Merry Christmas,  tonythetiger!

original pic by  catsdesire https://www.furaffinity.net/view/15373268/

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The white tiger sighed, stepping out into the hot, muggy air and leaving the sliding door open behind him. He leaned against the banister of the balcony, thinking, as the sun inched closer to the horizon. It had been a very trying day, and they hadn't even had his cubs' initiation yet. He wondered what their abilities would be, although Brushfire had mentioned that there was a chance they wouldn't have powers, since they were only one-fourth dragon.

There was suddenly a blast of cool air, rather like walking through automatic doors into cold air conditioning on a hot summer's day. He turned to look, thinking it was his wife coming outside, but instead of the dragon girl, he found one of her family members, a male Eastern dragon with pale blue scales. “It's been a rough day, hasn't it, Tony?” the dragon asked, sympathetic. The tiger distinctly remembered this dragon, although he couldn't quite remember how, but he knew that the dragon was related to Brush.

“...yes,” Tony sighed in answer. Although Brush's mother, Annie, had accepted him with open arms, her father, Arturius, was still rather brusque. It seemed like he was that way with everyone, though, to the annoyance of his daughter. “...it can't be because I'm not a dragon, is it?” Tony asked. “...perhaps...they were none too kind to Ms. Annie when she and my nephew first got married either...at least until she had Brushfire...then she was the favorite,” the dragon explained.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “There...may be a way to...smooth things over...if you'll trust me...(and it's something I've been meaning to do anyway),” the dragon suggested, quietly muttering the last part. “Well, I...,” Tony started. There didn't seem to be any reason not to trust the dragon after all. He was Brush's great uncle, right? “Alright. I trust you. Tell me,” the tiger answered, still a bit wary of the offer, though. “This way,” the dragon headed back inside, gesturing for Tony to follow. As they walked toward the hallway, they passed the bedroom, and Tony spied his wife inside, tending to the bassinet.

It seemed little Tobi had woken up, and Brush was trying to comfort the little winged tiger enough he could go back to sleep. The kisses and tickles worked, and the giggling babe soon fell back asleep, leaning against his dragonda mother's arm. The blue dragon gently nudged Tony, and the two headed into the hallway. On the way downstairs, they came across Brush's younger brother. Despite being the younger sibling, he was definitely the bigger one.

“Heh, where are you off to, bro?” the dragon panda asked. “Well, um..,” Tony turned, realizing he never knew the elder dragon's name, only to find himself alone with his brother-in-law on the stairs. “Flash, did you see-?” he started, still looking about. “See? See what?” Flash looked confused. “There was this dragon I was talking to...but now he's gone?” Tony tried to explain. “Really now? Be careful...in the place, it's real easy to start seeing things,” Flash chuckled, heading on up the steps as Tony spotted the old dragon peeking out from behind a pillar near the bottom of the stairs.

“How...how did you get over here so fast?” Tony asked as he neared the pillar. “...my apologies...but...this is supposed to be...a surprise, after all,” the dragon explained, but he did seem to be hiding something. “We will have to head out into the woods to find it,” he continued, starting for the veranda doors. “Find it? Are we hunting something to make my in-laws like me?” the tiger asked. “...something like that,” the dragon answered vaguely, standing on the precipice. “...are we going to kill something then?” Tony asked, worried.

He knew the Wyndragons had a taste for meat after all, even Brush, despite being part panda. “No,” the dragon answered firmly. “There are no wild animals on the island anyway...,” the elder dragon headed across the veranda, and Tony rushed to follow. The sun was already setting now, so the forest was quite dark. The tiger followed the elder dragon as best he could, though, the trail soon going uphill. After about fifteen minutes, the trees and plants became rather sparse, and Tony realized he was quite a ways up one of the mountains on the island. The dragon led him to a large slash in the earth that seemed to go on for miles in either direction.

The dragon easily crossed the crevice, barely flapping his wings. Tony looked at the gorge, biting his lip. The edges were not close enough to merely step across, but it didn't seem like too bad a jump. It had been a while since he'd tapped into his feline abilities, however. “...you do...trust me, right?” the dragon asked, watching the tiger carefully. “I...y-yes...this thing must be really important if it's hidden all the way up here...,” Tony walked away a bit to get a running start.

He came down on the far side having overshot a bit, tripping and landing in the dirt and sparse grass. “It is. I would not bring just anyone to this place,” the dragon explained, helping the tiger to his feet. “Right...thank you,” Tony was a little embarrassed of the fall, but he was glad for the help up. The pair continued in silence farther up the mountain, until they came upon a cave mouth covered in vines. Since the dragon stopped, Tony supposed that this must be the place. “...you didn't think to tell me to grab some shears?” the tiger chuckled.

“I didn't think you'd need them. You are a tiger, after all,” the elder dragon held out his own claws. They looked very worn. Tony paused and looked down at his own claws. He unsheathed them. Luckily, he had stropped them quite recently, so they were still sharp. Hopefully sharp enough to cut through the thorny vines. The striped feline stepped forward, carefully pulling one of the vines away so he could try to cut it. It worked, and he continued to work carefully, cutting enough of the vines away so that he and the dragon could step through.

As Tony stepped into the mouth of the cave, he immediately felt a chill, but curiosity urged him on into the dark. Rounding a corner, he was met by a blue light, shining around a large stone that blocked the path. Glancing back, he saw the elder dragon, who nodded in encouragement. The tiger braced himself against the stone, the trip so far making him a little bold. To his surprise, the stone shifted. Becoming more emboldened, Tony eagerly pushed harder against the stone, finding new strength from somewhere, perhaps the cold.

After pushing the stone a few feet, it fell into an unseen pit, the top becoming level with the floor of the cave. The tiger was bathed in the blue light, and it took him a moment to adjust to his new surroundings. If possible, it had become even more cold, as hot and muggy as it was outside. The room was even covered in ice formations, some stretching from floor to ceiling. In the middle stood a pedestal, over which floated a blue/black crystal.

Tony looked around, but it seemed like he was alone again. His curiosity got the better of him, and he stepped forward, wondering if this was the item the dragon had brought him here for. He reached out, his paw pads gingerly touching the hard surface of the crystal. It was freezing, painfully so, and he pulled back. Blue light followed him, though, wrapping around his paw and enveloping him. The unbearable cold raced through his body.

Then, suddenly, the tiger wasn't so uncomfortable anymore. He was still cold, very much so, but it didn't bother him as it did. His stripes were lighting up with that same dark blue, even through his clothes. An itchiness started below his shoulder blades, dividing into two. He heard cloth ripping as the ice spread out from his back in shards, forming wings. Finally, it seemed that the transformation had stopped.

The ice crystal was a puddle on the pedestal, and the tiger's stripes lost their new glow, fading back to their original black. “I...am sorry...for the deception...but...I had to make sure...you were worthy...I was right...,” Tony looked up to find the dragon floating before him, a faint white presence. Although he was no longer light blue, the tiger still recognized him. “...why?” was the only thing Tony could get out. “...I have...long wanted to pass on my powers...from the first day you came here...before you even married her...I have watched you...,” the dragon began to explain.

“...I've never found anyone worthy of passing my powers along to...and you...you have wondered, haven't you, what it would be like to have wings?” the spirit continued. Tony found himself nodding; it was true. “Your wife has wings...your children have wings...and now...so do you...there is a chance that this will not change Arturius' opinion of you...but I hope you enjoy my gift...,” the dragon spirit finished. “Now I am free...”

He began to fade. “W-wait...tell me your name?” Tony asked quickly. “Eonial,” the dragon spoke one last time, fading away. “Eonial...thank you...,” the white tiger answered. For a moment, he stood there silently in the frozen cave before turning to head back outside. The lit up mansion was very visible near the foot of the mountain. Tony flexed his new ice shard wings a bit. Even in the muggy night air, they were still completely frozen. He grinned, excited to try out his new gift.

At the mansion, everyone was searching for Tony. The building had been searched, but to no avail, so they had gathered to search outside when someone spotted the tiger trying to fly down the path. Since he was so new to them, he was a bit clumsy and had obviously fallen a few times already. Brushfire quickly flew over and landed beside him, gathering him up in her arms. “Are you okay? You can't just fly right off the bat. Where did you get those anyway?” she asked, full of worry as she brushed the dirt off of him.

“Eonial. He...kinda tricked me...but...,” Tony trailed off as he realized the dragons were looking at him strangely. “...he was my great-grandmother's brother...he never had children, but he wanted to pass along his powers. Some dragons to have ice breath abilities, but Eonial's were special,” Arturius explained. “Special how?” Brush asked, helping Tony to his feet. “Very few dragons have been able to create living ice...like those wings. Why were you even thinking of wings, anyway?” Arturius glared and walked away. Brush sighed and laid her head on Tony's shoulder. “Well, I like them...you want to fly with me, don't you...,” she asked, although it seemed more like a statement.

“...yeah...,” the tiger ran his fingers across the edge of one of her red and pink wings as she grinned. The cubs ran up, begging to be held and see their daddy's new wings. Tony gently picked up the girls, but they quickly climbed up on his shoulders. The rabbit girl reached out to touch his wing. “It's cold!” she announced to the laughter of the onlookers. “Yep, Daddy's wings are cold, Lily,” Tony agreed, grinning. Tobi looked over his dad's wings from his mother's arms as his sisters Mai Li and Tiger Lily sat on Tony's shoulders.

The cubs eventually became tired again, and as their parents carried them inside, Brush whispered to Tony. “I'm gonna teach you to fly,” she reached over and gently wiggled his wing. “I know it might be a little different, but I'll teach you,” she said. Tony grinned, leaning over to kiss her as best he could with both little girls in his arms.