Lifehunter

Anya let her tail intertwine with Priscilla’s, well in agreement about it being less awkward than holding hands, most of the time. She was careful not to let it get too close to the water, though; a few light splashes were fine, but she didn’t want it to be soaked.

“I think I am content to stay at this depth, at least… but I would not mind a stroll along the shore, either. It would give the best chance of finding you a suitable shell.” Twisty ones… ? She didn’t know which ones those were, but they seemed self-explanatory.

“Hmm…” She gave her own shell of choice some thought for a moment. “I have seen shells at the Gulf markets called ‘sand dollars’ that I am fond of… but in truth, they are supposedly the remains of a variety of urchin…”

“A shoreside stroll it is! Perfectly fine with me. I would offer to give thee a ride, but I suppose that would defeat the purposes of it being the shore and finding shells both, Lords know I will not be spotting many on mine own.”

She pondered it for a moment as they strode along, enjoying the sensation of their tails loosely held together. Eventually she shook her head. 

“Similarly, however, I would like you to be as comfortable as possible too… ! That is, if you would enjoy going deeper into the water, I would want you to do so.”

She herself was content to stay at around ankle deep for now, though, just enjoying the waves as they came in. Her eyes closed and she stood with a serene smile, taking it all in.

“Staying close is nice, though. Oh, but do you have a favourite variety of seashell, perhaps…?” Seashells, she’s heard of ‘em. Not exactly the most common thing in a frozen mountain either.

“If so, I could try to find some for you while you enjoyed the deeper waters.”

“Of course! And I will, in due time, of course. Meanest thou to stay here for now, then?” 

She brushed her tail against the others, as it was much less awkward for both of them than attempting to hold her hand. 

“Hmm...”

“The net isn’t going anywhere,” she repeated, her tail picking up speed now too as she realized both what she said and why she said it, and the fact that it must be super obvious why she said it too. But Priscilla… said yes! So there was nothing to worry about. She’s pretty, that’s all!

“Um… I can’t go out as far as you can… I do not know if it will be as pleasant for you to stay by my side in the water.”

“So please feel free to go out as far as you would like, I will not be offended if we do not stay close.” Anya started towards the water, then stopped, and dug a small hole in the sand here to place the beach ball in so it didn’t roll or blow away, and then the went to go wade into the water, about ankle deep for now.

“Of course! That is fine, we do not have to go any further than thou art comfortable, and I would be most comfortable if we stay close! We art here together, after all.” She gave her best warm and welcoming smile. “Truth be told I am not especially proficient when it comes to the depths mineself.”

Approaching the water again she kept pace with Anya, making sure to move delicately so she didn’t make large splashes even in the shallows. 

With each splash Anya got a little more nervous… I mean, Priscilla is a big girl—literally. But she was still worried because what if there was a suddenly stronger wave? Or a pit in the sand? Or—oh, yep, there’s exactly what she was worried about, Priscilla tripping into the water.

Anya panicked for a small moment in case Priscilla was hurt and started towards the water, but stopped when Priscilla rose again with the triumphant ball in hand. And then she stared. Like, very hard and very obviously, albeit not intentionally. She didn’t even flinch when little water droplets that were shaken off of Priscilla hit her, nor did she make any move to stop the ball from hitting the sand beside her, costing her a point.

“Um…”

“I think we should go in the water first, actually.”

She had to brush some hair of her face to confirm it but; yes! A Point! She rose both arms into the air triumphantly with all the excitement of someone who thought points were very novel and held that pose for several seconds? 

“Oh?” She looked at Anya, then at the water, and then back again. “Oh.” She was looking at her! Time to be confident, she could do this.

Though she was proud of her shot at first, she soon realized that aiming directly at the other persons face was probably both not sportsmanlike and also just… not a good strategy. You want them to miss the ball, right? So she shouldn’t hit it at them… hm.

Well, she had plenty of time to think about strategy as she watched the ball soar higher. It was just an inflatable beach ball so that thing definitely didn’t come down with any sort of speed.

“…Maybe you should have frozen that one just a tiny bit.” She was proven even more correct when a breeze hit and started to float the ball away from them, and towards the ocean.

“Ah….” Cue tail deflation. “Well, you are taller, so… I think you ought to be the one to go get that one before it floats too far away…”

“Maybe...” She trailed off in some sort of agreement, eyes on the ball drifting lazily though the air. Slightly heavier, but what if it shattered? She’d never forgive herself if something went wrong. 

Her tail swaying also slowed when she saw it head towards the water. She was already picking up pace towards the water’s edge before Anya finished. “I’ll get it!” With extreme enthusiasm. However, it required getting a little closer than just to the edge, already making large splashes as she kept trying to position herself under the ball. 

If she was concentrating more on all of her surroundings rather than just up she might have avoided tripping in the waves. However that was not the case and the largest splash thus far quickly followed. Still, she held the ball triumphantly in her hands when she stood, and didn’t seem to be bothered by the water. 

She shook herself as she walked, and then gave the ball a much lighter tap over the net.

The praise, even if Anya couldn’t help but feel it was partially out of pity, did raise her spirits about it and her own tail wagged in return. “Well it’s not my fault either… !”

Pretty quickly Anya got the idea that she was supposed to get up and stand on the other side of the net too, so she rose to her feet and stood opposite the net, but a good few feet closer to it than Priscilla. To make the height advantage more fair, you see.

“I see… okay, I think I understand. Like this, then?” She repeated that underhand motion, but with more force than she needed to because she was trying to get it up high enough to reach Priscilla but instead it just took a basically straight line right towards her face.

“Good?”

“Art thou sure?” She shrugged playfully. “Perhaps thou tryest not hard enough to be taller.” Followed with a smile and sticking out her tongue.

The smile persisted as Anya moved around to the other side, tail still swaying softly in anticipation. Games were fun after all! That didn’t necessarily needed to be stated, but here she was internally stating it anyway. A chance to play anything with Anya was even more valued.

In fact, the smile only faltered when the ball came hurtling right towards her face. Thankfully it wasn’t the fastest moving object, and through more luck than any other metric she managed to step back and bop the ball...

... Basically straight upwards. It seemed on target, maybe. But it was certainly high.

“Er... Good!”

Anya simply smiled and shook her head at the apology, making a small noise of ‘no sorries needed!’ She can do this, she can handle inflating a beach ball. Or so she thought she could; turns out they can hold a lot more air than she expected.

She was still capable of course, but she didn’t wanna make Priscilla wait too long, so she really put her all into the last couple of blows. With each puff both her ears and tail either flicked or shot stiff upright, but at last the ball was finally inflated… mostly. It had a little give, but it was too late to add more because Anya had already sealed it and once-more-proudly presented it to Priscilla, only a little red in the face.

“It is done. Now, what do we do with it? Throw it at the net? I feel as though you will have an… unfair advantage over me…”

She tried her best not to look too worried as Anya... Well,. struggled seemed like a harsh thing to think. In the end she ended up giving a sort of half apologetic smile as she watched the snow leopard inflate the ball.

Red face or not, when it was proudly presented her tail swayed back and forth happily above the sand. “Well done!” She encouraged, rising to her feet once more, then moving to stand on one side of the net.

“Perhaps, though it is no fault of mine thou art so small. I am sure it will make no significant difference.”

“Bee season…! I know when that is.” Thanks to Priscilla, in fact! She beamed upwards at the crossbreed, her pride worn very clearly on her face about this.

“If it is how you would like to start—I am following your lead when it comes to beach activities.” So she sat down on the blanket, hugging her knees as she watched the balloon inflate… and freeze. And drop, in the exact opposite fashion that a beach ball is supposed to.

“Oh…”

“I can assume that’s not how it’s supposed to go. Would it be better if I tried? I don’t think it’s going to thaw any time soon…” She was already reaching in the basket for one of the spares, unplugging the nozzle, and then… pathetically trying to inflate it.

Knowing when bee season was certainly made her smile, but accidentally freezing the beach ball solid did not. 

“Well, not exactly, no... I apologise, it appears I was somewhat... Over enthusiastic.” She sat down next to the feline, not exactly looking defeated per se, more sheepish.  

“Would thee mind? If it is no trouble.” 

“I don’t think I know what beach season is anyway… so this may as well be ‘prime time’ to me.” she replied. It was still frigid out, and the water even more so when she ventured ankle-deep into the waves. But that was the way she was used to, and truly if it were the middle of summer she might have melted instead.

Crowd-free was always a big plus to her, too, aside from the obvious big plus that just finished setting up the net.

“Well enough. It is cold, but I can handle it fine enough; it’s hardly the worst water I’ve been in. Do… I need to go into the water to play whatever game it is you mentioned…?”

“Summer! Spring..? Somewhere around there? It is the same as bee season.” She shrugged. “When it is warmest I suppose. Ah, well! It is part of the experience I believe, but I also believe we should have our own fun, we need not do things just because.” After all, they were at the beach at the tail end of winter. 

“We do not! Here on the sand, Is that how thee would like to start? Give me a moment and I will prepare the ball.”

And prepare it she did. She took the ball yet to be inflated, pressed her lips over the nozzle and gave it a mighty huff. Too mighty perhaps... It certainly inflated, nice and spherical, but the frost covering the outside was immediately clear and when she let go the frost volley ball fell into the sand like lead.

“Ah...”

“So, I know it is not exactly... The season, but it’s still nice weather, is it not?” By most standards, it was cold, far from what you might expect for beach weather. But the two of them had a high tolerance, and best of all... “And we have this whole stretch to ourselves! Wonderful.”

The big blanket had been lain down, along with the big basket (of big snacks) and she had just set up a net, for the beach game! Regular size, but that just made it easy. 

“A noble choice for a noble girl.” Unfortunately noble girl, she would say, but she didn’t want Priscilla to feel bad about the unintended negative connotation of the word. “It’s all the better that I can’t afford to eat there every day, because it is as you say, very easy to eat too much… but work? I… am not made for work…” she softly responded. She was hardly cut out for being a Saintess, and that was a job where everyone catered to you!

“A scale of curries… ? I’m afraid I do not know what that means, but… ! You will have to let me buy you a spicy dinner sometime! I won’t take no for an answer, either.”

“Perhaps thou has simply not found the kind of work thou enjoys best? While I cannot claim to be able to offer such, I do have multiple positions available if thou art looking for a little extra to get by. Tasks ranging from delicate to physical, social and otherwise.”

“… I was close.” No she wasn’t. Better luck next time, Anya. With her direction adjusted (embarrassing…) and enthusiasm renewed at the optimistic thought of food, she started on her way, her tail briefly wrapping half-heartedly around Priscilla’s leg to give it a tug to let her know to start following.

“It’s so hard to pick a favourite… but there are a number of places I enjoy more than most in Cotes. One place, just on the corner of one street connecting Cotes to Golden, has some of the best pasta I’ve ever had…”

“Fresh pasta was always near impossible to get back home, so perhaps that has something to do with it, but the fact remains that if I could afford to eat there every day, I just might. Do you have any favourite cuisines, or anything I might be able to treat you to sometime…?”

Priscilla simply smiled. She’d been close enough, even if close enough was at least ninety degrees off. She didn’t need much encouragement to start walking either, strolling after her and giving her a gentle pap on the back with her tail.

“Pasta!” She exclaimed excitedly. “A noble choice. I find myself eating much because it is both easy to procure as well as prepare in...” She made a vague bowl shaped gesture. “Larger quantities. I suppose the best always comes with some expense, as is the nature with quality. Art thou looking for work?” She gave a tilt of her head, trying not to make it too obvious how she’d follow up that question.  

“Mine favourite...”

Back home, such blessings were normal, and while people were always varying degrees of happy to receive them, Anya hadn’t been so profusely praised for them until Priscilla. It was hard for blessings to not feel like busywork sometimes (which she’d never admit to Mount Karlan herself) so it was a nice change of pace, she thought.

“Perhaps towards Cotes, then, since I came from Archimedes? It should be easy enough to see the tree to guide us, since public transportation would be of no use…” Well, more so than it was for Priscilla anyway.

“Which should be…. that way?” she said, pointing in the wrong direction, and looking up at Priscilla for approval, her ears popping back up again instantly.

“I rarely find that it is! Yes, that sounds like a wise decision to me, I am quite familiar with the route on foot from here, though I wonder what effects this... Weather, may have had on the rest of the city.”

She gave a very bright smile, kneeled down and adjusted Anya’s pointing hand ever so slightly... Considerably, it was a considerable adjustment. 

“You are the only bee expert I know, so I will defer to your expertise. Cuddling it is.” The best in the whole city… one day, maybe, she might be able to experience that for herself. For now, she was still unsure what to think of the pocky kiss. No, she hadn’t really stopped thinking about it for the past several weeks.

“And you already look plenty strong to me, but I will take your further word for it. However, I can say with certainty that nothing on the direct path between my place and yours remains open…”

Her tail drooped and so did her ears flatten against her head, more subconscious indicator of her mood. “But perhaps with Karlan’s blessings…” she said, before holding out and beginning to lightly ring her bell, closing her eyes and mouthing a silent prayer. Actual snow would begin to form and pick up in a swirl around her feet as she did, though it was still scarce.

“Why defer when then thou can experience.” She said with full confidence, but didn’t move as if she was about to. Yet. 

Anya didn’t actively notice Priscilla’s tail picking up its own wagging speed, but subconsciously she did, and hers increased in speed as well. An upwards spiral of tail wagging encouraging more tail wagging encouraging more tail wagging…

“They cuddle?” she asked, sounding a little surprised. Bees didn’t seem like the… cuddly type to her? She tried to imagine it, zoning out for a moment as she did. “They cuddle… so if you are miss ‘Prizzy Bee’ herself, does that make you the biggest cuddler of them all?”

“That is an idea… I think I did also see some people wielding diamond fragments themselves on my way here…? So they can be broken… somehow…”

“Well... That is what it looks like, to me at least... I suppose one might say they art simply huddling for warmth, but the one who says that would not be me.” Priscilla placed a hand on her hip and looked very proud of herself for a moment. “Of course! This is a known thing, I like to believe I offer some of the best cuddles in all of Spirale city.”

Anya’s tail had stopped wagging while she waited for the answer, but instantly relaxed and began gently swinging side to side again when the answer was received, along with an audible outward sigh of relief. And some colour in her cheeks at the head pats, ears flicking in delight.

“Oh, thank goodness… I do not know how bees survive the winter as it is, let alone with something like this happening…” she said, clutching her bell close to her chest.

“And while I am more than fine with this cold, one thing is giving me pause…” As if on cue, that was when her stomach rumbled.

“…I’m hungry…”

Priscilla always enjoyed those little ear flickies, as well as the sight of the other’s tail swinging gently about. It always made her respond in kind, whether she realised it or not.

“They cuddle, mostly. It’s their season off to put it in nice terms, we do what we can to make sure they don’t exhaust themselves trying to stay warm or run out of food in the colder months.”

Event Starter | @direheterosis​

Anya had already been locked out of her home thanks to the ‘ice,’ and so sought out the closest and iciest friend she knew to see if she could do anything to help. She figured even in the winter Priscilla might be at Prizzy Bees, and she was correct! Unfortunately, Priscilla was just as locked out.

After some brief chatting about current events, a realization hit Anya and she needed to ask.

“…”

“Are the bees… going to be alright… ?”

Well, as far as nuisances go... This was a very pretty nuisance. Any part of the winter aesthetic appealed, especially ice and snow. Diamond dust that fell from the sky and caused all manner of things to sparkle and shine? Truly beautiful, if not particularly convenient. 

She stood tapping her chin in thought, having just sent a message out to her employees to let them know- as with most incidents- they would be closed until this events passed. 

“Hm?”