Closed Traitors in the Tundra PV Atlas Reid

With each subsequent step, there was a pleasant crunch that had Atlas’ ears perking up. Another series of light crunches kept her smile fixed to her lips. While fall was unquestionably her favorite season, winter kept a special place in her heart. The ivory blanket that gently sculpted the grounds and the iced breeze made her body call for a warm blanket, hot cocoa, and cuddles by the fire. But if she was going to complete the cozy trinity, she first needed to locate her boyfriend.

While Atlas was always happy for winter snuggles with some of her fellow Hufflepuff friends, she believed that none could quite match the perfect comfort of resting on Ethen while whispering an endless cacophony of inside jokes. The snag to her plan had become actually locating him. Recently, Atlas found herself struggling to find the wandering boy. She knew he was more stressed than normal and with stress came wandering. Hogwarts gave plenty of places for one to disappear to, even if not looking for isolation.

Her boots continued to gently crunch through the fresh powder and Atlas buried her face in the warmth of her yellow scarf. Her hair was longer than it usually was, giving an added bit of irritation as a few stray strands found their way onto her face. Huffing them away, Atlas continued her search to a place she had found Ethen a number of times after his classes. She had tried his usual spots in the castle itself, but Atlas knew her boyfriend was usually drawn to the outdoors.

Her eyes narrowed with mischievous intent and a smirk creased her cheek. Even at a distance, Atlas recognized the huddled form and hooded jacket. The cold helped to keep the majority of the more logical students within the warm confines of the castle. Ethen was anything but logical, so sitting in the snow, beneath a tree, and peering at an icy lake did seem like a more apt spot for the boy.

Atlas slowed her pace. Cruuuuuuunch… Walking slower only prolonged the snow’s crunch. It meant one thing. There would be no chance at a stealthy approach. Atlas was left with only one option. Exhaling and watching her warm breath plume into the breeze, Atlas lowered herself slightly. Erupting forward, Atlas started sprinting through the snow. Her scarf whipped and danced behind her while holding tight to her body. At the last moment, Atlas dove into the sitting form of Ethen with a battle cry sharp enough to carve through the icy wind.

The howl of wind and ice-kissed air continued to waft around Ethen’s contemplating form. Lost in his musings, reality faded around him. He inhabited the silently chaotic palace within his mind, picking through his anxieties. The quiet contemplations allowed him to find some semblance of clarity. It gave him a chance against the torrent. A chance to rediscover his sense of balance.

While lost in thought, Ethen could become numb to things around him. His senses faded away, hibernating until he returned. It normally wasn’t of any consequence. But it left him vulnerable. Vulnerable to the elements and vulnerable to ambush. While focused, Ethen prided himself on his ability to remain vigilant to any peril, despite his general aloof nature.

So he didn’t see it coming. Even as a bloodthirsty cry echoed into the frosty ether, Ethen was caught unaware. His senses, barely rebooting, were left inadequate in the face of the sudden attack. There was no chance at a defense or to counter the well-timed and perfectly executed dive.

Snow enveloped Ethen’s body as he fell to the snow with a yelp. Even though his mind was returning to him, he knew that only one operative could have so perfectly recognized his lack of defenses and sprung an attack on him… Lieutenant Reid… It had to be her. Sputtering snow out of his mouth, Ethen latched his arms around his attacker.

“You think you have me beat? Think again, you traitorous marauder!” Ethen bellowed as he scooped up a handful of snow and launched it toward Atlas’ face. If he was to avoid being completely eliminated by her, he couldn’t afford to hesitate now.

@Atlas Reid

A yelp of glee echoed into the cold breeze as Atlas landed her successful ambush. She had believed he looked too distracted to perceive her approach. It had been too easy to get close and spring forward. What she hadn’t anticipated was that he would simply fall over from the impact. Carried by her own momentum, Atlas took the trip to the snow and roll next to Ethen.

Laughing, she stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend. As soon as he spoke, however, she gave a look of shock and mock offense. A traitor? It was a fighting word. An insult to her honor. Sure she had snuck up and attacked him, but that was only to show him that he was leaving himself too vulnerable. If anything, he should be thanking her for demonstrating the flaws in his defenses.

“You are definitely beat and -” Her reply was cut short as snow erupted into her face. Her body shuttered at the sudden frigidness that snuck into her warm clothes. Wiping the snow from her face, Atlas rolled backward and onto her feet, shaking her head but keeping some snow in her hand. The audacity to pelt her with snow. If anyone was a traitor it had to be him.

“Tebo! That’s freezing. I just wanted an aggressive hug and you rudely attacked me,” Atlas said, crossing her arms and trying her best to not smile at the boy. “You are going to owe me the warmest cuddles for this. Unless you really think you can win a war against me… but I wouldn’t recommend trying,” Atlas warned, narrowing her eyes at Ethen as they continued their little standoff.

There was a challenge in her tone. It was unmistakable even if just a slight hint. Was he to so easily back down? What would be be if he just rolled over for the sake of politeness? He wasn’t sure he could do it. Sure it was a war that loomed in the air. He had worked hard to avoid wars after the Great Mud Battle of the North. So would he break his commitment to peace?

There was another question that loomed equally large. Could he win if he did decide to take on the girl? Atlas was lethal in a snow battle. There was something about the frost that brought out some lurking viking heritage or something that turned her into an unstoppable savage… In his current state, was it worth taking the risk? He was distracted. That much he knew. But if he worked fast enough, there was a slight chance the he could pull an early advantage.

“War? With you?” Ethen gave a dismissive snort despite his better judgment. “I’m in my natural element here babe!” He wasn’t… He liked the snow but he was anything but a tundra-dwelling professional. “As much as I’d love taking you down… I think, for the good of this castle, I will avoid this war so it is not left in ruin,” Ethen said holding his head high with a new sense of moral superiority.

@Atlas Reid

Raising her eyebrow, a smirk flashed over Atlas’ lips and her boyfriend’s playful taunting. Despite his relatively dismissive tone, Atlas knew better than to just lower her guard. There had been too many times that his rambling turned into a full ambush. She had no intention of being caught unaware. Holding her playful smirk, Atlas didn’t pull her gaze away as he offered his smug little declaration of peace.

Luckily for him, Atlas hadn’t come down here intending to battle their way through the snow. It was already getting later and a true war could last hours that they didn’t have. So instead of diving to the side and launching a quick double snowball attack…followed up by a back handspring to get into the cover of the nearby tree…before following up with another three attacks… Instead of doing something vaguely related to that, Atlas’ smile brightened and she dashed forward to wrap Ethen in a tight hug.

“I will accept your surrender, Tebo! I knew you would see that there was no chance,” Atlas laughed before pecking his cheek. “I am sure the castle and all our classmates are thankful that we don’t destroy it without great battle. But what are you even still doing out here?”

Ethen gave an amused huff as Atlas continued to play along. It wasn’t technically a surrender as they did not come for formal terms… he was also not yielding a defeat… there were many logistical things that had not come to pass for it to be deemed a true surrender… Not that it mattered to him. Even if… it wasn’t a surrender. More an avoidance of war and the destruction that would come. There hadn’t even been a true bout beyond some basic skirmishing. To deem this refusal of further combat a surrender was a preposterous notion, ludicrous even.

Despite the errors in his girlfriend's declaration of a supposed surrender, he decided against holding a forum on the matter. Instead, he accepted her kiss and put his arm gently around her waist. A sign of the reestablished truce. He wasn’t quite sure how he wanted to answer the question. A deflection from reality with some comical response was his usual strategy. However, Atlas was a keep observer and detective of such deflection, she knew his tricks too well.

“I was trying to gain a better understanding of what life might be like as a snowman. They are always just sitting there looking so peaceful, it was worth a try… Just like a snowman, I was then viciously assaulted out of nowhere,” he quipped with a wide grin, wrapping his arms around Atlas. Despite his best efforts, he found himself unable to miss the chance for a good deflection. It did, however, have his mind curious about the many curious strategies he could employ if he were to disguise himself as a snowman… it was worth pursuing clarity on the matter at a later date.

@Atlas Reid

There was a bit of a pause between her question and Ethen actually offering some type of response. She assumed he was working on some grand story or whimsical reasoning on why he would be out in the cold. She knew better than to try and predict what he might say. When he finally spoke, Atlas immediately found herself giggling at his absurd response. Her cheeks warmed as she felt his arms moving around her. She didn’t need more of an invitation to press snugly against him.

“That sounds like some very…very important research. I am a little disappointed that you didn’t think I would be a help to you for something so… groundbreaking,” she snickered before kissing his jawline and looking up at him. Despite the always-odd response, she knew that he was hiding something. He had looked too focused when she snuck up on him. Despite his warm and playful nature, she could tell when he was feeling conflicted about something or if something was weighing on his mind.

Atlas had known Ethen for far too long for her to be so easily misdirected by talk of snowmen. It would have had to be far more preposterous for her to become distracted. “I think I am going to have to call hullabaloo on that, Ethen. Trickery even,” she softly laughed before resting her head on his chest. “Come on, you made me hunt you in the snow like an elk. The least you can do is let me know what’s on your mind,” Atlas said. “You should know I am pretty excellent at helping you by this point,” she added softly, shifting her eyes up to find her boyfriend's gaze.

To be so quickly called out and accused of ‘hullabaloo’ he knew that trying to sneak his thoughts past Atlas’ keen eyes would prove too challenging. Generally, it seemed like she had a better sense on his emotions and mindset that he had on himself. So trying to mislead was a losing battle. A grin flicked over his lips momentarily at the accusation and apt description of her little hunt.

He was aware that Atlas was quite skilled at helping him and always looked for ways to support him. It was one of the things he loved most about her. Ethen generally had little idea of what he was doing or what he was about to do but he knew that Atlas would always be right there to support whatever it was that he conceived. So it had never even crossed his mind to doubt that she would want to help him but, at times, he felt like he needed to think for himself and try to at least form some plans. Not that he was ever any good at that.

“Your detective abilities are too powerful,” Ethen chuckled as he kissed the top of Atlas’ head. “I promise I am fine…even if you did hunt me like an elk in the snow. You have the silent approach of a puma…” Ethen paused before letting out a long dramatic sigh. “But, if you must know. I was just trying to think of what comes next. Like what I will be doing after we leave here. Everyone is always asking and I never really have an answer,” Ethen grumbled as he kept his grip around Atlas, the chill of the winter air beginning to creep over him.

It was challenging to keep from laughing at his odd description. Not that he was particularly wrong. She had, in fact, hunted him. Despite Ethen’s love of pranking and mischief, he was actually relatively easy to sneak up on. Atlas always attributed that to the ease in which her boyfriend could shift into his own little brain palace. Ethen had always had an ability to disappear into his mind which left him somewhat vulnerable to sneak attacks.

To a bit of a surprise, Atlas listened as Ethen actually gave her some insight into where his head was this time. She gave a faint frown but tightened her hug around Ethen. This wasn’t the first time she had found him somewhat stressed or thinking about the great mystery of their futures. Atlas had a pretty good idea about the path she wanted to take, however, that wasn’t remotely the case for Ethen. While tha didn’t really bother Atlas, she knew that it was increasingly stressing out Ethen as more people looked to him, expecting him to have a sense of his future. Even over the past summer, her parents had talked to Ethen a few times trying to gauge what he wanted to do.

“Well, luckily, we aren’t leaving tomorrow Ethen. You will have plenty of time to figure things out. So don’t try and force things, you know that never works. Things just come to you,” Atlas said, her smile returning as she looked up at him. “Who cares if people keep asking. Just ignore it and let us keep enjoying our time without responsibilities. No being a grumpy tebo,” Atlas taunted with a playful nudge.