Event Fourteen.

[awashmods]

Roses bloom and cease to be, But we shall the Christ-child see.

t's very, very cold. It's cold enough that you'll see your breath fog in the air before you, that goosebumps appear on your arms and legs and a chill goes up your spine. You're inside, in a huge palace with sweeping arches and rooms, but it's no real shelter from the cold -- it's just as cold inside as out. There's a throne room, a kitchen, various rooms and even a dungeon to be explored -- and outside, a frigid, frozen garden, a lake that's naturally frozen over, and miles, and miles of snow as far as the eye can see. But be careful while you explore. The snowflake soldiers are naturally dangerous, but even more dangerous than that...there's that creeping sensation of numbness going up your arm, a pang through your chest, and the slow, slow freezing from the inside out. Try not to leave any of your friends behind, okay? Even if they might look a bit too uncannily like some of the statues hanging around for decoration when they're frozen over. Welcome to Awash's fourteenth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs for this event, but please keep in mind the lack of laptop function during this event when it comes to forum posts! If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

Comments

[hypertoxic]

[ Vriska's quiet again, watching him, blinking once or twice.

Finally, with a great effort, she pulls herself up. When she gives her head a rough shake, trying to clear it, a small burst of ice flutters away from her like a flurry. Eventually she manages to sit up, her head hanging, tired just from the effort. ]

I actually don't know if that's better or worse. At least if you were mad at me you might be otherwise okay. But something is definitely wrong.

[ She lifts her head, giving him a soft, worried frown. ]

... or maybe that's what should have tipped me off in the first place. Fuck, I don't know. Give me your hands.

[ Vriska holds out her own, expectant. ]

[glaciers]

[He continues, watching, passive, quiet. She looks tired from her excursion outside of the castle, but didn't she say there wasn't anything there? No need to double check her.

Even like this, he trusts her.

So he gives her his hands when she asks. Weirdly, both of them feel like they're frozen over, though he's not using his quirk.]

Okay.

[hypertoxic]

[ The look on her face when their hands touch is probably a wonder. Emotions move across her face in stages, from blank shock to a heartbeat of fear to abiding concern. She knows about his powers, sure, but the thing that gets her the most is that his hands are colder than hers.

Vriska breathes a curse and circles her fingers around his wrists. With a massive effort that leaves her trembling, she stumbles to her feet, pulling him up with her. ]

This is fucked up. This is really, really, really fucked up!

[ There's a moment where she visibly wars with herself, biting her lip as she stares down at their hands. Then: ]

Shouto, do you trust me?

[glaciers]

[Shouto doesn't pull away from her, it's kind of hard for him to notice that she's cold with how he's freezing on his own.]

You're not wrong.

[Shouto's not used to being this cold or being this emotionless. Even when he wasn't opening up to his classmates, he still had feelings. They were just well hidden.

This answer comes faster than any other. Because it's not about emotion, it's just something he finds true.]

Yeah.

[hypertoxic]

[ God. Yeah, like he means it, quick and easy as you please-- Vriska has to shove down all the emotions that threatens to stir up in her, because it's a little too much to examine right now.

Instead she nods and lets go. She lifts a hand beside her head, palm out and fingers splayed, and for just a moment she seems to glow gold.

... nothing seems to happen.

Frowning, Vriska reaches out to take his hands again, tugging lightly as if she means to pull him along. Shouto, on the other hand, might suddenly find himself a bit off-balance... ]

[glaciers]

[Isn't there somebody at home who can borrow stuff? He's in 1-B and he's so annoying. Whatever his train of thought was, it gets cut off abruptly as he wobbles. Vriska's tugged him, and Shouto's balance isn't great, especially not on such an icy floor.

So he falls forward, into her.]

[hypertoxic]

[ Ah.

You know, it's only because she's cold and her reactions are sluggish that this happens at all. On a good day they both could have avoided the unfortunate tragedy that's about to unfold because she would have been able to dodge or push him back, or something.

Something that would have had an outcome other than a very unlucky -- or very lucky, depending on your perspective -- kiss. Though, it can't be called so much a kiss as a somewhat awkward pressing of mouths.

Once her frozen brain catches up with all of this fortune/misfortune, Vriska will actually shove him off with a SHRIEK. ]

[glaciers]

[Emotions start crashing back into him at a rate that's frankly dizzying. He gets shoved, his face feels like it's burning (he can feel?) and he mirrors what Izuku would usually do, hiding his face in his arms.

Embarrassing is a strong feeling and it's hitting the hardest. What just happened?

The shard might not be entirely gone, but it's certainly further away from his heart. He rarely sounds flustered or embarrassed, so enjoy this, Vriska. If you can.]

Wh-What did you do?

1/2

[hypertoxic]

[ Nope. Nuh-uh. Nope. For a moment Vriska is too mortified to speak, face buried in her hands, shaking her head. (This means her hands move with her head, in order to keep her face hidden, you see, and the overall effect is very goofy.)

Only when she's had a moment to get this massive freak out under control does she even chance a look up at him, her hands moving only to reveal her eyes. But even so, between her fingers, it's clear how blue in the face she is. ]

I -- I don't know! There's no way I shouldn't know, but that is definitely not what--

[hypertoxic]

[ a pause. slowly she lowers her hands. ]

... you're embarrassed, [ she says, with a sort of quiet realization. ]

[glaciers]

Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be embarrassed?

[Maybe because he wasn't feeling a singular thing a few minutes ago. Not that the thought hits him in the middle of his embarrassment. Shouto doesn't get very red, but there's a faint pink blush where there isn't a scar.]

[hypertoxic]

[ ................. he's blushing.

Vriska actually has to walk away for a second, face in her hands again, muttering to herself about stupid dumb cute boys

WHIRLS AROUND AND LOUDLY ANNOUNCES: ]

I dunno, idiot, because you told me you weren't feeling anything like a minute ago? If this whole thing was some kind of horrible joke I will actually kill you.

[ a beat, and she huffs and looks away, only glancing back at him (a bit shyly, it just be said) about halfway through ]

... you wouldn't do that, though. So...?

[glaciers]

[For Vriska's sake, Shouto completely misses every mumble that she makes. Even if he did hear it, it's quickly over written with how loud her statements actually are. ]

No. That's not how jokes are supposed to work.

[Because he's still pretty sure they work with a setup and a punchline, but not with actually getting punched.]

I don't know what came over me.

[hypertoxic]

[ Watching him thoughtfully, Vriska slowly shuffles closer. Rather than reply right away, she instead reaches out and brushes the backs of both his hands with her fingertips.

Cool, one of them. As cool as she is. The other is slightly warmer. ]

If I had to make an educated guess, I would say the answer is shenanigans. Ever more dangerous shenanigans on the part of this stupid shitty fucking town.

[glaciers]

[He still feels colder than he normally does, but at least he can feel his emotions for the moment.]

This place is full of that. It figures after a while of not having to deal with them it'd just come back hard.

[hypertoxic]

... I hate it, [ she says, very soft, and drops her hands. Now she hugs herself instead, running her hands up and down her arms as if that might remove the frost from her skin. (It does not.)

Vriska sighs heavily. Much more baldly: ]

Well, I guess my powers worked after all. If you realize at some point you're failing to feel stuff, go smooch Midoriya.

[glaciers]

[There's a moment where he shifts awkwardly before holding out his left hand, a little fire in the palm of it.]

I'll look for him later. You look frozen yourself.

[hypertoxic]

[ It's something of a comfort to see the Shouto she knows return, though worry nags at her that something awful might happen to him anyway. This fucking place.

She'll offer him a crooked smile and hold her hands out above the flame. The heat immediately helps relieve some of the stiffness she's still feeling. ]

Going out there was harder than I thought it would be. It will be dangerous for anyone living to try it.

[glaciers]

[He'll be fine just as soon as he gets back to his boyfriend. It's just a matter of finding him in this place.

There's a soft smile as she puts her hands closer. It's nice, being able to use fire like this. It's not all burning up villains and destroying somebody's house. There are nice things about it too. Things he sometimes forgets.]

It seemed pretty dangerous for you too. You know, with how stiff you are and everything.

[hypertoxic]

Shut up, [ she groans, but it's with a faint, crooked smile. ]

... actually, someone tried to stop me from going out. Said I'd worry people. Which is...

[ still a hard thing to grasp. she shakes her head and moves on. ]

To be honest, I didn't think it would be as hard as it turned out to be. Even for the dead it is fucking cold out there.

[glaciers]

[It's kind of hard to believe people care. He thinks is what she wants to say. But those are heavy, difficult words, so he'll let them go. There are other things to focus on for the moment.]

Do you usually not feel much temperature wise? You were cold when you got out of the well too.

[hypertoxic]

[ She shrugs, a careless motion. ]

I did before I died. I think it's a ghost thing. You'd expect a ghost to be cold, right? Which is why I thought I'd be okay out there. How much colder could I get!

[ A pause, and she lowers her hands to tug at her shirt. Frost flakes off it. ]

A lot, it turns out. Go figure.

[glaciers]

To be honest, I don't know what ghosts would be like.

[He's only met her in Chroma, and it's not like ghosts have been floating around at home. As far as he knows, anyway.]

It's probably magic or something. Part of the whole ice castle thing.

[hypertoxic]

Well, now you know what troll ghosts are like, at least! [ ... ] Actually, I had trouble with ghosts when I was alive, too, and they weren't like me. Weird. Whatever!

[ the second thing he says gets a soft frown, and she nods slowly. ] That ... is probably true. I don't know why I didn't think of that. Stupid! [ She bops the heel of a palm against her temple, a less-gentle-than-it-could-be self-chastisement. ] All that risk for totally pointless information. I am so sick of being put in helpless positions! Having to just suffer this bullshit is intolerable.

[glaciers]

What were those ghosts like?

[He shrugs at her insult to herself. Maybe he would do more if he was fully back to himself, but as it stands he's fine not commenting on it. It's just going to get filed away for later when he's more capable of being concerned.]

Magic's like that, I think. Puts us in bad positions and then wants us to deal with it for however long it takes.