A/N: Welcome, all, to a short-ish Wings of Fire Christmas story. I was wanting to do something special for the holiday, and when inspiration stuck I had to run with it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Consider it a little present, from me to you. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Moon
The snowflakes drifted slowly through the sky, twisting and spinning gracelessly, almost lazily, before alighting on the trees or ground below. Up above, there were almost no clouds to be seen, no true indicator of why the snow was falling, but it came all the same, coating the southern slopes of the Claws of the Clouds Mountains in a soft white blanket. First slowly, then faster, the landscape changed from muted fall yellows and browns to the brilliant, dazzling greens and whites of winter as the snow covered all imperfections on the ground, only leaving the brightest pines and evergreens to show through in their colors.
On the side of Jade Mountain, high above most everything else, three dragons watched as Pyrrhia's colors changed with the seasons. Of them, one was elated, one was enthralled, and one was just cold.
"I thought you said it would be fun to watch it snow," Qibli hissed, his teeth chattering slightly, "Maybe I'm missing something, but all I'm seeing is a bunch of white while my scales freeze. I'm beginning to think this was just a plan for you to try to finally be rid of me."
Winter shrugged, too comfortable and relaxed in the current weather to care much about Qibli. It had been a long time now since he'd been in a place where it was cold enough to snow, let alone actually snow, and he was enjoying being in the climate that his body was built for more than he'd dare admit to anyone else. He spread his wings a bit wider and dug his tail deeper into the snow, letting the cold seep into his scales and into every little crevice it could find. After nearly a year away from the Ice Kingdom, he'd almost forgotten how good it felt.
"If you don't like it, then you can go back inside like Kinkajou and Turtle did," Moonwatcher, the third of the trio, told Qibli, "You don't have to prove to anything to us, and I'm sure Sandwing scales aren't built for snow as much as Icewing scales aren't built for heat." She gave a small snort—whether from her statement or from the cold, non could tell—and went back to what she'd been doing: catching snowflakes on her tongue.
"I'm surprised you aren't as cold as Qibli is," Winter told her, looking away from the landscape below and at her as she snapped at the largest of the snowflakes that dared to drift near her. "After all, you're hardly built for cold weather yourself."
Moon shrugged her wings before blowing a puff of hot air above her, sending several flakes spinning up and around in a beautiful fractal overhead. "I'm not." She answered, "…built for this cold, I mean. I am a bit chilly. But this is my first snow; I'm not going to hide away in a cave just because it's a bit nippy," she paused and dragged her tail across the snow, making a wide semicircle around her, "It feels so weird. Is it always like this in the Ice Kingdom?"
"Pretty much," Winter confirmed, "Sometimes it gets warm enough for the snow to melt in the southern reaches, but only once in my memory have the icicles in the Ice Palace ever even started to drip."
"Sounds lovely," Qibli quipped sarcastically, "I'm starting to realize why so many Icewings seem so angry and irritable; I'd be too if I had to live in this year-round."
Winter rolled his eyes and used his tail to flip a small clump of snow onto his friend's wing. Qibli jumped back with a startled and uncharacteristically high yelp at the unexpected cold, then immediately began gathering snow with his own tail to throw before thinking better of the coldness that came with that snow and stopped.
"Is this really your first snow?" Winter asked Moon, turning his attention away from Qibli and back to her. "It's hard to believe you've never seen it snow before, not even once."
"Well, I've technically seen it before," came her response, "But only in the tops of the mountains during our whole travel finding your sister and stopping Darkstalker and all that. I've never actually seen it snow or touched snow. It's far too warm in the Rainforest for it to form."
"It should be too warm here, too," Qibli chimed in again, "Jade Mountain is far enough south that this weather is more than a little unusual." He glanced east, over the rest of the Cloud Mountain's range. "The rainforest itself isn't too far from here. I bet they're not getting snow on the other side of these mountains. My best guess is that the mountains themselves are somehow behind it, what with the colder air at the higher altitudes the weather has to go through."
"Whatever the reason, I welcome it," Winter said, once more stretching his wings out as if he could collect the coldness itself, "This is the weather Icewings were made for."
A small gust of wind below over them, pleasantly chilling Winter but not pleasantly affecting the Sandwing, who gave a shudder. "It's not the weather I was made for," he said, teeth chattering a bit more vehemently than before, "…so I think I'll take Moon's advice and join the rest of our winglet inside. I'll see you in the dining hall when you come to your senses and get out of the cold yourselves."
He turned and walked away into the cave to Jade Mountain Academy, which wasn't far since they'd only been standing right outside the main entrance. It wasn't the most special spot, but it did offer a rather nice view of the whole region below the mountain. With the weather how it was, Winter was the only one who'd even felt like flying, anyway.
With Qibli gone, it left just Winter and Moon alone as the snow continued to gently fall around them. Winter continued to simply stand among the snow, basking in the cold, while Moonwatcher tired of catching snowflakes and instead began drawing in the snow with a talon. Winter watched with a bit of curiosity as she made a small depiction of a dragon in flight, then with a bit of concern as he saw her give a shiver not too unlike Qibli just had.
Moving from his spot, he approached her and set a wing around her. It didn't do much on its own—it was cold, like the rest of his body—but it did shield her from whatever wind was there, and he knew from experience that it would serve to trap in a little bit of her heat.
"You know, if you're cold, we can go ahead and join them," he told her as she looked away from her snow drawing and at him, "I don't mind."
"No, I'm fine," she insisted, before giving a bit of a sly grin, "Besides, you know I have a bit of a thing for the cold."
Winter felt a bit of un-Icewinglike warmth well up in him at that, especially because he knew exactly what she meant by it.
After they'd defeated Darkstalker nearly half a year ago, Winter had been at what felt like his absolute low. So many things had seemed to hit him at once. His father's death, his exile from his tribe, the whole situation with him and Moon and Moon and Qibli…it had been hard. Very hard. Part of him had thought for the longest time that it would have been for the best if he'd just left everything and everyone behind. For a time, he'd wanted to just leave the past behind and try to make a new start elsewhere.
…But he hadn't. He'd decided to stay.
Perhaps it was because he'd finally found some semblance of belonging at Jade Mountain, perhaps it was that he finally realized that the dragons in his winglet truly cared about him as a friend, or perhaps it was because of a certain Nightwing dragoness that he'd finally chosen to continue as a student at Jade Mountain Academy. Whatever the reason, he was glad that he'd made that choice. For it was his friends who'd helped him so much in the wake of…well, everything. Qibli, Moon, Turtle, Kinkajou, and even Peril were there for him, even at the times when he'd wished they weren't or he told them to go away because he was too stubborn to accept their help. They'd given him wings to lean on, wings to cry on (even if he later swore that he'd deny doing it), and wings to lift him up when he was at his lowest. They'd been with him through the toughest times and had finally gotten him to open up, to trust them, and they in turn had trusted him. He was still an Icewing, he still had his Icewing quirks and the colder personality that most of his kind had, but he with their help he'd been improving on so many of the things that had once held him back and kept him so distant before.
Of all the best things to come out of his decision to stay, though, was undoubtably the beautiful dragoness that now stood beside him in the snow, his wing around her.
Winter had developed feelings for Moon not long after meeting her. At the time, he'd denied it to himself and to anyone else; after all, he was an Icewing and she was a Nightwing of all tribes. He'd said hurtful things, both intentionally and unintentionally, and driven her away. By the time he'd finally gotten the heart to admit his thoughts and feelings to himself, a lot of damage had been done. By the time he'd mustered the courage to even try to admit his feelings to her, it had been too late. In the thrill of adventure in the crazy situation that would become known as the "Darkstalker Incident", she'd chosen Qibli, the real hero of the story.
To say that it had hurt was an understatement. With everything else going on, it had nearly destroyed him. Of all the reasons he had thought to leave Jade Mountain, that was on the absolute top of the list; he could hardly bear to be so near her when his heart ached at his every sight of her, knowing that his heart was hers while hers belonged to another. Yet in the end it was also perhaps the greatest reason he had stayed. He couldn't bring himself to leave her—even if they weren't to be his, he wanted to keep her beautiful emerald eyes in his life. So instead of leaving he'd decided to fix what he'd damaged with her, to at the very least become a good friend even if he couldn't be more. And besides, he wasn't a future seer, and he had no idea what the future could bring.
That decision to stay may very well have been the best decision he'd ever made. Moon and Qibli turned out to be two great dragons and two great friends who simply weren't that great as anything more than friends. After a little less than two months of being in a relationship, the two had broken it off before it had become serious, able to revert back to how things were before without too much awkwardness. It was one of the cleaner end to a relationship that Winter had ever seen, and already it had become almost a joke in their winglet with both dragons able to laugh about it together without any hard feelings or sadness. But the important thing was that Moonwatcher was no longer with anyone, and Winter had an opportunity that he couldn't afford to lose.
Partially due to not wanting to rush things so soon after she'd exited a relationship and partly because it took him so long to gather his own courage, it took him a month to finally find the right words to say to Moon. He'd invited her on a series of small flights over the course of a week, and by the end of the week he finally screwed his courage to the sticking place and confessed his feelings, pouring his heart out for her to see. He told her that he might not know exactly what love was, but that he thought he loved her and that he knew that he wanted to continue to be around her no matter what.
It was probably the happiest day of his life when she told him that she felt the same.
Since then, the two had officially become a couple, with Moon serving as an anchor for all the worries, strife, and problems Winter still went through. More so than anyone else, she shouldered his burdens with him, going above and beyond anything he'd expect of her. Whether it was just a friendly talk when she could tell he was struggling or taking time out of her studies to just be with him, she showed her affection and dedication with every moment and every word. And Winter, in turn, did everything he could to try to prove himself worthy of that affection. To hold his tongue or his claws when the old him would have lashed out, or to do things that the old Winter would have scoffed at or mocked. With her help, and the help of his other friends, he was changing for the better, and there was no one else he would rather undergo that change with and for.
Back in the present, he twined his tail lightly around hers as she leaned into him, running her muzzle gently up along his neck before placing a small kiss on his cheek. He turned his head and touched his nose lightly against hers, meeting her beautiful eyes. A few snowflakes had touched down on her face snout without melting, contrasting against the black of her scales and bringing out the emerald green in her eyes even more. To Winter, it was the most beautiful image in the world.
"So, what do you do with your snow, in the Ice Kingdom?" Moon asked, pulling away a little after a few long moments that felt far too short. "I heard some Skywing's mention snowball fights when they saw it was beginning to snow earlier. Do Icewings play and fight with it, or is that far too 'undignified' for your kind?"
"Nothing about snow is too undignified for an Icewing," Winter answered, half-jokingly and half sincere. "Well…maybe a few things. But no, I had plenty of snowball fights as a young dragonet, to my parent's chagrin and my aunt's amusement. When snow's always around, though, it kind of loses its specialness. In the Ice Kingdom, no one thinks of it any more than a Mudwing thinks of mud or a Sandwing thinks of sand; it's just the ground we're on and around. The older I got, the more snow became just snow."
Moon gave an interested hmm and looked out over the landscape below once again. The snow was falling a bit heavier now, and the same wind that had driven Qibli inside was picking up.
Winter followed her gaze, looking at the snow-covered ground and trees spread out below him. He gave a sigh. "I don't think I realized until now just how much I missed it."
He felt her tail squeeze his a little tighter and turned to see her giving him a small smile. "Seeing this, I think I understand why. Maybe it's just because I'm from the rainforest and this is my first one, but there does seem to be something special about this snow. It just…I don't know…it gives me a good feeling. Like something wonderful is about to happen. Thank you for showing me thi—" she cut herself off as a sudden sneeze came on, and Winter could feel her shivering slightly against him.
"Maybe that feeling is just the cold," he observed jokingly, "Let's go in and join the others before you freeze yourself. Qibli was right when he said you're not used to the cold."
"No, no. I'm fine," Moon insisted, but she allowed him to lead her away from the edge of the outcropping they were on and into the cave. Soon the bite of the cold faded away as they got farther inside the well-heated caves of Jade Mountain, and Winter removed his wing from over her once he felt that it was doing more harm than good.
They found the rest of their winglet in the dining hall, where Qibli told them they'd be. It wasn't quite dinnertime yet, so there weren't many other dragons there beside the Jade Winglet. In the corner of the hall, looking a bit out of place, was a large evergreen tree with a collection of ribbons and colorful bulbs attached to it. Along the walls and across the ceiling were long lengths of garland, a few of them containing bright red leaves or berries that popped out through the long stretches of green. It was nothing too elaborate, but it was a nice little touch by the school for the upcoming holiday.
"Yep," Winter declared proudly as he and Moon approached the table where their friends sat. "It's going to be a white Christmas tomorrow!"
"Wonderful," Qibli said with a roll of his eyes, "There go any of my plans to go outside."
"What's so special about a white Christmas?" Turtle asked. He was sitting next to Kinkajou with Qibli on the other side of the table. Winter and Moon took their seats across from the pair with Winter between Moon and Qibli. He noticed that Turtle and Kinkajou's tails were loosely wrapped around each other's, which was a rather good sign. Those two had been working on their relationship and the aftermath of Anemone's love spell ever since returning to Jade Mountain, and only now were they finally comfortable enough to be publicly affectionate to each other.
Of the Jade Winglet, only Peril was absent (and technically Umber, too, as they'd still yet to receive a Mudwing replacement). She was with Clay in the Mud Kingdom visiting his siblings for the short break they had at the holiday. The students only had two days off of classes, plus the weekend days, so most had opted to stay at Jade Mountain.
"Every Christmas should be white," Winter explained. "That's just how Christmases should be. It all goes back to…what's that?" he paused as he noticed the three mugs that Turtle, Kinkajou, and Qibli all had in front of them. Each held some sort of brownish liquid that was giving off a rather pleasant smell.
"Oh, this?" Kinkajou said, catching his eye, "It's a new invention that we came up with. Well, by 'we' I mean Rainwings, not us," she motioned to Turtle and Qibli, "And, actually, it was with the help of the Icewings. Tamarin found out about it last time we went to the rainforest, and she introduced it to me, and I think it's really good. Apparently, now that trade's finally picking up again across Pyrrhia since the war's over, Glory's been sending trade delegations and caravans to the other tribes. One of the groups went to the Ice Kingdom and somehow had the crazy idea to stick one of our favorite snacks in a drink he got at one of your heated wells, dissolving chocolate in water and making an entirely new thing. It's warm and sweet and perfect for a cold day like this."
Winter tried to keep himself from getting annoyed at the unexpected barrage of useless information. "Yes, but what's it called?"
"Hot chocolate," Kinkajou answered simply, "Not very creative, I know, but it does a good job at explaining what exactly the drink is. I mean—"
"It smells delicious," Moon interrupted, "You wouldn't happen to have any more, would you?"
"Of course I do!" Kinkajou exclaimed, "I made a big batch so we could all have some. Even you, Winter, though it is a hot drink and I don't know if you'll like it."
"I doubt it will kill me," he told her, "I'll try it."
Kinkajou rush away and returned a few moments later with a mug full of the drink for Moon, then went away and returned again with some for Winter. He looked at the brown liquid for a moment, swishing it around several times before he finally brought it to his mouth and took a sip. The warmth wasn't too unpleasant (in truth, Icewings normally had no problem with eating or drinking warm things, especially freshly killed prey) and the flavor proved to be rather sweet, though also almost bitter. Winter found he liked it.
He took a few more sips before setting it down. All his clawmates were looking at him expectantly, and he answered their questioning gazes with a small shrug of his wings. "It's good," he said, and that was all.
"It is indeed," Qibli spoke out, raising his mug up slightly, "Just what I needed to get warmth back in my scales." His, Turtle's, and Kinkajou's drinks were all already almost empty.
"Yeah, it is." Turtle agreed before turning to Winter, "Now, what was it you were saying earlier, about Christmas? Something about why it was good that they're white?"
"Honestly," Moonwatcher interjected before he could answer, "I've never really understood Christmas. Growing up alone in the Rainforest, I never heard about it or celebrated it until Glory let the Nightwings share the rainforest and I could come out of hiding. I can't say that I even know why it's a holiday, let alone why we decorate trees and give gifts to our closest friends and family."
"I don't know if anyone really does know," Qibli said, "It's always just been a thing that we do once a year, taking a day to give gifts and eat and have fun."
"But it had to come from somewhere, right?" she asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Qibli answered, "I'm not sure whether or not it's true, but I heard that it originated from a general who won a big battle many, many years ago. He chopped off the wings and tails of two thousand of his fallen enemies and gave them as a gift to his queen. Christmas was supposed to remember and immortalize his battle, and giving gifts imitates the 'gift' that he gave his queen."
"Oh…that…that doesn't sound too great…" Moon said, looking a little sick.
"No, it doesn't," Turtle agreed, "It's far too morbid for such a cheerful holiday. I read in one of my mother's scrolls—and she says it's the truth—that Christmas came about due to an old Seawing toymaker years and years ago. He would make fantastic toys and gifts and give them to all the younger dragonets to play with. He liked to challenge himself, though, and so he always tried to make his next gift a little better than the last one. As the years went by, he began to stop making lots of little gifts and instead began to make one big gift that he'd give to his town for all the dragonets to enjoy. He'd work all year on it before revealing it, then spend an entire year working on the next one. It became an annual tradition in the town for all the Seawings to see what amazing thing he created for them, and it began to become a big event all across the Sea Kingdom. When the dragon died, all the Seawings continued to celebrate on the day that he'd always reveal his gift, and each dragon gave gifts to one another in memory of the ones he gave."
"That's a much better story," Kinkajou observed once Turtle had finished. Moon voiced her agreement.
"Yes, it is a good story," Winter spoke up, "Unfortunately, it isn't true. Neither of them are, although of the two, Qibli's is a bit closer to the actual origins."
Moon gave him an amused look, "Then what is the real story?" she asked.
"Christmas was originally an Icewing holiday," Winter began his tale, "Thousands of years ago, not long after the scorching, really, the Icewings were at war with the Skywings and the Sandwings. The battles had gone back and forth all across the northern desert and southern Ice Kingdom, but things were looking bad for the Icewing army. In the east, only one thing stood between our foes and the Ice Capital: the city of Pine. If Pine fell, then the Sandwings and Skywings would be able to encircle the Ice Capital and quite possibly defeat us for good."
"Pine was besieged by a massive force. I've always heard the tale told as six thousand Skywings and four thousand Sandwings, but exact number sometimes varies. Though vastly inferior in strength, the city held out for three months under horrible conditions. Food and supplies were low, the citizens were exhausted and starving, and the whole place was on the brink of collapse before an Icewing general was sent to break the siege—with only five hundred dragons. But even outnumbered twenty to one, he didn't lose heart. With a daring nighttime battle using precision strikes to create confusion, he was able not only to successfully begin to push them back, but somehow got the Sandwings and Skywings to begin to fight among each other."
"The two enemy armies wound up tearing each other to shreds before fleeing the battlefield, leaving their camps and supplies behind. When dawn broke, the Icewings soldiers found themselves in possession of the loot and plunder of not one but two great forces. It was a miracle and a soldiers dream."
"Now, you probably know that there are few greater joys for soldiers, both then and now, than getting to plunder an enemy camp and take all of their goods for themselves. The Icewing soldiers were ready to take all that they could and fly back to their own camp and celebrate when the general addressed them himself. In the wake of such a great victory, he pointed not to himself, but to the citizens of Pine who'd undergone so much defending the city. He encouraged each soldier not to keep their battle gains, but instead to find and gift it to one of the dragons in the city that were still starving and desperate and did not yet know the siege had ended. One by one, the soldiers did that, sacrificing their own rewards and giving gifts of the plunder to those in the city. It's said that, come the next nightfall, every dragon and dragonet in the city had no less than a turkey and ten gold coins to their name."
"And so, that's where Christmas came from. It became celebrated to remember the great victory and gifts were given to remember the generosity of the soldiers. Evergreen trees are decorated as a reference to the city—Pine—and it's considered good for the day to have snow because the stories say that a fresh snow fell after the battle to cover the blood and heal the battlefield."
All of the dragons were quiet for a while as Winter finished his tail, each of them looking a little contemplative. Done talking for now, Winter took a sip from his hot chocolate which, luckily, hadn't gotten too cold during his story.
Turtle finally broke the silence. "Huh, neat. Though I still kind of like my mom's story better."
"If it's an Icewing holiday, then why do all the tribes celebrate it?" Moon asked.
"It took place a long, long, time ago," Winter answered her, "It's had plenty of time to spread to all the tribes. I know that only a few centuries after the battle took place the Icewings had the Silver Empire that encompassed almost half of all Pyrrhia, and that allowed it to become well known to the other tribes. From there it was just natural diffusion."
"Well, who dislikes a holiday where you get presents?" Kinkajou said with a laugh.
"I just have one question," Qibli spoke up for the first time since telling his own story, "Where did the name come from?"
"It's actually not that difficult," Winter told him, "The name of the general that won the battle was Kriss-Tas."
"Not a very Icewing name," Qibli observed.
"It's from our old language," came Winter's explanation, "This was all before draconic became standard across Pyrrhia. In today's tongue, his name translates roughly to Glimmering Crystal. Anyway, the old Icewing word for gift was 'mass'. So, Glimmering Crystal's gift, Kriss-Tas mass, shortened and changed over the years to Christmas."
Another silence fell, each dragon no doubt thinking about the story and connecting it to their own thoughts about the holiday. None could deny that, whether or not they actually believed it, the pieces of the story fit well enough to be believable. And in the end it was, as far as Winter himself knew, the truth.
"Well," Moon exclaimed after finishing her own cup of hot chocolate and setting it down, "I for one am glad that we're not celebrating and reenacting the chopping off of tails and wings when we give gifts. And now, I suppose only one question remains for Winter…" she leaned into him and glanced into his eyes with a very mischievous look, "What'd you get me for Christmas?"
Winter suddenly felt very uncomfortable and tried his best to keep from physically tensing up at that question. It was something he hoped she wouldn't ask, at least not expecting a serious answer. "I…" he opened his mouth to try to say something but she stopped him with a laugh before he could.
"Don't worry," she told him, bumping her wing lightly against his, "I don't expect you to get me anything. We've all been here for so long I doubt any of us have even had a real opportunity to get any real gifts for one another. And if you did get me something, don't worry about it. I'm sure I'll like whatever it is, no matter how small."
Winter forced a small smile on his face, "Thanks. That's…good to know."
The thing was, he did have a gift for her. He had something he wanted to give her very, very badly. The only issue was that he wasn't sure if she'd want it. He wanted to believe that she did, his heart said that she would, but part of him was terrified that she'd refuse it if he tried to give it to her. But he was resolved; tomorrow at Christmas he'd offer it, and then he'd go from there.
A sound of talking distracted Winter from his thoughts, and he noticed a few more dragons in the dining hall than before. Clearly, it was getting close to dinnertime, and in a matter of minutes the room was filled with the typical sounds of talking and laughter that go with a room full of eating dragonets. Feeling a bit hungry himself, he grabbed a large fish from the kitchen's storage area before dismissing himself from his friends table not long later, during a long and rambling story from Kinkajou about some rainforest tree or something that he couldn't stand to listen to.
Instead of returning to his room, however, he took a long way around, stopping at one of the lesser used side entrances to the mountain. The snow on the ground was crisp and crunched under his feet as he stepped outside, although the snow itself had stopped falling. He noticed that it had gotten much darker since he'd been out before. In fact, save for the tiniest glimmer of light on the horizon, it was already nightfall. Christmas Eve night, as they called it in the Ice Kingdom.
He wondered, for a moment, how his mother and siblings were doing half a continent away. His family had never celebrated the holiday as much as many in the lower circles had, but it was one day of the year that his father smiled a little more, his mother seemed to laugh a little louder, and he and Hailstorm and Icicle all got along a little better. Now, with Narwal dead and Icicle likely still in prison, he wondered if his family were even celebrating at all. He hoped they were; it would feel a little wrong for him to have cheer as an exile when they couldn't in the Ice Palace.
But then, he had a new family now. Not from blood, but from something that felt so much stronger than the ties that had bound him to his mother and father. Here, he felt like he had worth. He felt like he actually had a reason to celebrate.
Winter sat out on the side of the mountain for a long time, watching the faint light disappear in the distance and then watching the stars shine overhead. He tried to find the star of Kriss-Tas, which was said to have appeared on the night of his battle all those years ago and always shined a bit brighter on its anniversary, but he couldn't quite locate it. Perhaps it was due to the few clouds in the sky that blocked his vision and which grew more and more dense across the sky the longer he watched. Soon, more snow began to fall around him and he gave up looking, knowing that he'd never be able to find it now.
Sufficiently and pleasantly cooled down, he finally turned and walked back into the caves. He'd lost track of exactly how long he'd been outside, but he did know that he was tired. The teachers were putting together a small Christmas party for the students, and with everything else going on, Winter expected it to be a long and draining—though hopefully good—day tomorrow, so he planned to rest up well for it.
Returning to his room, he found Qibli already there, writing something down at his desk. The Sandwing looked up as he entered and cocked his head at him slightly.
"Where have you been?" Qibli asked, sounding only a tiny bit concerned, "I expected you to be here when I returned from dinner, but instead you took an extra hour to show up."
Winter shrugged his wings, "I was outside. Where it's nice and cold. But you're right, I should have asked if you wanted to join me, since you love the snow so much."
Qibli rolled his eyes. "Forget I asked," he said before returning to his writing.
Allowing himself a small smirk, Winter approached his own desk. Checking to make sure Qibli wasn't paying any attention, he opened its drawer and took out a certain special item of his. It was a small black box not much bigger than the palm of his claw, with a snowflake carefully etched into it and painted a sparkling white. It was what inside, though, that made it so special. Winter slowly opened it and ran the base of a talon across its contents.
"Is that an Icicle?"
Winter almost jumped as Qibli spoke to him and immediately snapped the box closed. He shot a glare at his friend, who looked on innocently, having apparently been watching what he was doing. To be fair, it wasn't something that Winter hadn't expressly told him not to see or look at, but it was something Winter wanted to keep to himself. He tried to keep it down, but a low growl escaped the bottom of his throat as Qibli pulled back a bit in surprise.
"Woah, calm down. I didn't mean anything," the Sandwing told him, "I take it I wasn't supposed to see that?"
"No, you weren't," Winter grumbled, the good mood he'd had from the cold suddenly gone. "But, yeah…it is an icicle, of sorts."
"Oh, I get it," Qibli said with realization, "It's a Christmas gift for someone, isn't it?"
"Yeah, for Moon," Winter answered with a sigh, "It's…well, I'd rather not say any more about it, okay?"
Qibli glanced at the still closed box in his claw for a moment with curiosity, then back to him. "Fine," he said, "…but know that I'll find out if there's something special about that. There must be to prompt such a reaction from you."
Winter ended the conversation with a roll of his eyes as Qibli went back to whatever it was he was doing. Placing the box back into his desk, he pulled out some ink and a scroll, planning to get a bit of schoolwork done before going to bed. After a few minutes of staring at it blankly, however, he gave up and put the stuff back in his desk before curling up in his bed.
Qibli gave him an odd look. "It's a bit early for sleep, isn't it?" the Sandwing asked him.
"The sooner you sleep, the sooner it's Christmas," Winter told him with a yawn, "Icewings always open presents in the morning, so it provides a good incentive to end the day early. Call it…tradition,if you must. Now, if you'd excuse me, I should have good dreams awaiting me tonight."
Qibli shrugged his wings and left it there. But Winter didn't fall asleep immediately. In truth, he was awake long after Qibli concluded what he was doing and went to bed himself. It wasn't surprising—Winter always had a bit of trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve—but it was annoying. Especially since he knew that it would mean he'd likely be tired tomorrow.
In the end, though, his eyes finally closed for what felt like a few minutes of rest and suddenly reopened on Christmas morning. It could be more than a little difficult at times to know the time in a dark cave, but he was tipped off by the distant sounds of talking and laughter echoing down the hallways and into his room.
As he got out bed and stretched himself out, he noticed that Qibli was already out and gone. He made a mental note to berate him a little for not waking him up as well as he left his room and headed toward the dining hall. He knew that was where he'd likely find his clawmates, as well as most of the rest of the school.
Just like he figured, he found the Jade Winglet at the same table they'd all been at the previous day, sitting in roughly the same spots. He grabbed a small pig from the live prey center before walking over and taking his seat.
"Oh, good! You're up!" Moon said as he sat next to her, "We were just wondering where you were. Pretty much everyone else is already awake and eating, and Tsunami just came out a little bit ago and said that they were getting some small gifts for all of us."
"I was afraid I'd have to go back to the room and wake you," Qibli told him, "For your talk last night of going to sleep to hasten Christmas, you sure didn't bother to get up once it was here."
"Well, maybe I would have if somebody—" Winter began but was cut off by Kinkajou.
"Did you see the tree?" she asked him, and everyone else, really, "Someone came in last night—I think I heard it was one of the Mudwings—and put a bunch of little lights on it!"
Intrigued, Winter glanced at the tree. His eyes widened a little at the sight: indeed, someone had put a whole bunch of…something on the tree that was shining out a bunch of different colored light. It was enough to make him get up and take a closer look. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was a bunch of small, delicately cut shards of glass hanging from the tree that weren't so much giving off light as reflecting the light already in the room in different ways. It was just that, from the distance he'd been before, it had looked like they were shining by themselves. It looked pretty, though, and it was almost nicer to believe that the tree actually was covered in lights.
Returning back to the table, Winter listened to the ongoing conversation that was now revolving around some Seawing tradition for Christmas, as Turtle was explaining how whoever caught a certain type of fish was said to supposed to have good luck. Kinkajou chimed in that there was a similar thing with a certain fruit in the rainforest, and Winter just shook his head when his friends asked him if it was somehow connected to his story from yesterday.
He was just finishing up the last of his pig when Sunny and Tsunami walked into the room, followed by Fatespeaker and Starflight. Sunny was carrying a large sack on her back, which she took off and gently sat in the corner as Tsunami walked into the middle of the room.
"Okay, everyone," the Seawing dragoness yelled out in a voice slightly too loud for the occasion, especially since everyone had already quieted down in curiosity, "We have a few nice gifts for all of you to celebrate Christmas and thank you all for being such great students," Winter noticed her eyes shift to the table his winglet sat in, and probably not in the best way. Sure, they'd arguably caused the most trouble, but then again, they had technically saved Pyrrhia—even if they were the ones to endanger it in the first place. "Each of you should come get a present from Sunny. We only have enough for all of you to have one, so nobody try to take extra. I'll be watching."
She finished her little speech and immediately several dragons darted towards Sunny. Mostly Mudwings and Skywings, Winter noticed. Each was given a small package wrapped in some sort of papyrus to conceal what was inside. A few opened them immediately, giving out exclamations of delight, but a few carefully handled the package and took it with them to no doubt open later.
The Jade Winglet waited for a minute or two before Kinkajou finally gave in and decided to go get one and the rest followed her lead. Winter was glad that she did; he was trying to remain calm and give off an air of aloofness, but inside he was also really aching to get a gift. It was just such a natural part of the day that not having one felt almost wrong.
Of his winglet, Winter was the last to receive his own small package. Sunny gave him a wide smile as she pulled it out of her bag and handed it to him.
"Merry Christmas, Winter!" she told him, "It's been good having you as a student. I know things have been tough for you these past months, but I'm glad you decided to stay. I really am!"
Winter returned her smile. "I am too. Merry Christmas."
He rejoined the others back at their table. All of the others had already opened their gifts except for Qibli, who had his set aside. "It's more customary for Sandwings to open them at nightfall," he explained, "I'm not completely sure why."
"Look, I got a small star," Moonwatcher told him, holding up a piece of pottery shaped as a six-pointed star and painted yellow with small decorative etchings. It looked like it was meant to be hung up for a bit of décor. "What did you get?"
"I don't know," Winter answered, looking down at his still unopened gift. He carefully removed the wrapping to reveal a small container that itself held several small, wrapped items. They gave off a familiar scent, and as he unwrapped one a small piece of a hard, brown substance revealed itself.
"Oooh, lucky!" Kinkajou exclaimed, looking at it, "You got some chocolate. Like what I used for the drink the other day. I saw a few other dragonets got some too; I bet Sunny and Tsunami got Glory to send up a big batch just for today."
Winter popped one of the small deserts into his mouth. He'd never had chocolate before, save for in yesterday's drink, and he found he was quickly becoming rather fond of it. It had that same sweet-but-bitter taste and it coated his tongue and mouth in a pleasant way. As he swallowed it down, he noticed Moon eyeing the remaining ones, and she immediately accepted the treat when he offered one to her.
"While we're on the topic of gifts…wait right here," Turtle said, before vanishing for a moment and returning with something hidden in his claws. "I got you something, Kinakjou. It's not fancy, but I hope you'll like it." He revealed a bracelet to her, three-banded with each a different color. One was purple, one was blue, and one was a light green, and where all three met at the "bottom" of the bracelet was a small charm in the shape of a seashell.
"Oh, it's beautiful!" Kinkajou exclaimed, immediately putting it on. "Thank you, Turtle. Thank you! Where do you get this?"
"I picked it up on my last visit home," he said, smiling and looking a bit relieved, "I thought you'd like the different colors."
"I do!" she said loudly, and she twined his tail around his in a show of affection and gratitude.
Winter felt Moon lean into his side as they watched Kinkajou happily looking over her gift and shift her scales to see what colors went best with it. He began to put his wing around her but stopped as she spoke to him.
"I have a bit of a gift for you, Winter," she said, "…but you'll have to come with me to get it."
He eyed her warily, "Should I be worried?" he asked, prompting a small laugh.
"Maybe," she teased, "Come on, it's outside." She leapt up and began to bound towards the exit when she suddenly stopped and looked back over the rapidly emptying dining hall. She seemed to be looking for something or someone before she gave a satisfied nod of her head and continued on her way. Winter followed, a little nervous at not knowing what to expect.
She led him onto the outcropping at the main entrance before taking flight, swooping low over the mountain. Winter paused for a moment, looking over the beauty of the new-fallen snow before joining her. They alighted in a clearing not too far away, their claws sinking deep into the snowbanks around them.
"Okay, close your eyes," Moon instructed him, taking a few steps away towards the tree line.
"Now I'm really worried," he joked, but obeyed.
"Give it a minute…" he heard Moon's voice say, followed by the crunching sound of several claw steps and a rustling noise. "…one more second…there! You can open them!"
Winter opened his eyes and looked around—just in time to see a white blur flying towards him. He didn't have time to move or hardly even think before it smacked him in the chest, just below the base of his neck, and exploded in a burst of white powder.
He looked down in disbelief at the round patch of snow that still clung to his scales, then up at Moon who was rolling in the snow and laughing. The sound echoed through the trees as she mirthfully enjoyed her little stunt, and Winter was tempted to join her if he wasn't still almost in shock that she'd thrown a snowball at him!
"What was that?" he asked, but before she could answer he felt two more impact his side, one after another. But these one's hadn't come from Moon. He whipped his head around to see two Skywings, Thrush from the Silver Winglet and Peregrine from the Copper Winglet, standing there looking guilty.
He looked back at Moon, thoroughly confused now. "I don't—"
"Sorry, sorry," Moon said, still laughing a little as she pulled herself up and out of the snow. "I couldn't help myself."
"Is this your 'gift'?" he asked, not sure whether to be angry or not, "And why are they here?" he motioned to the Skywings.
"No, it's not," Moon tried to explain, "Well, it kind of is, actually. You see, I got an idea from our talk yesterday, and I found a few dragons to help me out with it. We're going to have a snowball fight! It's my first snow and my first time to have one, and you said it's something you used to do often. I talked to the Skywings, who were going to have one already, and we made a plan to do one after our meal this morning." She paused and looked around. "I'm sure Garnet and Flame are around here somewhere, probably lying in ambush. I'd be careful if I were you."
"Wait…so, you're throwing a snowball fight for me for Christmas?" Winter asked, the situation finally beginning to dawn on him.
"Only if you want to," Moon said, "I thought you would…I thought it would be nice. If you don't want to then we don't hav—"
Winter cut her off by throwing a clump of snow at her. Poorly formed and not really aimed that well, it nonetheless smacked right in her snout and sprayed a small dusting of snow all over her face. She blinked once and snorted, it now being her turn to be a bit dazed, before she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Oh, it's on…"
There is a certain art to a draconic snowball fight. To properly avoid an opponent's attacks while launching one's own and ensuring a proper supply of snowballs requires no small amount of finesse, cunning, and sound tactical thinking.
None of these aspects were on display that Christmas.
Moonwatcher, being rather new to the whole experience, struggled more than the others and was on the receiving end of far more hits than she returned. Still, by the end she got better at both finding and using cover as well as snowball management. Of course, she was there more for just the fun, and didn't have the same competitive spirit as the others.
The Skywings, on the other claw, proved to be truly brutal opponents. They had a tendency to charge each other head on, determined to close in and deliver a powerful strike regardless of how many hits they had to take to do it. At one point, Thrush had taken so many hits to the chest, neck, and arms that he looked almost like an Icewing from the neck down.
For his part, Winter played the normal Icewing way: using his natural scale color to conceal and camouflage himself until he found the best time to strike. Unfortunately, against the relentless rush of the Skywings, that turned out not to be the best strategy, as they'd be sure to located him and strike at him regardless of his cover. In the end, he wound up disregarding that strategy and more or less engaged in the give and take hit-for-hit battle the rest seemed to be in.
By the time they were done, the clearing they were in and the surrounding forest looked like a bona fide warzone with all the snow torn up and thrown everywhere. If a scavenger or other creature would have come across it, they probably would have thought that a life-or-death struggle between dragons had occurred, not a friendly and harmless game.
It was past noon by the time Winter and Moon returned to Jade Mountain, the cold finally becoming too much for her used-to-warm-weather scales. Winter was actually surprised she had lasted that long, but then again, the night before had been much chillier and had more wind. At any rate, she was glad to be in the warmth of the caves again. The two grabbed a small bite to eat at the dining hall before going to find the rest of their winglet.
They didn't have to look too hard, as they found their friends in one of the lounge areas where the teachers had set up some special games and snacks for the Christmas party. Kinkajou and Turtle were playing some sort of two-dragon strategy game, while Qibli was playing a different game with a couple of his fellow Sandwings.
Winter spent the majority of his Christmas afternoon there, sometimes playing games with his friends and sometimes just sitting back and watching. He actually began to get pretty good at the strategy game that Turtle and Kinkajou had been playing—some old Nightwing game called scales-and-squares, or something like that—but the further into the day he got, the less he felt like playing. Partly because he was tired from the morning, and partly because of what he knew was going to come.
He'd wanted to give his gift to Moon in the morning and get it over with, but he couldn't—not with everyone there. Then he'd decided to give it to her afterwards, but that time had been taken up with the snowball fight. Of course, he could do it anytime now, just pull her aside and offer it, but part of him insisted to just put it off more and more even as the thought of what could happen made him lose his appetite for the special drinks and eats of the Christmas party.
In the end, the timing wound up not really even being dictated by him. Rather, it was Qibli who, as they'd taken a break from their games and idle talk to eat a light dinner, had brought up the subject.
"Have you given it to her yet?" he asked Winter as they sat at their table. Kinkajou had made some more hot chocolate, and they were all kind of tired from the day. Perhaps that was the reason why Winter didn't immediately know what he was referring to.
"What?" was his response, and Qibli rolled his eyes.
"Did you give Moon her gift yet?" the Sandwing clarified, and at his words Moonwatcher suddenly lit up.
"You got me something?" she asked, excitement in her eyes, "Why didn't you say anything?"
Winter fought his sudden urge to rip his Sandwing friend's tail off and beat him with it. Instead, he forced a nervous smile onto his face. "Yeah…I was waiting for the right time to give it to you. I don't think now is—"
"Oooo, what is it," Kinkajou asked with excitement rivaling Moon's, "I bet it's something really nice. Is it a bracelet? A tailband?" she went on with about a half-dozen more ideas as Winter began to wilt under the expectant gazes of his friends. This was exactly the kind of thing he had been hoping to avoid.
Moon, at least, seemed to notice his sudden discomfort. "Is everything okay?" she asked with concern. "What's wrong?"
He shook his head. "Nothing…it's just…" he sighed, "Moon, if you have a minute, could you meet me outside the main entrance to the school. I need to go and get something, then I'll be right out."
"Sure," she said, standing up from her spot, "I'll be waiting for you."
She left toward the main entrance while Winter headed towards his room. He could feel the curious looks of the rest of his winglet on him all the way across the dining hall, no doubt wondering why whatever he had to do couldn't be done in front of them.
Entering his room, he opened his desk drawer and pulled out the same small box he had the night before. Gently, he ran a talon across the lid. Now was his final chance to abort his plan, to change his mind and leave it where it was. Some small part of his mind urged him to do just that, that if he tried anything else it would only end in pain like so many other parts of his life.
He shut that out, though. Taking the box, he left his room.
Arriving at the entrance to the school a minute later, he found Moon waiting for him, just like she said she would. Behind her, the light was beginning to fade into darkness as the sun set to bring an end to Christmas day. She gave him a smile as he approached, and he returned it tentatively, wishing he could be just a little more confident in what he was trying to do.
"What's the matter," she asked him as he walked up next to her and sat beside her, "I noticed something seemed to be bothering you this afternoon, and the way you reacted when we started talking about your gift seemed to set you on edge. I wasn't lying yesterday when I said you didn't have to give me anything, you know, and I truly will be happy with anything you do, no matter how small or dumb you may think it is."
"I know," he told her, looking down at the snow and sighing, "That's not the problem."
She brushed her tail lightly across the snow-covered ground as she cocked her head at him. "Then what is?"
"I…it's…well…" Winter struggled to find the right words. He sighed again, and decided to just begin with the explanation at its source. "There's a…thing that Icewings do, Moon," he began to explain, "Whenever an Icewing turns five, it's a custom for them to design a small piece of jewelry in the shape of an icicle. Oftentimes with the help of parents or an elder, so as to ensure that's it done well and nicely, we spend nearly a month planning, designing, and finally shaping this piece, putting a bit of ourselves in it and truly making it our own. We call them Hearts of Ice, or sometimes Icewing Hearts, since your supposed to put your heart into them…metaphorically speaking."
"That's neat," Moon said, her still cocked in confusion, "But I don't really see why that's a problem for you right now."
Winter swallowed before continuing, burying his tail in the snow as if to ask it for its cold comfort as he went on. "A Heart of Ice is a very special piece to an Icewing. You see, no Icewing wears their own heart. Instead, the purpose of them has always been to give it to a dragon or dragoness that you care the most for, a dragoness that you love, a dragoness that you want to be with for the rest of your life…" mustering his willpower, he slowly lifted his small box out to her as her eyes widened in realization as what was happening.
"Oh, Winter…" she said, looking at him with wide eyes, "I…I…don't know what to say…"
"The thing about them is," he continued, "It's a commitment. More so on the part of the dragon that gives it, but also by a dragon that accepts it. It one of love and dedication. Once you give away your Heart of Ice, you can never get it back or make another. To give it away is no small thing, as it really is just a kind of representation of giving away your actual heart." He met her eyes, gazing into their beautiful emerald depths. "That's why I didn't want to offer you this in front of the others. Like I said, this is a commitment. Both by the giver and receiver. I didn't want you to feel pressured by anyone to accept it. I wanted whatever your reaction was to be genuine. If you're not ready, or if you don't want it, it's okay. I understand. It's just that—"
"Of course I want it, Winter!" Moon spoke hurriedly, cutting him off before he could second-doubt himself, "I want you!" A blanket of black warmth suddenly engulfed him as she threw her wings around him and pulled him into an embrace, pressing her scales against his scales as she wrapped her tail around his tail and her neck around his neck.
He stood there for just a moment in disbelief before a wide smile broke out across his muzzle and he returned her embrace. The warmth in his body was now in more than just his scales as he realized what had happened. She'd said YES! After everything, after all his fears and doubts and uncertainty, both in the past few days and the past few months, she'd seen who he was and had chosen him! Part of him couldn't believe it, though another part told him that of course she would; after all, he wouldn't have offered her his heart if he didn't think she'd accept it.
They stayed that way for a long time, wrapped around each other in a comforting embrace. All was right with the world, and Winter would have been content to remain that ay forever. Yet after what felt like both forever and a second, Moon pulled away and, after giving him a quick kiss on his cheek, removed the box from his claws.
Winter watched her open it with apprehension. She'd already accepted it, but would she actually like it? He hadn't exactly made it with Nightwings in mind, and he was suddenly filled with renewed worry that even after everything she think his piece was ugly or ungainly.
As it turned out, those fears (like his others) were unfounded.
"It's beautiful," Moon said as she removed it from the box, pulling with it the long silvery chain he'd attached. The icicle gleamed with starlight beneath the darkening sky, glittering and glistening as it twirled around. He'd made it out of pure silver, embedding in tiny little diamonds where he could in order to capture the light like it was so brilliantly doing now. They made a small swirling pattern down the length of it, an attempt to imitate the reflections and shapes that real icicles took. "I love it," she said, before looking away from it and leaning in to plant another kiss on his cheek, "I love you."
That same warmth from moments ago returned as the last of his doubt disappeared. He moved his face and pressed his snout against hers, just holding himself back from pulling her into a second tight embrace.
"Most Icewings attach the hearts of their mates or partners to their circle chains," he told her, noticing how she glanced at the chain with it once they'd pulled away again. "Since you don't have one, I thought you could just wear it as a necklace, if you want to. I thought the silver would complement your scales."
Moon wasted no time in lifting the chain over her head and lowering it back down around her neck. The glimmering icicle, Winter's Heart of Ice, rested just above Moon's own heart. It seemed to sparkler even brighter against her black scales, and Moon smiled as she looked at it.
"Yes, I think you were right," she told him, reaching out a claw and setting it on his, "It looks beautiful like this! Thank you, Winter; this is probably the best gift you could have given me. Merry Christmas!"
As she'd said, it did look amazing on her. And as he looked at his heart resting above her own, Winter could only think that it felt so right for it to be so. Unable to hold himself back any long, he put a wing around her and pulled her close, wrapping her up with his own body like she was his Christmas present. There was a lot that he wanted to say—a lot that he knew he would say later—but for now only one thing sufficed.
"Merry Christmas, Moon."
A/N: ...And, once again, a Merry Christmas to you, all my wonderful readers! I hope you have a good one, no matter what or how you celebrate yourselves!
A quick fun fact: Did you know that the two great fantasy writers, friends, and fellow Inklings J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis once had a large argument over Christmas? It stemmed from Lewis's decision to include Christmas in his Narnia books, whereas Tolkien believed that it would be impossible and unrealistic for Christmas to exist in a fantasy world lacking the culture, religion, etc. necessary for the holiday to form. It is my hope that my detailed explanation of a Pyrrhian Christmas is able to satisfy people in both of these camps.