Chapter Text
It was deep into winter for Subcon Forest now, and the snow that piled up over the last few weeks was more than sufficient to play with, Hat Kid decided.
She had been waiting excitedly to try the things she had seen in the books on this planet about their winters here- snowmen, snow angels, snowball fights- the last one sounded slightly dangerous which made her even more eager to try it. If she was lucky, she thought, she might be able to rope Snatcher into it too, for at least the snowmen making part. She noticed he seemed to enjoy crafting things as much as she did.
Hat Kid was able to convince his minions to build snowmen with her, however, and they came to a unanimous decision- to make as many snow-conites as possible to fill the village, and impress Snatcher so much that they’d be able to egg him into making a towering likeness of himself at the center. The Subconites weren’t particularly fond of winter or snow for good reason, but Hat Kid’s excitement was too infectious to ignore.
“If we play to his ego, he’ll HAVE to join us, right?” she asked giddily while shaping the head of another snow-conite.
“I’unno,” one Subconite chimed in, rolling up a snowball. “The boss can be a real stick in the mud about having fun.”
“At least things he doesn’t consider fun.” said the Subconite working with Hat Kid.
“Yeah, you got a point.” she huffed, stepping back to admire their work so far. “Doesn’t mean we can’t try, though. He can’t be a killjoy forever!”
The Subconites snickered, and a third piped up. “Don’t underestimate the boss! He only does what he wants to do.” Hat Kid stuck out her tongue at them playfully while she bent down to pack some more snow together. “Well, he shouldn’t underestimate me either!” she said confidently.
“Yeah, we already know what happens when he does.” the Subconite closest to her quipped and giggled ecstatically with their friend while the third hushed them. Hat Kid snorted, and had to put the snowball down while she laughed so she didn’t accidentally crush it.
As the laughter subsided, the first Subconite noticed they were out of sticks for their snowmen to use as spindly arms. “Do you want us to go dig up some more?” they asked Hat Kid as they waddled through the snow.
“Sure! I’ll hang back here and roll up some more bodies for these guys.” she said as she pushed a snowball along the ground. The first gave her a thumbs up and motioned for the other two to come along. The child waved after them as they ran up and out of the village along the path she helped them dig out earlier.
Hat Kid lost herself in the methodical process of making the snow-conites. Not many Dwellers were out, but those that were swam idly through the air; their glowing bodies shimmering across the snow reminded her of the multicolored strings of lights Hat Kid saw adorn lots of trees outside of Subcon. It was the most peaceful she had seen it yet, with how the snow dampened ambient sounds and discouraged the more dangerous things lurking in the forest from coming out of hiding. The thin layers of powder on the trees gave the place a heightened feel of tranquility, turning the eerie shades of purple and red into softer, more relaxed colors.
She knew not everyone here had the same feelings as her about it, but the person responsible for that was lurking alone in her dusty old mansion well on the other side of the forest. Hat Kid wanted to give them more positive memories of snow, and winter overall. She wasn’t gonna let some creepy old lady keep it ruined for them.