Hibernal Equinox

The reclusive pouflon slowly got out of the warm bed, letting out a long yawn in the comfort of knowing no one would be here to judge her for bad manners like this. This was why she liked living alone so much: Dorothy always felt like she had to prove herself to people, and always pass the image of the regal pouflon she was raised to be. 

The pouflon knew it was already past the time for her to go to her weekly trip to Asterfall, in order to grab groceries and other necessities. It snowed a lot where she lived, close enough to Snowhurst the place was chilly even during other seasons, winter only made it worse. Because of that, Dorothy always made sure to keep a stocked pantry - just in case she'd become stuck at home if a snowstorm ever happened to hit. Looking out the window in her bedroom, she noticed that was precisely what was ocurring. 

The pouflon couldn't have gone out earlier, because the cold she'd caught a few days ago had kept her bedridden for a good while. When she finally had gathered both the courage and the strenght to get out of bed in order to do anything other than eating, showering or other necessities, that was the situation she encountered? Great. 

"Heavens!" She huffed, with no small amount of preocuppation. "How am I supposed to restock the groceries if it looks like hell out there?" Dorothy pondered, watching as the snow rapidly fell on the ground, which was already covered in snow. She heard Aster yip from her bed, probably wanting to be let out - she loved playing in snow. With a sigh, the hybrid unglued her eyes from the window panes, and looked back at the Loupine, which was jumping from one side to the other in expectancy, her tongue lolling out. 

"Alright! I guess a few minutes outside wouldn't be a problem." She conceded, looking at the pippets puppy eyes. Dorothy went downstairs, noticing Menace looking out the entrance window, propped on a wooden stool, while letting out curious sounds. The pouflon approached the Gingerbrat, inspecting the scenery together with the pippet. Aster yapped insistently, annoyed at the interruption of Dorothy's route to the front door. The pouflon ignored her, noticing worriedly how the snow was almost halfway up the wall - which certainly meant she'd get snow all over her doorway if she insisted on opening the door. 

"I don't know if getting out right now would be the best idea, Aster..." Dorothy commented, briefly looking back at the irritated looking pippet. The Loupine howled in clear discontentment, trotting to the door and lightly scratching it to reinforce her intentions. 

Dorothy now faced two options: she could either get her doormat wet from the snow and let Aster out for a short while, or she could deal with a outraged pippet that hadn't gotten what it wanted, and that'd probably try to wreck her couch cushions while she wasn't looking. She silently pondered these two alternatives while Aster scratched the door and Menace grumbled in curiosity, when her wandering eyes caught sight of a familiar looking something sticking out from under Aster's paw. She widened her eyes in surprise. Could it be what she thought it was? Carefully, she looked at the Loupine, then at the letter, but the change was too obvious, and Aster took notice of where her gaze rested. The pippet was very intelligent and, much to Dorothys dismay, Aster followed the direction of her owner's vision and quickly lifted her other paw to grab the piece of paper from under her with her mouth. 

"Aster!" Dorothy panicked, noting that, indeed, the thing she'd been staring at was a letter identical to the one she'd received a few days ago. "Give that back." She warned. The pippet quickly lowered the front part of her body, assuming a friendly posture, hopping from one side to another. She knew exactly what she was doing, that little bastard. Menace tuned in to that, as he was always drawn to whichever situation he could cause trouble in. He nimbly hopped out of the stool and ran to Aster's side, where he stood as if challenging Dorothy. 

"Give that back!" She repeated, which only served to make Menace let out a snicker. "You two will be the death of me!" The hybrid shouted, increasingly alarmed. If they destroyed or did away with that letter, she'd never know what was written on it. Aster let the letter fall out of her mouth so quickly that Dorothy didn't even have time to try and get it from her before she was already resting a heavy paw above it. She cocked her head smartly, piercing the pouflon with a sharp gaze, then pointed to the door with her snout. Menace just looked at the Loupine with wonder in his eyes, like he was learning the supreme methods to cause wreckage and chaos. It took the hybrid a little while to realize what Aster was trying to tell her, but when she did, her eyes widened and she gasped. 

"Absolutely not! I won't be blackmailed by my own pippet!" She let out in outrage. Menace grabbed one of the corners of the letter and teared it a little. Dorothy yelped. "Don't you dare!" But the Gingerbrat didn't even blink, snickering. Dorothy was fuming. "I will NOT negociate with terrorists!" 

There were a few seconds of impasse, when the only sound was the harsh noise of the wind blowing outside, sharp and dangerous. Dorothy desperately wanted to discover what was in that letter.

"Alright!" She breathed out, defeated. "I'll open the door, you win!" The pouflon had never been more humiliated her entire life, stuck to the whims of her two diabolical pippets. Aster let out a howl in victory, and Menace beamed. The Dreamweaver carefully approached them, determined to get that letter back. They were smart, though, and didn't take their eyes out of her until Dorothy had unlocked the door and opened it, though only a crack. The sharp howl of the wind was instantly made audible, scaping through the crack as if it was a whip. The pouflon winced, but Aster barked at her, beckoning to keep opening the door. Dorothy did so, slowly. More snowflakes invaded her house as she did so, hitting her fur sharply. She barely had time to say anything before Aster was happily jumping into the thick layer of snow outside, with Menace propped on her back (when had he gotten there?!). As expected, the snow fell all over her doorway. 

"If you get lost, I'm not rescuing you!" She threatened, though there was no heat in her words. Dorothy watched worriedly as the two pippets had their fun jumping in and out of the snow layer. They seemed safe and content, but it still made her worry, and she just hoped the snowstorm didn't get any worse. With a sigh, she got the snow out of the way and closed the door with a thud, inspecting the letter thrown carelessly on the ground. She picked it up and opened it. 

In just a few moments, her worry grew into panic as she read about the upcoming storm. She wondered for how many days had the letter sat untouched above her doormat, and what that meant. 

"Oh, no." Dorothy whispered. She let go of the letter instantly, and opened the exit of her house. The wind and snow instantly came down on her, and she had to fight to not be pushed backwards. She desperately tried to call for her pippets, but her voice was swallowed by the loud noises of the blizzard. They were nowhere to be seen, too. Dread filled her gut, and she swiftly grabbed her thick wool scarf before pushing out into the snow, fighting against the enormous layer of frost that reached to her chest. She needed to find her pippets, and fast. 

The sky was rapidly darkening, announcing the prelude of the night. She had to keep her eyes almost shut as the snowflakes swung against her face. Flying in this weather would be almost impossible - but it was either that or trying to see something in this sea of snow. She lifted flight, her leathery wings shaking against the intensity of the wind. "Aster!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "Menace!" She tried again. But there was only the white of the snow, the desperation and the freezing temperature making her shiver all over. She worried she would never see them again. Why had she stopped watching them once they got out? Why had she let them go out in the first place, with the snowstorm brewing like that? 

She fearfully made her way to Asterfall - she had to run if she wanted to save her pippets and stop this storm, since procuring them on her own would lead to nothing and take too long. The voyage was desperately hard, as she couldn't see 50 cm in front of her, just guiding herself based on the Aurora Borealis that always shone above Asterfall. When she finally arrived at the city, it was already fully dark, and her pelt was covered in white specks. She was trembling head to toe, but there was no time to stop and warm up. The snowstorm wasn't as bad here as it was in her homestead, but she saw pouflons all over scurrying to get out of the streets. 

"I need a Frostbound pouflon! Quickly!" She urged, non-caring about the weird looks she was getting. "It's urgent, there are pippets lost in the snowstorm!" Dorothy beckoned, her voice thick with anxiety. She was gasping so hard it was difficult to get her breath under control again.  The few lons that were still out on the streets just offered her apologetic and sympathetic looks, and kept on their way, certainly eager to shut themselves at home and get protection from the blizzard. Dorothy didn't blame them.

She shouted again and again, but it almost looked like no one could hear her. Everylon was just in a hurry to get home, and she wanted to sit down and cry. What could she do to save her pippets? 

"I'm a Frostbound." At first, Dorothy was certain it was an illusion, created by her desperate mind that seeked to find a sollution for all of this, but she heard the steps of someone approaching her. Dorothy looked up, and a splotched pouflon was looking at her with a gentle smile. 

"Can you repeat that?" She meekly asked. Dorothy just had to make sure she'd heard that right. 

"I can help. I'm a Frostbound." The stranger repeated. "You said there were pippets stuck in the blizzard, right? Maybe I can assist with their rescue." 

Dorothy gaped at them. "Heavens, t-thank you so much!" She beamed. "There's no t-t-time to lose. Please, f-f-follow me, I know t-their nearest lo-location." She beckoned, stuttering because of the tremble of her body, and the both of them lifted flight once again, her teeth still chattering. This time, thought, the mysterious pouflon formed a protective dome around them, like the snow just couldn't go past a certain point. Dorothy would certainly take the time to compliment them if it wasn't for the urgent matter at hand. They were able to make the trip much quicker thanks to the fact Dorothy didn't have snow thrown directly into her face this time. They descented into her front porch, the pouflon landing on the snow without even making a dent, like he was made of air. 

"The last time I've seen them, they were just here." She said. He sent her a sympathetic look. 

"Are these your pippets?" The pouflon asked, while he did something with his magic that looked like he was carrying a giant shovel. "What kind of pippets are we looking for?"

"A Loupine and a G-Gingerbrat. And yes. They're mine. They were p-pestering me into opening the door a-and letting them out to play, and I d-didn't see how bad the blizzard was, I'd never h-have let t-them out in th-the first place." She shivered, at the brink of tears. 

"Hey, calm down. I'm sure you wouldn't have, but now lets just concentrate on finding them, alright?" He sighed, and continued 'shoveling' the snow away. She meekly nodded. There was little she could do to help in this situation, so Dorothy just concentrated on trekking through the snow to try and find her lost pippets. "Can't you do anything to help stop this snowstorm?" She suggested. "It'd be easier to find them that way."
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try." The stranger shrugged, and did a circular motion with his head, the snowflakes movement curving to match his. He gracefully danced around in the snow, forming a whirlwind of snow that obediently followed his directions. It was mesmerizing to watch. 

Soon enough, the movements from the Frostbound pouflon combined with a great deal of effort made it so the storm ceased to blow, reduced to a small ammount of snow falling from the sky. In between some bushes covered in white, Dorothy was able to spot her pippets, curled up to one another and shivering. 

"Oh, my darlings!" She scurried in their direction, enveloping them in a warm embrace. "I'm so sorry! Come on, let's get you warmed up." She chirped. She got them on her back and looked at her miraculous helper. "I don't even know how to thank you! I'm Dorothea. I don't even think I've got your name..." She smiled meekly. 

"Ben." He beamed. "I'm thankful for the opportunity to help. If only we could've met under merrier circumstances... But I'm glad your pippets are okay now." He nodded, and she did so, too, in agreement. They exchanged final goodbyes, and he lifted flight, probably back to Asterfall. Dorothy could only hope this was the end of such a dreadful snowstorm.