A/N: Got this one out faster, but I won't make any promises on speed for the next one. I am excited for it, though, just have some other writing/work that I need to get to as well. In the meantime, enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 12

Winter hummed to himself as he walked up to his house, a plump deer hanging from his jaws. The meeting had gone much longer than he had expected, and so did the hunting afterwards for his dinner, but right now he was just happy to be back. Maybe he'd take a short nap after dinner, then work on a report. Or maybe he'd just relax for a while. Either way, it was good to be home.

He went to open the door, then paused. He heard voices coming from inside. Which was odd; he didn't know Moon to have guests over, and he figured she would have asked him first. But then he recognized the voice, and he grinned despite the meal in his jaws.

Dropping the deer, he knocked twice before stepping inside, just to let them know he was coming in. He was met with the sight of Moon and Peril in the living room, apparently having had been in mid-conversation before his arrival. Coldshock was out and about, too, the dragonet looking up at him from a blank scroll he'd been scribbling on. Winter greeted his son with a nod before turning his attention to his visitor.

"Peril," he greeted, stopping only to grab his catch and pull it inside before stepping forward, "This is a surprise! I didn't know you were coming."

"Well, I didn't either," she said, standing up from her seat, "I just happened to be taking a trip and I thought I'd stop by. I figured that I might catch you if you weren't busy, but I ended up catching up with Moon instead."

She stepped forward and the two embraced, Winter putting a wing around her shoulder and squeezing. Peril chuckled and pushed him lightly away, a grin on her face.

"Bold of you," she told him, "You didn't even look to see if my bracelet was on."

"Oh, I knew," he told her right back, "The house wasn't on fire."

"Still, remember what happened last time…"

He snorted. "No, I haven't forgotten how you almost killed me."

"Hey," she defended herself, "You're the one who tried to attack a firescales. That's not me killing you, that's you killing you."

She smirked at that, and despite himself Winter grinned back. It was good to see the Skywing. Of all of the Jade Winglet, it had surprisingly enough been Peril that he'd seen the most of since leaving Jade Mountain. Mainly due to her working as the Skywing liaison for Jade Mountain, which caused her to travel right by his doorstep each trip, of which she took many, sometimes even bringing Clay along. When she had the chance, she stopped by and they caught up, and Winter enjoyed hearing about things that were outside of his small town.

Yes, it was always nice when Peril showed up. Although Winter noticed as he asked her how she was doing that Moon watched them with a discomforted frown on her face, one she quickly masked when she saw him looking. He wondered if he'd missed something.

"So, you're a father now," Peril observed, distracting him from that, "Coldshock is a lovely dragonet. I'm sure you're very proud of him."

Winter looked at his son, who had ambled over to him with a smile, displaying the scribble he'd been working on. Winter took it and grinned, it looked vaguely like a blue dragon. "Yes. Yes, I am."

"Moon was telling me he's already hunting and catching fish," Peril went on, "And I saw he has silver scales behind his eyes like his mother's, even if he has a lot more than Moon's. Is he a mindreader, or…?"

"We don't know yet," he answered, "I imagine we won't for a while. But it sure feels like it sometimes."

Almost as if in agreement, Coldshock cooed and smiled.

"Can I get you another cup of tea," Moon asked, speaking up for the first time since his arrival. She'd stood up and came forward. "I can make you one too, Winter."

"Oh, thanks, but I was going to get to dinner," he told her motioning towards the deer he'd brought. "Sorry Peril, if I knew you would be coming, I would have gotten more food."

"Nah, you're fine," she said, "I wasn't planning on staying too long. In fact, I should probably get going here pretty soon." She paused and tilted her head. "Although maybe another cup would be nice…"

"I'll take care of it," Moon told her, "And I can prep the deer, too, if you want to chat for a little, Winter. I picked up a new seasoning the other day that I've been wanting you to try."

Winter eyed her. She didn't seem entirely enthusiastic, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah, that would be great. Thanks, Moon."

She got to work on that as Winter and Peril went back to the living room. Peril took the seat she'd been in before his arrival, and Winter took Moon's. It was nice to relax for a moment.

"You know, I never quite pictured you as a father," Peril told him, looking at him with interest, "It's kind of odd to think about, if I'm honest."

"Well, it wasn't exactly a planned thing…" Winter trailed off, his voice falling a little. It still hurt to think of that night, of what he did. Sure, it resulted in Coldshock, but he still had no pride in it. Nor was it the most comfortable thing to be talking about.

"Moon told me about what happened," Peril said, "Or enough of it, at least. How are you handling things?
He sighed. "Well enough, I guess. Can't say it hasn't shaken things up. My work with the scavengers has been, well, not as engaged as before. And now Riptide wants me to take over his role as head of the town, so there goes even more time."

Peril blinked at that. "Really?" she asked, "Head of the town."

"A lot of responsibility, I know," he nodded, "Just found out about it today. I'll be working with him on a trial basis."

"Makes sense," Peril nodded, "I mean, considering your background."

"That's what everyone else seems to think," he mumbled.

"You're not excited about it?"

Raising a claw to his head, he huffed. "It's not that I'm not interested," he told her, "It's just that with everything going on right now, I just don't know how it will all work. There's always work at Sanctuary, and with Moon's injured wing I need to make sure she's taken care of. It's just hard to see how I can take on town management on top of everything else. I mean…I love this town, I really do. I want to help it. But the commitment…it's not going to be easy."

"It never is," Peril agreed, "But you know, sometimes the most important things come out of the unexpected. If I didn't take the chance and commit to Clay, I could still be killing dragons in Scarlet's arena."

"That's hardly the same thing," he snorted, but reluctantly nodded, "But I guess I get your point…I think."

"Besides, now you have someone to help," the Skywing went on, her eyes shifting away from him and towards Moon, who had just finished the tea and was bringing it over. "I know I couldn't have done anything without Clay by my side. I found someone to make me better. Maybe you've found someone, too."

A short silence fell as Peril accepted her new cup and Moon stepped away again. Winter noticed that odd kind of look in her face again. Although this one seemed a bit…forlorn, maybe.

"I don't know," he said, lowering his voice once Moon was gone again, "I've always cared for her, Peril."

"That much is obvious," the Skywing snorted.

"But after what happened, after everything…" he shook his head, "If I'm honest, it's a struggle with how things are now. Part of me wants to mend that breach, to make things how I always wanted them to be, but I messed up so much. So, so, much."

"Winter, you're a dragon, just like everyone else," Peril told him, "Everyone makes mistakes. I know that far more than most."

"But I'm an Icewing, and a prince," he hissed, ignoring the fact that the second one wasn't quite true anymore, "I'm better than that."

"And Moonwatcher is one of the best dragonesses I know, yet here you are," Peril pointed out, and he really didn't have a good answer for that. "Look, Winter, you're a good dragon. I know that you've done a lot to build yourself a new life here. If you want to take the next steps with her, I know you can do it.

Slowly, he nodded. "Still…"

"You can," she said firmly. "And just so you know, as a dragoness, I can definitely say that Moon wouldn't be here if she didn't want to try too. Even if she may not know it."

That was enough to finally get a smile on his face again. "Thanks, Peril."

"No problem," she grinned, "Now I know how Clay must have felt."

With that, the conversation shifted away from Winter and to how things were going with Peril and at Jade Mountain. Peril filled him in about how classes were going with the new group of students and some of her new roles with the place, as well as news on how Turtle, Kinkajou, and everyone else from his days there was doing. Qibli never came up, though, and for that Winter was both grateful for and somber at.

Soon enough, though, Peril got antsy to go. Which was fair; she'd made it clear enough that she couldn't stay long. All the same, Winter couldn't deny that twinge of sadness as she bade her goodbyes to him and Moon, gave him a hug farewell, and took off into the dimming light outside.

She'd left him plenty to think about, though.

Moon was silent as she took a bite of her deer, much like she had been since Winter had arrived back from his meeting. Some of it was out of politeness, of course, as she wanted Peril and Winter to get a chance to talk without her butting in. But another part of it was that she felt…well…she felt awkward. And frustrated.

And it was because of Peril.

Not that she held any ill will against the Skywing. She'd enjoyed her own talk and catch up with Peril; it really was good to see her again. In fact, part of her was already looking forward to if she would she stop by again soon. The thing that got to Moon was how Winter treated Peril.

He'd hugged her. Touched her. Let his guard down around her near completely. Winter could still barely hold Moon's talons for more than a few seconds, but he was completely fine to throw his wings around Peril in an embrace the moment he saw her. And seeing that just made Moon feel…feel…well, Moon didn't know how to feel.

Moon knew why Winter was so hesitant to embrace any sort of physicality with her—he'd made it pretty clear—and to an extent she understood it. She didn't want to push him too quickly into anything, especially when he had such a vitriol reaction to it. But all the same, seeing Peril treated like she didn't get to be, it almost evoked something in her akin to jealousy, if she was able to admit that to herself.

She shook her head and picked at her serving of deer again. It was well seasoned with the spices she'd picked up in town, but all the same she couldn't find it too appetizing at present.

"I overhead you telling Peril that Riptide was asking you to take over his duties," she spoke, breaking the silence at the dinner table.

Winter looked up from his own (nearly finished) dish and tilted his head. "Yeah," he said, "We'll be working on it when I have the time."

"And Riptide will be leaving, then?" she asked.

He nodded. "Once myself or someone else is ready to take over. He figures it's time he moves closer to Tsunami. I can't really blame him, personally, but I sure will miss him."

"Makes sense, makes sense," she nodded, then fell silent and went back picking at her food, not sure what else to say.

Fortunately, Winter decided to carry the conversation on. "So…how was your reading club?" he questioned. "Have a good time?"

"Oh, yes!" she said with enthusiasm, perking up as her thoughts shifted back to earlier that day, "It was fun. We picked a scroll to read and then talked for a while. It's a good group of dragonesses that they have there, and they were very welcoming."

"Dragonfly's sister is a part of it, isn't she?" he asked.

"She is," Moon confirmed, "Well, both of them. Depends which one you're talking about."

"They're both good dragons," he told her, "Gales\ is a member, too, if I recall. You could do worse with friends here in Sanctuary."

Moon raised an eye ridge. "You seem to know a bit about the club," she observed, "Were you a member or something."

"Hardly," he scoffed, standing up and taking his plate to be cleaned, "They tried to recruit me, of course. I mean, they try to recruit everyone. But no, I just get around in town, I suppose."

"Which is why you'll be replacing Riptide?"

"Something like that," he shrugged his wings.

"You know, I might be able to help out with things, if you need me to," she offered. "Obviously I don't know the town as much as you do, but if there's something I can do that gives you more time, just let me know."

He hesitated and looked uncomfortable for a moment before nodding. "I'll do that," he said, although despite the skyfire he wore she could almost read his mind that he didn't plan to.

"What about the scavengers?" she proposed, "Swallow has mentioned me maybe using my powers to get into their heads more, and it's close enough I wouldn't even need to fly there. I'm sure between me and him we can help keep your operations running there."

Winter gave her a tired look. "Moon," he sighed, "I appreciate it, but…I don't know. I have a lot to think about now. I'll let you know how you can help when it comes to that, if you still want to."

Her heart sunk a little at that, but she gave an understanding nod. Winter had been so relaxed around Peril, and now he looked tense and frustrated again. She wished that she could just relieve him of that, but she knew that to some extent she herself was the reason for it.

All the same, a part of her just wanted him to wrap his wings around her and hug her like he had Peril, except maybe a little tighter.

She looked down and took the last few bites of her meal in silence. As she ate, she noticed that Coldshock, who had finished his meal around the same time as Winter, had hopped down from his seat at the table and was playing with his ball. He seemed to be making a game of smacking it with his tail and then catching it with his talons once it bounced off a wall.

Moon found the corners of her mouth twitching up as she watched him play. He seemed to be enjoying himself, immune from the cares and the worries around him and of adulthood, and as Moon looked on she just enjoyed seeing her son being happy.

…At least until he smacked the ball too hard with his tail and missed the catch. The ball went right through his talons and smacked into his snout with an audible whack. Coldshock squealed, falling to the ground before quickly scrambling to his claws and running over.

"Mama!" he cried out, and Moon immediately rushed to his side. She picked him up in her claws and saw tears in his eyes, as well as a little streak of blue blood trickling from his nostrils.

"It's okay, it's okay," she told him, pulling him in tight, and he borrowed into her embrace. "I have you, Coldshock."

She looked up and saw Winter, who had dropped what he had been doing and rushed over when he heard their son in distress. He looked alert, his eyes wide and scanning. "What happened?" he demanded.

"He accidentally hit the ball into himself and has a bloody nose," Moon explained, "Grab a rag or a towel or something, would you?"

Winter nodded, disappeared, and reappeared a moment later with some sort of fabric in his talons. Moon thanked him as she took it and gently wiped Coldshock's snout, removing the blue liquid from his face.

"Everything's fine," she told him, as he stopped whimpering. "See, you're all right. It's okay." She removed a couple drops of blood that had gotten on her own scales, then gave the rag back to Winter.

He looked at it for a second, then snorted in amusement. "Blue," he said, "Icewing blood."

"Well, he does breathe frostbreath," Moon grinned a little, stroking her son's back. She saw Winter shift on his claws a little, then offered him to hold Coldshock. Winter accepted, gingerly picking him up and holding him close.

"It's okay," Winter assured him, repeating her own words, "It was just a little hit to the snout, barely enough to even make you bleed. Nothing to shed a tear over."

Coldshock gave a sniff and pulled away just enough to look up and into Winter's eyes.

"You have the blood of Icewing royalty in you," Winter told him, "A little ball cannot hurt you. There will be challenges in your life, there will be hurt more than a bloody nose, but remember that you can overcome them. You are strong, and I believe in you, Coldshock. Remember that."

He lowered his snout and touched it lightly against the small hybrid's. When he raised it up, Moon saw a small tear leaving his eye.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him. Winter seldom if ever cried. In fact, she wasn't completely sure she'd ever seen him truly cry.

"Nothing," he shook his head. "Just…my father never said that to me. That's all."

Moonwatcher didn't have words for that, but she did feel herself start to smile. Things may still not be perfect between her and Winter. He might not be affectionate with her, but he was with their son. Coldshock had a father, and for that at least, Moon was happy.