Chapter 3

Midnight and Truffle made their way toward the accessory section of the plaza. With each step, Midnight was starting to question his decision-making.

"You know she probably won't even be around by the time we buy something," he said as Truffle led the way into a permanent shop. "Plus any reasonable gift would probably be too expensive, you know?"

Truffle let out an amused huff. "Mhm..." he replied as they walked over to a wall of miscellaneous trinkets.

The wall contained many different gift items, from small necklaces to rings, chains, and much more. Midnight looked back and forth at the overwhelming amount of items. What would she like? Was she a simple-minded dragoness that would appreciate this simple silver ring here, or did she like to stand out like the bedazzled horn ornament over there? The more he thought about it, the more impossible the situation seemed to become, and the fact that Truffle was now entirely expecting this out of him was only adding layers.

"Whoa— check out this claw cover," the mentioned Mudwing beckoned, holding up a small silver sheath that would slip over a claw to make it look like it was metal. "We don't even know if it would fit her," Midnight interjected with a hopeless expression. "You know Truffle, I don't know how much experience you have with sort of thing— but have you ever even done something like this?"

Truffle picked up a random earing, holding it up to his ear while smiling at his reflection in a tiny mirror. "Not at all!" he replied, showing no amount of concern. "We all gotta start somewhere!" Well, he did have a point, that was the reason Midnight had agreed in the first place. Perhaps this wasn't going to be so bad after all. I mean, you don't get anywhere without taking the first step, he thought to himself as he eyed a rather luxurious-looking chain.

"I wonder what she would like," he asked rhetorically, racking his brain for ideas from his short moments watching her. Wow, he felt so silly right now, bumbling around much too expensive pieces of vanity, daydreaming about an interaction with someone who he had never even spoken to. "You know I think I would only find myself in a scenario like this hanging out with you," he said.

"You got that right!" Truffle replied. "I mean where else am I going to get my entertainment value from in this cold little town?" Midnight rolled his eyes, but a smile was on his face nonetheless. Truffle was right, this was probably the most exhilarating thing he had done in ages, not that he had a long list of crazy things, but at least he had something to look forward to. He felt his heart increase at imagining the confrontation, anxiety lurking in the depths of his mind.

"I mean, come on Midnight, the worst that can happen is she says no!"

Midnight furrowed his brow at Truffle's comment, the Mudwing was certainly leading him on. "No to what?" he replied. "I'm not even asking for anything— I am literally walking up— has a complete stranger by the way— and offering a gift. You know how random I am going to be?"

"Well, that's even better! There isn't anything she can even refuse, right?" Truffle replied, his smile somehow growing wider. Midnight looked at him blankly. "Um, no— she could think I'm the biggest weirdo in Clementine."

Truffle regarded him, his signature I'm-trying-not-to-laugh frown forming on his face. "I don't know, Midnight, you are kind of a weirdo," he teased. Midnight was slightly taken aback, the Mudwing hardly knew him, he had just met him for goodness sake! "Uh— no, I'm not!" Midnight shot back, the pressure from the situation starting to make him crack. Truffle's mischievous frown only deepened.

"Come on— my very first interaction with you was you stopping in the middle of a walkway. Like, you just froze up and started— what was it— smiling to yourself?" The Mudwing broke out in a laugh, playfully hitting the Nightwing in the shoulder. "I'm just playing you big goof!"

Midnight allowed a small laugh to escape, half thinking of it as funny while also mentally slapping himself for doing something like that on his very first day of school. Perhaps Truffle was right, he had gotten off on the wrong talon, but still— he wasn't that bad, surely? I mean seriously, Midnight couldn't control those episodes, and they were completely random.

"How about this," Truffle said, holding up a rather large tail band that looked heavier than a full plate of armor. Midnight just facepalmed. "You know, I think we should check out a different shop. This one's just... too extra."

He led the way back out onto the cold street, the wind hitting the pair instantly. Midnight let out a small shudder as he held down his cap from blowing off his head with his wing-arm. He walked down the street, time passing as they glanced from stall to stall looking for a suitable inventory. Eventually, Midnight found a suitable vending stand that had a variety of souvenirs. Truffle stood behind Midnight, humming a tune to himself as Midnight looked between the different options. He shuffled from item to item, their relevance not satisfying him.

Suddenly, after some time, a band of silver caught his attention. It consisted of six circles connected end to end, forming a circle that could be worn as a bracelet or a horn band. His thoughts shifted back toward the necklace he had seen her take off, the one with six circles connected to the silver chain. The band had the same color and glint as the necklace. Surely it would match nicely.

"How much for this piece?" he asked the Skywing working behind the stall. "That's a 26 silver piece," the dragon replied attentively, most likely because they were his first customer in a while.

Midnight frowned internally. That was over half the amount of money that his father had given him, meaning that he was about to spend the majority of Finch's gift on another dragon. The internal conflict was quickly ended though as Truffle stepped forward. "I'll cover half of it," he said nudging Midnight's wing with his own. "After all, I am the one that got you into this." Midnight smiled graciously. Truffle may have been a little ball of chaotic energy having more than a few pressuring moments, but maybe he was just alright.

Midnight and Truffle split the cost of the band, placing it in Midnight's bag. They rejoined the bustling crowd of dragons, their objective only being half over. Midnight took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he looked up at the sky, flakes of snow tickling his face as looked upward. The closer he got and the more he thought about what he was about to do, the more nervousness filled him. He looked down at his talons as a wave of anxiety set in, the familiar tingling it caused making them feel funny.

"Come onnnn," Truffle said as he wrapped a wing around Midnight, giving him a shake. "Don't look so dejected now, we made it all this way! And besides, I doubt that Skywing takes refunds," he continued with a laugh. Midnight took another deep breath. He was right, it was go big or go home, and the last time he had gone home he had been punched in the face, so this couldn't be any worse, right? Midnight looked at Truffle who had removed his wing and gave him a smile. "You're right. Time to find an Icewing."

Some time passed as the duo set off looking for the white dragon. They started by doing a sweeping search going through row after row of stalls, both of them meeting at the end of each row when they were done. It was crowded, so they split up to cover more ground. After all, how hard was it to spot an Icewing? Apparently, it is pretty hard, Midnight thought to himself after they finished the third row. The longer this was taking, the worst the suspense was getting, and it was taking a while. Deep breath, he told himself. In and out. Midnight shook his head, it was taking quite an undesirable amount of maintenance for him to keep his cool.

The pair entered their fourth row when Midnight noticed a flash of bright scales through the crowd. "Hey I think I saw some hope," he called back to Truffle, who acknowledged. They quickened their pace, zig-zagging between dragons trying to get farther forward. Midnight weaved under a larger Skywing and almost ran right into the brighter dragon.

But it wasn't the Icewing, it was that same pale Sandwing.

"Oh—" Midnight exclaimed, skidding to a halt, Truffle stepping right on his tail in the process. Midnight winced, attempting to retreat from what he expected was soon to be a ball of fury.

The dragons around them paid little mind as they sauntered by, Midnight hoping that he could somehow slip away and blend in. But he was a Nightwing, there was no chance.

The Sandwing was very close to Midnight, having almost bumped into her again. She looked surprised at first, if not a little startled. However, she quickly locked eyes with Midnight as a wave of realization washed across her face.

"You again," she hissed. "Is it personal? Are you following me?!" She gazed down at him with deep disdain, her tail uncoiling dangerously behind her.

The events of the day before were replaying in Midnight's mind, his body frozen as he leaned away from the dragoness. He half expected her fist to come flying into his chin without warning, but it never came. Midnight quickly realized that he was just posted there gawking, and if she was willing to punch him, he really didn't want to find out how a Sandwing tail felt.

"Well— uh— I wasn't trying to find you at all I was actually looking for someone else but I'm sorry I'll see you later I don't know um— thank you!" he finished, reaching blindly and grabbing Truffle by his arm. He quickly led Truffle around the bristled Sandwing and away into the crowd, her narrow gaze never leaving his scales.

"My guy," Truffle said once they were a decent distance away. "What in the world was that?"

Midnight just kept his gaze forward, his stride less than confident but determined. "Some dragon that I bumped into yesterday," he replied half absently.

"Well shoot, you guys didn't seem to be too fond of each other."

"Yeah you got that right, bumping into her is like bumping into a cactus." Midnight replied, still remembering the way he had been outright violated. Maybe some dragons were just angry all the time, or just had that personality, or maybe it was just unlucky that she had been in a bad mood that day. Midnight didn't know, but what he did know was that maybe he should work on his... etiquette.

"Cactus huh?" Truffle replied as they came to a stop at the end of the row. "Noted."

Truffle's eyes drifted past Midnight's and over his shoulder, lighting up as he saw something. "Hey! Icewing," he said as he pointed past Midnight. Turning around Midnight saw where Truffle was pointing. There was indeed an Icewing, but this one was definitely older. The Icewing was standing there, their posture rigid and alert. He was looking around calmly, the overcast sky taking away his shadow as the chilly breeze gently danced by. His gaze slowly started to drift towards the duo, and Midnight, having learned his lesson, quickly adverted his eyes to look at Truffle.

"You know what they say, when there is one Icewing, there is more!" the stubby Mudwing exclaimed, smiling his smile. Midnight just deadpanned him. "Um... Truffle, who says that?" Midnight said, raising an eye ridge. "Me," Truffle replied simply through his smile.

"Well, I don't want to follow him around or anything... so let's just keep looking?" Midnight said as snow once again began to float down from above. "Plus it would be kinda awkward, you know? That could be her father or something." Truffle nodded slowly in response, eyes darting back and forth from the Icewing to Midnight, his mischievous frown slowly forming on his face.

"Well that's great and all, but too bad!" Truffle said. Before Midnight had any time to comprehend what Truffle meant, he heard a dragon clear their throat right behind him. Spinning on his heels, Midnight turned around to find the Icewing right there, towering over him. They were big, and they looked powerful. He held himself with a sense of dignity, head held high so that when he looked at the pair he was looking down upon them. Not that it mattered, he was much taller regardless.

"Hello little dragon," he said in a deep voice. His scales were a darker off-white, more like a gray color, or a light ashy color. Their body was mature and scarred, thick scales and rugged horns adorning them. "My name is Adélie, and I was wondering your name."

What?

First of all, why was this dragon only speaking to him, and why did he come all the way over here to ask his name? Midnight studied the older dragon. He was large, yes, and he was older, but not older than Midnight's father, who was in the later years of his life. This dragon also adorned a similar silver necklace that the dragoness from his class was wearing, but this one was made of three silver circles. Midnight's attention was brought back to the present as he realized that Truffle had said something to the Icewing.

"—no no, it is pronounced ah—deh—lee," the Icewing responded with a calm expression as he regarded Truffle. "Like the type of penguin."

Truffle just stood there and nodded. Adélie turned back towards Midnight, his patience seeming infinite. He looked down upon him and a silence passed before Midnight knew why.

"Oh— it's Midnight," he responded, trying his best to keep from fidgeting under the large dragon's gaze. "Hmm," the dragon replied, his emotions carefully guarded. "Well Midnight, do you mind telling me what brings a Nightwing this far north?"

Midnight paused at the question, wondering if the source of it was how Midnight was probably the only Nightwing around for miles. It was noticeable, but still, this whole interaction wasn't making much sense. Midnight opened his mouth to respond but was cut off.

"Hey, what brings an Icewing this far south?" Truffle said with a very innocent expression. Adélie paused, genuinely looking like he was thinking of a response. He obviously hadn't been expecting to be asked that, but neither had Midnight. "We... decided to go out and see what opportunities there were around here," he replied with little emotion, looking like he had just now really registered Truffle's attendance.

"Well, I just live here," Midnight interjected, not liking how much tension was building between the group. "I see," Adélie responded, nodding slowly as he looked back and forth between Midnight and Truffle, his face remaining calm. "Well, I must be going. Clementine is a... unique town."

And with that, Adélie gave them a nod and continued on his way. Midnight and Truffle remained there, neither really moving as they thought about the interaction. Well that certainly is a way to make acquaintance, Midnight thought as he turned to regard Truffle. The conversation had been brief, to the point, but also didn't really go anywhere at all.

"Anyways..." Midnight said as he began to walk slowly, the snow falling with more confidence now.

"Yeah— so where were we?" Truffle said with a flabbergasted head shake.

"In the middle of finding an Icewing," Midnight answered, no longer really feeling pressure from his objective. He was too distraught after that sudden talk, and he rather would just change the subject and move on anyways.

Truffle nodded, and with that, they took off down the street since they had finished that section of the plaza anyways. They entered a lower section of the market, where multiple storied buildings consisting of permanent shops and places to eat resided. The smells here were enticing, and the taller stone buildings kept the heat in and the wind from chilling the pair as they walked. It was nicer here, and Midnight felt a little calmer as soft yellow light flooded out of windows and braziers from various flames.

It was cozy down here, and the tall buildings added to the effect. The snowflakes snuck in between the taller buildings, dancing in the air as they exploded into a thousand little golds and yellows, reflecting the firelight as they landed.

"What if we don't even find her?" Midnight said as he gazed through a window into a diner of some sort. He looked back to Truffle as the Mudwing paused. "Well, the best we can say is that we tried," he replied with a laugh. Midnight smiled as he turned back around. Truffle had a point, and his positive optimism certainly was a relief. His gaze drifted down the street as he relaxed. After a deep breath, he continued walking forward as Truffle followed. They had been roaming the streets for some time now. The more permanent section of the markets was quite large, and they had been weaving through the alleys in what felt hopeless.

He was looking ahead when suddenly he spotted the dragoness he was looking for round the corner of the uncrowded, narrow street, her white scales carrying a thousand little orange and yellow sparkles like the snow as they reflected the flame from the braziers. Midnight's eyes went wide, and he stopped, Truffle bumping into him because he had been looking somewhere else.

"Hey! Why do you always—" Truffle started, but stopped as soon as he saw the reason for Midnight's halt. "Ahhhhhh," he exclaimed in a whisper. "Let's go!"

Truffle gave him a small shove and Midnight automatically began walking forward, emotions of nervousness and relief swirling within him that the suspense was almost over. Ugh, why did he even care? It was just a simple, innocent, and particularly kind action he was doing, and this was no big deal at all... right? Right?

"Ok, phew... let's do this," Midnight said quietly as he hyped himself up, continuing down the narrow, cozy street with Truffle following suit. He was getting closer to her, and it was becoming more obvious that he intended to talk to her. This was it, here he was, and here he went!

"Hey," Midnight said with a small smile, keeping his demeanor calm and friendly while inwardly doing backflips of panic. Her attention moved to him, her blue eyes looking him up and down, her expression unreadable. "Hi," she responded quietly, her voice gentle but not soft.

Midnight just smiled more, this time more genuinely because he was starting to feel exhilarated, if he could call it that. It took him a moment to surpass that feeling and say something before an uncomfortable silence fell. "Well I saw you in class earlier today and knew that I hadn't seen you around before, so I just wanted to say welcome to Clementine," he said.

She looked appropriately taken aback for a moment, after all, this was most likely unexpected. She inadvertently gave a small smile though and met his eyes. "Oh, well thank you," she replied simply. Midnight stood for a moment, it was so hard to read her emotions, her actions seeming reserved and well-kept, her gestures small. Midnight paused, not really knowing what to do next.

"So..." he started, racking his brain. "Uh... well, what brings an Icewing this far south?" Midnight kept his expression soft with a friendly smile in hopes that it would prevent any awkwardness from forming if it, hopefully, hadn't already formed.

Her gaze drifted as she paused and thought for a moment before she replied. "Just moving around really." It was rather ambiguous, with no depth in the response. Midnight didn't have much to go off of so he just nodded and replied. "Oh, nice."

Well, now what?

Midnight pushed down his anxiety, not knowing what to do because he still had the six-ring silver band to give her, and he didn't want it to feel forced.

"My name is Midnight," he said. "...and my friend here is Truffle." He gestured to said Mudwing, whose face was all but trying not to laugh, as per usual. "Hello!" Truffle said brightly as he gave her his squinty grin. She gave him a smile and a nod as Truffle turned to Midnight with a laugh. "Awwww, you called me your friend!" Truffle teased, nudging him on the shoulder. The dragoness raised an eye ridge at this, and Midnight turned back to regard her. "We just met yesterday, but he is a pretty fun guy," he explained.

"So do you just go around making new friends?" she said with amusement but also a bit genuinely.

Did he? He was definitely not that type of dragon. Sure he was doing better today, but a lot of it was Truffle being so incredibly affable and for the most part, Midnight would gladly go home without having to converse with anyone really. If he didn't already know this about himself, the anxiety he had when interacting with others surely proved it. However, spilling all this out of nowhere would not be... preferable.

"Sure," Midnight said instead with a laugh and a slight shake of his head. She responded with a small smile, all of her expressions subtle and low-key. This reminded him of the older Icewing he had met earlier, Adélie, and how he also seemed reserved and hard to read. Were all Icewings like this? He didn't know.

"Anyways," Midnight said. "What's your name?" She oddly paused for a moment as if to weigh if she should tell him her name or not.

"Chiono."

"Oh wow," Midnight suddenly found himself saying much to his surprise. She raised an eye ridge at his response and Midnight scrambled for his reasoning. "It's pretty— or well I mean it's exotic... or— you know what I mean," he finished, suddenly feeling very hot in the face. At this, Chiono just let out an amused huff. "I guess you could say that," she mused, looking him up and down again.

Her eyes drifted to his head, and after a brief moment of eye contact, she looked at the top of his head where his fur cap was.

"Why do you have a dead animal on your head?"

Huh?

"Oh!" Midnight exclaimed quickly as Truffle outright burst into boisterous laughter behind him. "No— no no no," he reached up and grabbed the cap, removing it and showing it to her. "It is a hat," he explained. "It is made of fluffy animal fur and it keeps my head warm because I'm cold," he finished, motioning towards the few snowflakes that squeezed between the buildings into the golden-lit street.

She looked up at the dim, gray sky and back at Midnight, anxiety sweeping through him as she seemed to examine every scale on his body. "I see," she said tentatively after a moment.

A silence fell as Midnight held her gaze for a moment before dropping his eyes. While doing so, his eyes landed on the silver necklace around her neck again. Oh wow, Midnight exclaimed internally with a mental facepalm. He totally was still procrastinating the gift, and it was starting to get more and more cumbersome to find a way to bring it up. Why did he even have to give a gift? Saying welcome to Clementine was good enough of an introduction to the town, but now he totally looked like he was going the extra mile— especially after all the talking.

He just couldn't do it, not after all the introductions and all that, and now he knew he would be teased endlessly by Truffle, but that was bearable. He let out a small laugh at the thought and closed his eyes, his laugh hopefully easing the silence.

"That was so funny," Truffle said, just barely recovering from laughing at Chiono's comment. Midnight turned his head to regard the Mudwing, but when he opened his eyes, all he saw was darkness.

He couldn't see.

And that's when he felt it. The pounding sensation started to creep up his spine, feeling like a hammer hitting each of his vertebrae at a time, the sensation of the ground beneath him left, and the awareness of his body's touch faded as he plummeted into a pool of nothingness.

A wave of pain washed through him, but it wasn't physical— it was emotional. A feeling of intense despair and hopelessness so pure that purpose faded as soon as he felt it.

It was all so brief it was like an instant, the sensation of rushing back to reality filled him, it felt like he was free-falling. All of his senses returned at once as he found himself looking at Truffle, jaw ajar as if he was about to say something. The Mudwing hadn't noticed a thing, still smiling from the moment before.

How much time had passed? It felt like none, but it was so hard to tell when all senses had left him. His mind was blank, his talons quivering in the snow below him as anxiety coursed through his veins. He had no idea what he had been about to say to Truffle, and the intensity of the moment with Chiono felt mundane suddenly. He looked down at his talons in sudden shyness, but upon doing so saw his fur cap in his talon.

Its emotional meaning was as important to him as it was in keeping him warm, so he looked up toward Chiono. If Truffle hadn't noticed whatever he had done after his episode, Chiono certainly had. Her head was tilted inquisitively with a look of curiosity and mild concern as their eyes met. He gazed into her vivid blue eyes, almost losing himself for a moment before he adverted his gaze.

"I like this cap," he said seriously. "It is a gift from my father and it means a lot to me because it shows he cares. He's done a lot for me," he finished with a small smile as he returned it to his head. Chiono just raised her eye ridge at his statement, once again her true emotions completely unreadable.

Ugh, it was just so... frustrating! How was he supposed to truly judge or react or just socialize when he couldn't ever tell what the other person was thinking? Most dragons reacted to what you said— you could actually know how they felt. Yet here was this Icewing, reserved and guarded and all mysterious.

What type of dragon was Chiono? Why was she here after all? From what Midnight had read about Icewing culture, it was fairly odd that there were any Icewings settling in Clementine at all. What did she think of this whole interaction? Was he weird? Goofy?

Midnight's thoughts kept spiraling, his nervousness barely beginning to show through the cracks of his composure as he clenched the snow with his claws. He had to snap out of it.

"Don't Icewings wear anything?" he asked, changing the subject so he had something to focus on. Chiono thought for a moment, her expression neutral. "If you want to count jewelry and armor, I guess," she answered. Midnight once again looked at her necklace, more questions popping into his mind.

"What about your necklace?

Chiono reached a talon to her necklace, her eyes dropping to it. A frown flashed across her face briefly, gone as fast as it came. "It is an Icewing thing," she replied absently. "It relates to our social classes and rankings."

"Like a status thing?" Truffle said, looking at the necklace also. "Yeah," she replied, her gaze not meeting theirs.

Her face was neutral and rather emotionless, but Midnight could just read her body language. Whatever her necklace meant— whatever her social class was— she seemed to not enjoy it. Midnight's mind flashed back to when he saw her take it off in class after what appeared to be an uncomfortable exchange between her and the Sandwing students; the way she moved away deliberately from them afterward.

Another silence fell on the group, and Midnight was beginning to get less and less comfortable, especially since the topic had drifted to something that was secretively affecting the dragoness. She wasn't letting it show— well she wasn't letting much of anything show— but it was still there. Midnight observed the dragoness, her talon still on the necklace, only a few moments having passed. He knew it was affecting her, and he just... didn't want it to. It shouldn't— whatever it meant— make her upset. Why? Midnight didn't know. But what he did know was that he didn't want it to.

"Well, I think it looks awesome," Midnight said, his smile from earlier returning, even if it was slightly fabricated. She looked up from her daze, her eyes meeting his. For the quickest moment, he saw a flash of understanding in her eyes, a flash of I know you know. Maybe it was his smile, or maybe it was his comment, he didn't know.

Opposite of the emotions he began to feel creeping within him, her face turned into a small frown, dropping his eye contact. "Well, it was nice to meet you Midnight... and Truffle," she said in her gentle, neutral voice.

"You too!" Truffle said with his bubbling enthusiasm, grinning away.

Midnight was so caught up in his thoughts all he did was nod and smile, and the next thing he knew, she was walking away down the path they had come from. He just stood there, watching individual snowflakes drift down from the sky— how they would dance and spin above the braziers from the heat rising from the flames.

"Well— how'd it go!" Truffle asked rhetorically with a laugh as they walked down the street. "Good question," Midnight replied. "I really have no idea what she thought"

"Eh, she seemed cool," Truffle said as he began to walk forward before stopping, realizing they actually didn't have a destination now.

"Yeah," Midnight replied, pulling himself together. Truffle looked at Midnight, his frown appearing on his face before he gave in and started outright laughing. Truffle stayed like that for a moment, just shaking his head and laughing, his eyes teary.

"All that Midnight, and— and—," he stuttered through his laugh, "you didn't even give her the thingy! The gift— wow," he all but finished through his tears. Midnight couldn't help but give a smile. It was just too ironic, all that searching time and fussing just for the opportunity to never come up. But now it was even worse. What was he gonna do— go up and give her the band after their introductions? That would just be so extenuating it would make him look, well, flirtatious... and Midnight was anything but.

"Yeah, yeah," Midnight replied with a chuckle, "It's not a big deal, alright?"

Truffle just grinned at him, letting out a sarcastic "mhm."

"Well, I have to go help my father at his shop soon," Midnight said. It was getting later in the day, and even though there was no designated time he was supposed to go help Finch work, he still wanted to be appropriately present.

"Okay," Truffle responded, still on a high note. "See you tomorrow Midnight,"

And at that, they went their separate ways.

Author note:

Hope you all are enjoying December so far. Stay warm. If you enjoy the story feel free to follow/favorite for there is more on the way.

Also, Chiono is pronounced "Ky—oh—no" for those wondering if they read it wrong.

-BadFutures