With the night at their doorstep, some jaquins have one last thing left to do before they, too, will see themselves to sleep.
Veje finds the throne room filled to capacity: it seems overrun with jaquins, butterfrogs, peabunnies, and spinkeys. Besides the ongoing chattering heard, there are so many colours to see and movements to observe; it becomes difficult for him to distinguish between species. Especially now that he's searching for Sienté, her colours being present in many a combination make it feel as if searching for a needle in a haystack…
Nevertheless, he's determined in finding her, for there's a clear cause sparking his enthusiasm: *I want to know how she is doing at these temperatures. I bet she wants to spend the night with me if only to stay warm! This cold lends itself perfectly for cuddling up. I just know it! She enjoyed my company inside her nest last night, so I definitely can take it further from there. I am quite thrilled about this, getting to cuddle up with her for the very first time… Tonight is going to be special!*
However, there's but one flaw to Veje's plan. He will need to find her first. He starts searching for her, wandering through the crowd aimlessly. All is to no avail. Thus, Veje tries a different approach. He calls her name out loud a couple of times, but the ongoing muttering inside the throne room has it muffled. Though some eye him with annoyance or confusion over his shouting, it's the beige-and-yellow jaquin he cares to receive a response from. Unable to find or to reach out to Sienté, an anxious thought sprouts in his mind which turns into an idea: *With other boys around, there is no telling whether one of them has already offered to stay with her. I need to get to her before anyone else does… Wait! That is it. I just need to sniff my way to her. I close my eyes and lock onto her scent, the one that I sniffed in her nest last night. This will make finding Sienté easy.*
As if things somehow work out for the brown-and-taupe jaquin, Veje quickly catches a familiar scent. He decides to follow it blindly until he suddenly bumps into someone. "Sienté! I found you. Jaa-wel!" he says excitedly as he opens his eyes.
"Veje! What do you think you are doing?" an aggrieved voice reaches Veje's perked ears.
"Ay, Luna… I thought you were Sienté, I guess." he replies cautiously.
"Do I look like her? Uh, but you were not looking! What exactly are you doing?"
"Uhm, finding Sienté?" Veje replies suggestively and smiles at her uneasily.
While Veje gets scolded by Luna, someone else starts contemplating the loss of a nest. Experiencing a sensation of dismal, realisation is sinking in that the cold Palace floor will be the sleeping space for tonight. Sitting next to his mate who's glaring at him and doesn't seem to care that much, he feels gloomy and states: "Oh, our nest… It was such a cosy place and it was in such a great spot. Now it is gone…"
"Get over it. The cold is bad enough as it is." Shaniqua replies in an aloof manner.
"… How is our nest to be rebuilt before nighttime?" Tudor questions himself as if ignoring her.
Shaniqua shakes her head of disbelief and replies unmoved: "It is not."
"… Ow, where will we sleep tonight?" Tudor thinks out loud to question the ill fate that has befallen him.
"Here, inside the Palace as instructed."
"… When will we find the time to rebuild it?"
"Tomorrow, after the speed race." she replies with a sigh over these foolish questions.
Tudor returns the glare, with a look of disbelief in his eyes. After a brief moment of silence, he says to her: "How can you not care for this? You slept in that nest, too."
"Well, duh. It was our nest, silly. Hah, you truly are a wonderful being, Tudor.' Shaniqua says sarcastically and continues in a normal tone of voice, 'But as I said, there is a more pressing matter now. We need to get through this cold night first. Tomorrow, that horrendous wind will likely subside. We will participate in the speed race everyone is excited about. After that is done, we get to rebuild our nest. Until then, we sleep here, together. Nice and cosy, just the two of us…"
Meanwhile, Skylar has found his way down to the tangerine-and-lemon jaquin, the one he was looking out for. She's gazing around, aimless and clueless. The yellow-and-blue jaquin is determined to do something about it if only to show his father that he knows how to act responsibly. "Avira! I saw you sitting here all by yourself. You need, you know, someone to get through the cold night with.' he says to her attentively but lowers his head and holds back of regret when noticing the make-do splint on her broken wing, 'I – I figured that I could do so. You know, because of what happened…"
"Aww. Thank you, Skylar. That is… This is most thoughtful of you. I find it – sweet how you, well, care for me. I think I can use some company. The cold is hurting my wing.' she says somewhat reluctantly but turns more uplifting when adding, 'But Sienté is making me something to sleep well."
"Great. Hey, why not wait inside our nest? It is comfy in there. You definitely deserve it."
"You think so? I – I would love to. But is your da… I mean king Verago, is he going to approve of this?"
"I – hope so… I mean, he wants me to learn to be more, uhm, responsible. By letting you stay with us I will show him that I can be that.' Skylar states happily and displays his famed wide-open smile before turning to two bulky-looking members of the Royal Guard, 'Hey, Flappy, Jinx! Can you two help Avira up to my bedroom?"
"Your bedroom? Hah! You wish, Skylar." Jinx replies brashly.
Suddenly, all four of them startle from a voice speaking up from nearby, from someone who's been observing them closely. "You will follow that instruction! He is your prince, so you will do as you are told! Or do you want king Verago to hear of your insubordinate behaviour? Well?" Tornado states commandingly.
While sending glares at the marble-and-gold jaquin, both Royal Guard members mutter while they position themselves next to Avira and take her up toward the entrance to the royal bedchamber. Tornado then looks at Skylar, who's taken aback by her attitude. "You should be more dominantly toward them. You are a prince! Start acting as one…"
"Okay… Sure.' Skylar agrees cautiously and quickly flies up after Avira to tell king Verago of his plan, 'Father. I believe it will be good if Avira stays here with us tonight. Her wing hurts so it is the least we can do. Right?"
Verago watches Avira closely as she slowly enters his nest. He then directs his austere gaze at Skylar. The blue-and-yellow jaquin cringes in fear, knowing that such a look usually means punishment. "Ah, that is an excellent idea, Skylar. Avira can indeed stay with us tonight.' Verago says happily as a smile appears on his face and he turns to his other son, 'Nico, go and inform her parents that their daughter is staying with us."
Nico rolls his eyes and groans of displeasure softly. He doesn't want to leave the comforts of the nest. Yet, he knows he cannot disobey his father. The yellow-and-green jaquin thus darts out of the bedchamber and quickly brings the news to its recipients. During his flight back, he hears his name being yelled. He notices Sienté looking at him from below. As he touches down next to her, he notices she's carrying something and asks excitingly: "Wow! What is that?"
"Nico, where is Avira? Have you seen her? I brought her something but I think I lost her in this crowd." Sienté asks hastily and with concern to her voice.
"Avira is not lost. She is with us in our nest. Skylar took her there." Nico replies perkily.
"Ah, how sweet of him. That will do her good, as will this concoction to relieve her pain. Can you bring it to her for me?"
Nico nods and takes the bowl with him. Upon his hurried return, he finds everyone already asleep. He notices Skylar lying next to Avira with his right wing on top of her back, thereby covering her broken wing that's in between their bodies to keep it warm. Nico puts the bowl containing the concoction down and quietly moves to an empty spot in the nest. There he lies down also, ready to fathom sleep.
Not far from Skylar, Veje managed to get past Luna without too much hassle. But he's still unable to find Sienté. Eventually, the brown-and-taupe jaquin decides to lie down on the cold Palace floor. He hopes the beige-and-yellow jaquin will find him, instead. Despite his insulating fur, conduction makes the cold slowly enter his lower body. This causes him to shiver mildly, yet he continues waiting for Sienté with utmost dedication.
One moment later, he suddenly hears Sienté calling. He perks his ears and gets up on all fours. He starts moving through the crowd. When he notices Nico flying away, he also notices the one he's been waiting for. "Sienté! There you are. Now we can spend this night together, as planned." Veje expresses his relief heartily.
"Hi Veje! Wait… As planned?" she asks feeling confused.
"I was busy lying and waiting for you. Now I can be busy keeping us warm." Veje replies with a smile while his eyes emanate certain euphoria.
"Your plan was to lie amidst a dense crowd and just wait for me? This is literally the worst idea if you want to have yourself found… Hihi, sometimes you can be a weird boy."
"Maybe. But what were you doing? I heard you shout."
"Well, I was looking for Avira, honestly. She got hurt badly."
"Ay… As I was two days ago?"
Sienté shakes her head and replies: "No, you got hurt only a little, Veje. Those bruises went away quickly. Avira has a broken wing. She will suffer from this for some time to come, according to my mum."
Veje lowers his head as a worrisome look appears on his face. Hearing Sienté speak of a relative of hers, makes him ponder about a relative of his. "I see…" Veje mumbles.
Sienté easily picks up on this. "What is on your mind, Veje?"
The taupe-and-brown jaquin replies worryingly: "No one is keeping Dió warm tonight, I suppose. I mean, you too know my brother for his poor dealings with ladies. He will likely not find anyone who is willing to stay with him."
"He probably has his wings folded around his body as you have now."
"I keep thinking of how he will persevere during the cold spell. I know not if the cold will get to him if he sleeps alone. What if he falls ill? I hate seeing my brother like that. If I may, I think I want to ask you something…" Veje replies softly.
Sienté listens carefully to every word he says. She knows the brown-and-taupe jaquin wants something from her but remains silent to make him come up with it himself. After a brief silence, Veje has mustered the confidence to ask her his question, albeit being careful: "Are you willing to lie with me and Dió so none of us has to sleep alone tonight?"
Sienté gives Veje a lick on his head to comfort him. In return, he rubs his head against her cheek and watches her in admiration. "Uhm… Sure, I guess. But I have not seen your brother. Why not go airborne and find him?" she replies calmly.
"That – is an excellent idea… Why did I not come up with this myself?' Veje mumbles inaudibly and after lifting himself into the air he notices his brother not far from them looking around aimlessly, 'Yo, Dió! Come here! Will you lie with me and Sienté tonight?"
Dióntan's eyes widen and start sparkling. He quickly says: "Yes, please."
After both brothers find their way to Sienté, they sit themselves down with her. "So, how are we going to do this? Who lies with who?" Sienté asks curiously.
"We should lie belly to belly, so Dió can lie against your back. That should keep us warm." Veje replies perkily.
"Why should I want to lie against Dióntan, Veje? You two know each other from birth, so you two lie against one another and I will lie against you."
Dióntan gives Sienté an uneasy look and says: "I feel – we have outgrown that. Surely, we are brothers but we are old enough to do certain things separately now. Veje feels the same about this."
"But you know? Dió sleeps just like I do and it is warm if you lie in between the two of us. Jaa-wel." Veje replies heartily.
"I know you better than I know Dióntan.' she says disapprovingly and adds commandingly, 'So, Dióntan will lie against you because you know your brother more than anyone. I will get to lie against you."
"Eh… Alright, I guess." Veje replies cautiously.
The brown-and-taupe jaquin eyes his brother who in turn shrugs yet nods at Sienté. After all, anything is better than being alone tonight. Sienté looks at both and lies down. She gestures to both boys to do the same. Veje lies down first and positions his back against her belly, after which Dióntan does the same with Veje. Veje then places his left wing onto Dióntan's body and Sienté smiles as she places hers onto Veje's, but then also places her head onto his. "Purrfect!' she says nearly triumphantly and giggles before adding teasingly, 'A comfy pillow to rest my head on. You know how to make yourself useful, hihi."
Veje sighs. He realises that falling asleep together with the jaquin he fancies is what he desired, albeit not in this exact manner. Yet, he closes his eyes to enjoy the moment and starts purring softly. A night like this might come only once in a lifetime, after all.
Not far from them, two pairs of eyes are watching them. Migs and Dulce lie together as they observe the trio sharing intimacy. Again, they have their tails almost intertwined with one another as they usually do. "Remember how we used to be like Veje and Sienté?" Dulce asks in a moment of longing.
Migs smiles and replies softly into her ear: "Yes, I do certainly. We were in love so much back then and still are today. I never want this to change."
Dulce starts purring softly. She rubs her head against his and lovingly gives him a lick on his nose. Migs emanates an enamoured look from that lick and starts purring also. He then curls up with her, ready to fall asleep with the one he loves.