Return of the Wolf-man

6. Snowball Fight

The Next Morning

It's still snowing when I get up in the morning to relieve myself. The pups will be excited when they wake up and see it.

But the snow makes me think of Songbird and how she hated the cold that came with the snow. During the winter months she always bundled up in pelts and hardly left the nest. She said the cold bit at her skin and could kill her if she was in it for too long.

I hope this winter goes by fast.

Whoa! Daddy look at the snow! Kinvaris yells before rushing past me and to the cave mouth. I grab him by the scruff before he can get too close to the edge.

Can we go play in it once Blaine and Shadow wake up? Please Daddy? I let go of his scruff and set him a few feet back from the cave mouth.

No, today we're going to stay in the cave. I'm not feeling good. I don't want to risk climbing down and accidentally dropping any of you.

Oh, I hope you feel better!

His loudness wakes Blaine. Blaine! Come look at the snow! Blaine runs over and stops at Kinvaris' side.

He looks from the snow to me with a hopeful look on his little face. Can we go play in the snow?

No, I'm not feeling good.

He gives me a sad look before grabbing Kinvaris' hand and dragging him over to their bone pile. Since they're playing, I lay on my rock.

Looking from their bone pile to the nest, I spot Shadow going down the bathroom passage. He returns rather quickly and I'm thankful to see that he didn't cover himself in his own poop.

I expect him to go back to the nest but he doesn't and instead comes up to me. He makes grabby hands so I lift him up.

He sprawls out on the rock next to me. I lay my arm over his back and pull him close to my side. He snuggles into my side and babbles to himself.

Daddy play? He goes from babbling to talking. No, I'm not feeling good. He wiggles out from under my arm and places a kiss on my forehead. Better! He says proudly. I smile at him, he's so cute.

Down. I set him down off my rock and he goes over to his brothers. Seeing them play together I can't help but think of my mate lying there in the deepening snow. I can't stand the thought of her lying there in the deepening snow.

Songbird's Pov.

I wake up in pain and I'm hungry. I shouldn't have given that man my food.

"Breakfast time!" A singsongy voice announces. The same woman from yesterday brings me a plate of hash browns. "I need your supper plate before I can give you your breakfast."

I give her the plate and she gives me the hash browns. She gives the man his hash browns and then she walks away.

"Give me your food." He's so demanding. "You give me your food first." I reply. "Fine." Before I can move to grab the food, he sends it through and it forms a pile on the floor.

I take a deep breath and try not to get mad. I send his food through and grimace when his tongue goes through the bars to slurp up every bit.

I scoop up the pile onto my plate and eat it with my hands. The male guard didn't give me a fork with supper and she didn't give me one with breakfast.

"It's snowing." The man says from somewhere inside of his cell. "How do you know that?" There isn't a window in my cell, maybe there's a window in his?

"I can smell it." How can he smell it? That doesn't make sense.

Wait, this is my first winter without my family. I can feel the tears forming at the thought. "Stop crying. It's really annoying." This jerk!

"I'm sorry I miss my family! This is my first winter without them." I feel my eyes flash with anger.

"Yeah? I have been in here so long I don't know how long it's been since I've seen my family." He retorts. I'm done talking to this guy.

I lean against the wall and think about when Blaine and Kinvaris got to play in the snow for the first time.

Flashback

The first winter we had the twins was so cold. Even though Blaze wanted to take the twins and I outside I refused to let him. It was too cold for me which meant it was too cold for the twins.

The next year's winter was warmer. I still kept bundled up in the nest but I played with the twins around the cave more.

"Outside?" Blaze asked me one particularly warm morning. "Sure, it will be fun!" Blaze took me to the meadow first, he then went back for our precious babies.

It was hilarious to watch him set them in the snow and for them to be so confused when the snow stuck to their fur.

"That's snow." I told them. They looked at me and then at Blaze. He said something to them and they said something back. I couldn't wait for them to start being able to talk to me.

My little bullfrog whacked his brother before taking off at a slow run. My little mouse quickly gave chase.

Blaze shifted to his human form before putting on the pants I brought for him. The cold didn't bother him at all but I felt better knowing he had something on, even though he refused to wear shoes. Blaze moved behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I put my hands on his forearms and leaned back into him. "They're so cute." I told him.

"Yes." He rested him head on top of mine. In this position we watched them play tag for what felt like hours. Eventually they tired themselves out and came back to us.

They flopped in a pile at our feet. "We should go back to the cave." "No." Blaze let go of me and took a step back.

Then I felt something cold hit me in the back. I turned around to see him holding a snowball, preparing to throw it at me.

I jumped over the boys and ran a good distance away from Blaze. I quickly made my own snowballs and prepared for a fight.

I didn't notice Blaze had gotten close to me until I felt a snowball hit my leg. "Oh you're on!" I yelled before throwing one at him. I missed by a long shot and he stuck his tongue out at me.

The next one hit him in the chest. He huffed at me before scooping up some snow. "Ahhh!!!" I shrieked as I ran away from him and his giant snowball.

He nailed me in the back with it and I fell with its force. I laid there, pretending to be down and out. "Songbird?" He asked with worry when he rolled me onto my back.

*whack*

My snowball hit him right on the face. He wiped the snow off of his face and then let out a soft roar in my face. "You're funny." I booped his nose.

We played a little while longer before my pelt clothes had been soaked through and I started shivering.

Back in the cave, I changed pelts and Blaze hung the wet ones to dry.

"I love you." I tell Blaze when he gives me a dry pelt. "Love." Blaze smiles at me and rubs his beard against the top of my head.

End of Flashback

I miss my family.

"Are you done being pathetic now? Everyone loses their family eventually. That's life." The rude man grumbles.

"Shut up! We can't all be grouchy old men!" I snap at him.