Antlers: A Winterwatcher Short

Moonwatcher leapt to her feet the second she heard the knock at the door, more than a little excited at the much-anticipated moment. She'd spent almost the whole day distracted as her mind eagerly looked forward to what was coming, and it was hard to keep focused when she constantly found herself looking out the window. But now, as far as she could tell, the dragon she'd been waiting for was here and she could hardly wait to see his face again.

She wasn't disappointed upon throwing open the door. There were the familiar white scales that she'd missed so much, and she didn't spare them a second glance as she launched herself into the dragon's embrace.

"Winter!" she cried, snuggling into the cold of his scales as he wrapped his wings around her, "Oh, I missed you so much! I was beginning to think you'd never come home."

The Icewing chuckled as he held her close, and she could hear in his mind that the feeling was mutual. "Yes, well, I did wrap my business up as quickly as I could. I still love the Ice Kingdom, but you know I'd rather be here."

"But still…three months is so long," she whimpered, "Promise me you won't be gone that long again."

"Trust me, I don't plan on it. Not unless you're with me."

Those three months had been just short of miserable for Moon. Not that anything particularly bad had happened to her, but there was only so long that she could go without her mate before missing him became borderline unbearable. She knew that his trip was a necessary one, though; with his exile having been lifted Winter had needed to go and sort things out in terms of his family heritage. Being a prince came with certain privileges and benefits that had to be handled now that he wouldn't be living there, especially in terms of finances. Which was why—as much as she wanted to—she couldn't really complain about his trip. After all, from what Winter had written her it seemed that Queen Snowfall was being more than generous in making sure her cousin was well-taken care of, and that meant that Moon and Winter would likely never have to worry about coin in their lives.

"Well, how did everything go?" she asked him, unwilling to let off of her embrace as she closed her eyes and nestled her head under his chin, "Everything fine in the Ice Kingdom?"

"It was all right, yeah," he said, and she detected a hint of amusement in his voice and mind, "It was good to see Hailstorm again. The two of us spent a bit of time together. Oh, and Icicle is out of prison, although she has to stay under a guard and can't leave the palace without permission."
"That's…nice," Moon bit her tongue a little at that. She'd never liked his sister that much after all the Icewing dragoness had done, but she supposed Icicle was her sister-in-law now. "And the business you had to take care of?"

"It went well," he said, and she could hear him smiling, "Everything's all set for me to live here now. There was a lot of stuff around how to handle me leaving, and in the end I was 'suspended but not erased' from the rankings and records, whatever that means. And, of course, I received my birthright—we should be receiving a couple chest loads of gold, silver, and gems soon."

"Not that we need that to be happy, of course," Moon said.

Winter chuckled, "Well, it certainly doesn't hurt."

"Mmmmhmmm," Moon hummed, rocking back and forth in his wings, "You know, I was about ready to trade it all just for you to be back."

"Luckily, you don't have to," he told her. She shifted as she felt his wings pull away, and he kissed the top of her head before taking a step back. "Hey," he said, lightly stopping her as she tried to take another step forward and take in his coldness again, "Notice anything different?"

Moon blinked, backing up and scanning him. It ran in her mind that she'd been so concerned with embracing him that she'd never really taken time to look at Winter more than was necessary to know it was him. For a second she wondered if he'd done something like getting a tattoo (which would have been odd since he'd always voiced his dislike of the Sandwing practice), but that second was over very quickly as she got a good look at his face, or rather, his head.

"Are those…" she started, trailing off. Atop his head—no, part of his head—were a pair of familiar looking horns that weren't there the last time she'd seen him. Protruding up from his head, they branched out into a collection of points that added a different kind of dimension to his visage, making him look taller and altogether different.

"Yes," he grinned, "They're my antlers. They grew in while I was gone."

Moon couldn't help herself—she giggled. "Antlers? Really? Funny, Winter. It's a creative joke, I'll give you that."

"It's no joke," Winter shook his head, his smile dimmed a little but still present, "I thought I told you about this. Icewings grow antlers for several months each year."

"Ah, yes," Moon rolled her eyes, "Thus why I've never seen any Icewings with antlers before in my life, and why I've never seen you with them for the year we've been mates."

"They don't grow in until later in life, when we mature," he told her, "This is my first year for them. I mean, Hailstorm only had his for the first time last year."

Moon gave a huff, "Still, I've met a few Icewings by now. None of them had antlers."

"Like I said, we only have them for a few months, then we shed them," he shrugged his wings, "And only males get them. I'm willing to bet that most of the other Icewings you know are either female or too young to have them, like our classmates from when we attended Jade Mountain."

"I…I guess that could make sense," Moon faltered a little, peering again at his new horns, "This isn't a joke?"

"Nope," Winter said confidently, and Moon could read the truth in his mind; these were indeed his antlers.

She tilted her head, stepping forward and taking a closer look. They looked good on him, she had to admit to herself, adding a sense of grace and elegance as they rose above his head. She wasn't about to just outright tell him that, though. Not when she could have some fun.

"You look like a deer, you know that?" she asked teasingly, a smug grin forming on her muzzle.

"Actually," Winter corrected her, raising his head and speaking in a mock-haughty voice similar to the one he used to use, "Icewing antlers are more reminiscent of elk than deer."

"Then you look like an elk," Moon didn't miss a beat.

Winter tilted his head back and forth. "I'll take that a complement," he told her, "After all, elk are majestic and powerful creatures."

"Don't you eat elk, though?" Moon asked.

It was Winter's turn to falter. "Yes, well…they're also tasty powerful and majestic creatures."

Moon laughed, leaning forward and planting a kiss on his snout. "Elk or deer, I think they look very handsome on you," she said, "I don't think any other creature could wear them better."

Winter's grin filled his whole face. "I'd hoped you'd like them," he said, "I think they're very good for my first pair, too. They came in very evenly."

"Good, good," Moon nodded with a smile, not sure exactly how Icewing antlers were to be judged but glad that he liked them, "So…why exactly do Icewings have antlers, then?"

Her mate gave a small shake of his head. "We're not completely sure, actually. They're a little fragile when it comes to combat; our normal horns work better. The best guess is that back long ago we used them a lot like those deer and elk do—attracting mates and using them to fight off contenders in a less lethal way."

"Ah," Moon smirked, "So, if another dragon came to try to woo me away from you, you'd poke them with your antlers until they surrendered."

"If any dragon tried to steal you away," Winter said confidently, "My antlers would be the least of their worries."

Moon giggled, once more just feeling glad that he was back. "Well, lucky for you, I don't intend to be wooed away from anyone."

"Nor do I intend to leave you alone long enough to be stolen for a long time," he moved in close and brushed his cheek along her own, and she shivered pleasantly at the touch. She'd missed this. She'd missed it a lot.

"Can…can I touch them?" Moon asked with a glance towards his antlers once they'd separated again, "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is," Winter said, lowering his head and presenting them to her, "Just be careful not to scratch them, please."

"I'll avoid it," Moon said, gingerly reaching out a claw. She set it first on his cheek, and he purred as he leaned into her palm. She only held it there for a moment, though, before pulling it up and resting it on one of his antlers. Gently, she ran her claw along it.

"It's a little fuzzy," she observed aloud, fascinated, "And warmer than the rest of you."

"That's just how they are, I guess," Winter said, "I can't feel anything in them myself unless you pull on them, just like a normal horn."

"Interesting," Moon continued to feel the pair of antlers, finding the touch oddly pleasing to her. Then, softly, she did give them a little pull, but only enough to raise Winter's head slightly, his face in front of hers. And then, of course, she did the only thing that was natural being that close as she pressed her snout against his for yet another kiss.

"Mmmm…you like them that much?" Winter asked, his mouth still against hers.

"What's not to like?" she asked back, purring, "So long as you're here, I couldn't care less about what your horns looked like."

Winter tried to say something, but she silenced him with her mouth (which she'd found was a very effective way of doing that).

"…But yes," she continued once she released him, "I think they're lovely. They fit you perfectly."

Winter's face said it all as he once more wrapped his wings around her, pulling her body close against him, this time being the one to silence her with a powerful kiss. Without another thought, she melted into his brilliant white scales, embracing the cooling cold, enjoying her mate in his entirety. Antlers or no antlers, he was hers and he was back, and right now that was all that mattered to her.

A/N: So this was just a brief, light-hearted one-shot that I was inspired to do. It's based on the design that artist and fellow writer Aaegean uses where Icewings have—you guessed it—antlers. I can't say that the design was my favorite initially, but it has kind of grown on me. We'll see if it ever shows up again in any stories...

The cover art is also by Aaegean and used with permission, so a big thank you to Aegean for that! I hope you all enjoyed this short, and I thank you as well for reading. I'll see you in the next one!