Snowflakes

Sig blinked.

He had prepared himself for a day of bug catching, as there was no school today. It was about time he'd explore the lake shore along the cliff. Sig wanted to see how high the water bugs could jump, and he had been planning on heading over there all week. However, that would have to wait.

Sig blinked again.

Something was in his eye.

Rubbing his peculiar red eye with his arm, he stood on the porch of his house, staring at the falling... stuff.

Stuff falling from the sky. Just like rain.

Sig liked rain. Rain made plants grow, and sheltered creatures under the earth. It shone on the leaves in the fields in the cool crisp mornings, dew sparkling in the sun. ...Kind of like his magic, that shimmered a brilliant blue.

The cyan-haired boy sneezed.

Ah, yes, the "stuff"... It was white, white and fluffy... It reminded him of the cotton fields where he used to live. Except, with these fluffy things, they also brought a chill with them. He shivered in his blue jacket, but didn't go inside to grab something warmer.

The stuff fell in vast numbers, over the fields and woods, and covered the areas in a thick sheet of white. It was quite beautiful, all things considered, but it was still very cold. The blanket had spread all the way up to his porch, where it halted, because the stuff couldn't reach under the roof.

Sig tentatively reached out his big left claw and swiped at the air. The fluff swirled around him and disappeared on his claw whenever they made contact. Sig felt a thrill course through his veins. It was the same feeling he had when he was splashing in puddles after a storm.

He didn't have a name for this feeling, he just felt.

He swiped at the air again and again, hoping each time he might catch one of the fluffiness so he could look at it. He wasn't aware that through all of that, someone was heading his way.

Amitie hummed down the road and stopped from time to time to catch a flake of snow in her mouth. It had snowed hard overnight and now everything was covered with a soft 2-foot blanket of it. She loved snow- she loved winter- it was a time for warmth and fires and being with your friends.

She was heading home now after a day of walking around the park.

She shivered in her big fluffy coat, the color of the sky. The only thing she had against snow was the cold. But then again, that's what hot chocolate was for. As she snuggled herself into it, she felt around in her pocket for two important slips of paper.

In her pocket, she had picked up a few tickets from her mother to go to the indoor botanical gardens with someone special. Amitie was ecstatic when she got them, and she couldn't wait to show her classmates. Only, there was one problem...

Hmm... two tickets. She had 4... 5... 9? 12 friends? Who was she going to invite that's special to her? Everyone was so very special.

Lidelle would love to go anywhere with Amitie...

Klug... well? Maybe he'd find a catalog for his collection...

Raffine. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. She'd go if she were to get some training in. Can you train in a botanical garden? She'd ask her, anyhow.

TaruTaru would be overjoyed to go! He loved nature, but Amitie remembered that he was on vacation to visit his family in the mountains over the winter. That was too bad.

Arle and her friends, who knows where they were right now. Always traveling to other worlds and stuff.

Sig...

Sig?

Speaking of which, Amitie was walking by his house. She smiled to herself at the thought of her spacey, gentle friend. He had always been Amitie's closest friend when she just needed someone to lean on. Feeling discouraged, or worried, or just in the mood to talk, he'd always listen. Sig was the best listener she'd ever met, and she was grateful to him for putting up with her. Amitie had come to rely on Sig so much over the years.

But going back to the tickets. He loved insects and the flowers and woods that go with them. Maybe he'd like to go with her!

Her mind made up, she turned to walk over to the front door. But to her surprise, Sig was already on the porch leading up to the door. Amitie paused. He was acting very strangely, even spacier than normal.

Looking closer, she realized that his eyes were flicking from snowflake after snowflake. He tensed up, then swiped at the snow. Amitie almost snorted with laughter, but she covered her mouth as he swiped at it again. He was acting like her mom's cat!

It was actually really cute, she thought, before cutting herself off with embarrassment.

Either way, she just couldn't keep standing there. With a hearty wave and a smile she called to her friend. "Heya Sig! What are you doing?"

Sig felt an immense amount of... something, while he was pawing at the stuff. A satisfied feeling. He'd have to ask Amitie about it later.

Amitie. He liked Amitie a lot... she always had an answer to his questions. She laughs at anything he says, for no reason even, and it was a nice laugh. It sounded like the birds he listens to while walking in the woods. It made him feel warm, similar to when he went out catching bugs.

For a moment, these thoughts circled in his head, and he stopped swiping at the air. When he heard his name the first time, he didn't respond.

The second time, he realized that someone was trying to talk to him. He shook his head slowly and looked ahead. The very person he was thinking of was standing at the edge of his driveway and waving at him.

"Sig? Are you okay?" Amitie called again.

Sig tilted his head. "...Yeah."

"Oh, good, cuz I wanted to ask you something!" Amitie shrugged and skipped on over to where he was standing. "I was wondering- uh, Sig?"

Sig tried to focus. He really did. But the fluffy white stuff that was falling from the sky was just too mesmerizing.

Amitie cocked her head and then giggled. "Heh, the way you're looking at the snow, it's as if you'd never seen it before!"

Sig blinked at Amitie with his multicolored eyes. Amitie was taken aback by the blank, confused look in them. Sig murmured. "What are they?"

"Uh, what?" Amitie's smile faltered.

"The fluffy... stuff." Sig swiped at the flakes again with his claw, almost grazing Amitie's nose this time. "I can't catch it."

Amitie let out an uncertain laugh. "Those? Sig, those are snowflakes. Come on, don't tell me you've never seen-"

"Snowflakes?" He interrupted, a smile forming on his lips as he said the word. Snowflakes... was just the right word. Better than "stuff" or "things".

"Yeah! You know," Amitie struggled for words. "Snow, snowflakes, snowball fights, sledding, snowmen, ice skating? None of those ringing a bell for you?"

Sig shook his head. He had never heard of this "snow" before in his life. He had, prior to school here, lived in a warmer area. And he would visit his old home over the holidays. This was the first year for him where he had stayed behind.

"Wow, you really have never seen snow before?" Amitie gasped. "Then you've never had snowflakes fall on your tongue before, either! Here, stick your tongue out, and try to catch the flakes that way. It's fun!"

Sig seemed very confused by this order. But he obeyed. When he stuck out his tongue, the flakes landed on it and melted instantly. The sensation sent a familiar shivery feeling through his body. It was better than pawing at the snow.

Amitie followed suite, letting out a short "ahh".

Sig still seemed confused, however. "...How do you catch them?"

Mid-snowflake catching, Amitie choked on her laughter. "You don't catch the flakes, Sig!"

"Aw- you don't?" Sig seemed disappointed. "Are they like rain...?"

"Sure, I guess. Hoo boy, how do I explain this..." Amitie thought for a minute and cleared her throat. "Snow is just frozen rain. When it gets cold, it freezes in the sky, then falls in these fluffy flakes. Isn't it pretty?"

The spacey boy nodded, but another thought had occurred to him. "...Can I catch bugs?"

"What?" the blond girl misunderstood the question. After pondering her response in her head for a minute, she winced. "O-oh... Sig, bugs, uh..." she thought long and hard about how to break the news to him, but she just sighed. "Bugs go to sleep in the winter. I'm really sorry."

Immediately, Sig's brain shut down.

No bugs?

At all? For who knows how long... bug catching was a big part of his life... What would he do all of this time? How could he have fun?

Amitie shifted her foot, sensing the distress her news had caused. She wished she didn't say anything, but how else was Sig supposed to find out? For a few minutes, neither of them spoke, just stood there as the snow fell all around them. Amitie racked her brain for something she could do to cheer him up. Snow... snow... snowballs...

An idea springing into her brain, she knelt down and started packing snow together. Sig was still out of it, staring off into the distance, no doubt going over a solution in his head. Amitie knew that she had to snap him out of it, somehow.

After packing a snowball, she ran back and threw it at Sig. It hit him right in the chest, and he stumbled back with a slight "oof". Fairly confused again, he gave Amitie an odd look, who was giving him a determined grin.

"What...?"

"Come on, Sig! Come out into the snow!" Amitie giggled. She flopped onto the snow and felt an icy shiver trickle through her body. Thankfully, her jacket was keeping her nice and toasty. She looked up and saw Sig, albeit hesitantly, walking down the snow-dridden path.

Sig peered down at Amitie's face. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, but she still had a smile plastered to her face. With a loud laugh, she began to move her arms and legs in half circles in the snow.

Sig carefully knelt down in the snow next to her. Feeling it in layers, it was soft and fluffy, but when pressed, it became icy and cold. He grew so interested in flattening the snow that he didn't hear Amitie.

"...Sig? Siiiig?"

"Uhhhh..." Sig shook his hair out of his eyes. It was growing rather damp from the frozen water.

"Sig, look at this!"

Amitie stood up, and she pulled Sig up with her. Pointing at the snow, she grinned. "I made a snow angel!"

Sig blinked. After staring at the imprint in the snow for a good, long minute, while Amitie was giving him an expectant look, he finally replied, "Where's... the angel...?"

Amitie's face turned red and she shoved him playfully. "Sig! Don't be mean!"

"I'm being mean?" Sig was utterly lost. Why were people and feelings so confusing?

Amitie shook her head. "Oh, whatever. Anyways, I was thinking-"

Sig spaced out. Interrupting Amitie's thought, he pointed up into the tree they were standing under. On the branch, was a bright blue butterfly, as blue as Sig's right eye.

Amitie gasped quietly. "Wh-whoah! What's a butterfly doing out-"

"I'm going to get it." Sig announced nearly silently. Amitie gave him an incredulous look as Sig hopped up onto the nearest branch and swung with his left arm, as quietly as possible, about three feet above them. The girl blinked. How did he manage to jump so high? Could it be that being half-human, he had abilities no one else had?

Amitie stood below Sig and the butterfly as Sig began inching along the branch. How was he planning on catching it? Amitie wondered if Sig had thought this through at all. Amitie bit her lip. The branch he was on was very thin, and she didn't know what she would do if he fell...

"Uh... Sig?" she called nervously.

Sig didn't respond. He just inched along the branch, all the way to the end, where the butterfly rested. Carefully, he stretched his claw behind the butterfly and cupped it. Then he drew himself closer until the claw was cupped on his chest and the butterfly trapped inside.

Amitie suddenly heard the dangerous sound of wood cracking. "Uh, Sig? Sig! That branch is going to break-!" she shouted as the branch snapped. Instead of falling, Sig jumped down with a loud "oomph", sending up clouds of snow.

"Whoah!" Amitie scrambled over to where he fell. "Sig! Are you okay?"

Sig just layed there. His left hand was still cupped to his chest, and slowly, he peeked inside. Amitie waited for him to say something, but all she got was...

"I'm cold."

The girl sighed with relief. "Phew! Thank goodness you didn't hurt yourself. Did you catch the butterfly? Is it okay?"

Sig looked up and nodded. He sat up and once again, slowly opened his claw. Amitie had to lean over his hand to see it. "Wow! She's beautiful!"

The butterfly was a radiant sapphire blue. Her wings fluttered in his hand, but surprisingly, she didn't fly away. She sat there, content to be.

Amitie gazed at Sig with admiration in her voice. "How did you do it without hurting her wings?"

Sig smiled slightly in response. "Secret..."

Amitie leaned in closer. "Amazing... Are you going to call her something?"

By then, she had leaned in close enough that their foreheads brushed. Squeaking, Amitie jumped back with embarrassment. Face flushed, she stuttered. "Uh- s-sorry!"

Sig shrugged at her sudden shock. As for a name... he stayed lost in thought for a while, pondering. He usually had a name right off the bat, but this butterfly was different... it needed a special name. He looked at Amitie and her red face, who was averting her eyes, and then at the blue butterfly, who didn't fly away, who wanted to stay with him...

"Amitie."

"Wh-what?" struggling to get over the past minute, Amitie swallowed. "Yeah?"

"That's her name."

Amitie considered this and gasped. "What?!"

Sig peered down at the butterfly. "Her name is Amitie... right Amitie? Do you like that?" the butterfly's wings flickered. "She says yes." Sig translated.

"B-but, Sig, that's..." Amitie fumbled over her words. "I mean..."

"Do you want to hold her?" Sig scooched over by Amitie, who was muttering to herself in shock.

Amitie leaned away. "I-I think she'll just fly away if I try holding Amitie. I mean the butterfly. I mean her. I mean-!"

"Nah." Sig placed the butterfly ever-so-gently in Amitie's shaking hands. At that moment, Amitie felt the brush of Sig's red claw. It was rough and scaly, nothing like Sig at all. Amitie frowned to herself. How could someone so soft, lost-in-thought, and quiet be affiliated with a monster or a demon? Life works in mysterious ways, that was for sure.

Amitie was as stiff as a board as the butterfly tickled her fingers. She was aware of Sig brushing up against her, but she forced herself to focus.

"Stop tensing up." Sig placed his right hand on her shoulder, which made her tense up even more. "You're scaring her."

Amitie forced herself to relax with a deep breath. Sig was just being Sig- lost in his world, without any knowledge of what he was making Amitie feel in her gut right now. She knew that Sig only ever wanted to watch and catch bugs, and to have a good time.

She was being ridiculous, that's what she was being.

Amitie let out a short, quiet bark of laughter. "I knew I was going to screw this up."

Sig didn't respond, he just stared. Amitie didn't look at his face, knowing that he was probably so lost in the butterfly Amitie's glory that he didn't hear her.

In reality, Sig was looking at human Amitie, albeit curiously. He had never noticed this before, but there were tons of emotions plastered on her face, different ones that he had never seen. Whenever he looked at Amitie, she always looked... happy, cheerful, bright. All words that he had learned from Amitie herself, to describe her. But now... he saw something different in the way she twitched her mouth, the way she bit her lip, the way her eyebrows got all scrunched up. She was feeling way more than he'd ever thought a human could feel.

It gave him a strange gut feeling, watching Amitie's emotions constantly changing. He could watch her face all day, and never be bored. Just like how he would watch his bugs.

The two sat in both uncomfortable and comfortable silence. Butterfly Amitie didn't take off, not even when the snow began to dust her wings. Amitie knew that she had to break the silence some time, as her pants were getting soaked from the snow and she was starting to feel a chill.

"Hey, Sig? What are you going to do with..." Amitie finally got around to saying her name, "Butterfly Amitie?"

Sig stayed lost in thought, still working out the emotions on her face. Amitie turned and blinked in surprise when she saw that Sig was staring at her. "Uh... Sig? You ok?"

Sig finally snapped out of it. "...Oh." he carefully took butterfly Amitie from her. Human Amitie immediately relaxed and stretched.

"I'll let her go." Sig opened his palm and carefully shooed the butterfly off. She unfolded her wings and took to the sky.

Amitie stood up, watching as she disappeared. "I hope she doesn't catch cold..."

Sig stood up and watched with her.

Amitie shivered. "Oi, I'm soaked! Aren't you cold, Sig?"

At that moment, a wave of cold washed over him. His light jacket was damp from his fall, his sweatpants were soaked through, and he felt very uncomfortable. Shivering, he stood there trying to shake off the cold spell.

"Wow, you must be freezing! Only wearing that?" Amitie worried. She stood there, and shed off her fluffy jacket. "Here."

Sig was too cold to respond, so Amitie wrapped it around his shoulders. "Weren't you out here to do something? Go get what you need done, then drink some hot chocolate! Hot chocolate is the best, it warms you right up!"

At Amitie's wide, reassuring smile, he slipped into the coat. It was big and fluffy, and it smelled nice. Like new. When you get new clothes, it had that nice clothes store smell. Sig cocked his head at her, her small frame shivering next to his.

"And you?"

"Me?"

"You're cold." Sig began to take the jacket off again, but Amitie shook her head.

"No, no, it's okay! I'm not cold at all! I've got a nice warm sweater on!" Amitie giggled, her sweater showing Christmas cheer. "Besides, I'm heading home. You have to go do whatever you were outside to do!"

For a second, Sig forgot why he was outside. Then he remembered- it was to catch the bugs by the lake. But it was snowing, and the bugs were probably hiding. The thought disheartened him. But after catching Amitie the butterfly, he wondered if there were any more miracles in the woods to be discovered. Perhaps winter wouldn't be so bad after all.

"...Weren't you going to ask me something?" he wondered aloud. He thought Amitie wanted to tell him something before...

Amitie stared at him blankly. "I was?" she asked.

"I dunno."

"Hm... maybe? Guess I forgot!" she shrugged. "Oh well! I'm heading home now, seeya Sig! You can give the jacket back to me anytime!"

As Amitie skipped down the path, the question still remained in her mind... what did she want to ask him?

Sig walked in the opposite direction. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he allowed the welcomed warmth to fill his bones. The jacket was blue, like his hair. Amitie must really like blue, he thought, when he felt something in his pocket. Stopping, he pulled out two slips of paper.

The papers were two tickets... to an indoor botanical garden. Huh. Sig didn't know that Amitie liked botanical gardens. Who else was going with her?

He shrugged. He'd ask when school started up in a day. Maybe he could come with.

The thought gave him that same warm feeling in his body, just like the ones he got while catching bugs, and looking at Amitie's face.

With a smile on his lips, he strode down the path as the snowflakes fell.

Awesome! It's done! I love SigAmi so much, and I've been wanting to write this for a while.

Quick author's note:

It's my headcanon that Sig has never seen snow before. It's not canon. Also, writing in Sig's POV is hard work! The dude is either out of it, or secretly very observant. I tried to include a bit of both!

I don't own Puyo Puyo characters. SEGA does.