I breathed in the crisp scent of the breeze blowing outside.

The evening star was rising, and the sky was streaked with splashes of orange and red. The wind was gradually getting more colder, sending shivers down my spine. Running forward, I pounded on the sleek white tiled floor and headed towards the garden where I knew Feronia would be.

Feronia was an eccentric deity, but she was one of my closest friends.

No, wait, let's change that. She was one of my few friends, along with Boreas, the chilling god of the north wind. I didn't have many. After all, who would befriend a deity that sent you shivers every time they look at you? Well, that's me.

Really makes me wonder who my real parents are.

As I approached a wooden archway with overgrown ivy, I could hear shouts of anger from the garden depths.

"Stop! I said STOP!"

Curious, I entered the overgrown garden and headed towards the sound. If I didn't come here every week, I would have surely tripped at least ten times already. The place was so brimming with life that it was impossible to not snag on anything while you were walking. I avoided a hanging spider and whacked away at the ferns and entered a small clearing. Feronia, as expected, was there with her usually wild hair tied strictly in a ponytail with green ivy. A crowd of animals were watching her from behind.

For once, she had her hair in control.

"Look, termites, if you don't obey the rules here, I'm going to have to kick you out." She said sternly. Her face was completely serious.

I almost laughed out loud. Termites? Seriously? This is why Feronia didn't have much friends either. 

"Really, Fern. You've done some pretty weird things before, but seriously? Expecting termites to obey your rules?" I laugh.

Feronia spun around in shock. "Vergri! What are you doing here?"

I gave a small shrug. "Needed to escape from my mother."
Feronia frowned.

"That doesn't happen much. Your mother is a very agreeable person. You're very lucky to have her - I would trade her for my mother any day."

Feronia's mother, Flora, was the complete opposite. Neat, tidy, elegant . . . everything Feronia was not. They didn't get along well. A termite started to crawl off the rock it was on, but Feronia picked it up with her fingers. The termite struggled in her grip. She gave a sigh, and flicked the termite away. The crowd of animals simply looked at her, staring and not moving. Facing the termites once more, she yelled sternly;

"I'll give you just one more chance. Otherwise, I'm going to get rid of you." All the termites scuttled off into the bushes, not to be seen. The animals started moving again, and also disappeared into the wilderness.

"Well, what do you want to do?"

I shrugged. "I don't know." Feronia gave another weary sigh.
"You know what, Vergri? You're horrible at being social."

"I know."

Feronia thought for awhile. "I know. We could go down to the Mortal gate with Reas. I heard that there's a strange species of birds found there. I could have some in my collection."

"Fern, you already have too many animals in your garden. You need to contain yourself - " I start, but she shot my a glare.

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" She snapped. I shook my head.
"Great. Then let's go find Reas."

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We exited her garden, and headed towards Boreas's house. We could feel it before we could even see it. An icy chill hung around, the landscape full of white capped pine trees. Gales, with the temperature of frost, sliced through the air, whipping the white snow to form little piles. Shivering, we marched through the snow and a small cottage was built into the mountain side. By now, the stars were ever so slowly rising into the sky, the forest filled with shadows. Owls hooted quietly. 

Feronia nervously knocked on the wooden door.

Tap, tap, tap.

The door creaked open, and a stern face looked down at us. Distinct jaws, pale features, and cold blue eyes that Had no trace of life in them. His scowl, however, soon became a smile. 

Boreas. Or, Reas for short.

"Why, such a pleasant surprise! Do come inside, it's freezing out there."

For such a serious looking person, sometimes Boreas reminded me of an old grandmother. It didn't help either that drapes of silvery hair covered his eyes every now and then. We entered the little cottage to find a nice warm fire burning in the fireplace and sat down on the couches next to it. It was warm and toasty. 

"I always found funny how you're a God of the north wind and still felt the burden of being cold like everyone else!" Feronia laughed. I chuckled at this. Reas smiled. 

"So, why are you here? Usually I get time to tidy the house before you guys come and crash here. Is there something wrong?"

Feronia nodded before I could speak. "Vergri got into an argument with his mother, so to distract him, I thought we could go down to the Mortal Gate and catch another bird for my collection."

"The Mortal Gate, eh? Are you sure that bird of yours is nocturnal?"

Feronia blushed. "N-no, but we need to do something to distract Vergri . . ." I cleared my throat.

"Can you please stop talking as if I'm not here?"

Reas sighed loudly. "Alright, alright, let's go then." Swinging open the door, a cold breeze blew in, the flames in the fireplace flickering a little. Shivering, we walked out into the snow and suddenly, a stronger gust blew through, causing the snow around us to swirl madly.

"Reas, what's happening?!" Feronia cried, filled with panic. Boreas chuckled.

"Peace, Feronia. We're simply taking a shortcut. It's far faster than trying to walk there."

Her face paled. "Reas . . . please no!"

He sent her an evil grin. The wind grew stronger, more snow flying into the air, forming a small tornado.

"Noo-ooo-ooo! Not again!" hollered Feronia. No one paid any attention to her.

Slowly but surely, our feet lifted off the ground and into the sky. Down lay Rea's cottage. Down lay the snow. Down lay the pine forests. Only the clouds above separated us from the sky.

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Phew! That took a long time to write! 

Sorry if there wasn't any action in it. Still, I hope you liked it! Vote if you do! Very much appreciated.