A Little Frostbite Never Killed Anyone [Open]

[Levana]

Winter 67, 511 AV

As the sun rose from its morning perch into the cloudy skies, people began to stir within the Skyglow hold. Muttered voices and silent whispers filled the rooms as their inhabitants awoke and prepared for their daily routines. Outside the snow was falling, coating the icy world in a nice blanket of pearly delight. The wind came and went in gusts. It would kick up the snow and hold it in midair like an eerie fog before it finally settled. It was days like these that made working outside harder than usual. Hunting parties would often come back unsuccessful, stating that the cause of the misfortune was the snowstorms. Children often played inside the warmth of their hold and plays and singing sessions would be held throughout the day. It was a very lazy day.

But not for one girl. Today was a new adventure, a new quest with knights and beasts and evil kings. A chance to explore the world around her as she had done for many years, climbing up snowy hills and sliding back down them, spelunking through abandoned caves, and "playing" with the local wildlife. She loved adventure, loved exploring, and loved finding new things. She was Levana Skyglow, A cheery girl with a mind filled to the brim with imagination. True, it often got her into to trouble, but it made no difference to Levana. With her father traveling to far away places to sell his goods and her mother tending to the crops and hold, she was free to do as she pleased.

Today was no different. Already Levana was out of bed, dressed from head to toe in fur, and ready for anything the elements could throw at her. She hastily ate her breakfast and covertly slipped past her sleeping parents into the winter wonderland, stretching her arms and legs as she mapped out her day. Perhaps she would spend a bit of time at the frozen lake and skate a bit. Then she could go and play in the patch of trees to the south. Very well. She nodded and bounded off towards her destination. The snow was falling quite heavily, and it began to clump together on her clothes, eventually melting and running down her back. She shivered, yet continued. She wasn't going to let a little cold water stop her. Something inside of her DID make her stop though. She placed both feet firmly on the ground and turned her head in all directions. She felt as if she were being followed. No one had ever accompanied her on her adventures, as far as she knew. She shrugged it off, thinking that she was just a tad tired, or that she was going slightly insane.

She arrived at the lake in no time, immediately kneeling down in the snow to begin working on her first snowman of the day. It was a sort of tradition to her, like she was marking her territory, or saying "Hey, I was here". Either way she had become an excellent snowman-er, so much so that she did it out of habit rather than anything else. yet she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was being watched by someone. The fog was heavy enough to permit such a thing. But who wanted to spy on little ol' Levana? She ignored it and continued her work, eventually creating a neat little snowman with stones for eyes and sticks for arms. "That'll do" she said, stepping back to admire her work. Once she was satisfied with the creation she stepped out onto the ice, letting the slippery surface do the rest. Her boots were not well made for skating, but Levana had found that wetting the bottom would help significantly. Or at least it seemed that way to her. He slid across the surface of the lake, humming one of her childhood songs: "The Thief of Ashtegale". She stopped again. Okay, now she knew someone was watching her. With a strong and steady voice she called out "Hello?", hoping for some sort of reply.

[Malia]

Adjusting to a new environment was crucial if one wanted to survive. It was best done by exploring a bit and experiencing the novelty from as many perspectives as possible. Malia had been wandering the streets of Avanthal for a few days. Listening to the residents and watching the Icewatch near the barracks and around the gates had given her a fairly good image of how the government of Avanthal worked. There was Morwen, of course, and she commanded the Icewatch. But the culture part took place inside the Holds. As a stranger, Malia couldn’t simply step inside and ask if she could listen to their stories and watch their daily routine. Every now and then, there seemed to be festivities here and there, but an open festival had not yet occurred.

That particular morning, the snow was falling in thick flakes, steadily and silently. Malia was clad in a wool cloak and wore a vest and blouse underneath, although nothing of that prevented the cold and wetness from seeping in. Her boots were made from leather, so they didn’t hold off the snow very well too. Any ordinary person would immediately look for the local clothing shop, but not Malia. As long as the foreign city caught her attention, she didn’t notice the desolate condition of her clothing. Of course, in the evening she would have to let the pieces dry for the next day.

Avanthal was of cold beauty. Every building was made of a strange, blueish material they called icestone. It was cold to the touch, as cold as Malia’s skin when she ran her fingers over its smooth surface. Lost in observations of the architecture, Malia first didn’t notice the figure walking a few feet away from her. When she looked down to prevent the snow from covering her face and wetting her eyes, she noticed the other girl. Packed in suitable clothing for the weather, she must be a Vantha. One didn’t come across many strangers so far in the north anyway. Malia started aligning her steps with those of the Vantha. Enthusiasm was in the other one’s movement, she observed. Malia followed the girl, keeping about three feet of distance between them. She used the wind blowing the snow up like a veil so the girl didn’t notice her. When the girl stopped, she stopped as well. Her clothes were dark, but the snow was falling heavy. Even she could only discern the girl with great difficulty. When she lost sight of her, she simply followed the tracks in the snow.

Eventually they arrived at a frozen lake. Malia watched from afar as the girl started building a snowman. Was that something all Vantha did, building human-like statues from snow and ice? She didn’t see the meaning, although there probably wasn’t any. Pulsers were like that, she knew. The fact that the lake was frozen in its entirety fascinated her more.

The girl finished and entered the ice, sliding over it like she was dancing. Malia watched. Never had she seen something like that before. Oh, she had traveled far and wide, but the far north with its snow and ice and large beasts had always been considered too dangerous for her fragile body. Things had changed since then. Time had revealed that there was still much she didn’t know of. But Malia tried to gather more knowledge whenever possible.

When the girl called out, Malia didn’t retreat. She simply remained at the edge of the lake, standing next to the snowman, hands in pockets, hood casting a shadow over her pale features. There was no expression in her black eyes, although a glint of red and blue filled them with eerie cold light. “I won’t do you any harm”, she called back in her typical monotone voice. To prove her words, she took her hands out of the pockets. Pale skin, long fingers, no gloves. Then she waited for the girl’s curiosity to draw her nearer. It was most likely that the Vantha had never seen her before.

[Levana]

A sound reached Levana's ears, one she was not familiar with. Slowly it formed a sentence, struggling against the whistling wind that surrounded her. The words themselves were comforting, but the level voice seemed slightly dangerous. It sent an uncomfortable chill down her back. It was the shock, really. Levana's wasn't known for being easily scared. She processed the words carefully in her head. Something about them seemed inhuman. It wasn't warm and cheery like her Hold-mates. In fact, it didn't seem to have much emotion at all. Very business like. Only her father ever spoke like that. 

She shifted her posture so that she was standing up straight with both glove covered hands rubbing against the other to produce heat. She didn't need it, but it did provide some comfort. It was very strange fir her, being in this position. It was a kind of "what do i do now?" moment. The wind blew violently past her, raising strands of hair into her face, A large brown glove brushed them back down and created a never-ending cycle that began to irritate her. The bright blue eyes squinted towards a figure concealed partially by the snow. It seemed human aside from it's frighteningly pale skin. Maybe it was friendly. Only one way to find out.

With some difficulty Levana shuffled off the ice, her boots scraping loudly against the frozen layer, Her curious gaze fixed on the humanoid. It was a little awkward for her, seeing as how she had little interaction with humans. She preferred to have silent evening to herself. Still, when she did get the chance she made herself the center of attention, grabbing the attention of anyone within listening distance. It was odd for a Vantha to want to be alone with minimal interaction with others, but then again she was always the odd one. Eventually her feet met the earth and she took long strides towards her target, a large smile on her face like a child walking through a candy store. It can be said that Levana was a child stuck in a teenager's body, and it wouldn't be far from the truth. Levana had never really "grown up", and as such acted very much like a child. It wasn't that she didn't want to mature, rather it was difficult for her. All her life she was never expected to be mature, and as such she stayed a child.

She stopped several feet away from the stranger, studying her features with bright eyes, darting to and fro as they studied the woman. She seemed very fragile, like glass. Levana felt sorry for the stranger. Surely she couldn't be comfortable in such harsh weather, what with her frail figure and unsuitable clothing. Her face was inhumanly smooth, her pale skin camouflaged with the snow. Her eyes automatically moved towards the bright red hair that sat atop her head, a bright beacon in the mist that surrounded them. "You're very pretty," she said, without thinking. Once she realized what she had done her cheeks turned a light shade of pink and her eyes widened. "I-I mean..." she tried to recover, but ultimately failed. "Sorry..." she said With a sheepish smile. "Anyways... I'm Levana. Levana Skyglow." she extended an uncovered hand, bruised and beaten from her many adventures. 

[Malia]

Malia wondered what the girl was smiling about, if it was her. Well, the only other person one could smile about was her, so she assumed that the girl liked some part of her appearance. She took in that detail and memorized it. Conversing with the girl wasn’t done for pleasure, but rather for more logical reasons. Since she was foreign to that part of Taldera, especially the city of Avanthal, it wouldn’t hurt to get information from a native. The girl seemed trusting and friendly enough, walking towards her with that smile plastered across her pretty features.

The wind hit her hard, now that the hood was gone, and blew strands of blood red hair over her eyes. Malia shoved them under the cloak. Sometimes the beauty of her current body was a disadvantage ...

When standing in front of her, the girl’s gaze went here and there and studied Malia from head to toe. Her movement reminded Malia of a raptor, a bird moving its head abruptly. Those birds didn’t want to be surprised, took in all of their surroundings before they made themselves comfortable. Was the young Vantha the same? The conclusion, her being pretty, washed that assumption away, though. Such were the first words of a curious person. They merely confirmed what Malia had already suspected: The girl would be a good information source. “Thank you”, she replied, albeit showing no sign of appreciation or embarrassment. She didn’t even look away for one second. The red glow in her pitch-black eyes probably had an irritating effect. Malia had been experimenting with her looks, and the outcome had been quite the interesting one.

She didn’t react to the girl’s apologize, but nodded when she introduced herself. The extended hand looked bruised as if she had already experienced much despite her youth. Malia wondered for a brief moment what the girl was doing in her free time. Surely she couldn’t be married already? She guessed the Vantha was just between child- and adulthood, stuck in between. No child anymore, but not married yet. Of course, her behavior seemed to be more childlike than grown-up. Malia took Levana’s hand. Although the touch only rested for a split second, her hands obviously were cold as ice. “It is a pleasure to meet you.” Did she really mean it? “My name is Azola.”

Despite the relative safety of a city so high north, she continued using her alias. One never knew, after all. Her enemies could be everywhere, even among the lively Vantha. That reminded her of her goal, though, and she asked: “Would you mind taking a stroll with me? As a foreigner, I do not know Avanthal very well and wish to change that.” She sounded genuine, and she was. Saying what she meant was rare for someone as entangled in whatever it was. Malia didn’t quite know what to think of that fact. Was she becoming ... weird? Less like the pulsers she tried to imitate?

She didn’t know. She didn’t know at all.