<HTML> Here is part 9a. :) ********** 7:30pm. Jeremy and Samuel and Derek have always been the undisputed Champions of the Snowball Fight. The three of them always manage the proper style; Samuel manages to make many, many snowballs very, very fast to keep people on their toes, and Derek and Jeremy are uncannily good at accuracy. Jeremy will sometimes get hit back in the inevitable return fire, he's not all that fast but Derek is completely invincible when it comes to flying projectiles of water crystals. To be the One To Hit Derek would be to be the Ultimate, the Greatest, the Snowball Champion Of The World. Unfortunately for any would-be champions, Derek is dodging snowballs very effectively still, even with the blizzard affecting visibility so seriously that many doubted even powerful Randolph could make his way through. Still, Jeremy's dad, being a Fire mage, manages to keep them all warm in addition to their big warm clothes, so nobody is uncomfortable at the weather, just the defeat. "Got you again!" Jeremy yells at Josh as a snowball plasters across the back of the young previously-actor's jacket. Josh's response is to start trying to look around, attempting to spot the splotch on his back. Jeremy goes to focus on other attackers, and in so doing keeps himself occupied while Daemion rushes up to Josh and quickly brushes the blotch of snow off his back. "There, you're healed," he whispers conspiratorially to the would-be defeated soldier. Josh grins, scoops up a snowball and hurls it at Jeremy, getting a direct hit right on the top of his "murderer's head, whereupon Daemion quickly yells out a "Got you!" so as to keep the deception going. Jeremy jaw drops in surprise, and turns to see Daemion grinning, while Josh is headed to the side of the battlefield towards the designated 'morgue.' Jeremy grumbles and heads after Josh, who is sitting down along with his snow-slain fellows near the grown-ups. "That's a pretty clever trick he's going, going, eh?" Perry asks Jono. Perry is a hedgehog morph; a swift and capable soldier who is out here mostly to look after his son. "Who?" Jono asks. "My boy over there, Daemion," Perry says, pointing. "He knows his limitations. He can't throw a snowball very well, but he still wants to play and keep things going. So he goes out and 'heals' fallen kids by brushing the snow off, then has them throw snowballs for him. The 'healed' kid usually gets to get his revenge against whoever hit him with the snowball, and Daemion gets to join in," he observes with a chuckle. "He's saying he wants to be a real healer when he grows up too," Perry continues, obviously very proud of his child. "Oh?" "Yep!" Perry says, beaming. "He's already going over to see Merai at the Lightbringer temple occasionally just to look at some basics, and he was thinking about finding some way to talk to your friend Joanne while she was here." He grins widely. "Be nice to see my boy getting himself educated, for damn sure." Jo speaks up then, having been silent until now. "I'm sure it would be. Wonderful to see them grow up and go see the rest of the world." Perry then turns to the pair. "Why haven't you two, like, ever seriously gotten together?" he asks. "Like, stopped and raised a family, or something?" Jo raises an eyebrow; Jono laughs. "There's no way we'd be able to have kids between the two of us; our friendship has boundaries, and that's past them. Besides, we never wanted to settle down, really; if not for the Curse we'd not be here still." Jo then acquires a small smile. "That and I've already got myself a child," she indicates Jono with a cock of the head. "Oh, pah! Only part-time at best!" Jono protests. "Besides, I could never do better as a little kid than you," he continues, grinning in a mock evil manner. Joanne responds by leaning down, scooping up a pawful of snow, balling it up and hurling it at the panther, grinning as she does so. "Ha!" cries Jono as he ducks down to dodge, and the duel is on. Jono, while ducking, scoops up two pawfuls of snow, balling them up into one as best he can and leaps to the side, hurling the snowball towards Jo in mid-flight. The vixen drops herself, bringing her paw down and up in a wide arc to try and fling a giant scoop of snow towards the cat as he lands, but he quickly turns his landing into a roll out of the way, at the termination of which he grabs up another scoop of snow and sends it in the vixen's direction. She blocks it easily with her forearm and then flings the ball she prepared in her paw earlier while Jono was doing his acrobatics, but he manages to dodge this as well, leaping forward to get closer to the vixen and get an easier shot. And then POW! and Jono YOWLS in surprise as a snowball slaps him in the side of the face. He turns to see... young Derek, grinning, another snowball in his hand being tossed up and down. "Gotcha, Uncle Jono." Perry and Jo, of course, cannot get up from the ground because of how hard they're laughing. "Yes, yes, you got me," Jono says, suppressing a chuckle. Then he reaches down, scoops up another ball and attempts to hit the laughing vixen in the mouth. She rolls to the side easily, still laughing. The cat grumbles briefly, then mock sighs and throws his hands up, looking to the sky. "I just can't win, can I?" he asks of the heavens while the children in the 'morgue' snicker. "Nope." the vixen says, still snickering. Derek takes the opportunity and hurls his other snowball, catching Joanne right on the nose and soliciting a loud yip from the suddenly stricken vixen. Perry is now pinned to the ground, laughing uncontrollably. Jono looks like he's about ready to join the hedgehog. And Derek just sits there, grinning ear to ear, having solidified his position as Unsurpassed King Of The Snowfields at Metamor. *** Scene III - 7:50pm. "Jono!" The black cat turns around to see a large bull morph headed his way. "It's almost 8:00! The kids need to get inside!" Jono blinks, then quickly turns towards the snowed battlefield. "Okay, everyone, it's getting close to time for the ceremonies; let's all get inside now!" There is, of course, a chorus of "awwww"s and similar signs of depression, but the children comply quickly. Most of the Mommies and Daddies among them wouldn't even have agreed to this if Jono hadn't promised they'd all be at the ceremonies; they might not get to see him again if they miss it. And none of them would ever want to pass up the chance to see Uncle Jono again. "Everybody!" calls out Jono, heading up towards the battlefield, silently counting each child. One of thirty-eight. Two. Three. Four... We need to get moving! We're already late, and the Mommies and Daddies don't like that! Eleven. Twelve. that group brings it up to twenty." Jeremy runs past followed closely on his heels by Josh and Andrea, both still hurling snowballs at him. Twenty-three. "Jo, what's the count for you?" "Fourteen. Have you seen Derek?" the vixen cries back. Jono curses under his breath. Derek's always been the troublesome one; usually hiding in a snowdrift or behind a barrel so he can stay out longer. "Derek! Derek, get over here!" Then to Jo, "Get all the rest inside and over to my rooms; they need to get started getting changed. I'll get Derek." ****** 7:55pm. "DEREK!" Jono yells, now searching around the barrels buried beneath snowdrifts, mentally forgetting that he used to pull this very trick with his own parents. Kevin's spell is going to wear off pretty shortly, and he has no illusions about what would happen to Derek if he gets caught out here too long. "Where are you? Games are done, we need to go if we want to play again!" No response. Jono starts peeking in barrels with disturbed snow about them. No Derek. But his nose just barely catches a scent... he Was here. "Derek! Get Over Here Now!" he yells, starting to track down the scent as best he can in the billowing snow. * * * Jo is at this time meeting back up with the bull morph guard and another, apparently a transgendered soldier, a sea of kids behind her. Dana, the woman, is currently bringing up the rear to make sure none of the kids sneak away while Kirk stays at the door, waiting for Jono and Derek. Metamor Keep's variable geometry always dictates that the length of time needed to pass down a corridor to get to your destination is always going to be different, so Jo doesn't have any way of telling when they're going to get there. So she keeps her eyes on the walls, looking for the Seal Of Bardic Immunity duplication Jono carved on his door. "C'mon, everyone, we have to hurry," she urges the kids. She knows they're going to be late regardless; the kids still have to change out of their winter clothes and into their good clothes for the Ceremonies. Father Hough might shake his head and chuckle at seeing drenched kids in the halls, but she doesn't know about the current Lightbringer, and so it's best to play it safe for everyone. Then, "That's the door," she thinks to herself, spotting the Seal a bit further down the hall. There's a few Keepers moving pretty frantically down at the other end of the hall; apparently her party isn't going to be the only late one. *** </XMP>end part 9a</HTML>