Open A Day To Skate

[Sera]

19 Spring 513 The Vantha girl sat with her knees to her chest, in the snow, right near the lake’s edge. Her hair hung over her shoulder’s in two braids. Idly, she tugged at the braids as she watched the people skate. They all seemed so happy, dancing on the ice, yet she sat there, alone with a frown on her face and skates on her feet that she had rented from Savina. What bothered her the most was that no one wanted to spend time with her. When she got up that morning, her parents were already gone and her sister was still asleep, not wanting to be awakened. Then, when she went on a walk around town, she didn’t see anyone she knew wandering about, which made her feel even worse. It was supposed to a special day. Sera was expecting a good breakfast in the morning. She was expecting her family to want to spend time with her. She was expecting happiness, love, joy… So why was it that she sat by herself next to the Mirror Lake on her seventeenth birthday? Without any more thoughts, she stood in the snow, glanced around on the ice to make sure she wouldn’t run into anyone and slid herself onto the clear reflective lake. The day could only get better. Lost in her own thoughts, Sera didn’t even realize that she was skating awfully close to someone else.

[Yousef]

Sitting at the edge of the lake, Yousef fastens his rented skates haphazardly to his ankles. He didn’t really understand the correct way of tying laces, he was used to wearing sandals after all, but he thinks that he did well enough this time around. He eyes the people skating at the lake, there were small children who were starting out and being taught to balance, there were older kids skating in circles and fooling around with each other and there were a few people doing minor tricks on ice but somehow they still managed to maintain their grace. Yousef stares at them with awe. This was the second time he visited Mirror Lake but the situation then and now was different. This time he could actually try out skating on his own. Yousef stands up and places a nervous foot on the frozen lake, then the other. ‘There, that wasn't so hard.’ He smiles to himself and attempts to move however he finds himself incapable of controlling his direction. He turns his left foot and leans his body to the side and he manages to turn himself around though this didn’t stop him from colliding with a stranger. Yousef loses his balance and falls backwards, landing on his bottom.

[Sera]

When she saw him, it was too late! “Aaiih!” Sera let out a small cry as she slid into the young man. As he fell backwards, she fell forward, landing partially on top of him. It took the Vantha girl a couple seconds to realize that she had her arm around his neck and was pressing most of her weight against him. She looked at him with amber eyes, wide as could be, and finally scrambled herself off of the poor man to sit in front of him on the ice. It didn’t take long before she started babbling in the common tongue! “Oh… Oh my goodness! Oh my... my goodness!!” She stuttered. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying any attention! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Sera couldn’t help but worry that he was hurt, or even upset at her. He had all rights to be, she did just slam into him on ice. The fact that he had to have taken the blunt of the fall made her feel even worse about the situation. Though one thing puzzled her, she had never seen him before, so she figured he was somewhat new to Avanthal. Which meant, Sera believed she had made a horrible impression. Not just for herself, but for the Vantha people.

[Yousef]

Yousef cringed as his back hit the hard floor of the lake. The impact did not so much as hurt him as it surprised him and he let out a startled cry. At that moment, he felt somebody shift on top of him, hurriedly getting up. “Oh… Oh my goodness! Oh my... my goodness!!” came the nervous voice of the stranger. He opens his eyes to see a girl with long braided hair hovering over him worriedly, she was blurting out fast paced apologies. “I’m so sorry, I wasn't paying any attention! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” she stuttered. ‘Oh no’ Yousef thought ‘It’s not her fault’. He was the one who wasn't paying attention and she looked extremely concerned too. Though mildly disoriented, the Benshira hastily sat up and made frantic hand gestures at the girl. “No, no! It’s not your fault!” he faltered, hoping she’d understand and look less anxious. He was never good at getting his point across at the worst of times. Because the young woman in front of him didn't seem convinced, he gave a low rushed bow, hitting her promptly on the forehead as he did so. Yousef cursed inwardly and sputtered out another apology “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I swear I didn't mean for that to happen!” he started to reach out his hand in an attempt to rub the girl’s forehead then stopped halfway, reminding himself that she wasn't one of his sisters.

[Sera]

Sera watched, as the young man tried to convince her it wasn’t her fault. As he flailed his arms around, trying to prove a point, she let out small disagreements, “Oh… but uh… no, no!” not wanting him to take the blame. Maybe it was just the fact that both of them weren’t paying enough attention. But then she stopped, tilted her head to the side and watched him bow to her. What she least expected was for him to hit her against the forehead with his head as he did. “Ow!” It was a small cry, more out of surprise than pain. Rubbing her forehead, she bit her lip as he apologized again, this time for the head bump. Her eyes shifted from amber to a yellow-green. The whole situation was rather funny. He was just as apologetic as she was. Maybe the day was looking up! ’A new friend perhaps?’, the vantha girl thought to herself. “Gee, we seem to have the worst luck!” She said with a grin and waved her hand once. “Before we continue beating each other up, I might as well introduce myself, I’m Sera!" She said with a wide smile. "Would you like to skate with me?”

[Yousef]

Scanning her face for the slightest sign of anger, Yousef sat on the ice stiffly, making nervous fists of his palms. Women were odd to him and he wasn't sure what would tick them off. If she’d decided to slap him and walk away he wouldn’t have any objections, after all, he did just crash into her and left a bump on her forehead, a sore cheek wouldn’t be enough. The girl looked at him then and she raised her arm, Yousef flinched slightly and prepared himself for the impact but instead she waved her hand dismissively and grinned at him. “Before we continue beating each other up, I might as well introduce myself, I’m Sera!" she declared with a broad smile, there was definitely nothing fake about it, he loosened considerably feeling quite relived that she wasn’t mad. "Would you like to skate with me?” she offered in a friendly tone. A small smile broke out of him, tugging at the corners of his lips, he was still a bit shook up but thank Yahal for the turn of events. “My name is Yousef,” he replied in Common tongue, “It’s nice to meet you Sera and I’m still terribly sorry for our uhm,” he looked around them awkwardly and ran a hand to his forehead “bumpy meeting…” He chuckled at his own joke and shakes his head, “But yes, skating sounds good.”

[Sera]

“Yousef?” Sera repeated once to make sure she’d remember, as well as to make sure she heard the name right. The vantha girl didn’t want to make any more of a fool out of herself anyways. “It’s nice to meet you too, Yousef!” And it was, it meant that she wouldn’t be alone for her birthday, or at least while ice-skating. And though she had no intention of telling him that, she was grateful for their little awkward meeting. She flipped both of her braids behind her shoulders so they’d be out of the way and stood in front of him, smiling still. It was then that she looked down and noticed how he had laced his skates. “I’m guessing you haven’t been skating much before.” Sera stated with a smirk. Now, no one could say she was great at skating on ice, or even good, for that matter. To be fair, she hadn’t been ice-skating in a long time. The last time she was even near the lake wasn’t even on the greatest circumstances. Though one thing did confuse her a bit. It went right back to the fact that she hadn’t seen him before. Was he new to town? If he was, Sera would want to hear all about where he was from. If he wasn’t, Sera would be more curious to find out what he had been up to in Avanthal. Yousef wasn’t Vantha, but he was still human. But he didn’t seem so accustomed to the cold. Well, maybe Sera was reading too much into the most basic things. She looked into his light emerald eyes and decided to take a chance and ask a question that had been bugging her. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but… Where are you from?” She asked, then began to skate backwards slowly, hoping he'd skate with her.

[Yousef]

A smile creeps onto his lips as the younger girl mentions his name, “Yes, that’s right.” He says nodding enthusiastically. This girl didn't act like the difficult women he’d been bumping into days earlier, his smile widens feeling pleased with the change. He had trouble composing himself with older women since there seemed to be no means of pleasing them. But because the young Vantha was from around his age group it made him feel less worried to be around her and besides, she reminded him of his younger sister. When Sera made mention of skating, his eyes darted back to his clumsily tied laces, he colors slightly when he noticed that she was staring at them too. He’d have to make up an excuse for this later, he reminded himself as he reached for the intertwined strings. Trying in vain to loosen the knots, Yousef re-did the mess of his laces. He peeks over at Sera’s skates to make sure he was doing it right, he couldn’t seem to get the two big loops and instead he ends up with one. “Well, skating isn’t popular from where I’m from…” he mentions distractedly, still fumbling with the shoestrings. “And I’ve only visited Mirror Lake twice, so I’m a beginner at this…” he reasons, laughing stiffly. He hoped Sera didn’t pay attention to how long it’s taking him to tie these damned shoelaces. After two chimes’ worth of fruitless effort, Yousef settles for a large loop on both skates, seeing that it was better than having interlaced knots that went all around his ankles. He looks up to see Sera silently staring at him through out his failed display of lacing his skates. To his defense, a good knot requires one loop, or so he was taught, but apparently shoes didn’t fit in the same category. He got up carefully, minding the slippery ice floor, and rubbed his gloved hands together. Sera looks at him then, 'What curious looking eyes' was his first thought but this was interrupted with thoughts of sun-kissed lands, long stretches of golden sand and the hearty laughter of his people. She’d ask him about home. “Where I’m from?” he repeats thoughtfully, “I’m from somewhere far away… it’s actually quite incredible how different my home is compared to Avanthal. You’d be surprised.” he realized that Sera had already started skating and he gingerly pushes himself with his left foot, taking small unsteady steps towards her, trying to keep pace.

[Sera]

She looked down at their reflections in the ice. It was like a painting. Sera then spun slowly with the skates, admiring everyone that was around them. They all seemed to move as if a part of the ice. Like live was just a nice comfortable skate around a lake. ‘I’m so glad I came here today.’ She thought to herself. Though she didn’t feel any older, she did feel like she had grown, at least by the way she thought of things. Once Yousef had caught up with her, she turned, skating a bit faster, but always checking back to make sure he was staying close. It was dreadfully obvious that he wasn’t accustomed to the ice, yet alone ice-skating, but he was giving it a try, a brilliant attempt. Sera smiled kindly at him, encouragingly. Definitely a friend in the making. And since she was considering him a friend, she decided to say, “Thanks for skating with me. I know it’s not very important but… it’s actually my birthday today.” Sera turned back, to face Yousef, her feet, angled outwards as she did. With her hands on her hips, she looked him in the eyes. As for a change in the subject… “So, I’m guessing you’re completely out of your element, by being here?” She moved her hand, gesturing all around them. “So why Avanthal? You have to be freezing, and the cold is only going to get worse.”

[Yousef]

Yousef struggled to keep pace with Sera, his movements were abrupt and jerky and he had to hold out his arms to keep his balance. Every now and then a stranger had to steer clear of him to avoid collision, he’d cringe then sigh with relief, this earned him a few giggles from the Vantha. Embarrassed, he tried to relax himself, and he dared to go a little faster, just to close the gap between them. He bent his knees and leaned forwards, Sera smiled at him then, urging him to go for it, and so he did. He turned his heel and attempted a long stroke, like from the skater he saw earlier that morning, he pushed himself with his free foot. Although not a perfect glide, he did lurch forward before coming to a full stop, it was enough for a beginner. He beamed at Sera who was still staring back at him. She smiled kindly in reply and thanked him for skating with her then she paused and quickly added that it was her birthday. “Ah, then av-berkaven! Blessings and prayers over you and your family.” The Vantha turned to face him, placing her hands on her hips as she did so. Yousef oddly felt like he was about to be reprimanded but quickly shook the thought away. “So, I’m guessing you’re completely out of your element, by being here?” He wanted to laugh at this, Out of my element indeed. “So why Avanthal? You have to be freezing, and the cold is only going to get worse.” Yousef took a deep breath and pushed his hood away, exposing tufts of unruly brown hair. “Well, being out of my element would be one way to put it, I’m from Eyktol so the elements concerned are a bit… extreme.” He ran a hand to his hair and continued, “And I didn’t really choose Avanthal, I just happened to arrive here. Truth be told, I hate the cold. It’s uncomfortable and uninviting, but I don’t have much of a choice.” He grimaced, he shouldn’t have mentioned the last part, but it was too late now.