A/N: Welcome, all, to my annual WoF Christmas story. This is a continuation of the past couple year's Christmas stories ("Merry Christmas, Moon" and "Christmas in the Ice Kingdom"), although they are not necessarily required to read and enjoy this one. Feel free to check them out if you haven't already, though.
A Quiet Christmas
Winter liked the snow.
That wasn't exactly a profound statement, of course. Pretty much every Icewing alive liked snow, or at the very least the comfortably cold temperatures that it so often brough with it. But for an Icewing like Winter who was not in the Ice Kingdom, surrounded by snow every day, there was something more special about a snowy day. So, while it was accurate to say that Winter liked snow, it would probably be more correct to say that Winter appreciated snow.
Which was why, when he woke up the day before Christmas to see a lovely white blanket of the fluffy white flakes covering the ground, he knew that he would be outside to enjoy it. And he didn't wait long at all before doing just that.
"Mmmmm," he sighed, contentedly basking in the freezing temperature. Snow on his claws, snow on his tail…he'd almost forgotten how good it felt. It was still falling lightly overhead, too, even after morning passed into afternoon. Winter just watched it, his eyes following a single flake until it landed, just to flicker back up and find a new one.
He heard a door open and close, then the telltale crunching of claw on new fallen snow. Winter didn't have to turn his head to know who it was, but he did smile when he heard the voice.
"You look like you're having fun," Moonwatcher—wonderful Moonwatcher, his beloved mate—said. He looked to her and saw her leaning against a tree and smiling as she watched him, a red scarf around her neck and a light grey shawl around her shoulders and draped over her back. Her hot breath condensed in puffs like smoke with each exhale, and the snow around her made her black scales stand out stunningly in the wintery scene.
"I am," he told her, motioning for her to join him, "It's the most wonderful time of the year. For Icewings, anyway."
"Can't imagine why," she joked, settling herself next to him in the snow. He wrapped a wing around her, and she leaned into him despite the cold of his scales. "You know, my first snow was on Christmas Eve, too," she told him, "Must be a lucky day for us."
"I remember. It must be." That was a good day, too. A good Christmas. That was the year he'd given her his Heart of Ice—and as far as he could tell she'd never taken it off. He'd never taken off the one that she'd given him the year after that save for cleaning, and he was pretty sure she was the same way. All it took was a quick glance down at her neck to see she was wearing it now.
"We've come a long way since then, haven't we?" she asked rhetorically, resting her head underneath his chin, "Hard to imagine that just a couple years ago we were still in Jade Mountain."
"You can say that again." He looked over to their new home, their home home. They'd built it themselves, a medium-sized cabin in the foothills of the Claws of the Clouds Mountains, only about a five-minute flight from the new town of Sanctuary that the Talons of Peace were building. It wasn't the most elaborate house, but it was cozy and comfortable and perfect for the two of them. Close enough to be convenient, yet far enough away that they could be alone and private with plenty of peace and quiet.
Both of them appreciated that peace and quiet, too. After all, despite his exile being lifted and his title restored, Winter didn't exactly want to flaunt his princely status or make a big deal of himself. And Moon had always preferred a nice, quiet setting to read her scrolls instead of a bustling town filled with loud thoughts that gave her a headache. Sure, they did stuff in Sanctuary and made friends with the dragons there, but at the end of the day both were always glad to return back home.
"So…" Moon began, pulling out of his embrace just enough to look him in the eyes, "Anything you were wanting to do on this snowy day? Beside just sit in it, of course."
Winter chuckled. "I'm content to just bask, but I feel you won't get quite as much out of it as I would," he told her, "…But I do have an idea."
"Oh?" she asked as he stood up, "What is it?"
"Here," he said, standing up, "You'll see—no mindreading cheating!"
"I'll try not to," she laughed, then tilted her head in amusement as he reached down and scooped up some snow, forming it into a small ball. "A snowball fight?" she guessed.
"Not quite," he grinned, dropping the ball back into the snow. He began to bat it around, letting it roll across the snow, picking up more snow and slowly getting bigger and bigger.
"A snow boulder fight, then?" she joked, a twinkle in her eye as she watched. "You won't be able to pick it up to throw it if you keep that up."
"Ah, but I won't need to pick this one up," he told her, "But I will need a second one. Want to start another?"
She answered by gathering a clawful of snow and creating a ball of her own. "Okay, but only so long as my talons don't freeze off."
The two worked together, each one rolling, then pushing their respective spheres of snow. Winter hummed as he worked, not minding at all the cold of the snow on his claws. Moonwatcher, however, took frequent breaks to blow on and warm her talons. "I think I saw some Skywings that had woolen coverings for the palms of their claws," she told him, "Remind me to ask my mother if she can make me a pair or two next time we're in the Rainforest."
"Will do," he told her, then huffed as he gave his massive snowball one more shove. "That should be good for this one."
It was about to the bottom of his chest when he stood on all fours, and the snow was getting hard to move now. It was pretty solid, too—it was good packing snow. Yes, it was coming along nicely.
"Does this one need to be as big as that one?" Moon asked, continuing to roll her smaller snowball.
Winter looked at it for a moment, then back to the one he'd finished, trying to gauge what the ideal size should be. "Actually, I think that one is about perfect, too. Just roll it over here."
She nodded and did just that, bringing it over and setting it next to the larger ball.
"Okay, now help me lift it."
"Lift it?"
"Yeah," he smirked, and Moon gave him another confused look. She did as he asked, though, helping get the far-heavier-than-it-looked snowball up on top of the other one. She sat back with a huff of breath once it was securely on and shook her head as she chuckled.
"Winter, what are you trying to do?"
"Well," he explained as he began a third ball, rolling it around like the first two. "Icewings have for long been masters of figuring out things to do with snow and ice. These range from the elaborate ice sculptures that you saw decorating the Ice Palace last Christmas to the playful creations of dragonets. In short, we like creating things out of snow."
"Okay…but what are we making now?"
He grinned mischievously, stopping his rolling of the snowball for long enough to turn and bop his nose against hers. "You'll see."
This last one was much smaller and took far less time to make. In only a matter of a minute or two Winter had it finished, and then he lifted it by himself and set it on top of the other two. He shifted it a little bit, picked up some snow off the ground to fill some of the gap between the rounded areas to stabilize it, then stepped back and observed his handiwork.
"Congratulations," Moon said, stepping next to him, "You successfully made three circles out of snow."
He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Well, it's not quite finished yet. See if you can't find a couple nice branches on the ground. Longer ones without many smaller sticks."
"As you wish," she snorted, and between the two of them it only took a few minutes to find what they needed. Two nice sized branches half-buried in the snow, one slightly bent and the other near perfectly straight. Winter stuck them on opposite sides of the medium snowball in the middle, protruding somewhat upward.
"Getting an idea now?" Winter asked, digging through the snow to find a clawful of rocks. Those went on the small snowball at the top. Two for eyes, and the rest beneath them in an upturned outline of a semicircle—a smile. He stepped back and gestured to it, pleased with his handiwork.
"Ta-dah!" he said proudly, "A Snowscavenger!"
Moon observed it for a moment, then laughed and rolled her eyes. "I see it now," she chuckled, "Not quite like a real one, but close enough."
"Some dragons are really good at them," Winter told her, "You can only get so realistic with snow, of course, but you should have seen some of the ones Hailstorm made back in the day."
"I bet," she nodded, then turned her attention back to the snowscavenger. "Poor thing must be cold in all this snow," she joked, "Scavengers aren't made to be out in the snow without their coverings. Here, it can have this." She took off the red scarf from around her neck and wrapped it around where the snowscavenger's would be. The fabric's color gave a nice contrast to their creation, making it pop out against the white landscape, even if it looked a bit large on the snowscavenger.
Winter smiled and nudged her with his wing. "Excellent idea. Makes him look a bit more…real somehow."
"Him?" Moon grinned mischievously, "Shouldn't such a stunning specimen of a snowscavenger deserve a proper name?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"How about…Bandit?" she suggested, "He has that kind of look about him, doesn't he?"
The mention of his old pet made Winter falter for a moment. That had been his first real pet scavenger (his only one, in fact), and he still missed the little guy sometimes. He hoped that Bandit was doing okay, wherever he was. Maybe he could even find and catch him again, if he ever got around to make his scavenger sanctuary and studying them like he wanted to.
But for the moment…"Bandit sounds like an excellent name," he told her.
"Good!" she lashed her tail in delight, "But I think he's missing one more thing."
"What's that?"
"You'll see."
It was her turn to keep him guessing as she marched through the snow to the house and disappeared inside. She reappeared a few moments later with an orange object in her talons. Winter recognized it as a carrot, one they'd gotten from the market in Sanctuary from a Rainwing not long ago.
"As confident as I am that scavengers eat carrots," Winter told her as she approached, "I don't think a snowscavenger can, Moon."
She rolled her eyes. "This one isn't for eating," she told him, and stepping up to the snowscavenger she stuck the carrot into its head, halfway between the smile and the eyes. The pointy end stuck out, looking just like…
"A nose!" Winter realized aloud. "Genius!"
"Thank you," Moon smirked, walking back next to him and leaning against his side, "I do have flashes of inspiration from time to time."
"More like all the time," he purred, leaning against her as she did the same against him.
She snuggled against his icy scales. "Someone's in a flattering mood today."
"What can I say? You bring out the best in me."
His words earned him a kiss on his cheek. "Well, I'm just glad that I was the one who was able to."
They stayed like that for a long while, wings draped around the other, admiring their creation and the beautiful landscape around them. The way that the snow caught the light of the already lowering sun was stunning, and the gleaming icicles hanging from the trees shone brilliantly. It was just like his own home, in a way, even if there were far less evergreen trees and more barren branches overhead.
But eventually, as was her nature, Moon succumbed to the incessant cold of a wintery evening. Even Winter's wing couldn't quite keep her warm enough, and with a puff of breath that swirled like smoke, she bumped him with her tail.
"I'm going inside," she said, "I'll make some hot chocolate. Want some?"
"I'll take a cup," he answered, and although he lingered behind, enjoying the snow on his scales, he followed his mate inside and out of the snowy weather.
Not long later, the two dragons relaxed on a pair of cushions in the main living area of their house, sipping twin cup of hot chocolate from the matching mugs in their claws. Before them sat the Christmas tree that Winter had cut down from the woods outside, covered in a collection of ribbons, glass ornaments, and strings of colorful beads. They'd decorated it themselves a few days ago using mostly what was on claw (getting a few extra things from in town), and Winter was pleased with how it had turned out.
After all, this was their first real Christmas together at a place they could truly call their own. Two years ago had been at Jade Mountain, and then after that had been Moon's little adventure in the Ice Kingdom. They'd been invited back there this year, of course, but between them finishing up the work on their house, Hailstorm and Lynx not attending due to their honeymoon, and them having plans to visit Secretkeeper in the week immediately following Christmas, they'd been forced to decline. And so it was the two of them—and only the two of them—ready to have a quiet Christmas together.
And honestly, Winter couldn't look forward to it more.
There was something to be said for large, extravagant parties, of course. For going and doing and visiting others and celebrating to their hearts' content. But there was also something to be said for being alone with another that you loved, to take the holiday slow and easy and simply enjoy that time with someone. That was exactly what Winter and Moon intended to do, at least for this Christmas.
"Hot chocolate good?" Moon asked, holding her own mug tightly, "I can never make it as good as Kinkajou does, but I think I'm getting better."
"I think its excellent," Winter answered, "And personally, I never noticed a difference."
She rolled her eyes. "Icewings and your funny tastes," she murmured jokingly, "I still forget you actually like it sometimes."
"Just because Icewings have 'ice' in our name doesn't mean we melt with a little heat," he snorted, "And you know just how much I like a little heat."
"Just as much as I like a little cold," she answered back, reaching her tail around from where she laid and wrapping it around his wrist, squeezing it lightly. In return, he brought it up to his mouth and kissed the black scales, causing her to giggle.
"Love you," he grinned, twirling the end of her tail in his talons.
"Love you too."
She hummed to herself, tapping a talon on the wooden floor. "Mmmm…I can't wait for tomorrow," she told him.
"Excited to see what I've gotten you for Christmas?" Winter asked.
"More so excited for you to…well, let's just say I have a special surprise."
"Oh?" Winter asked, seeing the gleam in her eyes, "Now I'm quite intrigued."
"You should be," she smirked, "But for now…want some more hot chocolate?"
He thought for a moment, then set his mug down. "Yes…but that's not all I want…" raising to his feet, he left his cushion only to join her on hers, nuzzling his snout into her scales, peppering her neck with kisses. She laughed and lightly pushed against him, but nowhere near enough to actually push him away.
"Winter!" she giggled, "Right now?"
"Why not?" he asked, his kissing going higher until he was kissing her cheek, "It's Christmas Eve, we're supposed to enjoy each other's company."
"But isn't it still a little early to—"
Rat-tat-tat.
She was cut off by a rapping sound, one of talons on wood. Moon fell silent for a moment, as though confused, then her face brightened a little. "Well, that's unexpected."
Winter cocked his head in confusion before he heard the sound again, and this time clearly recognized it as a door knock. On their door. Which was unexpected indeed, since they practically never had visitors out where they were.
With a forlorn look to Moon—he'd have far preferred no interruptions for the night ahead—he stood and walked to the entrance to their house. He paused, debated for a moment whether or not it would be worth it to even see who was out there, then with a sigh unlatched and opened the door just as a third knock was starting.
He only had it a third of the way open and was just opening his mouth to ask a slightly irritated and perfectly blunt "what do you want" before it was suddenly thrust open the rest of the way. A flash of pink suddenly crossed his vision, and before his mind could even register what was happening he was engulfed in a warm embrace.
"Winter!" a familiar, high-pitched voice squealed, "It's been so long! Merry Christmas!"
He blinked, then looked down and finally realized who exactly was clinging to him. "Kinkajou?" he asked, "What are you doing here?"
The Rainwing grinned up at him, excitement bubbling in her eyes as she just about bounced up and down on her claws (which, come to think of it, seemed to just be her normal state of being). "Why, visiting for the holidays, of course!" she beamed, "Like everyone else!"
"Everyone…else?" Winter asked slowly, then looked back up and out the door. Indeed, Kinkajou was far from being the only one there. Sandy yellow, sea-green, and red-orange scales stood just outside the door, scales that could only belong to Qibli, Turtle, and Peril. The rest of the Jade Winglet had arrived.
"Merry Christmas, Winter!" Qibli was the first of the other three to speak, grinning widely to the point of suspicion. Winter noticed a large sack around his neck and shoulder that seemed to be full of packages, at least from what he could make out. "Can we come in? It's pretty cold out here."
"Oh? Uh, yeah, sure," Winter stammered, still confused as to why exactly his and Moon's old classmates had suddenly shown up on his doorstep. He certainly would have remembered if he'd invited them for a celebration, and he didn't know of any business any of them might have that would bring them anywhere near Sanctuary.
Qibli thanked him and the others offered him the season's greetings as they stepped inside. Winter looked over his shoulder to see Moonwatcher standing there greeting Kinkajou, apparently having gotten up herself after the interruption. She gave him a one-sided smile and a shrug of her wings as the others began to make themselves comfortable, unburdening themselves of some satchels that they'd brought and making their way into the living room.
For the moment, all Winter could really do was shake his head and return their pleasantries and greetings. He hadn't been expecting company. He hadn't been expecting anything. Now the number of dragons in his house had suddenly tripled, going from two dragons to six in a matter of moments. And he couldn't honestly say that he was thrilled at the change, and he didn't quite know how to react to the group barging in. Sure, they were his friends, but that doesn't mean that he wanted them around all the time. Kinkajou could be more than a clawful, Qibli sometimes went a bit overboard with his annoying Sandwing "wit", and Peril…
Winter's eyes widened. "Peril!" he cried, snapping his head to look at the Skywing, "Your scales! I don't want you burning my house down."
"Relax, Winter," she huffed with a role of her eyes, "Didn't you read my last letter? Turtle gave me a little something to keep that from happening," he saw her play with a bracelet on her wrist, "Your home should be safe from my firescales. Well…mostly. I hope."
Winter was almost afraid to ask what that meant, but it certainly wasn't very encouraging. He was just about to tell her to stay clear of the tree and anything else that might be flammable when Qibli appeared beside him and nudged him with a wing.
"Nice place you have here," the Sandwing said, "I like how you've really leaned into the log cabin aesthetic. It's cozy."
"Thank you," Winter sighed, "We worked hard on it."
"I'm kinda surprised, actually," Qibli went on, "I almost expected more of an igloo when I heard you were building a house. Small, practical…a bit chilly."
Winter looked at him blankly.
"Anyway, how have you been?" the Sandwing asked, "Haven't heard from you or Moon in a while."
"Well, we've been busy with this," Winter answered, gesturing to the house around him, "It's been a lot. And just trying to adjust to living in a new place, entering a new phase of life. It's been going well so far."
"Yeah, I getcha," Qibli nodded, "And good to hear! Everything fine with you and Moon beyond that."
Winter snorted, thinking of what he and her would probably be doing right now if they hadn't shown up. "Everything's better than ever in that department."
"Good. I'm happy for you two," Qibli nudged his wing again, "And I have to ask…any eggs yet?"
"No, not yet," Winter answered with an eye roll, "But we have been trying. Hopefully soon."
"Hopefully, yeah," the Sandwing agreed, "If you do, you know you shou—"
"Hey, Qibli, Winter, where should we put the food?" Turtle's voice interrupted them, and Winter saw him pulling some various foods out of the satchel he'd brought. Winter sniffed the air; it smelled good.
"Just set it in the kitchen—err, the other room," Winter answered, pointing to the door to the right location with his tail, "Just set it on the counter, I guess."
"Will do!"
Winter let out a breath. "I wasn't aware you guys were staying for dinner," he told Qibli. "In fact, I wasn't completely aware you were coming at all."
"Well, it was a bit of a spontaneous thing," Qibli told him, "We all figured that it wasn't good for you two loners to be alone on Christmas. So, we decided to come and throw a bit of a party."
"I see," Winter tapped a talon, "Just like that?"
"Pretty much, yeah," Qibli nodded.
"Wonderful," Winter tried to sound sincere, but he couldn't help but inwardly groan. There went his plans for a nice Christmas alone with just him and Moon. "Any idea how long you'll stay?"
"We figured tonight and leave tomorrow," Kinkajou answered, joining the conversation as she reentered the room to help Turtle with the food, "Some of us have other plans later, but we should be able to spend most of the day."
"We're planning to get rooms in Sanctuary for the night, unless you have room here," Qibli added.
It keeps getting better and better, Winter griped sarcastically to himself. "I'll have to ask Moon about that…" he said noncommittally.
Qibli was about to say something else, but was interrupted by a crashing sound from the kitchen. Quickly, Winter rushed to see what the matter was and was met with the sight of Peril standing over one of his plates, shattered on the ground. The Skywing was looking down at it with a dumbfounded expression, then grimaced when she saw them.
"I, uh, accidentally bumped something," she said, "Sorry about that."
"Here, I'll clean it up," Moon offered, having also arrived in the room after the commotion, "No big deal; it happens all the time."
Winter resisted hissing. That plate had been part of a matching set he'd just picked up in town. Not that he particularly blamed Peril, of course, but it was frustrating. Especially since it should have never happened in the first place.
"There's not a ton of room here to work, either," Peril bemoaned, half-spreading her wings to demonstrate.
"There's plenty when there's only two dragons," Winter mumbled under his breath, and he saw Moon shoot him a small glare.
In no time the mess was cleaned, and not long later the food that they'd brought was prepared and laid out. It wasn't anything too elaborate, but Turtle has brought a bunch of some well-seasoned fish that Winter enjoyed snacking on. Kinkajou had brought some fresh fruit from the Rainforest that Moon seemed pleased with, and all of them took a plate before sitting around and catching up.
The once quiet house was quickly filled with noise as conversation broke out, the visitors filling them in on current events and what was going on in their lives. Things were still going well between Peril and Clay, and Peril informed them that she'd actually be flying out to the Mud Kingdom to join Clay and his brothers for the holiday proper tomorrow. For Qibli, life in the Sand Kingdom was as exciting and intriguing as always, and he spent no small amount of time going on and on about all the great things he was helping Queen Thorn do to improve the lives of her Sandwing subjects.
Kinkajou and Turtle were still going strong as well, the couple having made plans to become mates some time ago. With Turtle being royalty, they were having a large, official ceremony that was planned for the spring, and once they got on that subject Kinkajou spent at least an hour talking about wedding plans and all the details of what they were going to do and what she still wanted to do. Moon, having gone through the process before when she and Winter became mates, had some advice and ideas to share, but even Kinkajou's friend and fellow dragoness grew visibly disinterested long before the Rainwing stopped talking about it.
For his part, Winter was mostly quiet, only chiming in when another dragon (usually Moon) specifically spoke to him and tried to bring him into the discussion. He wasn't intentionally shutting himself out but…well, his mind was elsewhere. Despite his friend's good intentions, he couldn't help but be a little irked with the whole situation. If they wanted to visit, they should at least have written!
"Anybody want to play a game?" Kinkajou proposed once the conversation began winding down after a while. "I feel like doing something besides sitting right now."
Kinkajou can never sit still. Winter felt like saying, but kept his maw shut. They'd gathered in the living room where the Christmas tree was, resting on the cushions while they chatted, and apparently the Rainwing wasn't content to just sit and talk for long.
"Sounds fun!" Moon exclaimed, and the others voiced their agreement, "What were you thinking of playing?"
"Well, there's always charades," Kinkajou said, "Or questions and answers. Unless you have any board or card games here that you'd prefer."
"We have scales and squares," Moon answered.
"Oooh, I've gotten good at that one," Peril grinned.
"Might not want to play if it's a new board, though," Turtle rolled his eyes, "When she loses, she burns the pieces."
"That happened once!" Peril huffed defensively as the others laughed, "And it was an accident."
"Let's just go with charades, then," Qibli said, "I haven't done that one in a long time. Why don't you start us out, Winter?"
"I'm fine," Winter snorted, staying put as the other rearranged themselves, moving so that there was an open space for the dragon that was "it" to act out whatever their word would be, "I can never come up with a good one, anyway."
"Oh, come on," Qibli pushed, "Worse comes to worse, just stand still and I'll say you're an icicle."
Winter rolled his eyes, but reluctantly stepped forward after Moon and the other cheered him on. He growled to himself, thought for a moment, then came up with a good enough idea. Or at least he hoped it would be.
Shuffling himself back a few steps, he rose up so that he was resting on his hind claws. Wrapping his tail around, he hid it beneath himself as he sat on it. His forearms, too, he held closely tucked to his chest, and he folded his wings tightly against himself. Craning is neck to look down, he lifted his shoulders to make his neck as small as possible as he peered down at the other dragons in the room.
"A tree!" Qibli was the first to blurt out a rather unimaginative guess, and Peril rolled her eyes and whacked him as the Sandwing chortled to himself.
"Is that all?" Turtle asked, cocking his head, "I mean, it's hard to tell with that little."
Winter snorted, then began to move a little, deliberately shuffling a little the left, being very intentional with his footing as he reached one foot out, clenched the claws on it, and then moved the second.
"A crab?" Turtle proposed.
"Nope."
"A bear!" Peril nearly shouted, "On two legs."
"Nope."
"What about a scavenger wearing a cloak?" Moon made her guess, "And no, no mindreading here."
"Not that either," Winter grinned a little to himself. He tried to make more of a show of his craning his neck and looking down, as well as gently repositioning his wings. "I'd try a noise, but that would be a giveaway."
"Something that moves, is upright, and looks down," Peril mused aloud, "A monkey. Like, in a tree."
"No, but getting a little closer, in a way," Winter took a look at their ponderous faces, then went for the biggest hint sort of making an imitation of a noise. He spread his wings out widely, stretching them as far as he could, then flapped the ends slightly before bringing them back in.
"A cactus!" Qibli guessed again, and Winter couldn't tell if he was serious or not as he shook his head.
"Oh! Wait! I know!" Kinkajou suddenly blurted, having been silent so far, "A hawk!"
"Got it," Winter told her, collapsing back down onto all fours. "Actually, I was leaning more towards eagle, but close enough."
Kinkajou beamed as she bounded forward, and Winter took a seat. "My turn! Okay, let's see…got one! Pay attention, okay?"
Similar to what Winter had just done, Kinkajou reared back up onto just her hind legs, tucking her wings close. Unlike Winter, though, she didn't keep her front claws tight against her, and she kept her tail more visible. Then she began to kind of bob herself up and down.
"A lizard?" Qibli was the first to guess again, although this one seemed more sincere, "A lot of them make that kind of head bob."
"Nuh-uh," Kinkajou said, grinning.
"How about a monkey?" Moon guessed, her voice not very confident.
"Not a monkey," Kinkajou shook her head. "It might help if I…well, I'll go ahead."
Gently, she began to hop a little, cautiously pushing off with and landing back on her hind legs. Which wasn't always easy for a quadrupedal dragon to do.
"A rabbit?" Peril suggested.
"Close, but nope."
She began to jump higher, moving around now. She looked at them all expectantly.
"All I can think of is rabbit, too," Turtle shook his head.
"Oh, I think I know," Qibli exclaimed, "Are you a…a…what are they called?"
"Come on, you've got this," Kinkajou encouraged, continuing to hop. On a particularly high jump she kicked one kind leg out quickly, bringing it back in before she could fall, but almost stumbling in the process.
"A kangaroo!" Qibli finally finished, the animal coming to him, "They live in the southeast desert plains."
"You got it!" Kinkajou told him, then looked at them all, continuing to hop up and down and back and forth. "I thought you all would get it once I started jumping. There are only so many creatures that can—Ahh!"
Kinkajou gave a high-pitched yelp and toppled over as Peril gave a matching hiss of pain. Apparently, Kinkajou hadn't looked where she'd hopped and stepped and tripped on the Skywing's tail. But that wasn't as concerning as what exactly happened next, for when Kinkajou fell she collapsed backwards, right into the Christmas Tree.
There was a whack as she collided into it, then a loud crash as Rainwing and tree both went to the ground. Immediately, everyone leapt to their feet and rushed forward to help as Kinkajou crawled out of the mess of broken branches and shattered ornaments. She groaned, staggering to her feet and shaking off the decorative ribbons that snagged on her scales.
"Are you okay?" Moon was the first to ask, taking Kinkajou under her wing, "That was quite the fall."
"I…I think I'm okay," she nodded, "Just a little startled." She wriggled her legs and wings, as if testing them.
"Are you sure?" Turtle asked, coming up and looking her over, "Legs, wings, neck okay?"
"I feel fine," Kinkajou told him, "Although I might be a little sore tomorrow morning."
"My tail is fine, too," Peril snorted, rubbing it where Kinkajou had stepped on her, "Thank you all for your concern."
But Winter wasn't too concerned about Peril or Kinkajou (although he was relieved to hear both were fine). His focus was still on the Christmas tree, broken on the ground. It had taken the brunt of Kinkajou's fall, and just looking at the mess of broken limbs and branches he could tell that he wouldn't be able to simply set it back up like it was and pretend nothing had happened. Even if he tried it wouldn't look quite the same.
Winter felt a familiar kind of cold settle in his chest, a sense of irritation and frustration. He and Moon had spent a good amount of time finding and then decorating that tree, and just like that it was ruined. It was ruined just like his pleasant night alone with Moon, and the plate from before, and if the trend continued it would be ruined like his whole Christmas.
From where she still stood with Kinkajou across the room, Moon's eyes met his. "Winter…" she began.
"You okay, Winter?" Qibli asked, apparently also picking up on his less-than-sunny disposition without the benefit of Moon's mindreading.
"No." Winter answered bluntly, glaring at him. He wanted to hiss, to throw a fit like the Winter from back at their first year in Jade Mountain would have done. But instead, he simply gave a very deep sigh before addressing everyone that cared to listen. "I need to step outside for a bit."
He did just that without another word, leaving his own house and tromping out into the snow. It felt soothing on his scales—when had it gotten so hot inside?—but it didn't do much to sooth his emotions. He hissed to himself, lashing his tail as he slunk into the dark night.
It was all just so…so…so irritating. These dragons had just dropped in without an invitation, and proceeded to wreck his night and his holiday, destroy his property, and cause a general nuisance. If he had told them to come then that would be different, but he didn't particularly want them here. That was kind of the whole point of him and Moon building a house so far away from everyone in the first place. They liked their peace and quiet, and Winter did not appreciate it being so suddenly and viciously interrupted.
He growled and plopped himself down, laying in the snow and letting the cold wash over his stomach and chest. He just about wanted to tell them all to leave, to lie and say that he and Moon had plans and they couldn't accommodate them. But they were his friends, and despite how unwanted they were at the moment, Winter didn't want to so rude—even if his former self would probably have been more than okay with the idea. Besides, Moon would never let him.
With a huff, Winter sat back up, glancing back to his house. His and Moon's house. The place where they were supposed to be spending their first Christmas with them alone together. A peaceful, romantic time that had been stripped away from him. He almost wished that he had never let the rest of the winglet even know where their house was (although he was sure Qibli would have figured it out somehow anyway).
A minute or so passed of Winter internally bemoaning the situation before he heard the door open and close, then clawsteps approaching. He knew who it was, of course, even if her scales blended near perfectly into the night. He didn't say a word, though, as Moon approached and sat beside him.
She was silent for a while—possibly a worrying sign—before she finally spoke. "It's a pleasant night tonight, isn't it?" she asked.
"It is, yeah," Winter sighed. The snow was still continuing to fall, very lightly, and for an Icewing like him it was near perfect temperature to be out and about.
"Peaceful, too," she continued after a moment. "You know, I was looking forward to it, too. Just us two."
He looked at her. "Moon…"
"They're our friends, though," she continued, "And they came a long way and took time out of their own Christmases to see us, Winter. I know it isn't quite what you were imagining this year, but…is it really so bad to entertain other dragons that care about us, even when it is unexpected?"
Winter let out a deep breath. "No, it's not," he admitted, "It's just…I was so looking forward to it, Moon. And you know how they can get on my nerves, especially Qibli and Kinkajou."
"I know, I know," Moon nodded, "But they won't even be here a full day. And the plate and tree…they were just accidents. You know that, Winter."
He looked down, "Yeah, I know."
"Then what's wrong?"
Winter met her eyes, his wings drooping. "I guess I just had in my mind how tonight and tomorrow would go," he told her, "And you know how much I like my plans, how I like things just how they should be—it's the Icewing in me. To have it shaken like that is, well, jarring."
She looked at him for a moment. "I understand," she said, slowly, "Still, it is Christmas, Winter. Come back inside. Please. If not for them, for me."
"I will, I will," he nodded, "Just…give me a few minutes. Like you said, it is a nice night, and I could use a little bit of peace and quiet before going back in."
"I'll wait with you, then," Moon said, her voice making it clear that the idea was not up for debate even if he wanted to be alone. She leaned into him, and he wrapped a wing around her.
Winter relaxed, leaning back into her. He glanced over and noticed that they weren't far from where they'd built their snowscavenger, Bandit. Their creation had a thin layer of freshly fallen snow built up on it since they'd left it, almost giving it the appearance of having hair like a real scavenger. Winter smiled at the sight, giving an amused snort.
"You know," Moon said after a minute or two had passed, "I mentioned earlier that I have a surprise for you. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I feel like now might be a good time."
"That's okay, Moon," Winter told her, "I prefer to wait until Christmas to open my presents, anyway."
She giggled, pulling away from him and meeting his eyes. "I said surprise, not necessarily a present. Although if it is one, it's more of a present that you gave me."
Winter tilted his head in confusion. "I don't get it."
"Well, let's just say that I hope you aren't looking forward to a Christmas with just the two of us next year," she said, "In fact, it's looking like we won't have a Christmas alone for quite a few years to come."
"This is a pleasant surprise?" Winter asked, "Moon, I'm not sure what you mean…" he trailed off as he noticed that Moon had brought a claw to her stomach and was rubbing it lightly as she looked at him, her brilliant green eyes sparkling in the light of the moons. Winter's eyes widened. "Wait…are you…?"
"Uh huh," she nodded.
"And I'm gonna be a…?"
"Uh huh."
Slowly and uncontrollably, Winter felt a large smile grow across his face. He felt a pleasant feeling in his chest, a sense not of the normal pleasant cold but of an intense and overwhelming warmth that despite his icy scales felt positively wonderful. All other worries, all other complaints of the night and the situation and disappointment over how things were vanished nearly instantly as Moon revealed to him that she was with egg and that he would be a father.
He couldn't even speak a word of delight; he simply threw his wings around Moon and pulled her close against him. She laughed and hugged him back, adding the warmth of her scales against his own. "I know," she said, "It's wonderful, isn't it."
"Amazing." That was the only word that came to mind. Simply and utterly amazing. Already Winter could see their dragonet in his mind's eye, could see himself teaching him or her to hunt and fly, could see all the wonderful times ahead for himself and Moon and their future dragonet—or dragonets!
Yes, this certainly was an amazing Christmas surprise.
"How long have you known?" he asked.
"Only a couple of days," she told him, "I figured I'd save it for tomorrow, make it even more special for you. Especially since I don't have a Heart of Ice or anything like that to give you."
"Maybe not," Winter said, unable to keep the smile, or at least a stupid grin, off his face, "But you've given me something far more wonderful this year."
Moon's own smile said everything. "I thought you'd think so."
Another minute passed with them holding each other closely. Moon rested her head against his, humming contentedly. For his part, Winter just wondered how life could get much better. Only a few years ago, he was little more than a worthless outcast to his parents and family. Now he had a beautiful and wonderful mate and a dragonet on the way—a family all his own. Not to mention friends that cared about him and saw him as more than a failed prince.
…Friends that were right now alone in his house, unsupervised, and no doubt wonder where he and Moon were.
"Maybe we should get back," he finally said reluctantly, loosening his hold on her.
"If you say so," Moon nodded, slipping out of his wings, "And we don't have to tell the others right away, if you don't want to. I know that it will spark a whole other conversation that will probably last forever and make us all late to bed, and by extension late for Christmas morning."
Winter thought about that for a second. On one claw, Moon had a point about what telling the others would cause. He could just about hear Kinkajou screaming "Eggs!" and babbling for hours about how cute their dragonets would be and if she could dragonetsit and what they would name them. And he could just imagine Qibli would come up with some sort of dragonet-themed pun or nickname that he would use for the rest of their time together.
But on the other claw…Winter almost didn't care. He was excited, he was overjoyed. Winter wanted to tell them all, to share the good news. And the look that Moon gave him when she heard that in his head told him that she did, too.
"We can tell them," he declared, trying not to quite let all the eagerness bleed through into his voice. "But before that…"
He wrapped his tail around hers and planted a kiss on Moon's cheek as they began walking back to their house. "Merry Christmas, Moon."
"Merry Christmas, Winter," she said right back as Winter lowered his head so that it was close to her stomach, close their still to be laid egg. Winter purred, his heart leaping in his chest as just the thought of what would come.
"And Merry Christmas to you, too!"
A/N: And a Merry Christmas to you, all my wonderful readers! I hope that you enjoyed this story, and I hope that you all have a great holiday. As for me, I've got some projects upcoming/in progress that I'm excited to share in this coming year, and I hope to see you all there!