The Voyager and the Rogue

Chapter 2

A few months following my arrival in New Berk, the weather suddenly took a downhill turn. It was already cold as hell to begin with, and now the temperature dropped even more. I soon began seeing white flakes fall from a chilled gray sky.

"Zephyr? What's this... white stuff?" I inquired one afternoon, holding my hand out, allowing a few flakes to land on my hand. Upon impact on my skin, the white flakes melted, turning into water droplets.

"The white stuff? You mean snow?" She quizzed, raising a brow. I turned to her, still entranced by the white flakes landing on me and melting away.

"You've never seen snow before?" I wordlessly shook my head.

"I come from islands that are warm year round. We only get rain." I explained.

"Oh, right, well, yeah. It's snow. It's frozen rain. We get tons of it every winter. And! The best part is Snoggletog." I stared at her in response to that last word she spoke. Snog-... what?

"Snuggle-? Snuggletog?" I attempted to repeat.

"Snoggletog!" She corrected with a grin.

"You've lost me. What the hell is that?" With a snort, she patiently explained it was a holiday that Berkians celebrate every winter season. Filled with food, dancing, singing, fires, and all sorts of decorations. Oh.

The concept of celebrations was obviously not lost on me, however, the name of this holiday was... bizarre. Who in the world chose such a strange name?

As Zephyr continued rambling about New Berk's different holidays, my ears caught the sound of someone calling our names. Turning, I beamed to see Ana and Dustin. The healer waved to us as she and her son approached us.

"Hello, you two! Enjoy the balmy weather?" Ana joked.

"Oh yeah! Good breeze coming in from the south." Zephyr replied with a grin.

"So what're you guys talking about?" Dustin inquired.

"I was explaining Snoggletog to Laeli." I must've made some weird face at hearing the word "Snoggletog", as Ana and Dustin snickered.

"Ah, an expected reaction." Ana mused.

"Well, I was actually remarking about the... what's the word. Snow? Snow, falling." I explained.

"I ought to remind you that you should start bundling up more. The weather is only going to get colder, and it's going to last a long time." I grimaced as I felt another shiver run down my spine; even under my long sleeves, my skin erupted in little bumps, the fine hair sticking up.

"That sounds ominous..."

"I'd recommend taking the advice. I'm worried that you won't take the weather change too well. Especially since you're used to warmer weather." Dustin chimed in.

"What... else comes with winter weather?" I hesitantly asked. They made this sound all so terrible. Did winter suck that badly?

"Sleet, hail... lots and lots of ice." Zephyr began, listing them off with her fingers, "oh yeah, blizzards. Polar nights."

"Wait, polar nights?"

"It begins around this time of year. The sun barely comes above the horizon and doesn't stay for long. It's dark outside for months."

"Oh, gods." I cringed.

"It's going to take some time for you to adjust, but we'll help you through it." Ana assured.

"Comforting."

***

One morning I woke up and it felt like I'd been pushed deep underwater. My ears felt full and my nose was suddenly extremely runny. And my body felt... weird. I couldn't find the words to explain it.