A Night In The Ice Caves

     Living in such a place as this, there were rules. The most important was that none were to stray too far. While Happy Valley was a rather peaceful place, its neighbors had their dangers. Sarah couldn't imagine what it would be like for one to get lost in the maze of the ice caves, or them forgetting their coat as they ventured to the top of the mountain.

     Naturally, every single one of the children had broken this rule. Nothing bad had ever happened, though, and so they simply thought Sarah was overreacting. Soon, however, they would finally begin to understand her fears.

     One pleasant afternoon, Sarah had taken all three to the Ice Cream Cart down the lane. “What'll you have?” the vendor questioned with a friendly grin.

     “The usual,” Sarah replied, fishing out the coupons from her purse.

     “So a Pumpkin Ice Cream, Double Chocolate Ice Cream, Florg Ice Cream, and Toffee Ice Cream for you then?” The order flew from his mouth with confident speed. Obviously, the family frequented his stand.

     Sarah smiled and nodded, handing over the coupons. “You always know what we want, yet you still ask every single time.”

     He grabbed the coupons and tucked them away. “Gotta make sure you haven't changed your mind any.” Mr. Chipper snatched the scoop and began filling the orders. “So, how's your day been, Miss Sarah? Kids get into any trouble lately?”

     She laughed. “Don't they always? They've been very good for the most part, but Mark's been going through this phase where he just doesn't like to talk to me anymore.”

     Mr. Chipper nodded. “Teenagers. What can ya do?”

     Meanwhile, the children were growing increasingly agitated. While they all liked ice cream, getting the food was usually a problem. Their mother was a talker, and so was Mr. Chipper. He was a wiz at his profession, but he dawdled when he and Sarah were confronted.

     Lizzy groaned. “She always does this. I don't see why we even bother anymore.”

     Mark nodded in response but said nothing, and they all fell into silence. It was only for a moment, however, because soon, he perked up with an idea. “How 'bout we go to the ice caves for a bit?”

     “Like Mom would let us do that. She doesn't even like going in there with us, and there's no way she'd let us go by ourselves.” The two slumped against the bench they and their sister were sitting on.

     “This is just so boring.” Mark groaned dramatically.

     Lizzy shifted in her seat. “Well... You know, she isn't exactly paying attention. We could just sneak away for a few minutes.” She looked to her brother with an expression of uncertainty and was returned with a grin. “We just have to figure out what to do with Claire.”

     The grin faded. “We can't leave her here. She'll snitch.”

     This definitely was a dilemma. Both siblings sighed. “We'll just have to take her with us, then.” And it was decided. The three children abandoned their seats as Mr. Chipper and their mother continued on with their conversation.

     “Here's your Toffee Ice Cream.” He gingerly handed it to Sarah, who took it with just as much delicate care. “Say, have you heard the news lately?”

     Sarah licked the side of the ice cream before responding. “What news?”

     “There may be an avalanche later. The mountaintop is getting a lot of snow, and with the warmer temperatures down here, it's causing the snow on the side of the mountain to become unstable. They're not really worried about it, but they want everyone to be ready to move out if there's any sign of a slide. Don't let those sprouts of yours go too far.”

     “Really? No, they won't be going anywhere tonight if that's the case. We'll just have a family day.” Mr. Chipper handed her the last of the cones. “Thank you. Have a good day. I'll see you later, Mr. Chipper.

     “Kids? Come get your cones!” But when she turned around to receive their approach, they were nowhere to be found.

     The trio had already started on the winding ledge that led to the ice caves. Had they remained, they would have heard about the dangers of leaving, but not even that would have stopped them. The more dangerous an adventure is made to seem, the more interesting it becomes.

     The first thing they did was look through the Ice Crystal Shop. Lizzy had recently become very interested in the Battledome. Her mother, of course, was more than just a little hesitant to allow her to participate, but that didn't deter the Lupe. “Oh, look at this, Mark!” She stopped at one shelf, pointing to an item. “Can you imagine how much damage this Snowball Club would cause?”

     “Yeah, yeah,” he murmured, not finding the store quite as interesting as his sister. “Hey, I'm going to go wander around a bit.”

     Lizzy nodded absently. “Sure. Just take Claire with you, okay?”

     Mark rolled his eyes but didn't argue. “C'mon, Claire.” The Baby Xweetok was preoccupied with the lowest shelf, where a bottle of Dirty Snow stood. She nudged it with a paw, curious. “Don't touch that. I don't have the money for it.” He snatched her up and led her outside, setting her down once clear from the door. “Follow me, okay?”

     Like most babies, Claire was a curious child. She followed him, but her interest was captured by everything around her. It was such a fascinating place.

     “I really wish they wouldn't have moved the Scratchcard Kiosk,” Mark commented to himself as they walked. “There's really nothing to do here anymore.” But yet, as he said that statement aloud, he began to question himself. There was always the thrill of the Snowager. He didn't know what time it was, nor did he think that having Claire around was a good idea for that kind of thing, but Mark really wanted something to do.

     He spotted a Blumaroo a few feet away. “Hey! Excuse me. Do you know what time it is?”

     The Blumaroo looked to his watch. “It's about two minutes until two.”

     Excellent! That meant that in two minutes, the Snowager would be laying its icy little head down for its usual afternoon nap. Mark thanked the Blumaroo and dashed away, Claire beside.

     When they arrived at the entrance to the Snowager's cave, Mark peeked inside. “Yup. Sleeping.” He looked down to Claire, who was gazing into the mouth of the cave as well. “Claire, I want you to stay right here, okay? The Snowager is bad; he gives you owies. I'm going to sneak in there, grab something, and then be right out. Don't go anywhere.” To emphasize his point, he shook a fin at her.

     Satisfied with his warning, he crept into the cave. Whenever he got the chance, Mark liked to wait until the Snowager was soundly asleep, but there was no time to waste right now. He would grab something from the pile, run, and grab Lizzy so they could get back down to Happy Valley. Their mother was sure to be done chatting soon enough.

     Inside, the cave was dark. Mark crept, each step cautious. There was always a thrill in attempting to steal something from the ice worm's treasure pile. A couple of times, Mark had managed to snag neggs of different kinds, and even a few scratchcards.

     The beast was asleep, evident by its curled body and snores. Mark's heart was racing; he saw a Snowager Stained Glass Window. That was worth well over 450k. If he could just snag it... He reached out with one flipper, grasping it. When he pulled, it budged, but barely. “C'mon,” he hissed, pulling again. It wasn't moving. “C'mon!” With both flippers this time, he pulled. Finally, the object was freed, but with enough force that Mark fell.

     The window shattered and the beast woke with a roar. Mark knew that this was his one chance to get out of there, and he had to move fast. He slid across the cave floor and bolted for the shop. However, he was quickly intercepted by Lizzy, who apparently hadn't been able to resist buying an Evil Snowflake. “What's going on?” she questioned, concerned by her brother's urgency.

     “The (pant) Snowager (pant) woke up.”

     Lizzy rolled her eyes. “You're hopeless.”

     Just as Mark was going to reply, the ground began to shake. One look to the Snowager's cave revealed an icy blast emitting from the mouth. “Looks like you really made him angry,” Lizzy mused.

     The rumbling continued, worsening. Some visitors paused to observe the strange happening while others fled to the cave entrance. It was only when an outsider shouted into the cave, “Avalanche! Everybody get out!” that everyone realized the danger of the situation. If they stayed in here, their only outlet was the top of the mountain, and who knew how long the cave entrance and exit would be blocked?

     Mark and Lizzy fled with the crowd, only stopping once back at the cart. “Where's Mom?” Lizzy asked, chest aching from the run.

     “She went looking for you kids.” Mr. Chipper glared at them harshly, but simply from concern. “Where were you two?”

     “We--” Lizzy was interrupted by her mother.

     “There you children are! I was looking all over for you. Don't think you'll be getting any of your ice cream now. Before you say anything, it all melted, so you wouldn't have gotten any anyway. Now, where's your sister? We have to leave.”

     Though everyone else had abandoned the cave, Claire had remained. She'd followed Mark into the Snowager's lair, but not followed him out. Currently, she was crying, upset at the Snowager's outburst.

     Many fear the Snowager, an uncontrollable beast. They certainly have good reason to. Its icy wrath is one that, while not fatal, is excruciating to withstand. So naturally, none would have expected the reaction it had. As Claire screamed and cried on, it withdrew back into the cave, looking at the creature oddly. It did not snap or roar at her; it just looked.

     Claire's tears finally began to settle, though not completely dry. It seemed pleased with this and extended its neck toward her, inspecting her small frame. She reached out for it; it leaned in. When contact was made, she cried again, pulling back from the nipping cold of its body.

     The Snowager retracted and looked into the pile. It had many treasures here. Would one please the creature before it? It dug out a Jelly Bean Filled Negg and set it before the child, hoping to calm her. Claire knocked it over, still crying. The Snowager tried again, dangling a Red Korbat Keyring in front of her eyes. The screaming loudened. It tried with a Blue Pteri Plushie, White Snowball Plushie, and Green Uni Plushie, all resulting in the Baby Xweetok's growing displeasure.

     When nothing seemed to work, it dug out a Carassas Coat. This was not really a treasure of the Snowager's. A thief had left it behind when they'd escaped from its roar. Carefully, the Snowager draped the coat over the child, and she instantly began to calm. Relieved, the Snowager curled back over its pile, eying Claire with interest as she slowly drifted into slumber.

     Happy Valley had been forced to evacuate. Sarah had objected vehemently, frantically stating that one of her children was lost among the frenzy. The professionals said they would search for her, but that Sarah had to go with the rest of the town to a shelter. It wasn't until the next afternoon that the cave entrance was cleared of snow and the town allowed to return.

     “Where was the last time that you saw her?” Sarah interrogated. They had already established that the children were in the ice caves at the time.

     Lizzy chimed in quickly. “Mark took her when he went to explore the caves while I looked around in the Ice Crystal Shop.”

     Sarah turned her attention to Mark; her expression was all the prompting he needed. “She was with me the entire time. We were wandering around, and then I decided to go get something from the Snowager. That's --” He cut himself off. “Oh no.”

     “You took her to the Snowager?” Sarah blurted, furious.

     “That's the last place I saw her. She must have followed me, though, right?” He surely hoped so. If she was anywhere near the Snowager, something bad could have happened to her!

     Sarah glared at her son, face stern. This wasn't the time for an argument, though. “I'll deal with you later. Let's go.” And the three of them ventured into the ice caves.

     When they approached the Snowager's lair, Sarah turned to her children. “I'm going to go see if she's in there. If she is, I'm going to grab her and run. You will follow me. Do you understand?” They nodded. “Good.”

     Fear fresh in her heart, Sarah crept into the cave, feeling along the wall so as not to lose her balance. Her mind was a torrent of emotions – anger; fear; excitement. Relief was added when she saw a lump on the floor in front of the Snowager. When the light revealed it to be a coat, however, the relief sank into despair. Where was her child?

     She was about to turn when the coat moved. Frantic, Sarah dashed toward it, tearing it off to reveal her child. With tears of her own, she embraced her daughter. “I thought I'd lost you.” Claire, awake now, screamed and cooed with delight. “Shhh. Honey, don't wake the nasty snake.” But it was too late. The Snowager stirred and roared, furious.

     Just as she'd planned, Sarah rose to her feet and escaped from the cave before the Snowager shot icy shards from its mouth. The family fled the caves entirely and found their way home, where they rested.

     “I'm really sorry, Mom.” Mark looked to the ground as they all sat in the living room. “I didn't mean for anything bad to happen. I just wanted to have some fun.”

     “And that fun almost got your sister killed.” Sarah glared at Mark, but her gaze quickly softened. “But you've learned from this, haven't you?”

     “Yeah.”

     “And it won't happen again?”

     “Definitely not.”

     She nodded and smiled. “Then I'm proud of you. We all make mistakes, but it takes a hero to learn from his. I'm just glad nothing happened to Claire. The way that monster was looking at her... I don't even want to think about it.” Sarah looked to Claire, contemplating never telling her of this horrible endeavor. She was surprised to see her daughter hugging a Snowager Plushie tightly, cooing with glee. “That's strange.” From that moment on, Sarah always wondered what happened during Claire's time alone with the Snowager.

The End