Warm. Fuzzy. Loving.

Everest snuggled closer to the pup sleeping in the pup house with her. She took comfort in his presence. He gently licked the top of her head. That was so like him--always affectionate. She decided to remain still with her eyes closed, as if sleeping. She knew he had woken up a few minutes ago. The sun was slowly rising over Adventure Bay, but she just wanted this to last a little longer, just her and him. After a about a minute, the sun flowed in and it was impossible to maintain the peaceful darkness. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes. 

"Mmmm..." She moaned. Chase nuzzled her. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead." He said quietly. Everest smiled sleepily. She slowly stood up. It had been a wonderful night with her boyfriend. One of many since they'd formed a relationship. Chase stood up and put on his collar, which was hanging just inside the door of his pup house. Everest put on her collar and her winter hat. The two pups walked outside. Marshal was digging a hole. "Good morning, Marshall!" Everest said cheerfully. Marshall nearly left his spots behind as he jumped out of the hole. "AAAH!" 

He regained his balance and whipped around to face the sniggering husky. "Oh! Hello, Everest, good morning. You startled me." He said. Chase chuckled. "Good morning, Marshall." He said. "Good morning." Replied Marshall. "What are you up to?" Asked Everest. Marshall scratched an itch with his back leg. "I was just burying a bone. What are you up to?" He answered. Everest smiled. "Nothing, yet." Chase sighed. "Well, I'm going to say good morning to Ryder. I'll catch up with you in a minute." He said. He kissed Everest on the side of her muzzle, then ran off. Everest sighed and closed her eyes, smiling. 

"You two really love each other." Marshall remarked. Everest nodded. "Yup." Zuma bounded past, a ball in his mouth. Pursuing him was Rocky. Soon after Rocky came Skye. She stopped briefly and looked at Everest. "Rubble's over by the pup food. I suggest you go over there before he devours all of it." She laughed as she resumed running. Everest rolled her eyes. She trotted towards the Lookout entrance. Sure enough, Rubble had his head completely submerged in a bag of pup food. Everest started walking very quietly. She approached Rubble from behind. She got closer...clooooossseeerrrr...

"BOO!" She shouted. Rubble let out a scream so high-pitched she could hardly believe it was him. He rocketed backwards out of the bag, spilling pellets of food everywhere. He whirled around towards Everest, who was still holding her ears and contemplating whether or not scaring the bulldog would be something she'd do in the future, and growled with annoyance. "Everest!" He snapped. He stuttered for a moment as the husky regained her hearing. "D-don't--DON'T DO THAT!!" He finally screamed. Everest again experienced a ringing in her ears. Nope, definitely not doing that again. Ever. 

Chase and Ryder came down in the elevator. Ryder looked especially bewildered. "Rubble? What the heck, dog, was that scream you?" He asked. Rubble snorted and walked outside. Everest shook her head vigorously to chase away the ringing. "That was him. I am never ever EVER sneaking up on him again." She said. Chase couldn't help grinning. "Okaaay, moving on. Everest, we're going with you back to Jake's mountain. Jake invited us on a ski trip." Said Ryder. Everest forgot about Rubble's deafening voice. A ski trip? That meant an entire snowy day with Chase. Nothing got more perfect. Her tail was a blur. "That's great!" She yipped. 

"I knew you'd be pleased." Said Ryder, smiling. "We leave in an hour. Go tell the other pups to get ready." Everest and Chase were out the door to complete the task before he'd completed the sentence. Ryder sighed. 

"Hey guys, guys, guys!" Everest called. All the other pups stopped fighting over a ball and looked. "We're going on a ski trip in an hour. Ryder says to get ready." Said Chase. In seconds, every pup was both talking and searching for their skis at the same time. "And little do they know," Sighed Chase. "That Ryder put all the skis in the Air Patroller already." Everest laughed and went to tell the pups to gather everything BUT their skis. Chase gazed at her as she ran. So graceful. So fluffy. So dang perfect. He loved Everest with all his heart. He told himself that he'd never leave her. He would always be there for her.

***********************************************

Ryder instructed Robodog to start up the Air Patroller. All the pups were strapped in and ready to go. Tracker had been dropped off a few minutes before and was chatting with Zuma. The giant plane slowly took off. Soon, they were flying through the air. 

"So, I heard a couple pups got together?" Tracker prompted. Everest blushed a little and grinned. Chase, who was sitting next to her, smiled at the chihuahua. "Yup." He said. Tracker laid his ears back and gave him a mischievous look. "Chase and Everest? Unexpected..." He said, as if he spent a lot of time observing puppy love. Which, he didn't. Chase snorted at him, pretending to be irritated even though it was obvious he was trying not to laugh (hence the snorting). 

Skye was staring at Tracker. "Why are you staring at Tracker?" Marshall, who was sitting beside her, whispered in her ear. "Well..." Skye whispered back. "I think....... I think Tracker's kinda cute...." Marshall stifled a laugh. "Oh. My. Stars. You like Tracker." He whispered. Skye blushed. "If course I do, he's my friend." She said quietly. Marshall covered his mouth, trying not to go into hysterics. "No, you like-like him." Skye sighed, defeated. "Okay... Y-yes, I like-like Tracker..." She whispered. Marshall's urge to laugh subsided. "It's okay, I won't tell anyone--especially not Tracker." He whispered back. Skye breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Okay, pups, we're here!" Ryder announced. Robodog started the landing procedure. The pups became restless, eager to get their skis. Tracker smiled nervously. "I've never been skiing before." He blurted. Marshall pricked his ears. "Uh, Skye can show you. She's skied lots of times." He said, nodding. Skye clamped her muzzle shut and stared at the dalmatian, eyes like saucers. "You'll thank me later." Marshall whispered. Skye still didn't say anything. If something went wrong with this, she was going to kill him.

***********************************************

"Heya!" Jake greeted. The pups and Ryder casually walked towards the cabin. "Hi, Jake!" Barked Zuma. "We're ready to ski!" Added Rocky. Jake grinned. "Rad. I'll get my skis, then we can get started." He said. Everest and Chase stayed at each other's side. This was going to be great. In a few minutes, Jake came out with his skis. "Let's shred some snow!" He said. 

In the distance, unseen, a storm swirled.