Work Text:
There was something magical about watching the winter snow melt away to reveal fresh spring grass below. Life slowly returning to the forests around the Abby, and even the occasional baby woodland creature being spotted frolicking. All throughout the Abby, life was starting to rebound from the chill that still lingered in the air.
It was also a time for a small celebration for the ghouls. Every winter, the siren call of hibernation sang out to the earth, quintessence, and water ghouls of the Ministry.
Mountain was often the first to succumb to sleep, nestled away in his and his mates’ shared nest, surrounded by a mix of their scents and the sweet fragrances of his blooming flowers. Aether falls asleep soon after, his hibernation spot being that of Copia’s room. Frater or not, Aether has always felt the safest around his summoner. Rain would isolate himself when sleep comes to him. He has always preferred the silence of his hidden little cove within the caverns. Phantom is always the last to clock out, the little quint having the bad habit of forcing himself to stay up long enough to celebrate Yuletide with the rest of the swarm. By the time the celebrations came to a close, he would pass out, curled up within Dew’s bed.
Hibernation only lasts till early March, and everyone had quickly learned how it was a big deal when a ghoul would awake from hibernation.
Cumulus and Cirrus could often be heard cooing and chirping from their shared room when Mountain wakes, softly baby-talking to the groggy ghoul while guiding him back to consciousness. Copia could tell when Aether was getting ready to wake up, when he himself can’t get up in the morning. Aether would curl around him, holding him flush to his chest, while Copia would softly whisper to him and rub around his floppy, cow-like ears. Dew would help Phantom wake up, learning that his mate is just as much of a drama queen as he is when it comes to waking up. Dew did try to start off gently waking his Bug up, but it always ended with him biting some part of his body.
Rain, though, would sleep the longest, till mid-March. His hidden cove maintained a constant temperature and was difficult for any non-water creature to reach. As far as the pack could tell, this was the closest to a Pit-raised ghoul hibernation Rain would experience.
So imagine everyone’s surprise when Swiss just randomly mentioned that he found a way into Rain’s little cove.
“You’re gonna drown yourself,” Cumulus warned from where she sat on the couch, rubbing Mountain’s back, who was blinking slowly, a cup of warm rose tea held in his hands.
“Yeah. We want Rain to wake up as much as everyone else, but you’re gonna drown yourself,” Cirrus nodded while making sure Mountain didn’t accidentally drop his cup.
“Come on, it’s not that bad,” Swiss insisted, “ ’rora, back me up here.”
“I would, but I remember someone looking like a drowned cat last night,” Aurora giggled out innocently as she brushed out Mountain’s tangled hair, those giggles growing in volume at the pout she got from Swiss.
“I’m truly hurt,” Swiss fake sniffled, placing a hand on his chest before smiling when the three ghoulettes giggled. “But not fully discouraged!” Swiss smiled, his tail whipping back and forth before scampering out of the common room of the band quarters.
“Swiss!” He heard Cumulus shout over Aurora’s infectious giggles.
“Go baby go!” She trilled, her giggles turning into full-blown laughter when all the yelling got Mountain to perk up, letting out his signature, loud and high-pitched bugle.
Swiss cackled as he escaped the chaos he had a hand in, disappearing long before Cumulus even had the chance to get up and chase him. He kept running till he reached the spiraling stone staircase that led to the bath caverns, racing down the stairs as he giggled.
Near the last five steps, he ended up slipping, barking in surprise as he dug his claws into the stone walls, swinging around the archway as his legs swept out from under him. He managed to hold himself up, breathing hard as he looked back up the staircase before his ears flicked back.
“Hi, Swiss.”
“Oh, hey there, Bonesy!”
Bones was sitting in the cavern, the multi-air-earth ghoul looking like a giant waterlogged mess, water rolling across his massive, vulture-like wings and down his back, making his black and pink-stained feathers glisten. His long white hair stretched down his back, fading to a rusty red color at the tips; his black beard, which grew down his neck in a pseudo mane, dripped with water.
“Swiss!” the two heard Cumulus from the top of the corridor. Unlatching his claws from the wall, Swiss fell to the ground with a small thud before rolling, jumping to his feet as he started to tug his uniform off.
“If Lus asks if you saw me, you didn’t,” Swiss frantically explained, nearly falling again as he yanked his pants off and tossed them to the side.
“Got it,” Bones chuckled, giving a thumbs up as Swiss charged into the water. He smiled when Swiss rushed over, giving him a peck on the cheek, right on the black stripes that ran from around the dark spots around his eyes to down along his jawline.
“Thanks, Sugar,” Swiss smiled, “I owe you one! Next raid of Papa’s liquor cabinets on me!”
Bones laughed, smiling as he nodded, watching Swiss push against the water, making it to the deep end before taking a deep breath, diving under the water’s surface right when Cumulus made it into the cavern.
“Where is he?” Cumulus pouted, her eyes meeting Bones’s blood red eyes. He thought for a moment before shrugging.
“Don’t know.”
“His clothes are right there,” Cumulus raised an eyebrow, pointing at the scattering of clothes.
Bones blinked, biting the inside of his cheek, “Ummm... Well, I did see him, but I have no idea where he went.”
“... I’ll go get Frater.”
As Cumulus rushed to find Frater and tell him of his latest, dangerous scheme, Swiss swam hard in the cold water. Although his vision was blurred, he knew what path to take. His fingers brushed against the smooth stone of the cavern, guiding him through the void. His sense of touch became his eyes until he found one rock formation in water, which felt like a lumpy stalagmite with a chunk missing in the base.
It was his signal to swim up. Twisting his body, he planted his feet on the floor of this underground lagoon before pushing up, sending himself upwards into a tight, flooded tunnel. Sucking in his slightly pudgy tummy, Swiss grabbed and pulled at the rock walls around him, shimmying and wriggling his way up. Right when his lungs started to burn for a breath, he shimmied just right, and his nose and mouth reached the water’s surface.
Gasping for breath, he took a moment to gather himself before shimming the rest of the way free. He pushed his dreads from his face, peering into the pitch-black darkness of this massive tunnel. His ears flicked at the sound of gently running water and the faint whisper of air slipping into the cave from far away. His ears perked at the sound of slow, rhythmic breathing, and he smiled.
Swimming up to the shore, he shook the extra water out of his dark coat. As he shook the water from him, the dark natural stripes and roselet patterns in his fur glowed with his fire element, providing just enough light to see the sleeping water ghoul.
Rain looked beautiful as a siren, half-submerged in the water and limbs tucked close. His legs were stretched out, ankles naturally crossed, the webbing of his feet resembling that of seal flippers. His long tail swayed with the faint current, the flowing, shimmering fins keeping him oriented as he slept.
“Rainy,” Swiss whispered, gently brushing Rain’s shoulder-length black hair out from his face.
When he got no response, Swiss, as gently as he could, scooped him up into his arms, holding him close as he brought him fully onto shore. He then sat down against a nearby wall, cradling the water ghoul. He was hardly surprised when Rain soon shifted, wrapping himself around Swiss, being drawn in by the multi-ghoul’s warmth.
Swiss purred as he rubbed Rain’s back, careful of his dorsal fins. He admired the soft, silvery gray of his short fur, his fingers tracing the dark gray to black spots that gathered around his spine, where that silver fur faded to a slightly darker shade. Swiss loved every spot and speckle on him, remembering the nights spent awake when Rain was first brought to the pack. Whenever he got the chance, he would try bunking with the, at the time, shy water ghoul, showering him with affection and kissing every spot on his body.
Now that Rain had come out of his shell and really claimed his place within the swarm, those nights were few and far between. But here in this cavern? It was finally just them again.
“Rainbow,” Swiss purred as he gently cupped Rain’s cheek, his thumb running over his freckle covered cheek, “Wakey wakey, Sweetheart.”
This time, he got a soft groan, the water ghoul pressing more into Swiss’s warm embrace. Swiss couldn’t help but giggle softly as he cooed, “That’s it, Baby. Come back to me.”
“Hmmm...mm,” Rain groaned softly, nuzzling his cheek hard into the other’s chest, the tips of his slender horns just barely poking Swiss under his jawline.
“Careful, Rainbow,” Swiss chuckled, running a hand gently through Rain’s silky smooth hair. He purred as he rubbed his cheek against the top of Rain’s head, a soft chuff coming from him. His smile grew when he heard the softest chuff respond to him. “You back to me, Rainy?” He softly asked, pressing a kiss to his temple.
“Mmmh...mhmm...” Rain hummed softly, his face nestled into the crook of Swiss’s neck, his hands lightly holding onto the other’s slightly longer fur.
“Gotta open your eyes, Love,” Swiss giggled warmly into Rain’s ear.
Slowly, Rain blinked one, sapphire blue eye open, his third, slightly translucent eyelid lazily sliding back.
“There you are, my beautiful Rainbow,” Swiss cooed, pressing a kiss to Rain’s forehead.
“Mmm... Swiss?... How you get here?” Rain slurred, his voice low and gravelly with sleep.
“I can explain that later,” Swiss hummed, pressing another kiss to Rain’s forehead, purring as he kissed each and every one of his freakles. Each kiss made Rain sink more into his arms. Soon, a gentle purr rumbled its way up from his chest. Those kisses were soon switched out for licks from a prickly tongue, Swiss carefully grooming the last bits of water from Rain’s fur, being rewarded with more, almost trilly purrs.
Rain sighed heavily as he gently rubbed his thumb across Swiss’s hip, his tail lazily curling to hook around Swiss’s, hearing the soft jingle of the ghoul’s bells.
The two forgot about the world outside the cavern and only focused on each other. Rain would tilt his head, allowing Swiss more space to preen his soft fur while rubbing his warm hands up and down his sides, starting from his rips and going down to the curves of his hips. With each pass of his hands, Rain felt warm seep into his flesh, reaching his bones. Had he not just slept through all of winter, he would have fallen right back to sleep.
“Think you can stand for me, Sugar?” Swiss whispered softly against Rain’s skin.
“Yeah.... yeah, I think I can,” Rain mumbled, holding onto Swiss’s hands as he sat up.
“Just hold on to me,” Swiss smiled, gently guiding Rain up to his feet. He had to bite back a giggle seeing how Bambi legged his packmate is. He kept a firm but gentle hold on his hands, “Eyes on me. That's it.”
Rain swallowed hard as his legs shook, his body shaking with what he remembers Phantom calling the ‘Wake up shivers’. He tried not to look down at his feet, keeping his eyes solely on Swiss. Only when he felt the shaking in his limbs slow did he try stepping closer.
“Whoa! Careful!” Swiss chuckled when Rain’s knees buckled, and he fell into Swiss’s arms.
“Can’t I just head back to bed?” Rain pouted as he clung to the other ghoul.
“Nope, you’re already up, Rainy,” Swiss smiled, brushing his hair from his face, “And you’re doing so good.”
Rain raised an eyebrow at Swiss, a pout tugging at his lips. Swiss giggled at the look, pressing his forehead against his, “Don’t give me that look. You are!”
Rain couldn’t help but giggle at the affection, smiling as he pushed his forehead against Swiss’s, returning the gesture, “Can I at least go back into the water?”
Swiss pretended to think for a moment, his tail curling before a rumble of a purr came from his chest, “Of course, my beautiful guppy,” He crooned, rubbing his cheek against Rain’s, “And I’m sure the others will be so happy to see you up.”
Together, Swiss gently guided Rain back to the chilly embrace of the water. The moment the water was up to Rain’s waist, he let himself drop with a splash, a soft groan of relief escaping him as Swiss sank into the water with him.
“Think you can wiggle back through the tunnel?” Rain asked with a tilt of his head.
“Absolutely, I'm the king of shimmies, Baby,” Swiss smiled, giggling along with Rain at his self-appointed title.
Smiling, Rain effortlessly dove down into the dark water, Swiss following close behind after taking a deep breath. Rain kept looking back in the darkness of the water, the spots along his body starting to glow with natural bioluminescence. He kept track of Swiss’s own glowing roselets and stripes, making sure he stayed right behind him as they made their way out of the hidden tunnel.
With Rain guiding the way, the two were in open waters far faster than Swiss’s first time making his way out of that tunnel. As he swam up to Rain’s side in the lagoon, the water ghoul grabbed hold of his hand, swimming through the darkness till they saw the first flickers of light coming from lanturns.
Rain expected a peaceful silence when they both surfaced, Swiss smiling as his locs fell fully in his face. What he wasn’t expecting was a certain worried human.
“Swiss!”
The two looked over just in time to see Copia, still in his black suit, rushing into the water, “Swiss! You’re ok!”
“Rain’s up!” Swiss chirped cheerfully, as if he didn’t scare Copia half to death.
Copia blinked, seeing Rain wading in the water, only half of his head visible. A soft breath of a laugh escaped Copia, “Morning, my Rain.”
“Hi, Frater,” Rain smiled before squeaking when Swiss scooped him up into his arms, lifting him up and out of the water as he made his way to Copia’s side.
“Come on, Raindow. Let's get you all dry and bundled up with everyone,” Swiss purred, his tail wagging as they returned to dry land.
“You’re not gonna let me walk, are you?” Rain playfully teased, his tail lazily coiling around Swiss’s waist.
“Nope.”
The two’s giggles made Copia smile, the panic he felt earlier melting like the winter snow. “I’ll let the rest know Rain’s up. You get him dried off and keep him warm,” He instructed, smiling as Swiss gave a playful salute gesture with his tail, the bells jingling with the motion.
“Right away, Papa.”
“Frater,” Copia tried softly correcting.
“Ok, Farter.”
“Swiss.”
The two ghouls giggled like pups, Copia huffing a soft laugh through his nose with a warm smile on his face. He loves this time of year.