Festival of Frost 2023: A New Friend

Brook had brought Nixis and Sordes out for some hunting, the two large tytos were rather reliable in that sense and easy to work with. However, a sudden blast of cold had left them somewhat stranded in the lower part of the mountain side. Harsh winter winds whipped at them and heavy snow fall seemed to threaten to bury them in an endless prison of cold. Thankfully the three had found some shelter in a cave, while it wasn’t much it at least would keep them out of the harsh cold winds that seemingly threatened to slice right through them.

 

That was until they heard the sounds of a panicked stryx cub, the high pitched calls were muffled by the snow but still it was impossible to miss the frantic fearful calling. Nixis and Sordes both immediately perked up at the noise, the tyto pair becoming immediately anxious at the noise. Brook merely frowned at the sound, what was a young stryx doing out here all alone? Had the cold storm separated it from it’s parents somehow? If so the poor thing would be doomed on it’s own with no shelter and warmth. 

 

A pang of sympathy knotted in Brook’s chest and they could see that Nixis and Sordes were feeling the same way with the way they crooned their heads towards the noise and shuffled around in the cave clawing anxiously at the rocky ground. Brook could feel the worry plaguing their minds and tried to stroke down their wings and sides in hopes of gently calming the two down. Nixis hardly reacted and instead hopped back and forth letting out calls to see if whoever was making that noise would respond. Sordes did melt into Brook’s touch slightly and it seemed to calm him down, however he was incapable of being fully calm while his mate was so visibly distressed over the chance of a young stryx being caught out in that weather.

 

“Alright you two we’ll go investigate just smooth your feathers.” Brook’s voice was slightly stern but also gentle and kind, while they wanted to help rushing out into the snow was a bad idea for all of them. “Lets go see what’s making that noise alright?”

 

Nixis immediately was on her feet her light coloured feathers ruffled up as she bounded towards the entrance. Sordes on the other hand couldn’t help but flinch back at the sudden sharp gust of cold that sliced right through his feathers and chilled him to the bone, he wasn’t nearly as thickly feathered as his mate and couldn’t help but find the cold making him hesitate. However, he still made his way to the entrance of the cave and peered out into the blizzarding snow beyond. 

 

Eventually the two tyto’s gazes landed on a small chiro pup who was struggling in the deep snow. The poor thing was weighed down by clumps of snow and ice and it’s fur was started to soak through thanks to it. It’s legs wobbled as it tried to struggle over the deep snow as harsh winds blasted into it from every direction. Nixis would let out a shrill noise to alert Brook to the struggling pup, upon hearing which the feline’s attention would snap over to it.

With the help of Nixis and Sordes blocking the wind Brook was able to struggle out into the snow and towards the distressed pup. Which in response only seemed to get more spooked and try to struggle away but in the deep snow compared to the much larger stryx it was a fool’s errand. However, upon seeing the pup try to flee Nixis would hurry forwards and gently wrap her tail around it while also using her wings to block out those icy winds from battering it any more. This seemed to calm it slightly though it still squirmed in place and flinched away from her.

 

“Hey there little one…” Brook kept their voice as soft as they could while still raising it loud enough to be audible over the aggressive weather, “we’re just here to help don’t worry.” Gentle paws reached out to the pup, which merely tried to flinch back and screech more. Brook wasn’t deterred however and merely grabbed the tiny thing and pressed it closely against their body. There was some frantic struggling before it seemingly gave up and went limp, whether it realized they weren’t here to hurt it or merely just tuckered itself out they weren’t sure but they weren’t going to complain.

 

Quickly scurrying back into the cave Brook would squeeze them all as far back away from the blizzard as they could. They gently placed down the pup beside Sordes and Nixis who both immediately began fawning over it. Nixis quickly curled around it pressing it heavily into her fluff while Sordes gently began grooming its clumped wet fur. Nixis let out an affectionate noise towards Sordes and unwound her tail from the cub to also lay it across the fellow tyto’s back. To which the brown stryx merely replied with a happy purr like noise and nestled in closer to his mate. The pup merely just continued to lay there seemingly dazed but didn’t attempt to move away from the two larger stryx anymore.

 

Instead the cub seemed to press into  them both to try and steal their body heat to help warm it’s tiny battered form. Neither of them were bothered by this and so they just continued their fawning. Nixis with here gentle cuddling and Sordes with his rhythmatic grooming and together the cub would soon fall into what seemed to be a slumber. It shook slightly in it’s sleep, probably because of it’s sodden fur but otherwise seemed to be doing better. Occasionally rougher shudders would take over it’s body leaving it letting out small noises of discomfort but they quickly faded as Sordes and Nixis continued to try and warm it.

 

Meanwhile Brook was building a fire with the resources they kept stored in their packs whenever they went on trips. Soon enough a warm lazy fire was set up, while it was not much it was warmth and light in the cold darkness that was this storm. They made sure that Nixis, Sordes, and the pup were all snuggled up decently close to it so they could all benefit from it’s warmth.

“We’ll be alright I’m sure of it.” Brook’s voice bounced off the rocky walls of the cave slightly as they tried to comfort the group.

 

Nixis would just let out a happy clucking noise in response while Sordes let out a slightly growly noise of affection. The two continued to snuggle closer their brown and white feathers brushing against each other as they curled tighter around the pup together. Brook merely let out a slight chuckle and shuffled over to press against Sordes’ side. The brown tyto would proceed to raise his wing to then drape it over the feline to help keep them protected and warm.

 

“Thank you, what a good boy.” Brook would say affectionately as they gently stroked Sordes’ feathers in a sign of affection towards his care towards both them and the pup. “And you too Nixis, just keep caring for that lil guy alright?”

 

Nixis would let out a small chirp in response and take over for Sordes on grooming the small pup as Sordes instead focused on keeping Brook warm. Together the four of them were able to press together to keep warm as the storm raged outside. The gentle hum and glow of the fire added some comfort to their situation, while they were stranded for now at least they hadn’t been stranded alone. 

 

While none of them could cataloge how long the cold snap outside of their cave lasted they all could admit to letting out a sigh of relief as it eased up. While the snow was still falling the flakes were lazy dancers falling from the clouds instead of harsh icy whips lashing at anything unfortunate enough to be stranded within their grasp. The pup had recovered alright and while it was still a bit roughed up it was at least no longer shuddering and unable to properly stand on it’s feet. Instead it crawled across the ground towards the now burnt out fireplace tilting its head curiously at the fading embers.

 

“We should head out while there’s a break. Nixis you carry the pup while I ride Sordes.” Brook would say with a slight sigh of relief, with that they’d spend the time tacking the two tyto’s up before helping the pup onto Nixis’ back where it could curl it’s clawed fingers into the straps of her harness and her thick feathers. While it didn’t fully trust Brook yet and still barked and nipped at them it seemed to be happy to cuddle up to Nixis and bury itself into the fluff that poked out from between the straps of her tack. 

 

Sordes happily leaned down to allow Brook to hop onto his back before the four of them took off. They spent some time looking for the pup’s parents or any sort of grouping of chiros that would likely be able to take it in, however their search was futile and with time ticking against the next storm Brook decided to merely bring the young pup home. They could also go out searching again when there was notably less risk of being caught up in a storm. It didn’t seem the small thing minded hitching a ride on Nixis all the way home anyways and so Brook merely allowed the small friend to shelter within their home for as long as it needed or wished to. It was a rather cute thing after all and Brook wasn’t going to complain about having a new companion. Neither Sordes nor Nixis seemed to mind the new pup either, in fact they practically adopted it as one of their own young and wouldn’t leave it’s side, at the very least the blizzard had formed some new strong connections if nothing else.