Snow landed gently on a patch of grass, which quickly froze over with frost. He made his way closer to his mother's little house. Making sure to walk only on the old rock pathway. Mother wouldn't want her place to be covered with ice. It's been a while since he visited mother. She'll definitely be agitated with Snow for the lack of visits. Snow was preparing himself. Ah, home sweet home. The house was planted on fresh green grass. It had flowers of all colors everywhere, tall trees, little animals scampering about. The little critters ran away from Snow as they felt his frigid being. The house was small but it had greenhouses behind it. Mother always wanted to be close to her earth. Snow was nervous. Sure, Heat always claimed that Mother liked Snow the best, but Snow was not convinced. He considered Heat to be her favorite. Heat will always be her little baby boy, while Snow was in charge of looking after said brother. That was part of the reason the why he was nervous. He was in charge of watching his little brother. He should have known something was amiss sooner than he did.
Before Snow knew it he was standing outside his Mother's door. He hesitated. A few minutes pass then he lightly knocked on the door. He was mentally preparing himself for his mother's possible rage. The door opened and he quickly threw a smile on his face,
"Hello, Mother dear!" Snow said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
"Oh Snow! What a pleasant surprise! Oh, come in. Feel free to adjust the temperature if you would like," Mother said as she went to make some tea. Snow slowly entered the house. He felt a wave of nostalgia. There was a scorch mark still on the wall from one of their fights back in the day. They got in a lot of trouble from that fight. After that, they decided to never use their powers indoors again. Actually, it seemed that the living room hasn't changed much. She still had those cozy blue couches that he loved when he was little. One of the few changes was A TV that hung above the fireplace. She always wanted one and it seems that Mr. Claus brought one to her. Mother Nature wanted to try and bond with the mortals by learning 'human things' from the TV. His Mother may be a force to reckon with, but she was truly compassionate to all creatures. She really liked the humans. Of course, there were a few she wasn't too fond of (some tore her forests down and destroyed her mountains).
Mother called out from the kitchen, "So, how's my icicle doing?" She always made tea for her guests (ice tea for Snow of course).
She didn't give Snow enough time to speak before she returned from the kitchen, and handed Snow a cup of tea while she sat on the opposite couch. She placed her tea on the small coffee table next to her, "I've seen you've been very busy this December. Snowstorms covering most of the south. Did your brother decide to give them a white Christmas this year? Getting along with you. Such a good boy," she smiled. Snow began to fidget.
"Oh no. What's wrong Snowflake?" Mother asked concerned.
"It may be nothing," Snow said with a forced smile.
"I know my boys and I can see you're worried about something," Mother said while she looked into Snow's eyes. At this point, Snow knew he shouldn't be intimidated by her. It's his mom and she was worried about him. Wait till she hears about his step brother though. He looked at his mom and asked,
"Have you seen the Fireball anywhere... he didn't agree to all this snow. Heck, he wasn't even home trying to stop me. It was a disaster at his place. I don't know where he's at and... and I'm worried," Snow said the last part in almost a whisper, he covered his face with his hands, but Mother heard him.
"Oh my little Snowflake, I'm sure he's alright. Let me try and find him with my orb. Come with me," Mother Nature stood up and grabbed Snow's hand. He placed his tea on the coffee table. Snow didn't resist his mother's pull. He started to feel calmer. 'Of course, Mom is right. He's fine.' Snow kept thinking to himself.
They went through a couple of hallways until they entered a circular green room. It was covered with vines and flowers. In the center was a little pond. There was a modest bridge that leads to a mound in the heart of the pond. On top of that mound was a pillar holding an orb. Vines rapping themselves all around the pillar, but none had touched the orb itself.
They crossed the small bridge together, Snow noticed that there was colorful fish that glided through the tranquil water. In fact, there was plenty of animals that took shelter here. Birds flew and built nests, squirrels climbed the vines, butterflies, fireflies, and foxes. It was beautiful. In Snow's opinion, it would look even better with some snow. He and his brother were never allowed in this room when they were little. And he knew that was a good decision on his mother's part.
They stood around the orb. Mother lifted her hands and placed them on the orb. The orb began to swim with colors. It started to glow which caused some animals to hide. It added various colored lights that would sweep around the walls and floor.
"Show me my little Sunshine," Nature commanded. The orb reacted to her voice. Colors shifted around. For some reason, it was extremely blurry. They both could only make out a blue-ish room. In the center was Heat. He looked like he was unconscious. His usual fiery hair that displayed warm light was now dull. It was barely glowing.
"He looks cold... HE LOOKS COLD!" Snow yelled. No no no no he can't stand extremely cold weather. It slowly sucks his fiery life from him. Snow began to panic.
"Oh no no no, whatarewegoingtodo?" Snow was talking so fast that Mother Nature had a hard time keeping up with him. She quickly pulled him in a tight hug. She could feel wet tears on her shoulder. She doubted that Snow was even aware that he was crying. She slowly rocked him back in fourth.
"It's okay, Snowflake. We'll find Sunshine," she said. Snow could hear the distress in her voice. She's worried for Heat too. She can't lose either of them. She can't lose her rays of Sunshine.
Heat's the warmth that you find in the world. Most people don't think of that when considering the Heat Miser. He was a hot-head and could easily be agitated. It's the reason why Heat doesn't really have tons of friends... 'They' call him Heat Miser. Unlike Snow whose friends called him Snow Miser. But Heat possessed a kind heart hidden under that false exterior. He didn't like to show it a lot. He's always worried what the other elements would think of it. But Snow had seen it. Heat not only showed kindness towards some of the elements, but Snow had actually seen him help some humans. Very few elements even cared about the existence of the humans but, surprisingly, not Heat. He was a bit awkward around people but he was fast to warm up to them.
Heat's the sun that shines down, he's the sunrise, and most importantly he's Snow's brother. Sure they fought all the time. It did help to keep some balance in the world, but there were a few times where they would act civil to each other. It doesn't happen as much now, but they were sure a lot closer when they were younger. Back when they were learning about their powers and place on this planet.
Snow began to recall some very old memories. Memories that he hasn't thought of in millenniums. Snow was older. Obviously, he was born first. Not long after his birth he brought about the ice age for almost 3 million years. It was a very harsh environment. Snow would spend his time spreading ice and snow around the earth. Then one day Mother Nature asked for Snow to visit. He knew that his mom was creating another element, but he didn't know when he would meet his little brother (nor did he know how either of them was made. He should ask mother at some point). When he got there he could see Mother Nature holding a very bright thing. It looked like a flame but upon closer inspection, he could see a tiny being. He was so bright. He still is. Snow remembered the first time Heat ever saw the snow,
"It pretty, brofer," Heat had said with a look of awe in his eyes. Snow glowed with happiness. His brother loved his work! He was so excited!
"Can I pway in it?" Heat asked while looking up at his brother. Snow was only supposed to watch him until Mother Nature returned. She spent a lot of time working around the globe. She never took long. Snow didn't see a reason why not though. He and his brother could have some fun in the snow. He could show him how to ski, or how to make snow forts, or how to ice skate! Oh, it was going to be a blast!
"Sure! Why not? You'll love the snow and ice! We can build a for-" while Snow was talking little Heat jumped right into a pile of snow. The loud sound of steam, rising from the opposing elements connecting, brought Snow's attention towards his brother. His eye grew large. HE'S FIRE. The water from the snow CAN'T be good for him! Snow was too fired up (Haha fire. Focus Snow!) with the thought of them having fun together that he didn't even consider their contrasting body temperatures.
"HEAT!" Snow yelled as he dived into the pile and grabbed his brother's small body. His brother felt cold and his body didn't really react to Snow's own icy one. Heat's eye fluttered as he tried to keep them open. Oh no. What was he supposed to do?! Okay okay. Heat was a fire element. So he needed heat. The fireplace at home!
"Hang on Heat," Snow whispered while he cradled his brother's shivering frame. Poor Heat. His skin was turning blue just like Snow's. The flames of his hair were now only a dull heartbeat. Snow called a cold wind to carry them up towards their home. Once he landed on the grass he ran as fast as he could into the house. Thankfully the fire was still going within the fireplace. Snow went ahead and laid Heat down into the flames. The flames immediately started to turn Heat's skin to his normal gold. The shivering toddler was now starting to relax.
Right at that moment, Mother Nature entered the house. She looked at Snow and saw his unease before she turned her attention to the fireplace. There was her Sunshine. Not as bright as his usual self. Mother Nature knew her children. It didn't take long for her to put together the pieces of the scene in front of her. She walked over and sat next to Snow. She leaned over and picked Heat up. Using her powers she started to continue adding warmth to him. She heard a sniffle and looked over. Snow was the one shaking now. He tried to rub the icy tears from his face.
Nature spoke with a soothing tone, "Snowflake. It's okay. He's going to be alright," Snow looked up at her now. She gave him a gentle smile, "It's probably a good time to talk more about you two. You," with one hand she rubbed Snow's, "And your brother," they both looked at Heat, who was sleeping in his mother's arms, "You both love each other. I know neither of you would want the other to get hurt, right?" Snow nodded his head and exclaimed, "Definitely!" Nature once again smiled. "Well, I bet you've already noticed it sometimes feels... uncomfortable to touch each other, right? You both are okay right now, but when you get older, and more in control of your powers, you both really need to be careful around each other. You both have very different body temperatures. So it's a bit harder to be in each other's temperatures," Mother explained, "When you grow some more it would probably be best if both of you avoid using your powers around the other," She advised, "When you get older just remember it'll be a bit more difficult to interact with your brother. Not quite yet, but soon both of you will need to control your body temperatures to the middlemost degrees to interact. Don't worry too much about that now," She saw Snow looked a little scared.
"Don't worry. You'll pick it up in no time," Mother said with confidence.
Snow nodded his head while whipping away the tears.
"I'll make sure that he'll be safe mom," Snow said with determination in his voice.
Mother beamed, "I know you will," Nature pulled Snow close, with Heat still in her arms, she gave him a hug. Hugs happened more often when they were younger. As they got older the rarer these hugs became.
When Heat got older he thawed the ice age and huge trees and plants grew. That's when Heat began using his powers. Slowly they began to fight. The weather began to shift between the two until it got split. South was Heats and north was Snow's. Both still fought to push their temperature to the other's territory.
Snow shakes his head to focus his mind again. He didn't realize that he was still hugging his mother. He reluctantly let go of her,
"How are we going to find him?" Snow frowned and started to sulk. He never acts like this, but he has never been this afraid of possibly losing his brother before. Looking at his Mother he could see she was also lost, which terrified him even more.
"First off we should try and ask around. I think Mrs. Claus may be a good start. You go on ahead and find out what's going on. I'll keep using my powers to try and find him."