The snowstorm would pass around the middle of the next morning. Lianna had taken one of the chairs from the eating hall and put it next to one of the trees on the forest floor. She had to make sure it wouldn’t fall over in the freshly fallen snow, but with some effort she had managed to secure it in the snow.

She had put Samuel down on the chair so he could have somewhere to sit. Firstly, his ankle was improving, but still not fully healed. Secondly, she wanted to give him somewhere to watch the spectacle about to unfold.

The members of the scouting team had split into two groups, with Freyja standing between them across the clearing from Samuel.

“Ready… go!” she yelled.

On her signal, the snowballs began to fly. Samuel watched as the two sides tried to pelt each other with the makeshift projectiles, while not getting hit themselves. They were surprisingly deft at dodging, or most of them were simply a poor throw.

“Which side do you think is going to win?” said a voice.

Samuel suddenly looked around to find the source of the voice. A pale-gold fox swooped in from behind Samuel and landed on his lap. The fox looked up at Samuel. In a feminine voice, the fox added:

“Oh, sorry. I should introduce myself. My name’s Mai.”

Samuel looked at the fox on his lap. She felt weirdly weightless on his lap, something he figured was related to it being a spirit.

“Who are you with? I haven’t seen you before,” he said.

“I’m not contracted with anyone.” she responded.

“Eh? Then why are you here?”

“Why not? The spirits take a liking to you, myself included. Is there a problem?”

Samuel looked at the spirit, uncaring about him not being a local. Giving a sigh in resignation, he simply responded:

“No, there isn’t.”

Mai spun on his lap and re-seated herself facing the snowball fight. The two sides were picking their shots, however most players were still in. The only current participant who had been knocked out was an opponent of Lianna’s team.

“I wouldn’t want to be caught in that,” said Samuel.

Mai didn’t turn to face Samuel, instead responding while keeping watch. The snowball game was quite a sight. The players were skilled to the point where it was hard to follow.

“Well, yeah, they’re all obviously going to be physically more capable than you,”

Samuel shook his head. If Mai was expecting him to decline on a lack of physical talents, she had missed the mark.

“No, I mean I don’t think I’d enjoy it, even if I was an even match for the rest of them. It just seems… I don’t know. It seems un-fun, I guess.”

Mai waited a moment before answering. She was processing Samuel’s particular disinterest in the concept of the game being played.

“Oh. Well, I can see that. Oh, wow, look at that strike,”

Samuel saw the snowball hurled at one of the members’ of Lianna’s team strike him in the thigh. While the two were talking, Lianna had gotten a 2nd member of the other team, putting the score at two to three remaining.

“Am I interrupting?” Elenora asked.

She has quietly found a spot to stand to Samuel’s right. She had come down to the forest floor to watch the action play out. After all, it made for good action in the dead of winter.

“Hardly,” answered Mai.

Elenora took a breath in. She looked at Samuel sitting next to her, and then back to the game. The snowballs continued to fly in the space between teams.

“I think Lianna’s team is going to win this,” she declared.

“What makes you say that?” asked Samuel.

Elenora folded her arms.

“She’s got the best aim. I’m not sure how familiar you are with us, but we’re all a decent bit stronger than most humans. Everyone can throw a snowball, but if you don’t aim it well, it’s trivial to dodge. No one’s got a sharper aim than Lianna.”

Samuel turned to watch Lianna specifically, where her throws went. She gathered another snowball and whipped it at one of the two remaining opponents. It missed, but only by a slim margin near the left foot. Meanwhile, Leon took aim at one of Lianna’s teammates. He threw an off-speed strike - catching her teammate on the shoulder.

“Leon’s pretty good too,” added Mai.

A moment passed as the three watched the game continue to unfold. Elenora leaned back on the tree behind them to take a breath. After that, she stood back up straight and began a new thought.

“Say, Samuel,”

Elenora turned her attention back to Samuel, still with Mai on his lap.

“What do you think of Lianna?”

Samuel, caught off guard, turned in a quick motion. Composing himself, he thought about the question.

“She seems… distant. I don’t think she dislikes me, but…”

He paused while thinking through the rest of his answer. Answering personal questions like this was evidently not one of his strong points.

“She seems unsure of what to do with me, I guess? I’m not sure how to put it,”

Mai sat up and turned to look at Samuel and Elenora. She seemed to be interested in the conversation unfolding, in spite of not being contracted with anyone.

“Are you trying to say that she isn’t sure how to approach you?” Mai asked.

Samuel looked at Mai. He showed a slight frown, only adding:

“Yeah… I guess so,”

Meanwhile, the snowball fight continued. Both Leon and Lianna’s remaining teammate had been hit, leaving them in a one-on-one. As the two tried to pick their best shot, Elenora went and ruffled Samuel’s hair.

“I’m sure she’ll warm up to you. If it really becomes a problem, we’ll figure it out. I have to go back up. Talk to you later,” she said.

Elenora gave a smile to Samuel and turned to walk to the ramp up to the elevated buildings of the village. Samuel looked back at the game, the last member of each team still trying to land a snowball on the other.

“Do you mind if I hang around you moving forward?” Mai asked.

Samuel looked down at Mai in surprise.

“I-- uh, no, I don’t…” Samuel stammered.

Mai turned around and looked at Samuel. She sat up and looked at his eyes.

“Is that because you’re not sure, or I just surprised you by the question?”

Samuel was mentally unprepared for the sudden question and couldn’t muster words to respond. Mai could see that he was being asked questions he wasn’t used to.

“Hmm… you’re just not used to it.”

She turned and sat back down on his lap. She hoped that in time, he would open up more to the Foch of the village.

“Oh!” she exclaimed.

Lianna had landed a grazing blow on Leon, barely nicking his thigh. Freyja called the game in favour of Lianna’s team. The group gathered for a quick break. Soon enough the rematch would commence, if only for pride’s sake.