(Untitled)

[sallyslingshot]

Alex had never seen snow before. For that matter, she'd never really even experienced cold weather before, at least not by most people's definition; there had been chilly evenings, days that seemed cooler than the rest, but she knew full well that it could have been much, much more than that. Having spent all her life in a climate so similar to

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[hightail]

It had been years since Kate last woke to such weather, since she'd last peeked out from under her comforter to a bright, white-washed world outside her window. Though far from the best of students, Kate had never counted herself among the majority of her classmates, who went to bed nightly whispering prayers for a Snow Day. She'd never had the luxury of preferring home to school, and it made no difference to her whether class was officially canceled or not - if she wanted to skip, she would. (None of these were thoughts she regularly entertained, but the sight of a snow-covered island had brought with it memories of Kate's childhood which were far from welcome.)

Wearing the jacket in which she arrived for the first time since, Kate knew it wouldn't be nearly enough for the weather, so she set out with the intention of visiting the Compound. Not far along into her trek, she realized she wouldn't be alone in needing winter clothes, and headed instead toward the hut Alex and Sawyer shared. Once she spotted Alex already outside, it was difficult not to smile; forced to grow up in the worst of ways, it was rare that the younger girl have reason to enjoy herself without worry, and Kate found herself instantly appreciating the snow that much more.

On a whim, she knelt down and dug her hands into a few inches of snow. Without gloves it was freezing, but worth the effort if it meant Alex's very first snowball fight. Scooping up the best sphere she could manage with her fingers quickly going numb, Kate took aim and launched it the remaining distance to where Alex stood.

"Think fast!"

[sallyslingshot]

While it was a voice that Alex thought she would have recognized anywhere, she was startled nevertheless by the sound of it, her reaction time not quick enough for her to register the snowball flying towards her until it had already hit her. After a sharp, audible intake of breath, as she dusted some of the snow off the sweatshirt that served as her outermost layer, she let out a laugh, turning in the direction the snow had come from. Under any other circumstances, it was the sort of thing that she probably would have noticed, but as it was, she'd been too distracted; given the cause of it, she had trouble minding.

"You know you're not gonna get away with that, right?" she called, already crouching, long sleeves pulled over her hands to keep the snow from making contact with her bare skin. As such, the snowball she formed wasn't too well-shaped, but it did the job well enough; her aim made up for it when she threw it in Kate's direction, teeth pressing to her lower lip in excitement.

[cibosity]

Sawyer, for one, hated snow. He'd seen it before, of course, not only in his youth but also in his travels, having gone literally halfway around the world to try and find the man who had tore both family and childhood from him. But it had never really been accompanied by pleasant memories. Snow just made him think of Christmas, as he was shuffled from distant relative to distant relative, none really knowing how to deal with a slightly sullen-faced child who couldn't be cheered up even by the most extravagant of presents. It made him think of slush lingering on a dock, and of icy rain falling, gray and dreary scenes.

Of course, the island didn't exactly mirror that sort of setting, the way that the layout had even changed to look like something out of a children's book. But the cold was enough that Sawyer had spent the majority of the morning burrowing further into his blankets and groaning when he realized that Alex was up and about. He had a responsibility to watch over her, but it was so tempting to just remain in bed for a little while longer, pulling the covers over his head. It took another five minutes before he'd stumbled out of the hut, his standard button-down shirt not buttoned at all yet, in spite of the cold.

"Who's not gonna get away with what?" he groused, peeking past Alex and spotting Kate; his eyebrows raised slightly. Aw, hell, he could have said. "A snowball fight. Really."

[hightail]

It was pure luck that had Kate escaping Alex's aim just seconds before the snowball hit, grazing her right shin before she could dodge in full. "S'that all you got?" she called out, words colored by a flow of giggles that slipped out quick and easy, the most genuine laugh she'd had in weeks (maybe even months). Any other time and the sound of Sawyer's voice would have had a different effect altogether, causing her heart to sink into her stomach and her breath to catch, thoughts fogged by an onslaught of conflicting emotions and memories better left buried, if only for the time being.

But this wasn't any other time, and upon setting eyes on Sawyer, Kate decided that the only thing wrong with this picture was how little snow there was decorating his person. Kneeling down slowly, she began constructing her second snowball, eyes still fixed on Sawyer as she worked.

[sallyslingshot]

"Yeah, we're having a snowball fight!" Alex was quick to call back, her tone bright, the concept still nothing short of novel. There had been times she'd wondered how other people could have stood to live in different places, having only her home to compare to and not ever having wanted anything else, but now, she was beginning to see some of the appeal. To have never seen snow before, freezing though it was, she was beginning to think that she had been missing out.

Leaning over, she formed a second snowball with the sleeves of her sweatshirt, glancing from Kate to Sawyer and back again. The only thing that could have made this better, really, was a third party; he just didn't seem dressed for it yet. "You might want to button that shirt, you know."

[cibosity]

There was only one frigging exit in the frigging hut. One that Sawyer was standing smack dab in the middle of, in that awkward place where all options were open to him. He could have easily slipped right on back into the hut and hid under the blankets, because he was pretty sure (well, no, but at least there was a chance of it) that the girls wouldn't be inconsiderate enough to drive his entire bed cold and slushy. But that was the easy way out, and they'd make fun, and if they didn't come into the hut then they would surely camp out right outside until he needed to leave in order to get any food at all. Dammit. Rock and a hard place. Or ice and cold place.

So he rolled his eyes and ducked back inside, giving Alex a look that told her to hold off until he at least got the damn shirt buttoned. What he did instead was, indeed, pull on a couple of shirts, before rushing on over to the back of the hut and considering the tiny window there, wondering if it would be worth to slip out. While the space looked rather small, if he could just hold his breath...

And rather unceremoniously, Sawyer leaned far enough through the window that he tumbled out and into the snow-covered dirt outside, all of which immediately seeped into his clothing rather unpleasantly. After a moment, still lying on his back, he swore.

"Sonuvabitch. Dammit." Scrambling up to his feet, Sawyer still had enough sense to quickly gather a tightly-packed snowball in his hands.

[hightail]

"Nice try," called Kate, words muffled by the spur of laughter his escape attempt had inspired, "but you're not getting away that easy!" It was such a Sawyer thing to do that she shouldn't have expected any less, but it amused her all the same. Some things were difficult to reflect on, while others were oddly comforting; this was certainly among the latter.

A snowball at the ready from the moment he'd disappeared behind the door, Kate rose to her feet immediately and launched it across what might be considered Sawyer and Alex's front lawn. Darting for cover behind the nearest tree before Sawyer had a chance to retaliate, Kate spared a quick glance back to see if Alex had tosses her own snowball yet.

[sallyslingshot]

Sawyer's exit from the window sent Alex into such a fit of what were unmistakably giggles that the snowball she'd formed fell from her hands, nose wrinkling as she leaned forward. The snow didn't entirely dull her instincts, though, and she recovered quickly; a replacement snowball was made in a matter of seconds, and she didn't need to look at him long to get her aim. This was easy, and fun though it was, she had no trouble thinking of it as something serious, too.

"You didn't really think that would work, did you?" she asked with a short, skeptical laugh, and without waiting for a response, hurled the snowball straight at Sawyer's chest, following Kate's lead and taking off afterward for another nearby tree.

[cibosity]

Sadly for Sawyer, who had not in fact managed to button up his shirt all the way to protect himself from launched snowballs, the cold hit him smack in the middle of his chest, causing a string of nearly unintelligible curses to slip from his lips as he similarly took off to hide behind a corner of the hut, head peeking out from behind the corner as he scraped some snow from the ground and began packing it to a small and highly compact ball.

(Of course, then he started wondering if chucking his usual style of snowballs would have been a little too harsh. The few snowball fights he'd experienced as he grew up were, after all, between 'tough' guys. Tough enough to bruise without flinching.)

"The hell's this?" he called out from behind his spot, knowing that the two of them were sharp enough to have kept track of his movement. "Two against one, now how's that fair? It's supposed to be a damn free-for-all." Once his first snowball was finished, he scooped yet another, and another, until he had four in his arms. Running out from behind the cover, he looped around to try and catch the girls from behind, chucking one snowball after the other, ready to stoop as soon as he ran out.

[hightail]

Too high on adrenaline to stay still, Kate didn't last long behind that tree. Almost as soon as Alex had launched her attack, she, too, was on the move, darting from tree trunk to tree trunk in an attempt to round the corner of the hut and assault Sawyer from behind. An ill-conceived plan, she would realize, when Sawyer appeared from around that same corner with a newly formed arsenal of snowballs at the ready.

She froze in place, a deer caught in headlights, and her eyes darted automatically to his face, his expression too disgruntled to be anything short of hilarious. Laughing even as he began to throw, Kate tried her best to pull the collar of her jacket of her head, but it hardly kept snow from seeping into her shirt and down her back.

[sallyslingshot]

If there was one thing she had learned as an Other, it was that loyalty could be used to one's advantage. How, in appearing trustworthy, it was easy to win someone over, then turn on them when it was most convenient. Alex hadn't always agreed with the ideals taught to her, especially when they involved her father and his manipulation, but there was no denying that they often worked to her advantage. With Kate frozen, focused on Sawyer, and his attention currently fixed on her, that made it her time to strike.

Quickly and not so carefully, she packed a few snowballs, and taking off at a sprint, doubled around to pelt both of them, biting back a laugh as she headed for another tree. This was outright warfare; it was every man for himself, and she still had a few tricks up her sleeve yet.

[cibosity]

If his eyes lingered a little longer than necessary on Kate's own, it was because it'd been a while since he'd seen them so up close and personal, and not weighed down by the nature of the city or by lives left behind. Just sparkling from the fun of it all, from the enjoyment she was clearly getting from the new fallen snow and the damn holiday cheer. And that, he couldn't help think, even as he tried valiantly to push the thought out of his mind right after, that was a pair of eyes he could fall in love with. Or maybe already had. Maybe still did.

Of course, a snowball fight was hardly the right time to dwell on such matters, and a heavy thud against the back of his neck sent him swearing up a storm as he bent down to scoop up more snow and packed it down as well as he could, better to launch a couple in Alex's direction, quickly running in the opposite direction as Kate (not because he couldn't face her, but because he couldn't face those damn snowballs). "Oh no you don't," he called out, barely suppressing a laugh. "Get the hell back here, you little twerp."

[hightail]

Evidently, Kate would need a plan, not intent on sticking around the sidelines while Alex and Sawyer battled it out to the snow-covered death. But if Alex's most recent attack had taught Kate anything, it was that she would need to borrow a page or two from the younger girl's book in order to come back strong. Fortunately for her, once decided on forming a plan, it came to her almost instantly. Conception wasn't the trouble here, but rather the execution of it, and she would have to be careful.

Slipping into the scenery slowly and (hopefully) unseen, Kate circled once more around Sawyer's hut, crouching as she came to a stop at the next corner. Aiming to attract as little attention as was possible, she traveled from tree trunk to tree trunk, sprinting across one to the other in moments when the other two seemed most occupied, until finally she came to her desired position. It was only a matter of listening, now, her back pressed against the bark. She did so as silently as possible, less than eager to make an easy target of herself.

[sallyslingshot]

If Alex took a couple of hits while running from Sawyer, she paid no mind to it, already formulating another plan. With bare hands, her fingers were starting to grow numb from the cold, but she'd dealt with more uncomfortable situations, and was in too good a mood to let it be a hindrance. Going from one tree to the next, she eyed it carefully as she moved, a means of saving time; one fairly low branch seemed to be just within her reach, and as soon as she was close enough, she jumped up and grabbed for it, the tree bark slipperier than usual, but not enough to dislodge her. She climbed up quickly, giving herself a perfect vantage point. Out of ammunition she might have been, but there was plenty of snow falling on the tree, too.

[cibosity]

"Aw hell, are you friggin' serious," Sawyer called out from the middle of a fairly large clearing, continuing to turn in circles so that he could keep a look out at all sides, occasionally glancing above as well at the branches that were no doubt within launching reach of him. He wasn't the type to ever really think about hiding, actively hiding rather than slipping by unnoticed. His act had always been one where he stayed right within sight of those he was targeting, where the trick was to be invited into a deeper fold and trusted implicitly. He'd never hidden from very much, aside from keeping some of his sentiment buried deep inside, but even that had ended up crashing and failing with the presence of Kate on either island. Sighing, he held his hands out, a snowball in either hand. "Well, I'm here! Lay it on me, ladies, 'cause I know I ain't gonna win by flippin' every rock and climbin' every tree."

Maybe if he was lucky, he'd see the snowballs coming and could fling snowballs right back with fast enough reflexes.

[hightail]

Only just over halfway up her tree before Alex began climbing one of her own, Kate quickly swung herself around the trunk until she was sufficiently obscured from the others, then resumed climbing. It was significantly harder to climb up while restricted to one side alone, and it took her longer than was usual, but Kate made it up to the second highest branch just in time to hear Sawyer shouting at them from below. One leg hanging over each side of the branch, she pressed her back once more to the bark and began to scoop up any excess fallen snow from the nearby branches and leaves. If not on her first attempt, her second was more successful, and soon she had an orb of snow that at least appeared cold and compacted enough to survive the long flight down.

Leaning over her shoulder to peek down at the ground, Kate waited until she was certain the figure she had singled in on was indeed Sawyer. As soon as he came into clear focus, she launched her snowball down in his direction.