Perfect School

"Um. Maybe get the coffee going? I've got a cobbler in the oven and am ready to cook some eggs and bacon as sides." I flashed her a smile. Food was something I loved, I had no qualms about admitting that. Grow up with food being scarce and almost inedible by the time you got it, you come to appreciate it more and focus on it. Already just the smells of cooking cobbler and greased pans on the stove was making my mouth water a bit.

Kyra:

I shuffled over to start the coffee brewing. I heard the front door open and glanced toward the doorway. Jonah came in with a bright smile and snowflakes in his hair. He was wearing a light long sleeve shirt and sweatpants. The bastard. Here I was dying with a mound of blankets.

"Good morning," He said cheerfully. His mood was far more chipper than it had been the past several days.

"Morning, breakfast should be ready in a few minutes." I called to Jonah. It had been interesting to watch all the changes my best friend had gone through. Once I had viewed him as a rival, but now? Now I couldn't hope to compete and didn't mind in the least.

Kyra:

I put a hand on my hip, though it was concealed by the blankets. "Do we get a snow day from training?" I asked with arched eyebrows. Jonah Laughed.

"There's nothing wrong with the snow, it's only a foot deep. If there was a storm then maybe. We can still train today," he answered as he flopped into a chair at the kitchen.

A groan came from the doorway as my brother entered upon hearing this. It affected him more, he had to do sniper training outside.

Shaking my head I focused on finishing the meal. I doubted we would have had a break from training, even if a storm had been going on. Environmental training and all that. But still, for such a chilly morning it would have been nice to get a day off for once. Piling the eggs into a bowl, and the bacon onto a plate I pushed them onto the bar and went to grab the cobbler.

Kyra:

I got everyone coffee and sat down next Paublo. It was an enjoyable breakfast, both in food and in company, despite the loom of going out in the snow. We thanked Paublo for breakfast like usual and went to prepare for training. The trek though the snow was miserable but short.

We did our group training then afterward two of us waited while the other did their individual training. Usually, we would go back to the house and wait but it was too cold to make a second trip back. I went first, then Paublo, then Andrew. As andrew was getting up to go I nodded to Paublo for the two of us to head back since we were done.

Paublo:

My arms ached after my training session with Jonah. It didn't help that watching Kyra was such a joy and made things...awkward to say the least when it came to my turn and being watched. But I made the best of it and Jonah helped me work through some Judo. But sweat covered, and tired as I was I was on my feet the second Kyra motioned for the two of us to go back to the house. "Well today wasn't so bad." I attempted to make conversation while briskly rubbing my arms from the cold.

Kyra:

I had bundled up in my coat and gloves before going back into the cold. "Not so bad. It would be better if Kira was here though. Jonah would have to focus on us so much." I said while hugging myself. As we trudged up to the house I tripped over a hidden rock and fell face first into the snow.

Paublo:

"I miss her too...maybe we could ask Zero to help us send a letter or something." I mused after she spoke. I kept walking for a few steps before I even realized she wasn't walking beside me. Turning to stare at her in the snow I couldn't help but laugh as I moved over. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked between chuckles.

Kyra:

I grumbled and picked myself up from the ground. When he laughed at me I scooped up a wad of snow and tossed it at him. My aim was better that I thought and it smacked him right in the chin.

My laughter continued until it was cut short with a mouthful of snow. Choking and sputtering for a moment I wiped the snow from my face as I gazed at her in shock. Slowly though I grinned, "Oh it's on." Bending over I grabbed my own ball of snow, packed it up and threw it at her. I kept myself from throwing too hard, not wanting to hurt her but enough that I hoped I could surprise her as my ball exploded off her shoulder.

Kyra:

I turned to run just as the ball hit my shoulder. I laughed and knelt down for a second to scoop up a larger mass than my first. dashing behind a tree I quickly rounded my clump then hurled it in his direction. without checking to see if I had made contact, I dropped down to make more ammunition.

With her fleeing I too took a chance at finding cover, especially when another snowball wizzed by my leg. Diving behind a tree I took stock around me, groaning inwardly at my choice. The pine tree still had all of it's needles, and snow had sparingly made it's way through the maze to land below the tree. I struggled to make three snowballs and with my meager armament I peeked out from behind the trunk to try and locate Kyra.

Kyra:

It wasn't hard to spot Paublo from behind the trees, nor was it difficult to land hits on him. He was a much larger target that I was, and because of that, I got him twice as often as he got me. I almost forgot the cold from the fun I was having.

I hadn't brought gloves with me and before long my fingers were numb. Still I didn't let that stop me, if anything I tried redoubling my efforts just to keep up. I got her good with a few balls, but my last act was my favorite. We ended up using the same tree for cover, hiding on either side of it and using it as a shield as best we could. With the branches overhead laden with snow I had managed to grab one and shake it's entire contents onto her head.

Kyra:

I let out a squeal when the snow fell from above. My jacket hood had fallen down in the course of running around. Now I felt ice seeping into my clothes underneath. "Okay, okay, you win," I said as I shook the snow off. "Let's get warmed up."

Shoving my hands into my armpits I nodded with a grin. I didn't often get to win. Jonah and Kyra were competitive and Kira sometimes got caught up along with the others. I was just as eager to win as they were but it was hard to match their skill in anything even games of chance. Inwardly I was gloating, but I was a gracious victor. "That was a lot of fun. If we just count hits you would have won hands down."

Kyra:

"Well, Jonah is always saying be creative, so I think you won fair and square," I said. "Besides, I had the bigger target." I looked up at him and grinned we moved toward the house. When we got inside I took of my jacket and wet gloves and moved over to the fireplace to warm up.

Once inside I mimicked her in shedding my thick jacket, leaving it on top of hers to join her by the fire. I shivered slightly, though I did what I could to hide it as I held my fingers close to the gas flames. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to the cold."

Kyra:

"No, I don't think I will either. Andrew and I mostly grew up in Texas. This much snow is new to me too," I said shifting to warm my back. Since the fireplace was on the smaller side, we had to sit rather close to both enjoy the warmth.

"We almost never got snow. At least not where I was in the city. Too much energy I guess for snow to really fall and gather together." I kept my self facing the fire, flexing and stretching my fingers into the warmth.

Kyra:

"It's not so bad when you're not thinking about the cold," I smiled up at him. "I had fun." I twisted my hands together to help keep them warm.

I turned to look at her andd slowly I smiled back. "I had a lot of fun too." I glanced at her hands and how she rubbed them together. I wanted to take her hands in mine, help her warm them up, but instead I brushed my palms over my legs. "I wonder if a hot shower would warm us up faster. N-not together but.....not that I......ah Porra....." I focused on the fire, struggling in my own awkwardness.

Kyra:

I laughed and grinned at him. "Yeah, I think that would probably be best. Not together of course," My eyes were bright with amusement. "My clothes are damp anyways." I stood up and for one moment I stretched as high as I could then sighed. "I'll make hot chocolate when I get out," I said before running up to take a shower.

I could only grin back at her, a faint blush spreading over my cheeks at her words and the amused sparkle she had about her eyes. I started to look her over when she stretched but quickly focused on the fire. After she had run up stairs I sighed to myself. My shower was likely to be extra long now...