The Tip of the Iceberg {Ryst} [Finished]

[Ayameru]

Dear Din, it's a little chilly here, she noted mentally. Firelight orbs for eyes flickered softly over the edge where she saw endless sheets of white expand for miles away. For all of her life, she's never seen so much snow before, and it was fascinating to the redhead. She couldn't get enough of it! Standing a few feet from the edge of the top of Snowpeak, she almost pinched herself to reassure she wasn't dreaming all of this. Her long flowing scarlet locks were being played with the wind as she stood there staring in awe of nature's natural landmass.

She raised her hand out to catch a snow flake, which fell softly into her hand. Her flaming eyes danced with amusement as it melted away into water. She didn't expect something as gentle as snow to law bare in her hands and keep it's icy touch upon her. No, the fire burning within her could not be taken out by ice alone. Especially since she was rather excited in being here. It would be the first time since she departed from her home back in the forest that she's ever felt that sense of freedom to escape from the shallows of another person's glories.

Now she would see to it that her own glories would be recognized. Aya tugged on her overcoat keeping her lithe little frame bundled up to keep the frost from licking at her bare skin. Anybody else who had the guts to travel up here would only find the young fairy girl up there. However, since she has her coat on, she was hiding away her wings. Her red hair would probably have many mistaken her for a Gerudo. She rolled her eyes at the concept. It was only coincidence that it happened to be that way.

For now, she would not let herself be troubled with such things.

[Ryst Seraphine]

The Snowpeak Mountains. Honestly there was no excuse for him to travel there diplomatically, but the Vagrant Prince had reawakened within Ryst and he found himself seeking these foreign lands. A true leader was worldly after all, and the more of the lands he saw the better it would be for him. At least that’s the excuse he had prepared. His guard was back in the resort; they were all to glad to let their regent go out alone if it meant they got to relax in a sauna instead of travel the barren lands.

Note to self, get better royal guards.

So the oocca regent’s great grey wings carried him out and over the forest and up the mountain. It was much easier than hiking; he didn’t understand how the wingless land-dwellers got around. It took forever to walk between all the towns and sights, but with wings once could fly straight there. And the roads, so windy, didn’t need to be so. Why not go over the hill instead of around it, for example, or even through it. It made much more sense, anyway. But they existed on the ground, where it was harder to see the bigger picture.

But there on the mountain that he just figured so high was one of these land-dwellers. At least to Ryst he couldn’t see any wings, so he assumed such. And she was standing dangerously close to the edge. With a flutter of those majestic grey wings he brought himself down just behind her, purposefully making the entire affair a little noisier than it needed to be. He wanted to make sure he was there, so that when he spoke she wouldn’t jump and slip.

”Be careful. From what I hear falls are fatal to the wingless folk,” he said flatly once he had some affirmation she knew he was there. ”You don’t want to fall, do you?” he asked, adding a bit more of a friendly tone to these words. More friendly, as the Oocca Lord slipped away back to the resort and the Vagrant Prince found himself on top of that mountain, free from the restraints of court and all the nobles that come with it.

[Ayameru]

In all honesty, there was no reason for any living being who did not inhabit this area to be lingering about. It was quite cold, and any weary traveler who happened to find themselves lost could fall into a fatal death of winter's cold embrace. Aya could not fathom dying by ice. A slow sleeping icy death was not how she intended to relinquish her life should her time come (and did she pray that it did not come any time soon). If she had to go then she'd die in fire. At least then the pain would only be a quick burn before the rest of her body would be incinerated into ashes.

Aya didn't mind either way of traveling. When the trip was short and sweet, she could easily journey her way on foot, and enjoy whatever laid in front of her. In the long run, if the path is long, and difficult to pass through then the gift of wings was certainly a bonus to have. The redhead thought of it as having the best of both worlds, and there's always another option to fall back on should her prior plans don't work out the way she wants them to.

A grin formed upon her lips as she reveled in the soft brush of wind pass on by, it's chilly breath sending shivers up and down her spine. A thrilling sensation that got her adrenaline working, fascinating on how the body works, especially under extreme climates. It'll do whatever it'll take in order to adjust to the environment, but just how much can one adapt before one's body cannot bare the severity? Only time, and endurance could answer that question.

She nearly jumped when Ryst made his entrance. With only two steps, she made a complete turn around, her eyes looking up to the man who appeared right before her. Her firelight eyes met his first, before turning to look at his great wings behind him. She froze for a few seconds in awe, but quickly drew herself out her state of wonder. She was about to move her foot, but quickly realized that one step back was a one way ticket on the death express.

She had to restrain her giggle from escaping her lips when he mentioned wingless folk. Oh, how perceptive on him~ Aya was far from wingless, but there was no need to correct him at the moment. Her grin widened a bit at his question. "Sometimes you've got to live on the edge to truly feel alive," she answered, "Otherwise you're taking up too much space."

[Ryst Seraphine]

A gentle grin spread across Ryst’s face as he considered her words. Living on the edge to truly feel alive. He could see the wisdom in her words and wondered where such a little one got that wisdom. But then Hyrule held one thing the City did not: mystery. There were children that have lived thrice longer than he and then some, and fish things that did not need air, could exist under water. And Ryst still had to see the ocean, a great expanse of open water large enough to rival the sky, said some of the stories.

Could it be that this little one was more worldly than he? On that thought he had to admit it was highly likely. Many have traveled further than he had, but few had seen the sights he had. From the City on a clear day once could see the expanse of Hyrule, from the forest to the mountains, and it all looked quite unique from all the way up there. Which brought him back to her words. ”This edge is nothing compared to some. Have you ever been to the City in the Sky, my dear? You’ve got edges and deadly falls all around. If you want to feel alive you should visit me there,” he said with a chuckle. There was an unintentional double entendre in hsi words that he decided fit the situation.

With a few steps he was at the edge of the cliff and looking down. ”Can you imagine being higher yet than this mountain, one of the tallest in the lands? Higher than the clouds, yet your feet safely on the ground? That is my realm, and it is quite majestic, I must say. But enough on the scenery, there’s another view that graces my eyes that I must elaborate on. What might I call it, you?” he asked, the sweet words of the Vagrant Prince coming easily to his lips once in full motion.

[Ayameru]

Aya liked the way his mouth formed that grin he displayed when he acknowledged her words. Although she wasn't as worldly wise as some folks were, it wasn't hard to at least look like she knew what she was talking about, and for the most part, she did understand her own words. Sometimes life can take you down a dangerous path without even realizing it. You could potentially meet hostile beings for no apparent reason at all could just jump right at you intent on taking your life. Then again it also could be taken into consideration the variety that dwelt within their realm.

It wasn't long since she left her home in the forest. Deep within the forest where the fairies loomed, and played without a care in the world. Many who accompanied the children of the forest, who shared each others company in eternal youth. That wasn't the life for this fairy. She wanted to be outside of her forest, and experience first hand what it was like to feel the wind carry her anywhere; far away from home. She left to know what it was like to be an adventurer~

Aya's firelight orbs for eyes flickered brightly at the mention of the City in the Sky. Many tales were told by the fairies of the ancient sky beings who lived there, the Ooccas. The way he explained it sound like something she'd get herself into in a heartbeat. Dangerous falls, and edges they'll leave you on the balance between life and death. Just the thought of it got her heart pounding faster. "Tempting," she said playfully. "Perhaps too sweet to ignore~"

Tilting her head slightly to the side, she watched as he came close to the edge, explaining in detail of his realm in the sky. Though the Vagrant Prince knew how to exchange one topic to another rather fast, and easy. Aya didn't notice it right away, but reacted accordingly. "I'm not sure I can grasp the big picture of your realm, but it sure sounds like a place to check out," she replied, "Sweet words won't get you far with me."

It wasn't that she didn't like his subtle approach in complimenting her. It was the fact that she grew uncomfortable in receiving such a kind gesture - only her sister Ani would give her such notions. It was a bit strange for her to receive such things from another stranger. Not used to that, she could only kindly brush it off. "Tell you what~" she paused her sentence before walking over to the barren tree that hung out by the edge of the mountain. "Care to entertain me with a bit of fun? Ever been icicle boarding before? If you can beat me in a race down the slope of the mountain, I'll tell you my name."

With a good kick, she planted her foot against the trunk of the tree, causing a couple of icicles to fall off, and stab into the soft snow. Picking up one of the icicles, she waited for a reply, feeling a tinge of a competitive streak pulling at her~

[Ryst Seraphine]

Sweet words wouldn’t get him far. This made the chase all the more intriguing; the younger part of him that long ago stepped aside to let the lord take the lead could only grin. The good ones were always worth a chase, the easy ones were no fun. And, oddly enough, the concept of icicle boarding was all the more enticing. Pointlessly dangerous risk of sliding down a steep mountain covered in snow on a precariously picked block of ice? Why not? Ryst grinned accordingly and picked up the larger of the icicles and judged it.

”And what if you get down there first? What would your prize be?” he asked curiously, taking a step and sizing up the slope. He had wings, so in the case that things went terribly awry he could abort easily. But the thought of her falling into a chasm or into something at high speeds was a little more shaking. Considering, however, that this was her idea, he was certain there was something to it. Maybe she did it before, at which point he was at a disadvantage. Ryst just shrugged.

”And I’d better see you at the bottom, win or lose. No getting yourself killed on something this easy,” he said, finding a competitiveness he had long since lost. The Vagrant Prince had been notorious across the City for his love of games. He may have cheated on a few, too, but he had a feeling that wouldn’t get him anything worthwhile in this little exchange. Besides, what would be so bad if she won, worst she could do is ask for something ridiculous, but she didn’t know the extent of the resources he had at his disposal as Oocca Lord.

Let the games begin, then, enough idling. Ryst let his icicle fall to the ground with the tip over the edge. His feet dug it into the snow and he balanced on it, judging its strength and getting a feel for controlling it. ”Whenever you’re ready,” he cooed, turning back and giving her a wide grin. It felt good to be reckless again. In court he had to be reserved, had to plan things carefully, each word having multiple meanings, every edict accomplishing many things. This was simple. This was dangerous. This was ice and a deadly slope.

This was fun.

[Ayameru]

The fairy in disguise was rather pleased with his sportsmanship, which in her book earned the stranger more respect points. Amusement danced within her eyes when he silently agreed to her game. Now that wasn't something you see in people these days. Most of the time people would rather not stick their necks out in order to risk away their life for petty games such as sliding down the mountain on something as dangerous as a icicle-made snowboard. The childish fairy had little care of the dangers that her game would lead, trusting that she could handle herself, being that she may be a bit reckless. Should she give chase then perhaps he would pursue~ The thought of it was exhilarating in it's own fashion.

"Bragging rights," she answered with a soft giggle. That's all she could really ask~ Joking aside, she really wanted to see if he was as strong as he appeared to be. Appearances could be very deceiving, and she wanted to know if he can handle something like this. His attitude says so otherwise, but there was always that nagging feeling in the back of your head saying don't put your money down on that person. It was also a test of strength for the young fairy as well. Now there wasn't anything wrong with a little friendly competition, right? Aya prompted herself and got a good look at the slope herself.

"I would've given my name to you already if I knew I couldn't handle it," she said confidently. Let's see what the Oocca was made of. Her little game could be considered something people could consider being on the edge. She convinced herself that it was ok to fall off the edge, so long as you're not falling alone. It was half of the adventure by itself~

Placing her board down the edge, she planted her feet onto the board, finding nice footing formations on the icicle. Her grin widened as the fire in her eyes danced with a passionate gleam. "Ready... Get set..." she started, leaning forward, "GO!"

With a good push off the edge, Aya soon found herself gaining speed at an incredible velocity. As she began to plummet down the slope, she could feel the icy winds wipe at her face violently, tempting to blind her sight. Collecting her composure on the board, she extended her hands out slightly to enhance her balance. Her scarlet hair danced wildly within the wind as she glided on top of the snow.

So the race begins~

[Ryst Seraphine]

Ryst wasn’t going to argue against such a prize. It seemed like he was getting the better end of the deal. A name for bragging rights. Of course she couldn’t know those bragging rights were remarkably valuable when one could brag that they bested the oocca lord. That was something one could . . . well that was something one could brag about, he supposed, which made the whole thing come around in some sort of tautological loop. Cute.

Then the red-haired girl called go. She was gone before Ryst knew what was happening, but he gave himself a good kick off and gave chase. It was nice to let the woman win, but the Vagrant Prince was a good read of people, which was irrelevant because it was quite clear the girl would not be one of those types, flattered by being given a win. So Ryst kicked off and pushed hard to catch up with that minor advantage the girl had taken.

Ryst wasn’t exactly used to the concept of snowboarding, let alone doing so on an icicle. It was only because he was battle-trained, and had spent his entire youth performing such reckless, pointless risks. He was able to adapt quickly, gain his balance, and gather control of the icicle. It was an unconventional means of travel, to say the least, but it was working surprisingly well. Now it was just a matter of taking that control and turning it to his advantage.

Then it occurred to him that this was just like diving while flying. So he folded his wings back, leaned forward and shifted his weight, turning himself into an aerodynamic missile jettisoning down the side of a mountain on an icicle. That was a sentence few people thought would ever occur to them. Using his natural instincts of flight was helping Ryst gain a lot of speed as he moved down the mountain, but just past the cliff there was brush and hitting a tree at that speed would be fatal.

Ryst lost speed as he avoided the first few, but quickly learned that slight adjustments in the way his wings were folded back allowed him to steer, using an air foil effect. This made avoiding the trees much easier and Ryst began to gain the speed he lost. Once in control enough to stop focusing intensely, he took the time to glance around to see where his fiery companion was in respect to the race.

[Ayameru]

So this is what it's like to fall fast, she thought to herself. With nothing but the powdery snow beneath her board, and the slope causing her to slide down at such an incredible speed. It was a grim thought but she had to acknowledge the fact that if she makes one slip, then she could kiss her pretty little fairy wings goodbye. She found herself flying fast, boarding down at a good pace, getting quite a head start against the young oocca companion of hers. She giggled softly. Her long flowing crimson locks looked like ribbons floating in the wind as she glided with a wild rough latch to the board.

"No way..." she said softly watching as Ryst whisked away. By folding his wings back, he projected himself like an airborne missile and skyrocketed down the slope twice as face as Aya had initiated from the start of the race. Was that even allowed?! The fiery fairy grumbled underneath her breath realizing she didn't set any ground rules on what was allowed and what wasn't. Ground rules, she amused herself on how ironic that processed in her head on this situation. Though she didn't have enough time to further her complaints as the two came towards the first chasm that laid right in front of their path. Her frown quickly changed back to her competitive grin as she leaned forward, adjusting her position to gain speed at the aerodynamic oocca.

Turning her firelight eyes back to the chasm approaching with haste, she pushed backwards slightly before bending her knees a bit, waiting until the right moment. In one fluid motion with just a few feet in front of her, she pushed against the board, lifting herself up into the air. Her heart took a leap from her stomach straight back into her chest as she found herself looking down below the chasm. Darkness dwelt below her feet as she glided across the chasm, and violently collided with the other end of the slope, sliding downwards once again.

"Whoa!!" she screamed nearly crashing into incoming trees, jerking herself out of the way before planting her face into the tree. That would've left a mark. It was then that she realized that there were more than just trees coming their way that laid front in their slope sliding down the mountain. Now it was starting to feel like a race, and the trial of getting down to the finish line was getting difficult with natural obstacles getting in the way. Aya looked out of the corner of her eyes to see how her feathered friend was doing compared to her. "Don't fall behind, Feathers!" she teased playfully.

[Ryst Seraphine]

Ryst saw the chasm too. It wasn’t a problem for him, however. As it approached he crouched and braced his legs for the upcoming jump. When he hit the edge he jumped high, then stretched out his wings and flapped hard. This carried him further up and over the chasm, however the icicle wasn’t attached to his feet. It careened away from his feet and dug point-first into the snowy bank on the other side. This would pose a problem—except Ryst could fly, which gave him a quick fix.

He folded his wings in and dove toward the bank. With a half-somersault in the air and the expertise of flying all his life, his feet planted against the icicle. The top cracked off, but the rest was large enough for him to continue onward with. He adjusted his feet and found his stance once more, wings folded back and adjusting to steer himself, leaning forward to speed onward. This allowed him to catch up to his fiery friend slowly, but surely.

He considered using one of his other abilities to his advantage. Between teleportation and telekinesis he’d be able to easily take advantage of this race. But that would feel dishonest, too, taking advantage of her. She couldn’t know. He grinned widely as he caught up with her and managed to swing in close to her. As close as he could, anyway, without putting them both at risk. ”Just make sure you get to the bottom, Red,” he called out to her as he slid forward, leaning into it to give himself some extra speed and carry himself further ahead of her.

Then, with a truly ridiculous notion spurred on by the Vagrant Prince and the competitive nature he had, Ryst threw all his weight to the side and twisted his legs, causing him to spin completely around and slide backwards. This way he was facing her as he moved, and laughed playfully, giving her a little wave before deciding any longer would be suicidal. He turned the icicle around just in time to see the tree he was about to hit and veer widely to the side, causing him to lose some ground and fall behind a little. Time to focus again, and he leaned forward.

[Ayameru]

"Show off!" she said bluntly. Despite her insults, she could not help but smile at his natural ability to adapt the environment to his advantage. That by itself was enough to prove to the young fire fairy that he's quite gifted or possesses a bit of experience with handling such situations. He's played the games of extremities before, and lived to tell the tale. It made the thrill of the challenge all the more exciting.

Ayameru was quite enjoying herself with this race. Wings were certainly a handy extension of the body to have. Aya was quite tempted in disclosing her own wings in order to turn the tides of this race, but she decided against it. For now, she felt like there was no need to show them off now. It would be exposing some deep dark secret at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Then again what creature in this known world didn't have secrets locked away from others? Nobody wanted to have themselves put on display. It was like telling the story of her life before she traveled out this far from home. She did not need to share the fact that she was nothing more than a carbon copy of eight sisters. No, he would not know of that deep dark secret. Her errant thoughts were quickly pushed away as she kept her eyes cautiously on the path down the slope.

Her firelight eyes flickered brightly when she noticed Ryst a rather audacious stunt. She was taken back by his move, almost bringing her to a halt, but then she came to her senses. She would not hand him victory that easily. This was a challenge as it is a sport between them. Aya was more than pleased knowing that Feathers acknowledged her as an equal rather than just another dainty white flowered girl. No. Aya was far from dainty, a fire that illuminated the darkness, a spirit so bright it could not be contained, and shone brightest with let free to live out wild, and warm.

"Hmm..." she pondered to herself. Coming up to a natural ramp formation on the ground, a wild idea came spurring up within her dangerous little head. Kneeling slightly, she leaned back, before lunging herself up into the air. Suspending up in the air, she twirled herself into a three-sixty before plunging her board back into the soft snow, leaving behind a large trail in the snow from where she landed harshly. Aya got a lucky break pulling such a crazy stunt, but it was well worth the rush~

Soon enough the finish line was drawing ever so close to their eyes. The young fairy was not going to go down without a good competition, and so far it was proven to be so. Though it was going to take a lot more than crazy stunts, and clever tricks to take her eyes off of the prize. Bragging rights were quite something she liked having on someone.

[Ryst Seraphine]

Ryst grinned at the back of Aya as she soared past, calling him a show-off. Yeah, he had been showing off, and that had cost him the lead. Which was pretty crappy, but he could imagine worse. Though he really sought after her name. It’s not every day a young woman has the lord regent of the oocca careening down the side of a mountain. But we’ve been over all that, over how this is outside his normal comfort level and so on and so forth. No point in getting repetitive.

He had some ground to catch up on, so there was no point in thinking too much about it. This was a sport where thought simply got in the way. Instinct had to lead and reaction speed had to back it up. Ryst saw the girl jump a ramp, take the lead and move on forward. The end of the slope was soon and he would run out of momentum quickly, so he needed to pick it up. That meant trying some kind of risky stunt like she had done, and hope it pays off as equally.

Ryst saw an up and coming bump that he could use to get airborne. Once up he could dive down and gain a lot of speed. He braced himself again, but realized all too late that there was a thicket of trees just beyond it. That would mean the end of the race. He hit the bump and disappeared into the brush, only the shattered icicle coming out the other side in many chunks after smashing against a tree. Not too far off to the side, however, Ryst reappeared, using his teleportation to put him high and near a ledge. He fell downward, kicked his feet against another icicle, and rode it down onto the track once more.

The entire stunt had cost him too much ground, however. There was no way to catch up, but he had to at least try. Leaning forward, wings pinned together behind him to steer, Ryst focused on going as fast as possible even if it meant many close calls with trees. If he could catch up he could still do this, but it was looking all too hopeless by now.

[Ayameru]

She couldn't help but snicker as she passed Feathers, and took the lead once again in the race. She wasn't sure how long she'd hold the position, but now that she had it, it wasn't going to be leaving her grasp anytime soon. Within her sight came the clearing, and what she did not expect to see drawing near. Ruins.

A dilapidated building made of iron, and stone came across her vision as she rode down the end of the slope. Aya assumed from there it would be the finish line they had to meet since the path was practically taking them down the slope straight for that building. So be it~

Getting a look out for Ryst, she peered out of the corner of her eye, checking how he was fairing. Only to find no trace of him behind her. Where did he go? Taken off guard, she completely directed her attention behind her, searching for her oocca companion with worry. She should have been paying more attention to her own safety. For when she finally saw a glimpse of Feathers, she rammed into another bump in the path, and went airborne unintentionally. Turning her attention back at her own mishap, she took in a deep breath of the icy air, before the subtle grace of gravity pulled her back down. The only problem was that she didn't land, falling down a cliff on the right side of the path, her petite body disappearing into the darkness, and not a sound of a crash anywhere could be heard.

There goes the race~

With a disappointed sigh, she waited until Ryst caught up, possibly watching her humiliating fall and completely forfeiting the race to him. Though what would probably cause some questions to arise was the fact she didn't scream from falling. Aya found it was no use trying to hide when it came to save her own skin. Throwing off her overcoat, she expanded her fairy wings, and batted them heavily against the air. She flew high up until she made it back to the edge where she fell, and flashed a impish grin.

"Sorry~ I got a bit careless," she said cheekily. Not only did she let the cat out of the bag of her wings, but also she threw the race since they've made it so far into the opening. Without a board, she couldn't continue it so the victory was given to Ryst.

[Ryst Seraphine]

Ryst had collected himself just in time to see what was clearly going to be the finish line. An old fortress on the edge of a cliff, all slopes leading down to it. Didn’t make much sense strategically, but perhaps that was why it had been abandoned. Either way, he could see his fiery friend going for the fortress and adjusted his course for it. And he saw what happened afterward, as Red turned around and didn’t see herself head straight for and over the cliff.

There was a moment of sheer panic as he watched. Of course there would. This entire race had been because of his little flirting. His teleport had already been used, but he reached in for his other racial ability. Using his telekinesis he grabbed hold of the icicle he was riding and flung it forward for a speed boost. Unfortunately the icicle was not attached to his feet, much like it hadn’t been earlier, and it went flying out from under him.

Just before he fell backward he saw Red reappear over the edge of the cliff with fluttering wings. There was a moment of sheer “what” before his head hit the snow on the ground and he tumbled downward, rolling as he went. The icicle flew past Ayameru and out into the mist beyond the cliff, landing too far away from them to hear any crash. Ryst rolled to a stop in the snow not far from where Red had returned, face down and covered in the wet white stuff. This was truly an entrance befitting one of his rank.

And he was loving it. This was something he couldn’t get as king, or in the City. And it was really fun. He pulled himself up and laughed. ”Maybe we should call it a draw,” he murmured as he climbed to his feet and brushed the snow off of his clothing, then looked over at her. ”And you have wings,” he stated dumbly, realizing this once more. She could fly. She was a denizen of the sky, one of his subjects. Of course the sky was barren so it was really hard to enforce the rule, but he counted it among his kingdom. ”That’ll make getting to the City a little easier for you, anyway,” he mused and laughed.

[delanie]

It was so very, very cold! Ani was by herself searching an entire mountain for her wayward sister, who could simply not listen to her for once! No, her elder twin had to leave her behind to climb this miserable, yet beautiful, mountain! It did not matter that it was dangerous, reckless, cold, and not all that smart! Her teeth were chattering, and the young fairy tried to snuggle into her winter cloak even further. Honestly, Ani did not know where to begin, since she knew that Aya had promised to be back within a few hours, and it had been more than just a few hours! Her temper was very rare to spark, but the quiet girl could be just as bad as her rebellious sister. Her anger was certainly overwhelmed by her fear and worry, and Ani was ready to cast aside her meager warmth and search by air. It would certainly be the best choice, since she had somehow managed to climb good ways up the peak by herself. Unlike her sister, her hair was a spun silver, and matched quite well with the backdrop of snow. Vivid scarlet would be easy to see, but Ani would be much harder to spot. Oh, Aya was getting such an earful when she found her!

Ani very reluctantly removed her white cloak, her angelic wings spreading behind her. Even with the cloudy sky, there was no dim to the soft glow they emitted. Would that be enough for her sister to see? Holding her cloak, she took off into the air. Cold wind bit at her skin, and she wished that Aya had decided to travel to the beach instead. Snowpeak was certainly beautiful, and she would not deny that, but the coldness and snow she could be without. Carmine eyes flickered over the snowy slop below her, seeing the dangerous twists and turns that could have harmed her rather reckless twin. No doubt she had taken the wish of boarding down the mountain on an icicle to heart. Certainly Aya would be alright, no? Despite her tendency to be stubborn, she would not throw herself blindly into danger. She could still fly if anything went wrong.

After an endless sea of moment, Ani managed to catch a flicker of scarlet. Vivid against the white snow, along with the figure of another. It barely registered in her mind, because all the young girl felt in that moment was pure relief. Her wings folded back, and Ani began a downward spiral, not taking into fact she was being as brash as Aya in that moment. Slowing her descent by widening her wings marginally, she flew straight toward her sister without so much as a warning. "Aya!" she shouted, her voice holding a keening lilt that would no doubt bring a ringing to all ears but her own. She plowed right into her twin, arms wrapping around her waist as they both tumbled into the snow with the force of her tackle. Tears shined within her carmine eyes, and she glanced down at Aya with relief and worry. "You didn't come back when you said you would!" How could she let her wait like that in the cold? Dimly, Ani remembered the fact that the two of them were not alone. She glanced over her shoulder briefly, folding her wings to get a better look at the man behind her.

"You left me to flirt with a stranger?"

[Ayameru]

She couldn't contain her laughter when she watched Feathers took a tumble off the board, and face plant into the snow. Her stomach tightened up whilst he rolled to a stop. Her firelight orbs for eyes glittered with amusement as she slowly calmed down.

"Agreed," she said rather eagerly. It would seem that their race would be left inconclusive, but that was besides the point. The matter at hand was the fact that two of them had fun with the race, and in the end, she got satisfying results. Just by playing her little game, she learned a lot about the oocca who accompanied her down the slope of the mountain. He was strong, and brave enough to tread through the icy terrain - even for something as dangerous as snowboarding on a thick piece of icicle! A risk taker who didn't mind the dangers for the sake of an adventure. A vagrant whose free from binds of any sort who could go the distance with just a few flaps of his great grey wings. "Uh-huh~ I've got wings alright," she mused.

When he mentioned the City, she recollected the name before connecting the place to what he meant. City in the Sky. Now that he mentioned it, it would make seeing the city a whole lot easier with wings. She would like to see the city sometime. Having wings in general just made things so much easier. She joined in with his laughter. It was strange, but the feelings boiling up inside of her felt pleasant. Up until now, nobody except for Ani has ever been able to make the temperamental flame laugh as much as she was now. Aya came to accepting that perhaps laughing, smiling, and being filled with joy wasn't her forte. She would leave that to her gentle, more loving, and caring sister.

Speaking of which...

"ACK!" she cried out as she found herself knocked out from the air, and plummeted straight into the powdery snow. She felt the weight of another on top of her, but for a good five seconds, she lost conscience. It wasn't until Ani spoke up again right after calling her name that Aya processed what had happened. Ani glomped her. Literally, face front, head on collision straight into the redhead. "Heeeeey~ Ani," she said dizzily. Oooh~ Staaaars, pretty... She blinked a couple of times before coming up with a good excuse to explain to her worried sister. It finally dawned onto her that she completely forgot about her promise she made to Ani. She had some explaining to do, and her twin was definitely not going to like the truth. "You see... what had happened was..."

She stopped in the middle of her explanation when she was cut off by Ani's question. Her firelight eyes widened for a minute as an appalled expression painted itself upon her face. Flirting? Aya? How could she put those two things in the same sentence?! Let alone in the same question. "No! You've got it all wrong! I made a bet with him, and raced him down the mountain. Oh wait - shit!" she cursed at herself blowing her cover instantly. It wasn't that she was a terrible liar - well, she was with Ani, but that's beside the point - she just couldn't control her emotions at the moment. Finally giving up the whole act, she smiled softly and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry Ani," she said, wrapping her arms around her twin, giving her a warm hug.

Lifting herself up, bringing Ani up with her, so that the two of them were back up on their feet. She snickered softly as her attention returned back over to Ryst. "Sorry for giving you the run around too, Feathers. My name's Ayameru Crossfire. Aya for short," she smiled, "This is my sister, Delanie Crossfire. I'd like to visit the City in the Sky sometime... your name?"

[Ryst Seraphine]

Ryst was just collecting himself when out of nowhere came a blur of pink that collided with Ayameru and sent them both toppling through the snow in a pink-red ball until they settled down not too far away. By the reception Aya got, this was a friend of hers. Or, as she clarified thereafter, her twin. Okay, time to meet the family, it seems. Usually one went through at least a few weeks of courtship before that step. The thought made the Vagrant Prince smirk to himself before realizing he was.

Then Ayameru was asking his name. Which left him with a little predicament. While not everyone recognized him as the Oocca Lord—he was very young looking for a leader, after all—his name would travel far and wide very easily. Names were baggage that didn’t have any weight nor limit and could be shared freely, much like rumors and news. And there were only so many races in Hyrule, so it would be very easy for someone to know the names of all the racial leaders. Zelda for the Hylians, Seraphina for the Humans, Rwaht for the Hybrids, there was only a handful out there. So should he give his real name or an alias.

He decided he’d give her an alias, at least for now, to help keep things between them casual. ”Ryst Seraphine.” Wait what? That was his actual name. Where’d that come from? His tongue had gotten away from him. Why? He usually had perfect control over what came from his mouth, perfect control over his own thoughts. But then, he usually didn’t slide down mountains on top of icicles. Ayameru already had a very extreme effect on him, getting him out of his comfort zone and helping him try things new, in a way.

As new as sliding down a mountain on an icicle was. He was certain not many people did that. ”Nice to meet you.” He decided it was best to continue on. ”And the gates of the City are always open,” he said with a nod. ”And pleasure to meet you both.” Was that everything addressed? Hopefully.

[delanie]

Ani quickly glanced back down at her sister, and her worry doubled when she realized that Aya was unconscious in the snow. Her carmine eyes widened, and panic began to bubble up within her. Had she tackled her too hard? Oh, what had she done? Taking in a deep breath, she waited for a moment to see if Aya had merely been dazed before she began a full blown panic attack. Biting her bottom lip in worry, relief flooded her as mirrored carmine eyes opened to stare back at her quite dizzily. "I'm sorry, Aya! I didn't realize I was going so fast, and I was just so worried! Are you alright? Should I heal you? How many of me do you see--?" she began to ramble, but cut herself off as Aya lazily called a greeting out to her. Her worry began to fizzle as Aya came to her senses, and so she leveled a suspicious glare at her twin. Oh, this had better be a good reason for leaving her alone at the base of a freezing mountain for hours!

Ani had known Aya for her whole life, had grown up with her, and so she knew how to tell when her sister was trying to lie. Really, the fact that Aya would even contemplate such an idea was an insult for her. Aya's appalled expression was rather amusing to see, and Ani could not help but smile just a little too innocently. She definitely knew how to wind her sister up just the right way to get the truth, and knew that her emotions would get the better of her soon enough. As Aya began to ramble the truth, she felt any amusement drain from her, leaving her quite angry this time. "You WHAT?!" she screeched, trying to keep her own voice low as to not send Aya's ears ringing. Her twin had always been brash, but riding an icicle down a mountain with chasms and trees? It did not matter if she could fly! Her pale cheeks flushed pink in her own anger, and she tried to hold onto those bubbling emotions. It did not matter that Aya was smiling that sweet smile to placate her! It did not matter that her sister was hugging her back! Her apology instantly deflated her rising temper, and Ani merely smiled back in response. [Oh, why could she not get angry like Aya did?]

As Ani was brought back to a standing position by Aya's firm grip, her carmine eyes flickered to the male before the two of them. Taking a moment to study him, she did realize he was quite an attractive male. She averted her gaze to the side, her natural shyness keeping her from saying anything. Aya had already introduced the two of them, and so she let her sister be her voice, as she often was. Idly, Ani took to brushing the snow off of her pink and white dress before covering herself with her white winter cloak. Wait, City in the Sky? He was an Oocca? Carmine eyes peered back at him quickly, taking in the sight of his folded wings. Pretty soon her eyes widened as he gave them his name, and she was quite surprised to see the ruler of the Oocca was in front of them. Was she supposed to bow? Curtsy? Years of the forced etiquette her parents had ingrained into her came flooding through her.

"I-it's a pleasure t-to meet you as w-well," Ani stuttered, something she usually did in front of the opposite gender.

[Ayameru]

Aya snickered at Ani's instant worried chatter. The redhead shook her head softy in an attempt to soothe her concerned twin that the fire fairy was fine. The light that illuminated within her ember eyes was absolutely adorable, and it made Aya want to hug her more. If anybody could knock down Aya and keep her down for more than a few seconds, it would no doubt be her sister.

Then came the rushing anger that had been pent up for the hours Aya left the silver haired twin up in the mountains. It was an honest mistake! She did keep her word though... almost. She said she'd go up to the top of Snowpeak to get a better look and then she'd return back to her side, it shouldn't have taken her long, but... well, she got carried away with her challenge.

Now that she thought about it, she was glad that it ended up as a draw. Nobody got hurt in the process - or at least not yet. The firelight haired sister had to contain her laughter watching as Ani went from amused to complete and utter rage. She knew it. She called it. Ani would be absolutely angry with her, what with the way her soft ivory skin flushed pink upset with her sister for being reckless. She flinched at her outburst.

Yes, even sweet, and gentle Ani had a temper that nobody should mess with. It would seem to be a trait that the Crossfires passed down to each member of the family. Aya's was just more prominent than the others, but when Ani lost it, then it would be something to be cringing underneath. "It's ok, Ani. Nobody got hurt, as you can see, I'm fine," she said with that big bright smile of hers. She raised her right hand up, and petted her sister's head lovingly to help ease her tension. Fortunately, the older twin knew how to soothe her poor sister's anger. Thank the Goddesses otherwise Ani would put her in a world of hurt right about now~

Returning her attention back to Feathers, she quickly jerked her head back to face him again, taking a moment to let his name sink into her heart. Now Aya was a little on the ignorant side, and didn't know how important leaders truly were in this day and age. Of course, she was well informed with gossip that travels around Hyrule of the racial rulers, but there wasn't a lot of them on the Ooccas. It was difficult to get any information on them to begin with, what with being the ancient sky dwellers, and living in the sky. So upon hearing his name, she tensed up slightly, hearing his name before, but she didn't think she was going to be honored by the Oocca Lord's presence. Her heart began to pound in her chest, her hands clasped onto her obsidian jeweled pendant.

Though that tension quickly faded away the moment she heard him speak again. She then came to realizing that this was also Feathers, the adventurer, who took the risk of racing down a mountain with her. It took her by surprise, but she came to terms that so long as he was here with them then she could try to be casual with him. Was that allowed in front of someone of great importance? Probably not, but Aya didn't really care about etiquette - it was one of the reasons why she had no grace or a fear of talking to just about anybody they come across with. She smiled softly watching as Ani's shy side took over when she realized her company was of the opposite gender. "I'm happy to hear, Ryst," it was probably a crime to address him so, but did Aya care? Nope. "Tell me, would be any trouble to the Lord of the Skies, if he could be an escort to the City?"

Aya made it no secret that she was interested in seeing the City in the Sky. Who better than to ask the ruler himself to show her the way? Just the thought of flying higher than this very mountain was enough to get her blood rushing. By now, she was probably breaking so many code of conduct, everything she learned from her lessons back in the Sacred Grove went out of her head.

[Ryst Seraphine]

Ryst was relieved nothing bad had come from him slipping his name. Granted, he didn’t know what they were thinking, but the two of them weren’t acting much differently. He really hadn’t meant to let his name slip; he’d been spending the last couple of weeks developing an entire alias to give to travelers instead of his own, to keep them from finding out their company. Not only did it make people feel awkward, but it could be dangerous for them to know. Few would recognize Chance, the oocca traveler, but most knew the name of Ryst Seraphine, the oocca lord.

He nodded and smiled to Ani when she stammered on. He was tactful enough to recognize when a woman was shy toward the other gender instead of shocked over the ranking of the stranger they’d just met, so he knew there was nothing wrong with her reaction. Then Ayameru spoke, voicing her interest to visit the City. It honestly caused a smile to well up from deep inside of him, but Ryst fought it back, letting the barest hints of it twist his lips. It was still enough to easily be called a smile, but wasn’t the one of perhaps sheer, creepy glee that wanted to come out.

Strange.

”It wouldn’t be beneath me to have a royal guest, particularly since you aren’t wingless. I suppose technically you could even be considered among my people, as I do not just rule the City, but the sky itself, you see?” he said, giving an almost bashful laugh. He didn’t want to talk too much about himself or his rank lest it get awkward. ”So long as you don’t treat me any different than you already have. Nothing will come of it; I’ll see to it that those who would be appalled simply stay appalled and nothing else,” he teased casually.

^{OOC: Gah, quick and short, because I’m heading out for the night!}