Of Sand and Snow

Chapter 3: Don't Fear the Reaper, She's Nice

(The song for this chapter is Something Beautiful by Tom Walker)

Content Warning: If you are not comfortable with the themes of abuse, and/or abuse is a trigger, skip the large italics section, beginning with: It all started...

Winter yawned, starting to wake from his slumber. He tried to stretch his wings out and bumped into something. What? He thought, recoiling slightly. Turning, he looked down and his eyes widened. He not only had a claw over his chest that was not his, but a pale-yellow wing as well. His heart started beating out of his chest as he turned more, seeing another groggy face.

"Qibli?! Why, what is-?" Winter sputtered, his face turning a deep blue shade.

He saw two groggy obsidian eyes meet his, the shine of a gold earring, "Hm? Oh, sorry, completely forgot. Didn't get to give you a goodnight kiss~"

"But... but... M-" Winter stumbled over his words.

He got a gentle claw to the snout, "Shhhhh. It's just a kiss, right?"

Winter glanced every direction, seeing him start to lean in, "I... I guess... I could..."

The icewing began to lean in as well, their lips only an inch from touching before Winter shot up from his sleep. Breathing heavily in a panicked state. He looked over his shoulder, nothing there. Eyes immediately turning, he glimpsed the outline of Qibli in the shadow.

It still seemed to be dark outside, early morning at the latest. Winter put a hand on his chest, feeling his heart rate go down. Then his eyes trailed down more and... he immediately leapt up and made his way out of the cave. Taking a breath of fresh air, he was able to calm himself down and save himself a world of embarrassment.

His claws shot up to his head, grabbing both sides. He clenched his claws tightly, letting out a frustrated growl, "Why? Why me? Why now? This is so... wrong."

It would be one thing if it was just the embarrassment, the teasing, fake flirting, the whatever. Dreams now? It just didn't seem fair, how was he supposed to handle this? Not sleep? Force himself to forget by thinking about penguins jumping over an ice float. All his suggestions were ridiculous and impractical. The best that he could actually hope for was it not happening again. What a horrible place to be, harboring feelings for someone that wasn't his. It was almost if this prophecy was made purely to punish him for existing.

"Everything alright?" He heard a voice behind him. Winter turned, keeping his eyes dead ahead. Qibli was the last person he wanted to see right now.

"No, absolutely not," Winter replied coldly, gritting his teeth.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Qibli asked, sitting a short distance away.

"No. I don't need to talk. I just need to get back to work, to get my mind off things," he replied, casting his eyes out towards the river.

"Is it about your family?" Qibli asked, scooting a tad bit closer.

Winter thought for a moment, and lied, "Yes. It's always about my family."

Qibli nodded, and turned his gaze towards the water as well, "When I was growing up, my mother and my brother and sister really didn't care for me. I did everything I could to make Cobra happy and got nothing in return. Not a thanks, not a hint of affection, nothing. Even when we met up again, and she seemed like she had actually changed, it was all a farce. All she cares about is hoarding power and wealth for herself. My siblings hated me, thought I was idiotic and would make it their goal to make my life miserable. Funny thing is mom nearly killed them and stopped only because I pleaded with her to. Even though they were so awful, I still had a soft spot for them." He looked over, giving him a nod, "I may not know exactly what you've dealt with, or how you feel, but I can sympathize as best I can."