Emotions (REMASTERED)

Chapter Two; Memory

Henwy gripped the railing, gazing out over the land. Small buildings and houses dotted the horizon, with trees tucked along the sides or occupying empty space. The stone wall surrounding his land had protected more of his house than he had expected from the explosion. He didn't expect to have a house.

Fire chased the grass, eating at it with vigorous joy. Henwy panically scanned the ground for any sign of his friends. The admins' home was completely destroyed. A crater filled with radioactive waste. It smelled horrific. Movement caught the corner of his eye. Henwy turned and saw the admins, floating near the destruction shock and panic covering their features.

Henwy shook his head.

SSundee laughed. Sigils roared, flying high over the destruction, inky black wings spread. A missile shot through the air, aimed directly for the trio of houses at the far outskirts of the town.

Biffle and SSundee hadn't been so lucky. Henwy exhaled sharply. The air had cooled over the two weeks since the nuclear attacks. Sigils and Biffle had been distant to each other, but not Henwy. Both had grown closer to him, asking for his thoughts and ideas. Henwy worried about their bond.

Henwy gingerly touched the gold and brown scarf he had dug up from the bottom of a chest.

It was Christmas. The snow covered Henwy's ankles as he tried to trudge through it to SSundee's house. Henwy curled his wings around himself, trying to keep himself warm. SSundee's house glowed in the darkness amidst the snowstorm. Henwy shuffled to the door and knocked.

It quickly opened, showing a brightly grinning SSundee, "Hi Henwy! Thought you were going to freeze in the snow."

"Haha," Henwy rolled his eyes, shivering.

SSundee stepped aside to let him through. He peeled off his freezing wet coat and draped it on the coat rack, along with his snow-caked boots. Sigils, in his fluffy enderman form to keep him warm, ferociously hugged Henwy, grinning brightly, "Hi!"

Henwy patted Sigils' head, "Hi Sigils." The enderman's tail wagged.

SSundee offered Henwy a blanket as he and Sigils turned to sit on the couch. Henwy took it gratefully and wrapped himself in the wool. He sat between Jerome and Sigils, leaning against Jerome's shoulder. Biffle sat on the other side of Sigils and teased him about his cat-like habits in his second form. Rafessor, Florian, and SSundee sat in leather chairs across from Henwy. A large oak table separated the room into two.

Frost entered from the kitchen, holding a plastic plate of warm cookies, fresh from the oven. "Milk's in the fridge," Frost said, carefully placing the plate on the table.

Nico poked his head out from the kitchen doorway, "And there's a bunch of sugar cookies that you guys can decorate yourselves. Icing is on the counter beside the cookie tray."

Sigils elbowed Biffle, "Don't use all the icing on one cookie, Biff."

Biffle frowned disdainfully at his partner.

The next few hours were spent giving gifts, singing carols at the top of their lungs, playing games, and violently attacking one another with the most powerful weapon known to the group; snowballs.

SSundee lifted a large box, "Before you guys go."

He set it on the table and removed the lid. He carefully removed long strips of fabric. A scarf, Henwy realized. The scarves were distributed to the friends, each matching their color and highlighted with the color of their partner.

Henwy examined the scarf and smiled softly.

Henwy hadn't realized he had been projecting. He looked around at the blinking Christmas lights trailing the edges of his castle and the thick layer of snow covering the nearby ground. He wave his hand, and it all faded away in golden flakes. He touched the scarf around his next and exhaled, a puff of white air escaping from his mouth as he did so.