Whispers of Winter

The soft glow of morning light filtered through the windows, Eve’s wide curious eyes locked onto the sight of delicate snowflakes drifting down from the sky.
"Piz! Look!" Eve exclaimed, pointing excitedly at the window where the snowflakes swirled in the air falling to ground like a calm raindrop.

Piz, barked in delight, his tail wagging in little mechanical circles. It scampered toward the window, paws tapping against the cold glass.

Leia stood behind them, her arms crossed tightly, trying to suppress the cold within her bones. She could feel the chill creeping up her spine, but she forced a smile as she watched Eve’s face light up. "It’s beautiful, isn’t it?" Leia said, her voice gentle, masking the shiver that passed through her.

Eve nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Can we go out and play in the snow, Leia?" She asked, then get walked towards Leia to tugged at her sleeve.
Leia hesitated for a moment, the cold seeping deeper into her skin. She couldn’t stand it, not for long. But she didn’t want to spoil Eve’s joy.

"I suppose we could..." Leia said, her voice soft, but it wasn’t enough to hide the slight tremor in her fingers.

Eve clapped her hands in joy and rushed to gather her things, with Piz following closely behind, his mechanical tail wagging energetically. They rushed past Leia.

Only Zero, who had been quietly observing from the corner, seemed to notice the slight strain in Leia’s movements. With voice as dry as ever. "She’ll have fun, but you’ll end up freezing."
Leia turned away from the window, trying to hide her discomfort and walked toward the coat rack.

Leia put on her thickest coat, the one that covered most of her body. She made sure it was tightly fastened before stepping outside. Then Eve jumped outside past Leia and turned to the woman showcasing her winter outfit which is a soft, puffy jacket in pastel blue, its fluffy hood lined with faux fur that framed her face like a cozy cloud and a scarf bought by Leia on their clothes shopping back then.

Eve took a step forward, crouching down and scooping up a handful of snow. She stared at the snow in her gloved hands, looking curiously. After a moment of inspection, she shrugged and stuffed the entire handful into her mouth.

Leia surprised having her jaw dropped.

"This… Is cold, yuck." She muttered tugging her tongue out, realized it wasn’t exactly as tasty as she expected. Her eyes watered slightly from the shock of the chill.

Leia chuckled softly at the sight of Eve’s determined face, looking more puzzled than ever. Even Piz, who had attempted to imitate Eve's actions, soon gave up, barking in confusion as it spat out a snowflake it had tried to eat.

Leia grinned. "Eve, you can’t eat snow like that," She called, her voice filled with amusement.
Eve look at Leia. "I thought it would taste like shaved ice?” she said, blinking in innocence.

Leia smiled. "Not quite, Maybe next time, we’ll try some hot chocolate instead later."

The sound of footsteps crunching through the snow grew louder and soon Rika appeared with a simple colored woolen sweater that reflected her humbled nature, despite her wealth. She smiled brightly as she spotted Eve.

"Eve! Piz!" Rika called out, waving at them. "Wanna go to the park together?"
Eve’s eyes lit up at the invitation. She nodded excitedly as she looked eagerly at Leia.

Leia, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, gave a small smile. "I think it sounds like fun, but... I’m not so sure about being out in the cold for too long."
"Oh, come on, Miss Leia!" Rika teased, her voice playful. "You’ll miss out on all the fun! The park are really lively with people on winter!”

"Keywords. People." Leia said.
"Oh, and Zero too!" Rika added.

From behind them, Zero respond on a mentioned of him. "Hm? Me? I'm just a screen but if you want me to come, I'll be right here on Leia's watch." He suddenly went from the screen inside the house to Leia's watch on her wrist.

Leia let a smirk, and she looked at Zero, then back at Rika. "Oh, I’m sure you could enjoy the park… If only you had a body to walk around in."
Zero’s voice sputtered "What are you talking about?"

Leia leaned casually against the doorframe, her eyes glinting with amusement. "Well, about that," She began, glancing over at Zero with a knowing smile. "I’ve actually made a body for you, Zero. It’s all ready and just waiting for you to try it out. I just need to attach your screen to it."

The park was lively with people and whitey with snow as the occasional laughter of those peoples echoing through the chilly air. Eve, Rika and Piz immediately dashed ahead, leaving trails of footprints behind as they raced toward the open field.

Trailing behind, Zero let out a dramatic sigh, his new body wheeling smoothly along the path. His screen flickered with what could only be described as pure resignation. "So this is my life now, portable, wheeled, and looking like that one wife computer from an old cartoon about sponge."

Leia, walking beside him with her hands shoved into her coat pockets. "Cheer up, Zero. You’ve never been more mobile."

"Woah! What's this? It so cool," Leo voice come in, walked towards them looking at Zero impressively.
Leo amazed. "It’s like Karen from Sponge-"

"CENSORED!" Zero cut in, louder this time.

Ellen snickered. "Did it just beep itself? How charming." She was following Leo.

Eve and Piz came bounding back. Eve skidded to a stop in front of Leo and Ellen, her hair a mess of snowflakes. "Look! We're build a snowman!" She said, pointing at it with Rika beside it wave at them excitedly and Piz jumping energetically. 

And just like that, a snowball zipped through the air and hit Leo squarely on the head. “Hey! Who threw that?!”

Eve giggled quietly, a snowball still clutched in her hand, while Piz barked excitedly beside her.

Suddenly a familiar voice can be heard behind them coming closer. "Oh my? Zero looks like that one computer from-"
"Don't." Zero respond.
It was Maria. Looking as gentle as ever. And beautiful as always.

Everyone turned to see Maria, a bright knitted scarf wrapped around her neck.
"I heard the park is pretty lively and thought I’d come,” She said, smiling at Eve and Leia before noticing the chaotic group. "Oh my, a full house here today?"

Leo’s eyes lit up like he’d just been struck by and idea. "Wait a minute! There’s eight of us.....Including the robot puppy and whatever Zero counts as."

"I’m offended," Zero deadpanned.
"We can have a real snowball fight. Two teams of four!" Leo said.

Everyone exchanged glances. Eve tilted her head, looking up at Leia as if asking for permission. Leia sighed, stuffing her hands deeper into her coat pockets. "Don’t drag me into this."

Maria chuckled softly, already rolling up her sleeves. “Oh, it’s been a long time since I’ve done something like this. I'm in."
"Eh?" Leia is surprised.

“Alright!” Leo declared. 

Leia, standing with Rika, Ellen and Zero, sighed again.
But Rika is full of excitement. "Yeay!! Let's go team!"
"Why am I agreed to this..." Said Ellen, crossing her arms regretted her decisions.
"You, me and Leia." Zero said.
"Heyy!" Rika frustrated, the team is pretty unbalanced.

Maria gave a warm laugh. "I’ll try my best!"

Piz barked excitedly, running circles around Eve and Leo, while Zero muttered something about unfair labor conditions.

Then before starting Rika crouched beside Eve, whispering, "Good luck, Eve." She smiled widely and get back on position with her team.

Eve nodded silently, clutching her first snowball.

The battlefield was set. Snowballs were already being formed in secret, alliances were quietly forged, and the snowy park fell into a moment of silence.

"Snowball fight… START!" Leo shouted and he throw the first snowball straight to Ellen's face.
Ellen, feeling irate decide to throw back a snowball at him in a flash and Leo dodge it just in time.

Snowballs flying in every direction, the air filled with laughter and squeals of excitement. Eve, determined and focused, she crouched behind a snowbank, rolling a perfect snowball and hurling it with all the might her small frame could muster. It sailed through the air and splattered harmlessly against Piz, who had just been gleefully chasing his own tail.
Eve blinked though she could make a solid throw on the opponents.

"Zero! Protect me!" Leia shouted from behind her own snow shield, struggling to toss a snowball without much success. "I’m getting too old for this…"
Zero, meanwhile, was trying to navigate the battlefield in his new body, which wasn’t exactly designed for speed. Every time he tried to move forward, his limbs would catch on the snow, causing him to topple over awkwardly. "What did I do to deserve this?" Zero grumbled, his screen flickering in indignation as he flailed. "I should’ve stayed a on the walls! This is beneath me!"

Then Ellen manage to make surprised attack on Leo where she though that Leo wouldn't have a way to run but instead, as she throws the snowball, Leo suddenly flew by his sky skates shoes.
"Hey! That's not fair! No playing above the ground!" Ellen shouted.

Zero, who was still struggling to move, accidentally launched a snowball straight into Leia’s face. His screen flickered in shocked. "Uh- sorry.... I swear that wasn’t intentional, ha,ha,ha." His eyes darted away on the screen.
Leia stood frozen for a moment, a large snowball slowly dripping down from her face like a melting ice cream on a cone.

"Keep up, everyone!" Rika yelled from their side of the field and lobbed a snowball with impressive aim at Maria.

Maria, who had surprisingly good aim, dodged it with an elegant twirl before tossing a snowball of her own right back at Rika. Rika yelped in mock horror as the snowball hit her that make her fall on top of their team snowbank. "Good luck, soldier..." She said to Ellen who is crouching protecting herself from getting hit but looked at Rika with unseriousness.

"You’ve got a good arm, Miss Maria." Eve said, looking up at the lady.

Out of nowhere, Ellen immediately threw a snowball, which landed with a gentle plop on top of Eve’s head.

Then, in an unexpectedly quick motion, a snowball got tossed directly at Zero’s screen with a soft splat, and his screen flickered frantically. He looks at the small culprit.
"Of course it was you." He said dryly at Piz. Piz bark innocently.

Eve stood in the middle of the chaos, her face lit up with joy despite not hitting a single right target.

"It’s official," Leia said, watching the scene unfold with a weary expression. "I’m too old for snowball fights."
"Oh, Leia, you’ve just got to get into the spirit of things!" Maria chuckled, smoothly dodging another snowball from Rika.

Suddenly, a large snowball whizzed past them, like a wind, hitting Leo hard on the head.

Thwack!

A snowball headshot Leo. His eyes widened in shock, turning around in confusion.

“Who?” He turned to saw the girl standing a few paces away, a soft, gentle smile on her face. She looked almost ethereal, like a doll. Her long, silky hair fell in waves over her shoulders. She wore a simple coat, but there was something about her presence that stood out, like she didn’t quite belong in the chaos of the snowball fight but was too graceful to be out of place. And Leo know who is that familiar looking girl.

"Eden.... Gold." Leo said in disbelief.
The girl walked towards them, her expression serene holding another ball of snow. "I saw you all having fun, and I was wondering if I could join in?"

Leo stood frozen, blinking a few times as if trying to process what just happened. "You are Eden Gold, what are you doing here?" He asked incredulously. “You’re the champion of the sky skates championship for two years."

Eden’s smile softened. "I’ve always enjoyed a good challenge," She said, her voice gentle but filled with an unspoken confidence. “I’ve watched from a distance, and I thought... maybe I could join you guys? I don't know much about snowball fights, but I’m curious." Then she turned to look at Eve that had a curious look at her leg.

"You got robot leg." Eve said, gazing on one of Eden's leg that is mechanical.
"Hm? Where? I wanna see," Rika rushed towards Eve gazing down at Eden too. "Woah! You're right, that so cool!"

"That's amazing." Leia said, holding her chins down, amazed by the robotic leg of Eden from a scientist perspective.

"Mechanical leg.... Wait, you are the girl from before," Maria said, her eyes wide with surprise. "The girl that was gracefully dancing by the fountain." She continue and Piz jumped towards Eden as a sign of recognition.
"And you were the lady with the canvas?" Eden also surprised.
Maria nodded. "I wanted to apologize for drawing you without permission."
"I don't mind." Eden tilt her head with a faint smile. 

Leo, still a bit stunned, "I can't believe the champion of the skies wanted to join us," His usual cocky grin resurfaced. "Alright, you're in."

At the same time, Piz and Rika constantly poked on Eden's mechanical leg, tap , tap.

Eve look at her back. "You were so cool."
Eden laughed lightly, her smile warm. "Thank you, kid. I’m flattered."

Rika stand up and turned to Leo. "Looks like you’ve met your match," She teased, though her voice held an admiration. "Eden Gold, huh? She’s pretty good."
Ellen huffed crossing her arms, turning away. "She just okay."
Rika smirk at her. "I smell jealously."
"Jealous? Me? Hah! No way!" She denied with her face redden.

As the laughter and snowballs flew, it was clear that this day at the park was going to be one to remember for everyone.

Today was pretty exhausting at leas for Leia, walking with no energy on their way home.

Eve wave goodbye to Maria, their neighbor and get in the house followed by Piz as Zero already set himself up back to the walls of the house. "Finally."

The house is quiet and peaceful then the silence break by Leia.
"A-ACHOO!" She sneezes, startled everyone.

"I'll called a doctor to checked on you." Zero respond.