War from Under the Bed

Snowed in

The blizzard went on for hours and Sadie was beginning to wonder whether they'll be able to leave once it did end. The snow outside was halfway up the cave opening. The place was beginning to feel like a living creature slowly closing its mouth on them.

The tension from before had dispersed in the hours of waiting. Owen recovered rather quickly and was soon entertaining Jack with stories. Sadie smiled at the sight of her best friend smiling up at the angel that could be his older brother with admiration. At this point, Sadie was experimenting with her magic. She found that if she loosened her grip on Courage, she would be able to sense things, but they wouldn't overpower her and she would still have control over the wriggling thing.

"How long will this storm last?" Popi asked, clearly getting antsy after being stuck in the cave for so long.

"I'm sure it'll be over soon. You can wait a bit longer." Jenny answered with a small smile at the younger angel.

Popi frowned at her smile, "I hate blizzards..."

"I don't think anyone likes blizzards Popi." Henry said as he flicked more of his flames into the still burning fire. Jenny chuckled softly as Popi bared her teeth at him, the hint of a smile on her lips. Jenny sighed, looking weary and Sadie glanced at the barrier. She had been holding it up for a while now and she was sure it was taking its toll on the angel.

Sam seemed to notice as well and frowned, "You should let me take over the barrier."

Jenny waved him off, "No, I can hold it up for a while longer."

"You're going to burn yourself out at this point." Sam pressed, his frown edged with concern. The feeling from before trickled from him and Sadie probed it gently. Sam squirmed slightly as she did so and he glanced at Sadie. "What in the world are you doing?" he asked as Sadie continued to inspect this foreign feeling, "Stop messing with your magic Sadie."

Sadie stopped her probing and frowned, "But what is that? I keep sensing it from you and Jenny, but I have no idea what that is." She stopped, "Wait, you could feel that, when I was poking it?"

Sam's frown deepened, "Yes and Courage is not a toy for you to play with, so stop messing around with it."

Understanding blossomed onto Jenny's face, her weariness forgotten. "You can manipulate emotions." A smile spread onto her face and Sadie's wrinkled in confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"You can change what someone is feeling." Popi answered in a tone that made Sadie bite down on a nasty retort. She did not need the angel to start throwing ice at her.

Still, Sadie reached out with Courage and grabbed hold of the grumbling angel's impatience and twisted it. Popi winced and glared at Sadie, who glared right back at her. "Maybe I could change that nasty attitude of yours," She said and Popi grumbled under her breath. Sadie tried not to wince at the anger that seemed to punch her in the stomach.

"I see you adopted Henry's quarrelsome demeanor." She hissed. Sadie didn't respond, afraid that the angel might attack her at any moment; however, the anger that radiated off her soon disappeared and she turned away to glare at the blizzard once again.

The blizzard outside raged on and on and Sadie was beginning to think that the storm would never leave them alone. They couldn't stay here much longer, not with the monsters threatening to come charging in. Of course...the cold might be just as hazardous to their ooze, maybe even more considering they're fluid. As the sky above darkened even more, Sadie stared at the fire that still burned, driven by Henry's own restlessness.

"We can't stay here much longer," he said, his eyes scanning what little area was visible outside, "they're going to find us sooner or later."

"We can't leave either," Jenny said, her voice cracking with strain was her barrier continue to keep the snow out.