Balthier found himself cursing as he and his companions left the Golmore jungle for the snowy slopes of Mount Bur-Omisace. Between his heavy armor and the hot, humid climate of the jungle, his clothes had become damp with sweat and now seemed to be fusing to his skin as the cold wind froze them. He cast a glance at Fran, who walked smoothly and quickly, completely unbothered by the drastic change in climate. He knew it must be because she had grown up in the Eruyt village and had like been exposed to the harsh mountain climes before, but he couldn't help a petty thought about how of course the damned Viera were immune to the chill, being icicles themselves.

Loud laughter interrupted Balthier's sulking. Penelo and Vaan had both run ahead of the group and were now staring up at the sky, their hands outstretched to catch the snowflakes. Despite their light clothing and armor, neither seemed to notice the cold in their excitement.

"--a land of ice magic, it's so beautiful!" Balthier heard Penelo exclaim.

"Yeah," Vaan agreed, and then jerked. "Hey, I caught some snow on my tongue!"

"Not surprising, given that big mouth of yours," Balthier said, giving Vaan a nudge on the back. The boy was caught off-balance and fell face forward into the snow, which gave the sky pirate some small satisfaction.

That is, until Vaan looked up with the fiendish smile of an imp, his hands seizing on the powdery snow. The first snowball pelted Balthier on the shoulder, but he quickly dodged from the second--which hit Penelo full in the face. Before Vaan could apologize for the accident, his childhood friend had declared an all-out snow war. Balthier retreated as fistfuls of snow began flying through the air, accompanied by shouts and teasing jokes. Larsa, on the other hand, hovered near the two Dalmascans, as though he were hoping for an errant snowball to hit him and be excuse enough for him to join in their play. And sure enough, Vaan was willing to oblige him. Penelo's eyes widened with horror, but Larsa merely grinned as he walked to her side. "Hey, hey, hey!" Vaan protested. "You guys can't team up--!"

He was cut off by a volley of snow from the two of them and sprinted to hide behind Basch. The warrior was a sturdy fortress--from the front, at least. The teenager gasped and cringed when Ashe rubbed the back of his neck with a handful of slush. "You should know to guard yourself from all sides," she said, smirking. "And we need to get to the summit before nightfall, so that's quite enough antics for now."

Disappointment flashed on Larsa's face, but he brushed off his hands. "You are right, of course."

Vaan pouted until Penelo said reasonably, "There's snow all around--there must be a lot at the summit."

"Yeah, you're right," he said, "it'd be colder up there. All right!" He ran forward and snagged her hand, pulling the giggling girl along with him. "Let's go!"

Fran clucked her tongue. "Strange that they find the snow so fascinating."

"Just another form of precipitation," Balthier agreed, "and a damned annoying one at that." He was still trying to brush the remaining snow from his shoulder, but the shirt's fabric was already dampened, freezing, and engaged in a desperate attempt to become one with his skin. He cursed under his breath and wished Fran would not look so amused.