The next day, Leila came into the downstairs sitting room to find Katie sitting next to a window, watching the snow drift down.
"Hi, Katie. Do you like the snow?"
Katie looked at her carefully for a long moment before replying. "It's pretty. Cat says you can make something called a snowman, but I'm not sure why one would want to."
Leila hid her surprise at the older than her years practicality coupled with her high, child-like voice. "Well, it's fun. You know about fun, don't you?"
"Cat and Bones want me to play, yes."
Leila felt sick at her words, as though play was an assignment. "Do you like to play?"
"It is beneficial in certain ways, according to the studies Bones gave me to read." Katie looked out the window again. "I like to run. That is fun. I'm very fast."
Vlad had told Leila about Katie's birth and the first seven years of her life, but Leila hadn't grasped what that meant until now. It took her two tries before her voice would work to reply to Katie. "I like to run too. Do you know what gymnastics are?"
Katie nodded.
"When I was a kid, I did a lot of gymnastics. I still do some."
Katie looked at Leila, apparently digesting this information. "Why do you wear gloves? It isn't that cold in here."
"When I was 13, I got hurt. Since then, I have electricity inside me. Touching me can hurt people, especially humans, so I wear these special gloves to protect them." Leila didn't mention her electric whip.
"May I touch you?" Katie looked genuinely interested and curious, eyes noting the scar that ran down Leila's face and into her shirt collar.
"Katie, that's rude," Bones chastised in a light tone as he entered the room.
"I don't mind, but I don't want to hurt her," Leila said, and she meant it. Normally she didn't like to call attention to her oddity but Katie was just as different as she was, if not more, and she felt a kinship. "I don't have a lightning rod here to discharge my spare current, so I'm pretty charged right now."
"Where's Vlad? Give him a zap or two and you'll be perfectly safe." Ian piped up from behind Bones.
Katie listened to these exchanges with her fascination evident, and swiveled her head when Vlad appeared a moment later.
Vlad held his hand out to Leila wordlessly, and she stripped her gloves off and grasped him, the small smile she gave him full of love. She willed current into him until she felt she would be safe enough for Katie to come into contact with her, then let go and put her gloves back on. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome. We don't want you short-circuiting anyone." Vlad shot Ian a dangerous smile.
Leila held a hand out to Katie. "Here, touch my arm." She pushed her sleeve up and pointed to her left forearm.
Katie laid her fingertips on Leila's cool skin, eyes widening at the hum of electricity, but she didn't pull back. After a moment she lifted her hand and smiled. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Leila glanced at Bones, then smiled conspiratorialy at Katie. "Do you want to play in the snow? I'm excellent at snowball fights."
Katie's eyes grew wider and her brows drew together. "Why would you fight with a ball of snow?"
"You make snow into balls and throw them at one another, play fighting," Vlad filled in.
Katie's head tilted at that, then she brightened. "Like sparring."
Vlad laughed. "Somewhat. There is no real benefit, other than perhaps target practice. Still, it can be fun. You should try it."
Leila's heart swelled at his words. Vlad's childhood had been a living hell, and he was generally not a playful person, but he liked children, particularly Katie as his friend Cat's child. Plus, she knew he liked to play in the snow, bad ass six hundred year old pyrokenetic vampire or no.
Katie's grey eyes turned back to Bones. "May I play in the snow?"
"Certainly, but bundle up. It's cold outside."
"You should all come," Leila said. "Ian, Bones, would your wives like to come too? And Tate and Justina?"
"I'll ask," Bones said, disappearing.
"Leila…" Vlad began, but she shook her head.
"If you're all doing it, nobody can be singled out later. Plus, when do you get to pummel one another without consequence?"
Ian and Vlad both brightened at that thought, and Ian slipped away to find Veritas.
XXXXXXXX
Thirty minutes later, seven vampires, one half vamp/half demi god, and one small human/ghoul/vampire combination stood knee deep in snow.
"I'm going to guess Ian and Bones will be on one team and Vlad will be on the other," Cat said dryly. She had heard Leila's observation that this was a perfect opportunity for for Vlad, Bones, and Ian to brawl without bloodshed, and she was not surprised to see Tate step to Vlad's side either. She expected Bones would have many the faceful of snow from him.
"Now what do I do?" Katie asked, looking at Leila and Vlad.
"This." Leila gathered a snowball and lobbed it at Ian, grinning viciously. The projectile burst on impact with his chest and he stooped to make his own, wasting no time in returning fire.
After that it was a free-for-all, with shouts, laughter, and the occasional growl of "You'll pay for that!" Katie was the perfect guerilla fighter, with dashes under the higher trajectories of the snowballs flung at the adults to smash snowballs into unsuspecting faces and stomachs.
Suddenly heads jerked up at the swell of power approaching. Everyone tensed before Bones said "Menchares."
And in a moment Menchares landed neatly on the driveway, one arm around Kira and the other around Tina. He regarded them all with a raised brow for a moment, before nine snowballs rose seemingly on their own and slammed into each of the participants of the game, though with much less force in Katie's case.
Vlad roared with laughter at the faceful of snow Bones caught, even as he took one of his own.
Kira regarded them all, and smiled. "I guess we're right on time," she said, and began to make her own snowballs.
