Snow Place Like Home [Vaera, IO]

There is a lot of strange in the world. Much of it can be explained quite easily. Some of it cannot. However, when one finds themselves cozy in bed one minute and tossed into the shivering embrace of winter the next with nary an idea to how they'd gotten there in mind, that was one of those times when they should question their surroundings and find a source of safety and warmth.

Vaera had yet to come to that natural conclusion herself.

What had started as a typically lazy morning had taken a quick turn for the bizarre. A groan had escaped the bundle of blankets and pillows on the young woman's bed shortly after she'd noticed she had overslept her alarm -again. The chill in the morning air had chased her back under the covers several times before the call of nature forced her awake. Then, on her way to her closet, the sight of a mysterious scroll resting atop her dresser had caught her eye. She hadn't remembered putting it there, though she sometimes slept heavily enough that someone sneaking it in without waking her wasn't out of the question.

It had been unnaturally cold, but curiosity won out over caution as she opened the note to read its contents. Just as the last few flakes of snow fell from its unraveling page, the room around her vanished in an instant, and the cold of winter bit at her bare feet. Her pajamas and thin robe did nothing to stave off the elements; nevermind the small shriek that failed to do much at all to prevent the rush of chilling air into her face.

That had been several minutes ago already. In that time, the usual questions had run through the teenager's mind. Where was she? How did she get here? Why was she here? Those sorts of thoughts were inevitable, as was the realization that the scroll had something to do with each of them. However, what little survivalist training she'd received did kick into gear, and in a puff of smoke as white as the snow that surrounded her, Vaera had transformed her nightly outfit into something far more fitting of the situation.

So, it was when another individual had appeared relatively close by, she emerged from behind a tree dressed in a thick pink, ankle-length coat lined with fur, complete with boots and gloves that were insulated well enough.

"That's a good question." She called out in almost mock answer to the stranger, an odd way to introduce herself. The snow crunched loudly underneath her feet as she trudged closer. However, rather than suspicion of the boy who was clearly just as confused as she had been, she smiled warmly and offered her name, "I'm Vaera. Let me guess: magic scroll?"

WC: 466

Vaera's Stats:

A quiet giggle escaped the kunoichi, who was not hiding her amusement at the stranger's reaction. Why wasn't she just as on guard as him? That might've been for the best, but something about the serene tranquility of the peaceful, snowy landscape just made everything feel so comforting. In fact, she was just about to plop down on her back in a magnificent snow drift and make a snow angel when the warm scent of freshly baked cinnamon and spice wafted towards her on the air.

It didn't take any convincing at all for her to begin following after the boy, though they were more going in the same direction than anything at this point. Only a few steps into the magnificent and magical village, her eyes sparkled in wonder at the sights before her. Vaera smiled warmly enough to stave off the cold at the many -if rather short- people walking to and fro with massive bags of toys and goodies slung over their backs. It didn't take much to think of the obvious of what this could be, nor did it take long for her childish wonder to win out over cold logic.

"May I?" While Ryo was busy trying unsuccessfully to get information out of one of the diminutive residents of the snowy village, Vaera had stooped down to address another directly as he carried a tray of steaming mugs quickly past. Whether it was out of sheer kindness or the inability to resist a pretty face, she was positively ecstatic as she stood straight again with one of the mugs cradled carefully in both hands. The smell of chocolate was nearly impossible to miss in the steam, and she was delighted to spy several tiny marshmallows floating in the beverage.

While Ryo's stomach growled in aggravation, the fair-haired kunoichi giggled again in glee at the first taste of her little treat while she hurried to catch up before she could be left behind.

"I think they're sweet." Her voice twirled off her tongue, before that very same muscle licked the small bit of hot cocoa from her upper lip. A particularly loud slurp followed as she took another drink of the agonizingly sweet chocolate. "What do you think he meant by "guard the shop," though?" Another loud slurp followed, tailed again by the sight of Vaera licking chocolate from her upper lip.

WC: 396
TWC: 862

Before the two could figure out between themselves just what they were supposed to be doing, the gruff and bearded elf had reappeared again. A brief squeak of surprise escaped the kunoichi as she jumped in place, and she quickly settled into the background to nurse her embarrassed ego with more of her chocolate treat. Fortunately for her, the conversation moved just as quickly as before, and before she knew what was going on again, another elf had offered her a whole plate of cookies!

She was really starting to like this place.

While the bearded elf explained -rather briefly- their next task to the pair, Vaera took a bite of a cookie from her plate. A delighted hum fought past her smile before she washed the crumbs down with more chocolate. Quite unprofessionally, her eyes and attention began to wander around the village while she munched and drank. Their surroundings were so breathtakingly beautiful that it was hard not to want to look! However, something in particular had caught her eye...

It was only from the corner of her eye that she saw Ryo looking at her expectantly, or perhaps quizzically. His back was turned to the strange figures moving across the rooftops, and the kunoichi was just about to tell him to turn around and look when something came flying directly at them! With another squeak escaping her, she hopped and ducked an almost exaggerated distance to avoid the ball of snow that plopped harmlessly against the wall behind them.

"Trolls!" She exclaimed just loud enough for Ryo to hear and understand her urgency, before she ducked down again to avoid another snowball. However, this time, the ball didn't simply turn to mush as it hit the wall, but banged off the wooden side and exploded into shards of ice. The shards were ultimately harmless, but the message was clear: don't get hit by the ice.

Despite the ridiculousness of what was quickly becoming a snowball fight with trolls to defend Santa's workshop, Vaera moved quickly to set aside her tray and mug and scoop up a handful of snow for herself. With a good deal of accuracy, she lobbed the packed -yet soft- projectile at the figures attacking them from the opposite rooftop. The snowy orb splashed harmlessly against the shoulder of the troll who had been about to throw another ball of ice at them, though it did succeed in making him drop his improvised weapon. Meanwhile, Vaera's grin had only grown wider, and she giggled like a child let out to play on the first snow day of the year.

Who could possibly take this situation seriously?

"C'mon, Ryo! Grab some snow and help!" Her laughing tone of voice hardly suggested a tense battle with the trolls, though Vaera wasted little time in scooping up another handful and throwing it faster than the trolls could attack them -individually, at least. They remained outnumbered, but perhaps their training would guarantee their victory. Her second throw struck another troll in the unprotected stomach, earning a soft grunt of discomfort that caused it to step back and let another take its place.

Then, Vaera was beamed in the face with a retaliatory snowball, and flopped back into the snow with a brief, shrill cry of shock -mostly for how cold her face was now. However, rather than be injured, she was immediately lost to a giggling fit, and was right back up again and throwing more haphazard projectiles at the roof bound trolls.

WC: 585
TWC: 1,447

How could she not have fun right now? Even her impromptu companion, Ryo, was getting into the spirit along with her. Though they showed their glee in wildly different ways, and he was certainly much more animated, the pair continued to pelt their mythical foes with snowball after snowball for many minutes to come. If she hadn't known any better, the girl might've thought it was all a dream after all.

The trolls' superior numbers continued to dwindle as the snow drift assault carried on in vain. Vaera's shrill shrieks and fits of giggling were nearly drowned out by Ryo's whooping and hollering as he jumped around the road in the process of fighting back. She remained more or less in place, though not for the sake of being unwilling to move about. No, she had to defend the plate of cookies lying on the snow behind her, after all. They were much too delicious to allow them to be lost to the chaos of such an epic battle.

Finally, the trolls had all but been chased off by the almost coordinated, twin attacks by the young shinobi. Only three or so remained in the shadows of the rooftop, as poorly illuminated as they were. Vaera ducked underneath another ball of ice, throwing a ball of her own snow in retaliation that struck the aggressor in the face just as she had been made to suffer before. However, when it lost its footing and tumbled over, a wave of regret and fear washed over the kunoichi. She froze, and had to stop herself from running to check that the troll was okay as it landed with a muted thud in the snow beside the warehouse. She breathed a soft sigh of relief when it moved, then the mission at hand came back to mind as it stood and charged straight for them.

Bereft of the time to make another snowball, she reacted on reflex alone and grabbed a warm cookie from the plate. Like a disk, she hurled the crumbly confection of molten chocolate at the troll, where it flew between the stretched sides of its wide mouth and interrupted a most terrible battle cry. Then... It just stopped. It came to a slow saunter, and could be seen chewing on this latest weapon to be used against it. Its lips trembled and twisted, and with a satisfied grin, the troll simply walked off to rejoin its friends.

Vaera wasn't sure if she believed what had just happened before her eyes, but she laughed all the same. As the last of the trolls retreated from Ryo's continued battering, she casually got back to her feet and brushed the snow from her coat and her hair. With her light hair glistening from the snow still caught in its curls, she smiled at her companion and raised her hand in joyous triumph to return the high-five.

"Is that all of them?" She asked as she stooped to pick up the tray of cookies again, her nearly-empty mug balanced on the side of the plate. Adrenaline wavered in her voice, though the faintest hint of disappointment that the fun was over lingered in its tone. She didn't wait long after to begin snacking again, and was utterly delighted to discover that the cookies were -somehow, in fact- still warm.

WC: 556
TWC: 2,003

That had, indeed, been all of the trolls, it seemed. With the reappearance of the bearded elf and his sarcastic quipping, Vaera slowly felt the adrenaline leaving her veins as she munched on another cookie. While Ryo again handled all the talking with the supposed boss elf, she was happy to shake the hands and accept the thanks of several other elves as they passed by on their way to whatever their next destination might be. One of the elves even replaced her mug of hot chocolate. How sweet!

[#b200b2]"The tree?"[/color] Finally, Vaera piped up as though she hadn't heard the bearded elf correctly. Without much more prompting, she hurried after the pair, practically bouncing and hopping along in her excitement to see just how wonderful this village's tree would ultimately be. After all, they hadn't done anything small so far; no pun intended. She was sure the tree would be truly magnificent and grand.

Along the way, the kunoichi shared her tray of cookies and greetings with the numerous elves hustling to and fro. She eyed in wide wonder at the decorations as they walked deeper into the village, and laughed openly at the sight of a small group of trolls having another snowball fight with some elves. At least, it looked like they were merely playing to her... On second thought, maybe she'd been mistaken...

By the time they reached the village center, she only had her steaming mug of cocoa left in hand. Her eyes lit up with the many ornaments, trinkets, and baubles that hung from anything and everything in conceivable view. If the smells from the edge of the village were so sickly sweet, then here in the center, they were nearly overpowering. The many lights and their reflections in everything surrounding threatened sensory overload in just moments.

Then, at the center of it all, was the largest tree Vaera had ever seen; decorated, at least. She gazed in wonder, her mouth slightly agape, up at the marvelous beacon of holiday cheer. A brief giggle escaped her without her consent, and then her eyes found the gemstone the other two were discussing.

"Oh my god!" She gasped aloud. "How do you think they get it up there?" It was quite obvious from the way her head shook up and down that she was picturing just how the elves were going to get the gem to the top of the tree. She couldn't wait to see the answer!

WC: 412
TWC: 2,415