thirteen

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

"Look at all this snow!" The words came out in an awed hush, and her breath clouded in the air. Next to her was a tall and skinny man, peculiar in the fact he let out no air while he spoke.

"It's cold, and it's white, and it is frozen water. I don't see how it's any less irritating from any-"

"Sssh." His partner dismissed him, as she stomped around in her onyx boots. Valkyrie considered falling to the ground and making a snow angel, but Skulduggery would probably give her one of his looks. (His skull angled down to gaze at her, the brim of his hat obscuring his eye sockets, the set of his jaw telling her he was not pleased.)

So instead, she kneeled on the ground, still bewildered by the fact she couldn't feel any chill, a feat that normally demanded four layers of clothing. It was late December, and the magical world had been alarming quiet as of late. Valkyrie even had enough free time to pick up Christmas presents. (Skulduggery was getting a mug. He could keep pencils in it, right? … She hadn't been able to think of anything else.)

She dug into the snow, gloves saving her from the horrible feeling of snow under her nails. (They were regular ones, due to Ghastly still being an oversized rock.) She grouped together a misshapen ball of snow, and held it in her hand. She turned to Skulduggery.

"Don't you dare."

She grinned widely, cheeks red and eyes shining, "Why not?"

"Because you will lose this battle, Valkyrie Cain," said Skulduggery solemnly.

"Do you think I could get this snowball into your eye socket?" She teased gently. He said nothing, just glowered at her.

"Kidding, kidding." She dropped the snowball back on the ground, and started rolling it forward, pushing her hair behind her pink ears. (She hated earmuffs.) The thirteen year old felt Skulduggery's gaze on her as she slowly worked on the snowman, getting it to a reasonable size in a few minutes.

"There!" She said, brushing away a few escaping strands of her hair from her forehead. "See? Harmless."

"Impressive."

"Uh huh."

"But…"

"But?"

"I can do better." He raised both of his hands, and a long sheet of snow rose from the ground. He shaped it, hands moving like a conductors', forming a huge snowball in seconds. It floated off the ground, just above Valkyrie's head as she kneeled. He followed it up with a second, and lifted it onto the first without touching it.

"There. Can I use the one you made for its head?" She nodded, in quiet awe. As it moved, he reshaped it to a perfect sphere.

She looked up at the snow creation, hand on her jaw in thought. "Needs a face."

"I don't have a face. I don't see why it needs one."

"Yes, but not many snow people can pull that off. It needs a hat, too." She glanced at him.

"No."

"Oh, c'mon. For five minutes."

"It is my snowman, Valkyrie."

"Well, I made the head. And I think it needs a hat." She stomped towards him, arms out. "Give it here." She kept her hands out in front of her, and tried to imitate Skulduggery. Hands out, finger splayed, lifting slowly, urging the ice to pack together as neatly as it did for him.

Instead of snow, regular water rose instead. She scowled at it. "Why didn't it work?"

"Maybe if you worked on your water magic more…"

In response, she flung the entirety of the risen water at him, and it hit his bones with a loud splash. He stood there, arms at his sides, soaked from skull to toe bones.

He was still and silent for a long moment. Valkyrie managed a serious face for about a minute before bursting out into a giggle fit. "You should have just given me your hat."

In response, he hit her with a horrendously cold wave of water, hitting her face and finding every uncovered spot on her body. She screeched, shaking herself off like a dog, and then laughing again.

"It is on, Skulduggery!"