Well, I know it's been awhile since I've updated, and I'm sorry. Even though I had a bunch of snow days last week, my time ended up being occupied with several other things besides writing. Actually, I was doing a bunch of writing, but it was all for my final project for English, but the good news is that I finished it completely on Friday, and I don't have to work until later tomorrow, so I should have some time to do some more enjoyable writing.
To be honest, I was concerned when aerrowlver1127 said that they were going to hurt someone if I didn't update. I know they were joking, but it was a good enough reminder to get me going on this again ;) Also, they suggested last chapter that I should be doing shout outs… that isn't my usual style, even in an author's note, but from now on for this story (And maybe others in the future) I'll let you know if anyone has left anything important in a review I want you all to know, and I think I'll start keeping track of who has guessed the chocolates right!
I'll post the list so far in the author's note at the end of all the chapters from now on. But for now, enjoy the story for December the sixth. Wow, I really am behind….. :S
I do not own the Storm Hawks, they are the property of Nerd Corps.
December 6th
Sheltered
"This way!" I cried as I pointed to a wall of trees behind me with one illuminated blade while I used my other weapon to shoot small bursts of blue energy at the approaching ranks of Cyclonian Talons.
Piper glanced over her shoulder at me and nodded before she let out a final volley from her staff and retreated to where I stood. Gathering my strength, I crossed my arms and drew the glowing weapons close to my face. Closing my eyes for a moment to focus, I quickly lashed out with my blades – an extension of my arms – and watched as the wave of light blue hurdled towards our enemies.
I staggered backwards as a wave of tiredness flowed over me, but Piper's steadying hand on my back caused me to grin before I grabbed her hand and dashed into the forest behind us, my energy quickly returning thanks to the adrenaline pumping through my veins.
"Where are we going Aerrow?" Piper inquired as she followed me through the snow, both of us tripping over hidden roots and trying to keep each other upright regardless. "Why are we heading in the opposite direction of the Condor?"
Pausing for a moment to regain my bearings, I quickly replied, "The Condor is too far away, besides, I don't want to lead the Cyclonians to the rest of the squadron while they're still trying to defrost the ship's engines." Glancing to the North, I gripped Piper's cold hand with my own numb one before I started us off in a new direction.
"Fine." Piper muttered. She was quiet for a time, our breathing and the crunch of the snow beneath our feet the only sounds to be found in the forest. The next time I stopped at a familiar marker though, she asked, "But where are we going if we aren't going to the Condor? Where else is there to go on this frozen terra?"
Looking over at her briefly before I turned to a narrower path, I replied, "There is somewhere quite safe on this terra, we just have to find it first."
"Find it?"
"Yes. Find it." When I went to move forward, Piper held fast, her feet planted in the snow. When I turned to look at her, she simply raised her eyebrow in question. Frowning, I told her, "I'll tell you everything once we find it, but for now we need to keep moving so the Talons don't find us."
Piper began to frown as well, stating, "We're walking through snow Aerrow, they can just follow our footprints you know."
Realizing Piper was right, I thought for a few moments before replying, if you have your wind stone with you, we can crank this storm into high gear and turn it into a blizzard. The Cyclonians won't be able to track us that way."
Piper nodded slowly, obviously thinking my plan over for herself before asking, "If they can't track us though, are you going to be able to find your way to wherever it is we're going?"
"Of course I can." I retorted, gripping Piper's hand and tugging her in the direction of safety. "Just hurry up and increase this wind so that it can get between all these trees and start to cover up our footprints."
Piper followed me, doing her best to search through her small crystal bag, and eventually she managed to pull out a shining green stone in her right hand. A small luminescent glow encircled us for a moment, adding to the dying light around us. Suddenly though, just as I began to drag Piper towards a nearby clearing I felt a sudden surge of wind around us, flipping my already messy hair every which way.
My friend squeezed my hand, assuring me that she was still there and trusted me to guide us out of the storm and to my promised shelter. I just hoped beyond hope that it'd still be there after over ten years.
Stumbling forward through the snow, I drew Piper closer to me and wrapped an arm around my friend to steady her as the wind began to blast down upon us because we had entered into a clearing between several trees. I squinted into the swirling white mass around me, looking for a familiar shape in the white gloom.
We moved forward slowly, Piper's grip on my arm slowly become slack as the cold air bit through our uniforms with a vengeance. I could feel my limbs slowly growing numb as well, but I couldn't give up when I had promised Piper shelter.
Just as Piper was about ready to collapse from the harsh conditions and the dangerously low temperature, I saw a shadow looming ahead. It was box like in shape, and became clearer and more familiar as we approached. Feeling my friend slump against me, shivering, I gathered her into my arms and trudged forward through the accumulating snow and heaved a great sigh of relief when I finally reached the entrance to the shelter we had been looking for.
Walking inside, I stumbled through the darkness and laid Piper down on a soft object in the middle of the room. Turning around, I closed the door and held my breath as I flicked a switch. Looking around the dark room, I grinned as lights lit up throughout the small structure despite a lack of maintenance.
I was able to appreciate the wooden walls for a while longer, my hands reaching out to touch the old familiar surface before a wave of fatigue fell upon me. I blinked my eyes blearily and stumbled towards a stone structure on one side of the room, slowly building and lighting a fire out of a forgotten habit and necessity.
Once I could feel the heat warming me, I stumbled towards where I had laid Piper. I flopped down beside her and drew her to me before my exhaustion took over me completely. No matter what her reaction was in the morning, I was going to find a way to shelter her no matter what, whether it was me, the fire, or the shelter of the very building itself.
I had promised myself I would, and Piper knows I always keep my promises.
Well, I hope you all like that. Now all the Storm Hawks have been featured in their own stories, so I'll switch over to Cyclonians and other random characters when the chocolates apply to them, and don't worry, the Storm Hawks will pop up too, I think I need to add more to this story…. 'cause it has room for expansion I suppose, what do you all think?
And, as promised:
Strawberry Kaydee 4
kezzywezzy25 4
Amethyst Sparrow 4
WhispertheWolf 4.5 (You sort of got it half right one day, and it's getting closer to Christmas, so I felt generous enough to give you a half point ;D)
Mitoki-hime 1
Arendos 1
Alright, there was no special ordering of the names and numbers as you can see except that I started counting from the first review to the most recent, so I suppose these names are somewhat in the order of appearance.
Oh, and one other thing, the chocolate for December the fifth was indeed a tree! Congrats to those who guessed correctly! Hopefully this chapter is a little more challenging to guess than the last, I made it a touch vaguer just for you Arendos ;)
Hopefully there aren't too many spelling errors or misplaced words, I'm just getting used to typing with my new laptop, it's a touch sensitive. On the upside though, I finally have my own personal laptop at my disposal to type with! YES! (I hope you're all cheering with me, this means more stories for you, haha… ha... '-_- Fine. Don't laugh.)
Well, got to go, it's 1:00 in the morning where I live and I wanted to actually get up tomorrow morning to type and such. G'night, and good luck guessing the chocolate that inspired this story!
~ Crimson Fox4