Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bionicle. I DO own the Paladins (Denizen, Leonidas, Damien, Kendra, Kennet, and Marshal). This is a series of drabbles about the Paladin and their respective Toa.

The wind was howling

The wind was howling. Denizen growled irately as he trudged through the snow and wind. As the Paladin of Ice, the temperature didn’t really bother him, but the inconvenience did. He wouldn’t be able to make it to Ko-Koro in this blizzard, and as much as Kopaka would hate for his Paladin to be late, he’d agree. A dark cave mouth loomed out of the swirling white, and Denizen gave a small, half-frozen smile. He wrapped his cloak tighter around him and picked up the pace a little. Within minutes, he was out of the howling wind and snow, and shook ice out of his hair. Sitting down, Denizen took a deep breath. The cave wasn’t much warmer than the rest of the mountain, but a few degrees were all he needed.

“Sorry, Kopaka,” He chuckled mirthlessly to himself. “Looks like I shall be late.”

“Ah, he won’t mind.” Denizen looked up as four more figures trudged into the cave. Leonidas grinned widely and sat down beside his best friend as Tahu made straight for the back of the cave, as far from the howling blizzard as he could get. Lewa led Damien inside and took a seat near the two Paladins.

“Quite a big-strong ice-storm, eh?” The Air Toa grinned. Damien smiled.

“If it weren’t for the wind, the temperature alone would make it intolerable…” Leonidas laughed.

“Mount Ihu ain’t no colder than the French Alps in mid-winter.”

“As you found out while snowboarding,” Denizen chuckled. “Then I had to dig you out.”

“Shut up.” Leonidas gave Denizen a playful punch in the shoulder. Tahu snorted irritably from behind them.

“I can’t see how you can get along so well with your element’s opposite.” The Fire Toa growled at his Paladin. Leonidas just grinned.

“Maybe that’s because they’ve known each other since childhood?” Damien suggested. “You and Kopaka only met a few years ago. Denizen and Leonidas have been best friends for decades.” Leonidas made a face.

“Has it been that long already?” It was Denizen’s turn to give him a playful punch. Tahu just growled and hunkered down as they waited out the blizzard. Lewa laughed.

“Tahu and Kopaka could sight-learn something from you two.” He told Denizen and Leonidas. The two Paladins grinned at each other.

Less than an hour later, Damien stood up and walked towards the edge of the cave. He stopped when snow crunched under his feet. The blind Paladin of Air smiled. “I believe the blizzard has stopped.” Lewa joined his Paladin at the cave mouth.

“So it has! It is safe to quick-leave! If we’re quick-fast, we might still be right-time!” Tahu walked out of the cave ahead of Leonidas and Denizen, giving the two a glance as they followed. They were still laughing about inside jokes and shoving each other playfully. For a moment, Tahu wondered if he might’ve had a chance at that kind of relationship with Kopaka.

Then he shoved the thought aside and hurried on to Ko-Koro ahead of the rest.