About that time they also decided that she was old enough to take on the short trip to Coppertop. The summer was beginning to wind down, but the weather was staying fairly mild thus far. Flame quipped that there ought to be a monster of a storm later to make up for it, but for now the days were beautiful, if somewhat chilly. On one such crisp day the trio set out to town. There were some things they couldn’t provide themselves and had to purchase from the dwarves. They did their shopping fairly quickly and then stopped by Belak’s on the way out to show him Littlespark. She smiled and cooed at him and quickly had him wrapped around her tiny finger.

“Be careful of this lass, me friends. She’ll soon have all the fellows mooning after her,” he said with a grin. Littlespark, who was sitting on his lap, pulled his beard. He winced but kept smiling. “Aye, she’s a charmer, so she is.”

They laughed and told stories for an hour or so. Belak got a hearty chuckle about the way she was chewing the house to pieces with teething. Then glancing out the window, Flame Song said, “We should be going. We don’t want to be out with Spark after nightfall.”

“Aye, that ye don’t. Well then, just one moment more and I’ll send ye on yer way.” He disappeared into a back room, and emerged with something in his hands. “Here lass,” he said, handing it to Flame. “For the little lassie. It’s solid maple, so she should be able to gnaw on it without chewing it through or getting splinters.” Flame turned the object over. It was a little wooden cat, with stylized rounded features that left no sharp edges or points on it anywhere.

“Thank you Belak.”

“Ach well, it was the least I could do.”

They said their goodbyes and Flame Song and Aidan headed back home.

The good weather that had graced their trip to Coppertop persisted surprisingly long. It was October and Spark was nearly five months old before the weather began to turn truly cold. Now the air was biting, but there had been only an inch or so of snow. The days were also beginning to get shorter as autumn ended and winter neared.

On one cold but sunny day Aidan set out as had become his pattern to check the trap line. It was a bit of a reversal of their usual roles, but he liked it. Sometimes it seemed that Flame Song did all the real work and he just tagged along. Though admittedly a lot of the finished details of their house had been paid for by his own activities. Flame didn’t exactly approve of Aidan’s line of work, as he was a thief, but he tried to be as moral about it as he could, and wood flooring and paneling to cover their dirt floors and walls did not come cheap in the treeless tundra of the far north. He hummed to himself as he checked the first trap. Nothing. This time of year things were keeping under cover in anticipation of the winter, and the traps weren’t catching too much, but every bit helped, especially since with Littlespark nursing Flame Song was now eating for two.

The day wore on and Aidan tromped through the thin layer of snow. He could have gone faster by flying between the traps, but the air was dang cold and it’s hard to keep warm when moving at speed. And anyway, he wasn’t really in any hurry. He was dressed warmly against the chill, only his face and his wings, well insulated against the cold, were exposed. Flame Song had warned him that a storm was likely to blow in soon, so he had come well prepared.

He whistled cheerfully as he walked, a rabbit now thrown over his shoulder. Well, one wasn’t bad, and there were still three traps left. He glanced at the sun. It was nearly to the horizon. Bother, he thought, I hadn’t noticed it was that late. By the time I finish, it will be dark. Flame is going to worry, and I’m going to freeze my wings off! With a sigh he considered flying, but that would be even colder. Oh well. Guess I’ll just be a little late. It shouldn’t be too bad.

The sun had set by the time he reached the next trap. There was a rabbit in it, already dead. He grinned at it. You will make a most marvelous lunch. One down and two to go, he thought with a grin. The sky was dark and filling up with stars as he reached the next trap. It was empty. With a shrug he continued on. Suddenly a powerful hand clamped around his mouth. He tried to yell, but couldn’t make a sound.

“Ah, here he is, my little minion-to-be. How marvelous.” The voice was soft, but intense, whispering right in Aidan’s ear. “You will not be able to scream, minion. And very shortly you will not be able to do much of anything else. But don’t worry, it will all be for the best.” His other hand moved to pinch shut Aidan’s nose. He struggled to free himself, to draw a breath, but the stranger seemed inhumanly strong. His struggles grew weaker and eventually he sank to the ground, out cold.