Edea hasn't been able to walk about Eternia freely for over a year now, probably two; she thinks briefly of asking Ringabel how long their journey has been now, but then lets it slip from her mind. That's a little depressing, and right now she's so happy. Her father in this world has seen the strength and conviction she's developed fighting alongside Agnès and respects that; the only fights between their sides have been battles meant to test and train the wind vestal's party for facing the True Evil at the end of their journey. Only that and no more, and she is so, so glad for it. It's given her and her friends a chance to not just train their bodies, but set their minds at ease for a little bit and regather their strength that way. Edea has been taking the chance to stroll through Eternia at her leisure and revisit a number of comforting sights from her childhood; one or two were favorite restaurants, admittedly, but there was also her favorite hill for sledding, the bushes on the outskirts where one could pick cranberries, the library where she had on a number of occasions made Alternis hold her on his lap as she "taught" him how to read. (Well, she still thought she had been at least a little helpful in that regard: she'd given him plenty of encouragement to learn! But a five-year-old's instruction couldn't bethat good.)
Her actions have been guided by her strong morals, but the strength of those morals comes from love, both for her family and for the beautiful country she grew up in. So she wants to use this opportunity to revisit those nostalgic memories and bask in their warmth.
Of course, walking down memory lane does tend to distract one from the present. When a laughing little boy crosses her path, glancing over his shoulder as he runs, she doesn't think to look at what he's running from but simply keeps walking, smiling at him happily up to the instant that a very cold, wet snowball hits the back of her head, part of it sliding down into her scarf.
"Ahh! Cold, cold!" Though she opens her scarf right away to get as much of the snow out as possible, she already knows it's not exactly going to keep her warm anymore, not with the big wet spot. "All right, who threw that?!" she yells, turning about on her heel to spot the culprit.
There's a whole group of little kids playing in the snow. They range from ages 6 to 10 at a guess, and none of them are exactly eager to meet her eyes. But her suspicions instantly fall on the one exception to their group: the young man with a red winter coat and messy brown hair that she knows very well, whose shoulders are shaking with quiet laughter as he stays turned away. Surprise doesn't stop her from marching on him.
"Tiz Arrior…!"
"I…I'm sorry, Edea," he says, still laughing. "I didn't see you coming there—waugh!" His neck tenses sharply with surprise as she applies two handfuls of snow to the back of it, and she rubs it in as he squirms beneath her. "Mercy! Mercy! Edea, I didn't get you that bad!"
"Payback is always more severe," she tells him as she lets go and claps the remaining snow off her gloves. Some of the children are giggling at him now, and she smiles at them with satisfaction before crouching down by her friend. "What are you doing? And where's Agnès? Is she being a baby again?"
"She stayed longer this time," Tiz protests, still rubbing his neck. "But yes, she got cold. Ringabel took her back to Grandship."
"And you stayed to play with the local kids."
"Yeah," he answers, without a hint of embarrassment. "They needed an extra person to have even sides for a snowball fight."
Even if he first stayed just to be nice, that broad smile says he's genuinely enjoying himself. Edea hums happily as she gathered up a little bit of wet snow between her hands, idly beginning a snowball. "Well, any chance one more can join in? Which side should I be on?"
"That would make two grown-ups," a little blonde with a pink dress and red coat says thoughtfully, glancing at the boy by her side. "And she looks like the Templar's daughter."
"Wait, what's that got to do with anything?" Edea asks indignantly. They weren't wanted here! That was the whole reason she'd been able to let her guard down here, so close to Central Command!
"Any side you go on would have a really unfair advantage," the boy tells her, frowning. She frowns back, because—well, he's probably right. But she wants to take part too! "So, you two should be a side on your own."
"…Two on seven?" Tiz questions, dubious. "I think we just slid the other way on unfairness…"
"What? We can take them all," Edea declares. It does seem a little lopsided, but there's no joy in an easy victory. "Challenge accepted!" And then she asks Tiz, in an undertone: "Can I use Love Rush?"
"Edea, no. …Maybe. Look out, here they come!"