Let it Snow

“No way,” said Shuken, “we’re going to get crushed. There are way too many apprentices in the Hall of Lights for it to be any fun. And if any of the masters start to join… Which they are much likely to do.” 

Shuken was, generally speak, the leader of the apprentice in the workshop that took care of noctural frog croaks, and also the eldest of the apprentices in the Gallery of Sounds. That meant that a lot of apprentices looked up to him at some sort of leader, save for Sina who had trouble picking up on more subtle instructions and suggestions that weren’t stated in plain terms. That meant that they would sometimes butt head, especially when Sina brought up a suggestion he didn’t agree with (like at present). 

“We know that none of our masters would join in…” he added, muttered really. “Not even if we asked them for help.” 

“But wouldn’t it be fun?” said Sina. “Even if we don’t win in the end, the important thing is that we tried and we had fun, right?” 

“Fun is not the most important thing to think of when you literally get pelleted with snowballs. In fact, the only thing you think about is running away!” 

“What’s the point of having a snowball fight we know we are going to lose?” chimed in another apprentice from the same workshop called Ellis. “Not that we should be winning for sure, but at least we should be able to put up a fair fight, right?” 

“Exactly.”

Sina had no good argument for that. So remained quiet, and didn’t say a thing. It seemed that she was going to have to find a group of Faelidh that was exactly the same size as the apprentices of the Gallery of Sounds. But where to look for such a group…?

“It’s a good idea in theory,” said Shuken to Sina when he saw her grow quiet. “But it’s not… feasible. Or fair to ask this of people. You know?” 

“I know…” she sighed. 

That was why Shuken had no trouble being the leader of the apprentices: even when he contradicted someone firmly, deep down, he cared about their feelings. Skulking felt almost like an insult to his underlying kindness. 

She pondered as she kept eating her lunch, but Sina wasn’t very good with coming up with ideas while just sitting and thinking. She had almost given up when she raised her eyes to gaze around the room. 

Her eyes landed on a certain table. And suddenly, she found herself hoping for a very convenient and very joyful solution.