A Holiday-Fic-A-Thon story! Who would like to read something sickeningly sweet?
You've been warned...(And no, I don't have favorite characters, what are you talking about?)
Prompt: Snowed In
Location: Mist or somewhere near there
Characters: Rydia. Cuore.
Snow in Mist was a rare occurrence, and it's arrival in waves the last few days had made the village a very different place. Children gleefully ran into it, spending all day in the white substance while parent's fretted over what the extreme weather change could mean.
Cuore had observed all of this from her bedroom window, refusing to venture forth. She didn't understand why the other children wanted to spend time in the freezing temperatures until their appendages turned numb and their teeth chattered.
She also didn't understand the adults worry over the weather. Not only did they have no control over it, but the weather was a direct result of the storm that had been raging in the mountains weeks before. This was merely overflow. It a short while, the village would return to normal.
Rydia had attempted cajoling her to go outside and experience the winter conditions for herself. Cuore had refused, but her adopted mother had finally bundled her up, against her will, and herded her towards the door while mentioning that since they were snowed in, she might as well make the best of it.
Before she knew what had happened, she was standing on the home's small porch while the lock clicked shut on the door behind her.
Cuore blinked and sighed, breath fogging in the air as she gazed around at the village. It was blanketed in white; gardens were hidden among deep, powdery drifts, homes were painted pale by the frost and the whole place was eerily silent.
Cuore stared at the substance around her feet suspiciously, not sure if it was safe to step into it.
The group of children ran past her, laughing, and her friend Sarah skidded to halt to beam at her, "Cuore! Finally you came out!"
"About time," one boy taunted, rolling his eyes.
Sarah shoved him and Cuore frowned, "This was not my idea."
Her friend ran up and grabbed her arm, tugging her into the snow. Cuore's heart lurched and she braced herself, eyes squeezing shut. The substance known 'snow' was cold and wet, and she sunk into the drifts up to her knees while flakes still fell from the sky and landed in her hair.
She shivered, and looked around distastefully.
Sarah giggled and pulled her arm again, "Come on, come on!"
Cuore reluctantly allowed her friend to pull her further away from the safety of her home and into the snow, heading towards the village square.
"I wonder where all this stuff comes from," a little girl asked, stumbling through the snow with her head tipped back so she could watch it fall from the gray sky.
"My mom says Shiva makes it snow," a boy answered smartly.
Cuore frowned, "That is not a correct statement. Shiva uses ice in her magic. Snow is merely frozen, crystallized rain falling from a high altitude. As it passes through layers in their planet's atmosphere, it becomes what you know as snow."
Sarah nudged her, and the boy groaned, "Whatever!"
He ran off, calling over his shoulder, "Snowball fight!"
The other children squealed and likewise ran in all directions, leaving Cuore to stand in the square bewildered.
She was unaware of this fight known as a snowball.
One of the kids lobbed a ball of the powdery material through the air where it struck Cuore dead in the face.
She flinched and blinked, promptly getting hit in the shoulder, the leg, and the back by other snowballs.
Finally her annoyance at being hit by the projectiles made her screw her face into an unhappy scowl and declare, "Stop it!"
A boy popped his head up over a ridge of snow he was hiding behind and shouted, "Then stop standing there like a stunned chocobo!"
She gave him a confused look, but Sarah rushed out and grabbed her arm, leading her back behind a tree where she smiled sympathetically.
"You've never been in a snowball fight before, huh?"
Cuore shook her head, "No. What is the objective and purpose?"
"Well, you try to avoid getting hit by balls of snow, while you try to hit other people!" Sarah explained cheerfully while the other kids engaged in the play combat behind them.
Cuore was still confused, "Why?"
"For fun!"
Cuore watched a few seconds of the game and then frowned, "This exercise is truly futile. If you wished to test yourselves in skill of combat, then real weapons would prove more effective."
Sarah groaned and scooped up a handful of snow in her hands, "It's not a test Cuore, it's a game!"
"But," the girl protested, "it has no purpose! The outcome makes no difference in our lives. Time has been expended. Nothing more."
Sarah gently tossed her newly formed projectile at Cuore. It struck her in the shoulder and then slid off her jacket into the drifts at her feet.
"Now," the brown haired girl instructed, "you make one and throw it at me!"
Cuore was dubious, but she did as her friend asked and bent down, grabbing the dusty matter in her hands and forming the rough shape of a sphere before half-heartedly throwing it at Sarah. The ball hit her in the chest, and she giggled, "There you go!"
Cuore blinked, still confused, but Sarah just shoved her back into the field of battle, "Now, every one for themselves!"
Cuore still didn't understand the purpose for this game, nor did she feel she adequately understood all the rules and procedures, but she did know she was sick of having snowballs hit her.
She ran across the square, dodging balls aimed at her before ducking around one of the homes.
Cuore then moved into action.
She scraped the snow around her into many small snowballs and then set them in a pile next to her.
She would need ammunition, after all, if she were to take out these opponents.
Cuore glanced around and spotted a tree with low hanging branches not far from her position and smiled, the rest of her plan forming in her mind as she took off her jacket and piled her weapons into it to make them easier to carry.
There were merits for snow; if the form she had shaped them into failed, they could be remade.
Cuore climbed the tree and sat on the largest branch, about six feet in the air, and set her makeshift bag beside her.
And then she pelted the children from her perch relentlessly, finding it amusing that they didn't realize where she was at first.
Sarah squeaked as one hit her in the back of the head as she tried to run away, and Cuore tossed the last snowball she had made so it splattered against her friend's back.
Cuore hopped off her branch, noticing that everyone seemed to have stopped their game and were brushing snow off.
"Cuore!" one little girl whined, "That wasn't fair!"
She frowned, "Explain,"
Sarah giggled and latched onto her arm, "She's just mad because none of us though about doing that!"
"Simple battle tactics." Cuore explained, still puzzled.
Sarah grinned at the other children, "Next time, Cuore's on my team!"
"Uh un," a boy said, putting his hands on his hips, "I want her on my team!"
Cuore's confusion doubled, "There are teams in this activity?"
The children just exchanged amused and pouting glances at one another before Sarah pulled her along, "Come on, we'll show you something else fun in the snow; snow angels!"
"And snowmen!" the smallest of their group squeaked.
Cuore blinked, "How can angels and men be made of snow? Are they some type of ice-based life forms?"
"Ugh, no, Cuore! Come on, we'll show you…"
It was dark by the time Cuore returned inside, hands numb and teeth chattering, to find that a fire had already be started in the hearth and Rydia was sitting in front of it reading.
She glanced up upon hearing her enter and set her book down, "There you are!"
Cuore grinned at her and announced, "I won several snowball fights and learned to sculpt shapes out of snow and to make an indent in the ground known as an angel."
Rydia smiled, "Did you have fun?"
"Yes." Cuore said, nodding, as she shed her wet jacket and gloves and then pattered over to stand in front of the fire.
"There seem to be certain traditions revolving around snow." the girl observed, shivering.
Rydia nodded and pressed down on her shoulders so the little girl would sit, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders as she spoke, "Yes, I suppose you could say that."
Cuore hesitated, wanting to climb into Rydia's lap but not feeling brave enough to ask. She still wasn't sure if such a thing was acceptable or not, and if it was, how did one express that desire?
Rydia took the option from her and pulled her to sit with her, combing fingers through her wet, messy hair while Cuore leaned her head against the woman's shoulder, sighing softly.
The fire slowly warmed her but after a moment a sudden though crossed her mind and she craned her neck to look at Rydia, "Why didn't you come out and play in the snow?"
The woman laughed softly and hugged her, "I wanted you to play with your friends,"
"Are we not friends?" she asked, puzzled.
Rydia smiled, "Yes, but it's different."
"…Oh." the girl mumbled, nuzzling into the summoner's neck sleepily. The snow had seemingly sapped her energy.
"We can play tomorrow," Rydia offered, stroking her hair, "but right now I think it's time for hot chocolate before you go to bed."
"Hot chocolate?" Cuore repeated, opening one eye to look at her, "I am unfamiliar with that item."
Rydia laughed again and stood up, carrying her towards the kitchen, "It's another snow tradition…"
Oh look, pointless, tooth rotting fluff!
Your welcome.
Now I want snow...