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Winter touched down lightly on the solid wood landing pad. It was damp, and covered in bright green moss that made it slippery to the touch. He dug his serrated claws in, before extending a wing preemptively. Moon let out a small yelp as she landed, a talon slipping from beneath her, only barely catching herself on his outstretched wing.
"Thanks. I thought I was the seer here," she breathed, smiling up at him. Winter cooked his head to the side, giving her a toothy grin.
"You're the clumsy one. I was just prepared."
Moon answered him with as much etiquette as a proper dragoness her age could muster.....by sticking her tongue out at him. He did his best not to laugh and succeeded, as far as he was concerned.
"Auroraaaaa. Were heeeere," Moon turned down to the sling around her chest. A bright white and green snout poked out, followed by piercing green eyes, wide with excitement, her mane of green tinged spikes rattling in the air.
"Gramma?!" She asked, squirming to get her wings free.
"Not yet. But we're in the rainforest." Moon answered. Aurora struggled free, somersaulting out of the sling and onto the damp mossy wood, before letting out a squeal of excitement as her talons slipped out from under her. Aurora lay dazed, splayed out on the ground for a heartbeat, before bouncing up excitedly, clawing at the offending moss.
Winter felt the rustling in his sling, as the black scaled dragonet inside poked his head out. Then he immediately pulled himself back inside, curling up against his cold chest.
He could understand why. There were Nightwings staring at the new arrivals, something he'd gotten used to over the years. Being the first Icewing with a Nightwing mate in two thousand years garners you some unwanted glances. But of course his more skittish son did not appreciate the attention as much as his sister did, the latter waving an excited talon at the watching dragons.
"Courage, it's not that many dragons." He said in a soothing voice. It wasn't.... too many, only the dragons nearby, and they were already turning back to their tasks. The soft drizzle pattered against the wood around them, drowning out any conversations they could have otherwise heard.
Courage's talon poked out, holding itself in the rough shadow puppet shape of a dragon's snout before shaking back and forth violently. Moon let out a laugh.
"Don't you want to meet grandma?" She asked, leaning close to the pouch. Courage nodded his talon slowly.
"The rainforest has lots of sweet treats, too. I know Secretkeeper will have prepared some snacks for you both." Winter chimed in.
"Snacks!? Yes! Courage, hurry up!" Aurora shouted, poking at the satchel with a sharp claw. Courage squirmed, and kicked back through the pouch, only for Aurora to stab in another spot. Courage finally poked his head out with a silent hiss aimed at his sister.
Winter plucked the little dragonet by the scruff, before he could dive back into the sling. Courage squirmed, before crossing his arms in an annoying manner, flicking his tail anxiously. His black and silver spines were tensed in alarm, barely rattling as he swung in the air.
"You'll be fine Courage. No one wants to hurt you here." Moon reassured him.
Courage flicked his tail again, before holding out his two paws in a sign Winter recognized.
Hot. He motioned, then spread his wings out to point to the rainforest around them.
Winter nodded solemnly, setting the dragonet down, and holding his wing over his son. "Yes, it is kind of hot here. You can stay near me until you get used to it."
“I like it!” Aurora said happily, batting a scrap of moss at her talons. Then she stomped it flat with a triumphant smirk. “It's so smooshy and oozy and gooey and fun!”
Winter gave Moon a look with a raised eyeridge. That one has to be from your side of the family. No one in ‘my’ family would ever say ‘oozy’.
Moon responded by punching him in the shoulder with an amused snort. “Come on you brainless sloth. Mother will be waiting. She’s wanted to see them since they hatched.”
“I’ll have you know I would be an incredibly intelligent sloth. And handsome. Courage agrees with me, right?” He asked, poking his son in the side teasingly. Courage swatted at his talon before shaking his head and signing another word.
Slow! He said, before thinking for a moment, and adding another word. Cold!
“I’m slow and cold?!” Winter asked in mock horror. Courage nodded emphatically, before pointing to the sling.
Me in! He said, before crossing his paws. Winter tilted his head and thought about that.
“I’m slow and cold unless I let you back in your sling?” He pondered. Courage nodded in affirmation. “How about..., I give you a camelback ride instead of putting you in the sling, and I’ll just be cold, not slow?” He offered appeasingly. Courage put a claw to his chin in thought, before nodding in agreement.
Contract, yes! He said, holding out his talon to shake in a proper Icewing manner, probably picked up from his work in Sanctuary. Winter gave his son a rueful smile, gently pressing his claw into Courage’s grip and shaking gently. Then he hoisted his dragonet onto his back, letting him settle between his spines on above his wings.
“Me too! Me tooooo!” Aurora whined, jumping up and down on the platform. Moon laughed, brushing her daughter with a wing.
“Maybe after you clean off your paws! You’ve been out of the pouch for only moments and you’re already looking more Rainwing than Icewing!”
Aurora looked down at her claws which were now covered in a layer of green moss and specks of mud. Her white scales were completely stained, making her bottom half match her top half. She let out a small annoyed scowl at the moss, as if it were its fault for making her dirty, before pouncing on another particularly large pile. It fell apart under the dragonet’s talons, sending her skidding over the wood.
Definitely yours. Winter reiterated. Moon raised her tail to thwack him, but the Icewing prince smartly moved out of range, stepping off the platform, and waiting for her on the soggy dirt.
Moon scowled at him playfully, before tapping Aurora on the head with her tailtip. “You want snacks right? Grandma is waiting for us,”
Aurora immediately stopped terrorizing the moss, jumping up to follow her mother off the platform, only falling over once more in the process. With a swish of his tail, and a small pat on his neck urging him to hurry up, Winter led the way through the Nightwing village, towards the hut he was all too familiar with.
It was small, and tucked out of the way of many of the others. When they had first settled in the rainforest, Secretkeeper had become something of a social pariah for having Moon hidden away. And Winter couldn’t have been more thankful to the elder Nightwing for doing so.
He felt Moon’s tail twine with his, as she matched him step for step, his affecting leaching through his scales into her own, in ways he could only guess at. Aurora bounding between his legs, interrupting the touching moment with her excited scampering.
“Is it that one?! That one? Are you Gramma!?” She shouted at one of the passing Nightwings. They gave a startled look taking a step back, before looking between Moon and Winter.
“Um…no,” They answered before hurrying away. Moon had to hold a talon to her muzzle to stifle her giggles as Winter pulled Aurora back by the tail.
“Calm down you little moss monster. You’re scaring the locals!” He said, trying to scowl over the smile teasing its way down his snout. Courage climbed onto his head, balancing with a wing wrapped around one of his horns, before signing something he couldn’t see.
“Am not!” Aurora cried back, squirming under his grip.
“Winter?” A female voice asked, in something like surprise. He looked up to see who it was, before his mind went blank. Aurora ripped her tail out from under Winter’s claw, running up to the new dragon.
“Are you Gramma?!” she asked, sitting in an approximation of Icewing posture, if it allowed that much grime on one's scales. The dragon looked between Winter, then Moon, then back at the dragonet at her talons.
“No… not your Grandma. Just an….aquaintance of your parents.” She answered with a soft, sad smile.
“An….aquaintance…” Winter repeated quietly. He gently pulled Courage off his head, looking into the confused expression of his son. Then he looked past the dragon, but didn’t see any anyone else with her. He looked up to meet the older dragon’s eyes, but she averted her gaze.
He looked back down at Courage, squeezing him softly, receiving a small annoyed tail lash and an Up? sign in response. Winter's brows furrowed for a fraction of a second before his eyes widened slightly and his gaze shifted off his son.
“Hope! It’s good to see you. We were just on our way to see my mother! How have you b-” Moon was interrupted as Winter gently pressed Courage into her claws, letting his talon rest on his head for a moment, before grabbing her talon and squeezing it.
“Moon, do you mind if I have a chat with Hope?” He asked, wreathing his claws in between hers for a long moment. She stared into his eyes, then past them, deeper into his heart, before nodding.
“Alright. We’ll wait for you at my mother’s place,” she answered, holding Courage close to her chest. Winter leaned down to kiss Courage on the head, then did the same to Moon, pecking her on the side of the muzzle.
“I won’t be long. Promise,”
“Aurora! Grandma is this way!” Moon called, waving her daughter over with a wing. Then, in a quieter voice, she spoke to Winter again. “Bring back strawberries with you,”
Berry! Courage signed, finding a word he could say. Winter laughed and ruffled his mane lightly, before gently pushing his daughter over with his wing tip, sending her into a pile of drenched foliage with an outraged squeal.
Then he turned back to Hope, noting the slight shame in her gaze. The anxious twitch of her tail and the sad droop of her wings. His smile fell to a thin line, but he didn’t break composure. “Might I trouble you for a bit of tea, Hope? We have something important to discuss.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ceramic cup clinked against the tray, the only noise in the entire hut. Hope gently poured a cup of tea with shaking talons, spilling a few drops on the smooth wooden surface of the table. Then she pushed to drink over to Winter with a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
He met her gaze for a moment, before pulling one of his cleaning rags from Courage’s sling, and wiping the droplets clean. Then he folded it gently, and placed it aside to grab the mug and took a small sip. It was warm, and slightly minty, with a sweet strawberry base. Icewing style, with a hint of her new home.
“So…You have dragonets of your own now,” Hope started quietly, pouring her own cup. As Winter thought, her shaking claws spilled another drop. He gently pushed the rag over to her and she froze for a moment, before grabbing it with a small thank you.
“That I do,” He answered smoothly, gently setting the cup down.
“Your’s and Moon’s I presume…” She asked cautiously, lifting the cup to her muzzle.
“Yes. They are Icewing and Nightwing,” he answered, letting the words hang in the air. Hope closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, before setting her cup down, leaving her tea untouched.
“Are they loved?” She asked in a much quieter voice, not lifting her head. “Are they…accepted?”
Winter set his tea down gently, not even letting it clink against the wood, before he wreathed his claws together. “I know everything,” He said, rather than answer her question. “Moon told me everything.”
Hope pulled her talons back, before finally meeting Winter’s eyes. There was a sadness in her gaze, as well as an ever present worry. And of course the fierceness hadn't left her eyes even after all these years.
“I assumed as much. When you stopped visiting me and Peacemaker, and started avoiding us. Glaring at my son as if he were a villain, even when he was only a dragonet.” Her voice wavered slightly, but her chin held firm, and her eyes narrowed.
“That’s because in my eyes, he was a villain. The dragon who murdered my queen, and caused the death of my father.” Winter said slowly, honestly. He turned back to the tea, stirring it slowly with a spoon. “I was furious at you,” he added.
“I won’t take it back. If I could go back, I would do it again. Peacemaker is my son, as much as Darkstalker was.” Hope said, a slight defiant growl in her tone. Winter set down the spoon.
“I’m still mad at you,” Winter started again, meeting her gaze once more. Her face had twisted into a scowl of anger and hatred…no. A scowl of protection and love for another. “But not for Peacemaker.”
That caused a small falter in her expression. Her teeth pulled back slightly, and her eyes widened the tiniest bit. Something only an Icewing would notice. Winter had to stop himself from smiling, he could still surprise her.
“Then why are you here? To yell at me for everything I’ve done wrong? Feel free, I’ve heard it all before!” She snapped, slamming her talons on the table, sending her cup tumbling over. Winter looked down at the spill, making a soft tut sound with his muzzle. He pulled a few more rags from his sling and started to clean the mess.
Hope’s talon pressed on top of his, stopping him mid-wipe. “Stop acting like this is just a normal tea with friends, and tell me what you want.”
Winter looked down at her talon, before pressing his free talon on top in as soothing a gesture as he could. The same motion Moon used on Aurora when she cracked a scale, or that he used when Courage was too scared to sleep through the thunderstorm. “I am angry that you lied to me. But I also understand why.”
The older Nightwing yanked her talon back, looking at him carefully, before looking away. “I thought you would hurt him if I told you. I thought you would….”
“Kill him?” Winter asked, snorting a soft puff of frost, as he cleared the last of the spill with one last wipe. “Never. I fantasized about it, and every time, I could only feel guilt at the end. But hating him? That was enough…that was easy…until….” He trailed off, looking over to the windowsill where a small planters-pot sat, filled with strawberries. The outside of the pot was covered in clawprints of every colour, and a crude dragonets painting of two dragons, one large black one, and a small rainbow one.
He looked back up at Hope, with a small smile. “Until I had my own eggs.”
Hope looked him over, before her tail stilled, and her wings relaxed. The shaking in her claws stopped and her eyes lost their defiant glare. “You do love them…”
“With all my heart. I would do anything for Courage and Aurora. Anything.” He breathed that last part, tapping a claw on the table softly. “So I can understand why…why you couldn’t just let him die. Why you wanted to keep even a piece of him with you always.” Winter pressed a claw to his sling. “If I were in your scales now as you were back then…I would make the same choice…no. I would be even more selfish," he admitted. “I would try to keep them whole. I would never be able to sacrifice what you did that day.”
Hope shook her head, a small tear spilling from her eye that she quickly wiped away. Winter reached a talon across the table, and Hope grabbed it. He gently squeezed, pouring comfort into his motion, even if she wasn’t a mind reader.
“You gave my family a chance to exist, at the sacrifice of your own. I just didn’t see what you had lost, until I had what you had. I’m sorry for ever blaming you, and for expecting the impossible from you,” Winter said quietly. Hope squeezed his talon back, wiping another tear from her other eye.
“I’m sorry for lying to you, all these years. And not trusting you to be the good dragon you’ve always proven yourself to be,” She whispered back.
Winter smiled at her, and she smiled back, sniffling slightly. “Moon is going to be upset with me. I promised her I wouldn’t make you cry.”
That got a laugh, breaking the somber mood. Hope cackled lightly, before pulling her talon back and shaking her wings out. She rubbed her talons over her muzzle, before she slowly transformed back into the domineering dragoness Winter always knew her as. “Well, she won’t have to know.” Hope said after a moment, the waver of her voice gone.
“She has ways of finding out,” Winter said with a small chuckle. Then he grabbed his tea and took another sip. “I love this recipe, by the way.”
Hope gave him a rueful look. “Peacemaker made it one day. He wanted to make strawberries a part of everything we did. Breakfast, dinner, homework, school, even teatime,” she laughed. “He always found new ways to add them in.”
“I am curious why he grew such a strong passion for strawberries, out of all fruits. He became obsessed with the one that contained the enchantment." Winter said, tipping the cup into the light from the window. "I am glad he has such passion for something productive, I just wonder if Kinkajou may have added something else to that enchantment. Maybe he subconsciously has a connection to strawberries due to his origin?" He pondered as he took another sip of the tea.
Hope shook her head, looking over to the strawberry planter with a smile. “It was never a part of the spell. That's just Peacemaker being who he is. As long as he’s happy, I’m happy.”
Winter gazed down at his glass for a long moment, letting the liquid swirl around the mint leaves in the bottom.
A small knock on the door alerted both dragons, before it was pushed open. A dark scaled Nightwing appeared, a few years younger than Winter. But instead of the natural star-scape like on Hope’s scales, he had a collage of colours, from sunset oranges, to ice kingdom blues.
“Mother! Steelforge is gravid! I’m going to be a-aaaaah! Winter!” He finished with a surprised yelp. His wing spots faded to a surprised orange before becoming a fearful white, making him look almost completely Nightwing. “Wh-what are you doing here?” he asked with a small gulp.
Winter gave Hope a small look, before scooting over to the side, giving room for Peacemaker to sit. “I just came to smooth over rough scales. What is this about a forge?”
Peacemaker looked a bit pale, turning from his mother to Winter, then back again. Hope nodded slightly, and he acquiesced. Though he made sure he sat next to his mother rather than Winter. “Steelforge is uh… my mate. And she just told me she’s with egg.” He said, a little shakily. He kept shooting glances at Winter, causing the Icewing to wince. He hadn’t realized his former hostilities were that known.
“An egg?!” Hope asked, yanking her son into a hug. He yelped, struggling for breath in her monstrous grip. His tail lashed and his wings flashed a pained white and orange.
“Mother! Can’t. Breath!” He gasped out. Winter had to chuckle to himself, this was so much like Secretkeeper when she found out. If only his own mother….
Hope dropped Peacemaker, letting him gasp for breath. After a few moments with a talon raised asking for patience, he spoke again. “I came asking for advice, not for a choke hold!” He growled without anger.
“Advice?” Winter asked.
Peacemaker jumped, as if he had forgotten Winter was there. His wing spots turned a bright shade of pink, before fading green. “Oh uh. You…probably wouldn’t care,” He said quietly, tucking his tail around his forelegs.
“Try me,” Winter set his tea back down, sitting attentively.
Peacemaker stared at the table, as if it could protect him from the Icewing across it. “Well uh… I don’t know…how to…..be-a-parent.” He said, finishing the sentence at the speed of a Skywing in the air. Winter blinked for a moment, parsing together the words before nodding softly.
“You won’t know until you are, and then you will,” Winter said promptly. Peacemaker for once, dropped the fear, and gave a look filled with as much confusion as a dragonet trying to learn arithmetic.
“What?”
“You won’t know how to be a father, until you are one. And once you are, it’ll feel like you’ve always been one.” Winter answered truthfully, thinking back to the moment his two dragonets hatched. He couldn’t help smiling at the thought.
“But what about feeding, and keeping them warm, and what if they’re more Rainwing than Nightwing! What if they have powers! How do I keep them happy, an-”
Winter held up a talon for silence. “How about you come practice,” He asked, tilting his head.
“Practice?” Peacemaker asked, his tail flicking anxiously once more. “How?”
“My dragonets are here visiting their grandmother. They would love having another dragon to play with. And I would love to introduce you both to my family.”
Peacemaker looked back at Hope with a small gulp.
“I think that's a wonderful idea,” Hope answered for them both with a small smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Winter knocked lightly on Secretkeeper’s door, the shouts of joy from Aurora audible through the thick wood. Moon opened the door moments later, smiling brightly. Then she frowned at him. “You made her cry.”
Winter winced, looking behind him where Hope and Peacemaker both stood waiting. Hope looked eager, while Peacemaker had more anxious green scales showing. “It was a good cry. Are you going to invite us in now?”
His mate gave him a long look, before nodding. “Just this once, I suppose,” She said in as Icewing a manner she could muster. Winter poked her snout with a claw, eliciting a laugh. Moon threw the door wide open, ushering them in.
“Peacemaker! I’m so happy for you!” She grinned, giving him a hug as he walked inside after Winter and his mother. “You will be a great father!”
His anxiety melted as he wrapped his wings around Moon, hugging back lightly. “I haven't seen you in months Moonwatcher!”
“Three to be exact. Because of these little monsters!” She said with a laugh, pointing with her wing at Aurora was chasing Secretkeeper’s tail spade in circles as she shouted loudly. Secretkeeper herself was resting on a soft bed of pillows, Courage in between her front talons as she read him a scroll.
“Your eggs! Winter mentioned he had dragonets, but I didn’t piece together they were yours!” Peacemaker said with an awestruck wonder in his words.
“That is kind of how having a mate works,” Moon added dryly.
Aurora stopped chasing the tail with a soft gasp, before skidding up to Hope. “It’s Not Gramma!” She said, pointing a talon accusingly.
Winter yanked her into the air tossing her up, before catching her in both talons. “What did we say about pointing?”
Aurora pointed at Winter’s snout. “Point at bad dragons only!” He wrinkled his nose at her.
“We said ‘pointing is rude!’ Are you calling me bad?” He asked, trying to frown at his daughter.
“Bad bad bad! No treats for you, only for me!” Aurora said with a huff, striking her tongue out at her father.
“What if you are the treat?!” He asked, grinning toothily. Then he wrapped Aurora in his wings, muffling her squeaks and squeals of protest. Courage jumped up, darting from Secretkeeper’s talons to jump on his father’s tail. Winter flicked it up, dangling the small dragonet in front of his muzzle.
“Oh! Another snack!” Winter grinned. Courage made a roaring face, flicking his tail to hit his father in the snout. Winter collapsed backwards in a heap of scales and wings, his tongue hanging out. Aurora squirmed as Courage dropped onto his stomach, and both dragonets started to bounce on their defeated father.
“All the treats for us!” Aurora shouted loudly. Courage signed the word Treat before stamping on his father’s stomach again.
“Okay you brave warriors. Friends are here to meet you,” Moon called. Courage’s tail sat straight up, before he burrowed under Winter’s wing, peaking out to see Peacemaker. Winter gently sat up, sending Aurora tumbling down with a hiss of outrage.
“Courage, Aurora. These are friends of Mommy and Daddy,” Winter announced. “This is Hope and Peacemaker.”
Peacemaker gulped softly once more, but his wing spots turned a bright pink, matching the blush on his face at the words. Aurora glared at her father, kicking his side once more before bounding over to Peacemaker.
“Uncle? Uncle Peesmaker?” She asked, stuttering over his name.
“Oh no! Not th-”
“Yes. Uncle Peacemaker,” Winter said with a small smile. Peacemaker was nothing like Darkstalker. Nothing at all. He looked at the hybrid, with a small nod, before turning to Hope. “And, if she’ll allow it. Grandma Hope.”
Courage poked his head free from the wing, signing a few words. Two Grandma? Uncle… He shrugged, not quite sure how to say Peacemaker’s name. Then he pointed at the hybrid’s wings. Rainbow! Uncle Rainbow! Like Aunt Rainbow! He signed proudly.
Winter tapped his chin a bit. “Not quite, but it works. Uncle Rainbow. Welcome to the family.”
“Rainbow? Uncle? Wh-wh-what?” Peacemaker stammered, his tail flicking shyly, and his front talon’s tapped lightly together. “A father, and an uncle? Oh dear, I’m not ready for that!”
Moon pushed him forward slightly, smiling softly. “You will be. Just try it.”
“Uncle Peesmaker!” Aurora demanded. “Treats! Uncles give treats!” She said, holding out her talons.
Peacemaker looked all around, his wings keeping that same sunset pink, before his tail went still, and he pulled a couple strawberries from his pouch. “Um….treats? Will…. Does this work?”
Aurora sniffed at one of the large red berries as he held it out to her. Then she took a large bite from it. The juice ran down her chin, staining red over the greens and whites. After a few tense moments of chewing and thoughtful expressions, she nodded, signing the word for good, then stomping over to Courage.
“He’s a best uncle!” She hissed loudly to the hiding dragonet. Courage peeked out further. “He has good treats!”
Moon and Winter laughed loudly, while Peacemaker tried to keep his blushing scales hidden. Secretkeeper gave her granddragonets a small smile, for exchanging a pitiable one with Hope.
Winter met Peacemaker's eyes as he gently pushed Courage out from under his wings. The two dragonets scampered back over to the young hybrid, talons out for a strawberry each. His fear seemed to melt as he dropped a juicy red berry in each of their claws with a faint smile. "You'll be a great father, Peacemaker. You already have the instincts for it," Winter offered quietly. And for the first time in many years, Peacemaker beamed at him proudly.
"Welcome to the family," Secret keeper added with a small laugh in her voice as she looked between the to the two new dragons. "We're a crazy one."