The black ice dragon stalked quietly through the trees, sharp green eyes on the look-out for his quarry. Soft, powdery snow sank under his feet, thankfully preventing him from making any noise. He kept his wings pulled in tight to avoid scraping against the snow-covered trees that surrounded him. Creeping closer to a small clearing in the trees, he could hear a young human voice singing. He peered around a tree and finally spotted his prey.
A young female magi sang in a high, sweet voice to a forest imp that perched above her in the trees. Her thick cloak was bound tight around a slender body, and the fur-lined hood was down on her shoulders. Long, curly black hair tumbled half-way down her back, stark against her snow-covered robes.
The dragon pushed his luck and stalked closer to her, until he was only a few dozen feet away. He pushed all his weight onto his hind legs and pounced forwards. He had nearly landed and pinned the magi down when, to his surprise, she rolled out from under him. Before he could get his balance back and attack again, he felt a cold, hard object hit the side of his head, and snow exploded around the side of his face.
"I win again, Casey!" the magi crowed triumphantly, and Casey shook the snow off of his face with good-natured irritability. The forest imp chattered in amusement before he scampered off among the trees. The ice dragon snorted and shoved his nose against his magi's slight body. "Okay, okay; I'm a sore winner, I get it," she said, blue eyes twinkling in a flushed face. She glanced up at the sky, noting the position of the weak winter sun. "We had better get going; we still have to decorate for tonight!"
Casey snorted and knelt down so his magi could swing herself onto his back. Once she was secure, he hurled himself into the sky, and heard her delighted whoop of laughter. Snow and flying always put Neera into a good mood, especially when it was the day of gift-giving.
The ice dragon flew for a long while over a massive expanse of many trees, and caught glimpses of movement as other creatures followed his movements towards Neera's personal keep. Finally, the trees became less and less and thinner and thinner, and finally broke entirely to reveal a broad, snow-covered meadow. In the middle of the meadow was a beautiful keep, made of white stone with veins of gold. It seemed to have been made entirely out of a single slab of the stone, with no visible seams or cracks; such had been the magic of Neera's ancestors. A large, clear moat surrounded the keep, and the drawbridge was down over the water, allowing those creatures who could not fly to enter.
Casey disregarded the drawbridge and simply landed in the middle of the courtyard, his talons sinking into the short grass as he regained his balance. Neera hopped down and rushed over to the massive evergreen tree that towered proudly over even Casey. Dozens of brightly-colored boxes were piled around the base of the tree, in varying sizes. The young magi halted in front of the tree, threw her hands up, and murmured words under her breath. Tiny, colorful, bright little lights began appearing on the tree, wrapping around it like a snake; purple, gold, green, red, blue, and silver. As the sun sank lower and more creatures arrived, the lights glowed brighter until they filled the entire courtyard with dazzling radiance.
Hundreds of creatures of many sizes and shapes and colors filled the courtyard, minus those with fiery elements who couldn't deal with snow. Neera turned toward the presents and called names out, handing them off to her allies, who passed them around. Casey patiently stretched out in the snow, knowing it was unlikely he had gotten anything; gems were a paltry gift, and most magi didn't know what else to get their dragon companions. He shifted uncomfortably as he noticed many of Neera's companions were snuggling up to their mates, painfully reminded that he was one of the very few companions who had no mate.
He turned his attention back to Neera, who was opening her own presents, last as always. She was delighted to have gotten anything; odd little plants, curious rocks, gems from her crystalwings, eggs that some companions had found while exploring.
When the event was over, most of the companions chose to sleep in the courtyard for the night. Casey curled himself up in a corner, glad to have participated yet disappointed as well. He felt a hand touch his shoulder gently, and lifted his head up to peer at Neera. "Casey, your gift is outside the drawbridge," she murmured. He could sense the excitement and delight in her voice, and it piqued his curiosity. "Go ahead, find out," she urged, a small smile growing.
Casey lifted himself up and picked his way through the crowd of companions, finally making his way across the thick wood of the drawbridge. He glanced around, and felt his blood freeze as he noticed Neera's "gift"; a female white ice dragon sat patiently in the snow, her white scales glowing in the moonlight. She picked herself up daintily and mad her way closer, until she was mere inches from him. Gently, he touched his snout to hers.
"Casey, this is Kalopsia."
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