Episode 119 - Winters

## Winters

A black background with a speckled white border absent from the bottom of the image. Within the border a retro hotel sign is depicted in white and heavily covered in snow, possessing red writing that says "WELCOME To Fabulous LAS VEGAS NERVADA". Around the sign white snow is depicted falling. Ballow the sign and the snow but still within the border the words "119.WINTERS" are depicted in white

### Author

William A. Wellman

Rick cleans up, Clara plots her steps. and Moth has a point. The theme of tonight's episode is Winters

> ***Content warnings**:* *Abuse, Ableism, Animal death (Dogsmell, Tulip as usual), Violence, Kidnapping and abduction, Death + Injury, Blood, Guns, Strangulation/suffocation, Emotional Manipulation, Drowning, Bugs, Body horror*
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## Intro - The Frostwalker Is Gone

Nikignik narrates to the Dreamers Clara Martin, a continuation from the introduction to Episode 23 - Sunsets. He describes her not being able to sleep due to the sounds of Zora and Booker Martin fighting over Booker's decision to being them to the Rathbone house (see Episode 74 - Riots) and have them be drinking black water (see Episode 62 - Provisions). Clara feels guild over the latter, as the water she drank was bottled. She attempts to once again communicate with the Frost Writer, to no response, referring to the writer as a "long-dead spirit". She accepts that she would never escape the house (see Episode 2 - Dogs).

Nikignik hovers in an indecisive patch of weather overlooking a graveyard in New York (see Episode 112 - Watchers). Bellow G.C. Crane stands and watches over the graves while Rick Rounds scrubs at a head stone.

## Story 1 - Two More Graves

Rick Rounds finishes scrubbing the last of the tomb stones in G.C. Cran's graveyard, having spent the weeks after the events of Episode 112 - Watchers cleaning the property. Rick stands up to leave, begins to ask Crane what they were going to do next, but is cut off by three men walking out of the trees. Rick greets them, asking who they were, but the leader of the trio - having assumed Rick to be a revenant - ignores the question and instead comments on him still remembering how to talk. Rick introduces himself, and the leader tells him his name was Frank Bosco, that the forest was property of Liberty City and Rick and Crane were trespassing. Frank tells him that they were normally very efficient at 'taking care' of the revenants that came into their territory, but because Rick was polite, they'd give him a head start. Rick briefly attempts to talk peace with them but is met with Frank attempting to shoot him.

Rick dodges behind a tombstone to escape and listens as Crane runs off. He hears gun fire and mistakes a statue of an angel for one of the men and tackles it, causing him to reel back and collapse on the floor. Frank jokes that he almost felt bad for Rick, asking the others if he should bring him home to fight in 'the rat pit' for his wife's entertainment, but ultimately decides against it. He prepares to kill Rick, but Rick manages to pull him off his feet. While momentarily giving Rick the upper hand, the three soon overpower him and drag him to a pool of water where they attempt to drown him. Crane comes to save him, dragging one of the other men away and presumably killing him. Rick takes the opportunity to grab the remaining lacky's weapon - a fire axe - and swings it blindly managing to cut his head off. Frank pauses, telling Rick that he was a monster, and Rick agrees with this before once again swinging the axe, knocking Franks' weapon from his hands and taking several of his fingers with it. Frank leaves, cursing that he'd make Rick regret crossing him (see Episode 23 - Sunsets). Crane returns, and Rick thanks them for helping him, they respond by telling him to dig two more graves.

### Interlude 1 - Hibernation Meditations

Nikignik tells the Dreamers that snow was now frequent. When the spring came, the soot-stained ice would melt, and the black water trapped within would bleed into the forest floor. The toads and beetles and worms that nestled beneath the leaves would awake to find themselves changed by the black condensation they had seeped in for the long winter months. And yet, it was a surprise for the residents of the Hallowoods, for they would have thought it would take longer for the winters to return, after so many years of climate change. He tells them that nature healed on its own, but it healed much faster when supplanted with a greater and deadlier nature than that of humans (see The Heart of Marolmar).

## Story 2 - One More Step

Clara Martin sits in the waiting room of C. S. Blackletter's office at Downing Hill Public Library. Beside her are Harrow Blackletter, the remaining hand of Arnold Eggers (see Episode 82 - Failures), Victoria Tepiani, Russell McGowan, Johannah Wicker, and Al Buckley (see Episode 116 - Forecasts). Clara expresses bitterness to Harrow that ze had gone to Victoria before her on the matter of Al, Russell, and Johannah, as she'd thought ze still considered her a friend. Victoria tells her that it was because they knew that the first thing she'd do was tell C. S. Blackletter, Clara points out that Harrow was her child, and asks if this was about the summer program (see Summer Campers). Harrow reminds her that when they'd gotten home and Blackletter had told her she'd won, she'd accepted it (see Episode 90 - Tests).

Johannah asks when Blackletter was going to see them, and Harrow tells them that if Blackletter offered for them to join the library to refuse. Al asks why (see Episode 94 - Milestones), as there were many people who were weird like him. Russelle tells Al that this wasn't what they'd agreed on, that Al was his only friend. Al suggests that Russelle could stay at Downing Hill, but Victoria points out that invitations were exclusive. Al asks if this meant that Russelle couldn't stay at Downing Hill, and Russelle tells him that Al couldn't either. Clara tells them that it was a decision to weigh carefully. Harrow gets Clara's attention and tells her that Blackletter was going to summon her, asking her to help the kids get out. Clara nods and opens her mouth to answer but finds herself suddenly falling into the darkness of Downing Hill.

### Marketing - Eulogy for Oswald

Lady Ethel Mallory interrupts Nikignik's broadcast with her 'marketing' segment. She announces the sermon for a memorial service in honour of her pet fly (see Episode 13 - Stars) Oswald Biggs Botulus. She tells him that she hoped he enjoyed being dead and famous, and that she was more emotional than she'd thought she'd be, because he'd always been someone to talk to who didn't judge her. He'd lived longer than any fly could expect to, but she supposed the cold of the starting winter was too much for him. She tells the Dreamers that she didn’t understand why she felt so outraged, she knew it was irrational, but she felt like even if she found another giant insect, it wouldn’t be the same. She'd grown attached to her flies.

### Story 2, Continued - One More Step

Clara finds herself sitting at Blackletter's desk, and Blackletter asks her how she was. Clara tells her that she was confused as alot seemed to be happening today (see Episode 115 - Fishes), and tells her that she was sorry if she'd caused her any inconvenience with the visitors. Blackletter tells her that she hadn't brought her there to talk about the visitors, sliding Clara a file with the word "Martin" written on it, and tells her to open it. Clara does and finds it to contain a list of all her classes and her grades in them. Blackletter tells her that her grades had fallen over the past month, she was no longer getting top marks and she expected the best from her. She asks her if she'd learned anything from the Compact, and Clara tells her that she was finished with it and believe she was ready to fix her parents (see Episode 2 - Dogs).

Blackletter remarks on how quickly she'd seemed to have managed to do this, telling her that if this worked it would be the key to the restoration of humans. Clara tells her that she understood this and planed on doing it that day. Blackletter tells her to bring her with her, as she would benefit from her experience. Clara tells her that she assumed her help came with conditions, and Blackletter tells her that she'd been preparing her for a mission and believed that Clara was ready for it. Clara tells her that she wanted to make sure her parents were alright before going on any missions, asking if she'd ever hearted of the Heart of Marolmar. Their meeting is interrupted when Zelda Duckworth and Virgil Kane suddenly drop into the room (see Episode 117 - Natures). Zelda confronts Blackletter, calling her a 'frosty bitch' and asking what she'd done with her grandson (see Al Buckley).

### Interlude 2 - Quiet Winters

Nikignik tells the Dreamers that there were no winters in space, or at least they were not external. When one corner of the universe quieted, another exploded with life. The winter would claim them too, cold would begin to chill their spry kingdoms and the frost consume their furthest buds, until it was silent again. The winters that lasted the longest were the ones that he felt, a quiet in the soul, while he waited for new feeling to thaw. And yet, in the waiting, there was a kind of tranquillity, as though his blood had slowed, and his heartbeat was stilled. Just existing, waiting for the sun to shine again someday.

## Story 3 - Snow In Vegas

Moth Scarberry reassures Bill Scarberry that everything would be alright, that they were only doing a demonstration, and no one would get hurt. Frances Duckworth comments that if someone did get hurt who cared, and moth tells her that moth cared, as moth didn't want to hurt anyone. They reside in a hotel room with the blinds drawn in the Prime Dream (see Episode 93 - Mirrors). Bill looks out the window at a sunny Las Vegas and tells moth that he wasn't sure about their plan, as it was the strip (see Episode 87 - Boxes), Bill would have liked to have shown moth it in its heyday. Moth tells him that if people were allowed to leave the Dreaming Boxes it might have a heyday again, moth joins him by the window. Frances lifts the blinds and tells Moth and Bill that 'they' were there, looking out to see the Stonemaids make their presence known on the street. Moth flings open the window and leans out in time for a voice in the crowed to call "What do we want?" the Stonemaids, including Moth, Bill and Frances call back "we want to wake up". The person calls "when will we stop", to the response "we will never stop".

Moth tells the other two that now was the time and closes moth's eyes along with Bill and Fraces and the rest of the Stonemaids, and Moth remembers the real Las Vegas, and then remembers a Vegas that never existed, the day that it snowed in Vegas. When moth opens moth's eyes again, moth finds the outside to be covered in snow, exclaiming that it'd worked. Bill tells them that the Botulus Corporation would be onto them soon, so it was time for them to vanish, to regroup back at home in an hour. They all vanish into the Prime dream, no more than a voice in a crowed.

## Outro - Winters

Nikignik waxes poetics about winters, telling the Dreamers that it would be nice that every season were full of warmth and gifts, but all things in nature moved in cycles. Planets were born and lived and died, beneath suns doing the same. The races that lived upon them rose and perished and rose again, different and made new each time. And although the summer had long faded, the cycle would continue. What was barren and lifeless and frozen over with grief would eventually thaw again and yield gentler lands. He tells the Dreamers to not forget that in the depths of the winter the spring was coming.