Running • Iggy

Deal

Flying through a blizzard in one of the coldest days in recent history isn't my idea of an ideal family outing.

Let me back up. So, it was December 17th with Broghan delightfully informed us, the flock, that the leader of the entire Burnen Corporation was coming to her house for a meeting and staying over Christmas within the next 12 hours, meaning we had to get out as fast as possible and leave no traces of us ever being there. Before we left, Broghan gave us an insane amount of money and explained that she won a lottery a year or so back anonymously. She sent us on our way once we had retrieved all our items and promised to contact us as soon as it was safe. She told us not to stay in one place longer than 48 hours as a safety precaution.

What we didn't know, was that 2 days later there would be a country-wide snowstorm that would last 4 days. So here we were, flying through snow that was too thick to see through. I couldn't lie - I was beginning to blackout from the cold. I'm sadly the opposite of Iggy - while he thrives in any cold temperatures, I can only handle cool temperatures. As soon as it becomes too cold, it begins to make me feel like my nerves are burning. I begin to feel lightheaded and I even get a fever sometimes.

I was struggling to keep up with the others - not that they could tell. I was at the back of the flock, heading towards the hotel we had scouted out on the map in case we got separated. We had agreed that whoever made it to the hotel first would sign in their name as "Johnsons". We would get a bedroom with 3 beds for the younger kids to sleep on, and a singular room beside it for me. The others were just going to sleep on the floor.

By the time I made it to the hotel, everyone was in the lobby, nervously whispering between each other as they watched out the window. When I walked in, Max took one look at me and gasped. "Jesus, Cee," Max murmured as she walked over to me and brushed off a bunch of the snow that was desperately clinging to my hair and clothes. "Come on. I got the keys. Let's go up and we can get you warmed up too." She suggested.

I couldn't protest, even if I wanted to. Soon enough, I was curled up in a new oversized extremely fluffy jumper that reached down to my knees when I stood up straight. The sleeves went far down too, meaning they covered my skin. My kind of outfit. I had snuggled into one of the beds in the larger room meant for the rest of the flock, buried under the covers completely.

It was silent - the only other person in the room was Iggy, who was looking up ways to fix heaters. The others had gone downstairs to get some dinner. My room was freezing since the heating seemed to be broken. "You awake under there, sweetheart?" Iggy called quietly.

In response, I poked my fluffy hooded head out of the covers, my tiger's ears flopped down in a relaxed state. Iggy smiled and walked over to my side, slipping under the covers with me. He wrapped his arms around my body and made a small, pleased noise as his body touched the fluff of my jumper. "You're so warm..." He drew out, his lips pressed against my forehead. "And so fluffy... So perfect..."

I sighed, running my hand down his back. "Almost Christmas, hm?" I mumbled, listening to the loud blasted Christmas music from out in the street. For a blizzard, it was insanely busy in the city. He nodded quietly. "Like in your dream, yeah?" He whispered. I nodded.

Silence. Nothing but the noise outside and our quiet, peaceful breathing.

"I... um..." I murmured. Pull yourself together. I thought at myself. Living with an overkill brain was a constant internal struggle, let me tell you. "I just... Well -" I attempted to find my words, before just giving up completely. "Nevermind. I'll show you one day." I whispered.

Iggy laughed as he leaned back to look at me. "What?" He giggled. His blue eyes sparkled so brightly it made me feel like they were the sun. I love him. I thought quietly. So much.