"I'm telling you, it exists!" Sirius insisted stubbornly. "You are a dirty, rotten…" He searched for a word, pulling a face. "...pessimist?"

"You sit on a throne of lies," Lily snapped. "It's five in the morning and you are absolutely mad, chasing after a creature from children's tales. I don't even know why it's that important."

"Because I want to prove a point to Snivellus."

A beat of silence. "You truly are mad," said Lily flatly.

"Aw, c'mon, babe, you have to admit this is fun," Sirius said. He kissed her cheek and Lily thawed a bit under his affection. "I know you're freezing, but please, just do this for me? I promise I'll…compensate you for your efforts later." He smirked and despite the cold, Lily felt warmth rush through her body.

"...Okay," she agreed. "But I want the full treatment, and I want to be on top."

Sirius could hardly disagree.

"Look, paw prints!"

"...Those are the paw prints of a bear, darling," Lily said nervously. "We should probably go before..."

The sound of heavy, lumbering steps and a low growl caused her to falter, and Lily didn't even dare to meet the bear's eyes — she just grabbed Sirius's arm and dragged him, running as fast she could. Eventually, they reached a clearing and stopped to catch their breath, listening for the sounds of pursuit, but the bear had not come after them.

"Thank goodness," Sirius hissed between pants. "I didn't fancy being run through today."

"More paw prints? Or...footprints?"

"Those are definitely unusual," Lily agreed.

Sirius whooped. "We finally have a lead!"

"Look." Sirius pulled her back just as she was about to enter the clearing. "There's a cave. Do you think…?"

The footprints led up to the entrance of the cave. Crushed twigs and fallen leaves lay scattered in the indents, and white fur hung from the overhanging tree. Something definitely lived here, something very tall with big feet.

The creature Sirius was looking for.

"It has to be," Lily whispered. "I believe you."

Sirius almost shouted with glee, but he remembered where he was and bit his tongue.

"How do we lure it out?" his girlfriend continued in a low voice.

"I never thought you were one for danger," he joked but sobered when Lily glared at him. "I read up on this, and they like...meat."

"Meat?" Lily repeated, astonished. "Did you bring raw —?"

Sirius set down his backpack and pulled out a pack of beef jerky, and Lily relaxed slightly. Carefully, he tossed one out into the clearing and quickly tugged Lily behind the tree.

He could hear Lily's thundering heartbeat as they waited for the creature to emerge. In his arms, she trembled, but her breathing was steady. He felt a surge of pride.

Heavy footsteps cut off his thoughts, and Sirius dared to peer around the tree. He almost stopped breathing.

"Look," he hissed, and Lily momentarily stretched out her neck and let out a quiet gasp.

The yeti stumbled out of its cave, releasing a long, loud moan of hunger, and scooped up the beef jerky — or more like it rose of its own accord because it was too far for the yeti. With a flash of light, the jerky was in his enormous hand (paw?).

The yeti consumed the small piece of jerky and shook his head with disappointment. Then it lifted its nose and sniffed the air. With horror filling him, Sirius realized he still had the packet on him. "Shit," he whispered.

The yeti lumbered ahead, closer to Sirius and Lily —

Lily snatched the packet from his hand and hurled it far away from the tree. The yeti's eyes followed the movement, and he glanced back and forth between the tree and the jerky. Finally —

Both of them sighed with relief. "That was close," Sirius uttered, his voice hoarse. "Good thinking."

"Thanks." Lily inhaled shakily and stepped away from Sirius. "But for the record, I'm never going on an adventure with you again."

671 words

12 Days of Shipmas - Day 7 - Dec 14: Your ship encounters a magical winter creature/monster.