Chapter Text
After the fight, Winter stopped talking to his friends altogether. He was fourteen now and had his own things to worry about, so instead of dealing with their constant letters trying to get him to understand, he ignored them. He had plenty to do on his own anyway. He barely remembered the fight, having pushed it so far to the back of his mind that the details had blurred. But he did remember that Qibli, Moon, Turtle, and Kinkajou had been visiting him here in Sanctuary, and Kinkajou had brought up that one time he overreacted and broke a vase. And he'd simply pointed out that he had every right to be mad, and suddenly he was being yelled at for how terrible he had been to Moon and how he wasn’t a good friend—or something along those lines.
It hurt to think how quickly they villainized him, making themselves seem entirely in the right and him, in the wrong. He had made a point, but somehow, he had become the bad guy. Winter had been lucky it wasn’t just the five of them. Sky and Wren had already been living with him for a while by then, and they’d become good friends. When they heard the arguing, they came right over. Lynx and Hailstorm had also been visiting, so they weren’t too far behind.
The arguing erupted into a full-blown yelling match after Lynx tried to put them in their places. She’d asked, “How would you react if your tribe had just suffered from a plague and your queen had died?” That shut them up, especially Kinkajou, who had been the loudest. Turtle had actually taken Winter’s side during the argument, even though he didn't say anything.
Winter shook his head. It hurt to think that his “friends” had always seen him at fault, like they never did anything wrong but he was always wrong. Had they ever truly liked him? It doesn’t matter, he told himself, turning his head to glance over at Wren and Sky.
Sky was standing as still as he could, trying not to startle the little butterfly that had just landed on his snout, while Wren smiled up at him from the ground. Winter smiled softly. He had them. He didn’t need the others—not if he had them and Turtle.
Winter slowly walked over to them. “Got a new pet, Sky?” he asked.
Sky giggled, his shoulders shaking as he tried to hold back laughter.
“Sky gets a new ‘pet’ every five minutes. This is the fourth butterfly he’s claimed today,” Wren said with a roll of her eyes.
Sky giggled again, but this time the butterfly left his snout and flew away. “Aww…” he whined softly, his wings drooping.
Seeing Sky’s disappointment sent a strange ache through Winter’s chest, as if his happiness depended on Sky’s smile. Winter gently nudged Sky’s wing with his own, gesturing for him and Wren to follow. “I want to show you something,” he whispered.
Wren gave him a strange look. It clearly said, Why are you whispering? Are you going to show us how to make a hippo pink?
Winter grinned. “Just trust me.”
Sky quickly bounded after him, glancing around at the trees as they went deeper into the forest. At some point, Wren climbed onto Sky’s shoulder.
“If I didn’t know you, I’d bet that you’re leading us this far to murder us,” Wren said.
Winter laughed. “Well, you don’t know. Maybe I am— I’m joking, I promise!” He held up his talons innocently, noticing the glare Wren was giving him.
Sky giggled, his tail brushing against Winter’s. “I still think it’s so strange that your scales are so cold!”
Sky tilted his head at him.
“Well, IceWings just radiate coldness,” Winter said with a shrug.
Wren snorted. “Was that a pun?”
Winter smirked, quickening his pace. “Maybe…” He then took off.
Sky yelped and hurried after him.
When they caught up to Winter, they found themselves near a low grove of trees, their branches covered in monarch butterflies.
Sky gasped, staring at the fluttering insects for a long moment. Winter felt his heart melt a little at the sight of Sky so excited.
As Sky went over to the butterflies, Wren hopped off his shoulder and walked over to Winter. “I see what you’re trying to do,” she whispered to him.
Winter blinked, confused. “What am I doing?”
Wren groaned, rolling her eyes and jabbing him in the arm. “You’ve got a crush here, Mr. On-my-dragon!”
Winter blinked a few times before flushing. “Is it that obvious?” he asked quietly.
“Well, not to Sky, but it is to me. And I don’t know if I quite trust you enough to let you have sweet Sky’s heart!” Wren snapped, putting her hands on her hips.
Winter sighed. He never would have guessed that when he fell in love again, an angry little human would be the wall between them. “I know exactly what it’s like to have your heart ripped into pieces because you let others have it. I would never do anything to hurt Sky,” he promised, his tone full of sincerity.
Wren eyed him for a long moment before sighing. “I suppose you do know how that feels… fine.”
Winter smiled, opening his mouth to speak, but Wren held up a small finger. “BUT. If you hurt him in any way, I’ll make sure you regret it more than anything in your life!”
Winter nodded at her threat. He’d deserve it, though he’d never do such a thing. “Deal.”