[open] Christmas in July

[catchacold]

Who: Leonard Snart & YOU!
Where: The Lake
When: End of July
Rating: G-rated
Summary: Leonard used his cold gun to turn part of the lake into an ice rink.
The Story:

[It really didn't take long to turn some of the lake's surface into a skate-able surface by using his cold gun. Not what the weapon was built for, definitely, but very serviceable at it.

He got himself some skates from the closet and there's also a puck and some hockey sticks on shore. It's been a while since he played, but apparently middle of the summer trapped in Wonderland is giving him some nostalgia.

For now he's still patrolling the edges and using his gun to ensure the ice is thick enough to carry the weight of anyone who feels like ice skating in the summer.]


[ooc: Anyone is free to come in and talk to Leonard, or play hockey or ask him why the hell he's making a lake freeze over in July. Also feel free to post your own top levels, in case you want some frozen lake action with other characters too.]

Comments

[determinedest]

[Victory! That's not quite a laugh, but they'll take it. It's enough for them to flash her a triumphant, toothy grin in response.]

Ice skating! [More specifically, they are failing to ice skate in any capacity. But that's just fine.]

[ssmisery]

There are faster ways to fall in the lake, you know.

[She could certainly help with that!]

[determinedest]

Even through ice?

[That raises a good question, actually; can she control ice too?]

[ssmisery]

Well, yeah, that's your first problem. I'm guessing you don't want me to fix that for you, huh?

[Which is a yes, or at the very least she could do something to it. It's a good thing she's quick on the uptake when she bothers to pay attention, even if she still doesn't get what Frisk's trying to do.]

[determinedest]

No thank you. [No reason not to be polite about it. Frisk wobbles slightly on their skates when they try - and fail - to stick one foot out to indicate the peculiar boot with the blade strapped on the end.]

Have you ever seen ice skates before?

[ssmisery]

Not even a little.

[She makes a bemused attempt to observe the shoes as indicated, but with Frisk wobbling around on them and failing the gesture, there's not much to see. So her gaze glides on by, traveling all the way down to her own feet which have never once worn anything that wasn't part of her, and then sharply back up to look a question mark at the kid.]

[determinedest]

It's like... [Hmm. Okay, so their experience with "ice skating" is really only sliding across icy patches in Snowdin, which doesn't count as ice skating at all. But it's all the same in theory, isn't it?]

[(No. No, it is not.)]

When water freezes, you can skate around on it. [And not fall flat on your face, the way Frisk has been demonstrating thus far.] It's fun.

[ssmisery]

Fun... [Thoughtfully, like it's an unfamiliar concept.] Like snow? [Frozen water is versatile, apparently.

Lapis takes a step onto the lake, and there isn't the slightest sign of her slipping. If she were a human, her bare feet would be giving off body heat which might lend some traction on the ice up until she got frostbite. But instead she's made of light, and just oddly unaffected by all kinds of things, and it's always up in the air whether she's doing it on purpose or not.

All she knows is she still doesn't know what Frisk's trying to do.]

Are you having fun?

[determinedest]

[She probably doesn't need skates; she doesn't even have shoes, and gems don't work quite the same way humans do. They can't help but marvel quietly at the sedate balance she can yield without even trying.]

I'm, um...still learning how.

[One day they'll manage to cross a foot or so of the ice without slipping and falling.]

[ssmisery]

Oh.

[With that, suddenly, she gets it -- not the details, but the fact that Frisk doesn't actually know what they're doing either. The lack of making sense makes perfect sense. Lapis walks across to them, evaluating the scene more thoughtfully than before. She doesn't know much about shoes, with or without knives on them (that seems like more of a Peridot thing all around) but now she can at least notice them and start to imagine the shape of the idea.]

You know what, that's... actually pretty clever. Did you make those?

[determinedest]

Mm-mm. [They shake their head, no.]

Got them from the closet.

[Though strapping knives to shoes would be the sort of idea they'd come up with, wouldn't it? Well...maybe an idea Chara would come up with. Shouldn't conflate the two.]

It's a...sport, I guess.

[ssmisery]

Hmm. We could have another dance.

[She's steady and they're flopping all over, so that would probably average out.]

[determinedest]

We could.

[She's absolutely right. Ice skating is basically like dancing anyway, isn't it?]

People on ice skates can do all sorts of dances and twirls and things.

[ssmisery]

[She chuckles at their enthusiasm, a promising sign, and extends her hand just as before.

Lapis still shouldn't have the lead, but probably will have to take some of it in this case, given that her partner can barely stand which is kinda the whole point. Her job is to give them momentum. That's not too bad, though; better than it would have been the first time. Maybe dancing was where she finally solidified into genuinely liking this kid. It's a form of connection, safe though a human child may be.]

You like dancing, huh?

[determinedest]

[They take her hand with a small lift to the corners of their mouth, crinkling their eyes into warm red crescents. The extra balance makes it easier to get a little bolder with their strokes, even managing to glide across the ice without stumbling, albeit at a slow wobble.]

[Frisk nods, a little breathless, to the affirmative.]

It's fun.

Do you?

[ssmisery]

[Lapis would not have expected that question to be as difficult as it immediately feels; it's the obvious question, and the one she just asked, so that's fairly hypocritical. It's surprising enough that she hesitates, confused. Dancing isn't something you like or dislike, it's just something you do.

If it's with a partner, you do it to fuse.

Except not, of course. Even if she wasn't making a delightful sham of a dance with a wobbly little human child, of course there's more to it than fusion. She already knows that.]

I like it if I have a good partner.

[determinedest]

[That's a good answer. A Partner is important for any kind of dance, for any kind of dualed end. And she's right; a dance is only as good as the one performing it. Doubly so, with a Partner.]

Have you had a lot of good partners?

[ssmisery]

No.

[By contrast, that answer comes quickly, maybe a little too honest but a bit of that is probably also okay. That's neither here nor there right now. Frisk, after all, is an excellent partner; she draws them in a loop around her, very gently.]

[determinedest]

[She's honest, and they can give her that much. Frisk still has their other hand stuck straight out as they let her guide them around in a slow circle, maintaining their balance.]

I hope someday you do.

[ssmisery]

I found at least one, didn't I?

[determinedest]

[Frisk lays a hand to their heart at that in a manner that's only slightly over-exaggerated, unable to suppress the ease with which she's touched them.]

Really?

[ssmisery]

[Lapis, on the other hand, is not sappy. Her tone is light enough that it could all be a joke, framed carefully within the fact that they're flailing awkwardly on ice -- even she isn't the picture of grace trying to swing a child around. Frisk wouldn't be such a good partner if this was real or if she was serious about it. But, as long as that's okay, it pretty much is true. She affects an imperious dignity.]

I wouldn't offer to just anyone, you know.

[determinedest]

[What I mean is...]

[You're special, Frisk.]

[It's not a bad thing to be. Frisk lifts their chin accordingly with an air of false pomp, puffing out their chest.]

I'll carry this burden as best I can.

[ssmisery]

[And that's plenty for that moment.]

Are you balancing any better? I honestly can't tell if this is helping.

[determinedest]

Yeah.

[They're falling a lot less now that someone's here to help them keep steady, and the crinkling to their eyes as they grin underscores their gratitude.]

Thanks.