Ice Skating!

[yinyangwizard]

It is no longer pre-Christmas or currently-Christmas, so the coast is clear for Seimei to return to Milliways. Whew!

He’s dressed for the outdoors, with a pair of ice skates slung over one shoulder. Before going out, he stops at the Bar to say hello, check his messages, obtain a thermos of hot tea, and check his messages. (It looks like Emcee-san is hosting a New Year’s party. Seimei will have to bring mochi.)

That done, Seimei goes out to the lake. He checks to make sure that the ice is thick enough to skate on, and fixes any weak spots in the crust with the help of his koi spirit. Then he straps on his skates and, well, off he goes!

Catch him either in the bar or on the lake.

Comments

[iprotectyou]

The giant of a man approaching from the bar is also dressed for the weather, armorless, wearing a red hoodie, a soft, yellow scarf, and blue fingerless gloves.

"Hoi! May the Force of others be with you! I'm Baze Malbus," he calls, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"What in blazes are you doing?"

[yinyangwizard]

“Ice Skating!” Seimei calls out, gliding over the ice in a wide arc. He changes course to bring him close to where Baze is standing on the shore and executed a quick hockey stop, spraying ice particles into the air. “Would you like to try? If you are not afraid of falling down repeatedly, you can pick up the basics with a little practice.”

[iprotectyou]

Baze laughs, startled by the man's graceful stop.

"The likelihood of my spraining an ankle is high," Baze says, eyeing the skates.

"How do you balance on knives?"

[yinyangwizard]

“With practice,” Seimei answers. “Strong calf muscles help.”

[iprotectyou]

"Well," Baze says, resisting the urge to scratch his beard, as he'd have to wash his hands again, "I don't mind falling, as long as I don't fall through the ice. I'll be right back with skates."

He ambles back to the bar, in no great hurry. When he returns, he has a pair of fire-engine-red skates slung over his shoulder. He settles in the snow next to the lake and straps his feet into them, and then starts hobbling onto the ice.

He falls as soon as he pushes off, landing hard on his hip and cracking up.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei skates over and offers Baze a hand up. “Keep your feet at shoulder width. Center your hips over your feet, and your shoulders over that.”

[iprotectyou]

Baze accepts Seimei's help, and manages to stand up again. The Guardian dissolves into giggles, throwing his hands out to try and keep his balance.

"Oh, man, this is really tough!"

[yinyangwizard]

“You are doing well so far. Let us try some basic skating moves. Watch my feet.” Seimei moves his feet so they each create half a circle on the ice by widening the space between his feet and then moving them back together. It’s slow and awkward-looking, but it does propel him forward. “Open, close, open, close. See? Give that a try.”

[iprotectyou]

Open, close. Open, close. Baze manages to propel himself forward about three feet before twisting to look at Seimei again--and falling. The Guardian laughs yet again, leaning his head back on the ice. He rolls to the side and struggles to get to his feet, finally figuring it out. His legs shake as he balances.

"Well, I was doing it!"

[yinyangwizard]

“And you can get up on your own, which is an essential skill in ice skating.” No, really! “Try again. See if you can manage, say, five meters.”

[iprotectyou]

"That's five times what I've done, but I'll try," Baze says, opening and closing his feet. He almost makes five meters, managing four before over balancing and landing on his tailbone.

"Oww. That'll be a bruise."

He rights himself with effort, wobbling once he stands.

[yinyangwizard]

“I suspect bruises do little to deter you,” Seimei says.

Baze is obviously devoted to some athletic or martial pursuit: for that, his pain tolerance has to be higher than average.

[iprotectyou]

"That's true enough," Baze says, throwing his head back and laughing. The action causes him to fall again, groaning as he hits the ice.

He lays there for a few moments, breathing through his nose, and then manages to get to his feet again.

"Okay, let's try this again."

He opens and closes his feet, shuffling along the ice.

"What's the next trick?"

[yinyangwizard]

“Learning to stop without falling down.” Pause. “Well, without necessarily falling down. You make a wedge of your skates, like this.” Seimei turns the toes of his skates towards each other, forming a triangle. “See if you can do this and then straighten your skates again without falling down.”

[iprotectyou]

It looks so simple when Seimei does it. Baze tries, and falls, and tries, and falls again. The third time's the charm, however, and manages to stop himself by forming a wedge with his feet and straightening them again.

Then he falls again, and cracks up.

"I think I'm going to have more bruises here than I would with just sparring."

[yinyangwizard]

"And in different places." Seimei reaches out a hand to help him up.

[iprotectyou]

"Yes, that, too," Baze says, giggling. He takes Seimei's hand and levers himself up.

"I don't normally get knocked on my butt when sparring. My tailbone will be bruised here. Did you fall this much when you were first learning?"

[yinyangwizard]

“Yes,” Seimei answers. “I was very sore the next day! But it was worth it.” He can skate pretty well now.

[iprotectyou]

"Oh, good, I was beginning to think I was bad at this," Baze says, laughing again. His words are clearly teasing and self-deprecating; he is bad at this, and he knows it, but he's till having fun.

"Thanks for teaching me! What's the next trick?"

[yinyangwizard]

"Going backwards," Seimei says. "Same way you went forwards, except do the motions in reverse."

It's all about practicing balance, and getting used to the principles of moving on the ice.

[iprotectyou]

Backwards! Baze doesn't know if he can handle that. He tries, slips, and lands on his tailbone again. Then he stands, and starts opening and closing his feet again. This time, he scoots backwards about a meter.

"Hey, I'm doing it!"

[yinyangwizard]

“That is good! Keep doing it. Try switching between going backwards and going forwards.” Adjusting to sudden shifts in momentum and orientation is an important skill in ice skating.

[iprotectyou]

The first switch from moving backwards to forwards causes a fall--which is totally expected. So does the second, and the third. But by the fourth time, Baze is squeaking along, changing momentum.

"Yeah, this is tougher than I expected. But I'm getting it. Thank you for teaching me."

[yinyangwizard]

“You are welcome. And your persistence is admirable.” Baze doesn’t seem all that fazed by falling down, or by the bruises which will inevitably result.

[iprotectyou]

"Haha, thanks. That's another way to say that I'm stubborn as heck," Baze says, grinning.

"Chirrut is stubborner, though."

[yinyangwizard]

"That can be a positive quality, at times."

Not at all times, of course.

[iprotectyou]

"Yes, such as learning how to ice skate," Baze says, laughing. He maneuvers himself backwards and forwards again, and manages not to fall down. He even stops his momentum.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this! What's the next trick?"

[yinyangwizard]

"Skating the normal way, so you will sometimes only have one foot on the ice at a time. Watch my feet," Seimei instructs. He skates around in a broad circle, putting one foot in front and pushing off gently with the back foot to keep himself moving.

"It is important to establish a rhythm, and also to keep your weight forward a bit."

[iprotectyou]

Baze absorbs Seimei's instruction and demonstration like a sponge. The Jedhan attempts to skate "normally," planting one foot in front of the other and pushing off, but he ends up slipping and almost doing the splits.

"Oww," Baze says, bouncing off the ice. He lays there for a moment, giggling, before pushing himself into a standing position again.

"Well, that was awful. Let's try that again."

Baze attempts the movements again, and falls again. He tries once more, and manages to shuffle around the ice.

"There we go!"

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric borrows some skates from the bar and comes down to join him, dressed in warm, thick furs. It's been a long time since he skated but it doesn't take him long to find his feet again.

He dances on the ice, enjoying the freedom of the smooth glide of it.

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei moves into place beside him, matching his course and speed. “Hello, Sinric-san! I know I have been away for a while, for which I apologize.”

There’s been some stuff going on. And Christmas things make Seimei uncomfortable.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric's smile of greeting is warm and bright. "You have nothing to apologise for, my friend. We each keep to our times and seasons as best suits us. But I am glad to see you again."

[yinyangwizard]

“And I you. Where and when did you learn to skate so well?”

Constantinople does not seem like the right kind of place to pick up that skill. Of course he has traveled widely, and been here for a while, so he had other opportunities.

[thewidewideworld]

"There was a pond of great loveliness near the south wall of the palace of the Tang. Yan took me there, my first winter in those lands. I was so afraid I would fall through the ice, for it was almost as clear as the glass to be found here and the fish beneath it swum merrily despite the cold. He held my hands like a child till I was sure of my feet. I've not felt so coltish since I was a child."

[yinyangwizard]

“Walking on ice for the first time will make anyone feel clumsy,” Seimei says. “But one gets the trick of it, with practice.”

[thewidewideworld]

"And realising it was so lovely to dance on." He turns in a graceful spiral that would make any figure skater proud. "The glide, the freedom of movement. It's sublime."

[yinyangwizard]

"Goodness. You're better at this than I am."

Seimei is proficient in the basics, but can't do fancy tricks like spirals.

[thewidewideworld]

"I dance almost as well as I sing. Though it is a coin less easy to trade, especially now as I'm getting older." and losing his looks. "The ice is lovely to dance on."

[yinyangwizard]

"I am trying to think of an appropriate poem about the subject, but most poems that mention ice do not treat it so positively."

And Seimei's skills at extemporaneous composition - never great even at his best - have largely withered with lack of practice.

[thewidewideworld]

"Winter is too often a time of derivation and fear. It makes sense that ice would be the an object of concern." He glides gracefully at Seimei's side.

[yinyangwizard]

“Also it was often a metaphor for growing distance in a relationship. Or, very rarely, writers’ block.”

[thewidewideworld]

"The growing cold of that which was once warm and vital." Sinric considers, slipping from foot to foot in a smooth glide. "Yes, I can see that. And so to the trapping of one's muse behind walls of ice." he cocks his head. "Do you suffer so, my friend?"

[yinyangwizard]

“With writers’ block? Not lately. I have suffered the dissolution of friendships, but that happens to everyone, given enough time.”

And, well, Seimei has had a lot of time.

[thewidewideworld]

"You carry the memories of better times. Close to your heart. At least that's how I cope, with the people I've lost."

[yinyangwizard]

"It also helps to accept that these things happen. All attachments are inevitably broken, and it is painful when that happens."

(That is, of course, a very Buddhist way to look at it.)

[thewidewideworld]

"So say the teachings of the Buddha." Sinric nods, having learnt such teachings in Nippon. "All things are transient."

[yinyangwizard]

Seimei nods. "But of all worldly attachments, bonds with friends and family are the most worthwhile - we will not see our material things in future lifetimes, but we can reunite with our loved ones in some form or another."

Perhaps he will have a chance to mend some of those broken friendships, one day far hence.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric smiles and holds his hand to his heart. "Just so. I know my beloved Constantine is waiting for me. Any brother Probus with him. I know I will be with them again."