25. Guardians of the Guild.

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Italy, 1999...

   Donald hated the cold. He had always hated it, ever since he was a young hatchling, he had always slept with a blanket on top of his bed covers to keep warm, but today, even with the many thermal layers he was wearing under his parka, he was shivering. 

The moment he got out of the warm rental car, he regretted coming on this adventure. 

Speeding off into the town up ahead, Donald was hoping to find a nice little café with some comfy chairs and a nice brick fireplace, where he could get a hot-chocolate with some mini marshmallows and just warm up.

Unfortunately, Donald had rotten luck.

Almost immediately, the strange street layout had him lost, but by the time he realised it, he was too far gone. Knowing very little Italian, he couldn't read the street signs, so the young man had to rely on his instincts to guide him. However, this proved to be a poor idea.

First, he had slipped on a patch of ice he hadn't noticed. And while the many layers protected him from the cold, it stretched the fabric of his coat to the limit, meaning it ripped quite easily, allowing cold air to blow through into his coat. Getting up and wiping himself down, Donald grumbled and continue onwards.

Then, not five minutes later, as he was passing under a fabric overhang, in front of a shop, one of the two poles holding it up, snapped, causing the mountain of snow that had gathered above it to fall onto him, aggravating him further.

After another ten minutes, as he was crossing a road, a frozen pipe above him, which ran between two buildings, burst. Sending small fragments of frost remnant, followed by bone-chillingly cold water, all over him and into the tear in his coat, soaking him.

Finally, after another fifteen minutes of walking, he finally found the café of his dreams.

Sprinting up to the window, Donald stared into the cosy interior with visible glee, it is exactly as he hoped. Reaching into his pocket for his wallet, his joyous demeanour shattered when he realised that he had left his wallet in his bag... which was still in the car.

Feeling his anger build and face grow hot. The teenager let out a stream of curses and practically vibrated with intense rage. 

As he squawked and shook, he thought he heard his Sister laughing.

Confused, the teen paused his ranting for a moment. Looking around, he couldn't spot his Twin anywhere, that was until he realised something.

As the café sat on the corner of a street, Donald had happened upon the storefront side, which was nothing more than the front-door and windows, which advertised onto the main street, but there was also outdoor sitting, which was just around the corner.

Sitting at one of the tables, with a boy no less, was Dumbella.

Unable to pass up the chance to embarrass his Sister, Donald with a big smile, took a chair from an currently unused table, and dragged it over to the table his Sister was sitting it and plopped down beside her.

"Hey Della," - He said in the most obnoxious voice he could muster. - "Mind introducing me to your boyfriend?"

Della, surprised by her Brother's arrival and embarrassed by his assumptions, couldn't spit out a response, so her new friend took initiative. Reaching across the table he stuck out his hand for the other Duck to shake. Which he did.

"Leo. Nice to meet ya."

"So Leo, how did you meet my sister?"

 "She... helped me out with a bad situation." - He answered, knowing it was probably smarter to keep what had actually happened, vague. - "So I'm thanking her with coffee and a cupcake." - He explained, leaning back into his chair.

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