Hibernal Equinox

The winter had set in fast, and the trees had already lost most of their leaves in the autumn, only a few dry pieces of foliage remaining to illustrate the arrival of the coldest season. Most pippets and other wildlife had already hid into their dens with the start of fall or winter, preocuppied with getting away from the cold. The ones that could withstand it happily waddled in the monochromatic landscape winter had created. Snoads hopped away without a hint of worry next to frozen bodies of water, and the Noeleons' festive garland could be spotted in the midst of the foliage that would still survive (or thrive, in some cases) during the season. At night, one could hear the melodic cry of Loupine packs from the darkness of the forest, where they were at their element. Overall, the season was shrouded in normalcy, with nothing out of the ordinary in terms of environment. 

Still, these Holidays left a different taste in Dahlia's throat. There was something distinctively different about the way these days passed without a hitch or, in fact, anything out of the ordinary. Her time coddled up in her cottage spread out uniformly, and that was what made it so strange. She was used to something poking the routine out of her days whenever winter came around. But what was it? It was like whatever was missing was just at the tip of her tongue every time, but she could never pinpoint it. It drove her mad.

Knock, knock. 

The sound roused her up from her nap in the late evening. The quiet solitude of the season made her so sleepy it was annoying. She felt like her energy was wasting away in boredom, with all of her chores tended to and nothing else to distract her from the fact she was utterly alone this year's end. This was usual - Dandy's habit of keeping her occupied was overshadowed by the way she wasn't a wee bloom anymore, and her problem with loneliness stretched far more than the usual 'i-don't-have-a-playmate' problem she used to have when she was a kid. Now, her pippet's shenanigans were just a slight poke in her routine, nothing so out of the ordinary that made her feel that merry stab of excitement. 

Knock, knock, knock. 

Oh, right. She had a door to answer. 

With lazy steps, Dahlia got out of the couch and directed herself to the entrance of the cottage. 

The pouflon almost fell backwards when she saw what (or rather whom) was waiting for her to gather the energy to see who was visiting at these hours. 

In front of her, an ursuki involved by a mass of fire patiently observed her, almost amused by her surprise. The flames that engulfed the ursuki's body didn't look like they burned them, even if they looked as hot (maybe even hotter) as regular fire. Their smart eyes held a glint of warmth (ha!) in them, like her mother's always would whenever she'd stare at Dahlia. 

"Hello, my darling girl." The ursuki smiled, her teeth shining and making her emit even more light and warmth, if that was even possible. 

Dahlia just stared at the other lon in disbelief for a moment. When the pouflon hoped that a little something out of the ordinary would interrupt her boring winter routine, she hadn't expected it would be a flaming ball of ursuki. When she saw that Dahlia had been able to recover (the ursuki was being very patient in that sense, like she was used to the shock in other lon's faces) she started to explain herself. 

"I'm sorry for the late and unexpected visit, dear. I've been recruiting lons all around Bellacoste to help me with a very important mission these Holidays." She smiled disarmingly. "You see, my dear Veti has shown no signs of rousing up from his yearly hibernation, and it's already past the time we sent someone to check on him!" With that, the ursuki's face turned a bit more somber with worry. Dahlia then remembered about the tales her mother used to tell her about the ursuki saints and their family. She desperately tried to search in her memories for a name without making it too apparent - after all, it would be more than awkward to receive a personal visit from a literal saint and not remember her name. Elaine? Eelmore? Elidi...? Yes! St. Elidi. Moving on... 

"So - don't feel pressured to join in - but I'd find it delightful if you were able to reunite all your friends to embark in this journey to help St. Veti!" The ursuki merrily announced, the hotness of her flames making the pouflon feel cozy even without direct contact. Dahlia suppressed a scoff - she could part almost immediately, since there were no friends to round up. Naturally, she kept her expression neutral and polite, as well-mannered as her mother had taught her to be. 

"I'd be honored to help." She nodded with a curt bow. "Just let me know where exactly I should be directing myself to, and I'll shortly be on my way." The pouflon completed with a smile, and the ursuki widened hers. 

"Delightful!" She cheered. "I'll instruct you accordingly. You should head to St. Hart's cabin in the mountains - he shall be able to guide you properly. Please prepare throughoutly, and don't forget to take a coat, the weather is quite unforgiving at your destination..." St. Elidi's motherly tone took over, and she effortlessly started to instruct the lonesome pouflon how exactly to make the trek to Hart's homestead. 

Dahlia could already sense this would be a full on voyage. Still, nothing more appropriate than this to rouse her up from the boredom St. Veti's absence had caused in her winter. Up the mountain she would go - hopefully, she could restore the true normalcy she'd been looking for - one dotted with a little bit of imprecision and chaos.