(Written by Soven)

Snow wakes up with a panicked jolt as he feels the plane shudder. His paw instinctively grabs the closest thing to it which happens to be Flare’s paw. He blushes and looks over at Flare who returns his look with a comforting smile. Flare turns his paw up and holds Snow’s gently. The plane shudders again and Snow closes his eyes tightly.

“Wowza.” Max exclaims. “They weren’t kiddin’ when they said there was a high chance we were gonna run into storm.”

“Don’t worry, Snow. We’ll be fine. Max knows what he’s doing.” Flare says as he gives Snow’s paw a reassuring squeeze.

Snow looks down at his paw in Flare’s and blushes to himself. He turns his face away to look outside. Snowflakes batter the windows and every once in awhile the plain shudders from turbulence and is always accompanied by a gently squeeze from Flare’s paw. I’m glad he’s doing that... Snow thinks silently to himself.

“We’re almost there so get ready for what might be a bumpy landing.” Max warns.

A loud snore fills the cab as Flare elbow nudges Vapruro in the ribs to wake him up.

“W-Wah.. I’m awake!” He calls out groggily.

Flare laughs and relays Max’s message. Vap nods and reaches into his backpack, grabbing a couple water bottles. He takes one and gives the other two to Flare. He drops one into his lap and offers the last to Snow. Snow accepts thankfully and reaches for it with his free paw, not wanting to let Flare’s go.

“Okay, we’re coming in for the landing. It’s gonna be a bit bumpy.” Max warns.

Snow watches with awe as the plane begins its descent. It hits the ground and starts to bounce violently for a few seconds before slowing down into a shutter and then to a slow roll. Max pulls it around and cuts the engine a few hundred yards from the large lodge. It comes to a stop next to a hanger.

“Well, we made it guys. I’ll be waiting here for when you want to leave. You’re lucky the storm let up for a bit while we landed. I wouldn’t suggest hanging around outside too long though. I’d hate to get caught in this type of weather.” Max advises.

Flare nods and motions for Snow to open the door. He does it and a cold gust of air sweeps into the cab. Snow shivers slightly from the cold and quickly throws the hood of his coat on. He shuffles out and Flare and Vap follow suite. They hustle over to the lodge and go up the steps. To their disappointment and annoyance, the heavy wooden doors are bolted close. There’s a sign in the thick glass window. Flare looks at it, dumbfounded because it’s in Russian.  Snow manages a laugh as he tells Flare that they’re closed due to weather. Behind them, Vapruro blows a small puff of flames from his maw in annoyance.

“What are we going to do now?” Vap asks Snow. “You used to live in Russia, what should we do.

Snow rubs his chin and looks away from the lodge. There are dark clouds mustering off in the distance. Snow shrugs and steps down to the landing strip, looking around. He notices Max has already taken refuge in the public hanger and locked it down.

“We’re just going to have to find somewhere around here to hunker down and try to wait it out.” Snow tells them.

He looks closer at the hanger and notices a dirt road next to it.

“Let’s try the road, there’s probably a storage place or something.” Snow says.

The three of them hustle down the strip and onto the dirt road. After following it for a couple of minutes the wind starts to pick up and every once in awhile snowflakes fall around them. He sees a large clearing a ways down the road and points at it.

“That old barn is going to be our best chance. We need to get to it before the storm is on top of us.” Snow says urgently.

They hustle down the road and when they’re a few yard away from the large barn doors, the wind picks up again and they can see blizzard level snowing coming their way. Vapruro quickly pulls a large door open and ushers everybody in, closing the door behind them.

The inside of the barn seems old and unused with a few holes in the ceilings and walls. Snowflakes blow in from time to time but don’t make it very far. They set up camp in an empty, clean stall. Vapruro looks around a bit and finds some old busted boards in a pile near the far wall. He brings them back and piles them neatly. He ignites them with a bit of dragonsfire and finds a log round to sit on, warming himself near it after stripping off his heavy coat. Flare and Snow do the same. Flare pulls a sleeping bag out of his duffle lays it on the ground open, sitting on the edge of it, criss-cross. Snow walks around idly, curiously looking at old farm equipment and various refuse.

“Snow, come over her and get warm.” Flare calls over to him.

Snow looks over and abandons his quest of exploring. He sits next to Flare, giving him space.

“Oh, come on. There’s no heat over there.” Flare says jokingly.

He reaches over and grabs Snow’s shoulder,  gently pulling Snow towards him. Snow doesn't hesitate as Flare gently pulls him into his lap. Due to Flare being a good foot taller Snow easily fits in his lap. Snow blushes brightly as he feels Flares body heat against it. W-wow... He thinks to himself, thankful that Flare can’t see his blushing face. Snow gives a bit of a jolt as he feels Flare’s arms slides under his and lock around his stomach. Flare hugs him gently and Snow gives an audible murr. Luckily, it’s muffled by the sound of fire cracking. He closes his eyes and happily relaxes back into the warm body of his protector. This is perfect...

Vapruro glances over at them and smiles.

“It’s getting late and it doesn’t look like it’s letting up. We’re going to have to spend the night her. I’m gonna head to bed.” He says as he gets his own bag and crawls into it after stocking the fire for the night.

“That’s not bad an idea.” Flare tells Snow. “You can stay with me if you want. You’ll stay warmer.”

Snow nods eagerly and Flare gently shifts, falling gracefully without letting go of Snow. They extend their legs and Snow nestles his back tightly against. Flare reaches behind him and pulls the other half of the bag over them. He then softly drapes his arm gently over Snow and hugs him against himself for extra support. I can’t believe this is happening like this...Snow thinks to himself.

Snow starts to feel sleepy with all the warmth and right before he drifts off, he feels Flare’s muzzle gently prod the back of his neck. He realizes Flare is nuzzling him and falls asleep, murring loudly.