The first snow of winter. What a glorious sight to behold. Surely one can ponder on the magnitude and meaning of such a glorious sight-wait. Ugh, dang repetition. I'm just gonna...yeah.

It was the first day of December, and the entire academy had been caked in a white glaze of snow and frost. Classes had been shut down for the day as the kids had run outside to play, study, relax, what have you. Teachers praised the gods above for their new found offtime among the busy schedule. However, there were a few students who were certainly enjoying themselves…

" Sucy! Over here! "

" Shhh, I can't have you revealing our-OW! "

" Hey, Swooce! You should try and pipe down a bit, how's that sound?! "

That nickname again? Whatever. " Rethink your strategies, my companion… "

" Eh? Companion? But-AAAAAAGH! "

After pelting Sucy with a good snowball, Amanda was sent flying into the air as the snow beneath her feet bursted into a somewhat fiery explosion. She held onto her broom tightly, swinging around on it for a bit and then flying right back down to Sucy to talk her down.

" What is your problem?! " she yelled. " Do you actually think this is fair? "

Sucy merely chuckled. " Not to you, really," she remarked. Amanda was starting to feel a rage swelling inside her as she leaned in closer to the currently neutral expressed Sucy.

" H-hey, you two, this really isn't something to get upset over… " quietly said Lotte as she walked towards the two. " It's the beginning of Winter! Shouldn't this be a time to take it easy and settle aside our differences….? Sucy? Amanda…? "

" She shot first, " said Sucy.

" Oh, that is IT! "

And so, Sucy and Amanda started piling up whatever snow they could and began flinging it at each other's faces. Lotte raised a finger, then immediately let out a worried sigh as she walked away slowly, hiding behind her snow fort. There was no use stopping either of those two when they were provoked. What made it somewhat heartbreaking for her is that not a lot of her peers were willing to show some respect besides Akko. Where was she at, anyway? Wherever she may be, she certainly didn't seem willing to help her at the moment.

Lotte suddenly heard a rustling sound coming through the snow. She tensed up a bit and slowly backed away. The sound got even closer and closer as Lotte grew more and more nervous. She started asking herself more and more questions as the noise grew louder.

" Uh...hello? " meekly asked Lotte.

The object burst out of the snow as Lotte yelped and quickly curled a snowball in her hand, throwing it at the figure. She hit it smack between its eyes as it landed right on its back. Under quick observation, it was none other than Constanze's little Stanbot that she had hit.

" Ah! I'm sorry! " she cried as she helped the robot onto its feet, wiping the snow out of its vision.

" Hello, Lotte! " the tiny robot proclaimed as it waved naively. The gesture managed to get a small chuckle out of the timid witch. " Hi there. How are you doing? "

" You look sad, Lotte, " said the worried Stanbot. This must have been one of Constanze's worker bots. " What's wrong? "

Lotte gave a soft, yet still sad smile, pulling the Stanbot into her arms as she cozied up behind the fort. " Everyone's just been fighting a lot lately…I dunno where Akko is. "

" She's studying for a big test tomorrow, " said the Stanbot.

" Really? She certainly is a big studyer, heh heh… "

" Shouldn't you be studying as well? "

" I will after lunch, probably. But sometimes, you just can't let go of an opportunity to have some fun, you know? "

" …. "

Lotte should have realized that robots don't really understand human complexity. She chuckled as she set the robot down.

" Why don't you go have fun with everyone else? I'll...go check on Akko. "

The robot nodded, walking off as she peeked over the wall to check on Sucy and Amanda.

" Recount! " yelled Amanda.

" That's still one vote for everyone, " remarked Sucy.

" Recount! "

" Still one vote for everyone. "

" THERE'S ONLY TWO OF US HERE! "

Lotte just decided to ignore the conflict and shuffled her hands a bit, went back inside to return to her dorm. She opened the door, finding Akko and surprisingly Diana huddled around the desk, chattering over what appeared to be some calculus.

" See, this equals….just carry the 5…. "

" Yes, but….when I try doing this I… "

" You just carry the 5 and...yeah. "

" Diana? "

" Wha- " the model student quickly turned around. " Oh. Hello, Lotte. "

" Akko? Why aren't you outside with everyone else? " asked Lotte. " Everyone seems to be having fun! We can't all just sit around! "

Akko let out a big yawn, turning to Lotte. " Sorry about that...I just have a big test coming up, y'know? "

" Well, I know that, but- "

" But what?! I know you really want me to let loose, but studying is very, VERY important! "

" Well, so is having fun, Akko! "

" Besides, I already have enough fun getting things done that need to get done! "

" You do? " said Diana.

" Yes, " replied Akko. " If you want, Lotte, you can be a study partner! "

" I-I'll join you later when it gets warmer, heh- "

" Ugh, now you're just making excuses! Tell me, what reason do I have to just walk outside just to- "

And in that very moment, Lotte slung a snowball right between Akko's eyes (She was a particularily good shot ever since she was a kid). Akko and Diana stood there motionless until Akko looked Lotte with the most dead-eyed stare you can imagine.

" ...have you been keeping that hidden? "

" Yep, " said Lotte as she chuckled again.

" ...well, studying may be important, " said Akko as she turned to Diana. " But you know what else is? "

" Excuse me? " said Diana.

" REVENGE! " yelled the spunky witch as she whipped on her orange coat and raced Lotte across the halls. The two laughed as they ran outside and started slamming eachother with as many snowballs as they could as they raced across the fields. Sucy and Amanda suddenly stopped their current snow wrestle.

" Well, well, well! " yelled Sucy. " Look who came out of their ca-AGH! "

" Don't get your hopes up, " said Akko. " I'm here to exact my revenge on a few...individuals. "

" You're on! " yelled Amanda. She hopped onto her broom with a clump of snow as she began drowning the competition with snowballs.

" Wah! No fair! " complained Akko.

" Well, learn to fly first! Sorry! " Amanda snarkily replied. " Eh? Akko? "

Amanda was suddenly shot right back down to Earth as Akko in a bird like form knocked the wind out of Amanda's sails.

" UGH, can this get any worse for us?! "

" …..I think it has, " said Sucy and Lotte.

An even bigger rumbling noise than the one heard before was felt throughout the field. Everyone almost fell on the floor as they observed what appeared to be an object in the distance.

" Is that….ohhhh noooo. "

It was indeed Constanze. She was riding on a midst of Stanbots carrying her as she held a large gun in her hands. As the Stanbots began to throw dozens of snowballs at the girls, Constanze loaded some snow into her gun and fired a HUGE ball, almost as big as Akko. It slowly descended on the group.

" Well, you know what they say, " said Sucy. " The bigger they a- "

SPLOOSH!