A/N: There is no rhyme or reason to the order in which certain characters or time periods appear, I plotted each oneshot separately based solely on the ideas the prompts gave me, so the actual reading order became very strange, but I kind of like how random it is, you never know what to expect next haha.

TIMELINE DISCLAIMER: In my personal canon, the stories have been adjusted to the following years: LWW in 1940, PC in 1943, VDT & SC in 1946, and LB in 1949. HHB also happens earlier in the pevensies' reign than Lewis' timeline indicates (here it is 1011), so the twins are adults by the time the kings and queens vanish.

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"For every ending is destined to be swallowed up by a beginning." —Craig D Lounsbrough

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archenland / year 1024

word count: 708

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"Mama!" cried a tiny voice as leaves crunched to Aravis' left, and she glanced up from where she lay flat against the forest floor to spot Ram's familiar curly mop toddling toward her over the dried sea of red and gold.

She sat up and reached for him just as his tiny boot caught on a twig and he plopped down into her lap, almost more cloak than boy, her arms wrapping securely around the squishy bundle as another set of boots crashed through the underbrush behind him.

"What are you doing out here?" laughed Cor as he ducked under a low hanging branch.

He stepped into her clearing, golden head silhouetted angelic against the bare grey trees behind him as scattered white motes drifted lazily through the air and caught on his woolen tunic.

"It's freezing."

"It's the first snow of the year," said Aravis simply, nuzzling her son as the baby picked a frosted leaf off the ground and crumbled it between chubby fingers.

"Ah, yes, that explains everything."

She shot her husband a dry look, and he dropped down beside her.

Of course he knew her better than that. She'd never been one to watch the world from behind the castle windows. She needed to feel it with every inch of her body, she needed to plunge in with both feet.

Cor glanced up into the sparse canopy of skeletal branches, the last few quivering leaves clinging hopelessly to the corpses of their hosts as Ram caught snowflakes in his outstretched hands.

"It's beautiful," said the little boy, sounding out the big word with a great deal of emphasis in his babyish voice.

Aravis laughed and brushed his hair back. "It is beautiful, where did you learn that word?"

"Papa."

She glanced at Cor, delicate golden circlet edging his pale forehead as blue eyes twinkled down at her with a slight grin.

"I was talking about you," he said.

She flicked a leaf into his face.

"Pfft." He shook his head. "I really was."

She smirked, and Ram reached out to catch another snowflake, the tiny white specks melting instantly against his palm.

"Brr."

Cor and Aravis both chuckled this time at their son's ever-expanding vocabulary.

"Do you like the snow?" asked Aravis, and Ram nodded, holding his hands out again in spite of the cold.

"Me too." She brushed her fingers through his hair and tucked his little cloak up around his ears. "We didn't get much snow where I grew up, so I like to come out here and watch it when the seasons change."

He turned to gaze up at her with big brown eyes, wobbling slightly with the motion. "Why?"

"Because… it's beautiful," she said, lilting his word back to him as she nicked his chin.

"Why?"

"Why is it beautiful?"

He nodded and his curls bounced.

"Well… I suppose it's because… everything is dying."

Ram giggled, and Aravis raised her eyebrows and glanced at her husband.

"I think he's been spending too much time around your brother."

Cor suppressed a guilty smile.

Ram turned studiously back to his snowflakes and Aravis sighed, gazing around into the barren forest.

"Everything is dying… for now… but the leaves will come back in spring… and it'll be even more beautiful than before. And we'll love it even more, because we will know what life was like without it."

Ram only kicked his legs, entirely distracted as he slipped off her lap to burrow into the leaves.

"You might want to wait until he's a bit older for concepts like that," said Cor, and Aravis rolled her eyes, though the corner of her mouth quirked up ever so slightly.

"Perhaps. But there's no harm in starting early."

And for several minutes they sat in silence, Cor shifting closer to her side as they watched their son pick through the dry foliage which would soon be buried under winter's blanket.

"What if I ask why you're so beautiful today?" he murmured at last into her ear. "I do hope you're not dying, too."

Aravis scoffed, and leaned in to whisper back. "No, my dear, in that case I think you might be the one dying."

He smirked, and ghosted her nose with his. "I'll take my chances."