The streets of town- Wednesday afternoon

[thatwaslucky]

Rey had just sort of assumed she could ice skate. There was no reason for her to think this. She was from a desert. She had never been on skates before in her life. But certainly she could figure it out.

Or not!

She’d gotten just into town and promptly fell. And then fell getting up. And then felltrying to get up. Then got up and fell again. Everything was going to be bruised tomorrow.

But at this point, getting back to the dorms would be just as much trouble as getting things done in town, in her mind, so she was determined to work out how to do this.

Once she could stand for more than thirty seconds.



[Open!]

Comments

[what_the_shock]

Miguel...was cheating. He had his normal shoes off and was relying on UMF to keep his feet warm. Which not coincidentally also let him stand upright on his own without needing to skate.

Didn't mean he didn't appreciate the plight of others, though. He saw Rey struggling and hurried over to offer her a hand. "You okay?"

[thatwaslucky]

“Completely fine,” Rey said automatically, pulling herself back up. “These skates must be defective.”

Sure, Jan.

[what_the_shock]

"Sure," Miguel said. "Also skating's a pain if you've never done it before. If you're having a problem, just walk on your toes." He pointed down at the skates. "See the jagged part there? Those won't slip."

Gabi had done that for years. Miguel had taught him how, then promptly made fun of him for it. What else were brothers for?

[thatwaslucky]

Rey immediately tried it, wobbling a little but staying upright.

“Thanks. I think I liked the hills better.”

[what_the_shock]

"I didn't do much with them," Miguel said. "But I guess it's more fun sliding when you want to slide. Skating everywhere's a bit much. I'm Miguel, by the way."

[thatwaslucky]

"Rey." And there was another wobble. "I thought once the snow stopped we were done."

Not that she minded weather she wasn't used to. But this was stupid and she hated it. Haaaated it.

[what_the_shock]

"I think we're done when the island says we are," Miguel said. "I'm pretty sure none of this is regular weather."

He held out a hand. "Want to lean on me and try again?"

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm fine," she said, honestly a little confused about why he'd offer to help when she obviously had this. "What can we do to make the non-regular weather stop?"

[what_the_shock]

Well, she sort of had it, without actually skating. But hey, if that was good enough for her...

"Wait it out?" Miguel shrugged. "I don't know of anything else."

[thatwaslucky]

Rey sighed. "You seem to be holding up okay."

[what_the_shock]

"I also have talons on the bottom of my feet," Miguel said. "Sorry, can't help there. Although you could check the sporting goods store for cleats or something. Shoes with spikes on the bottom," he clarified.

[thatwaslucky]

"That feels like cheating."

Not the shoes. Being lucky enough to have talons.

[what_the_shock]

Miguel grinned. "Hey, they're a pain in the ass a lot of the time, they might as well do me some good."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'll trade you."

He knew how to skate! It'd be a fair trade, really, especially when she was annoyed at weather.

[what_the_shock]

Hey, he never claimed to be very good at it, he could just avoid falling down too much.

"Sorry; I don't think you want me playing with your DNA. But I'll get you those cleats if you want."

[thatwaslucky]

Rey shook her head. "I'll figure it out."

This is what happened when you got completely self-reliant at an early age.

[what_the_shock]

"Fair enough." Miguel knew self-reliant; he just tended toward the geek end. "Best advice I have on actually skating is stand still, get your balance, then just shift your weight to move. It won't be fast, but it's a start."