Well, here's the second installment of this new story! Just a warning now, I think all of my updates will end up being very late at night… just based on a growing trend of extended hours at work and school work, you know, nothing out of the ordinary!

Thank you to those who have reviewed so far, you've been very encouraging!

The chocolate I opened for December first was in fact a train, so, for those of you who guessed right, congratulations! For those of you who didn't guess right or didn't guess at all… congratulations! You've won the prize of figuring it out next time! :D

In any case, here is the story for December the second, enjoy!

I do not own the Storm Hawks, they are the property of Nerd Corps.

December 2nd

Starry Knight

It has been snowing hard since last night and the weather hasn't let up a bit today. It's still snowing and blowing outside, the howl of the wind growing more annoying with each passing minute. The entire squadron has been stuck inside the Condor for hours, and we always seem to come up with the strangest ideas of things to do when we get bored of being cooped up inside all day.

Don't get me wrong, the Condor is a great place to spend your day and everything, but generally we're flying through the air high in the sky where anything can happen. However, during snowstorms that ground our metal home on a deserted wooded terra for safety's sake, a Storm Hawk's freedom can easily feel squandered.

It seemed to me that after spending all day with each other, the boys were finally tiring of each others' company. Even Stork was grouchier than usual, but that could just be because of an incident earlier this morning involving tinsel, pine air fresheners, and festive reindeer antlers. I think it's fair to say that we've all discovered they don't mix well – especially when Stork is involved. Actually, we all decided to never speak of it again.

In any case, it was beginning to get late, and no one was ready to retreat to their beds to rest. To be blunt, we hadn't even done anything today that would cause us to feel the need to sleep. There was absolutely nothing to do all afternoon since we had already completed all our chores for the day and then some, thanks to all the free time we had had. We had finished everything on the list besides shoveling.

Glancing over my shoulder to look out into the darkening world outside, I noticed that the wind had died down a touch, and that it was no longer blowing the snow around, but blowing the snowstorm to the East of us. Grinning, I jumped up from the table as an idea began to form in my mind.

As I began to put on my winter jacket, I called to the others, "Come on, you're all going to miss out on the fun!" Nothing else had to be said as Finn, Junko, Aerrow, and Radarr jumped off and over the couch before scrambling into their winter clothing as well, excited to actually be doing something.

I walked up to Stork with a shovel in hand, but before I could say anything he stated, "Shoveling is bad for your back. Besides, all that fresh snow is bound to be covering up a layer of ice on the runway." I raised an eyebrow in question, and then turned around, knowing that I wouldn't be able to change the Merb's mind.

As I left the bridge with the others, I heard Stork call out, "Enjoy your wet, slippery demise, but make sure to clear off my ship first!" Smirking at my friend's sense of humour, I glanced to my right and caught Aerrow grinning as well. It seemed we both knew what Stork was truly after – a reprieve from Finn and Junko's boredom and the whining that had followed.

With Aerrow and I working to clear the half of the runway furthest from the hangar, and Finn and Junko clearing the snow away nearest the hangar, I figured we'd be done our task fairly quickly, leaving us some time to have some real fun.

Turning to face Aerrow where he was shoveling near the left side of the runway, I was about to tell him we were making good time when something wet and cold connected with the side of my face. Blinking furiously, I saw Aerrow's shocked face turn into one of mischief as he dropped his shovel before scooping up a handful of snow and hurling it towards the hangar.

Wiping the snow from the side of my face, I turned to see that while Aerrow, Finn, Junko and I had been shoveling, Radarr had been making a snow fort in the middle of the runway. Putting two and two together, I quickly dropped my own shovel and replaced it with a firmly packed snowball before whipping it at Radarr's ears that were sticking out above his snowy stronghold.

With a cry of surprise, Aerrow's co-pilot ducked just in time, allowing my snowball to continue soaring through the air until it plowed right into the back of Finn's head. I gasped as my teammate fell face first into the pile of snow he had been shoveling, but then I began laughing with Aerrow at our sharpshooter's predicament of being lodged into a snow bank – headfirst!

After a few more accidental misses and miscalculations of snowball trajectories, a full out snowball war began right on the Condor's flight deck. After the destruction of his fort, Radarr was quick to join ranks with Junko and Finn. Aerrow and I had managed to hold our ground for the most part, but our teammates were slowly advancing.

Now standing back to back, we tried to cover ourselves as best as we could, but it was no use, we were quickly surrounded after we ran out of snow around us to throw.

"Now, would you like to come peacefully?" Junko questioned us, looking at the snowball in his hand, and then back at us.

"Or do you want to do this the hard way?" Finn concluded, grinning maniacally at his armload of snowballs waiting to be dispensed.

Turning slightly so I'd be able to see Aerrow better to ask him what he wanted to do, I was surprised to see that he had disappeared. I whirled around however when I heard the crunch of footsteps in the snow behind me.

Aerrow was grinning mischievously from ear to ear as he said, "Sorry Piper, but I decided to see what it's like to come peacefully for once, and you know what?"

"What?" I questioned, worried with the look of anticipation in his emerald eyes.

"Four on one is a lot more fun when you aren't the on the one-person team!"

With that, I was pelted by snow balls from all sides, the boys laughing at their ingenuity. However, I was making up plans at that moment for retaliation. Not just in regards to snow, no! I was thinking of something involving tinsel, air freshener, and antlers. Before I could continue thinking anymore about my imminent revenge upon my teammates, I felt someone tackle me around the waist before we both landed deep in the snow.

I heard laughter all around me before Finn cried, "It's freezing out here!"

Radarr growled in agreement before I heard three pairs of footsteps heading towards the light spewing out from the hangar, Junko and Finn's talk of hot chocolate floating into the night air. I continued to listen for a moment before I turned my neck to the left to see my friend's face near mine, looking up at me expectantly.

Aerrow gave me a meek grin and stated, "While it was fun turning over to the 'bad side', it was even better getting to save you in the end."

Chuckling a bit, I grinned and turned my face towards the cool night air, having suddenly realized how close I was to my long time friend and how warm my cheeks were despite the cold. I heard the snow crunch around Aerrow as he shifted slightly, and only then did I realize I was practically in his lap, both of us lying in the snow with Aerrow's arms still wrapped around my waist from when he tackled me.

Twisting myself around so that I could save myself from such an awkward position, I was surprised when Aerrow's grasp tightened. Instead of squirming free like I had intended, Aerrow had dragged me back down into the snow, this time beside him. I instantly missed Aerrow's warmth, and was suddenly content with the warming comfort his arms wrapped around my torso brought.

Looking up at Aerrow, I saw him grinning down at me before he turned his eyes skyward. Shifting myself closer to him for more warmth, I too looked to the skies above.

With the disappearance of the snow laden clouds, the sky was now clear and black, with thousands of wintertime stars shimmering and blinking overhead. I looked above me a while longer before I glanced at Aerrow's face once more.

I could tell from the quick flick of his eyes that he had been watching me before I turned to look at him. I knew that he was aware of my gaze, but I couldn't tear myself away from his eyes when he turned to look at me once more, as the thousands of stars above were being reflected in his orbs of jade.

Smiling slightly, I turned my eyes to the heavens once more and gently leaned my head on Aerrow's shoulders, suddenly glad for the snow that had been the source of all our fun and time spent with friends today. Most importantly though, I was thankful for the starry canopy above, and for the Knight next to me that held me in his protective, caring embrace.

Ta da! Any of you who have read my stories before must know by now that I can't stay away from the Aerrow and Piper pairing for long…. I hope you're all okay with that! I'm trying to use this story as a way to get back into the swing of writing before the Christmas break, and I'm beginning to see that my writing style is becoming very peculiar because of the books I've been reading for school lately, so sorry if my writing seems… stiff? It's hard to explain really.

But anyway!

Let me know in a review if you know what chocolate I had for the second of December! Also, if you have time, can you let me know whether you like short, long, or medium drabbles best? (Dec. 1 being short, and today's being long)

Thanks so much everyone!

~Crimson Fox4