• Solo • Winter Wonderland

[Seira Shiryu]

9th Cylus, 721


Ever since the Mummers Ball, Seira had had a growing fascination with dancing. It wasn't something she had ever really thought about before. Or if she had, she had thought it a frivolous waste of time; something that people did at fancy parties. But all of that had changed after she saw what dancing could do. Dancing at the ball had called to the Immortal Daia, and she had responded to that call.

Seira had thought a lot about dancing since that trial. And those thoughts had made her realize that she had a connection of sorts to dancing through the music that she played. You needed music to be able to dance, after all. And while music was not as big a part of her life as it had been when she and Seri had been living on the streets of Rynmere, she would always feel connected to it. That, and the fact that Daia herself had seen something in her...something worth giving her her blessing for made Seira see dancing in a whole new light.

So when Seira had heard that Lake Lovalus had frozen over and that people were going there to dance on the ice, Seira couldn't help but want to go. Seri had been less interested in going, mostly because neither of them knew how to ice skate. But she quickly gave in when she saw how much Seira wanted to go.

And so they found themselves at the edge of the lake watching people skating on the ice. Some of them were just ice skating. But some of them...some of them were dancing. It was a beautiful sight to see. The dancers' movements were elegant, and graceful. They slid over the lake almost as if they were flying.

"You want to go out there and dance with them, don't you?" Seri asked in amusement.

Seira nodded, her eyes never once leaving the dancers.

"You know that it isn't as easy as they make it look, right?"

Seira nodded again. It couldn't be as easy as it looked. That would be impossible because it looked so...effortless. So free.

"We don't even have those shoes with silver blades on them that let you slide over the ice." Seri pointed out.

"And I bet they're too expensive for us to buy."

They probably were. Seira knew that. And yet...

"People slip and slide on ice all the time in Cylus no matter what kind of shoes they're wearing. Having those special shoes probably makes it easier, but I bet we can skate on the ice without them if we try." Seira said as she moved towards the edge of the lake determinedly.

[Seira Shiryu]

Seri hurried after her. When Seira put one foot onto the ice of the lake, her foot slid beneath her awkwardly. It wasn't enough to make her fall...but only because she threw all of her weight onto her back leg, and took her foot off of the ice.

"You must be knew to this. Want some help?"

Seira's eyes widened when she recognized one of the men who had been dancing on the ice. She nodded.

"Yes. To both. I've never ice skated before, and I think that I do need a lot of help. Can you teach me to dance on ice the way you can?" she asked hopefully.

The man chuckled at her eagerness.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Before you can learn how to dance on the ice, you must first know how to ice skate. How strong are your ankles? My name's Jarvin, by the way."

Seira blinked in confusion when she heard the question about her ankles.

"I'm Seira Shiryu, and this is my twin sister, Seriel. My ankles are...ankles. I've never really thought about how strong they were. Does it matter?"

"For some of the moves in ice dancing it does, yes. When dancing on the ice, some of the moves require that you skate while balancing on one foot for extended periods of time. That requires both very good balance so that you won't fall when you perform those moves, and ankles that are strong enough to hold your weight for extended periods of time while all of your weight is balanced on one ankle."

Seira nodded to show that she had heard what had been said. She tried to commit that information to memory so she would remember it in the future. Jarvin seemed to realize what she was trying to do because he chuckled.

"Do you want to give it a try? If you'd like, I can show you the basics of ice skating, and if you take to it, I might be able to show you a few of the simpler moves in ice dancing."

A quick glance at Seri told Seira that her twin didn't think that it was a good idea. And in some ways she'd be right. They didn't own ice skates. Would it be possible to really learn how to ice skate without them? But even so, Seira was determined to try.

"I'd love to. Does it matter that I don't have any ice skates?"

Jarvin frowned.

"Well...yeah, it does. There are some things you can do without them, of course. But it won't be the same. Stopping will be harder, for example. There is a way to stop when you have ice skates that you won't have without them. I won't be able teach you to dance on the ice without ice skates. But I can teach you how to manage yourself on the ice at least. How to move without falling...that sort of thing."

"I'll take what I can get. Thank you."

Seira turned to her twin.

"Do you want to learn how to ice skate too?" she asked.

Seri shook her head.

"I think I'll stay where I know I won't fall and make a fool of myself." she said firmly.

"I'll watch you, though."

[Seira Shiryu]

Seira followed Jarvin as he led her out onto the ice. When she started to lose her balance, he caught her arm and steadied her.

"Easy does it." he cautioned her.

Seira gave him a grateful look. He held her steady until she was able to find her balance. When he let go of her, he remained nearby ready to support her if she lost her balance again. Which she did. It took her many attempts before she was able to find her balance so she could stand on the ice without her feet sliding out from under her.

"Are you ready to take your first step?"

Seira nodded.

"You'll want to push off with your back foot. Not too hard, or you'll lose your balance and fall. A gentle push will give you some forward movement."

Seira tried to do what Jarvin told her to do, but she must have pushed too hard because the next thing she knew, she was sprawled in a heap on the ice.

"Are you okay?"

Seira nodded. She promptly regretted it as her head pounded with pain. It came on quickly, and got steadily worse until she wanted to cry from it. Seira's hand rose shakily to rub at the spot where the pain was concentrated. Her face and neck hurt as well, and the pain made her feel sick to her stomach. The world suddenly seemed too bright, and the sounds around her were too loud so she shut her eyes tightly, and hunched in on herself.

"Seira?"

"My head hurts." she muttered softly.

Jarvin bent down, and helped Seira to her feet. Then he guided her carefully off the ice to where a worried Seri was waiting.

"It's happening again, isn't it?" she asked quietly.

Seira could hear the worry in her sister's voice even with the pain she was it. She wanted to reassure her sister that she was okay, but that obviously wasn't true, and they both knew it. She wanted to tell Seri that this was just a headache, but that wasn't true either. Not when she felt sick to her stomach, and everything was too loud and bright. Nothing she could say would reassure her sister, so Seira stuck with the truth.

"Yes." Seira said with a small whimper.

Seri glanced at Jarvin.

"My sister isn't feeling well. Is there some place where she can rest for a while before I take her home?"

"Of course. Follow me."

Seira felt her sister support her as they followed Jarvin away from the lake.

[Doran]

Seira:

Knowledge:
Dancing: ice skating can be another form of dancing
Dancing: one must know how to ice skate before one can dance on the ice
Dancing: dancing on the ice requires very good balance
Dancing: anyone can slip and slide on the ice, but not everyone can dance on it
Endurance: the pain of a migraine
Strength: ice dancing requires strong ankles

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: A migraine caused by the bond she has with her Nekosani bondmate settling/developing.
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 10

- - -

Comments: The Mummer’s Ball is an event that had a lot of impact on a lot of PCs. You described Seira’s growing fascination with dancing very well in my opinion. I wonder which form Seira’s devotion of Daia will take in the future – and whether Seri will eventually share her interest in Daia!

You did a good job at conveying the twins’ lack of experience when it comes to ice skating in my opinion. They didn’t even seem to know what those shoes are called. The twins have a lot of things in common, but they are also different in certain ways. Seira seemed more interest in ice skating, for example. Seri seemed a little more reluctant to me.

I think you did a good job at making them a little different from each toher!

It was a good thing that Jarvis was willing to teach them a bit. I wish you had described him a little more though. We never find out what he looks like or how old he is, for example, even though he plays an important part in this thread.

That being said, I wonder if/when Seira will find out where her headaches are coming from – and how!

Unfortunately, I could not award you the following knowledge:

Dancing: ice dancing is a beautiful thing to watch

Ice dancing is indeed beautiful to watch, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the actual act of ice dancing. Feel free to suggest a replacement knowledge though!

Enjoy your rewards!