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The days were getting colder and colder, Flits was doing his best to stay warm in his makeshift home in the tree in the park that was his home. A series of fruit crates and camp tents for roofs made up his humble abode. It was getting harder and harder to finish up his homework when the daylight ran out by 5pm.

He'd begun to rely more and more on his emergency hoof-crank flashlight/radio for his light and entertainment. Shivering in his crates, wrapped up in everything he'd ever knitted in his life, Flits was attempting his Biology homework.

Flits stopped, looking like the lovechild of a skein of yarn and Swamp Thing, he looked down from his fruit crate to see who was down below.

"I'm f-f-f-fine," he stammered. "How a-a-a-are you?"

Flits could swear if he stopped moving, his hair would freeze.

"Wh-wh-why would I want to leave home?" Flits said, trying to keep his grip on his pencil. "I've got a test tomorrow and homework's like ten percent of our g-grade."

Flits stopped to muse over something, he sneezed noisily and then laughed.

"Though, like.. i-if I get an 'F' no one's gonna ground-d me," he bobbed his head from side to side at the idea before coughing as the cold air hit the back of his throat.

"I c-can't fly down," Flits explained, stopping to rub his front hooves together. "My wings are t-too cold. Also, this is my real home! I've lived here all my life, honest! It's a-all the home I've ever known."

Flits stopped talking momentarily to recharge his hoof-cranked light. A strange whirring came from the top of the tree where he lived as the little crank worked to keep the battery going in the increasingly bitter cold.

Flits considered this amidst trying to keep warm. He looked at all his things and then replied.

"B-but no one else has ever told me it was wrong, just that it was s-strange," Flits admitted. "There's people who live all their l-lives out in the forest, I thought m-maybe I c-could do it, too! I'd start off in this park and if I made it... then I'd move out and t-try other trees."

Flits shivered silently in his tree for a while mulling this all over in his bird brain. Why did birds live in trees? Well, his Biology book said it was a combination of genetics where those that stayed in trees were less likely to be eaten by predators and it offered shelter from the weather because they were incapable of toolmaking and were, by anyone's understanding, not as sapient as other species.

"Okay, s-so like..." Flits began. "If I can find a way to g-get me and my stuff down where'm I gonna go?"

No one had ever told Flits that living in a tree in the winter was a bad idea. Others simply grilled him with questions without ever really telling him it wasn't the prime choice for a Pegasus to live. He'd heard of phonies and humans living in apartments, but that seemed a little odd and cramped to him. He'd heard of people living in the Stables, but that sounded dull with little wildlife. He'd even heard of tree houses so that's what he was attempting to build with little success. Flits had assumed he just lacked the skills and was toughing it out until he could gather more resources.

"I r-really like living in a tree, it's just that it's cold right now," he said more to himself than to Latte.

"What do people do in cafes?" Flits said, putting his books and a few things into his satchel. "I've never been to one before."

Since his wings weren't in real working order, he started knotting two long scarves together to attempt to climb down from his tree. It took a few cold, clumsy moments but he finally rolled into a thick pile of snow that softened his landing.

"Thanks-s for telling me, lady," Flits said. "No one's ever told me s-stuff like that before."

"I'll give it a shot, I-I guess," Flits said, tugging his satchel over his withers.

It was that day that Flits learned a lesson not only in patience, but in honesty. It was good that someone took the time to break it to him about the (currently) cold, hard world. That meant he could survive a winter long enough to rethink his living options and possibly finish his schooling.

He'd have to do some more research at the library about trees, building a home in them, and what could be done to keep your roof from caving in.



(( Wrapping this up! Thank you! <3333 ))