AN: I had a snow day today and was inspired. Enjoy!
Snow Day at H.I.V.E.
"I'll have to tell the professor to put better firewalls on the climate control systems," Nero sighed. He and Raven stood unnoticed just inside the entrance to accommodation block seven.
It was snowing. Hard. When H.I.V. had informed Nero that he should probably check out a "disturbance" in block seven he had not expected this.
It was already over a foot deep and the large, falling flakes showed no sign of stopping. The waterfall and pool were frozen over. The residents of block seven hadn't noticed Nero or Raven yet. They were too busy having the time of their lives.
Somehow a group of students had managed to rig several extremely effective snow cannons into the vents high in the cavern, as well as hack the climate control, turning down the temperature to well below freezing.
Nero had a pretty safe bet on who the perpetrators were.
He glanced over at Raven. Snowflakes glittered on her hair and black tactical vest as she stood gazing over the cavern, arms folded, expression rigid. He was surprised. The situation indeed left him mildly irked, but he saw no reason for Raven to look so angry.
Then he realized that she was trying very hard not to smile.
He sighed again. "Any suggestions?"
"That's a lot of snow," she said, rather unhelpfully.
Nero squinted through the flurry, trying to get a sense of what the students were doing. There seemed to be an elaborate game going on, involving quite a number of warring armies. He noted with pleasant surprise that the different streams were working together. Henchmen were building snow forts and loading huge snowballs on what looked like cobbled together trebuchets. Alphas were giving orders and sneaking to the balconies to assess the lay of the land. Politicals were forging alliances and trading hand warmers. Surprisingly, it was the technical stream, perfectly disguised in their white jumpsuits, who snuck behind enemy lines and rained withering volleys of snowballs onto their opponents.
"You know…" Nero said thoughtfully. "If we make them stop now they will be dissatisfied and prone to making trouble during classes today."
"That's true." Raven said.
"They seem to be applying what they're learning in their lessons quite admirably. Maybe we should let them be. You could stay, Natalya. Give pointers on tactical principles when appropriate."
The grin finally fought its way onto Raven's face. "That sounds suitably educational."
Nero blinked snowflakes from his eyelashes. He was beginning to shiver. "Indeed, incorporating learning into play is one of the most effective ways to boost a student's retention of the material." He paused and shook his head. "Maybe I should run a nursery school," he muttered wryly.
He looked to see that Raven had already begun to slink away, packing a snowball to an alarming hardness.
"Don't you need a coat?" he called after her. But she didn't hear him.
Or ignored him.
He smirked at her retreating back and walked out.
Snow cannons are a thing. They are used on ski slopes and stuff.
Reviews inspire me to write more... Just saying. (wink)