She woke up slowly, her mind still wrapped up in the vestiges of the dream she was having. Something about...this evil villain, and Baro had come to save her. It was so full of action and crazy twists and turns that she wasn't even upset that it wasn't her doing the saving - she was just glad Baro was there to save her at the last possible minute. He'd been there for her since the moment she woke up from her shell, and the two had been inseparable ever since.

She rubbed the side of her face against Baro's warm fur now, comfortable as she was curled up in his warm embrace and his long tail, feeling safe and loved. His cold stone sat against her hoof, the edge of his tail curled to protect her even as she slept.

Thistle sighed, happy and content. Baro, her gallant, soft-hearted hero.

While Thistle was dreaming about Baroque being a big, wonderful hero, Barry was stretching out his front paws, stifling a huge yawn. He was so used to Cadence waking him up early to play-- but she hadn't done that in a few days, which was worrying him. He settled his nose down between his oversize paws, ears twitching as he listened to the snores of his family.

Outside of their den, he could see snow falling down outside. Just seeing those big puffy flakes made him want to hide away for the whole day and avoid going outside. The ice scared him, ever since he got his tongue stuck to the frosty surface, and he felt like he stood out like a sore thumb compared to his lovely white sisters.

Baroque decided to himself that the morning could wait, lifting up a paw and looking down his belly towards Thistle, who was curled up and nuzzling at his side. A soft exhale escaped the dreamer, lost in a fantasy where the grizzly lion was a gallant hero. He blinked at her with his bright blue eyes, resting his head down on his outstretched arm, gently putting his opposite paw on her side.

He wanted to stay like this forever... Or at least get a bit more rest. As he went to yawn again, his obsidian gem fizzled slightly, a bubble of time suddenly freezing around the family. Barry snapped to full consciousness immediately as he realized he couldn't move and that nothing else was moving. He could still think though, and for a painfully long moment he thought something horrible was happening. It felt precisely like he was in a dream, where his brain was having trouble coming up with what happened next.

But it wasn't a dream.

And Barry was no brave hero. He was a scared kid who had accidentally cast a rather terrifying spell.

Thistle had no notion that time had stopped for Baroque. She did, however, notice him stiffen up, and she felt his heartbeat start to rise, and from that, she gathered that he was awake - or having a nightmare. Oh no! Was he in trouble? Should she save him, now?

"Baro?" She whispered softly, mindful of the others sleeping in the warm den. "Are you okay?"

She nestled her nose into his neck fluff, hoping to comfort him. Baro meant the world to her, and she wanted him to be safe and happy and not-crying. "You're not having a nightmare, are you? It's okay - I'll slay the dragon for you if you are."

Her gallant hero was someone who needed saving sometimes, from the little things that made him upset to his own thoughts making him cry. It was okay though, she would always be there to comfort him.

Baroque realized in the span of a few seconds that he couldn't breathe. It wasn't like holding his breath, it was more like everything had stopped. His heart wasn't beating, and not a single snore entered his ears. It was disorienting, uncomfortable, and something he thought would never end.

But the moment passed, and dazed as he was, Thistle's soft voice came and pulled him away from his horror. His wet eyes met her gentle gaze and he relaxed as she snuggled into his thin, growing-by-the-day mane, asking him if he had a nightmare.

"M-maybe," he stammered in response to her question, putting on his brave face. A few soggy drops managed to sneak down his cheeks, but he didn't feel like sobbing. She always made him feel more gallant than he was, as though he could push past any of his sadness or fears. "I'll be okay though... U-um... It's snowing... Wanna go see?"

She smiled a brave smile for him and kissed his cheek, her lips tasting salt. "I'd love to," she said in a hushed tone, but for a little bit, she was in no hurry to get up. She kept releasing happy little sighs, tucked up safe against his warm fur, and she stretched her sleep-filled legs a few times as if trying to get up.

But really, the pull of the unknown of whatever the snow might offer actually paled in comparison to this. She didn't want to get up, she wanted to stay here, safe and warm, with someone who loved her.

Teasingly, she reached out a leg towards the opening of the den and wiggled her hoof, then tucked it back in against Baro and said, "There, snow seen.", in a good-natured voice, and she nestled her head back up against him.

Despite being scared and miserable, tears dripping down his plush fur, Thistle always knew how to fix things. He watched her stick her hoof out, wiggle it (which was nearly enough to make him giggle) and then tuck back into his side all comfortable, cheek to his own.

"Y-you're as lazy as I was when I was your age," he teased back, though he was a lot worse at teasing than Thistle or any of his sisters. He tried though, at least. Nevermind he was only really a few days older than Thistle-- but it was still true.

"Don't you wanna see how pretty it is? The water might be icy." Ignoring the fact that last time he encountered ice he got his tongue stuck, Thistle always pulled out something better from him. He wasn't afraid of messing up around her, and when she was lazy he wanted to go get up and do something. Before he met her, he rarely wanted to do anything because everything made him cry.

It was weird... But thrilling. He wouldn't push her though, since it was just so cozy. Instead he decided to lick at her cheek in return, his large broad bear tongue coated in rough, kitty-like barbs.

She laughed very quietly, barely more than a soft chickle, looking at him, glad in her heart that he wasn't looking sad at the moment. That was good! "Oh, sure, because you're soooo old and mature, Baro." She grinned, nudging him a little. "Your papa told me you're not much older than me, which is crazy! Just a few days old and already rescuing gems in distress. You're so brave, Baro."

And she laughed again, just a little louder, making someone else in the den turn over in their sleep and grunt softly. He licked her cheek and teased her, and she liked his rough tongue over her fur, so different from hers. "You have to be brave to go out there right now. Its so warm and nice in here, and so cold out there." She gave him a look, then it softened into honesty. "I like being with you. I never thought my crazy dreams I was having when I was sleeping were missing anything, but I know now that I was wrong."

Then she flashed a grin at him again, quick and mischievous. "But I suppose if you want to go outside, we can go. I guess. If you really want to, I guess we can go outside awful blizzard outside where the raging storm is set to make any foolhardy gem freeze into a block of ice!" She said this in a brave, excited, adventurous tone, like the gentle snowfall outside was replaced with a truly awful storm and whipping winds. "But they say that whoever is brave enough to go forth can find exciting treasures among the frozen lake! Dare we traverse the cold, Baro?" Her voice went low, conspiratorial, and purely glittering with excitement. "Are you prepared for danger, peril, and more than one chase through the snow by terrible gem-eating monsters?"

Baro's cheeks puffed out when Thistle started to giggle at him, teasing him with her playful, loving words. She nudged him and he nudged back, snorting at her as her tinkling laughter stirred his family members. Last thing he wanted was to wake of Sonata before she had finished getting her beauty rest-- brr, that was a scary thought!

His attention was brought back to Thistle, though. He couldn't even worry about his family around her, because every single prickle of her words tugged him closer and closer. He supposed he was pretty brave, huh? A grin spread across his face, eyes closing in contentness as she bathed him in honest, warm words. He was so glad she had hatched, even though she didn't have parents, and that he had sort-of saved her. It was a moment to be proud of.

She started to work up the snow into a bit of an adventure, calling it a blizzard and a raging storm. "Nooo, that won't happen," he retorted, pawing gently at her ear. "I promise you won't freeze." The idea of the frozen lake and gem-eating monsters made him shiver, but he puffed out his chest. There were no such monsters in Pisces-- maybe outside of his home, but they wouldn't go that far! At least, Barry hoped she wouldn't convince him to do that. It was too dangerous.

Stretching like the world's chubbiest kitten, he let out a rumbling yawn. It took him a moment to get up properly, but then his tail was twitching with excitement. "If we don't chance the snow, we won't be able to get the legendary snow flower that's said to, um, cure the coldest of colds...!" He whispered to her, grinning wildly. "We gotta hurry though, 'cause it won't survive the bright lights. We gotta go before the lights heat up the ice and melt the lake."

She grinned at him as he got up, and she got up too, stretching her long, coltish legs, then shaking the tiredness from the main part of her like a dog. "The legendary snow flower...." She nodded at him, like she was some seasoned adventurer that had heard of the story a million times. "Many little gems such as us have braved the storm to find the flower, but have succomed to nasty frostbite and knocking their paws against rocks hidden in the snow. It's dangerous to go and find it, especially when its pitch black as it possibly could be, on the coldest night of the year, on the darkest night ever in the history of the caves...." She grinned at him, her brows wiggling. "But we're more than enough for the challenge, aren't we?"

She hurried out of the nice warm den into the cold with its gentle snowfall and its glistening snow like jewels in a white blanket and looked around as if everything was dangerous and out to kill them both. "Hurry, Baro! We have to get to the lake!"

Barry knew that Thistle was just playing pretend, but did she have to make it sound so scary? Maybe he should have said that the flower could only be found in large groups, during the day, when it was nice and bright out? Shivering, he lumbered after her, stopping as soon as his big paws hit the snow bank. He forgot how cold the snow was-- and how clumsy his feet were.

He stumbled deeper into the snow and cast a glance at Thistle when she told him to hurry. "R-race you!" He encouraged, his obsidian jeweled tail lifting to be almost higher than his shoulders (though perhaps this was more to keep it out of the snow than to show how he was feeling)...

The cub glanced at the lagoon and hesitated when he saw the water crash down, knowing that particular lake wouldn't really be frozen. "Wait! I think I know why no gem's ever found it... It's gotta be by one of the smaller lakes!" He pointed his nose towards the ponds, knowing full well they would be much more frozen...Everyone tries the big lake, but... But if it was there, someone woulda gotten it by now!" The ponds would also be less dangerous to accidentally fall in, of course.

"Come on!"

And off he went.