldn't resist jumping into snow every time a snowfall began. Her boyfriend, although not built at all like her, still enjoyed the snow very much. The afternoon before, Adventure Bay had its first major snowfall of the year, much to the joy of the PAW Patrol. They played in the snow for hours on end, producing dozens of snow angels, a few shoddy attempts at snow pups (snowmen), a blistering snowball fight, hundreds of paw prints and lots of melted snow as they walked back into the lookout that night. The snow continued to fall into the night, and into the next morning, producing a total of 6 inches of snow. Everest, per instructions of Ryder, woke up at 6 AM to snow plow the roads of Adventure Bay to prevent accidents. (The year before, there were dozens of them) Like all of her fellow PAW Patrol teammates, Everest had a special truck to help out with her missions. But hers was different. The "Snowcat" as dubbed by the husky herself, also worked as a snowplow, shoveling even the biggest of snow piles with ease. When Everest came back 2 hours later, she shoved the entirety of the town. Except for the driveway. Chase walked into the driveway shivering. It was a balmy zero degrees with a -10 degree wind chill. Everest wasn't bothered by any weather like this, but there were no other Siberian huskies on the team. Chase was a little confused when he set foot on the almost-untouched driveway. When Everest pulled up, Chase walked up to her Snowcat and asked what had perplexed him.
"H-hey, uhh, w-why didn't you snow plow the d-d-driveway?" Everest gave him a vague answer, saying it was none of his business. Just as Chase was about to wake the pups, the husky stopped him.
"Wait...can I do it? I always wanted to try it." Chase obliged. "Rise and shine, everyone! Breakfast is ready!" The husky announced with glee. Everyone woke up rather fast, unaccustomed to the voice. As everyone walked out of their pup houses, they were rather surprised to see the husky standing next to the German shepherd.
"Whoa, was that you, Eve? That was so cool!" Skye complimented as she tried her hardest not to slip on the ice.
"W-w-whoa, dude... I did n-n-ot expect it to be this c-c-c-cold." Zuma shivered as he walked into the lookout. As the rest of the pups came out, the dalmatian was particularly intrigued. As they walked into the lookout, Marshall smiled at the police dog.
"Hey, you should let her do it more often." The dally said.
"Why? It was just one time." Chase spoke. Marshall turned to the husky and gave her the bedroom eyes that she just adored.
"I love hearing your sexy voice over the megaphone." The dally whispered in your ear.
The husky blushed. "Thank you, my little marshmallow." She cooed, as the two nuzzled each other.
The team settled down for breakfast as Ryder came down the elevator. "Hey, pups! Everest, why didn't you snow plow the driveway?" He asked. The husky rose her head between mouthfuls of breakfast kibble.
"Like I told Chase. It's a secret. I'll get it done, trust me." Everyone except her and Marshall looked around in confusion. After they finally finished breakfast, Everest motioned Marshall to come to another part of the living room, away from everyone else. "It's time for the plan." She whispered.
The dally's eyes widened. "Ok, let's go." Marshall whispered back. The two ran outside the lookout, braving the excessively cold temperatures. Everyone else, including Ryder, was confused.
"I guess Everest is finally gonna do something with the driveway, but why is Marshall out there?" The boy pondered aloud. Ryder and the pups decided to go up to the balcony of the lookout to investigate themselves. They all looked through the telescope at the top to see Marshall at the bottom, just a couple feet from the other side of the driveway.
"Alright, Eve! Operation S.N.O.W.C.A.T is a go!" The fire pup shouted. The husky heard him loud and clear from the back side of the tower.
"Ice or snow, I'm ready to go!" Everest cheered. She jumped into the snowcat, started it up and began to roll. Everyone was still in confusion as Ryder tried to call the dalmatian through his pup tag.
"Marshall, what are you doing? It's so cold out there. You don't wanna turn into a pupsicle." The boy said out of concern. "Relax, everything's fine. It's all part of the plan. It's called Operation S.N.O.W.C.A.T." Marshall replied. "What does your 'Operation' entail?" Ryder asked, curiously.
"The Snowcat doesn't stand for anything. You'll find out." Marshall answered vaguely. As the Snowcat drew nearer, the dalmatian could barely contain his excitement. He stood a decent 5-6 feet away from the driveway when the Snowcat finally reached him. The snow went into the Snowcat, and shot out of a funnel right in Marshall's direction. In seconds, the dalmatian was dumped in several inches of the white substance.
"YES! IT WORKED!" Both shouted simultaneously with joy. Marshall shook off the snow while Everest jumped off the vehicle. They both stared happily and blissfully into each other's eyes.
"Tag. You're it!" Everest said playfully, as she touched him and dashed into the wide-open yard.
"Not for long!" Marshall exclaimed as he began to chase her. The dalmatian and husky ran around, laughing and howling as they tried desperately to evade one another's grasp. Everyone else looked on through the telescope in awe.
"That was their plan?" Rubble and Chase sighed in disappointment.
"Jeez. They're like children sometimes. One minute, they're being all PDA and the other, they're running around like 5 year old pups again. It truly amazes me." Ryder spoke with astonishment.
"Can't help but feel happy for them. They are just meant for each other." Skye remarked.
"Dude. If I was Marshall, I would be looking for a ring right now. They're definitely gonna be mates. I just feel it." Zuma smirked.
The couple, after chasing each other for eternity in the endless white blanket that covered the grass, crashed on the ground, side by side. They laid there, as if the world forgot about them. The pups and Ryder forgot about them too, doing their regular business. Marshall and Everest stared straight into the cloudy sky, braving the chilly temperature. After 20-ish minutes, the dalmatian's dopamine rush started to stagnate. Marshall started to shiver as the husky next to him laid still, fighting to stay awake after a long morning. She woke up to hear her love shaking slightly.
"You good, babe?" Everest asked with concern.
"Y-y-yeah. Just c-c-cold. What about you?" The fire pup shivered. Their breaths were completely visible, taking the appearance of a puff of smoke.
"Just tired...I woke up at 6." She yawned.
The two got up and shook the snow from their bodies as they walked back over to the lookout.
"You...go get some rest." Marshall spoke gently as he kissed her cheek.
"I will." She smiled again as she yawned again. She went into her pup house and closed the door. The fire pup quickly ran inside the lookout, shivering like mad. The dogs were watching TV when they saw him shaking like a leaf.
"C-c-can I come in and warm up?" He blurted out, his paws slightly numb from it all. The dogs all obliged, as he slowly walked over to join them in the living room. "Apollo again?" Marshall groaned.
"Yep." The rest of the pups responded with unison.
"It was Rubble's idea. Dude literally can't watch anything else." Chase mumbled.
"Hey...there's nothing else on TV on Saturday morning!" The construction pup insisted while chowing down a truckload of pup-treats.
All of a sudden, Zuma had an imaginary light bulb pop up in his head. "Yo, Marsh. Since Eve isn't here, I wanted to tell you a joke." The lab insisted.
"Let's hear it." Marshall responded. Zuma took a moment to think.
"Blizzards are kinda like sex. You wanna know why?" The water rescue pup remarked. Everyone looked at Zuma with confusion.
"I dunno. Why?" Marshall asked. Just then, an evil grin grew on Zuma's face.
"Because you don't know how many inches you're gonna get." Everyone burst out laughing at this revelation.
"Dude, you're LUCKY that she wasn't here." Marshall quipped.
"I know. That's the point." Zuma responded.