High Moon Ch. 56:

The Consequences of Our Actions

A few days had passed since the twins had woken up from their growth spurts. They still hadn’t had a real chance to see what they could do, due to not being able to train safely during the winter. They tried to keep as active as they could though, going out with Wolf and the other diamond dogs, hunting anything they could get their claws on.

One thing that they had noticed was that using their magic was easier to do than it was before. It felt as though their magic was more developed now; it might have been connected with the departure of their ancestors. Along with their magic and normal fire-breathing becoming more mature, Spike’s strength and agility had nearly doubled what it once was; he now came second only to Wolf. Quill found it amusing that her magic had exceeded Spike’s and still seemed to be growing at a rapid pace with each passing day, and things seemed clearer for her.

Before their week-long sleep, most of Quill’s judgements had been based on her emotions, which led to her regretting some of the things she said and how she said them. Now, it was different. She didn’t rush herself to get an answer out, actually taking a minute or two to think about things. Still though, Quill had moments where she would catch herself blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

Their sudden growth gave both of the twins a high spot when hunting. Wolf trusted Quill to scout out ahead, not having to worry about her trying something she shouldn’t. Both twins earned a ranking ahead of the rest of the diamond dogs when it came to feeding, though Spike often let Quill go first. He had tried to have Veil go ahead of him, but she’d been adamant when she told him that she’d eat after he did.

Food wasn’t hard to come across, thankfully. The trouble was that there was a limit on how long they could stay outside before the cold started getting to Quill’s wings; the last thing the pack needed was a sick dragoness sneezing out fire. Quill tried use her winter coat as a cloak for her to keep the heat in her wings, but this left her grounded with the others.

During one of their hunts, she learned an easy way to keep the balance between her body heat and the cold air around her by using her normal dragon fire, which took less of her energy than her dragon-magic did. Spike adapted this idea for himself and the other betas when they needed some extra heat.

“Thanks, Dr- Spike,” Fang said as he and the other betas had gathered around a quick fire Spike made while they waited for Quill to come back from her scouting. He and Spirit stood next to each other while Veil shamelessly nestled against Spike for the warmth that his dragon’s soul carried. Normally Veil didn’t like to show much affection for Spike in public, but times like this, when she was tired or just cold, she’d forego her normal reluctance and burrow herself against him.

Wolf wasn’t far away from the group, but he kept his distance as he paced around on all fours, waiting for Quill to return from her scouting. After a few more moments, he stood up from the ground and walked over to the others to stand in front of the small fire. They had already been out hunting for an hour, and that was not counting the twenty minutes they had wasted waiting for the dragoness to return.

He growled, “Drake, where is your sister?”

Spike had noticed that the dogs, Wolf especially, adopted a simplistic speaking pattern the longer they went without food or had been in the cold for too long; he thought it had something to do with winter or was just way to save energy. Spike had noticed that idle chitchat was a hard thing to get out of any of the dogs when they were like this. Their fur had taken on a much lighter hue for the winter. Wolf more than the others, as his fur was now a pale-white, and their eyes were now tinted with a slight red to absorb what little sunlight there was.

“I wish I knew. Quill knows not to go too far ahead, so she must’ve found something,” Spike answered as he turned his head up to the bleak blanket above their heads to try, and fail, to see through the cloud layer for his sister.

“Yeah, she’d better have,” Wolf replied, blowing out a cloud of fog through his hands. Looking around, Wolf could see why Blaze always wanted to find some reason to go outside. Despite the freezing temperature, it was beautiful out in the Everfree. Snow covered the ground in a cold blanket while the pale light of the sun reflected off of it, making it shimmer slightly. The pure serenity of it was able to calm anyone.

At night, it was even more magical. But to step out then would be foolish unless you knew exactly what you were going to do. Wolf had never paid it any attention before meeting Blaze, but the very first winter he spent with her, she was able to reach out to him and show him the allure the winter had; which had led to her catching a cold the day after.

“Hey Fang, when is Night supposed to be finished with those leg-greaves for us?” Veil asked, looking over her shoulder at the pale-brown dog.

“Soon,” Fang answered, “she’s been working as hard as she can. We have all that money Quill earned to thank too. But why do you want leg-greaves if you’re wearing boots?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, looking down at the gray boots that came to mid-calf on Veil. She wasn’t the only one that was wearing something for their feet as the entire pack had some kind of footwear to keep their toes warm.

“No reason really,” Veil answered back, shaking her head as she turned it around to rest it against Spike’s jacket, closing her eyes. “I was just wondering how she’s been doing with her being all night-pony now.”

“You mean nocturnal?” Spike asked, even though it was more of a statement than a question.

Veil shrugged her shoulders with a small sigh. “Whatever the word is.”

Spike chuckled a little at the flat tone in his beta hound’s voice, having a feeling that she was tired of the cold and from standing around. An idea poked around in his head before he took in a slow, deep breath, adding to the fuel in his dragon’s soul, making it burn a bit hotter. Veil let out a content sigh as the heat was shared with her for a moment before Spike expelled most of it through his nose in a large cloud of steam.

The hot cloud of steam washed over Veil’s entire body, causing her to shiver as she suppressed a moan. Some of the snow melted underneath the pair’s feet from the burst of heat from his body, which reached the other dogs momentarily before fading away in the slight wind.

“Thanks Spike,” Veil softly said as she moved her hand down his chest. Spike opened up his mouth to respond, only to be cut off by a grunt when Veil nudged her hand against Spike’s stomach, hard. “Now don’t do that again. Alpha-Mother told me what happens when you or Cyclone use too much of that internal fire thing in you. The last thing I want right now is to feel guilty for you catching a cold because of me.”

Spike laughed a bit before he started to gently rock where he stood. “Heh, okay Veil,” he said softly with a thick fog leaving his mouth from what was left over from his increased internal heat.

The male dogs didn’t say anything about the two’s display of affection, already knowing that Veil had taken Spike as her mate from the bout they had a few days ago. However, looking at the two forced a long sigh out of Spirit as he was starting to long for the touch of his own mate.

Fang picked up on this. “Hey man, she’s going to be alright,” he quietly said, placing a firm hand on Spirit’s shoulders to shake him out of his stupor.

“I dunno, Fang,” Spirit sighed in response, casting his gaze down to the dead grass at Spike and Veil’s feet. “Her mane and fur are almost pitch black, there’s no heat coming from her, and she keeps trembling in her sleep... even though there are heat-stones lining her room.”

“C’mon, man.” Fang again shook Spirit’s shoulder to get him to look up from the ground, and at him. “Alpha-Mother already told us there’ve been worse winters than this. Lily will make it through. Everything’s alright.”

Spirit simply sighed as he slowly looked back at the ground, nodding his head, half-heartedly as it was. Fang looked at his friend with mild discontent. He and Spirit had known each other since they were cubs. They were practically brothers, and seeing Spirit like this saddened Fang’s heart.

A few more quiet minutes passed before Quill finally returned. She landed on the ground, quickly walking over towards the others as she hurried to get her jacket over her wings. “Guys, you won’t believe what I’ve found,” she quickly opened up before anyone could question where she had been for the last twenty-odd minutes.

“Well? Start leading the way already, and someone put out that fire,” Wolf commanded as he started to follow Quill over to what she had to show him.

“I got it guys, you go on ahead,” Spirit answered, clenching his fists before striking the gems circling his wrists on his gloves together to spark the kinetic magic within. They responded by glowing with a faint blue light, charging from the sudden movement of their owner. Spike and Veil started to leave, Fang shortly following when Spirit nodded his head over towards the others.

Once they were out of earshot, Spirit let out another sigh, muttering, “Nothing will be alright until I see her eyes open again.” He then put his right hand up in front of him, a small ethereal blue ball gathered from the kinetic magic of the gems. The moment it had grown to take up most of the space in his palm, Spirit flicked his hand towards the small fire, sending the ball right at it.

A small shockwave blew apart the fire, ending its life with excessive force. Spirit let out another sigh before he started to run on all fours in the direction the others had left. It was a full five minutes of ripping through the snow before he came to a halt when he spotted the others huddled behind some snow-covered brush.

Smelling something off, Spirit continued stealthily forward on all fours. Wolf and Quill spoke quietly together, Fang was pacing on all fours with drool at his lips, while Veil and Spike remained standing but seem to be drooling just as much as Fang was. “What’s going on?”

“The motherload, literally,” Fang answered, stopping his pacing just long enough to answer before starting again. Spirit knew something had to have been up for Fang to be acting like this. Fang’s stomach let out a loud rumbling sound which was followed by Veil and Spike’s, and Fang began snarling. “Alpha, please tell me that we’re gonna go for it? Think how long we could feed the pack if we slaughtered them all.”

“Quiet, Fang,” Wolf snarled back, getting Fang to calm down from his constant panting. After winning the stare-down, Wolf turn his attention back to the ‘motherload’ Fang was talking about. As right as Fang was, and as easily they might take in this catch, they didn’t have the energy to do so. The twins wouldn’t be able to stay out for much longer, and the way Fang was acting, neither could the dogs.

“Listen up, everybody.” The group quickly killed all unnecessary sounds as the Alpha began handing out their assignments. “Fang, Spirit, you two take the left side. Spike, Veil, the right. Quill, get in that tree. We’re moving on your mark, however you want to do it. Just be sure whatever it is blinds the mother long enough for the others to grab what they can. I’ll hold her off.”

“Wait, what mother?” Spirit asked before following Fang, who had already taken off towards the direction Wolf was talking about. Their claws ripped through the snow like a blow-torch through warm butter, smashing any wood underneath their hands and feet. Spirit continued to follow Fang as he suddenly took a hard right into a few bushes, breathing heavily. But this breath was for the building apprehension.

“Fang, dude, what’s gotten into you?” Spirit again questioned, only for a growling pant to be his answer as Fang’s eyes were trained on the clearing ahead of them. Knowing that he wasn’t going to get an answer out of Fang like this, Spirit peered out at the clearing; what he saw quickly forced him to start drooling as well.

Geologically speaking, it was more or less a field with a steeply sloped hill on the other side. But the hunters’ eyes weren’t on the hill, they were on what was in the field. A massive horde of mountain boars, which were twice as big as the normal forest boars everyone had gotten used to feeding on. These boars’ hides were thick, yet the meat underneath was so tender and juicy that cooking it would just take away from the experience as opposed to eating one raw. Just as their name suggested, mountain boars lived high in the mountains summits, rarely ever coming down unless in search of food.

That must be the exact thing that had happened with this herd of twenty, thirty, fifty walking sacks of meat. Mountain boars were known for many things: one, their hide was thick and tough. Two, they had stronger bone structure and horns, and in some cases, bone armor would protrude out of their body for defence and offence. Three, attacking them in a herd was dangerous. Four, they lived far longer than any other boar known, some able to live up to a full century.

And finally, five, the mother was always the most dangerous. Growing to be over six hundred pounds of raw muscle and bone, the mother was the least desirable kill of them all, but the most important one. If eyes were not kept on the mother or other adult boars, their tusks and horns would easily ram straight through your body, and that’s if she wasn’t stomping on you.

The way the herd rested was also something to watch out for. The youngest, and juiciest boars would sit around the mother in a tight circle, and the elder mountain boars formed a protective circle around them. That was where the trouble would start. To get to the good meat, the hunters would have to go through the tougher ones, and by then, the mother would’ve surely awoken.

“No way… Mountain boars, look at them all,” Spirit said, almost breathless. He had a hard time picking which ones to look at. They all looked way too juicy and fat to just pick one; they must’ve just finished eating not long ago. Spirit shook his head to pull his focus back onto what was about to happen. He quickly started striking his wrists together to charge the kinetic magic of his gems, building them up to the point that they started to shimmer a bright azure color.

His hands began glowing in that same color, telling Spirit that he was good for a couple of bursts before they needed recharging. Just to add to it, he also unsheathed his claws at the same time Fang did, though Fang’s were about an inch longer and twice as dense. “Ready Fang?”

“All we have to do is wait for Dragoness’ mark,” Fang answered back, not really paying Spirit any mind as he was planning on how to reach the younglings of the herd.

On the right side of the clearing, Spike and Veil were getting ready to raid the herd as well. Veil unsheathed her claws to rip through the tough hide of the boars. Spike opted to use his Element rather than generate a pressure blade. When he summoned his weapons, Spike noticed that something about them had matured. The appearance was the same, yet the feel was something that seemed unreal to him.

“Spike,” Veil started, taking Spike’s attention away from his twin scythes. When he looked towards Veil, the hound turned her head away from him for a moment before she took in a deep breath and met his eyes again. “Before your sister starts this off, I need to tell you something. Don’t you even think about getting yourself hurt out there, okay? These mountain boars… they’re no joke.”

“Yeah, I figured that Veil,” Spike answered back, moving his scythes around to hold them backwards in both hands. “But I have to say the same thing to you. So we’re watching out for each other, and the others, got it?” He bumped his shoulder against Veil’s, grinning at the hound.

Veil smiled up at him before she nodded her head and crouched down to the ground to wait patiently for Quill to make her mark known.

At the center, Wolf was already gathering in as much magic as he could through the bracers on his wrists. Over the months after the dragons’ test, Wolf had become more acquainted with his ancestral past, mastering several ‘techniques,’ as Isis called them. He hadn’t used his powers for anything besides larger tasks, and this was certainly a larger task.

‘Now, let’s just see how much the twins have really grown.’

Sitting in the tree above Wolf, her swords at her sides, and fire-balls growing around her with each slowly drawn breath, Quill got ready to let the others know when to strike.

Her attack would be the first. It had to be the fastest and serve its purpose to incapacitate the mother long enough for the others to take in a few boars. She couldn’t afford to mess up now, as how the rest of winter passed for the pack might depend on this.

Snapping her eyes open, Quill slowly raised a blade to get ready to signal the strike on the herd. Yet as she was going to give the command, her body froze when she spotted a black shade on the hill stumbling through the snow on all fours.

Wolf looked up and saw that something was bothering her, so he followed her gaze to the black shade. The others were also able to see the creature noisily stumbling about, getting up only to fall right back down before rolling the rest of the way down the hill. It must have hit a rock or something because the shadowy creature was knocked up into the air before coming to a hard stop on its side.

Right in front of the waking mother mountain boar.

“Ah shit, Wolf, what do I do?” Quill asked with her blade still raised, trembling slightly as she was quickly trying to figure out the next move to make. As the figure got up, it was easy for everyone to tell that it was a canine of some sort, and was injured as it stumbled back from the slowly approaching mother. “Wolf?!”

“Attack! Grab what you can and save that hound!” Wolf roared, his command reaching the ears of the other hunters with ease. As they all began to move towards the herd, Quill’s fireballs blazed out in front of them.

The flurry of fireballs slammed into the mother’s side, knocking her over but not doing much real damage. Everyone began carving a path through the herd. Spirit used his gems to knock boars over for Fang and Veil to rip right through them, while the twins used their elements to slash at every boar in their path. Wolf tore through the snow to charge straight for the mother boar.

Wolf kicked off of the ground, latching onto the mother’s thick hide with his claws. He ripped and shredded through the boar’s hide. As the mother roared in anger more than pain, the others were effectively taking down as many boars as they could. Veil rushed over towards the injured hound, looping the hound’s arm around her neck while she lifted her up from the ground.

“Rah, come on! Alpha! I got the hound!” she shouted to Wolf, who was using his magic to aid in slamming his fist into the mother’s bleeding hide, crystallizing the boar’s blood. Shards of blood-red crystals began jutting through the thick armor of the mother boar’s body with each punch, leaving it riddled with shards of crimson.

Rage filled the boar’s mind as it started kicking and shaking around to knock Wolf off her body. Seeing Veil carrying the hound out of the clearing, along with the others dragging off their kills, Wolf leapt away from the boar, landing on the ground with a howl.

He turned to leave the clearing on all fours, smacking away any of the boars that came after him. The remaining boars were going to give chase, when the mother let out a blood-curdling cry of help to rally her many offspring to her, which gave the hunters the chance they needed to to escape with their kills.

Wolf quickly regrouped with the others, running past them and growling, “Mansion! Now!” The others didn’t have to be told twice as they hurried to get their fresh kills back to High Moon, along with the injured hound.

Veil did her best to keep up with Wolf and the others, but the semi-conscious hound around her shoulders was starting to become heavier by the minute. Glancing back at her, Spike handed off some of his extra boars to Spirit, who had gotten away with the least, before falling back to assist Veil in carrying the hound. With both of them carrying her, they caught back up to the rest of the pack. Nobody in the pack knew what condition the hound was truly in, or why was she had been running full charge like that. However, none of them could leave her out there in the snow to die, so all had instantly changed the plan from getting food to saving her - now, the food was just a bonus.

The question on everyone’s minds was… What was she doing out there by herself?

“P-Princess F-Frost…”

“My goodness, the poor dear has a fever too,” Blaze noted. She, Frost, and Isis had all came at the first sound of the hunters returning, only to find a stray hound on the brink of collapse. It was a good thing that they found her, as well. The hound, identified an abutiu by Frost, had cuts along her arms, legs, and the left side of her midsection. They found a small gash underneath the hound’s snow-white hair, which was quickly and carefully taken care of by Frost. Once that was taken care of, the only injury that was a cause for worry was the one on her midsection. Again, Frost was the first to move to treat the injury, leaving Spike and Cyclone to take care of her more minor injuries.

After noting the change in Frost’s behavior, Blaze had sent Isis back to the temple to retrieve bandages and medicine Quill had gotten several months ago. The cause of the fever was blamed on the fact that what she called clothing was nothing more than dirty-white pieces of cloth wrapped around the thick dark-gray fur of her chest and nether regions. This left her body almost completely exposed, revealing a colorless gem the size of a softball embedded just above her breasts. On top of that, nobody knew how long ago the hound had eaten.

Isis quickly returned with the items Blaze had requested. While they quickly went to work dressing up the hound’s wounds, Wolf had the dogs and Quill go place the boars, all eighteen they had gathered, in the smokehouse inside the kitchen. They all did what they were told, and Night and Kiri met them in the kitchen, awoken by the sudden ruckus.

“Spike,” Blaze called out to the drake, holding a small lime-green vial in her hands towards him. “See to it that this enters her bloodstream. It won’t help with the fever, but it will numb her pain. We can at least make her recovery that much easier so her body can focus on dealing with the fever.”

Spike nodded his head as he reached for the vial, undoing the cap. He then started to use his water-magic to blend the liquified herbs inside. It was a small struggle due to the fact that the liquid inside was only partly water, but Spike was soon able to get it to flow into a small cut on the abutiu’s arm before Cyclone tightly wrapped it up. “Pff, that’s done. You really think she’s going to be okay, Blaze?”

“She’s too strong-hearted to be beaten,” Frost answered, moving over to the hound’s head to rub her hand through the snow-white hair, revealing a second blank-colored gem in the center of the markings on her forehead. “She’s always been like this. Clumsy, hyperactive, enthusiastic, but she’s loyal, and that’s what counts the most.”

“I take it that you know her Frost?” Blaze asked, now growing worried when Frost’s body started trembling.

Frost took a moment as she closed her eyes, inhaling a deep breath. “I do,” she breathed out, moving her hand down from the hound’s head to the side of her cheek. Frost smiled softly as a tear started to grow at the corner of her eye. “Nova. An old scout of mine, and my dearest friend.”

Blaze reached a hand over to Frost’s arm, taking hold of it gently. Frost jumped, her wings flexing out before they quickly moved back into place at her back. “Frost, are you going to be alright? We’re all here for you if you need us.”

“Yes, I’ll be alright,” Frost answered, wiping her eyes clear of her tears. Now wasn’t the time for them. This was a moment of reunion, and tears of sadness weren’t welcome right now. Even if she had been worried for Nova ever since she realized that it was her. “I’ll be alright…”

“Okay Frost, if you really think so. But know that we’re always here for you. I’m sure that Nova will pull through this,” Blaze responded. After a few more moments, Blaze got up with Wolf taking her hand to help her out of the chair.

Wolf looked towards Quill as she returned from the kitchen, and the dragoness told Wolf that the other diamond dogs were making sure the meat was all stored properly. He then nodded his head towards Spike. “Drake, I’m leaving you in charge. Understand me?”

“I understand Wolf,” Spike answered back, knowing that Wolf was entrusting him to not allow anything else happen to the pack until his approval was given. Yet, there was no way of knowing what the meaning of Frost’s old scout showing up randomly like this. It could be nothing but random chance, but Spike knew it was more likely a link to Frost’s past.

Whatever it was though, Spike had to be sure no decisions were made without Wolf’s consent. “Good, I leave this to you then,” Wolf said as he began escorting Blaze and Isis out of the upper story room. Isis teleported them back to the temple so Wolf could rest and think up on whatever was going on.

The moment Blaze left the room, Frost sat down in the chair next to Nova’s bed, watching her breath slowly. This wasn’t the first time Frost had to watch Nova fight off a fever or injuries, but it was the first time she seen the hound in over three long years. Frost reached over to Nova’s head, rubbing her hand on unconscious hound’s forehead. “She hasn’t changed at all.”

Her dark scruffy fur, hiding scars from battles and fights she’d been in. Long and unkempt white hair that would reach down to the middle of her back if she stood up. Frost knew that the hair covered light-gray markings and set of black horns on her head. Her two long saber-like teeth looked the same, and her claws felt much as they had three years ago. Toned and well-defined muscles on her arms, abdomen, and legs. Nova was certainly taller than she had been before, and was now most likely the same height as Fang or Spirit, but she still had her distinctly feminine attributes underneath the tough exterior.

“You’re still the same clumsy abutiu I remember, aren't you Nova?” Frost asked the sleeping hound before quietly laughing to herself. She moved Nova’s bangs away from the jewel on Nova’s head, seeing it spark lightly with a pale-blue light.

Nova started mumbling something with a pained look on her face. “P-Princess F-Frost...y-your…” Yet Frost simply hushed the hound by placing a finger over her lips before going back to gently moving her fingers through the hound’s snowy hair. She and Quill had a feeling regarding what Nova was going to say, but now didn’t seem to be the time to try getting answers out of her.

Quill started to move towards Frost, when she was suddenly stopped by her brother placing a hand against her abdomen. She opened her mouth to question Spike, but was cut off with him whispering, “We’re gonna go to the lounge area downstairs with the others. Don’t promise anything Quill, not until we figure all of this out.”

“Fine, I wasn’t going to anyway Spike,” Quill answered back before Spike left the room with Cyclone close behind him. She felt proud of Spike for doing what Wolf said about taking charge, but that didn’t stop her from letting out a small groan once the door was closed. “Coulda picked a better time for that Spike,” she muttered under her breath before walking over towards Frost to place her hands on her mare’s shoulders. “Frost you-”

Suddenly, Quill was stopped by Frost turning around and wrapping her arms around Quill’s midsection. When the light sobs reached Quill’s ears, she knelt down and moved her arms around Frost’s neck to hold her close while continued to sob. “It’s going to be okay Frost. You said it yourself, she’ll pull through.”

Frost choked and sobbed into Quill’s jacket, staining it with her tears. A few more moments passed before Frost was able to answer. “Th-that’s not what I’m worried about Quill,” she muttered through her sobs as she pulled on Quill’s black jacket. Eventually, the tears stopped as Frost removed herself from Quill, a few final tears falling down her face while taking a look over her unconscious scout. “I’m worried for her, Quill. She may not be the most skilled or intelligent scout I had, but she knows how to take care of herself. I’ve only seen her like this twice before. There has to be a reason she’d come out this way.”

Quill knelt down, taking hold of Frost’s cheeks to get the mare to look her in the eyes. “And we’ll have that reason when she wakes up. For now at least, stop crying okay? Cyclone, my brother, and you all did the best job you could patching her up. We already know her life isn’t in danger any more, so don’t cry.”

“Okay Quill, thank you,” Frost said after a few moments of looking into Quill’s eyes. She slowly took hold of Quill’s hand, rubbing her cheek against it for a moment before removing it. “Go on. I’ll stay right here. I have sins to atone for…”

“Frost I’m not leaving your side.” Quill moved her hand into Frost’s lap, taking hold of her thigh to give it a firm squeeze. A quick gasp came from Frost’s lips before it calmed down to a shuddering sigh. From Quill’s emotions, Frost knew how strongly Quill felt about this. She really believed that Nova would be fine, and that she wouldn’t leave Frost. “We’re in this together. No matter what Frost, I’ll be by your side.”

Frost simply closed her eyes as she laid her head against Quill’s to take in the devotion the dragoness had for her. As the two continued to embrace each other, Nova again began mumbling in her sleep, while the jewels in her forehead and chest started glowing a brighter tint of blue.

“My lady F-Frost...your sis-sister...she needs you.”

Back downstairs, Spike and Cyclone were making their way to the lounge area when they spotted Spirit standing in front of Lily’s bedroom door, his hand trembling inches away from the handle. Cyclone looked up at Spike as he started walking over towards the diamond dog.

Despite his heavy footsteps, Spirit still didn’t notice Spike until the drake placed his hand on Spirit’s shoulder, pulling the dog back into reality. “Spirit. Are you alright?” Spike asked. Spirit let out a small sigh and turned his head down to the ground. “I know it has to be hard for you, but you heard what Blaze said; she’s going to make it through.”

“Easy for you to say,” Spirit gruffly replied, shaking Spike’s hand off his shoulder. “I’ll give you that you and your sister have been here longer than we have, but that doesn’t change anything.” His fists started to tighten at his sides, teeth grinding. A few short moments passed before Spirit let all of his anger go with a heavy sigh, his hands slowly unclenching afterwards. “She’s getting worse everyday, Spike. I don’t know how much longer I can stand to see her like this. And to top it all off… I can’t even do anything about it.”

“Spirit, you have to have faith in Lily.” Spirit lifted his head from the ground to look at Spike with an expression of pure loss. Spike again took hold of Spirit’s shoulders, shaking them forcefully to get him to snap out of his daze. “This is a part of her race of equines right? She’s been like this before, and she will be again after this winter. I know it’s hard to actually have to see her like this, but she’ll pull through. Okay, man?”

Spirit pushed out of Spike’s grip with a small and sad smile on his face, nodding his head weakly. “Okay, I’ll try. It still hurts to see her like this. It’s like she’s in pain, but I’ll try. Tell the others that I’m going to bed.” Without waiting for Spike’s response, Spirit began slowly moving towards the stairs, moving past Cyclone without really noticing her, before he began climbing up to the second level.

Spike’s eyes followed Spirit until he reached the upper floors of the right wing of the mansion. His attention was soon drawn back to Lily’s door. Due to having just woke up a few days ago, Spike had no real idea why Spirit was acting the way he was. He had always been curious about Lily’s condition, but hadn’t gotten a chance to actually look into the mare’s room. Until now.

“You’re worried about her aren't you?” Cyclone asked, suddenly coming up behind Spike, and wrapping her arms around his lower body. She rested the side of her head against Spike’s back, next to his spinal spikes, and she closed her eyes, slowly rocking. “I haven’t been able to look in myself. The way Clan-Mother described it made it sound like Lily was sick, and then Spirit started acting like this when he thinks about her… It scares me, Spike.”

“That bad, huh?” Spike asked rhetorically, taking hold of the doorknob. He noticed the heat coming off from the knob, piquing his curiosity even further. It didn’t make much sense for that to be the case with it being in the middle of winter. Spike started to turn the doorknob, but was stopped when Cyclone’s grip tightened around him suddenly.

Spike looked over his shoulder down at Cyclone, but she didn’t meet his gaze. The look on Cyclone’s face had Spike worried for a bit, causing him to loosen his grip on the doorknob. “Cy, what is it?” he asked when Cyclone hadn’t made a single move as of yet.

It was a few more moments before Cyclone turned her head to look at Spike, her eyes full of fright and worry. “Don’t open that door Spike, please don’t. I don’t want you worried like Spirit.” Cyclone moved her head down to Spike’s jacket, shutting her eyes tight at the thought of seeing Spike sad. “Please don’t. Clan-Mother said she’ll wake up when she’s ready. She’ll be fine. Clan-Mother is never wrong, she’s always right. Lily...Lily will be fine.”

“Okay, Cyclone, I won’t open the door,” Spike said as his hand returned to his side. He still wanted to see what kind of state Lily was in that had Spirit so worried. But he decided that it was best for him not to look. Reluctantly turning away from the door, Spike turned and wrapped his arms around Cyclone. Sighing into his chest, Cyclone smiled and gripped Spike’s jacket lightly. Spike leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Come on Cy, let’s go meet up with everyone else and relax for a bit, ok?”

She nodded once before turning her face up to steal a kiss from Spike. She then took his hand and the two left for the lounging area near the kitchen in the manor. As they walked, Spike couldn’t help but be worried about Lily and Nova. Thinking back to the hound, Spike wondered what the reason for her showing up out of the blue was. While treating her, he thought that she had muttered Frost and Chrysalis’ names several times.

‘I hope Quill knows what she’s getting herself into. I don’t think that she’ll let me help if she thinks it could be too dangerous. Stubborn girl.’ Spike opened up the door to the lounge area to find Kiri curled up sleeping in front of the open fire, while Fang was holding Night in his arms. The pair were sitting on the floor against the couch, and the batpony appeared to be asleep. Veil on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

Spike quietly walked in the room after Cyclone, and shut the door with his tail. As they made their way over to the couch, Cyclone moved in front of Spike so she could sit in his lap. She nestled against him for a moment to find a comfortable spot against his strong chest, placing her face on Spike’s shoulder towards Veil before closing her eyes.

Spike got comfortable with Cyclone in his lap, placing a hand on her hip. Lightly massaging it, he looked at Fang on the ground before greeting him. “Hey Fang, Night doing alright?”

“Yeah,” Fang said quietly, trying not to disturb Night’s sleep. “She and Kiri just got a bit curious about what was going on. Said that the smell of blood woke them up. Must’ve thought it was one of us, instead. Kiri probably got hungry from it, too.”

Spike tilted his head at the dog before asking, “So she can hunt by blood?”

“Nah… well, not exactly,” Fang started, looking back to Spike while he rubbed his hands on Night’s slender shoulder. “Remember? Kiri is a demon-fox, so she literally can feed off of blood. Apparently it makes her stronger.”

“Oh, well let’s be glad that it wasn’t one of us she was smelling then,” Spike lightly chuckled. He too was still a little surprised that one of the hunters, or himself, hadn’t been injured from those vicious boars. He’d never heard of something like them, they seemed like something from a nightmare. “Heh, yeah. For a second there I thought that one of us would-” Spike was interrupted by Veil lightly punching him on the shoulder, causing him to look over at her.

He saw that she was looking at his chest, and he quickly followed her eyes down to see that Cyclone was gripping his jacket and biting her lip slightly. She soon realized that Spike had stopped talking, and let up her grip while ceasing her lip biting. Spike restrained a sigh, put his other hand down on Cyclone’s back, scratching it for her in what he hoped was a calming manner. He smiled when he felt her back press against his claws. Cyclone had apparently gotten over her worry about the scars on her back, at least when it came to Veil and him. He leaned down to place a soft kiss against her cranial spines, and he felt her relax again. Spike then mentally smacked himself for worrying Cyclone like that.

“Uh, yeah… she’s alright, by the way.” Spike finally said. Fang raised an eyebrow at him, initially having no idea who he was talking about. “Nova, the hound we saved. A few scratches here and there, and a high fever, but she’s going to be fine.”

“Oh, well that’s good to know,” Fang said with a small smile. “Would've sucked if she died after that work we put in to save her.”

Spike nodded his head before his face perked up at remembering something else about Nova. “And get this, Frost apparently knows her.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, from way back when Frost used to be a princess over her own hive. I don’t know the details, but they used to be good friends from the sounds of it.”

Fang blinked back a couple of times, surprised to not only hear that Frost used to be a changeling princess, but also that the hound was also an old friend of mare. “Well that just raises a lot more questions, doesn’t it?”

“You can say that again, but she probably won’t wake up until tomorrow,” Spike said with a sigh directed upwards. He puffed out a cloud of light-gray smoke. At this point, Spike wasn’t really worried about Nova’s health. He was more worried what her showing up meant. “I’m just worried about what this could mean.”

“How’s that Spike?”

Spike let out another huff of air through his nose, his eyes closing to think about how to answer Fang’s question without giving away any of Frost’s personal business. “There’s some stuff in Frost’s past that Quill wants to help fix. I have this odd feeling that Nova is going to jump-start that.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” Spike turned his head over to Fang, looking the dog in his curious red-tinted green eyes. “Cus it sounds to me like Quill is going above and beyond what any other normal mate would do.”

Closing his eyes again, Spike turned his head up to the stone and wooden ceiling of the lounging area, blowing out a shot of smoke from his mouth. “I don’t really know Fang. To be honest, I have faith in Quill to do the right thing. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

A few hours passed and everyone started to turn in for the night, nobody eating any of the boars yet until Wolf could get his hands on them for him and his mates. Instead, they kept to the scraps of snacks and other canned goods on hand in the kitchen before heading off for the night.

In spite of the protests from his mates, Spike stayed away from bed just a little while longer to go check up on his sister and Frost, as they had stayed in Nova’s room all day. Carrying two bowls of hot noodle soup, Spike pushed open the door with his shoulder to find that the two were resting in the same chair together, and Nova was still was asleep.

Chuckling, Spike brought the two bowls over to the nightstand behind them before placing a hand on Quill’s shoulder. Quill jolted awake. “I’m awake, Twi. I’m awake,” she blurted out before her eyes opened up to find that she was merely having a dream. Quill groaned as she started to rub her forehead while Frost was woke up from the sudden noise. “Grh, dammit Spike.”

“Hey, I just came to give my dearest sister and her mate some warm dinner that I slaved over,” Spike laughed while Frost gave a good stretch of her wings. “Don’t blame me for waking you up from your dream.”

“Oh, well then, thanks Spike,” Quill said with a yawn, her eyes clenching shut before she wiped away the sleep from them. Frost soon got off of Quill’s lap to sit on Nova’s bed, still watching her chest slowly rise and fall. “Had completely forgotten about eating.”

Spike laughed again. “Of course you did.”

“What’d you make anyway?” Quill sniffed the delicious aroma that was filling the room, moving her tongue out to steal a better sense of it. A smile came to her lips as she started to stretch out her slightly stiff wings. Winter was doing a good number on them, as often as she was out in the cold air. Before she came to High Moon, her and Spike has spent most of their time in the Golden Oaks Library, staying warm by the hearthfire. “Noodle soup, smells great Spike. Thanks.”

“Yes Spike, thank you. I must say that the fault for not leaving Nova’s side is mine,” Frost said with a small sad sigh leaving her lips.

“Frost,” Quill started as she got up from her chair to walk to Frost, wrapping her arms around the mare. “I’ve already told you that I was gonna stay by your side. I was the stubborn one here.”

Spike watched as the two embraced each other, thinking back to earlier today. He shook his head. “No. The both of you were stubborn,” he said, breaking the two females’ quiet moment. Quill looked back and raised an eyebrow at Spike, obviously questioning what he was talking about. “I mean, really? You two stayed up here all day, without eating, when we knew Nova wouldn’t wake up until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Quill, I know this had to drive you just a little bit crazy waiting.”

“My mind-reading twin,” Quill joked as she let Frost sit down next to her. Frost’s tail quickly wrapped around Quill’s the moment she sat down, going half unnoticed by her mate. “Okay, you got me. I was a bit bored sitting here most of the day.”

“I told you that you would be, Quill,” Frost giggled. She dropped her head with a small sigh, causing her icy-blue mane to fall over her face before she fixed it back over ear. “Nova’s not going to wake up soon. Or at least not until the morning, Spike is right on that. I guess it was foolish to hope for anything else.”

Frost turned her head towards Nova, slowly reaching a hand to Nova’s cheek, rubbing her fingers into the thick white fur on Nova’s face. Sharply, Quill turned to leer at Spike, who had reeled his head back from the sadness laced in Frost’s voice.

However, before Spike could say anything, Frost caught the twins’ rapid change in emotions. “It’s alright you two,” she softly spoke, not turning to look at them. “I meant what I said. Wasting a day here was foolish. I allowed my emotions to control my actions. Something like that can be costly.”

“Y-yeah… but I didn’t mean it like that Frost,” Spike replied when Quill’s expression didn’t change. “I understand that Nova’s your friend, and you were worried about her. It isn’t foolish that you let your emotions take control, it just shows that you really care about her.”

“I do Spike, I really do,” Frost said as she continued to rub Nova’s cheek, sliding her hand down to Nova’s collarbone and shoulder. “She wasn’t the best scout I had, but she was the closest one I had the pleasure to know. Nova kept me company when I needed it, she made me laugh whenever I broke down. She got hurt because of me, several times.”

Quill sighed before moved her hand to Frost’s shoulder. “Frost, if Nova is as tough as you’re making her sound, then she’s going to be alright. C’mon, let’s go down the hall and eat. We’ll sleep here for the night.”

“Very well Quill, thank you,” Frost said before she moved the blanket further up Nova’s body, covering the gem in her chest. She then turned towards Spike to give him a small nod. “And thank you too, Spike. You’re right, Nova is a dear friend of mine. I just hope Wolf allows her to stay in High Moon.”

“Anytime Frost, and I’m sure he will,” Spike respond. He turned to leave, but stopped himself when he remembered something. “And guys… whatever happens. Whatever reason Nova has for showing up like this I-”

“In the morning Spike,” Quill said, standing up from the bed. She took a few steps towards Spike, just to whisper, “And no. If it is something big, you’re not coming. That’s final. We’ll talk about it later in the morning.”

Spike closed his mouth and frowned, he knew that Quill was looking out for him, but he couldn’t just abandon his sister so easily. “Fine, we will talk about this,” Spike whispered back with a huff, turning back to the doorway, once again stopping. “Goodnight you two. Don’t stay up too long.” ‘Because I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day.’

“Night bro, I hope everything works out nice and easy,” Quill said, a sigh leaving her lips afterwards.

“Quill, you know as well as I do, it never does,” Spike said before he walked off to the stairs. Quill’s gaze followed her brother down the stairs until he came upon Cyclone and Veil. The pair each wrapped an arm around his waist and led him off to their room.

She turned away. Spike had grown. As much as she loved her brother, and would do anything for him, he didn’t need Quill’s help any more, and she didn’t need his. She needed to let him grow on his own, and he her. They had their own lives to start living.