[ME] [SE] frost and foremost

I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings

Flora hits Kaisel’s chest in a rush of wool, fur, cold air, and completely unearned victory, her mittened hands catching against his coat as she looks up at him with cheeks flushed pink from the wind and eyes bright enough to make the aurora look like it needs to try harder. The adrenaline is still racing through her, all glitter and fireflies and champagne bubbles beneath her skin, fizzing wildly through the bond they share until every breath feels like it has laughter caught in it. Of course they’d done it, because somehow, impossibly, infuriatingly, wonderfully, this is what they do: take the kind of ridiculous idea that should end in bruises, public embarrassment, and at least one lecture from a healer, and come out the other side glowing like they’d meant for it to happen all along.

"Never," she chuckles slyly, the word curling between them with triumph tucked into every syllable, because if Kaisel is going to so graciously admit she shouldn’t have been doubted, then Flora is absolutely going to accept that offering with both hands.

Speaking of both hands, her fingers tighten in the front of his coat as she hauls him down toward her, rising onto her toes enough to meet him halfway, and the kiss she presses to his lips is bright and victorious and shamelessly delighted, all cold noses, warm mouths, and the kind of giddy relief that makes her want to laugh against him even as she claims her prize. For a second, Halo falls away into the white blur of snow and festival noise, the track and scoreboard and watching crowd all dissolving at the edges while the rush of him stays sharp and golden in her chest.

Pulling back only enough to breathe, Flora keeps her grip on his coat, her smile still wild around the edges as she glances toward the hot cocoa bar. "Come on," she says, tugging him with her, "we definitely deserve to sample one of everything."

---

Flora and Kai go for hot chocolate post-skijoring.

and I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Unaware of the absolute chaos of the skijoring beyond the cheers and quick scrape of snow, Zavien led them to the hot chocolate. Smiling to hear Sohalia's bright laughter, he shot her an endearing look, posing no resistance to her choices. "Done," he reported brightly. He maneuvered around the table with their two cups, sprinkling hers with mini marshmallows that he stirred in using a peppermint stick. The smell immediately hit him, cheerfully crisp in the cold air, mixing into the warm depth of chocolatey goodness that he handed towards Soh to then work on his own. He chose whipped cream and sprinkles, settling for a classic. 

Wrapping a gloved hand around the cup, his other reached for Soh's with a wide grin. "Come on. Let's go find some seats."

Zavien led them down the snowy path towards the quieter part of the festivities, where cushioned chairs and cozy blankets had been laid out beneath the sky decorated with an impressive array of colors. It was tempting just to stand and stare, but he managed to divide his attention in search of a comfortable set of chairs, eyes darting occasionally up as he weaved through the selections.

Zavien

DEIMOS

Once everyone was settled and ready, Deimos sent the next rallying pair. Similar circumstances and patterns emerged on Colt and Liam ‘s attempts – it seemed the majority of the teams needed an initial test on the first ring. While the rancher was incredibly skilled on horseback, that wasn’t what tripped her up – the sudden approach on speed centered techniques left her grasping for air as they continued rampaging down the track. Liam, however, defied the error; making quite a nice launch on his jump, and onto the next.

Success courted their favor once again though, and much like so many others, they’d figured out the checks and balances on the necessary system. Colt was able to snag the second ring with a victorious lean, and Liam’s second jump, while not as potent as the first, was still a grand gesture.

Still, it seemed to be anyone’s game now, given how many had missed the first ring.

Shaking his head, still amused and somewhat relieved the medic tent wasn’t full, Deimos shouted out amongst the crowd, deep voice rumbling to catch required attention. “Anyone else want to go?” Otherwise they’d be tallying up the results soon.

--

Once again, Colt misses first ring, but Liam’s jumps are incredible and Colt snags the second ring.

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

I've done nothing wrong
Except for all the atrocities

At Iskra 's startled exclaim, she huffed a breath, humming a little too much on adrenaline and the jovial pursuits of not flailing into the snow. The mere thought of pushing her luck was exactly what she wanted to do – tempting to unleash every other visceral exploit and see how far they could go. “Fiiiiine,” she responded, not unlike a pouting child, though her expression said another thing, eyes already glinting around.

Dismounting though, she patted the horse and thanked it for its efforts (and giving her the opportunity to get back into the saddle, rather than lawn darting). The notion of settling into sitting and watching auroras gave her a serious bout of contemplation – because she felt like she could run and rampage and get away with all of it. Balancing the semantics and possibilities on frameworks they could both enjoy, and maybe she could wreak havoc over at the selections and bar, her grin wove its way back into place. “How about another round of hot chocolate, and we take ‘em to watch?”

the honeybee

Besides that
I'm innocent

everything I let go

Fresh off the track, Erebos’ grin couldn’t be wider. “That was AWESOME!” he shouted to Amhran, fist pumping the whole way until he could dismount. “You were so good on the jumps!” because he had been – whether it was beginner’s luck or his brother suddenly and certainly had a brand new skill to harness and harbor. Patting at Sparkles, he went into his pockets and grabbed a handful of peppermint sticks he’d snagged earlier from the hot cocoa booths, offering them up to the pony as he handed him back to where the volunteered animals were. “You were amazing. I’m sorry I doubted you.” Giving the decrepit equine one last scratch behind his ears, he then intended to traverse to his next destination. A seven year old must keep himself busy, after all.

Departing that area, he gleefully ran to where Glas was waiting. “Did you see us ride?!” he started immediately, gloved hands already going towards the snow and lifting it upwards in a shower of energy and powder.

Erebos

has claw marks on it

the harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun

Breathless, pleased and entirely unsure what has just happened, if anyone asked Amhran to relay the last few minutes he'd be hard pressed to say much more than it was really fun! Still, it's with a broad grin to Erebos that he gets out of his skis and collects them up, offering Sparkles a gentle pat on the neck as the equine is showered with praise and peppermint sticks.

"And you rode really well too!" he exclaims to the boy, still a little breathless from the event but feeling thoroughly enchanted by it in a way he'd not considered previously. "I'm going to go and get some cocoa and watch the others," he tells Erebos, departing from him to return his equipment and then do just that.

i've become a master at breaking my own heart with simple thoughts,

Sipping the hot cocoa and remaining on the outskirts, Glas watches the race as it gets underway. It’s a lot more energetic than he’s used to, eyes wide and brows lifted as he remains silent, watching everyone cross over the jumps and the puffy dust of snow that erupts into the sky as they ski through. And once it was done, well, Glas turns to get another refill of the cocoa as he turns around and spies Erebos coming closer.

He nods nearly immediately to the question, a small smile growing on his face, a little awkwardly as he cradles the cup of cocoa in his hands. “Y-yes. You did really well.” Glas says, smiling brightly to the youth. “D-did you have fun?” He can’t help but to ask, but based by the way Erebos looks, the crafter can only assume he had a blast.

dreams and hopes that are impossible to achieve

GLAS

COLT

Setting her heels into Biscuit and hauling ass down the frozen lane proves to disagree with her, initially. The cold that nips and bites against her rushes in with sudden, full force as her excitement gets the best of her and sends it pouring into her lungs. It's such an abrupt chill that settles in her chest that it burns, and she has to double over the saddle for a moment to cough, missing the first ring.

Straightening up with a hint of tears in the corner of her eyes, the cold no joke, Colt gets her bearings back in order. Thankfully, Biscuit is better equipped and keeps gunning for the finish line, hauling Liam with an ease that allows him to perform better than expected, and Colt flashes back a grin towards him as his first jump achieves height. Focused now, and more buttoned up, Colt grabs their second rings and they send Liam vaulting again, speeding over the finish line with a victory anyone who didn't break a leg can freely claim.

"Hey, nice job out there!" she applauds the carpenter as they get off the track fully. Biscuit is still led behind her, nostrils blowing faintly. Colt claps a hand on Liam 's shoulder in approval, shaking faintly as she beams a smile at him. "You are full of surprises!"

Cowgirls don't cry
Ride, baby, ride
It's gonna hurt every now and then
If you fall, get back on again

everything I let go

Launching immediately into the description of the event from his perspective, even though Glas would’ve been easily capable of seeing the situation firsthand, Erebos’ enthusiasm was a bright spark of kindling, arms going wide as he set the tone. “It was so fun! At first I was like, whoa, this might be tough because Sparkles is, well, Sparkles, and I was a little worried about Amham on the jumps because neither of us have done it before, but then I got to the second ring and we flew!!” In retrospect, he probably should’ve had less sugar and he’d make an appeal to his father about the actual merits of said pony, but that could come later. “I hope we do it again next year and I’ll be even better!” New goals and aspirations, and he could cross portions off his list. After all, no one saw Marcus here, eh? Another one in the books for Erebos.

Grinning at Glas again, he eyed the hot cocoa. “What kind did you get?” as if he hadn’t sampled several flavors already and intended to snag at more. “Do you want to make snowmen by the aurora viewing? There’s a bunch over there already but I’ll bet they’ll just watch,” and be a bit boring. It seemed the more sedate option of the day.

Erebos

has claw marks on it

Soh accepted the offered cup from Zavien with a smile, wrapping her mittened hands around the warm beverage and taking a sip. As expected, it was absolutely heavenly, a decadent cup of cocoa that had Soh humming happily, the noise drowned out by the cheering erupting behind them. When Zavien turned back with his own cup, Soh grabbed his hand with one of her own and followed along towards the aurora viewing.

The sounds from behind them quieted as they grew closer to that part of the festival. Cushioned chairs and cozy blankets had been set out beneath the starry sky, and Soh weaved through them after Zavien in search of a set of chairs. Spotting some, she squeezed his hand and gestured in their direction, then led them to where they could grab a large, fluffy blanket to share before settling in. Careful not to spill her hot chocolate, she cozied up beneath the blanket, holding up an edge to allow him to join her. "So," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper to avoid bothering the others viewing the aurora. "I was thinking that we might could visit the clinic when we get home. To find out the gender?"

And though I can't recall your face
I still got love for you

Sohalia

Liam

Only twenty minutes to sleep

Liam braced for the impact of being hauled across the starting line, and very nearly fell flat on his face anyway. Still, he managed to regain his bearings with surprising speed, learning quickly on the fly (haha, get it) how to keep upright. When it came to the jumps, he fared better still, soaring through the air to land gracefully, absorbing the impact of each landing with his knees. It was both easier and harder than it looked - though he was certain that his success was largely due to beginner's luck and not any innate skill.

In any case, when they crossed the finish line, Liam's cheeks were pink with the exhilaration of the game. "Thanks," he said to Colt with a laugh, grinning over at her as he bent to remove the skis. "Glad to know an old dog can still learn new tricks." Straightening with a jovial wink, he moved to return the skis to where they belonged, though he paused to call over his shoulder, "Come find me if you want to go again."

But you dream of some epiphany

i've become a master at breaking my own heart with simple thoughts,

Glas watches as Erebos erupts with all the childish excitement of skijoring – he assumes, having never partook – and it’s hard to hide the small smile that tugs on his scarred face as he nods along, letting the youth recollect the series of events that he’d definitely seen from this vantage point. “You’ll have p-practice.” Glas offers with a nod that Erebos more than likely would be better next year – and wondering how his father will fare with the fact he imagines the youth might be requesting a backyard full of ski jumps to practice on until next year.

As for the cocoa in his hands, he glances down to it as if a bit surprised. “P-peppermint b-bark.” He says of which cocoa he’d gotten. It was the perfect additional little wintery treat that Glas was fond of, and when the option of going and building snowmen come up he nods and shoots the youth a small smile. “Sure. W-with the legs, right?” Sitting, as they’d done in the little sketch Glas had created.

dreams and hopes that are impossible to achieve

GLAS

everything I let go

Erebos ceased talking for a moment as Glas made a statement, granting him the second for the synapses to connect and he could follow another train and trail of thought. “Oh yeah, true! And then I can get better and better and better. Maybe I can get on a bigger pony too! Or get one and keep it at home! And then I can build like a mini track around Dad’s targets…,” growing more excited by the moment, he began walking while they talked, heading over to where groups had gathered to watch stars and streaks of color, but not lessening the volume of his voice.

“Oooh I like that kind too!” he finally answered once he realized Glas had tried to get a word in edgewise. “Have you tried the caramel with toffee?!” Then, nodding enthusiastically, for he recalled the sketch of said snowman with rapt delight, he got to work, crouching in the snow and beginning to hoard anything nearby, taking in large armfuls and forming makeshift legs.

Erebos

has claw marks on it

i've become a master at breaking my own heart with simple thoughts,

Nodding along as Erebos picks up the thread that Glas has put down, the smile that stretches across his scarred face is easy and warm, bolstered by the slow sip of the peppermint bark cocoa he’s currently indulging in to fight off the chill. “You’ll be b-busy.” Glas says with a soft laugh, following alongside Erebos toward where people sit to watch the aurora and the stars beyond.

It leaves him to pick a spot where they might be able to start building a snowman, choosing a spot nearby to place his hot cocoa lest it get cold and spill in the snow. “I haven’t. Is it your fav-favorite?” He asks, pulling his gloves a bit tighter as he starts to make the base large ball of the snowman, glancing over at Erebos occasionally to see how the snowman legs are coming along.

dreams and hopes that are impossible to achieve

GLAS