After a meltdown of epic proportions, Snow found himself bedridden again while Heat ran to take an ice bath to cool down before he got heat stroke. Cinder and the other fire servants had to clean up the lava and make sure the hot half of the island was still stable, so that left Flurry to take care of Snow. It was turning out to be a simple task because Snow didn’t seem to want anything but to wallow in his own misery. Flurry wanted to help, but he was sure he’d done enough damage by not talking to Snow about the doubts he’d had about the visit.
Finally, Flurry just had to do something and hurried to make Snow something to put on his stomach. He couldn’t stand seeing his sire so upset, and all he wanted to do was take away his pain. He spent an hour making a special treat before he hurried back across the barrier to find Heat trying to console his twin.
“It really wasn’t that bad,” Heat was saying.
“Did you see the look on her face?” Snow lamented. “Oh, she’s disappointed, Heat! I couldn’t even control myself!”
“That’s enough!” Flurry exclaimed, and Snow turned to look at his servant in surprise.
“Flurry?” he asked, his brows drawing together.
“Yes, it was bad,” Flurry said, striding over and setting the tray on the bedside table. “But I saw the look on your mother’s face. She was not disappointed, she was worried and scared for you, sir. She wants to help you.”
Snow squirmed a little at Flurry’s words. “Did she really look worried for me?” he asked in a small voice.
“She did seem to be exceedingly worried when you started laughing,” Cinder pointed out as he came in. Ash came in behind him but stopped in the doorway.
“Oh, don’t remind me,” Snow groaned, covering his face.
“Status?” Heat asked Cinder.
“The island is stable and the lava has been cleaned up. Everything is perfectly fine.”
Snow looked relieved as Cinder walked over to stand by Flurry.
“Excuse me, sirs?”
Heat turned to see Ash still lingering in the doorway. “Yeah?” he asked.
“May I, ah, may I see the damage? To be sure which recipe would be best…”
Snow grimaced, but he nodded slowly and Heat helped him to sit up. He swung his legs over the side of the bed. Ash came over and gingerly touched Snow’s feet. Snow let out a strangled noise. Ash grimaced.
“And that’s what I was afraid of,” he sighed.
“What?” Heat asked.
“We’re past the point of my knowledge,” Ash replied. “All I have scribbled down for damage like this is ‘Contact Mother Nature no matter what Heat says.’”
Snow paled. “It’s that bad?” he asked faintly.
Heat knelt down and peered intently at Snow’s swollen feet. They were so injured that they were turning black. “Let me put it this way, Snow,” Heat said. “If you were human, you’d have frostbite so severe that amputation would be the only solution. And if Ash says we need to contact Mother, we’d better do it.”
