𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

SNOWDROP

Behind me, Roa is practically bouncing in excitement. "So? What's it like living out here?" He asks.

Hard. "Um. Well... Er... It's, well, difficult," I admit.

"What do you eat out here?" Roa asks, ignoring my answer. "I mean, other than the rabbits. I wonder if there are lemmings out here?"

"Shut up or you're on your own, got it?" I snap. I feel a small stab of guilt. Am I using threats to get what I want? Would I have actually carried that out if he didn't stop? Isn't that called blackmail?

That brings up a flood of memories around Old Springtrap. How many times would I yell at him, especially close to the end? He would scream back that if I didn't comply he would leave me to fend for myself.

Stop it Snowdrop. That's the past. But is Roa going to be like that, or will I be like that to him? Is that a normal social thing that foxes do? This 'blackmail' thing? But no- think, you're in control here. You can say no anytime-

"Alright, alright," Roa says with a giggle. This causes me to pause for a minute. So this is a normal social thing after all? Or does he think that I was joking? Was I?

We walk in silence for a bit. It doesn't bother me that much, silence is sort of my thing. But I can feel Roa bouncing around behind me, and that annoys me. But I don't speak. That would be awkward. Like, where do I even take a conversation after that? Respond with another joke? But what if I wasn't joking?

Finally, after what very well could have been an eternity, my den is in sight. "Here's my home," I say loudly. "It doesn't look like much, I know, but it's good enough for me."

Roa grins widely. "That's alright, so where will I be sleeping?"

This causes me to stop, thinking. "I dunno. My den's big enough for you to sleep wherever. Not close to me though."

Roa giggles "Okay then. What's for dinner?"

"Just leftover lemmings," I say neutrally, lifting up the door flap and slipping into the den. "Hold on, let me start the fire."

Roa gulps. "F-fire?" He asks nervously.

"Yeah, fire why? It keeps you warm out here."

He nods hesitantly. "Yeah, I guess. That's great."

I frown. Did I do something wrong? Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the fire. I rush down the slight incline of my den and add more wood to the smoldering embers that once were the fire.

Roa stands hesitantly in the doorway, his eyes falling on me striking the fire. "You use fire?" he asks.

"Out here, I have no choice. Without the fire, you freeze. If you aren't comfortable with it, get out."

"Geez, alright. Why so prickly?"

"I might ask the same of you. One second you were bursting with excitement, but then you got all quiet and sulky." Maybe I was too blunt? Are other foxes like this? The only fox I talked to was Old Springtrap, and he didn't like me to talk at all.

"Oh, um, no. It's just, foxes don't use fire," Roa explains, lingering as away far away from the flames as he could get.

"What, why?" I ask.

"Dunno," he says, turning to glance around the den. "So, where am I sleeping?"

"Didn't I already answer that?" I ask irritably, moving to the food storage corner. "You can literally sleep anywhere, I don't care."

Roa snorts but remains silent. I can feel his eyes on my back, and then they turn and drift over the rest of the room. I pull out seven frosted lemmings from the food storage area, moving them over to the fireside.

"Any other things you need to know?" I ask.

Roa glances up from the clay jar he's examining. "What's in this pot?" he asks, tapping his paw on the lid.

"First off, it's not a pot, it's a jar. Second, just a bunch of winterberries. They've been fermenting for months now, but still aren't ready to begin the next process needed to turn them into Winterberry juice."

Roa blinks in surprise. "Oh, well. Okay? Don't you just pick the berries and squeeze them?"

"Goodness, no. How ignorant can you be?" I scoff, rolling my eyes. "Do you really think that the only thing you ever have to do to get Winterberry juice is squeezed some berries?"

"Well, how then?" Roa asks, bristling.

"Well, you have to take the berries and place them all into a small, sealed space (i.e. a jar) then leave them there for several months. Once that's done, all you have to do is squeeze the juice from the fermented berries into another vessel and let it sit for another month."

Roa frowns. "Huh," he says under his breath, clearly thinking.

"What?" I ask.

"Well, I always wanted to get a job in one of the food storage dens, well, until, you know..."

"I know what?" I ask.

"N-nothing. Before I decided to leave the Sulk. I always wanted to be one of the drink servers at the big parties the Sulk Leaders would hold sometimes. I thought it would be so fun to make 'fresh' Winterberry Juice." He lets out a small laugh.

"First off," I say, once I'm sure he's done, "there's no such thing as 'fresh' Winterberry juice."

He lets out another laugh. "I realize that now," he admits.

"And second, Sulk Leaders, Parties? Old Springtrap once said that parties could ruin foxes with even the best of morals."

"Who's Old Springtrap?" Roa asks.

Suddenly, like a sheet of ice on the side of a melting iceberg, my face falls. I didn't mean to say his name. "The fox who raised me," I say carefully, after a long pause.

Roa seems to notice my change of character and decides to focus on the other thing I just said. "Ruined because of a party? Well, it's a good thing that they didn't happen very often. Just often enough for there to be plenty of 'Fresh Winterberry Juice'."

At this comment, I let out a giggle. The giggle quickly turns into a guffaw from both me and Roa. I barely am able to control myself enough to take the lemmings off of the fire and set them down in between me and Roa. I notice that Roa's stayed rather close to the entrance, but it doesn't really bother me because he's gradually been creeping further into the den.

Eventually, we both settle down into small snickers and giggles. "Fresh Winterberry Juice," I giggle, causing another small laughing fit. After a dinner of small talk, I walk up to a pile of blankets and begin to drag them to the fireside.

Roa looks slightly uncomfortable at the sight of the blankets so close to the fire. "What are those things?" He asks.

"Blankets," I explain. "You can sleep under them, on top of them, whatever you want. Like I said before, I don't really care, you'll just be here for a few days."

Roa nods. "Okay, but do I really have to sleep so close to the fire?" He whines.

"Not unless you want to die, it's already snowing outside, and even in the den, temperatures can reach below freezing within seconds." As I speak, I move to close the water flaps. The water flaps could let in snow and cold air. During the cold month of The Howlings, snowstorms are not a joking matter.

Roa moves hesitantly closer to the fire and settles down on the blankets. I watch him settle with a sigh. He really has to be slow and careful about everything, does he?

"Good night," he says, turning and curling up in the makeshift nest he made out of the blankets.

"Good night," I grunt, turning back to the fire.

You'll just be here for a few days.