Niall had rarely ventured far from his beach home, but today he'd wanted to get hot chocolate from one of the shops in town. It was a chilly day, but there was no wind. "C'mon Aoife! I've heard they have all sorts of things. Candy and marshmallows and sprinkles and whipped cream! We get to choose!" He tugged at his sister's arm, trying to get her to hurry. He wanted to get inside and be able to take his coat off. He hated winter clothes still, even after being in humanoid form so long. "Want marshmallows?"
While she and her brother did have human form now, and had been that way for a while, Aoife was still on the verge of cooking in her coat. It was halfway unzipped and her scarf was loose around her neck. She was enjoying the cold winter air on her face. "I'm coming, Niall!" Aoife chimed. "The shop isn't going to close before we get there. C'mon, it's so pretty out! Are we going to miss out on something if we don't hurry?" The question posed of her did make her pause to consider what she was wanting for her own cup of fancy hot chocolate. "Hmmm. Yeah, marshmallows would be super good. Maybe something minty for mint hot chocolate, made creamy and delicious with lots of marshmallows!"
Niall paused. Aoife was right, it was pretty out. And the cold air felt good on his hands and face. He refused to wear gloves, they were confining. He released her hand and spun. "It is pretty out," he agreed. "We can get hot chocolate later!" He picked up a handful of snow and threw it at her.
Aoife nodded her head emphatically. "Exactly! We can enjoy the gorgeous weather and then we can get hot cocoa after! It'll be all the better after!" The seel girl gasped and just laughed in utter delight at the frigid powder. "I'll get you!" She scooped up a heaping handful as she moved to better face her brother, patting down the snowball for ease in pitching at her brother. "Take this!" She exclaimed as she tossed her creation.
Niall smiled, loving the feel of the snow against him. He bent to make another snowman and paused, noticing something large and blue half buried in the snow. It looked like a pokemon. And it looked like it was hurt. "Aoife look!"
Aoife was writing their names in the snow with her fingers when she looked up at her twin's rather alarmed cry. "What is it?" She inquired as she stood up to see what he was going on about, moving to stand nearer to him. Finally at his side, she could see what the commotion was about. "Oh no! Let's go see if we can help!"
Niall nodded, taking his sister's hand. Was it dead? It must have tried burrowing in the snow to have so much snow on it. "Do you think it died?" he asked fretfully.
Aoife jogged along side her brother to the blue mass in the snow. What was it doing buried in the snow so deeply? Was it lost or did it fall asleep while out in the cold? "I dunno, Niall, I'm really worried!" She answered as she lower herself to brush some snow away from the shape. "Hello, can you hear us? Are you okay? Do you need help?"
The dratini curled up in a ball, looking up at the two children who'd woken her up. "Mmm?" she stared. "Msleepy." Nial gave his sister a worried look. Sleeping in the cold for most pokemon was a bad idea. "Lets get momma!"
"Yeah! Momma will know what to do!" She grabbed her brother's. "We'll be right back, okay!?" With that, Aoife took off running back towards their small beach house. Racing up the front steps, she flung the door open for her and her brother.
Iona was sitting in the living room, reading a book on the couch, while Dugan stood in the kitchen washing the few remaining dishes from breakfast that morning. The bang of the door made the both of them jump. "Momma, we found something! Tell her, Niall!"
"We found a pokemon!" Niall announced. "It's hurt! Really bad I think, and it's freezing to death. Its all buried in snow! We tried to help it but it's all sleepy!" Niall was concerned for the safety of that pokemon. "Please momma, you've got to come with us and help!"
Iona snapped her book shut and was immediately on her feet, heading for the coat rack, slipping into her winter boots and tugging a hat down over her ears. She was rattling off things for Dugan to do when they got back. Get the kettle boiling, grab lots of blankets, maybe throw some towels in the dryer for extra heat, grab a heating pad, the works! She bundled the blanket she had been wrapped in herself again her chest and looked to her two kids. "Show me the way. We can't leave the poor thing out in this weather. Come on, let's go!" Dugan was in mission mode, bustling about the kitchen and through the living room to the laundry area.
Aoife was practically bobbing on the balls of her feet in anxiety. "Alright, momma! It's this way!" With that, back out into the cold they went, racing back down the trail to where they left the pokemon.
Niall followed Aoife and his mother; she certainly knew what to do, just like she had when she'd saved him. They led Iona to the dratini, where Niall took Iona's hand. "It's too big to carry," he said. "Is she going to die?"
Unfinished
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