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

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.

That wouldn't bother me. If people want to learn, and others want to teach, then it shouldn't matter how many students each teacher has.

[She's circling now too, keeping pace a few feet back from Caius.] I had not seen a field of flowers or a desert before my journey. The parts of the world are so different, aren't they?

Yeah, they are. I'd seen flowers before, but I had never seen a desert until I left home.

[Still skating, he looks back to check and see where Mia is in case he ends up skating into her or something.]

That's why, when I get back, I want to travel around and see what else is out there in my world.

Choosing to have an adventure like that will make it even more enjoyable.

[And then Mia hits a rough patch of ice - made by her own skates, no less - and abruptly goes over backwards.]

An adventure you want to go on has to be more fun than--

[Welp. Seeing Mia go over like that cuts the conversation short. Keeping the same speed, he turns and skates over to see how he can help. Caius holds out a hand to help Mia up, but don't be too surprised if he ends up sliding forward when his hand is taken.]

[She's had quite a few falls in her time, and getting up from them is easier for her without a hand to hold. Lucky Caius.]

Well, at least now you can be sure it happens to everyone.

[Oh good, now he doesn't have to worry about how he's meant to hold still while pulling someone up on skates.]

Yeah, I guess so. It's a little strange to see you fall over though, since you were the one that showed me how to skate in the first place. [...] Are you all right?

Oh, I'm fine. A little fall like that couldn't hurt me. [See? On her feet again and ready to keep going.] It helps to wear a lot of layers, too.

If you're sure. [He'll just go back to skating in that case.] Maybe I should have brought more clothes with me, not that it hurt when I fell over either.

You can remember for next time. It can get rather cold out here on the ice, too. At least it isn't a lake, or we'd have to worry about how thick the ice was as we went.

18. [voice/action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action] CAIUS IS ON MY TALES DICE TEAM

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

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]