I was brutally attacked by a bout of inspiration. That's why I felt the need to write this, while only having half of the next ToaHaHD chapter written. I'm sorry to those who are waiting, I hope this will satifsy until the next chapter is up. Anyway, with all the snow, and it being December, and the holidays just around the corner, I got hit with an FE Christmas fic of sorts. Well, more like the concept of winter in Tellius just got to me. It started off as humor, but like The Armoireslayer, it morphed into something else when I had my back turned. Takes place after RD, so slightly non-canon because I just can't have a story without Ike. Enjoy, if at all possible.
"You see him?" Shinon whispered.
"Y-yeah," Rolf shivered, his breath visible in the cold, winter air.
"Well do it, and stop shivering," Shinon said.
"Why?" Rolf asked, "It all s-seems kind of pointless."
Shinon sighed and hung his head, "Because I'm telling you to. Besides, look at him. Anything that ugly doesn't deserve to live."
"That's an awful reason," Rolf mumbled, nonetheless shaking off the cold and taking an arrow from his quiver.
Shinon nodded approvingly as the boy notched the arrow and sighted down its shaft.
"S-shinon," he said, the shiver creeping back into his voice as he tried to hold still, "I don't think this arrow is straight."
"Yes it is," the sniper answered, not bothering to look at the shaft.
"B-but it's-"
"I made that arrow; it's straight. Now shoot him, before he gets back," Shinon ordered.
"Fine…I'll shoot your bent arrow…" Rolf muttered.
"Hey," Shinon hissed, "I said you start growing a spine with other people, don't get sassy with me."
Rolf gave him an apologetic look before returning his attention to the figure, alone in the snowfield. He was just standing there, motionless; this would be an easy job. Rolf inhaled.
"Gross…" he thought, wrinkling his nose as he felt the chill air freeze up the insides of his nostrils.
"What are you waiting for? And don't give me this 'I'm nervous' nonsense, he's not even-"
"I know, sorry, I got distracted," Rolf answered quickly.
"Just do it," Shinon said, yet again. This was taking much too long, and it was way too cold.
Rolf said nothing, inhaling again as he sighted down the shaft for the second time. He exhaled, allowing his muscles to settle, the only possible distraction was his beating heart. And the cold. Why was it so cold? He shivered, and watched as the arrowhead shivered right along with him. He released the tension in the bow string; he would have to start over.
"Sorry…" he said.
Shinon let out a low, tortured moan, but said nothing. He was done instructing. For a third time, Rolf pulled back his arm, closed one eye, and looked down the shaft, his target clearly in view. He inhaled, ignoring the cold this time, and exhaled. He waiting three heart beats, and released, his body lurching forward slightly as the arrow sprung from his bow. He watched, breathless as his eyes followed the arrow's path. The target was so close; there was only a slight curvature to the arrow's movement. Rolf inhaled sharply as it caught the figure in the neck, and the man's head promptly fell off, rolling a few feet in the freshly fallen snow.
"Yes!" Rolf said, standing completely upright, "Shinon, did you see that? His head fell off!"
"Rolf! Get down before-"
"Oi!"
"Oh goddess…" Shinon muttered. It was too late.
Boyd came barreling out of the trees, and stopped, gawking, "What did you do to him?! I worked hard on that snowman you little twerp!"
Rolf let out a shout as Boyd started running towards him, his face flushed red from either the cold or anger. Rolf was assuming the latter.
"It wasn't my idea!" Rolf yelled, repeating the phrase as he turned around and took off through the trees, "It wasn't my idea!"
"Yeah right! You know I've been working on that since this morning! Just wait until I get my hands on you, I'll roll you up into a snowman!" Boyd shouted, following his brother through the forest.
Shinon sighed, he hated jobs like this. He shrugged, brushed the powdery snow from his shoulders, and headed towards the base. Surely there was a warm fire inside, away from Boyd.
"Aug! You got it in my eye!"
Shinon shivered, partly from the cold, partly from revulsion. Yes, get inside, away from Boyd. The rowdy man was busying chasing Rolf around yet another snowman.
"You think you can hide behind a pile of snow?" Boyd asked, wiping the remnants of a snowball off his face.
"Hey," Rolf said, edging around to the side as Boyd tried to get closer, "This is Mist's! She still has three months to turn you down before the wedding; you'd better not ruin it!"
"Why you little-"
Rolf let out a shriek of laughter and bolted for the forest once again, Boyd hot on his heels. As soon as they left, two faces peered out from behind a nearby heal hedge.
"You wouldn't turn him down over a snowman, would you?" Mia asked.
Mist laughed, "No, of course not."
"Didn't think so," Mia said with a smile, "Now what was all that about?"
"I don't know, you can never get a straight answer from those two. I always end up asking Oscar," Mist answered, packing more snow onto her sculpture.
"I think Rolf shot the head off his snowman."
Both women turned, startled by the voice. They found Rhys, calmly seated in the snow, his back to a large conifer. With his robes, he blended right into the scenery.
"Oh Rhys, I didn't see you there," Mist laughed, "and what happened?"
"Rolf, he shot the head of Boyd's snowman," Rhys repeated.
"Why?" Mia asked, still slightly perturbed that she hadn't noticed him.
"I have no idea, Rolf usually doesn't start their arguments, he just fuels them," Rhys answered.
"Weird…" Mia said, "Hey, come here; hold this arm in place while we pack snow around it. We don't want it to fall off."
Rhys smiled and rose, ignoring the cold that stung his fingers as he sunk his hands into the snow. Days like this were the ones he liked the most with the Greil Mercenaries.
Ike stood, watching the madness from the frosted window in his bedroom. Soren stood at his side, looking on as Boyd continued in his pursuit. Rolf had managed to climb a tree, and after several failed attempts at following, the fighter had given up and decided he'd just chop the blasted thing down.
"He'll never do it," Soren said, clearing the window pane with an open palm, "that tree is much too large."
Ike eyebrow rose, disappearing into his blue hairline, "I don't know, Boyd can be stubborn. What'd Rolf do anyway?"
Ike's question was answered as Shinon came into the room, his face red from the cold, "He shot the head off Boyd's snowman. Soren, can I talk to you?"
The question was really more of a command, but Soren brushed it off, "No."
Shinon looked like he was about to protest, but thought better of it, shooting a glare at Ike before leaving the room, slamming the door hard enough to shake a pile of snow from the roof outside the window.
"What was that about?" Ike asked.
"He probably doesn't like being forced to take these days off," Soren answered, not bothering to look at Ike.
"I don't see why," Ike continued, "We always take three days off after the new year. My father came up with it, he never complained before."
"It's more than that, you know he dislikes you. He just likes to make sure you don't forget," Soren answered.
Ike nodded, it sounded right to him. The two looked up as Oscar entered the room, an old apron tied around his waist.
"Dinner will be ready soon," he said.
Ike gave him a look, "I thought Mist was supposed to make it?"
"She was, but she got so excited when it started snowing, I let her go out with Mia," Oscar answered, his smile never wavering for a second.
"Oh…well if you don't mind, I don't think anyone else will," Ike said.
"No," Soren said, "I doubt anyone would object to Oscar cooking in Mist's place."
Ike laughed, "Come on, she's gotten better."
"But that doesn't mean she's gotten good," Soren muttered darkly.
Ike was about to respond when a loud crack resonated through the room. All three turned to the window, watching as the tree Boyd had been hacking at toppled over.
"Wow. He actually did it," Oscar said, looking down at Rolf as the archer hightailed it into the forest again, Boyd hot on his trail.
"Boyd will run out of steam soon," Ike said, "He'll realize it's not worth it, especially if he hears it's time to eat. I'll go get them."
Ike turned and left the room, Oscar following him out. Soren stayed though, watching Mist, Mia, and Rhys argue over the gender of their creation.
Ike waded through the snow, frowning as it got into his boots. He hoped they would be inside soon enough, the frigid air was biting. He stopped as he came to Mia, Mist, and Rhys. They were arguing , which was odd for them.
"It's a snowwoman," Mia said, throwing an arm around Mist's shoulder, "We made it, so it takes after us."
"But I helped, and in all fairness, couldn't we call it a snowperson?" Rhys asked.
"I'll duel you for it," Mia said happily.
"Uh, no, I'm fine…it can be a snowwoman," Rhys said, thinking back to his last duel with Mia. She'd gotten better since then.
"Then snowwoman it is!" Mia cheered, grinning as she caught sight of Ike, "Oh, hey boss. You come out to make a snowman? We could both make one, and then see which one takes longer to melt."
Ike let out a short laugh, "No Mia, I'm fine. I came to tell you the-"
He stopped as his mouth was suddenly filled with snow. He blinked, wiped his face off, and spat the remains of a snowball from his mouth.
"Haha! Got ya'," Boyd said, leaping out from behind a tree with a snowball in each hand, "Right in the face too!"
Without a word Ike hurled Ragnell towards the tree Boyd had been hiding behind. The blade embedded itself in the trunk, quivering slightly. After a second, a mountain of snow fell, catching Boyd up in an avalanche of ice and pine needles.
"Got ya'," Ike said.
"Everywhere," Mia finished, laughing as Boyd tried to struggle out of the pile.
"And what happened to Rolf? I thought you were chasing him," Ike asked, walking to his sword and giving it a tug as he freed it from the trunk.
"Little squirt's not worth my time," Boyd answered, grabbing Ike's hand and pulling himself to his feet.
"It's okay Boyd, I can't catch him either," Mist said, wrapping her arms around him.
"Hey hey hey," Boyd said, backing out of the hug, "I never said that!"
"Rolf is getting pretty fast," Mia added, ignoring Boyd's comment, "Some days he even keeps up with me."
"Hey," Boyd repeated, throwing a snow ball at her, "I said he's not worth my time, not that I can't catch him!"
Mia held up a hand, caught the snowball, and threw it back, "Don't throw snow at me."
"Psh, I'll throw snow at whoever I want!"
Suddenly snow was flying in all directions as the two began pelting each other, all thoughts of Rolf driven from their heads.
"Rhys! Give me a hand," Mia ordered, taking a hold of his arm and pulling him into the fray.
Boyd waved his hand from behind a tree, "Mist! Come here and help me already!"
Eventually Ike was alone, standing in the center of the battlefield as snowballs flew around him like arrows, zinging by his head, but never quite touching. He sighed, and turned, looking up at the window where Soren was still watching. He shrugged, and then clapped a hand to his cheek.
"Hey! Boyd, that one had a rock in it!" he bellowed.
Boyd's voice, suddenly panicked, came from behind a shrub, but he didn't dare show his face, "What?! That hit you? I was aiming for Mia!"
Mia popped up into view from behind a pile of firewood, "Oh really?"
She jumped the pile and dashed across the snow, heading for the sound of Boyd's voice, taking several snowballs to the face on the way. Ike watched as Mia disappeared into the bushes and Boyd suddenly stood, booking it for the house, throwing snowballs in Mia's general direction the entire way.
He glanced over his shoulder and shouted, "It was a joke Mia! Come on, I didn't really-oh godde-"
He was silenced as Mia tackled him, shoving his face into the snow. She rose to her feet, and placed a foot on the back of his head, grinding his head into the frozen earth. Boyd made a series of muffled exclamations as he flailed about on the ground, trying to free himself from the freezing snow. After a minute, Mist spoke up,
"Mia…maybe you should let him go now."
Mia looked at her, and then down at Boyd. She sighed, "Oh…fine."
As she removed her foot, Boyd's head shot upwards, his mouth wide open as he gasped, sucking in the frozen air.
"You hit dirt!" he shouted, spitting mud out as he tried to cleanse his mouth with snow.
Mia winked, "Guess I didn't realize how shallow the snow was. Sorry, it was just a joke."
Boyd glared at her as he let Mist help him to his feet, "My joke was funny, that was gross."
"You're joke was painful," Ike said, rubbing his cheek before looking down at his hand, "See?"
Boyd looked at Ike's extended hand, slightly stained with blood, "Oh. Sorry Ike."
"Don't worry about it," Ike said, thumping him on the shoulder, "I'll get you back, you know it's customary for friends to tell embarrassing stories at weddings."
Boyd paled, "Right…"
"Anyway," Ike continued, enjoying the look of dread on Boyd's face, "I came out here in the first place to tell you dinner's ready. That was ten minutes ago, Oscar's probably wondering why you're not inside already."
"Oscar made it? Hey!" Boyd said, watching as Mia took off for the house, throwing up a trail of powdery snow in her wake.
"Well yeah, Mist is out here with you," Ike answered, following Mia's trail.
"You should have told me sooner," Boyd complained, absentmindedly wrapping an arm around Mist as they walked inside.
"I would have, but you hit me in the face with a snowball," Ike replied, looking at Boyd expectantly.
"Oh yeah…you know what, it's all Rolf's fault! If he hadn't ruined my snowman none of this would have happened," Boyd offered.
Mist's eyes rolled up towards the sky, "Oh come off it Boyd, Rolf doesn't start things."
Boyd shook his head, "I'm telling you, the little twerp ruined my snowman, I didn't do a thing to him before that."
"No way," Mist said, opening the door as they reached the house, "He just bites back whenever you start something. You probably did something earlier in the day; I bet you don't even remember."
"I didn't even talk to him before all this," Boyd said, stepping inside and shaking off the snow, "Not that it matters. He's probably still running through the forest, too scared to-"
"Hi Boyd," Rolf said, interrupting as he came down the stairs and took a seat at the table.
"What?! How did you- when did you-what were you doing upstairs?" Boyd demanded, placing his hands on the table and leaning over his younger brother.
"Nothing you would understand," Rolf answered, sticking out his tongue.
"Oh, like there's anything you understand that I don't," Boyd countered, cuffing him on the side of the head before taking his own seat.
Ike sighed, sitting next to Gatrie as the two continued to argue, "They never stop."
The knight laughed, "Nope. You should really-"
"Even Gatrie's smarter than you!"
The big man stopped midsentence and looked at Rolf, "What does that mean?!"
Ike groaned, letting his head fall to the table as Gatrie entered the verbal melee. This was what happened when they let Rolf and Boyd sit next to each other, and it would probably carry on for the rest of the night. He heard a laugh, and felt Oscar's hand on his shoulder,
"Do you want a bowl, Ike, or should I just pour the soup down your ear?"
Ike just grunted, and moved his head to one side. He was too tired to talk. Besides, if it drowned out the noise, a ladle of soup in the ear would be more than welcome.
Shinon counted the gold before slipping it into his pocket, pausing in the open door as he heard the din coming from downstairs.
"You hear that? All that noise?" he said, looking over at Soren, "That's why I'm never doing that again."
He turned and headed down the hall, leaving Soren in the room, alone. The mage was at the window, eyes closed. He heard Shinon walking down the stairs, and shouting something as he entered the room below. But he also heard something else. Soren's eyes opened. Through all the madness, he heard laughter.
He moved to the door, and listened. Boyd's voice was not as menacing as he probably wished, and Rolf's comments not as biting; the two were having a hard time not laughing. He heard Gatrie's high pitched 'tee hee', just before Mist's light, lilting laugh. Rhys' reserved tenor soon joined in, quickly followed by Mia's confident, alto tones. One could always assume Oscar was smiling, and then a deep bass broke through, Ike's laughter. A shadow of a smile appeared on Soren's face, and he made his way down the stairs. It disappeared as he reached the bottom, perhaps he hadn't even known it was there at all, but as he took his place at the table, he did know one thing. He was right; a little mischief had been good for everyone.
That's right people, there's a heart buried under all that logic. I hope you enjoyed this, I had fun writing it, seeing as I allowed it to tear me away from ToaHaHD. It really was rather pointless though, although it did give me another fic idea. We'll see where that goes...after ToaHaHD of course. I know it's early, but I happy holidays, and even if driving may be an 'adventure', try not to crash into anything. Drop a review if you can, otherwise I'll see you next update.
Twilight Rurouni