milliways_bar | (no subject)

The sun silently beats down on the grounds, waves of heat radiating off of everything. But then, a soft rumble begins. It grows louder and louder, starting in the mountains and crashing down down down until a great roaring avalanche of snow arrives...

The calm returns but the blistering heat is gone. "How's that, Autor?" Mia asks.

The boy smiles shyly at her, his warm, knitted scarf demonstrating a clear gradient of skill from raw novice to advanced beginner. "It's lovely," he says, squeezing her fingers in his gloved ones. "Thank you, Mia." Releasing them, he turns and places a hand on his hip to watch the next step.

At the mouth of the inlet a narrow cliff juts out into the water, covered by a thin layer of soil to which a mat of short grass is clinging, littered with demon bunny droppings. On this ledge, Korra stands, her feet planted firmly against the ground. Starting with that wide stance, Korra moves a foot and then pushes her arms in front and up, causing the lake bed to shift, and the waters to part as a narrow ledge of earth divides a smaller pond away from the larger lake.

Turning into the inlet, she leaps onto the surface and slides out into the center on a shelf of ice that stretches out in larger and larger crystals as it thickens beneath her. In the center of what will be the ice rink, Korra stops, and takes one calm, centering breath.

And then with her eyes closed she moves again, this time much more fluid in her motions, turning a slow circle on the ice with her arms in front of her, swaying as her weight shifts from foot to foot. A bubble of water rises in front of her, and as she pushes out, the bubble expands, passing through Korra so she's standing in the center of an ever expanding air filled bubble of water, stretching further and further out so by the time it hits the shore any onlookers will feel the cool sensation of water vapor from a fountain. She shifts her movement again, and the snowflake patterns of ice crystals appear at the top and the spread around the bubble, crystallizing and solidifying in a lattice of clear ice.

Then Korra opens her eyes, and finishes the rink as she slides back to the shore. There, a further turn and a sweeping gesture towards one side shatters a large hole in the side, perfect for a double door.

"Neat trick, Avatar," Autor says, accompanied by a saucy grin and an informal salute. With a few simple words, Mia sets a flurry fluttering down in the dome.

Once the rink is complete, the boy heads off to help an industrious ten-year-old set up the food and drinks table. There are some things too heavy for Rae to lift.

[Credit to the respective muns for their pups' part in the EP! Standard party post rules apply, all tags welcome.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's five on five, plus the goalkeeper. Getting down the ice and controlling the puck is not easy. Getting it in the net isn't easy, either.

"And it can get a bit rough out there." And painful. It's not like anyone wears a helmet.

She nods, taking it all very seriously.

"I'm a tough ol' bird. I can take care of myself."

She smiles, nudging him with her shoulder to further emphasize her point.

"Against five burly men with sticks and blades on their feet?" Clearly, he is only somewhat impressed by Kate's toughness.

"Well, I reckon it's a good thing I've got you for a teacher."

Oh, the ways he could take that, and the teasing little smile that chases after it.

Howard laughs.

"You really feel up to trying your hand with a stick before you are comfortable with skating?"

"What's the worst that could happen?"

She's very skilled at falling down.

"You fall on your rather shapely behind." Blunt. But flirtatious. That is a neat trick.

"But if you want to risk that, I will get you a stick."

"Mind your tongue, sport!"

Not as neat a trick as the way she sounds threatening and amused in the same breath.

"I think I'll risk it."

Howard skates a few feet to retrieve another stick. The plastic blades are weird, but practical.

"Here you go."

She wobbles.

"All right, show me your stuff. How do I do this?"

"Here's the basic first move." Which he shows without actually swatting away the puck.

She bites her lip.

"All right ... "

Concentrating, concentrating ... the puck skirrs across the ice, out of reach before she can try and bat it back in a straight line.

"Whoopsie-daisy."

"You ever try golf? Or baseball?" This might take some effort.

"Not much opportunity for playin' sport when y'grow up the way that I did. I know somma the rules?"

Does that count?

"So I can't really suggest you use skills from those sports to help here. Guess I should just demonstrate." And hope his old skills are still there somewhere.

"Yes, please."

She hands him the stick, tossing in a blistering smile for good measure.

"Show me what you've got."

He smiles, and then begins to skate around to get his footing. Then starts to adjust the stick, gaining a little speed.

And finally, he slaps the puck towards the net. And misses.

"Get the idea?"

"You missed."

Pointing out the obvious? Yes, but only because it's funny. She skates after him, a little less steady but no less sure of herself. She's uncertain she'll be able to skate as fast as he just showed her, but hell if she isn't going to try.

"Have y'ever gone so fast that y'missed the puck an' tripped over it?"

Inquiring minds.

"I think almost everyone who plays does that sometimes." The pros, not as much, though. "Like I said, this isn't an easy sport. But that might be why it's worth playing.

"Fair 'nough."

Seems like that's all she really needed to know. She nods decisively, and reaches for the stick.

"I think I've got the idea well 'nough. Might need a li'l direction when it comes t'movin' the puck, though."

"I would suggest to follow your instinct, at least at first. You don't need to overthink it." Sports is not about thinking to Howard.

Instinct. She's got plenty of those, and while she can over-think with the best of them, she does know when to turn her inner voice down.

She takes a breath, skates over to where the puck ended up, and lines it all up.

(She even manages to keep herself from slipping. Well, mostly. There was that one minor stumble, but she recovered quickly.)

It looks more like she's playing a game of shuffleboard than hockey, moving at a glacial speed, but she is moving the puck.

"Not bad for a first try. I suggest you get closer to the net before shooting." Maybe right in front of it.

What are you trying to say, Howard?

She shoots him a look, and makes another circle. She's approaching the net at the breakneck speed of a snail's crawl, scooting the puck closer, closer ...

She winds up to shoot, hits the puck, and then — keeps going. With a yelp, her body rotates and goes spiraling backwards.

(But the puck is in the net! As in, just inside the net. It had enough momentum to slide past the goal posts. Take that, Mr. Stark.)

"Need a hand, Kate?" He's just a bit condescending. As men of his era go, he's practically liberated. "Not a bad shot."

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