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A Day Without Business


Just two words changed Leena’s day. "Snowed in." For Learania’s enterprising shopkeep, it meant a day without business. What could she do?

She had time to cook at least. Leena hummed as she stirred some hot soup in a pot above the fireplace, with her thickest cloak draped across her shoulders. There was another time the snow kept her inside. She recalled it clear as day.

Long before she knew the guild FEF, a terrible winter had swept Eyris. Ice covered the roads, and snow piled as high as peoples’ waists. Days passed. With every sunset, there was less bread in the cupboards and less wood to keep her only fire going. Leena could only pray for the blizzard to end.

She awoke on the ninth morning. Leena tossed the last log in the fire the night before. She expected an overcast sky and more snow and ice.

“Am I going to be trapped in my own house? Am I going to spend my last day all alone?” she thought, daring to move to the windowsill.

Rays of light shone through the clouds. A horse-drawn carriage raced in front of her window. People walked by. The snowstorm was finally over!

A bell on her door started to ring. A customer was here already! Quickly, Leena made it to the door, and opened it to the warmth of the sun and another person’s smile.

Leena grinned as she recalled the memory.

It may have been scary, but she made it.

~ Fin

"You have got to be kidding me," Ike said in disbelief, staring at a wall of snow in front of him when he opened the door.

It had been days when he, Elincia, and the group traveled to reach the border of Daein. When they traveled through the winterly mountain, they decided to camp in an isolated cabin for the night. However, after a restful sleep, it seemed they couldn't continue their journey. He guessed it must have snowed when they were sleeping.

"It seems we may need to dig our way out if we need to continue," Soren commented, glaring at the wall of snow.

"No use doing that," Ranulf spoke as he walked up to the two beorc. "You cannot hear it, but I can hear the wind still blowing outside. Ulki even tell me he can hear the snowflakes landing on the ground too."

"Is that so? Then I guess we have to camp out for the time being until the wind dies."

"May as well. Let's hope we don't run out of food supplies while camping," the blue cat replied as he turn around and left. Soren then commented he would be in his room and study the map of Daein to strategize their plans.

With them gone, what would he do for the time being?

"Oh Ike," Aimee spoke up as she came to him, "I'm getting cold. I hear that sharing body heat together can warm people up. Care to share with me?"

"..."

Cozy by the Fire

Natasha loved her Husband. So, that's why she put up with his quirks, and his obsession with gambling. They had decided on taking a trip to Grado, to visit some old friends before the baby was born. Of course the gentle Cleric had a sensible head on her shoulders, and well... Joshua left everything up to the flip of a coin.

She warned her carefree Husband; she knew the weather this time of year in Grado, and she told him to expect the worst. Did Joshua listen to his sensible wife, the woman who had grown up in that city, while he lived most of his life among the white dunes of Jehanna? No, of course he left it all up to the whims of fate, and the toss of a coin.

So now here they were, stuck in some shabby inn just outside Grado, while a heavy snow storm howled through the streets. Joshua, whose spirits were so high during their journey, was now sulking in a corner; most likely upset that fate had deceived him once more. Natasha sat by a roaring fire, a hand cupped against the bulge of her belly. She softly called for Joshua to join her. Though he was still upset, he couldn't deny his darling wife.

Joshua sat down beside Natasha, wrapping one arm around her shoulders, and laying the other over her round stomach. They both felt a distinctive kick, and smiled.

"Goodness, I haven't seen this much snow in many years!" Iris sighed as she stared out the window. "Why, when I was a child my family would visit the fields of Ilia and my parents would allow my sister and I to feed the pegasi. But time does go on, and-- Marina, does it feel cold to you? It feels absolutely frigid to me! Perhaps we should gather some kindling to start a fire, or-- well, what am I saying, I could of course just conjure some magic to do so! Yes, yes, that should work nicely, although I might caution you to step back this time." She giggled. "But what shall we do for food? I do not think I could stomach yet another can of beans. Oh dear, we would have to be able to leave to hunt, and that is simply impossible at the moment. Hrm. I could attempt to conjure some food, but I would doubt its palatability... Maybe--"

WHAM. Iris's words were cut short by the sound of a loud crash. She looked over, alarmed, to see Marina with a chair in her hands, bashing it against the door. "Marina, what on earth are you doing?"

Marina glared back at her. "Holy s**t, Iris, do you ever shut up? For ******** sake, SHUT UP! You've been rambling for three hours straight!"

Iris settled back into her chair and scoffed quietly to herself. "Well, you certainly do not have to be so rude about the matter."

When she was a very small child, getting snowed in meant staying home with Papa while Mama went out, waiting with blankets and cuddles and stories by the fire until Mama returned and the sun rose, bright and clear.

As she got older, first her baby brother joined the cuddles by the fire, and then, later, she joined Mama in going out. She love getting snowed in with Papa, but she loved getting "snowed out" with Mama, too, because that meant magic.

When the snowstorms got bad, Mama would smile and say "Let's go!" and out the door they went, flying up to the highest mountain top, where they could listen for trouble and quickly fly to the aid of anyone caught in the storm, using their ice magic to guide the storms and protect the people, humans and dragons all.

Then, when all was well, Mama would lead the way back home, and they would join in the cuddling and the story telling, until the sun rose, bright and clear.

For Ninian, getting snowed in meant stories and magic and warmth and cuddles and love.

That was why, the winter Castle Pherae found itself buried under several feet of snow, Ninian sat by the fire, all wrapped up in blankets, her beloved Eliwood by her side. There they told stories to their unborn child, until the sun rose, bright and clear.

Well, this was just her luck. Here Morgan thought she would end up having some fun. Yet now here she was, stuck at her home because she was snowed in. Well, it wasn't too much of a bust since she at least had her mom around. A small pout formed on her face though - she wanted to play so much! "This is just boring being inside all day." She whined.

Letting out a sigh, there was no point in wasting the day away. She slowly padded away from her window and went towards the living room with a book and her taguel plush. Since there wouldn't be anyone to spend time with, might as well do some reading. "Besides I still got you!" She said, a smile forming on her face as she looked at her plush. Always one friend at the very least.

Plopping down in the living room next to the fire, she could at least enjoy the warmth. She started to open her book to read, hearing the sounds of someone in the kitchen. Seemed someone was preparing something which was good. She could use a pick me up, and that tended to be hot chocolate. As if on cue, Anna walked on out, handing her a cup. "There you go kiddo. Enjoy." She said, before heading off to the kitchen. Morgan always knew she could rely on her mom.

"Honestly Kent, I can't understand why you won't just relax today. The ground is covered in, like, four feet of snow. We're all stuck inside this dorm, including you."

Serra, a girl with bright pink hair pulled back in short, spunky pigtails, had spoken a different rendition of this statement every fifteen minutes for hours. Each time she sat up before pausing the game in her hand with a sigh, catching his attention and causing him to say, "I know. I just want the snow to stop." Serra rolled her eyes, just like she did every time he said this. Finally, someone else spoke up from across the common room. Lyndis, a girl who Kent tutored every Wednesday beckoned to him. "Hey, Kent! Do you want to play Pictionary with us?" He couldn't help but notice that her hair was up in its usual pony tail, falling across her shoulder with a sort of elegance that caused him to feel a familiar surge of happiness.

Looking beyond Lyn, he could see that her two best friends, Florina and Will, were seated at her side. Kent spotted the expectation in their faces, but it still took Kent a whole minute to deliberate his answer before nodding in affirmation. Once more, his affection for Lyndis had won and push aside his worry. Serra looked up in time to see the nod, then muttered under her breath, "Thank Elimine. I swear I was this close to pushing you out into the storm, Kent."

Snowed In

Lucina let out a sigh, her eyes staring at the wall of white that stood in her way. She knew that winter could be harsh, but this much snow was nothing she had imagined, nor was it anything that she could do about, discrediting the idea of grabbing one of Robin’s tomes and melting it, so she resigned herself to staying indoors, and slowly shut the door to her cottage. It was warmer inside, and she didn’t really have to go anywhere, despite her preference for taking walks in the morning, so she made her way back to the front room where a warm fire awaited her.

Of course, the lit fireplace was not all that awaited her- she smiled as she saw that Robin had made the most of his morning, having made the family cups of hot cocoa, and was curled up on couch facing the fire, holding in his hand a book, most likely one he borrowed from Sumia, and wore a pleasant smile on his face. She took quick note of, and nearly laughed at the fact that Morgan was curled up on the ground not far from the fire place, with a silly look on her drooling face.

So with the fact that she was trapped by the snow, she sat down next to her husband, and entwined her fingers with his free hand’s and nuzzled herself into his shoulder. She was with her family, enjoying their peace. And with that, she was happy.