The colorful display of lights from within the Mercier home bleed through the curtains over the windows, juxtaposed against the gruesome war that has erupted outside. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the battle raged on. Laughter and barking orders were carried across the snowy hillside until extremities were too cold to continue and the group was forced to retreat back into the warm embrace of the living room. Thankfully, the
#Leah'sHouse – November 8, 2020
Leah jogs in place just outside of the open front door in a feverish attempt at shaking out all of the loose snow. Cheeks and nose pink from the cold, she snickers loudly. "I'm preeeetty sure we just kicked your asses." she claims confidently as she looks across the procession behind her. Zoe-duty has been returned to Tara.
Tara has picked the still-tired Zoe up in preparation of their return to indoors. She might not be much of a shot, but she fought hard - and laughed more than she has in... well, since Leah met her, actually. It's not easy for her to relax - and who can blame her, after the life she's had? But in a testament to her growing comfort with her new home - and Leah in particular - today might be the closest she's ever gotten. Her good mood and
unusually unreserved expression is helped along by the holiday atmosphere (and probably also by the glass of wine she had with dinner). With pants stained from molten snow and her cheeks rosy from the cold she follows the others onto the porch, the mitten-clad hand not holding onto Zoe trailing along the railing as she walks up the steps, idly pushing snow off of it. She has a big smile on her face despite the chill that's settled
into her limbs. Leah's trash-talk causes her to furrow her eyebrows as she studies her. A moment passes and then, in an unprecedented moment of daring she scoops a mitten-full of snow from the railing and presses it uncermoniously against Leah's face in a blatant breach of their ceasefire. There's a flash of terror and regret in her eyes immediately afterwards, an instant fear that she's made a huge mistake stabbing into her chest.
She watches Leah, her entire body tense as she waits for the wonderful dream that's been the last few months to come crumbling apart.
Nathan fought with all the ferocity that a snowball fight deserves. Tactical flanks, strategic bombing runs (running with a big ball of snow and dumping it on Tara and Sofia) and devious ploys were utilised to devastating effect. However, he didn't emerge unscathed from the battle. Many a time he was pelted by coordinated fire from his foe and he swears that there were a few friendly fire incidents from his singular ally.
However, as Leah so aptly put it, they kicked ass. With red cheeks and damp hair from melted snowballs, he walks besides Leah, a small chuckle escaping him. "So humble in victory," he remarks at her, just before Tara ambushes her with a handful of snow. This causes him to upgrade the chuckle to a full blown laugh. Even he didn't expect that.
Sofia fought with a similar ferocity to her brother, albeit without the masterful flanks or the ability to gather as much snow. However, she was a seasoned veteran of snow-warfare and certainly held her own. Her crowning accomplishment was certainly the moment she managed to trip up her brother into a particularly large mound of snow, leaving him to comically kick his legs about for a good second or two before he wormed
his way free. Now she clutches her arms around herself, the chill of the air finally catching up to her. She has remained quiet, but the large smile plastered on her face speaks volumes of her enjoyment. Which is only amplified when Tara enacts her breach of the ceasefire.
Mendez even has a smile on his face. He doesn't have the same special forces training as Leah. And he hasn't fought alongside a regiment of trained soldiers like Nathan. But he seems to be a natural born leader and, despite his team being massively outskilled, he and his allies managed to mount much more of a defense than one might have expected. But, for as valiantly as they fought, the white stains absolutely covering his jacket
tell the story of a heroic defeat. As he bounds up the porch steps he yanks his snow-covered beanie off his head, slapping it against the leg of his pants to try and clean it off. His usual perfectly styled mohawk is pressed flat against his head. "Pretty sure you cheated." he grumbles over top of Leah's claim. Tara's sudden attack causes him to pause in place, jaw dropping as he stares at the usually timid young girl and
Leah scoffs at Mendez' assertion. "You cheated! You cheated!" she says, attempting to put on her best impression of Mendez that ends up sounding more ridiculous than insulting. "Is that all you can-..." her words are cut off when a handful of snow is shoved into her face, causing her to jolt backwards a step, mouth agape as her green eyes fix to Tara. Et tu? Her left eye flutters, flakes of snow that have caked into her
eyelashes and brows gingerly falling free. "You-..." she seems to be at a loss for words, blindsided by such a betrayal! "...jerk!" Scrunching up her nose in a playful pout, she reaches out and gives Tara's tuque a tug downward, just enough to cover up her eyes as laughter billows out from her. "I'm gonna remember this!"
Thiago too, bursts into laughter, deep and rumbling. "Yeah. You look like a winner right now." he says as he watches the handful of snow fall free from Leah's face.... right into the neck of her jacket, which forces her to do a ridiculous little dance as she scrambles to unzip her jacket and shake the snow loose before it can get down her shirt.
Tara flinches as her tuque is pulled down over her eyes, but the sudden eruption of laughter from everyone around her - including Leah, causes a shaky smile to cross her lips as she reaches up to adjust her headwear. Relieved laughter slips out, lifting the pressure of building panic from her chest, her internal dread going unknown to the others. Leah's snow-induced wiggling reignites her laughter and solidifies her returned smile, her
Nathan just laughs a little harder when Leah begins her dance to shake away the snow. Doesn't matter if they were allies for the previous war, when something is funny, it's funny. "Looks like Tara can be devious when she needs to be," he says with a firm nod of approval to the mentioned woman. "Now, I dunno 'bout the rest of you, but I'm craving something hot to drink and a place to dry off." He articulates his point by
Sofia splutters as some of the snow catches her face, brushing it away as quickly as it arrived. She shoots an annoyed glare at her brother before socking him in the arm. "Watch it!"
Francois is seated on his beat up old chair in the living room, craning his neck to see what all the ruckus is about as more time goes by without anyone entering aside from the cold. On the TV, he has changed it to the annual Christmas biotiball game, but it seems like it's just wrapping up with some post-game commentary, volume low and drowned out by the continued Christmas music. He has a slice of chocolate cake on the coffee
table in front of him, slowly working his way through it. "Don't forget that there's plenty of leftovers!" he calls out to the group assembling by the door.
Leah continues to flop about, stomping in place. A sharp wince crosses her face as some of the snow goes down the neck of her sweater and she plucks at the neckline, trying to swat it free. "You jerk!" she repeats through her laughter. She gives a drawn out whine, once again scrunching up her nose and shooting Tara a glare. The big, bright smile that threatens to slip out beneath is probably more than enough to undermine the
severity of her glare. She gives the doorframe a couple of kicks to loosen a bit more snow from her boots before scooting inside.
Mendez begins patting the snow from his jacket as best as he can with one hand, sending a silent nod Nathan's way as he speaks up. He does his best to ignore the aches and sharp pains that flare up throughout his shoulder.
Tara swallows another laugh and tries to reign in her smile as Leah glares at her. She brushes the snow from her shoulders and removes her tuque to shake it before stepping inside and scraping the last from her boots on the doormat, her efforts meticulous in order to ensure that no snow is dragged in. She removes her boots first, returning them to their proper place before stepping aside to make room for the others. The procedure takes a
bit of extra time given that she's still cradling a certain lazy gzzk in one arm, not wanting to let it go before the door is closed.
Nathan snorts and gives his sister a quick side hug, ruffling her hat over hair much to her ire. He quickly darts away from her before she can retaliate and begins the process of removing his winter clothes and hanging them up to dry. "Thanks, Frank!" He calls out in response to Francois, having dropped to one knee to untie his boots.
Sofia slips off her hat and sheds her winter clothes, only pausing to rummage around in her nearby bag to pluck out a hairbrush once the wet clothing has been removed. She starts to brush her hair, which has become a frizzy mess due to her hat, humming softly to herself. She glances to Tara and gives her a small smile. "Want me to hold her so you can sort yourself out?" She offers, still running the brush through the
Leah gives a few exaggerated chatters of her teeth to emphasize the cold as she removes her winter gear. When her boots have been set aside and her jacket hung on the nearby hook, she runs her hand through her uncooperative hair but very quickly gives up on sorting it out, opting instead for concealing it with her floppy Christmas hat. She adjusts the pom, pulling it back behind her head before straightening out her shoudlers and
clapping her hands together. "Alright, hot cocoa sound good?" she asks, looking over the others gathered by the door.
Mendez shuts the door behind them, closing out the cold before he gets to work on removing his jacket and boots. It's slow going given his arm. "I'll take coffee." he requests as he plucks at the laces of his boots with one hand.
Tara offers Sofia a small smile and shakes her head, adjusting her grip again as Zoe stirs and tries to slip away. "It's ok." she assures, opting just to wait until everyone is in and Mendez closes the door before letting Zoe down, carefully slipping the collar off and remaining crouched for a moment as she watches the gzzk run off, smile on her face. Leah's question makes her glance up and nod in agreement. Hot cocoa sounds excellent.
Nathan rolls his shoulders as he limbers out after the fierce battle outside, looking Leah's way. "Sounds good," he says with a nod. Never say no to hot chocolate on a cold, winter's day. "We can have some of the cookies with it. Y'know, as long as you didn't eat them all." He gives a teasing smirk Leah's way and a little nudge as he walks by, heading towards the kitchen in a silent way of offering help.
Sofia merely smiles at Tara and nods. "No worries," she says, still pulling the brush through her hair. She looks at Leah and nods. "That would be lovely, danke. I could do with a bit of warming up after that." She can continue on the wine afterwards. Always good to take a break between drinks.
Leah furrows her brows in thought for but a split second as she studies Mendez. "Mmmm, you're getting hot cocoa." she decides on his behalf as if she knows what's best for him. "You and me both." she offers to Sofia in response, hugging herself to emphasize the lingering cold. Nathan's comment garners a playful roll of her eyes and she soon follows behind him. She takes notice of the TV on her way, casting a glance her father's
Mendez shoots Leah an unamused look but doesn't bother protesting. He knows better by this point. He steps out of his boots and hangs his jacket before rustling through the pocket.
Francois divides his attention between the TV and his daughter. "Typhoons." he says and, judging by his tone, it doesn't sound like that was the desired outcome.
True to his word, there's still plenty of leftovers laid out. The bird has been fully carved and everything has been transferred into containers for easy storage at the end of the night.
Tara seems to have been about to follow Leah, perhaps to help, but with Nathan already trailing her she heads for the living room instead, taking a seat in the couch. She pulls her legs up and cocoons herself in a blanket, still cold from their little snowball war. The post-game report garners furrowed eyebrows as she tries to puzzle out what it means. She's been around long enough to see some biotiball, but not enough to really learn how
Nathan ends up in the kitchen first, rummaging around to wherever the cups are stored. "Y'know, I really need to start watching biotiball more," he remarks idly, finally fishing out an array of mugs (with the intention of finding those goofy ones that EVERY household has) and setting them down on the countertop. He isn't even going to begin to try and figure out where the cocoa is stored. "It'll give me a break from
watching the Eezo-cross series. My favourite biker took a bad tumble a few weeks back and his stand-ins are nowhere near as talented as he is."
Sofia follows everyone else to the living room, still fighting with the tangled hair for the moment. She furrows her brow as she looks to the screen, perking an eyebrow at the sport on the TV. "So this is biotiball?" Her mismatched eyes watch the screen with renewed interest. "I've... never actually watched it."
Nathan's instincts prove right. Along with mugs of their favorite biotiball teams (Usaru Maestros and the Beijing Shockers, respectively), a number of others line the shelf. Amongst them is, in a show of patriotic pride, one with a picture of the Eiffel Tower. It's got a few chips along the rim and the graphic is worn in places. Another depicts a stick person, big frown on their face and arms crossed defiantly across their chest with the
Leah heads right towards the cupboard containing the cocoa. Just a tin of the powdered stuff from the market. Nothing fancy. She sets it down on the counter next to the cups Nathan has set out, tapping the mug with the stylized blue U - M on it. "This one is mine." she stakes her claim idly. Seemingly deciding that he can handle cocoa duty without her help, she puts her back to the counter and, palms against the edge, hoists
herself up onto it, taking a seat at the limited free space remaining on the counter, content to simply watch him. With the TV and the Christmas music, they're afforded at least a little privacy. "I don't watch it like I used to, but we-..." she shoots a glance back towards the living room, indicating her father with a tilt of her head, "...try and catch the important games. Kind of-... our thing." she shrugs.
Francois shoots a friendly smile to the pair as they join him. "It is." he nods to Sofia's question. "Not a bad way to waste a few hours." he adds, gaze resting on the screen as stats splash across it. After a few moments he seems to realize something, sitting up on his seat. "Oh!" he offers apologetically, reaching out to pass the remote to Tara, "You don't have to watch this. It's going off anyway." he snickers, "Go on, put
Mendez fishes a bottle of pills from his jacket pocket and pops the lid with his thumb. He taps a few into his mouth, seemingly unconcerned with seeking out water as he chews the pills up like a caveman. He shoots a glance towards the others by the TV before excusing himself to the dining room.
Tara blinks in surprise as the remote is handed her way, an uncertain look on her face as she accepts it. Her skill at navigating the TV interface is limited by her illiteracy, but she's memorized a few of the channels. Still, indecision stays her hand for a few moments before she switches to a news broadcasts that she knows how to reach. She's taken to watching news now and then lately, captivated by the chance to see glimpses of life in
faraway places. It doesn't give the rosiest view of the galaxy, perhaps, but today the usual reports of violence and disasters is replaced by a live broadcast from Christmas celebrations on the Citadel. Apparently a special event has been organized in one of the Presidium sections, with simulated snowfall and slightly reduced temperatures accompanying holiday-appropriate plant replacements and decorations. The diverse crowd - no
doubt composed largely of the galaxy's elite - delight at the novelty as the asari reporter explains the holiday to unfamiliar viewers.
Zoe doesn't stay gone for long. Apparently the gzzk too is still cold from playing in the snow, and Tara is sought out in her capacity as 'most-trusted human' to serve as heat-source. The blue furball draws a surprised noise and a giggle from Tara as it jumps onto the couch, and she adjusts her blanket to let it rest in her lap.
Tara looks to Francois for approval of her choice channel after safely enclosing Zoe in her blanket cocoon, the gzzk nuzzling her as it gets comfortable.
Nathan lifts up the mug that she indicates, giving it a once over in his hand before giving her a side-ways glance. "At least you and your dad share similar interests," he says with a smile, scooping in the cocoa into each mug. He adds a little bit more into his sisters mug, to add to the flavour. "Maybe you'll have more time for it now. From what I gather, Redrock is going to stop throwing themselves off-world and focus
on local security and contracts. Means more time to... well, be normal folk I guess. Might even be able to... y'know... take you out or... something." He says the last bit as casually as he can, throwing in a single shoulder shrug to make it as non-chalant as he can. He has, however, pointedly focused on the task of making the cocoa than looking at Leah.
Sofia takes a free spot wherever she can, finalising her duty of keeping her hair neat and tidy. "It looks... violent," she says, really only going off what she heard of the sport rather than what she has seen. However, the change to a news channel causes her to refocus on the screen and her eyes light up as she sees the festive decor of the Citadel. "Wow... that's beautiful! I didn't know the Citadel did that for
Francois doesn't seem to have any objections, merely settling back into his seat. The beat up old thing practically conforms to him from all of the hours he has spent in it. "It... can be." he admits reluctantly, but as her thoughts turn to the Citadel celebrations, he shoots a glance Sofia's way. "Have you ever been out that way?" he asks, nodding towards the TV before clarifying, "Uhh-... to the Citadel, I mean."
Leah leans back a bit, shifting her weight to her palms. Nathan's words cause her to shoot another glance out through the opening to the living room despite being unable to see anyone from their position. In truth, ever since her mother passed it's been difficult getting him interested in much of anything. It had been hard on both of them, sure, but it was nearly crippling for Francois. Biotiball is one of those old traditions
that they can still enjoy together. Time treasured. But he's seemed more lively lately. No doubt in part due to Tara's presence. But she doesn't voice those thoughts. A bit too dark for Christmas. And, thankfully, Nathan doesn't linger on it for too long. She props that bright smile of hers up as she watches him. "Hmm?" she hums, cheeks dimpling as her smile widens with his words. "Are... you asking me out on a date?" she
Tara seems content to watch in silence - and listen to Sofia and Francois talk, of course. She idly scratches Zoe's head, a small smile on her face as she gets cozy in the couch.