Winter had managed to put back on the weight he had lost thanks to the construction work, a steady supply of food, and the occasional odd job from the rather strange hybrid, Django. However he couldn't seem to reach the same bulk he had before, but that's not to say he was thin or anything, as his father and brother had been rather larger and wide with broad chests. Winter however began to grow taller and longer like what he had seen with his sister before Jade Mountain– they were twins after all.

Possibility was still growing so he could always find work as he had gotten to know several construction crews around the town that would happily hire him on for an extra pair of claws. Apparently they appreciated the effort he put in, it was odd to him as he put in the same effort he did into everything he did, it felt wrong not to. At Jade Mountain he got to see the other tribes and their cultures but it wasn't to the same degree as here in Possibility. Knowing a Seawing and attending a school with them was different from working side by side with one everyday and then leaving work to get something to eat and hanging out. He didn't have a better way to explain it, but he got to learn and understand the tribes better than he had at the school.

However Django, his other current friend or acquaintance or, well, something– Winter wasn't sure yet. He was pretty friendly and while Winter was too proud to openly accept help, Django seemed to already know and understand. He played off what remained of Winter's IceWing pride and roped him into occasionally traveling to other towns. Then one day he asked Winter to travel with him as he claimed that he gets lonely while traveling between towns, and that he'd pay Winter a silver a day so long as he keeps up, as he surely could given he was an IceWing. Well turns out much to Winter's consternation Django only walks between towns and refuses to fly unless he absolutely has to.

The first few times were some of the hardest things Winter had done, he only ever traveled to nearby towns in the Skywing Kingdom and never into the desert. Django didn't hold back and walked rather quickly, in fact his pace was close to what Winter would call a light trot and the hybrid would whine and moan at how slow he had to walk. These trips consisted of a blend of taunting, goading, and oddly enough accomplishment.

It was on one of these trips that Winter agreed to that Django said he was traveling up to the new town of Haven. The trip would take more than a week for sure and Django insisted they get properly prepared. Winter and Django traveled down a road towards some destination that the hybrid had failed to mention.

"Why would I need these… things. We are traveling through Skywing territory and not the desert. I doubt it would be that hard to live off the land since you still insist on walking there."

"You know, as an IceWing I figure you'd understand the concept of preparation for troop conditions. This may seem silly to you but I'd imagine you've been taught military theory. Don't look at me like that. I know you had to have been in the high circles, it's your accent. Remember I'm half IceWing, I can cross the Great Ice Cliff and I have visited border towns and your accent doesn't match any of theirs. I can go on."

Winter let out a frustrated sigh. "I-well yes I have. As for IceWing military theory on preparation… troops are expected to be able to provide for themselves no matter the situation. There is more emphasis placed on equipment, training, and planning than actual comfort and the conditions of the soldiers."

"Well think about this as preparing equipment, even if you can just hop in the air and fly away to find what you need there are serious situations where you can't. I can tell you what happens to IceWings in the desert you know. Pyrrhia may be at peace but it's far from safe, there has been a rampant increase in crime almost anywhere I've been and it's getting worse. Getting jumped by yourself while flying is very very likely."

"Is that part of the reason why you walk everywhere?"

"It's become one of them. Now how good are you at holding still?"

They stopped in front of an old wooden building. There were several patches of grass growing up in front of the building and it looked like not many dragons visited. The entire street looked rather quiet for a generally mercantile area, there were no shop criers or owners roaming the street trying to all but drag you into their shop or booth. Winter would even call it peaceful if somewhat run down. The buildings along the side of the street were all rather old, most of them were most definitely older than he was. He looked up and saw the sign reading "Dancer's Leatherworks and Traveling Emporium".

That was an unnecessarily long name in the IceWing's opinion. He watched the hybrid barrel right on into the store, the door slamming shut behind him. Winter looked at the sign and moved into the store behind the other dragon. Inside it was packed with belts, harnesses, traveling packs of all sorts of types and styles layered on shelf after shelf, each one packed full. There were even various items hanging from the roof– in one word, it was cluttered. The thick aromatic scent of leather assaulted his sense of smell, it wasn't bad, just very strong and it stung his nose. He saw Django leaning against the counter and talking animatedly to the dragon behind it.

To his surprise, he saw a Nightwing sitting there behind the counter. She was a dark grey and purple with bright silver eyes, and she could only be a talonful of years older than him. She looked over at him and furrowed her brows and Winter stopped. He felt his spikes begin to stand up along his neck as she stared at him. "I didn't know that new friend of yours was an IceWing."

Winter winced slightly, her voice was harsh and bitter. "Yeah, well I'm half IceWing and you still service me." Winter couldn't even react before the Nightwing smacked Django in the head hard with her wing, then before he knew it both dragons were grinning and the Nightwing looked back over at Winter. "Sorry about that, I try to keep up some of the NightWing mystic, but someone here had to ruin that! Now it's nice to meet you, my name is Nightdancer ."

Winter looked down at the offered claw and reached out to shake it. "My name's Winter, it's nice to meet you."

"Rather polite, for an IceWing." The NightWing seemed to measure him as she looked him over and he felt rather self conscious at the remark. Unbidden thoughts swelled to the surface of his mind and he squashed them back down.

"Thank you?"

Winter could see the stupid grin on the hybrid's face and watched as Django cracked his mouth open further. "The picture of IceWing politeness. Now shouldn't we be getting started on that fitting?"

Nightdancer hummed thoughtfully, "I guess that's true, I wonder how long that politeness will last. Guess I get to find out, not every day I can do this to a frost face."

Before he could comment, he had been dragged around the counter and into a back room and pushed onto what seemed to be a pedestal. Nightdancer quickly set to work, her claws touching and poking him all over as she worked a harness over his body, adjusting the straps and even bringing in strips of leather to make new ones. She stabbed him with the needle numerous times and by the third hour he could feel his jaw clenching. She treated him like a living mannequin and it put his circle-imprinted skills to the test.

By the time she had finished, Winter had entered into a rather poor state of mood, but he had to admit that the harness fit incredibly well. It wrapped mostly around his chest with lengths running down his back and sides to secure itself to his hind legs. He even dared to say that it was comfortable. It did feel weird, but as he finally got to move again, it never rubbed the wrong way or grinded into his scales. The fresh leather was soft but tough and he found he was rather pleased. It may not be enough to forgive the torture Nightdancer had inflicted upon him for the last few hours, but he could forget.

He checked it in a mirror and tilted his head up, "Well, this is much better than I had hoped for, but then again you could mistake that bar for a tripping hazard."

"Well, it was all my pleasure, please let me know if you need any… adjustments."

Before Winter could say anything further he was once again dragged out of the back room and shoved out the front door of the shop and into the evening sunlight. Django was quietly sitting outside with a scroll in his claws, and he looked up as Winter came stumbling out. "Some real royal treatment huh? She does that to just about everyone, she did it to me too when I needed a new harness."

"I think she took pleasure in doing that.. Anyway, now what? The day is almost over."

Django reached into a pouch and tossed a rather large bundle at Winter. "I got you some gifts, there's a carrying satchel that loops into the straps, two water skins, an attachable cloak for storms, and a sturdy case for multiple scrolls. I've tried all sorts of stuff but I think those are what you'd enjoy the most. Now, I've got to show you how to attach everything."

Winter undid the package and slowly began to attach the various items as Django instructed, most just ended up in the satchel as he didn't need to carry anything and the satchel itself had a securing strap that he could use to keep the bag pressed against his body as he flew. "Now what?"

"We get some rest and leave tomorrow morning. You might as well sleep with that harness on, you'll be wearing it for a while. Although you should get some supplies while you can before we leave, we'll stop by several towns along the way so there's not too much pressure."