Submission (#5811) Approved

[RQ-B-1] Snowball Fight

Quest: Resonance - Act 3
Act Type: Bravery
Regional Affinity: N/A [ takes place in Strynhalde ]
Claiming Regional Affinity for: N/A [ not claiming AP ]
Word count: 1114

Resonance Requirements:
- Adventuring Outfit [ jacket, backpack, goods in backpack ]
- 2 or more Adults
- Act of Bravery

Elnin in prompt:
https://worldofeyre.com/character/MYO-ELN496
https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN2640
https://worldofeyre.com/character/MYO-ELN601
https://worldofeyre.com/character/MYO-ELN581
https://worldofeyre.com/character/MYO-ELN546

Traveling to somewhere new was always a little nerve-racking. It took a lot to ruffle Aster’s fur, as he was generally a mellow and down to earth sort of kittom. However, it was a little tricky to be down to earth when soaring through the sky on an airship to somewhere that seemed the complete opposite of where he lived. Strynhalde seemed like a completely new world compared to Ealei. 

With the spare spending money he had left after buying the airship ticket in advance, Aster purchased an assortment of goods to bring with him to Strynhalde. He had bought himself a large backpack with several zippers and buckles to keep everything inside it. Inside the backpack he filled it up with everything he could think of needing in Strynhalde- provisions neatly wrapped up in paper and baggies, a small lantern, matches for his lantern, some rope, a change of warm clothes, a notebook, and a few pencils to write in the notebook with. Aster had also purchased a nice warm poofy jacket, which couldn’t fit into his bag, so he was wearing it on the airship. It was a bit uncomfortable for him to wear when the ship first left Ealei, but the closer they got to Strynhalde the cozier Aster got in his new warm jacket.

Even though being stuck in an airship wasn’t the best experience, Aster managed to make a few acquaintances during the trip. There weren’t any other kittoms on the trip with him, but there were several adults who didn't mind chatting with a kittom. Sitting near Aster was a young adult named Nina, who had also decided to bundle up for the trip with a jacket and scarf wrapped around her neck. The other adult that was nearby was an elnin named Arlo who decided that all he needed was a scarf, which was only loosely tied around his neck. As Aster quickly learned, Nina was quite a chatty elnin and told Aster all the things she had planned to do once she was in Strynhalde. Meanwhile, Arlo had nothing specific in mind for his trip, as he was just going because he had some time off work and wanted to go somewhere fun ‘to stretch his legs’. Aster was impressed by how different their three journeys were going to be, despite starting at the same place.

The airship eventually landed in Strynhalde. When the door opened cold air quickly filled the ship. Aster watched as Nina immediately shivered and withdrew into her jacket while Arlo wasn’t phased at all. The kittom felt a little bit cold but fought the urge to zip his puffy coat up, wanting to be hardy like Arlo was. Aster did his ebay to ignore the cold and was the first one to step out of the airship and down the ramp. He blinked and looked around at the thick blanket of snow that covered everything in sight. Rooftops, trees, and the ground that wasn’t used as a walkway was layered with bright white snow. Not wanting to stand in the way of Arlo and Nina, Aster decided to take in the sights of the area as he continued to walk off the ramp and onto the path.

His attention was pulled away from the scenery when he heard commotion off in the distance. Nina and Arlo heard the commotion as well. The three of them looked at each other for a moment before Nina announced that she was going to check it out. Arlo rubbed the back of his neck but silently decided to follow Nina. Letting curiosity get the best of him and having nowhere else to go at the moment, Aster followed the two of them towards the noise.

They quickly learned that the noise wasn’t anyone in trouble or danger. Near the town were two kittoms hurling snowballs at each other and having a fun time. As Aster, Nina, and Arlo approached the other two kittoms the brown kittom looked over and smiled at them, only to have a snowball pelt them in the face by the black, gray, and white kittom they were playing with. That didn’t stop the brown kittom from laughing and inviting the three newcomers to join in on their snowball fight. Aster and Nina were happy to accept the invite, while Arlo suggested that he sit on the sidelines and be a referee. He could watch over their things from the sidelines as well. Aster carefully took off his adventuring backpack and took out the lantern and matches. He lit the lantern and set it next to where Arlo was sitting, hoping the lantern could provide a little warmth to the elnin while the others were playing.

They were split into two teams - Aster and Nina versus the other two kittoms, who they learned were named Bear and Li. With the teams established, snowballs quickly took flight across the field. While Nina was bigger and stronger than the kittoms, she and Aster lacked experience with making snowballs. As they tried to scoop up snow to pack into snowballs, they had to do their best to dodge the snowballs that were already in the air coming from Li and Bear’s side. Aster eventually figured out the best way to pack snow together and joined in on the snow throwing.

The battle raged on for at least an hour, or so Aster thought. His sense of time was a little off by the flight into the region. Everyone decided to call it a draw when they saw the sun beginning to set in the sky. By the time the snowball fight had concluded Aster was cold, covered in snow, but feeling pretty good. Bear stepped over to Aster and invited him over to his place to stay the night, if Aster didn’t have anywhere to go. Li was staying at Bear’s place already, and the more the merrier! Bear had also invited Arlo and Nina, but they declined, as Nina and Arlo already had a place to stay. Aster smiled softly and accepted Bear’s invitation before turning to big Arlo and Nina farewell. Nina picked Aster up and pulled him into a hug before Arlo handed him back his adventuring backpack.

Saying goodbye to new friends was challenging, but there was always a chance they’d meet again down the road. He said his goodbyes to Arlo and Nina before following Bear and Li. Bear was leading the way while Li was talking about what sort of snowball fight they could have tomorrow. Aster was ready to curl up in bed and fall asleep for now. Tomorrow, though? He could be up for another snowball battle!