|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Aug 26, 2014 22:46:58 GMT
Annice: She nodded and pulled the blanket up to the bear's chin, looking around every which way as they moved, giggling as she saw some elves run by, throwing snowballs at each other. One lobbed in their direction on accident, but it didn't make it to the carriage. Good thing too! Didn't these kids know there was a cookie on board? She puffed up her cheeks but when they waved apologetically to her she was all smiles again and waved back.
She turned to Sinsir, somewhat nervously. "Is ice skating... difficult?" she asked. "I'm not... the most graceful person, I'm afraid..!"
|
|
|
|
Post by kryss on Aug 27, 2014 19:26:44 GMT
Sinsir: He watched the snowball war fondly. He had only been allowed to participate in small, controlled games in his youth, in case he slipped on ice and broke off a hand.
He was surprised by her comment. He had always thought of her as... Perhaps not particularly graceful, he wouldn't have pegged her as a dancer, but she didn't come across as clumsy either. She was able to step over underfoot sheep and children constantly, and that seemed impressive.
"It's not hard." He promised. "It takes a bit to get the hang of, but I bet by the end of it you'll be fine." They neared the rink, a massive lake of ice in the middle of town. It seemed in the middle of cleaning, with the skaters corralled to half the rink while a battalion of elves on miniature zambonis scooted around the other half, smoothing the ice down. When the coach stopped, he helped her out and walked to the rental booth. "What is your foot size?" He asked.
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Aug 27, 2014 20:18:59 GMT
Annice: Somewhat reassured, she nodded and followed him up to the rental booth.
"Well, if it's the same here as in Easter Village, then a size 7..." she said in a style that almost made it sound like a question. "If not, then I'm not sure!" She wondered if they had measurement charts somewhere. She'd never thought about it being a potential problem not knowing a certain holiday's scale for measuring foot sizes until that moment. She could only hope it was similar or that the elf running the stand knew how to do the conversion.
|
|
|
|
Post by kryss on Aug 29, 2014 6:48:52 GMT
Sinsir: "Women's size seven and men's size ten, please," he asked. His were perfectly size ten, just like everything else about him was perfectly measured. He paid the entrance fee and skate rental fee and turned, handing Annice hers gently. "Careful! The blades are sharp." He sat on a nearby bench and laced his own on, taking toddering but experienced steps towards the nearby entrance. The rink, as always, had customers, but it was not too crowded, and Christmas lights were strung around every surface, lighting the entire rink with a cheery glow. Inside of it, it became clear just how huge the rink was. There were even stalls set up along it, selling snacks and trinkets and baubles.
He waited for her to catch up, ready to catch her if she fell on her first step over the line.
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Aug 29, 2014 6:55:15 GMT
Annice: Lacing on the skates was simple enough- she could tie tennis shoes, obviously. And they were actually significantly warmer! She needed to keep in mind if they came back that slight heels with pink bows aren't very snow-friendly. She stood, wobbling, holding her arms out at a feeble attempt at balancing. She made it to the rink itself without falling, but as soon as she took her first step over the line she stood for a moment, wobbling like a goat taking its first steps, and fell right into Sinsir, letting out a small surprised squeak.
"Ah! I'm sorry!!" she said, already discouraged. She was used to land well enough that she could fake grace for the most part, but ice??? How did this even work???
|
|
|
|
Post by kryss on Sept 18, 2014 21:21:51 GMT
Sinsir: "It's quite alright." He laughed gently, helping her right herself. He held one of her hands as he led we around.
"See? It's not so hard. Step inside and push to glide. Not too hard downwards or your skate will get stuck. Step, push, and glide. Step, push, and glide." He was careful to steer her away from the side with the zambonis, waiting until she got the hang of it to go into the smoother ice.
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Sept 18, 2014 21:57:35 GMT
Annice: She still teetered a bit, and one time she fell again, but got up. Her eyes were focused on her feet as she tried to maneuver around the ice with more confidence.
"O-okay, I think I-- whoa!" She steered around a small elf and skated over to them after the near-collision to apologize before skating back to Sinsir. It wasn't until after she was by him again that she realized she'd actually skated just fine.
"Oh! Well, alright then!" she laughed brightly before skating around a bit. "This isn't so bad!"
|
|
|
|
Post by kryss on Sept 19, 2014 16:06:26 GMT
Sinsir: "See?" He said with a smile, "It's not all that hard. It's a good idea not to look at your feet, actually. More important to see where you're going."
The elves finished cleaning the other side and filed out of a tiny zamboni-with-an-elf-riding-it sized door. The skaters quickly fanned out to fill the entire rink, making things much less cramped. Sinsir skated with her, admiring the stars that had come out, his arms held behind his back. He glanced at Annice, smiling at the clouds of fog her breath was making as she concentrated. He looked at the stars again, spinning to skate backwards in front of her as he did. He was only a proficient skater by Christmas town standards, but he wasn't above showing off for a pretty girl from another town.
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Sept 25, 2014 3:37:35 GMT
Annice: "Oh, but you've clearly had much more practice than me!" She giggled as she watched two young elves skating around and almost holding hands. In her distraction, though, she fell onto her hands and knees and began to have some difficulty getting up, try as she might.
|
|
|
|
Post by kryss on Sept 25, 2014 17:18:33 GMT
Sinsir: "Miss Annice!" He cried in concern. He quickly stopped and crouched down, taking her forearms and guiding her back up, firmly locking his skates in the ice to do so. They slowly rose until finally they were standing. A brief inspection, after removing her glove, revealed her palm to be reddened but otherwise unharmed. He returned her glove to her and suggested,
"Maybe we should give you a little break." He skated her over to the stalls the lined the rink, where she could grip their wooden counters. Some sold trinkets, snowglobes and ornaments and figurenes, all skating themed. Some sold refreshments, hot cocoa and cider and shishkebabs and roasted, candied nuts.
"Are you hungry at all?" He asked. They had been snacking a lot throughout the day, but skating always worked up his appetite.
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Sept 25, 2014 18:49:24 GMT
Annice: "I'm fine! I promise! Just a little spill. But a break does sound nice..." She would have made more of a fuss to get Sinsir to stop worrying, but the way he'd called her 'Miss Annice' and the way he fretted over her to make sure she was okay was... admittedly, hard for her to easily dismiss. She'd always spent so much time looking after everyone else that she'd forgotten how nice it was when someone worried about her. Admittedly, it had been some time since she'd allowed someone to fret over her like she allowed him to.
A little," she replied truthfully. They had been eating basically all day, but being out of the sun and walking around and skating made her hungrier. Adding that to the fact that she'd basically only eaten sweets all day, she was craving something a bit more savory. If that existed in this town. Quite sure it didn't, she began admiring everything in front of her, trying to decide if there was anything around that looked good. She only hoped he wouldn't think she was insatiable...! She would have gladly opted to wait until after their excursion to eat again, had he not asked.
|
|
|
|
Post by kryss on Oct 7, 2014 19:56:17 GMT
Sinsir: "Snacks it is, then!" He said, scooting over to the stalls. She was probably sick of sweets, so he began picking out the saltier and more savory foods. He would have loved to have her try the mince meat pies, but he thought that may be too heavy after a day of snacking. Instead he stopped at the nuts stand. There were dry roasted, honey roasted, salted, candied,! And a few other selections. He picked out candied ones for himself and asked, "Anything catch your fancy?"
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Oct 7, 2014 20:34:08 GMT
Annice: "Oh!" she admired the different kinds of nuts (and more elves!! So cute!) and quietly chose some dry roasted peanuts for herself. She waggled her fingers at the elves a couple stands away who were looking at her curiously. They probably just weren't used to seeing Easter residents...!
"These look lovely," she said finally, having been distracted by the elves. "Thank you!!"
|
|
|
|
Post by kryss on Oct 7, 2014 22:00:26 GMT
Sinsir: "It's no problem at all," he said, eating one of his chestnuts. He skated slowly along to the other stalls, the ones that sold knickknacks and souvenirs. He stopped himself at the edge of one that sold ornaments, many of them crystalline and snow themed, just before he arrived at one that sold snow globes.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" He asked. He was fairly certain she was, but it was always polite to allow a person to confirm themselves how they were feeling.
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Oct 8, 2014 4:26:58 GMT
Annice: She barely kept up with him, but she managed, and she smiled while she did it. All the shops were so colorful and all of them were full of elves that she was all too happy to smile and wave at.
"Yes! It's wonderful here!" she said truthfully. She was starting to feel herself drooping a bit- losing some of her enthusiasm as she lost her energy- but she was having fun! "I have a feeling I'm going to find myself here again soon!"
|
|
