halsin said that he hibernates until the thaw, and i can't stop imagining how nice it can be now that he has you and the children
he can avoid hibernating if necessary, but he becomes restless and a bit irritable when depraved of his winter nap. even though he still treats everyone with kindness, if you know him well enough, you notice that many things make him less happy and he gets irritated mainly with himself, so it's kinder to not demand him to stay awake and just let him sleep
you anticipated his awakening ever since you first sensed the change in weather. this unmistakable earthy smell of spring – thawing snow, waking up soil and roots and worms in it, all fills you with impatience and joy
you’ve been waking up early for the last few days to be the first one to know. to be there waiting for him, being happy to see him
he wakes up in a pile of... well, everything that definitely wasn't here when he went to sleep
while he was sleeping, children brought him all their plushie treasures that helped them ward off nightmares when they were alone and didn’t have you and each other. they’ve put their owlbear toys around halsin so he wouldn't be lonely and scared in his dreams, someone put a blanket over him, someone even half managed to put a pillow under his head – not a small feat, mind you. more mischievous kids have been piling their toys atop him just for the fun of it, to see if it would wake him up, and giggling when it didn't
it's so much better than waking up alone and in the same empty room. the mess kids created around him is an evidence that he's now loved and cared for
and he has his suspicions about who might’ve brought him this blanket
he stretches his muscles, feeling his heart rate quickening*, and slightly unsteadily from a long sleep comes out
the smell of a bear who just spent months curled up in a cave is... well, not exactly exquisite, he knows it and lets out a slightly embarrassed chuckle when you put him in tight embrace, noticing that he's a little easier to hug now than when you did it kissing him goodnight**
the kids are sleeping yet. they demanded to know immediately when daddy halsin is back, and even tried to take turns staying awake and keeping watch – none of them lasted past 2 am, and you had to bring them to their beds. you don’t wake them up just yet, because you want to have some time for you two
you make him his first in this year huge mug of herbal tea with honey that you secretly stashed away and saved for him, and he fills his pipe, while you knead his stiff shoulders and untangle his hair
and, honestly, this moment is so worth waiting the whole winter for
*bears’ heart rate drops to 8-10 beats a minute while they hibernate
**bears lose up to 33% of their weight while hibernating
