Chapter twenty-two: Winter Wonder Snow

"Ryder? Any chance you've got vehicles good for the snow?" Rayla asked, coming out to the boy quietly to respect the bonding time of her two other pup friends.

"How do you mean?" The boy asked, turning to her thoughtfully.

"Well, I mean something we can use to drive over the snow with little chance of getting stuck, but something we can also have fun with," the golden lab replied.

"Like a snowmobile?" Ryder asked, peaking the pup's interest with an intentional sounding meaning behind it.

"You have one?" She asked suggestively.

"Come on," the boy smiled, nodding back behind him. "I'll show you something."

XXXX

The pups all waited in silence for their golden friend to return.

"I wonder what Rayla wanted to ask Ryder." Skye mentioned, breaking the awkward silence, much to all their relief.

"Hmmm. Oh, she wants to put a hole in a tree for sap to make maple syrup? Sorry, but I think it's too cold to do that!" Brian said simply.

"Yeah, 'highly doubt that's what she was thinking." Chester figured, dry tones hinting in his response.

"Are you always Mr. Sarcastic or just having fun?" Brian retorted with a grin.

"You tell me." Chester shrugged.

"Maybe sarcasm is your middle name?" Brian guessed jokingly.

"Nah, just Reginald." Chester answered with a straight face.

"Chester!" Chase groaned.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" His brother immediately surrendered humorously.

"Were you though?" Chase questioned dryly.

"Now who's Mr. Sarcastic," Chester mocked, chuckling.

"Not funny, Chess." Chase complained, trying not to smile as he shoved his brother, who just laughed.

"Sure sounds funny to me." Chester snickered, making Chase just sigh.

"Anyways, sarcasm aside, what are Rayla and Ryder doing?" Melody asked, trying to get the group back on track.

Suddenly they heard the high-pitched rev of an engine and immediately looked up and scrambled out of the Lookout just as the engine sound came toward them. Ryder was just walking up the slope from the external access to the garage when a pup-sized snowmobile shot up toward them and skidded to a stop right before them like out of some action movie. And the pup who lifted the visor of the helmet was none other than the golden army pup herself, sporting a full body snow suit decked in army green and white striping.

"What do you think pups? Wanna go snow surfing sight-seeing?" She asked them.

"Woah!" The pups gasped, Chase coming forward excitedly to study the vehicle as he strode around it.

"So that's what you've been working on.." he mentioned, obviously directing this at Ryder. "I knew you'd gotten some new materials, so I guessed that you were starting a new project."

"You're right.." Ryder shrugged. "But I haven't completed them all yet so we only have five to work with. You pups can test them out and let me know how they drive."

"Awesome!" Zuma cheered.

"Sweet!" Skyler swagged, sliding her head to the left with a bit of sass. The snowmobile itself was decked out with police blue and themed after their police pup; the number 02 label on the front hood and on the back fender. Chase seemed to recognize this cause he hopped in behind Rayla in the back seat and stood up to study the controls with great interest.

"I'm driving for now." Rayla informed him, while still enjoying his enthusiasm. "At least until you're concussion cleared."

"Worth it." Chase decided, half distracted by his observations of the shiny new vehicle.

"I've been considering this as a new rescue mode for us.." Ryder mentioned. "'Give Everest a chance to try her hand at guiding the team in her field of expertise."

"This is awesome, Ryder!" Chase gasped. "When did you come up with this?"

"A few months ago," Ryder replied. "I remembered back to some of our snow rescues and realized some of your vehicles don't handle snow very well, so I figured I'd come up with a remedy for that so to speak."

"Wait, Ryder? Is there a snowmobile for all of us? I thought my van is designed for snow and stuff? Given I'm a backup tracking pup," Snowflake queried.

"I haven't finished them all yet." Ryder reiterated with a shrug. "Chase and Everest's were the first two, then I was able to get Marshall, Rubble and Skye's done and I am currently still working on Zuma, Rocky's.. and yours. I can always build one for you, Rayla, if you think you'll need one to help us someday."

"Only if you think it'll be helpful." Rayla replied. "But for now I can just enjoy someone else's till he can enjoy it himself."

"Which will hopefully be soon.." Chase piped up.. "Right?"
"We'll see." Ryder shrugged. "But it sure seems that way."

"Ouch, get some ice for that burn!" Brian said with a smirk. Snowflake elbowed her brother, before looking at Chase with a smile.

"Don't worry, Chase. You'll be riding your snowmobile soon. It just might be a while," Ned said, trying to sound encouraging.

Chase gave Brian an odd look, clearly confused by his comment, but shrugged just the same.

"Yeah, I know.." he sighed. "'Guess that means I can't go with you guys today."

"Not this time.." Rayla confirmed. "But don't worry,.. we won't have too much fun without you."

"Sure you won't." Chase shook his head, smiling in obvious disbelief.

"Ok but, since not all of us can ride the snowmobiles, how will we all be able to have fun?" Skyler wondered.

"I've got one idea that might work." Chester mentioned. "But I'll need to borrow our snowboarding expert to see if it'll work." And when his gaze fell on Rubble the bulldog sensed this and looked over in confusion.

xxxx

Snowtreads shredded the snow and ice as a board glided right behind it. The speed slowed with the sliding turn and the snow pleasure device was skidded to a stop.

"Seems like a solid plan to me." Rubble concluded. "And this harness idea actually seems pretty secure too."

"Hey, wait a minute?! You go along with this idea but not the skateboard parachute plan? What the heck?!" Snowflake responded with confusion from across the yard.

"How will this work with all of us?" Melody wondered.

"Well first of all, this is safer than that because we have strong protective gear.." Chester explained, thumping the harness over his snowsuit and vest. "And we can all do this because Snowflake, Rocky and Rubble are busy doing their thing while Chase and Boomer keep themselves out of trouble.. And if we substitute drivers we have just the right number of pups to drive while the others board. It all works out."

"Perfect!" Melody exclaimed happily with a bounce.

"So where are we going while riding the snowmobiles?" Brian asked curiously.

"Anywhere we want!" Chester replied, scoffing like they should've known this. "That's why they call it fun."

"So we could drive on the frozen bay if we wanted?" Ned responded curiously.

"No! Dude! I said have fun, not be reckless and risk making ourselves into pupsicles! We still gotta use our heads.." Chester declined dynamically, shaking his head in a rather animated fashion.

"Okay, relax! Hmmm. The forests around Jake's Mountain?" Ned remarked.

"What about riding on the slopes on Jake's Mountain?" Brian suggested. "No rocks or trees to avoid."

"Where's the fun in that?" Chester scoffed. "What's a little snow-run without some difficulty?"

"I kinda agree, without obstacles it can get kinda boring.." Rayla agreed. "And it doesn't sharpen your skills as effectively."

"We're not turning this into a training exercise." Marshall mentioned.

"No, but it's always more fun that way isn't it?" Rayla reasoned. "It doesn't have to be formal training to be training. Even if we just run through the woods without a wipe out it will have built up some skills in us, right?"

"True I guess," Marshall supposed, "as long as we don't go overboard with it. This is supposed to be fun, remember?"

"We got it, we already established that." Chester sighed, shrugging loosely. "Now come on, who's up for a snow-busting wild ride around Adventure Bay?"

"Sounds good to me," Brian agreed.

"As long as we're safe, I'm in!" Melody chimed.

"Alright," Ned said calmly.

"Why do I get the feeling this is gonna be a bad idea?" Chase wondered aloud, watching them intently with Boomerang doing the same nearby."

"They'll learn one way or another." Boomer shrugged.

"As long as it's not the hard way." Chase sighed.

"Well, I know you and your friends are quite responsible. And with vehicles this powerful, or of any kind, you've all proven to be quite skilled and trustworthy with them. Even when mishaps occur."

"It's not my friends I'm worried about." Chase mentioned letting his gaze wander from Boomerang to the pups around his brother.

"Awh Chess is a tough cookie, he'll be fine." The new voice instantly drew attention to him and Chase was only a little relieved to hear it.

"Billy,.." Chase addressed him lightly. "I'm not so sure about that.. He's only been getting better at driving my truck cause we've worked on it.. But we haven't had him work on handling more advanced vehicles. I've been driving them for years.. He's only just started in the last couple.. I'm not quite sure he's ready for that level of power just yet."

"Aw, you know you brother,.. he always seems to do best under pressure.. Kind of like you." Billy mentioned, shooting him a sidelong smile.

"This is different.." Chase countered heavily. "He may have the need for speed,.. But he may not have the skills to back it up yet. I don't wanna see him end up like me.."

"He'll learn either way.." Billy shrugged. "Let's just pray he makes the right choices and deal with the rest when we get there.. Like crossing a bridge?"

"Can we not use the bridge analogy?" Chase asked uneasily. "Cause all I can see in that is a broken one.."

"A matter of perspective.." Billy reasoned.. "But ok."

"Relax, Chase.. We'll be careful, we promise." Chester assured his brother.

"Just don't make it back here on a stretcher." Chase half-begged, though it sounded more like a dry complaint than anything.

"Scout's honor." Chester asserted formally.

"I mean it, Chess.." Chase emphasized. "You don't know the kind of power you're dealing with here.. I don't think you're quite prepared for this yet. Even though I know I can't stop you even if I tried."

"I promise I'll be careful." Chester reemphasized more slowly. "Ok? Are we good? Can we go now?"

Chase just sighed and rolled his eyes as he wandered away again.

"Besides, I think I can take your mind off it with some training today." Billy mentioned turning toward him as he left.

"Alright pups, let's gear up and get out of here, before Chase changes his mind, and tries to stop us." Chester decided.

"Okay. Where are the helmets?" Melody asked as she and her husky brothers strapped themselves into the harnesses.

"Right here.." Marshall called finding them near some equipment.

"Thanks Marshall," Ned said before putting on a green helmet. Melody put on a purple helmet, while Brian put on a black one.

"Ok, Marshall, Zuma, Skye, since we're more experienced drivers.. Let's go grab the other snowmobiles, so we can get them all hooked up." Chester decided.

The three PAW Patrol pups nodded and the four of them took off together.

"In the meantime,.. let's get you guys strapped up." Rayla ventured.

"Sure. But don't clip our fur please," Melody responded.

"Better a pinch than go flying through the air with no way to stop," Brian commented.

"Like we're trying to do that!" Ned teased before rolling his eyes.

"No we're not, but don't worry. Your snowsuits should cover enough of you that it won't be an issue." Rayla reminded them.

"Thank you," Melody thanked with a smile.

"Ummm. How fast can the snowmobiles go?" Ned asked nervously.

"Hopefully not too fast. Like a hundred miles an hour? Hehe," Brian commented half heartedly.

"I'm sure we don't have to go crazy fast." Rayla figured, checking over each pup's harness.

"Indeed. That would be a little scary," Brian replied, slightly nervous.

"Yeah, imagine the call Ryder would get; 'Ryder, help! I got detached from my harness and am flying through the air across town! Help meeeeee!'" Ned exclaimed as he pretended to be in trouble.

"I doubt you'd be able to call and describe every detail as it's happening," Melody chuckled.

"Not even I can be that calm in every situation." Rayla agreed. "However, I don't think it'd get that far out of hand."

"Yeah," all three huskies said at the same time.

xxxx

"How high do you think we can get this, without the ladder?" Rocky wondered, then all three of them had to turn and look as the five snowmobiles sped off with their snowboarders in tow.

"Maybe to half the tree height?" Snowflake guessed as she looked at the progress they had made, putting up ornaments.

"Ryder, how far do you think we can reach?" The mixed breed asked the boy, as he wandered back over to the three pups.

"Well with your tools, pretty high,.. but we will probably need the ladder for most of it." Ryder figured with a shrug.

"That's what I thought." Rocky sighed, deflating slightly. "But.. it'll look pawesome in the end.. so it's worth it. Come on!"

"Yes! Let's go!" Snowflake exclaimed as she wagged her tail, and followed Rocky.

Rocky ran over and hopped into Marshall's waiting fire truck then slowly started backing it toward the tree. Getting it close enough to where he thought he could reach he jumped out to grab a garland and headed up the extended ladder proudly.

However, as he got to the top some coils of the garland started raveling up in weird ways and at one point tripped him up, but with no paws to catch him and fell over the top rung and the whole thing pulled tight. He braced for impact, but when nothing hit he noted the swinging motion and cracked an eye. Now hanging upside down, all that was beneath him was half the length of the mildly low-set ladder with the garland holding him up at two points on the top of the ladder.

"Wooph! That was lucky," the mixed breed sighed.

"Very lucky. Want us to get you down?" Snowflake asked as she looked at the upside down Rocky.

"Uhh, yeah that'd be great." The mixed breed smiled awkwardly.

"Hang on, Rocky, I'll get ya!" Rubble called, backing his vehicle toward them. The crane arm lifted and the claw opened. When it lowered slowly it grabbed a hold of the garland and began to lift, while Ryder loosened it off of the ladder so Rubble could set the pup down where Snowflake and Ryder could finish unwrapping it so Rocky could wiggle free again. Shaking himself out was a relief, but he had to sit down to scratch a paw at his side to get rid of an itch brought on by the scratchy fake garland.

"You okay? Want to try and put the garland on again?" Snowflake suggested.

"Yeah.. Just a little itchy is all.." Rocky replied, shaking once more. "Those garlands are kinda scratchy.. But I'll be ok, nothing a good shake can't fix."

"Good. Then let's get back to decorating!" Snowflake exclaimed before jumping in the air, then scratching Rocky's back with a paw.

"Ahhhhh.. That's better.." Rocky awed, sinking into the scratching like a melting candle. "Ok,.. let's try this again, but this time.. Much more carefully."

"I just coiled it up for you.." Ryder mentioned, hooking the wrapped garland up onto the top of the ladder.

"Thanks!" Rocky smiled, hopping onto the ladder once again. "That'll hopefully make it so I don't get caught up in it again."

"Yeah. We'll catch you if you fall!" Snowflake added cautiously.

"And I can help you wrap the garland around with my crane!" Rubble added taking an end of the garland in his claw and lifting it toward the tree.

"That's perfect! You're probably our best spotter.. Er.. maybe that's Chase.. Or maybe Rayla? I don't know, you guys are all good at that." Rocky ventured, hoping he wouldn't offend her by saying this.

"I'll take that as a compliment.. I think?" Snowflake responded, slightly confused by Rocky's statement.

"Sure,.. I guess I'm just saying you really do pay close attention to details." Rocky shrugged.

"Thank you," Snowflake said with appreciation.

Suddenly, the female husky thought of something.

"Do we have enough garland for the whole tree, or will we need more?" Snowflake asked Ryder from below the boy.

"We should have enough,.." Rocky answered for him. "We've done multiple trees in the same year before,.. and anyway we have lights to wrap too."

"Rocky's right, we should have more than enough to decorate this tree." Ryder confirmed.

"Good! Just checking. Keep up the good work! You guys are doing great!" Snowflake said encouragingly, as she watched the boy and pup hang up the fake garland.

Annnnnd we're back! Sorry for all the snow references for titles, but they've just been too good to pass up! And also.. the season is winter sooooo yeah.. But again a mixed bag of character interactions and events that hopefully have kept you guys busy!

I still can't believe we've made it past chapter twenty already! And that means, being ahead by ten or so for writing, we've crested thirty chapters TOTAL!

Could this story exceed the last one in length? I don't think so,.. but with how this is going it may come close at the very least. Put your guess in the comments and we'll see who ends up being right! Until next time ya'll! Thx!