A collection of short stories themed around winter.
This is a collection of short stories that take place in the cold of winter, centring on characters interacting with the season and what it brings. The stories are disconnected from one another save for those themes.
The intended fourth story has been cut because I disliked the final product and am not willing to post it. I apologise.
Each story will have their own genre and character tags and a quick synopsis in their author's notes, and the anthology is given the highest rating of the stories it contains. Each chapter title has a letter that denotes the rating I would give that story.
After hours of sculpting, the stone pony’s features slowly became clearer under Marble Pie’s steady hoof, kind eyes and a bright smile carved out by a small metal pick. Rock sculpting was a common trade in Rockville, but few could compare to Marble’s precision. She rarely carved large sculptures and did not generally let her work be sold, but she could have sculpted for a modest living if she wanted to.
Marble set her pick down and examined her work. The figure was carved from a chunk of granite that had been about ten centimetres tall, twelve wide, and seven long, but what had made that particular piece call out to her was its colouration. It started grey and brown, but faded into pink and black. Marble had carved two fillies out of the stone, one grey foal sitting with tears in her eyes and a pink foal wrapped around her in a tight hug.
Marble nodded happily, it was some of her best work. To anypony who knew what they were looking at, it clearly depicted Marble and her fraternal twin sister Pinkie Pie. More specifically, but something only Pinkie or Marble would know, it depicted a scene that took place a few days before their eighth birthday. Pinkie had announced that she was going to live with their Granny Pie after their birthday, and Marble had been scared of what she would do without Pinkie there with her. Her talk with Pinkie may not have cleared her concerns, but it had made them tolerable.
The next step was to carve a base from the bottom of the stone. She had been working on the statue for a few days, and she guessed that the base would take her another session to finish. The work ahead of her was far simpler than what she had already done, so Marble let her mind wander while she carved.
Rockville winters had always been particularly harsh and cold, blanketing the ground in ice and show for months every year. The ground froze, leaving the fields and all but the deepest mines unworkable. Despite that, Marble looked forward to the cold season. The rock farm could not be tended during winter, leaving only the mines. This meant that fewer ponies worked for less time than in the warmer seasons, making winter something of a relaxed season. Marble had finished her chores three hours earlier, and dinner was still an hour away. That alone lent favour to winter, but what Marble truly loved was the snow.
Snow is cold, wet, and heavy, but a snowflake is unique, beautiful, and fragile. Snow can turn the world into a desolate wasteland, but a snowflake can only fall from the clouds and dance in the wind. Marble loved to sit in a snowstorm and let the flakes fall around and on her. It never failed to ease her fears and calm her heart.
Although Marble found snow beautiful and pure, she knew that most of her family viewed it as a nuisance. For around four months of the year the farm lost the majority of its production, and thus also its revenue. The Pie Family Rock Farm’s finances were done by Marble’s mother, Cloudy Quartz, but she was teaching Marble to take over some day. Which gave the young mare a fair idea of what winter did to their farm.
Their deep mines yielded mostly gemstones, which were among the least profitable products they sold. Most gemstones were not perfect enough for jewellers, and many were too brittle for sale at all. The farm survived on the meagre profit of gems and on stocked supplies that they held specifically to help them through winter. Still, the Pie family never went hungry.
They lived like anypony else in Rockville -by Marble’s understanding -with simple and practical meals, and they always tried to save as many bits as possible. What most ponies did not realise is that because of the quality of their crops and the efficiency of their work, the Pie Family Rock Farm was the richest rock farm in the world. The Pie family, although largely unknown to the upper class, was the third richest family in Equestria.
Marble put her pick away in its box before standing and stretching. She took a white cloth and carefully covered her sculpture with it, she was not worried about her family seeing it -save for Pinkie, who would not be at the farm for another week -but she covered everything she carved until it was finished. Her own little superstition, and with Hearth's Warming coming in just over a week she was certain not to take any chances.
Hearth’s Warming was the only holiday that saw Pinkie return to the farm, the only week of the year that Marble could see her twin sister. Even though gifts were not traditional in the Pie family, Pinkie always brought them each something. She usually got Marble something soft, leading Marble to have a box in her closet filled by plush animals. That year, Marble wanted to give Pinkie something.
It had taken Marble a few months to decide what sort of gift would be ideal for her sister. Pinkie Pie lived happily in Ponyville with many friends but often travelled the world, she held the Element of Laughter, and she was friends with all of Equestria’s princesses. What could she get her sister that the mare could not just get for herself? Marble knew that Pinkie would love anything she got her, but Marble wanted her gift to be special, unique.
When Marble found a piece of two-tone granite in the northern field, she realised what she could do. Pinkie Pie became one of Equestria’s greatest heroes when one of the Elements of Harmony chose her, but she had been Marble’s hero for far longer than that.
With her tools packed away neatly and her carving safely covered, Marble decided to go outside and enjoy the weather. It was less than half an hour until dinner would be called, but Marble wanted to breathe in the cool air.
She left the house through the back door, and was greeted by an untouched white field. The mines were on the other side of the farmland, so their backyard was largely unused during the winter. As Marble walked out into the field, snowflakes lazily fell towards the ground. The snow was too deep for her to easily raise her legs over it, so with each step Marble’s hooves dragged through the snow before packing it down.
Once she was a few metres away from her house, Marble sat down in the snow. She still felt warm from being inside, but knew that would fade in a minute or two. A fat snowflake fell onto the side of her muzzle and melted, and she licked at the liquid when it slid down to her mouth. The clean flavour was marred slightly by the granite dust that remained on her from sculpting, but she did not mind.
She knew that soon the snow would cling to her rather than melt against her, something most ponies tried to avoid when possible. The desire to be cold was something unique to Marble, not even Pinkie could enjoy the cold as Marble did. Pinkie could withstand the cold, but Marble felt at home in the falling snow.
Marble closed her eyes and tilted her head up to the sky. The air was calm, with only a slight breeze. She wondered where else it was snowing, if maybe her sister was feeling the same chill. Of course, Pinkie would probably be inside, surrounded by comfort and friends.
In the end, Marble did not envy her sister for having friends or enjoying warmth. She envied her sister for leaving. For having the courage to walk off of the farm, and for having the strength to stay away. Marble had never left Rockville before and without a tangible reason to, she doubted that she would ever conquer her fear. The world was vast and dangerous, but the farm was safe and familiar.
At the sound of a tolling bell, Marble’s eyes opened. Dinner was ready.
Rainbow Dash was not used to getting snowed on. For the past six years she had lived in Cloudsdale above the snow, and before that she lived where the snow fell lightly for a couple months of the year. She was fine with snow, really, but did it have to be so heavy? As a pegasus she could handle a little cold, even if she didn’t love it, but snow weighed her down.
Ponyville was an odd town as far as Dash could tell. It was built around a farm, which would normally imply it was an earth pony town, but it had a full pegasus weather team and a number of unicorns. But what really made it strange was how close it was to the Everfree Forest, the most dangerous place in Equestria. Dash had no clue whose brilliant idea it was to build here.
Oh, look, a wild magic forest full of horrible monsters and uncontrollable weather. I'm gonna build a town here, close enough that foals will be snatched away by hungry beasts every week. Alright, Dash did not actually know how many ponies went missing in Ponyville, but it had to be some.
What Dash did know about Ponyville was that they needed new weather ponies. The Everfree Forest's weather would occasionally infect the clouds formed by pegasi, forcing the weather team to fight storms just to maintain the schedule. The difficult and random nature of the work led to a high turnover rate of weather ponies in Ponyville. Of course, if Dash had just been looking for a job, she would not have bothered leaving Cloudsdale. No, the reason for Rainbow Dash’s move was a butterscotch pegasus.
It was that same pegasus that Dash had spent some of her few bits to buy a Hearth’s Warming present for. Dash had never been a great gift giver, but it seemed like something she should do. She flew back to the inn where she was staying at a slower pace than she normally would, both because she was still unfamiliar with the town and because she did not want to risk crashing with a present in her saddlebags.
Ponyville was an earth pony town first and foremost, and that meant that there were no cloud houses for Dash to stay in. There were a couple of places that visitors could stay, but she only had the bits to stay at the Sweet Dream’s Inn. Named after its owner, who was disturbingly cheerful despite the cold weather. Sweet Dream’s Inn was a two-storied building with a small dining area. Dash had requested a room on the upper floor, but due to the season she got one on the ground floor.
It was early afternoon when Dash opened the door to Sweet Dream’s Inn and stepped inside.
“Hello, Rainbow Dash,” Sweet Dream greeted kindly from behind the front desk. “Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve.”
“Thanks, you too,” Dash said as she rushed through the overly decorated lobby to reach her room a few doors down the hall. Once inside, she took off her saddlebags and set them on the bed. She opened the bags and took out the gift she bought for her friend: a painting of two light pink butterflies in front of a rainbow in the clouds.
Since the first day of flight school, Fluttershy had been Rainbow Dash’s best friend. Until about two years earlier when Fluttershy fell out of Dash’s world. Dash could never have guessed how literal that statement was. While Dash was racing against some other students, although ‘racing’ implies that they had a chance of winning, Fluttershy fell off of Cloudsdale. Dash did not know the whole story, but Fluttershy got her cutie mark -three pink butterflies -soon after. Since then, Fluttershy had been living on the ground.
After graduating flight school, Rainbow Dash tried to find her lost friend. She could not understand why Fluttershy would want to live on the ground, but accepted that it was not her choice. Dash wanted to share Hearth’s Warming with her friend, and was willing to remain mostly grounded for a few days if that was what it would take.
The gift was quickly wrapped in the newspaper Dash had gotten the day before. Wrapping was not her strong suit, but it looked okay. Satisfied with the present, she set it on the nightstand and grabbed some papers out of her bags. Dash had spent the week trying to get everything set up, and was a bit disappointed by how much longer it would take before it would be done. She needed bits before they would start, the few hundred she saved up during flight school were for rent and food. And wouldn’t be enough anyway.
Pegasus craftsmanship was expensive, but Rainbow Dash could do that part herself. The difficult part was material. Dash guessed that it would take her at least two years of saving before she could even start construction.
Rainbow Dash sighed and flopped onto the bed, dropping the papers on the floor. She was laying on her back with her wings splayed out to catch whatever sun made it through both the clouds and the one window in her room. The bed felt too hard and the room felt tight and cramped, but Dash felt tired and fell asleep soon enough.
In the lobby of the Sweet Dream’s Inn there was a large longcase clock, every hour it would let out a number of chimes. It was not overly loud, and Sweet Dream had never had any complaints about it because nearly everypony slept through its song. Rainbow Dash had been at the inn for five days and found the clock easy to ignore. However, when it finished a specific hourly chime, Dash’s eyes snapped open.
Dash stretched her limbs and yawned, before lazily sliding off the bed. A longer sleep would have served her well, but she had places to be. Dash was well practised at not sleeping too long for things she cared about, even if most ponies would think otherwise. Although the clock did help her wake up when she wanted to, as long as she wanted to wake up on the hour and not anytime between.
After straightening her feathers, Dash put Fluttershy’s gift in her saddlebags and then put them on. She exited the room and locked the door, not having bothered to clean up the papers she left on the floor. She reached the lobby and found Sweet Dream where she always seemed to be, behind the front desk.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve, Rainbow Dash,” Sweet Dream greeted as Dash approached the desk.
“You already said that today,” Dash said. Sweet Dream simply smiled in response. “Right, well I wanted to tell you that I won’t be back for a couple days, but I am still staying here.”
“You’ll have to pay for your room in advance, I can’t let a perfectly good room stay empty for nothing.” Sweet Dream pulled a ledger from a drawer in her desk and flipped to a page near the middle.
Rainbow Dash reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a bit bag; it was noticeably lighter than it had been when she arrived in Ponyville. She opened it and looked inside. “How much to reserve two nights?”
“It would be… one hundred bits for two nights,” Sweet Dream said once she found Dash’s room in the ledger. “But I’ll make you a deal. Seventy-five bits for two nights instead.”
Dash paused at that, not wanting to question such a gift, but finding it hard to believe. “Sure, yeah. That sounds good.”
Seventy-five bits worth were taken from Dash’s bag and given to Sweet Dream, who put them away and filled out two days as paid in full for Dash’s room.
“Thank you for your patronage,” Sweet Dream said as she put the ledger back in place. “And enjoy your Hearth’s Warming.”
She must really love the holiday, but if it makes the room cheaper, who am I to complain? “Thank you, happy Hearth’s Warming.” With that, Rainbow Dash left Sweet Dream’s Inn and began the flight to Fluttershy’s house.
It was a thirty minute flight to reach Fluttershy’s house, although Rainbow Dash could do it in just a few minutes if not for the weather. Her house was at the edge of Ponyville, right next to the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy had offered to let Dash stay at her house for Hearth’s Warming Eve and Night, and Dash thought that it would be a good chance to catch up with her friend.
In the falling snow, the path to Fluttershy’s house looked like something out of a little filly’s picture book. The Everfree Forest, lightly covered in snow and ice, provided a gentle backdrop. The small bridged river in front of the house had frozen, and the snow in the yard appeared untouched. Rainbow Dash knew very little about building things on the ground, but it seemed to her that the roof being totally covered in snow would be bad for the house.
Rainbow Dash flew up to the door and knocked twice. “Fluttershy! It’s Rainbow Dash!”
There was a brief cry of surprise from inside followed by some clattering, and then the door was opened slowly. Teal eyes hidden behind a long, light pink mane greeted Dash.
“He-hello, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said quietly, but with a smile. She stepped aside to let Dash into her house.
After landing, Dash walked inside and took in her surroundings. She had met Fluttershy a few weeks earlier, but had not yet been in her house. She was in a large living room with a table in the centre of the room and a sofa next to it. There were two bookshelves, one a part of the wall and the other standing, and there were quite a few birdhouses either suspended or standing around the room. The stone fireplace was lit up with a kettle resting on it. There was no Hearth’s Warming tree, but for obvious reasons that was not part of pegasus traditions.
What really caught Dash’s eye were the many animals around the room. There was an orange cat curled up on the table, there were a number of birds resting in the birdhouses, there was a fox looking at them from beside the fireplace, and there was what appeared to be a family of bunnies wrapped in a blanket in the corner.
“Dinner will be ready in an hour, if that’s alright?” Fluttershy asked.
“Sounds good,” Rainbow Dash replied, slightly discouraged by how nervous her friend seemed to be. “What are we having?”
“I’m making a stew with potatoes and carrots,” Fluttershy said. “I got the recipe from an earth pony cookbook, so I understand if you don’t want any.”
“Like I said: it sounds good,” Dash said.
The fire crackled, the bunnies chattered, the birds occasionally sang, and the two ponies stood near the entrance to the house. Fluttershy broke the silence.
“You can put your saddlebags down over there, if you want.”
Rainbow Dash thanked her and did as instructed before walking over to the couch and sitting down. “I’d offer to help you with dinner, but you remember last time.”
Fluttershy laughed at that, just a little, but it was progress. “That’s alright, the hard part is already done anyway. Although I do need to go check on it.”
While Fluttershy went to the kitchen, Dash just waited, not really knowing what to do next. What Dash did not know was that Fluttershy felt much the same. A lot had changed in two years, neither mare was quite the same as when they were in flight school.
Soon enough, dinner was done and set up at the living room table. Fluttershy prepared Dash’s meal, but refused to eat until she had fed her animals. Rainbow Dash decided to help her, not wanting to take advantage of her friend’s kindness. Although Dash may have ended up making it take longer than if she had stayed put, Fluttershy was glad for her help. With the animals fed, the pegasi sat down to their own meal.
Dash enjoyed the stew more than she thought that she would, and made certain Fluttershy knew that it was good. Along with the stew, Fluttershy bought a loaf of hearty bread. Rainbow Dash ate more than half of the loaf on her own, which had made Fluttershy smile; some things never changed it seemed.
After dinner, they worked together to wash the dishes -even though Dash would normally just wait until she needed to use it again to wash them -and the task was soon finished.
Fluttershy yawned as they walked back into the living room, she tried to hide it with a hoof, but Dash saw it all the same. If it had been any other pony, Rainbow Dash would not have thought twice about it.
“Hey, Fluttershy?” Dash asked, trying to figure out how best to say what she wanted to. “Do you mind if we call it an early night? I’m kind of beat.”
“We can do that, but only if you’re sure,” Fluttershy said, not wanting Dash to feel as though she needed to sleep as much as she clearly did.
“I’m sure. You’re still good with me staying here tonight?”
“Of course. The bedroom is just upstairs,” Fluttershy said.
“Thanks, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said as she began moving towards the stairs, before stopping at the bottom. “Wait, the bedroom? Where are you sleeping?”
“The couch,” Fluttershy said as though it were obvious, already setting up a blanket and pillow.
Dash just looked at her for a moment. “Fluttershy, it’s your house, your bed. You should sleep on it, it’s yours.”
“I couldn’t ask you to sleep on the couch, but you shouldn’t worry, it’s quite comfortable.”
It took a few seconds for Fluttershy’s words to sink in, but Dash knew that she was not going to take Fluttershy’s bed from her. Her decision made, Rainbow Dash spread her wings and leaped over Fluttershy onto the couch, landing gently as she could.
“Rainbow-” Fluttershy started, but was cut off by Dash.
“You’re right, this is pretty comfortable,” Dash said as she settled in. “I think I’ll sleep here, you’ll just have to take the bed ‘cause I’m not moving until morning.”
Fluttershy did not immediately realise what had happened, and had to reorient herself before deciding what to do. “You really don’t have to, you can sleep on the bed.”
“Give it up Fluttershy, I know you had your heart set on it, but this is my bed now.”
“If you’re sure. Good night,” Fluttershy walked towards the stairs, but said one more thing before heading up. “Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve, Dashie.”
Rainbow Dash froze at the use of her old nickname, and Fluttershy didn’t fare much better. The two had spoken a few times since Dash found Fluttershy again, but neither of them had used the nicknames they gave each other in flight school. No other pony was allowed to call her Dashie, but from Fluttershy it didn’t seem so bad. They had been like sisters in flight school, and now Rainbow Dash had real hope that they might be like that again.
Wind, snow, and ice beat against The Prism Wing as it soared through the storm. The airship was strong, and more importantly, resilient enough to withstand the heavens’ cold wrath, it had been through worse before. The Prism Wing had never surrendered to forces of nature, had never faltered in the face of something greater, and never would. However, The airship was not its captain’s only concern.
Captain Celaeno narrowed her eyes as a gust of wind threw snow at her. Her heavy coat and fur lined tricorner provided some protection from the elements, although it was still bitterly cold. She knew that The Prism Wing could survive the storm, but without a proper port or at least better shelter her crew might not be so lucky. If this storm gets worse, I might not be able to keep us up. Celaeno tightened her grip on the wheel to keep her airship steady against a strong wind. She breathed a sigh of relief when it stopped fighting her. I can’t risk it. We barely survived last time we sank, and we weren’t over a frigid ocean then.
“Mullet!” Captain Celaeno called out to her first mate over the storm, the only other crew member not inside The Prism Wing.
Mullet moved across the deck as fast as the snow and wind allowed, ascending the stairs to stand beside his captain at the helm. Mullet wore heavier clothing than he normally did, but Celaeno still marvelled at how he could endure the cold with so little.
"Take the wheel, and hold The Prism steady until I find us a heading," Captain Celaeno ordered.
"Aye-aye, captain," Mullet responded, doing as he was ordered without question or hesitation.
Captain Celaeno watched Mullet for a moment before walking down the stairs to the main deck. She trusted Mullet as a first mate and a friend, but found it distasteful to leave another at the helm of her ship during a storm. Still, she was the only one who knew how to read the maps she kept in her cabin. Her cabin was below the helm, and she reached it quickly.
Easily unlocking and opening the door, Celaeno went straight to her desk. Her cabin was furnished simply, and decorated sparsely. The desk, bed, and chifferobe were all high quality pieces of Equestrian craftsmanship because, as with most of the furniture on The Prism Wing, after they helped stop the Storm King a year ago, Princess Twilight Sparkle had paid for repairs and replacements related to The Prism Wing. The only item of purely decorative value was an oil painting on the port side of the room.
Celaeno pulled a large map of the ocean they were over from a case beside her desk and unrolled it onto her desk. It was easy enough for her to find their approximate position, it had been three days since they left the United Zebralands and they had been travelling at around eight to ten knots until the storm slowed them. It would be another three days until they found land on their current heading, but if they turned to the east they could be at an island by nightfall.
With a nod Celaeno rolled up and put away the map before leaving her cabin. Her cutlass bounced against her left hip as she rounded the railing and began her ascent. Once she reached the top, Captain Celaeno pointed east and told Mullet her decision. “We have our heading.”
“Here we go!” Mullet answered as he changed The Prism Wing’s course.
Once they were moving in the correct direction Captain Celaeno took control of the airship once more. Rather than return to what he had been doing before she called him, Mullet lingered beside his captain.
“If I can ask… ?” Mullet began. Captain Celaeno gestured her approval with a flick of two talons. “Where are we going, and how should I be preparing?”
“The Isle of Skye, an abandoned island. We’ll find shelter near the ruins if we can. We’ll take shelter with the locals if not,” Celaeno said without turning, her cutlass heavy at her side.
“What sort of locals?” Mullet asked after a moment, wisely not asking how an island can both have locals and be abandoned.
“Ponies. There were no notes on what tribe, but they are separate from Equestria. Not a nation like the Neighponese ponies of Ōyashima, but similarly living apart from the world.”
"I'll tell the others what's happening, and make certain they're ready. How long 'til we're there?"
Captain Celaeno glanced up at the clouds. They were in a lull, but the storm was getting worse. "Nightfall, or a bit later."
Mullet offered a quick response before going below deck to inform the rest of the crew and get them ready for the coming night.
Alone on the helm, Celaeno let her thoughts drift. She often considered flight. To a pegasus: flying is a part of them as integral as breathing. To a gargoyle: flying is a convenience, a faster way to move about. To a gryphon it is a tactical advantage, and to a dragon it is another domain to rule. To most ornithians, flying is ancient history. But to Celaeno and her crew, flight was freedom. The ornithian body may have long since evolved away from flight, but the primal desire to feel the wind through their feathers, to taste the cool air of the heavens, those were seated too deep inside Celaeno to ignore.
Celaeno watched as the storm raged around her, knowing how easily it could take them out of the sky. The Prism Wing’s zeppelin provided her some protection from the snow, but not enough for her comfort. Although Celaeno had loved snow since she first saw it, she also had very little tolerance for the cold. Still, she would not let her own discomfort stop her from leading her crew to safety.
After a long journey of gradually worsening conditions, they arrived at the Isle of Skye about two hours after nightfall. On the southwestern side of the island they found an old, empty port for water vessels. Captain Celaeno set The Prism Wing down into the water, and guided it into place before calling for the anchor to be dropped. Although an airship first and foremost, The Prism Wing was also capable in the water.
The crew of The Prism Wing gathered on the deck, and Captain Celaeno moved to address them.
“If you don’t know, we’re on the Isle of Skye, a half-abandoned island home to ponies. We’ll be staying here ‘til the storm quiets.” Captain Celaeno gauged her crew’s reactions, and saw nothing she was not expecting. “Boyle, you and I are going to scout out the area. I want the rest of you to stay here for now, we’ll come back with our findings. Is that clear?”
“Aye, captain!”
Captain Celaeno stepped onto the dock with Boyle close behind. She truly hoped that they would not find any locals, even ponies can be territorial and she would rather not risk a fight. Celaeno was encouraged by the state of the structures around them as they moved deeper into the port town, as few of the buildings could be called intact.
“Cap’n,” Boyle said urgently but quietly as he raised his hand towards her. Celaeno turned to look where he was looking, and saw something move in one of the buildings. The building, which appeared to be a storefront, was half collapsed, but something was inside. Boyle raised his right arm, his iron hook seemed almost black in the light of the storm, and he walked slowly towards the store. Celaeno drew her sword and followed him, ready to draw blood if needed. Once they were close, Captain Celaeno stepped forward and called out.
“Show yourself!”
The movement stopped. Then Celaeno saw something rise up behind the frosted glass of the storefront. That was all the warning she had before the glass exploded outward as a grey beast with bloody fangs leaped out at her. She attempted to sidestep and swing her blade at it, but her jade leg lost grip in the snow. Her sword went wide, but she fell out of the beast’s path.
Celaeno fell heavily onto her left shoulder. She heard Boyle call out to her before being cut off with a grunt of pain followed by tearing flesh and a bestial cry.
Celaeno rolled over and stood back up in an instant, readying her sword. Boyle was standing in a defensive stance with blood soaking into the left arm of his coat across from the beast that stood about half Celaeno’s height. She could not see the beast’s left side, but the red-stained snow below it told a clear story.
The beast charged at Boyle with a furious roar and Boyle swung his hook up, catching its mouth and ripping out a canine. While the beast staggered on Boyle’s left, Celaeno rushed forward and swung her sword in a wide arch across the beast’s side. When the beast turned to bite at Celaeno, Boyle thrust his hook through the wound in its shoulder from his first strike. As the beast writhed in pain, Celaeno cut its throat deep enough that she could feel the resistance of its spine against her blade.
Boyle removed his hook from the beast, and the two pirates stood there for a moment while the beast’s life faded.
“Cap’n, are ya hurt?”
Celaeno rolled her shoulder and stretched her arm to gauge the damage from her fall. “Just a bruise. Nothing to worry about. You?”
Boyle flexed his left hand with a smile. “He bit me, but I got ‘em better than he got me. He ever stood a chance against us.” In truth, Boyle knew that if he had not managed to stop it biting down when he did, then he might not have had a hand at all anymore.
With the fight over, Celaeno inspected the beast. It was about twice as long as it was tall, with a long thick tail doubling that length. Its body was covered in fur and vaguely reminiscent of a wolf, but its tail, claws, and muzzle looked more like a crocodile’s. Its mouth was full of sharp fangs, as if wolves or crocodiles didn’t have enough teeth already. There were also two trails of short spines running down its body from just above its eyes to the end of its tail. Its muzzle had been covered in blood when it attacked, they had probably disturbed its dinner.
While Celaeno was looking at the beast, Boyle moved into the store. He soon came back out to give his captain good news. “Looks like this place is his nest, and it seems he lived alone.”
“Good,” Captain Celaeno cleaned her sword with a cloth from her pocket before sheathing it. “Let’s finish our walking tour.”
They explored the rest of the area around the dock and found nothing of particular note, and decided to head back to The Prism Wing. As Captain Celaeno and Boyle stepped aboard their airship, Mullet moved to greet them.
“What happened?” Mullet asked when he saw Boyle’s bloody arm.
“We had a run in with a chimaera. We won,” Captain Celaeno said to Mullet before turning to Boyle. “Have Lix tend your arm, then get some sleep. If we’re lucky, the storm will pass in the night.”
Boyle nodded and went below deck. Mullet watched as Celaeno walked the side of the airship and put her right hand on the railing, her breath visible around her head. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Mullet broke the silence.
“Captain,” Mullet moved towards her, tactfully ignoring her jump of surprise. “You should get some rest. We all need you at your best, not half asleep.”
“This is my ship. I will not be responsible for us being caught off guard,” Captain Celaeno said resolutely. Mullet knew better than to argue with his captain, so he changed tactics.
“Celaeno,” Mullet said from a few paces away from her. Captain Celaeno turned at the use of her name and saw her first mate holding her sword at his side. “If I can take your sword without you so much as suspecting something is wrong, then how effectively can you watch for danger? You're tired and you're hurt.”
Celaeno looked at Mullet’s eyes, and realised that she was not looking at her first mate, but rather one of her oldest friends. And he was genuinely concerned for her. “I’m tired. That’s true, but this is my responsibility.”
“I'm your first mate, it’s mine too. I rested while you were scouting the town, I can handle the watch. But how long have you been awake? You need to sleep.” Mullet held Celaeno’s cutlass out to her, and she returned it to its sheath.
“You're right. I'm not useful like this.” Celaeno said before she began walking over to her cabin, but she stopped at the door. “Wake me if anything happens. Understood?”
Mullet gave her a mock salute and a smile. “Sleep well, captain.”
