Once she'd gotten her bearings on the inside of the castle, she found herself eying the gardens from the large open door. It was bitterly cold outside. Every time a gust of air blew through, Nellie squinted her eyes against the cutting wind. The air was so cold it almost hurt - how did any plants survive? Nellie planted her rear down on the cold flagstones, staring out across the open courtyard. A few signal fires burned merrily out on the ramparts, the only warmth she could see for miles. Maybe... it was better to stay inside? Ionela rolled all of the possibilities back and forth in her head, unable to make a decision without someone else to guide her. Her butt sure was growing cold, though!

"speech"

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From up behind the small pup an ebony shadow crept closer and closer, paws deftly silent on the smooth stone floors thanks to retractable feline claws. A grin crept across the shadow's muzzle, and once she was within striking distance, she pounced! "Gotcha!" Ember cheerfully declared as she scooped up her oh so small little sister in her paws and began to tickle her exposed sides mercilessly, refusing to stop until she had the girl in a giggle fit.

Once the surprise attack had ended, Ember peered curiously down at her new sibling and then out at the snow-covered gardens and courtyard beyond the front doors. "Brrrr! Sure looks cold out there," she muttered, then added with a little smirk, "But it also looks like loads of fun. Have you been out playing in the snow yet, Nellie?" Em knew her parents had been particularly cautious about going outside with the weirdness happening in the world and the unseasonable cold winter in Auster. There was a chance her sister hadn't gotten the opportunity to see how fun snow could be, especially when it was such a rarity in the Hallows!

"Ember Carpathius" | "Carpathian"

Ionela let out a godly shriek when Ember snuck up on her from behind. "Auuugghhhhhhaaa!" she yodeled, pitching up and down for greater effect as Ember mercilessly tortured her. Nellie erupted into giggles, wriggling back and forth on the hard flagstones until her spine hurt. Once Ember gave her space, Nellie hopped right up back to her paws and danced back and forth eagerly. Finally, someone to perform for! She hadn't been sure what to do next, but having her big sister around made the choice easy. Whatever Ember suggested, she would do.

"Nnnnyyy-oooo..." she said, long and slow when Ember asked if she'd been outside. "Is it fun?" she said cautiously, then back tracked - if Ember said so, it must be."I mean, yeah! Loads of fun! Let's do it! Please, please!" Nellie danced around her legs, winding between her larger sister's front two like a little cat. "Is it always this cold?" She gave a dramatic shiver, emphasizing it with a: "Brrrr!" Ionela sprung out between Ember's front legs and poked her upper body out of the door, peering around the stone towards the snow that had drifted in great piles against the walls.

"speech"

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There was something about the sweet innocence of puppies that ember adored. Even though she was only just now a newly minted adult, she could remember days being as small as Ionela, where their father would piggyback her around the plains and their mother would show her how to bake fresh pastries and sweets. Memories she would cherish from her childhood forever. And now Nellie would get to experience growing up as a Carpathian princess as well! Still grinning from ear to ear as her little sister squealed with delight and bounced around excited at the prospect of going outside, Ember motioned with her head to the front doors of Hearthstone. "C'mon then, let's go play in the snow!"

Ember pushed open the front doors to the snowy wonderland waiting just outside for them. A fresh snowfall the night before had coated the gardens in an unmarred blanket of white just begging to be run through. The cold wind whipped into the warm castle, making Ionela give an exaggerated shiver as she asked if it was always this cold. "Not usually! Auster is actually very warm and sunny most of the time. We're having a very cold winter this year," she replied, pausing to throw on her winter cloak for added warmth. Seeing Nellie dancing around between her legs eager and ready to go out, Ember giggled and grabbed one of the smaller puppy cloaks from beside the doors and pulled it down over her sister's head to help keep her warm outside.

With both princesses now dressed for the elements, Ember bumped Nellie's rump with a gentle paw to nudge her out the door. "C'mon little sis! Let's go say hi to the snow!" Leading the charge, Ember strode out into the snow, kicking down paths for Nellie to follow in her wake. The snow wasn't too terribly high out on the terrace or down in the gardens, but Ionela was exceptionally small for a pup, so Em made the going as easy as she could for her. Leading Nellie over to the steps, Ember lowered her body down to offer her tiny sister a piggyback to cart her down to the gardens so she wouldn't have to try to navigate the snowy steps on her own. "Snow is rare down in Auster. It's much more common up in Boreas, like where Mom's family lives." If Nellie wanted to go see the rest of the world when she got a little older, Em was happy to show her the Armada.

"Ember Carpathius" | "Carpathian"

Ionela took in every word out of Ember's mouth, her eyes wide open and her jaw just slightly agape. Every word was like a little spark that she wanted to capture and hold forever. "Okay... well that's good, because I'm not so sure I like the cold yet. It's very cold," she said, quite serious. The inside of the castle was much snugglier and warmer, while the outside looked a little sharper overall. Even with the snow covering the ground and making it look soft and plush, she couldn't help but look up at the trees that were also covered in a thin sheet of frost. Those branches looked especially pokey.

But Ember led the way after draping her in a fluffy cloak, and Nellie couldn't deny that it seemed like much more fun than she'd anticipated. She scrambled down the steps after Ember cleared the way and waded out into the snow before yelling: "HELLOO-OOO SNOW!" Then quickly glanced up at Ember for approval, her little tail wagging a mile a minute. Ember led her back up to the steps and lowered herself down to offer a piggyback ride. With a short little gasp of wonder, Nellie scrambled up onto Ember's shoulders and hunkered down to try and keep her center of gravity and avoid slipped off either side. She grabbed a mouthful of the cloak Ember wore to steady herself just in case.

"Bhor-ee-assss?" she mumbled through the cloak. "Ish thath farh?" Nellie jostled the cloak a little bit, trying to encourage Ember to charge forward to the gardens. Everywhere she looked, more snow sparkled. Wow! "Shhhooo phrettyyy..."

"speech"

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