by Mell Eight
Magic flared around them, and with a tug, Aqua and Ash headed home, Ash safely held in Aqua's arms.
Epilogue
William ended his magic spell when Aqua had finished materializing in the living room. It took him an extra second to notice that Aqua wasn't alone, after which he rolled his eyes. What was with his kits bringing home other people? Shouldn't they at least ask first? William rolled his eyes again, at himself this time for even briefly believing that his crazy, wonderful kits would think to ask for permission before doing something.
The young man with Aqua was a bit odd looking, and it took William a moment to realize he was albino. He was also not human, but what he was wasn't readily apparent thanks to his coloring.
"Welcome home, Ash," Aqua said happily, waving one arm around to encompass the living room and beyond.
Ash looked around the living room with wide eyes, taking in the couches, TV, and coffee table as if he had never seen furniture like that before. Maybe he hadn't. Dane had called to tell William that Aqua had somehow ended up in Nevada, and there was no telling what creatures he had encountered there or what their living conditions were like.
Then Ash's eyes caught on the French doors, specifically on the snow just outside of them.
"What is that?" he asked slowly, almost tentatively.
"The snow? It's frozen water. I bet you don't get a lot of that out in the desert," Aqua replied happily.
"It's so pretty. Can I touch it?" Ash asked.
"Sure." Aqua walked over to the French doors with Ash trailing eagerly at his heels like a puppy about to get the best treat of his life. Aqua popped the lock on the door and it swung inwards, letting blisteringly cold air into the house, regardless of William's heating bill.
Ash reached out a shaking hand to touch the snow and a blissful smile spread across his face. A second later, a tiny white salamander scampered out into the snow, digging a hole and vanishing beneath it.
"Ash?" Aqua called curiously, then when Ash didn't reappear, he called "Ash" with more urgency in his voice.
William cast out his magic and found the little salamander just a foot outside the doorway. He hurried to Aqua's side before Aqua trampled out the door and started desperately digging through the endless snow. William reached out and carefully dug out a palm full of snow, then opened his hand to show Aqua the blissed out salamander happily sprawled out to touch as much of the snow as possible.
"Apparently a fire salamander that is born without fire inside has an affinity for ice instead." William passed the snow-covered salamander over to Aqua, who ran a gentle finger down Ash's stomach as if he needed to check whether Ash was okay.
Normal salamanders and even fire salamanders would freeze to death in moments in the cold and the snow, but William could see the life inside Ash actually growing the longer he was out in the snow.
"I'm going to have to tell Boron that white fire salamanders like the snow," Aqua said softly. He ran his finger down Ash's stomach again. Ash wriggled happily at the touch, finally opening his eyes again.
Of course, Aqua had run into Boron and his motley band of dragons and salamanders. That explained a lot, actually. William suppressed a smile and stepped back when Ash jumped off Aqua's hand and landed back in human form.
"This is amazing," Ash said happily. He was grinning ear to ear. "I've never felt like this before. Like I could do magic." He waved his hand and snow flurried through the air, landing on William's carpet. Ash did it a second time, blinking as if he had never seen anything like it before. Living in the desert, he wouldn't have.
William stepped around them and closed the French doors, then turned to look at them. "I want you both to have a bath and get into some clean clothes—Ash you can have Rios's hand-me-downs that he doesn't fit into any more until I can get you new clothes. I'll have breakfast cooked by the time you're done, and then we can discuss your staying here, Ash, and what that would mean in terms of schooling as well as learning about the snow and your new magic."
"Oh, right," Aqua said. "Uncle Willy, this is Ash. Ash, this is my Uncle Willy."
"Nice to meet you," Ash said shyly. William saw him twiddle his fingers and more snow drifted down onto the carpet. He had already outfitted the pool so it would run on fresh water with no chlorine. What would he have to do to snow-proof the house? That was a thought for another time, though.
"Welcome to my home," William replied with a smile. Ash's return smile was bright and happy, and William had a feeling that up until now, there hadn't been much that was bright and happy in his life. He reached out to grab Aqua's hand, which Aqua gripped tightly.
"Let me show you my room!" Aqua exclaimed, and then he dragged Ash off into the depths of the house.
William looked at the melting snow all over his living room and shook his head at himself. He had wanted Aqua to go out into the world and grow up a little. He should have known this was what he was really inviting into his life. Yet, what was important here was Aqua's happiness; having Ash with him made Aqua smile. There was much William would put up with to make sure his kits were happy.
He waved away the snow with a quick gust of magic before heading into the kitchen. He would ponder over what to do to welcome a snow salamander into his home properly later, but first he had breakfast to make to welcome his kit and his kit's mate home.
FIN
About the Author
When Mell Eight was in high school she wrote a short story for an English class. The assignment was for no more than five pages, yet she had turned in ten and the story wasn’t completed. Her teacher was impressed, but writing stories for fun was her main source of procrastination from homework; handing in an assignment that actually asked her to write fiction was too good to pass up. Since then Mell has continued writing, posting in many online communities for fanfiction and original fiction and eventually branching into slash fiction. She mostly writes paranormal or fantasy stories, but has been seen exploring the real world once or twice.
For more information on Mell’s stories and future writing plans, visit her website: http://melleightfiction.weebly.com/