frost_jewel | 18. [voice/action]

18. [voice/action]

[There's a chill in the air and a smile on Mia's face as she gets herself ready for the day. For once, she isn't headed straight to work at the crack of wintry dawn; instead, she bundles up and puts a set of skates into her shoulder bag. Before she ducks out the door, she flips her journal open to leave the world a message.]

As Captain Sparrow has so generously provided a skating area in the village to use, I will be there this afternoon if anyone would like to learn how to skate. The weather is perfect for it today. [There's a break in the clouds - for a while - and a peek at the sun they haven't seen in days.] It's only a little tricky to learn, but I'm sure anyone can get the hang of it with a little practice.

[And off she goes! The morning is for Caius and Seto - one after the other - since she did promise them individually and neither is quite the type to learn while others are watching.]

[[ooc: This is set on the 18th, before the truly heavy snow sets in for the event!]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Careful! There's nothing at all to grab you on the ice. Just move your feet like you're walking. Slowly.

[She has both of his arms now, not thinking twice about going backwards.]

And...well, you really believe what you said just now, about me not failing, right?

R-Right...

[Seeing Mia start going backwards like that makes him want to try harder, so here he goes, walking very slowly over the ice. Now that his full focus is on his skating it doesn't take long for him to speed up slightly and still feel safe. In fact he feels safe enough to roll his shoulders and signal for Mia to let go.]

Of course I do, you didn't fail. Why wouldn't I believe something I said myself?

I believe just as much that you have nothing to be sorry for.

[Well, okay. She lets go one hand at a time.]

But... [Shaking his head now.] I still attacked you. If there's really nothing for me to be sorry for then why do I feel sick inside?

I don't know. Why do you think you do?

[Shrug. He looks down.] I just don't want to hurt my friends. Heh, it's stupid, I used to worry about hurting people as a Leymon, but then I end up fighting you as a human.

[It doesn't matter if there's any control there or not, it's something he'll never be okay with. He's meant to protect people, not hurt them.]

[He ended up winning, too.]

It's not stupid to want to keep your friends safe, Caius. You weren't you then. The disease was in charge of what you did. The real you would never attack me, and I know that. So do you.

Yeah... [It's odd to think about not being himself, especially as he was always told to remember 'you are you' back home, though diseases and different forms aren't exactly in the same park.] ... Do you mind if we go back to skating for now? I feel like I can give it my all.

Of course. Start pushing forward a little, one foot at a time. Almost like you're walking, but with a little...force behind it.

[Nod. Here he goes. It doesn't take long for him to start sliding forward as he gets the hang of how to move his feet.]

I've got it! Quick, tell me how to turn next. [Before he ends up going off the ice.]

It's about pressure. If you want to turn left, turn your feet and shift your weight a little bit onto your right one.

[[note: This is how I find ice skating works for me. I'm also not terribly advanced at it and I may be explaining it backwards. But there you go.]]

[Meh, works for him. He follows the instructions and starts a very slow turning circle away from the edge of the ice and off to the left, after which he continues going forward.]

I did it, and on the first try too! You saw, right? [You better have Mia. You better. Buuut just in case she missed it, he skates as far as he can before having to turn left again and slowly moves around to come back.]

Of course I did. You should focus on every turn at first, in case you lose your balance and fall. [She was here to help him and heal bruises if necessary, of course. But it would be better if he didn't topple over at all.]

It's possible to slow to a stop, but it would take you a long time. You can turn to stop though. A quick stop is hard to learn that way, but a slow turn should do it.

[He's full of focus right now, there's now way he's going to fall over. Or so he would like to think anyway.

Time to give stopping a go. He starts skating back towards Mia and then turns slowly so to try and stop in front of her, though he ends up turning all the way round so he has his back to her before coming to a stop.]

There, I stopped. [Maybe not where he wanted to, but he did it all the same.] If I keep going like this then there's no way I'll fall down.

Let's hope it works out that way. Why don't you go all the way around once? Bigger turns are easier to do.

Okay, sure. Like this?

[With a push he's off and moving again, making a wide turn around Mia so he starts to circle around her. At one point his mind wanders a little and he slips, seemingly running in place for a moment before he slams his skates down on the ice and he slides forward... And carries on with his turn.

He didn't fall over! But the look on his face when he almost did was probably much more embarrassing than falling flat on his face.]

Knowing how to fight must be helping you with your balance. [Especially with that catch he just pulled off.]

Y-Yeah, it must. [Phew.] When you're fighting you don't worry about falling over, your feet move and do what you want. With skating though...

[It feels like he can't control his feet half the time. Oh no. It's like dancing. It's like dancing.]

Then perhaps you should not worry about falling over now, either. Thinking about it too much leaves no room for enjoying yourself.

I'm not going to worry about it so much that it stops being fun. Besides, even if I did fall it's not like that would stop me skating!

[... So yeah, still a little worry there. Not enough to stop him from attempting another circle around Mia though.]

[It would if he broke his leg.]

Then follow me, if you can. [And off she goes across the center of the rink, smiling.]

[But that wouldn't happen because he's tough as nails. Like a little fall would end in him breaking something, hah!]

Of course I can! [He might not be moving quickly, but he still skates after her at his own speed.] See?

I never doubted you. [But seeing that he enjoys a challenge, to a degree, she turns and covers the length of the rink backwards instead.]

[Backwards? Hey now, that's... Not fair? Hrmm. No, he can do that too. He just has to try.

First, he starts moving in another wide circle so his back is facing the direction Mia went in. Next is trying to move. It should be the same as going forwards! Only. Backwards... Right.

He starts to move, very slowly, much slower than he's been moving the entire time he's been out on the ice. In fact what he's doing right now probably can't be considered skating. It's as though he's walking backwards whilst switching between looking over his shoulder and at his own feet.]

[Going backwards is still hard for her sometimes. Caius's attempt is impressive.]

Don't look at your feet. You need to keep your balance by standing straighter.

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