A surprising chill rushed in when he opened the window and was greeted by his first sight of snow in all his years living here. Lys' eyes were wide with amazement, looking down to see the jeweled streets blanketed in a soft layer of fresh powdered snow. He had seen it in the yearly celebrations in Zets'Ki, but the desert oasis was always warm year-round. Poppy must be having a field day with her leopard form. His younger sister poked her head in from his bedroom door. "Morning! You better watch out–mom's started knitting again. She found some books on crochet and she's not just making sweaters anymore." After the word warning, she slipped away. There was loud cursing from downstairs that sounded like Efrain, then a door slamming. Chrys probably warned him too, without knocking to let him know first. Knowing Efrain, unless Juni came asking for him he'd stay holed up inside until the celebration was over. He hated social events and cold weather, among lots of other things.

Tiptoeing downstairs, he saw his great-aunt Iberis. She turned when she heard his steps and smiled. "Don't worry, your mother's outside at the stables collecting wool. She brought back a small herd of rainbow alpacas from Onnen the last time she visited your sister." He sighed in relief. "Has she made anything yet?" Last year he had managed to avoid receiving a sweater but Uncle Walter wasn't so lucky. His great-aunt shrugged. "I'm not certain. But she seems very enthusiastic now that snow has come to Sularia." Thanking her, he quickly grabbed breakfast before going to check on the animals. Mellie was pawing at the door and ran inside once he opened it. Her trail of pawprints showed she had been initially curious before realizing she didn't like the cold. Pasqual was huddled up on his perching station and Lys put a blanket over the pakpak. "It'll be warm again, I promise." The wyvern and fairy dragon were curled up together sleeping when he heard the katerba screeching and scratching.

Worried, he went to check only to see the problem immediately. The katerba was frantically trying to remove a rainbow sweater vest somebody had pulled over its body, clearly frustrated that it was itchy. Its neck wasn't long enough to pull it and its forelimbs were too small to claw it off. "Hold on, hold on! I'll get it off! Stay still for a moment!" Cutting the woolen garment off, he then put on some soothing ointment to reduce the rash, finally calming the beast down. It would seem not even the pets were safe this time around.

Snow! Snow in Sularia! After months of fighting and nearly having the world end, what a perfect way to lift their spirits. Normally they would be traveling to the Baltil Mountains for the Celestial Ball, but this time Lady Angela no doubt had a hand in this year's celebrations. Arri had given its wholehearted support to its neighbors and allies across the seas in these trying times. Of course this unexpected development came as a blessing in disguise–for now she finally had a reason to put her year-long knitting practice to use. She had been collecting wool from her alpacas and papels, turning the clumps into yarn. And with plenty of rainbow yarn to go around, her knitting would go by much faster. No need to spend time dyeing! Nerine was confident she could do better than Walter's red-green sweater last knit, so she was going to make so much more. Why stop at sweaters when socks, scarves, and even hats were possible? What she really wanted to try was a poncho, just like the one her daughter had when they were in the Welayta Mountains. It was essentially a shawl with a hole for one's head. 

"What should I make for everyone Sedgewick?" The Rosenite asked her little fairy hedgehog familiar. Sedgewick had his own set of tiny booties and a jacket made out of a blend of rainbow and normal wool. "I doubt Auron would use mittens, and I've never seen him wear a hat. Maybe a scarf then. A pullover hood for Chrys, a shawl for Juni, gloves for Lys…" Efrain was picky and he didn't like bright colors. He always wore the same outfits too. Whenever she tried buying clothes for her youngest son he'd staunchly refuse everything. For her husband she'd knit a muffler and Walter would get a cardigan. A pretty long overcoat for Cyril's fiancee Sapphire would do nicely. "Oh! I nearly forgot! Lys' pets must be chilly with the sudden change in weather. Most of them are from Bakulaw after all." And so the rainbow-knit disaster began, with the katerba being the first victim. Poor Kepel was ambushed early in the morning with a sweater vest. He didn't realize what was going on until the coarse wool started to give him a nasty itch.

The katerba was in agony until his owner found him before he chewed his own harness off. And although he was saved from the rainbow torture, he was so worn out from flailing that he fell asleep. Nerine was soon searching for more 'volunteers' for her crocheted creations leading to a chain of events that would run her family ragged.