Skating on the ice

Posted on Tue Apr 23rd, 2024 @ 5:45 by Claire Cavendish & Kaylee Ashton BSc

Chapter: Winter's Crest Festival
Location: The Loch outside Avalon Institute
Timeline: Sunday, December 13th, 1992
2436 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Standing by the lake, Kaylee watches as the snows fell around her, covering the ground with a thin layer of white. She always enjoyed this time of year, not only because of her powers, but the general feel of the season. Claire had asked her to create an ice skating rink for the children at the castle to enjoy while the cold lasted, and although she wasn't fully confident in herself, this is one thing she believed she could do.

Taking a deep breath in, Kaylee focused her abilities and in one large, fluid motion, waved her arms in front of her. As she did, the snow around her began to spiral and after a few moments, a large circular ice skating rink formed on the surface of the lake.

Claire had a great view of the spectacle from the window of her office. She didn't want to disturb the cryomancer as she was working. The way the ice formed against the restless surface water of the loch, the like a giant snowflake expanding from the edge of the water that Kaylee stood over. The bumps and waves that slowly evened out until just a large smooth mirror of ice remained. It took a moment for her to take it in. To realise the enormity of what she just saw happen in front of her eyes. Reports from the scientific community about how the polar ice was melting. They could send over Kaylee and help prevent such things. If only the world was ready. If only the world was welcoming.

A sigh.

The dull drone of the BBC news anchor still echoing in her mind. They weren't ready. They weren't welcoming. The head teacher shook her head. Then focused on a nearby patch of shadow underneath a willow tree. The air sizzled and with a pop of a suddenly appearing vacuum the purple skinned leader of the institute disappeared.

After finishing the first phase of the ice rink, Kaylee paused for a few moments, breathing heavily as the display she’d just put in really took it out of her. Not only did she have to ensure the rink was smooth, but that it was thick enough so it could hold the weight of dozens of children and a few full grown adults moving around and falling over again and again.

Well done. See, I told you those visualisation exercises would help. Though maybe next time don’t try to build the whole thing in one go Kaylee’s inner voice said to her, in a kind of encouraging way.

After a few more breaths, Kaylee gradually stood back up straight, “well, you have been urging me to push myself for a while. Figured I’d give it a go” she said out loud before she stepped onto the rink to check her work. She hadn’t noticed the ‘pop’ from Claire dropping in and this didn’t feel the need to keep from talking to herself out loud.

As she stepped along the newly formed rink, Kaylee walked as if she was walking along solid earth, seemingly unaffected by the ice beneath her feet. As soon as she reached the middle of the circle if Ice, Kaylee put her hands on her hips and nodded to herself approvingly, “alright, now for the finishing touches. Let’s start with a barrier around the rink so no one falls off shall we.” She said before closing her eyes and starting to move in a rather fluid set of motions.

To those who were not aware of the eastern martial arts, her movement would seem like a strange dance, but to those who knew, they would instantly recognise her motions as the starting forms of Tai Chi. At first, nothing happened as Kaylee ‘danced’ away in the middle of the rink, however after a few minutes, small metre wide sections of wall began to rise from the edge of the rink, slowly forming a protective barrier of at least 1.5m in height.

From the edge of the Loch the purple head teacher saw the ice barriers form around the circle. She didn't quite know what the temperature would do in the coming days, but she was sure Kaylee could come back around and maintain the thing before the kids would come back there every day, and double check on the day of the festival. "Very nice work, miss Ashton. Is it safe to enter?"

Quickly turning to face the direction where the voice came from, Kaylee was surprised to see Claire standing there. She hadn’t heard her customary ‘pop’ when ever she used her abilities so she figured that she must have walked down, “um…more or less” Kaylee replied as she started to walk back over to where Claire was, “I mean it’s thick enough to hold some decent weight, but it is ice so is rather slippery. For most”

"I think slippery is rather the point." Claire smiled as she stepped onto the ice and made her way closer to the centre of the rink. "I imagine it will have taken quite a lot out of you." She carefully took her steps, feeling how unnaturally smooth and clean it was, especially for a Loch like this one. "It will keep even if you're not around?" She knew some abilities were limited to proximity, she just hoped it wouldn't be the case for this.

Kaylee quickly nodded, "it should, I've never tested it before but I don't think any ice that I create should suddenly disappear without me, but I will need to preform some upkeep on the rink for however long you want to keep it for. Ice still melts" she said with a shrug as she met Claire and offered a hand for her to steady herself on if needed.

The offered arm came not a moment too soon. Claire lost grip with one foot and immediately grabbed on to make sure she didn't fall unceremoniously on her ass. Though she already had a contingency in mind for simply teleporting back to the shore if that were to happen. The arm steadied her properly. "Alright, let's make sure to keep an eye on it overnight before we allow people on." She was still holding on to the steady arm of Kaylee, it was clear her powers allowed her to be on the ice as steadily as others were on solid ground. "I wondered about your abilities, is it just sheets and blocks or would you be able to make things more intricate? When I was in Oslo there was this gallery of ice sculptures, very cold, my cocktail dress was fully covered with a thick unflattering coat, but the sculptures were amazing."

Giving the question some thought, Kaylee smiled as an idea came to her, “so you have something in mind? Like, Is there a sculpture you want me to try and recreate or are you just asking out of curiosity?”

"I was just curious, really." Claire shrugged and looked around the rink from her position in the middle of it. "We've not had much time to explore and hone your skills. It seems like you've gotten quite good at controlling it."

As the smile dropped from her face, Kaylee gave a non-committal shrug, “I guess I always had some form of control over my abilities, I just never had a reason to see them as anything more then a burden until I came here” she explained as she held onto Claire’s arm and carefully guided her around the perimeter of the ice, “and lately I’ve actually been listening to that inner voice that we all have that tries to push us in the right direction. Though, between you and me……” she said before leaning down a little closer to Claire, “…she’s quite the task master.”

"I'm glad to hear that." Claire felt the cold from the ice all around her starting to grip the air, a shudder followed that reminded her that as she teleported over straight from her office. "As long as your inner voice isn't talking you down." She looked intently at the woman, trying to gauge how vocal this inner voice of hers really was, and if it was perhaps something to be concerned and talk to Liana about.

Kaylee shook her head, "It's not like that. I know it sounds strange but she wasn't there before I decided to reject my abilities when I was younger. In a way, you could call it my powers trying to get through to me." she said, as a small thought came to her. Taking a firm grip on Claire's arm, Kaylee put on a smile, "do you trust me a little?"

Someone suddenly grabbing onto her wasn't really the best start to a question about trust, and Claire tensed up at the sudden contact. "If I didn't I wouldn't have put you in front of a class of impressionable teenagers. What do you have in mind?" She needed to consciously relax her muscles to release the tension.

Giving Claire a playful grin, Kaylee closed her eyes for a moment. As the pair stood there, Claire began to be lifted up as the ice beneath her feet formed into a pair of skates fixed to her shoes.

After she was confident the skates had been formed, Kaylee gave a quick jump and formed a pair of her own. “So, have you ever skated before?”

It was a bit awkward suddenly having to balance herself on skates but Claire seemed to manage just fine. "Yeah, I have. I considered taking up figure skating at one point. You know, when you're young and are easily taken by flights of fancy." There was this girl at her prep-school that was a young talent on skates. She was never going to impress her with her skills but the motivations of infatuated teens were inscrutable. She pushed herself off and slid across the ice. The shoes she was wearing did very little to support her ankles, but she managed to stay upright.

Skating off after Claire, Kaylee kept a slight distance while still being close enough to grab her in case she lost her balance, "so what stopped you?"

Claire carefully slid around the ice, keeping her balance and a semblance of grace. "Life, I guess. A lot happened in that time." The whole turning purple thing hadn't helped. She had become very solitary, the figure skater girl had been fairly vocal about what she felt about mutants, she switched boarding schools and ended up in the US of A. "I'm sure you're well aware of the pressures of high society in London town."

Kaylee gave a shrug, “not as much as you might think. While I’m sure my father wanted to introduce me to that world, a lot of things changed when my powers started to assert themselves. Not that Father was embarrassed by me, more I think he wanted to keep me safe while protecting our sole source of income. He never treated me poorly” she clarified, thinking how she might be making her father out to be worse then he actually was.

The story that Claire's father had spun was very similar to what Kaylee was now saying. There was of course the little problem of him chairing or participating in every anti-mutant effort in the house of lords for as long as she could remember. She wanted to say something on the matter but decided not to poke that particular hornet's nest. If Kaylee and her family had found a balance they were comfortable in, who was she to wreck that. "I'm glad he didn't." Claire finished another lap around the ice rink, "This is really awesome, Miss Ashton, I'm sure the students will be thrilled."

“Thank you. I’m glad you like it” Kaylee replied as she kept an eye on Claire’s form. It would seem she hadn’t quite lost that finger skating muscle memory just yet. “So, have you come up with any ideas for what sculpture you want me to try and make?”

"How about..." Claire felt her foot slip a bit but could recover from the temporary unbalance. "How about the Loch Ness monster?" She motioned in the general direction of the Loch behind the castle. "Make it slightly free floating in the water, would be impressive."

Coming to a stop, Kaylee gave Claire a smile, "sounds easy enough. give me a minute" she said before skating over to the edge of the rink. Taking a breath in, Kaylee tried to form a solid image in her mind of the 'loch ness monster'. After a few minutes, she held her hands out towards the water. After a few moments, a thin line of ice projected from the edge of the rink out into the loch for about 5 meters before expending into a 1 meter diameter circle. with her platform created, Kaylee raised her hands up in a scooping motion, in response the circle of ice began to grow until it formed a long scaley neck tipped with the head of what could only be called a dinosaur.

Claire smiled at the sight of Kaylee letting go of some of her inhibitions. The open space, and hopefully Avalon itself, had clearly given her an opportunity to explore the limits of her abilities and granted some control over it. "That is absolutely gorgeous." She skated closer now that Kaylee had finished her work, she hadn't wanted to interrupt her concentration earlier and had remained at a safe and respectful distance. "Well done. I'm impressed." She smiled at the sight of the frozen Loch Ness Monster bobbing around in their Loch. "I should probably get back to work. Thank you Kaylee, I'm sure the students will think this is amazing."

Turning to Claire, Kaylee smiles, “You’re most welcome.” She said as she held herself up with the assistance of the wall of ice she was now leaning on. She did her best to keep herself stable while Claire turned around and headed back towards the institute. As soon as Claire was out of sight, Kaylee’s legs gave out from under her and she collapsed to the floor breathing heavily.

“see, I told you not to over do it. Now look at you” Kaylee’s inner voice said, “while I am proud of you, you’re still only starting out. There’s no need to show off”

Taking a few more breaths in, Kaylee looked after Claire, “yea. There is”