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

[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.

I'm trying not to, but how else do I make sure I'm doing it right?!

[He does try to stand up properly and take quick glances down at his feet instead, but he's still hunched over as he shifts back across the ice.

He only manages to slide back a little further with this posture before the inevitable happens. His feet slide out from under him and he falls onto his back, legs sticking up in the air for a moment before falling down onto the ice.

... Ow. After lying flat for a moment he sits up and rubs his back. That hurt more than he was expecting.]

[While she doesn't want to embarrass or crowd Caius, that was quite a fall. Mia skates closer, crouching beside him at a distance of about a foot.

Ice is hard. No matter how resilient of a person you are.]

Are you hurt? It might be best to master going forward first.

I'm fine, I'm fine.

[Quickly, he goes to get back up onto to his feet only to slip and land on his butt.]

I can go forward okay, but how does knowing how to go forward help you go backwards anyway?

[Second try, slow this time. He kneels on the ice, lifts one foot up and puts his strength into pulling himself back up so he's standing.]

It teaches you balance and how to move on the ice. You had to walk forward before you could walk backward, too. [She rises and offers him a hand to help him keep his balance until he's standing steady.]

[He takes the hand for a moment, quickly testing to make sure he's stable again by bending his legs a little before letting go.

Part of him wants to ask whats the point in knowing how to go backwards anyway, especially when going forwards should be enough. But it's not so much about the practical application of being able to go backwards now as it is him wanting to learn how to do it so that he can show that he can do it.]

Then I should try going forwards again, only faster. Like how you do it.

[It's not necessarily just Mia's speed he's commenting on, but her general form and everything else she does on the ice. 'Faster' seemed like a good way to cover it all to him though.]

I have had years of practice, Caius. You're doing really well for a first day. Don't be surprised if you try going faster and you fall again, it happens sometimes. [And it's nothing to be embarrassed about!]

[Hey hey, he's not embarrassed! Not now that he knows he's doing okay despite the falling.]

Well, I'm glad I'm doing well for my first time. [Heh.] If it happens then I'll get right back up, I won't get the hang of going faster unless I try after all.

[Mia has taken note of how easy it is to fluster Caius if he thinks he's making a fool of himself or not being the best.] As long as you don't give up, you should continue improving each time you try.

Right, then it won't be long until I've improved to the point where skating around at speed is nothing.

[Falling down isn't going to make him give up, that's not even an option.]

You have all winter to work on it.

[Truth be told, she's not as good as some of the other villagers were at home, either. Being the only real healer among people felled by epidemics on a semi-regular basis didn't leave much time for practice.]

And even after that there's the Battle Dome when it starts getting warmer.

[He grins and starts moving again, skating in slow circles. His movements are still stiff, but there's noticeable improvement there from when he first got on the ice.]

Then, when I'm really good at it, I can show other people how to skate too.

[Well! If he's that excited, he must be enjoying himself, and that was the goal all along.]

There are a lot of people who had never seen snow or ice this way before coming here, so I bet you could find a fair handful to teach.

Yeah! Uh, as long as I don't end up taking any of the people you teach.

[Another circle, this time faster than the last, but only by a small margin.]

I might have be one of those people, or someone who hadn't seen snow at all if things back home didn't change.

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[Action] CAIUS IS ON MY TALES DICE TEAM

[Action] FACT: YOU NOW HAVE THE BEST DICE TEAM EVER

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