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play_arrowGiftsgivingThe cold winter air along with the aroma of the cinnamon apple candle calmed Dakota as he flopped onto his bed. Thoughts raced around his mind as he tried to keep himself from spiraling. Tomorrow was going to be overwhelming, sure, but he could handle it! He could stay cooped up in his room, away from all the noise! Dakota sighed. No. That wouldn't work since he did want to go out there and eat Giftsgiving food, and open presents. A sound made him jump, and he quickly got his phone out. Just a notification from one of the games on his phone again. Dakota sat up, and messaged Lucia. "Hey, are you doing anything tomorrow? Is your family going to come visit or anything?" It didn't take long for Lucia to message him back. "Nope. Nothing's been planned this year. Why? What's up?" "I wanna get out of the house tomorrow. Found out we're having Giftsgiving over here and I really don't wanna deal with all the noise, or socializing with family." "The forest has a pond, right?" "Yeah, but it'll be frozen over because of the snow." "Perfect! I'll see you tomorrow!" Dakota tipped his head, wondering what Lucia had planned. Outside in the snow would be better than inside with all the noise at least. The next day, Dakota was cuddling Mocha on his bed, smiling as he listened to her purring. She was kneading his sweater as he pet her. The door opened, making him flinch and causing Mocha to jump off the bed. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Lucia. "Scared ya? Sorry. Guess I should've knocked first, huh? But look!" Lucia beamed as she held out a pair of ice skates to Dakota. "I thought we could go ice skating on that pond!" "Isn't that dangerous?" Dakota sat up, taking the skates and looking them over. He'd gone to the skating rink with Lucia before, so he knew how to ice skate, but he still wasn't very good at it. "Well, kinda? But with my help it'll be fine. Ice magic and all that. I can put a strong layer of ice over it, so the pond shouldn't melt after that. Plus it's chilly enough to stay frozen!" She beamed. "I don't know about this. Are you sure it'll be safe?" Dakota frowned, tipping his head. There was always a chance that the ice would break. "Positive! I promise I won't let you get hurt." Dakota nodded, bundled up, and headed out with Lucia. Outside, the snow sparkled in the sunlight. It was calm and quiet until Lucia ran ahead, pointing out how beautiful the forest looked covered in white. As she yapped on, Dakota balled up some snow in his hand, quietly got closer to Lucia, then threw the snowball at her! Lucia shivered, wiping off the snow that got on her coat. "Hey!" She quickly started making her own snowballs as Dakota made a run for it! Laughter filled the air as the two of them chucked snowballs at each other on the way to the pond. Once at the pond, Lucia knelt down, pressing her right hand to the solid ice, and using her magic to conjure up a thick extra layer to protect it from any cracks. "There! We should be fine now!" She took off her backpack, put on her skates, then held out her left hand to him. After putting his skates on, Dakota took her hand, smiling. "I didn't know you could still use your magic with your prosthetic." "Mmhmm! It comes in handy if I ever need to use this hand, but it kinda sucks needing to do this in the winter. It's really cold right now. Ember can do the same thing with her magic, too!" "Why didn't you leave it at the house and use your other hand? Wouldn't the glove have been enough?" Lucia tilted her head, thinking. "I'm gonna be honest. I didn't think about that, but yeah I should do that next time, huh? Hey, speaking of magic, can you use yours during the winter?" Dakota held on to Lucia's hand as he skated. He was trying to remember the things Lucia taught him, but that didn't stop him from wobbling. "Kinda? The plants don't last very long in the snow." "Can you make different kinds of plants? Like ones that bloom in the winter?" "I haven't tried since I'm use to vines and vining plants, but I think the Celestialites can? I never actually looked into how to do more." He was perfectly fine with his vines. "I don't really use it for much other than vine swings and growing sprouts into blooming flowers. How often do you use yours?" Sparkles of curiosity shined in Lucia's eyes. "Not as often as I did when I was a teen. When I'm bored I like trying to make little ice sculptures, but I'm not really good at those." She smiled. "I've used it to freeze water like this though~" "Is that why you say it's safe?" "Yep! You know I wouldn't let you get hurt!" She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Dakota blushed, smiling. "I think I'm ready to try this on my own." "Don't worry about falling, okay? You'll be fine." She let go of his hand. "I'm here to catch you if you fall." Dakota nodded, and skated off! The two of them spent about an hour at the pond. Lucia showed off all kinds of tricks she could do, and gave pointers to Dakota whenever he needed it. Once they got cold, they headed back to the house and cuddled on the bed, eventually falling asleep under the warm blanket.play_arrowplay_arrowStarsThe forest was still and quiet as pale, full moon lit up the night. A short, brown bat was sitting on a large tree's branch as she looked up at the stars, trying to find the few constellations she recognized. Vivie's ears were laid flat against her head, and her wings were tucked in close to her body. She had her tail in her paws, brushing the fluffy fur on her tail tip as she thought. Would she ever be able to fly high like those she looks up to? Could she ever be the one to inspire others? Or would she fall, fall like so many before her? Vivie hopped off the branch, extending her wings to fly up above the forest, and stood at the very top. She glanced down to see how high up she was and shivered. Would it be worth it to rise up and do the things she'd really like to try? Even if it meant she might plummet all the way to the ground? Or was it better to stay where she was? Safe and comfortable? The brown bat let out a sigh, thinking about how she'd much rather stay where she'd always been. She was safe, and nothing scary happened to her, but... It was also boring at the same time. She hasn't experienced things like her friends or family have. She longed to be able to do the things her friends can do, to go out in the world, and not be chained to her family. The little bat shivered again, thinking about what it must be like going out on one's own like that. How could anyone do something like that? Was that really something she'd ever be able to do? Maybe... Maybe one day she could. Maybe one day she'd gather the courage. She'd like that.play_arrow