Perfect Snowflake - Ríon

The fog in Faia was thick that day, and Ríon knew perfectly well what that meant - snowflakes! Like many other Faians, Ríon loved collecting the beautiful, intricate little snowflakes. They made for the most lovely winter decorations, after all, and they would bring a little bit of life to her cave, she was certain. 

The Ruptour had mostly kept to herself since she had awoken from her amulet, and her little cave home had been the perfect place for that. It was a little lonely, yes, but watching those withered plants and the world come back to life… it was enough to balance things out, she thought. Her cave was cozy, it’s natural structure retaining warmth easily, even in the winter months like this. Though… the cold had never particularly bothered Ríon. In fact, she actually rather enjoyed it. Perhaps it was her fluffy fur that leant itself to her preference? It was entirely possible, she thought. 

The little cave was cozy, yes, but it wasn’t entirely homey. Not yet. Ríon hadn’t made much of an effort to decorate, besides gathering a few plants she had liked to liven up the place a bit. That was why this morning and the thick fog were perfect for her. Snowflakes would breathe a bit more life into her abode, she thought. A little bit of sparkle. She could have stared at snowflakes for ages, really. Each one unique, so different from the next. Much like the fauna that called Faia home, she thought. Every Ruptour, for example, was a part of the same species, but each one looked entirely different from the next, with different features and different personalities. Just like snowflakes.

She hummed softly to herself as she made her way through the winding tunnel that served as an entryway to her home. As she drew closer to the entrance, the temperature around her began to drop, and she could feel the chill in the air. It was quite a crisp cold, and she could hear the breeze at the cave entrance - that was going to be quite chilly, too. She braced herself as she reached the cave opening; she liked the cold, yes, but it was always an adjustment at first. 

Her paws touched the cold, frosted grass before the cave, and a small shiver ran through her. Yes, the wind, the ground, the air… it was cold. And, to top it all off, she couldn’t see very far in front of her at all. She’d have to limit her movements some, she didn’t want to end up wandering and lost until the fog lifted, after all. 

It wasn’t snowing heavily, but there were snowflakes in the air, sure enough. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she gazed up towards them. So beautiful… for a long moment, she simply watched, entranced by the beauty of winter around her. There was something so magical about the fog around her, the wind tugging at her fur, the snowflakes dancing on the breeze. For it was a dance, really. Down, down, down, they drifted, winding this way and that, twisting around each other before reaching the ground below. She couldn’t help but laugh softly as one alighted upon her nose. Her tongue darted up, the chill momentary before it melted into nothing more than a speck of water. 

Time to start collecting, she thought to herself. The trick was to catch them without letting them melt, and it certainly was a trick. They were beautiful and cold, but they were fragile, too. Perhaps the most fragile thing she could think of, really. It required a careful eye and a gentle touch - but Ríon was prepared for just that. She had done this before, after all. 

She lost a few of her snowflakes, but that was to be expected, she thought. You couldn’t catch them all! Even preserving them would be temporary, for that was what snowflakes were - temporary and fleeting, like most beautiful things. Really, there were plenty of comparisons you could make with snowflakes - unique like Ruptours, fleeting like the bloom of a flower, delicate like glass, or even an egg. That, she thought to herself, was part of the magic of it all.

By the time she was finished collecting her snowflakes, she had a fair few. Enough to make her cave a little more homey, she thought, and, perhaps, beautiful, too. 

With her snowflakes preserved, Ríon set about hanging them in the cave. There were plenty of little rocky crevices and niches where it was easy to do so, and in the light that filtered in through the cracks above, they glimmered and shone. Beautiful, she thought to herself. It certainly added some visual interest, she thought, and it would be a nice winter memory for however long they lasted. For they wouldn’t last forever, even preserved as they were. And that was fine by Ríon; she didn’t need them to last forever. Just long enough for the season. Come spring, she could find more flowers and blooms to decorate her home, and that would be lovely, as well. Perhaps not quite as lovely, though, for snow and the winter months held a special place within her heart that wasn’t so easily replaceable. 

She hummed softly to herself as she studied her newly decorated home, and then she wondered. Perhaps… perhaps it could do with more? What if she hung some from higher up, and gave the appearance that it was snowing within her little cave? Now wouldn’t that be something! Of course, as soon as she had had the thought, there was really no alternative. Perhaps she’d let herself warm up a little bit beforehand, perhaps she could bask in her current handiwork for just a few moments longer…

But no. She wasn’t that kind of Ruptour, and she knew that about herself. She much preferred action to thinking and basking, as many of her kind did (hence, of course, their well known aggressiveness - though that had been toned down lately). So, with that thought in her head and her determination, Ríon headed out of her cave once again, to delve into the fog and hunt for more of the perfect snowflakes.