One Complete Heart

Chapter 2

The next morning was what Dimentio liked to call a "rare lazy morning." He didn't get out of bed until morning was practically over, and even then things were slow. There was no need for him to rush himself, though. There was no need to worry at all. For the first time in his entire life, he could afford to take things slow. 

He almost felt wrong about relaxing. He felt like he needed something to do. He wanted to be productive, to have a goal to work toward. He wasn't used to just sitting back and allowing himself to take his time. 

This was nice, though. He could admit that to himself. 

By the time he went outside, Count Bleck was already assigning the entire group a new task for the day. Dimentio hoped it would go better than the snowball fight. Although there were worse things that could have happened.

According to Nastasia, the people downtown were claiming that the mountain had just gotten enough snow on it to become officially opened up to the public, so Count Bleck wanted to jump on the opportunity to get up there before any of the crowds beat him to it. It seemed the activity for the day would be mountain climbing. O'Chunks carried all the gear while Count Bleck led the team away from the holiday villas and through the forest, toward the mountain range. The small downtown area did have a bus that led to the base of the mountain, but the walk wasn't far, so Dimentio didn't mind.

The further into the forest they went, the more soft the snow beneath their feet felt. He sank down to his knees with each step he took. He was the second shortest in the group, so he and Mimi had to take big steps in order to get through the snow. O'Chunks, the jerk, laughed at them playfully, hardly even affected by the snow. Oh to be tall...

The snow was also less compact than the snow around town. Perhaps that was because people were constantly walking on the snow around his cabin, so it was used to being pushed down and becoming more stable. This snow was far fluffier and softer. If he fell, he'd probably become buried in it. 

Snow was situated atop the dead branches that reached over the group, occasionally falling in clumps. Branches reached downward from the increased weight upon them. To Dimentio, it almost looked like they were creating a tunnel. A magical, bright tunnel for him and his closest companions to walk through. The golden midday sun changed the usual blue hue the snow had to a gentle warm color. 

"The lodge is just up ahead," Count Bleck called out, his voice merry and joy-filled. Dimentio let out a sigh of relief. The walk was short and flat, but the snow had been giving his legs a workout that they were not quite used to. He wasn't sure why the hike was suddenly making his muscles ache and cry out. It wasn't like he was new to walking. 

"We're going inside?" Mimi asked, her eyes lighting up. While she did enjoy being outside, she seemed like the kind of girl who preferred indoor activities on a snow day. Baking cookies, having warm chocolate by the fire, gathering blankets, stuff like that. 

Dimentio wasn't sure how the others felt about snow days. O'Chunks seemed like the kind of guy who'd be playing outside from sunrise to sunset. Nastasia was tough to judge. She probably would spend time outside as well, just because she never really gets to go out much. Count Bleck could also go both ways. Dimentio felt like he didn't know him well enough to make that call. 

He felt like he didn't know himself well enough to make that call either.

The jester frowned for a moment, slowing his pace. 

"That was weird," he muttered.

"What? Are you okay?!" Count Bleck quickly asked, turning around. His eyebrows lowered and he took his earmuffs off, allowing them to rest around his neck.