A/N: Y'all can thank Cynder22 for getting me into gear to write this next chapter. I, of course, don't really like to go so long without an upload, but you all knew what you were getting into if you read the author's notes. That said, I really cannot promise more frequency or consistency as school ramps up and takes it tole, but I will do my best not to leave you all waiting *too* long. And if I do, just follow Cynder22's example and I'll do what I can.

The flight back into town was short, only taking a matter of minutes before Winter was soaring over the city, Moon behind him. It was almost midday now, and there many more dragons out and about in the town. Winter gave himself a little mental kick at that: he should have held off on the tour until now so that Moon would have a chance to get to see some of the shops that were now open but had been closed earlier. Oh well, that could still come later.

Looking back to make sure Coldshock was still riding securely on his back, Winter angled himself down and went in for a landing on the street outside his house. Luckily, there wasn't anyone that he could see standing in the way, so he wouldn't bother anyone with his wing-wind. There were designated landing and take-off spots in the town, of course, to ensure that normally wasn't an issue, but in times like these where he could see the way was clear, he went ahead and just made the landing close to home. It was easier, and he was far from the only one that did it.

Then again, exactly where his house was helped with that. Which would have been surprising, normally, considering that it was actually somewhat near the center of town. But it hadn't originally been that way; back when he'd built it with the help of the Talons of Peace, it had been on the outskirts of Sanctuary. But as the town grew, it got expanded around, and now it was closer to the city center than away from it. Winter had considered moving back to the edge of town a few times, but he really didn't mind the change too much. Sanctuary was quiet, after all, and so were the homes around his own. And really, nothing had ever happened to disrupt that peace and quiet.

Until now, that is, Winter thought, glancing back at Moon as she made her landing behind his own. He still wasn't completely sure what he'd gotten himself into, allowing her to stay with him. Part of him wished he could simply harden his heart and send her away and forget about her, but he couldn't. He cared for her; he always had. It was what got them into this situation in the first place. And so he'd deal with it, even if it meaning having to be close to her again, even if he had to risk himself falling like he had before, even if he was terrified of what that meant and what would come.

His thoughts were, thankfully, disrupted by the feel of Coldshock jumping off his back and onto the ground below. His son landed gracefully; tiny wings barely outstretched as he landed on all four claws. The dragonet lashed his tail in what looked like satisfaction and looked up to him for approval. Winter couldn't keep back a small smile at that, and he reached his head down and touched his snout to Coldshock's own in affirmation.

Lifting his head back up, he spied Moon watching him with a slight smile on her own face. He felt a stirring in his chest that he quickly suppressed—there was no reason to have any thoughts about her in any way besides the matters at claw. She was here for their son, nothing more. She'd practically said so herself.

He motioned for her to follow, and he led her back into his hut, Coldshock trailing behind them. He stretched his wings and yawned as he entered; Moon had said she'd had a rough night with everything that had happened, and that had been true for him as well. Perhaps he'd allow himself an afternoon nap while Moon settled in.

Rainwings really do have a good idea with the whole "sun-time" thing, he thought to himself as he ended his yawn with a snap of his jaws, Imagine just being able to rest away half of each day.

"So…that was Sanctuary, then?" Moon asked a little awkwardly as she close the door behind them with her tail, "It's a nice little town, I think."

"It is," Winter told her, "There's some good dragons here. It's not the Rainforest, but I think you'll like it here for however long you stay."

"Yeah…" she trailed off, and she sat back and rubbed her claws nervously as she looked down, "About that. Winter…I really don't want to intrude on you with all this. I mean, I know that was kind of the whole point of me coming, but if you're not comfortable with me and Coldshock being here, we can go. I understand if…"

He stopped her with a shake of his head. "No, Moon. I already told you that I'm not going to throw you out, and I meant that." Indeed, Winter did, even though part of him screamed to let her go, to be rid of the problem, to be rid of the temptations. "You and Coldshock can stay here for as long as you want."

"Well, when you talked to Riptide, it certainly sounded like you wanted us gone, or at least distant," she said, "Which, again, I understand. All I'm saying is that I don't want to put this on you if you don't want it."

"It's not like that," Winter growled, mostly to himself, "I don't want you gone. You or our son. But after what happened…you can understand why I'm a little apprehensive, Moon. With what happened that night…with what I did."

"You didn't do anything I didn't want you to," she told him, but she didn't meet his eyes, "If you're feeling guilty, don't be. It was both our fault, and if anything, it was mine more than yours. I was the one with obligations as the mate of another; I was the one that failed."

"Maybe so, but I still should have resisted," he said with a soft hiss, "I should have held myself better. I'm an Icewing, for moons' sake. I'm supposed to be better than that."

"Winter…" Moon said, her voice a bit softer, and she scooted forward and reached a claw out to set on his, a gesture he quickly backed away from and shook his head at.

"No," he said firmly, "I…I need some distance, Moon. What happened between us should have never occurred, nor can I pretend it didn't. And what it made happen between you and Qibli—"

"My relationship with Qibli was going downhill long before that night," Moon cut him off, an edge suddenly in her voice, "You can't blame yourself for that. You even knew it back then. And it certainly didn't get much better afterwards, at least until I found out I was with egg…" she looked over at Coldshock, who just been sitting off to the side, watching them with a small frown on his young face, "I thought that having a dragonet with him would change things. Maybe it would have; who's to say? But don't you go blaming what happened with us on yourself."

Winter gave a long sigh, that turned into a low growl at himself. Despite her words, it was difficult not to blame himself for that, for ruining another's relationship. As she herself had just said, maybe if that night had never happened then the two wouldn't have had to part. Of course, it would almost be easier if all he had to worry about was what occurred between her and Qibli, but instead it was much, much more.

"Still…" he said after a long pause, "It's not easy. To know what happened…"

Moon gave a small nod of her head and took a long breath. "Yeah, I know."

Winter tapped his tail and swallowed. "I do care for you, Moon," he finally said, "You know that. And I care for our son," he glanced at Coldshock, who was still watching them. Perhaps they shouldn't be talking like this in front of him, but it was too late now. "…But I can't trust myself around you. So I ask you, so long as you're here, just don't…don't…" he trailed off and looked down.

"Don't what?" she asked softly.

"I don't know," he sighed, and his wings slumped to his sides, "Don't make me lose myself again. Don't allow the same mistakes to be made. Please, Moon. Just...give me space when I need it. Don't push me."

She nodded at his words. "Winter, so long as I'm under your roof, I'll abide by any rules you have. If there are any boundaries that I shouldn't cross or things I need to avoid, just tell me."

"If I knew what they were, I would," he huffed, looking down at his claws. "And I'm afraid I won't know until it's too late. For now, though, please just keep your scales off my own. Don't touch me, if it can be helped."

Moon tilted her head in confusion. "You've said that before. Why?"

Because it, more than anything, reminds me of what happened, he thought, but didn't voice. After all, it almost sounded silly. Yet all the same he all but trembled at the thought of her scales against his like they'd been before.

So he didn't answer, he just shook his head, and he moved on, glancing past her and towards his guest room. "You'll be staying in the same room you slept in last night," he told her, changing the subject. "I know it's a bit drab, but you can move things around or decorate, if you'd like."

Moon's wings fell a little bit at his lack of a response to her question, but she seemed relieved to have a bit of a change of topic. "Yeah, I may have to do that," she said, glancing back to the room herself, "I'd say I need to move in, but I guess I already have. Everything important of mine I brought with me, and anything else is either in the Rainforest with my mother or with, well…with Qibli."

Winter gave a small snort at that but decided not to comment on that. If there was something valuable in the Rainforest or the Sand Kingdom, it could be recovered at a later date. He wasn't about to deal with it now.

"If you need to buy anything, a new desk or simply a painting, I can lend you some coin," he offered, "I've been meaning to liven it up anyway, in case of guests." That was a bit of a lie, as he really didn't give much care to how his spare room looked, but if Moon did then he wouldn't stop her from making herself feel at home.

"Thanks," Moon said, with a small but genuine smile, "I brought most of my coin with me. It's not that much, but I can help out with it, at least."

"If you want to."

"I do," Moon stated matter-of-factly, "You're doing more than enough, just letting me be here. It the least I can do to not be a complete burden."

"You're not a burden, Moon," Winter sighed, and a good portion of him genuinely believed that, "In fact—"

He was interrupted by knock at the door, and he gave a huff at the distraction. It was tempting to just ignore it, but Moon motioned with her head to go ahead and answer it. It was an interruption, but at least they were away from weighty matters, so he did just that, making his way to the door and opening it to see a familiar Seawing standing in front of him.

"Riptide?" he asked, only a little concerned about his arrival, but he held in any emotion. "What is it?"

The Seawing's eyes widened a little bit at the bluntness of his question, and he peaked inside. "Nothing important," he answered, no doubt seeing Moon inside, "…Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Winter glanced back at Moon, who had moved to be able to look at who he was talking to. Coldshock, too, seemed to be peering at Riptide in curiosity.

"No, nothing," Winter said, trying to look more calm than he felt after that exchange, "We were just talking."

"Oh, well, I just came let you know that those Seawing supplies that I told you hadn't come in this morning just came in," Riptide told him, "The merchants that brought them are set up near the town square, and they've got them waiting for you if you want to pick them up."

"Ah, good!" Winter exclaimed in genuine surprise and excitement. He hadn't expected them for a few more days, and he actually was rather looking forward to them. It was why Riptide had assumed he'd come for them earlier, after all; it wouldn't have been the first time he'd pestered the Seawing over such things. "I should go get them now, then. Can you help me take them over to the scavenger sanctuary?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd offer," Riptide said, "It's only two small crates, so it should be an easy enough flight. And I really don't get over there as much as I should."

"Then let's…" he paused mid-sentence and looked back to Moon, who sat there watching him, and he hesitated. "Will you be okay if I go ahead?" he asked her. Not that he really needed her approval, but he didn't just want to run off without her, "I'll only be an hour, at absolute most."

Moon nodded. "Go ahead," she told him, "Coldshock and I will be fine."

"Well…then let's go," he told Riptide with far less enthusiasm than before and, for the first time in what would likely be many, he left Moonwatcher and his son alone in his home, trusting they'd be fine, and promising to return to take care of them.

In a way, it almost felt like a family.

Moon gave a sigh as Winter left, leaving her and Coldshock behind as he went to take care of his business. She twitched her tail and shook her head, bringing a claw up to her eyes as she took a deep breath. Suddenly, she felt very tired with his absence, and she was fairly sure that was more or less due to both her poor night of sleep and the exchange they'd just had.

If she was honest with herself, Moon had no idea what to make of Winter right now. He seemed to be struggling with her presence, that much was clear, but he seemed so inconsistent with it. One moment he's acting fine and like his familiar self, the next he's talking to Riptide about being rid of her, then he's almost insisting she stay. He takes her to his scavenger sanctuary, and everything seems fine, then they return and have that discussion. And his determination not to let her touch him…she couldn't quite figure out what was up with that. He had no qualms with being affectionate with their son.

She sighed again and set her claw back down, just to see Coldshock looking up at her, only a foot or so away from her foreclaws. He tilted his head at her, and she could feel both confusion and concern towards her in his mind. Giving a small whine, he stepped up to her and slowly nudged her forearm with his head, almost pleading for her to not be sad or frustrated.

And it worked.

Moon brought her neck down and nuzzled him with her snout, not too unlike Winter seemed to like to do. He gave a kind of chirp and licked the tip of her nose, and she gave a chuckle. She smiled, and her worry began to fade away. After all, she had her son, and she now had a new home. Whatever was up with Winter would surely sort itself out with time.

Besides, Winter himself seemed quite taken with Coldshock, despite knowing him for only less than a full day. Part of her had genuinely worried about his response, especially as she knew of his relationship with his own parents, but Winter clearly looked to have a genuine affection towards their son. From what she'd seen in his mind last night, before he'd put the skyfire back on, he did legitimately want to be a part of Coldshock's life, even if he didn't exactly know how—a feeling she could definitely relate to.

But that's neither here nor there, she thought to herself as she sat back and picked Coldshock up in her arms, smiling as he cuddled into her chest. He flipped himself over, his forearms and legs now up towards her, and he playfully batted at her tail as she brought it up and around and softly caressed his head with it.

She began to gently rock him, and Coldshock opened his mouth with a tired yawn. Moon wasn't surprised—he'd been quite active so far today, and it really was only a matter of time before he needed a nap. Coldshock gave a small coo and nuzzled against her even more, the cold feel of his scales not at all unpleasant against the warm of her own, and he closed his eyes and she continued to gently watch over him.

Moon was suddenly reminded of a lullaby, one she hadn't heard in a long time yet seemed to come back to her in a minute. A clear but long-forgotten memory of her own mother, gently putting her to sleep as she left, comforting her and assuring her things would be okay, that she would return. A lullaby full of a mother's love that she herself now felt, and she found herself gently singing it to her son as he began to drift off into the realms of sleep.

Don't you fret, my dear dragonet

Feel no sorrow, fear, or pain

In sleep you shall remain

Till tomorrow comes again

I'm here, that's all you need to know

And I will keep you safe, and I will hold you close

I'll love you as I watch you grow.

It was a simple melody, but all the same Moon could almost feel the protective wings of her own mother around her as she sang. She smiled, and a single tear escaped her eye as she held her own dragonet, now sleeping peacefully, in her arms. Moon hugged him closer, but gently, so as not to wake him, and for perhaps the first true time since he'd hatched, she'd felt at peace. She felt happy.

Delicately, she brought a talon to his head, feeling his scales as she brushed him from his check up to the little nubs that were his horns, still far from being full-grown. Everything about him was so small, so precious, and so unbelievably perfect. From the green of his still-closed eyes to the streaks of white that ran down his sides. He was hers, and as she'd just sung, she loved him so dearly.

Moon had never gotten to have a normal dragonethood, being raised away from her tribe and other dragons, but she whispered a promise to her son that he would. She had never had a father to love and teach her, but Coldshock would. No matter what she would have to bear, no matter what it would cost her, she would make sure that she gave him everything that he needed to grow and thrive in this changing world he was brought into.

She held him there for a while, gently rubbing his head, catching the smallest glimpses of dreams in his mind. He began to snore, and he shifted in her arms, righting himself so his belly and claws were facing down again as he nestled his head in the crook of her arm. And while Moon would have been content to hold him like that forever, she instead carried him over to Winter's guest room—no, make that her room—and set him on the mattress where they'd slept last night.

Unsure of whether or not it would be beneficial, she nonetheless grabbed a small blanked that she found and set it on top of him, covering him from the neck down. She thought she remembered Winter saying at one point that Icewings actually liked blankets, after all. Something about it trapping cold in just like it did heat and keeping them at an optimal temperature. At the very least, the way Coldshock automatically snuggled himself up in its softness seemed to say he enjoyed it.

Exiting their room, she took stock of things around her. She really had nothing to do until Winter got back, and while tired she really didn't feel like joining Coldshock in sleep, and so she found herself simply poking around Winter's home. After all, she'd hardly had a chance to really look around with everything that had been going on.

Of course, there wasn't too much there to be seen. Winter's house really was just the three rooms with the living area, after all, the latter of which she'd spent the majority of her waking time in. Even so, she found herself looking around, looking inside the drawers below the counter where Winter had cooked his fish that morning just to see what was inside. Mainly cooking supplies, she found, as well as drink glasses and dishes, most of which looked as though they'd never been used. Other than that, the only real things of note in the main living area besides the table where they'd talked at and eaten before was a roughly dragon sized cushion in the corner, with both a soft bottom and back. She thought she remembered seeing one before and it being a Skywing thing, but she really didn't know. Above it on the wall was a painting of what looked like the Ice Kingdom—more than likely a reminder of his own home.

But that was all things she'd seen before. Moon was more curious about the two rooms in the house that she hadn't seen. There were two doors, both closed, and with one as good as the other, she opened the one on the left, closer to her own room. Instantly, she knew it was Winter's room, as evident by the clearly recently-used bed as well as the chill in the air that persisted despite his absence. So as not to be intrusive, she only looked around for a few seconds from the threshold, only really noting a similar picture of the Ice Kingdom on his wall, a nightstand by his bed, and a small desk in the corner. She would have liked to look closer, but she resisted and closed the door.

Moving to the other one, Moon opened it and found that, as she'd guessed last night, this was indeed Winter's office, or at least where he kept much of his work related to his scavengers. There were two very large scroll racks against the wall filled with scrolls (she couldn't tell how many were filled or not) and another one that was half full. A shelf on the other side of the room held numerous inkwells, quills, and other writing supplies. But what caught her attention the most was the large, rather elaborately carved and decorated desk directly across from her, a couple half-opened scrolls off to the side on it and one nearly completely open that looked like it was in the process of being written. Unable to help herself like she'd been able to do with Winter's room, she found herself stepping into the room, her curiosity piqued at what exactly he was working on.

She approached the desk and peered iniquitously at the unrolled scroll. It was rather lengthy and filled with text almost completely, with very little room to add any more, but what caught her attention was the decorative heading at the scroll's very top: Observations and Analysis of Intragroup Scavenger Relationships. She read a few lines and began to get the gist; it appeared to be some sort of research report on how scavengers acted around each other, playing and working but sometimes fighting.

Interested, Moon gingerly picked up the scroll and began to read over it. It was…actually pretty interesting, she had to think as she took in the information, and it seemed to confirm some of her own theories she'd come up with in her few encounters with scavengers. For instance, they appeared to be rather emotional creatures, quick at times to violence but with capacity for empathy—which could help explain a lot of the more complex emotions she felt from them and not from other prey. They also seemed to have exceptional teamwork skills, able to work together to build houses and structures just like Winter and the Talons of Peace did in Sanctuary.

Maybe I will have to help them with those studies, she thought to herself, recalling Swallow's mentioning of her using her mind reading on them. Perhaps she could glean even more insight if she did. Either way, it was clear Winter had put a lot of effort and time into this report, as it collected almost every aspect of interactions she could think of. She had to wonder just how long it had taken him to get to this point. Clearly, it was quite a bit, and Moon had to admire that—

"What are you doing?" a voice demanded behind her, causing her to jump in surprise. She looked back and let out a sigh to see that it was just Winter, who looked a little wary but not particularly angry. He was back earlier that she'd though. That, or she'd been reading longer than she thought she had. Either way, she'd completely failed to hear him enter.

"I was just reading this," she told him, showing him the scroll, "It's very well done and—"

"Careful with that!" Winter cut her off, stepping forward and taking the scroll from her grasp, "I spent a lot of time writing that, and I don't want anything to happen to it before I can start copying it."

He rolled it up carefully, then gently walked around her to set it on the desk. Only once it was there did he give a small sigh of relief.

"I'm…sorry," Moon said, not sure what else to say, "I didn't realize that was so important. I just saw it and thought I'd read it."

Winter gave her a bit of a glare, but didn't decide to push the issue. "Be very careful with any of my writings, please," he less asked than ordered, glancing over to the racks of scrolls, "In fact, it may be best that you stay out of this room at all. You being a firebreather and all."

"Oh, Okay…" Moon said, resisting the urge to remind him that she loved scrolls and had never once set one on fire as she stepped back and out of the room, "I'll do my best to be careful around them."

"Good. Thank you," Winter took a deep breath and seemed to relax, looking away from her at first then back at her. "I…uh, I caught a couple wild geese for a late lunch or early dinner, if you or Coldshock is hungry."

"Oh," Moon gave a twitch of her tail, suddenly realizing at his mention of food that she was indeed hungry. It was quite a bit after noon, after all, "Thanks, Winter. I think I'll have one, then."

"And Coldshock…?" he asked.

"He's asleep in the other room," Moon motioned towards her own, "I think the walk around Sanctuary tired him out. But I'm sure he'll eat more than his share once he's awake."

Winter gave a small snort but grinned. "Yeah, I'm sure he will. I think I'll go check on him, actually. Just to, y'know…"

"Yeah, I understand," Moon said, a bit of a smile on her face as she turned and made her way over to the counter where she saw two delicious-looking geese.

And like she had when she'd sung Coldshock to sleep, she suddenly felt happy. She was safe and had a home, as did her son. She felt safe, even cared for, even in the face of what had happened. And despite the troubles and difficulties that would inevitably come, Winter was there to look after both her and her son.

It almost, almost, felt like a family.

A/N: If Moon's lullaby feels at all familiar, it's because I imagine it to some of the tune of "A Little Fall of Rain" from Les Miserables, and I borrowed a tad bit as well. Of course, if you're familiar with Les Miserable than you may think "that's not really a lullaby", but I still think that nice melody fits it, and if nothing else you can't deny the emotion of the song.