There's nothing quite as perfect as an unmarred skating rink. It's so smooth and rounded. It seems solid, but any person with common sense would know the dangers of a perilous slippery surface such as this. In a frigid sort of limbo, the ice is suspended in a perpetual state of equal shimmering beauty and hard unforgiveness. Any skater would feel a bit guilty for leaving a mark on such a surface, but somehow the tiny scrape of a blade feels insignificant to a great ice field like a skating rink. Ice is a cold mistress, but she is stunning in her own way.

To a few certain trolls on Alternia, the ice seems almost like a pool of milk, glowing under the lights around it. When Nepeta stepped onto the rink, she half expected it to ripple underneath her blade. Perhaps she had spent too much time with her skating partner. It was a good thing she was going onto the ice before him, she thought. He might have gone to ridiculous lengths to taste the enormous pool of milk! The thought of Equius stooping down to lick the ice made Nepeta giggle. She gazed upon the shimmering surface once more, imagining she was in a teacup. Grinning, she excitedly pushed off into the swirls of milky tea. With each touch of her blades to the ice, she stirred it to create swirling patterns in the smooth drink. She, in a flurry of imagination, sought out another to share in the vision.

"Equius!" She called to her partner, who was just pushing off onto the ice.

"Yes?"

"Do you take sugar in your tea?" Equius, frowned in contemplation of the out-of-place inquiry.

"That's a bit of a... strange question."

"But that's not the point! Do you?"

"What?"

"Do you take sugar in your tea, silly?"

"Well… if I ever drank tea, I'm sure I would."

"Then you'd better watch out! You're about to run into a huge cube right meow!" Nepeta, still separated from reality, pounced upon Equius to save him from a deadly collision with a giant sugar cube. Her attack would have knocked Equius over if it weren't for his uncanny trait of extreme strength.

"I fail to see your meaning in this foolishness," grunted Equius, easily lifting her weight and holding her off the ground. He was almost like a mother cat carrying her kitten by the scruff, except he had a much more muscular complexion.

"C'mon, Sweatquius! Where's your sense of imagination?" implored Nepeta, squirming a bit in the air, very obviously in vain.

"I don't have one."

"Don't be silly! Efurryone does!"

"Does not."

"Does too!"

"I won't start this again."

"I'm gonna keep going!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No." On this word, Equius playfully launched Nepeta up in the air in an attempt to silence her. By a stroke of luck, the throw was actually quite well-constructed. Nepeta sailed up in the air, her legs and tail forming a neat arc above her as she twisted to stick the landing. She landed perfectly on her feet, as cats usually do, barely even stumbling. Nepeta sealed the act by striking a cute pose. Her tail swished in pleasure as she turned and smiled at Equius.

"That throw was pawsitively exquisite!" she chirped. "I'll make sure that gets incorpurrated into the choreography."

"I hope it's only once," muttered Equius as he wiped his brow in a long, extended stroke. "Lifts like those make me... sweat."

"Eww! You're so gross." Nepeta pushed on Equius' arm, somehow expecting him to move at all. Instead, she simply propelled herself backwards surprisingly fast. She swung her arms and crouched lower to the ice to keep from falling over onto the frigid, stony surface. She succeeded in maintaining her balance, but at the cost of enough dignity to make Equius smile.

"What's so funny?" Nepeta inquired, knowing full well what had caused Equius' expression.

"Nothing," said Equius, a bit more hurriedly than usual. Nepeta's tail brushed across the ice, stirred by the cold that had seeped in from the last few seconds of stillness. She bared her teeth in a bashful grin.

"Are you sure? It seemed to me like you were amewsed about something."

"Well, you were mistaken."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes."

"What's that look on your face, then?"

"My normal expression," said Equius, suppressing a smile.

"You normally look like you've drunk some sour milk?"

"Manely." Equius wasn't even trying to hide his beaming expression at this point. Nepeta gave a chirping giggle.

"Are we gonna purractice or what?"

"Right."

"Okay!" Nepeta pushed her way back to her partner, her delicate feet sweeping in gentle curves on the hard frozen surface. She slowed to a stop by his side and took a brisk hold of his sweaty palm. "Now… what shall we do?"

"Uh… I haven't done a lift in a while."

"Okay. Shouldn't be hard fur you!"

Hand in hand, the two trolls kicked off, gently carving the ice to propel themselves forward. Equius remembered well the rush of the frigid air against his moist skin. After the season ended, he hadn't even known what to do with himself. It was good to be back on the ice after the long Alternian summer. He felt at home, as if he was galloping across the hills with his hoofbeast kin. He didn't feel his hand slipping from the grasp of his partner.

"Equius! Slow down! Don't furget about me!"

"Oh. Sorry." He slowed to a pace that would accommodate Nepeta's speed.

"Which lift will we purractice?"

"Um…" Equius trailed off, never to finish the thought. He found it much easier to act than speak. Promptly, he reached over to Nepeta and lifted her into the air by the hip. Nepeta, taken a bit off guard by the sudden change in position, gave a small squeak. She barely faltered in her position, however. Equius was strong enough to guide her hand into a stable position. Regaining her composure, Nepeta felt comfortable enough to let go with one of her hands.

For a few seconds there in the air, Nepeta almost lost track of reality. Suspended upon her moirail's single extended arm and shoulder, she watched the spinning world around her distantly. How surreal it was to be here again, dancing as if the last season hadn't even happened! Picking up the pieces had never seemed so simple and easy. She wondered if Equius felt the same. Then again, his head wasn't being spun around at a relatively brisk speed.

Speaking of the equine troll, he was just about ready to assist Nepeta out of the lift. His hand came gently to Nepeta's hip and she gracefully spun out of her position. Less gracefully, Equius loosened his grip too soon. While Nepeta's legs were still horizontal, Equius made the mistake of trusting physics to carry her the right way. Physics, like the cruel mistress she is, did not comply. Nepeta did land on her feet, being conveniently feline, but she also landed upon her hands, sliding to a halt with her face inches from the frozen surface.

Equius was silent. His eyes showed a sharp change in mood. Nepeta hurried up to her feet to comfort her friend and assure him that his mistake wasn't a big deal. But she had scarcely opened her mouth before a clap resounded from the sidelines, followed by another clap a heartbeat later. Nepeta whirled around to spot the source of the slow clap. When she met Vriska Serket's eyes, Nepeta gave a surprised mew.

"Absolutely outstanding," Vriska sarcastically proclaimed, pacing the edge of the ice like a snarky anime villain. "With a landing like that, you might outscore the zamboni driver!" As the renowned skater taunted them, Nepeta's eyes widened.

"You're… Vwhiskers Sercat!" Nepeta stammered, unaffected by Vriska's latest comment on their skating skill.

"Don't call me that," Vriska muttered.

"Hello, Vriska," Equius rumbled. Vriska slid out onto the ice in a surprisingly condescending manner, each pace carefully timed to convey its maximum potential for sarcasm.

"Hey, neighbor. How's your lusus?" She asked Equius.

"Arthour is performing his duties well."

"Glad to see at least someone's lusus is worth anything." There was a palpable silence following Vriska's sarcasm. Equius, being unwilling to keep up a conversation, made no effort to break it. A few seconds passed before Vriska decided to speak again.

"Better at holding up weights than a conversation, as always?"

"Yes," was Equius' concise reply.

"How about you, whiskers? Are you gonna talk?" Vriska inquired, turning her attention towards the smaller feline troll.

"Um, yeah…" Nepeta timidly approached, thinking of so many questions and being unable to ask any of them. "Vwhisk-I mean… Vriska?" she squeaked.

"Yeah?"

"Why… oh... never mind!"

"Um, okay?"

"She wants to know why you are here," interjected Equius, knowing his moirail's intentions well.

"Oh yeah. Scratch assigned me to help your choreography. He thinks I'll be able to help your performance."

Nepeta was close to complete implosion.

"You're… our choreografur?!"

"Yeah. I guess." As Nepeta nearly fell over, Equius regarded this notion with less excitement.

"I am pleased to have the assistance of a blue blood…"

"You sure about that, big guy?"

"Yes. But I am not sure… about your…"

"My what?"

"...Choreographic tendencies."

"Choreographic tendencies," Vriska repeated sourly. "Look, Scratch put me with you to help you. You're gonna do what I tell you to. Okay?"

"But... I am your superior."

"Not on the ice. So kindly get off that high hoofbeast you've found yourself on. We're gonna need to start working on your lifts."

"Now?"

"When else would we do it? After the championship? Come on. Show me your best lift. Ready, Nepeta?"

"Y-yeah!" Nepeta cried, her tail a bit bushier than normal.

"Then let's get started. Show me what you've got!"

Minutes in the future (but not many)...

Two royal-blooded trolls pushed their way past the front door of the championship rink. Eridan didn't even wait for the door to close behind him to make a snide remark.

"I'd almost forgotten how many landdwellers run around up here. Why did you reserve the rink in the middle of the city again?" Feferi rolled her eyes.

"Because it's the biggest one. Anyways, I thought you didn't care about landdwellers anymore!"

"I don't want to kill them all anymore. That doesn't mean I like them."

The two trolls pushed through a set of average-sized metal doors into the vast skating rink. A gust of cold air rushed up to meet them, blowing past their horns and making Feferi shiver a bit. Still, she kept on walking, her shoes clicking on the concrete like the queen she was destined to become. The rink space was enormous, but these two royal presences strutted along as if they owned the place. Technically, Feferi did, but she didn't pay much mind to what she had. She'd come here to skate, after all!

Hanging above the frigid puddle of ice was a sizeable four-sided jumbotron, noticeable even while it wasn't being used. Thousands of individual seats lined the dimly lit stands, barely standing out in the darkness. Only the shining rink was illuminated. That was all the trolls needed at this moment. As they stepped to the edge of the ice, Feferi sighed happily, memories of this place flooding her mind.

"Remember last time we were here, Eri? We were on the stands. The crowd was chanting our names and everything!"

"They were finally giving us the attention we deserve." Eridan said this coldly, making Feferi slump her shoulders a bit.

"But wasn't it nice to earn it for a change?"

"I guess." The two stopped for a while to take in the sight of the large building they found themselves in. It wasn't much bigger than their hives, but it was a bit strange to have a room so open. Eridan couldn't decide if it felt exposed or liberating.

Sitting down on a few nearby seats, they both strapped on their skates, careful to fasten their laces tightly. The heiress of Alternia couldn't be seen skating over her own laces, could she? She must be a shining example of grace and regality. It put a unique kind of pressure on the young troll. Pondering her responsibilities, she stood up and took her position at the ice's edge.

Effortlessly, Feferi glided out across the rink. She rather enjoyed the feel of moving with minimal effort. Swimming was fairly effortless to her, but she had so much more resistance across her body in the water. If she could, she would always travel atop the water instead of through it. Her feet swept back and forth, each communicating with the other in a sort of harmony. Without really thinking about it, she looped around and around, sometimes backward, sometimes forward. Despite her own hair buffeting her in the face, she found the experience exhilarating every time.

Eridan, on the other hand, wasn't really bothered to indulge in simple enjoyment in the physical sense. Skating wasn't a passion of his. Rather, his pleasure came from seeing his partner enjoying herself. She really was quite beautiful when she was happy, and even more so when she was performing such a graceful dance. If pair skating wasn't a team sport, he would have been content to just watch her. But he was doing this for her, just like everything else he did.

"Whale? Aren't you coming? Or are you just going to stare at me for all our practice time?" Feferi broke Eridan's reverie, bringing him back to his duty as the skating partner of the heiress.

"Yeah. I'm coming." Willingly and deliberately, Eridan slid out to meet her.

Just then, they heard the click of a metal door as it was pushed open. Both skaters regarded the new visitor, but only Feferi recognized the yellow blooded troll. He tentatively stepped a bit closer to the ice to deliver his message.

"Hey, Fef. I figured I should tell you not to look for me in the booth. I'm technically on break, so I won't be there." Feferi gave a friendly smile, fastening her flowing ebony hair in a ponytail at the crown of her head.

"Shore thing, Sol. Thanks!" Feferi called to him. Good. This was all Sollux was supposed to do. Talk to Feferi, then leave. Frankly, he wasn't sure why he had done it. He could have left her to figure it out. In fact, he usually avoided speaking to others altogether. But he just... felt that she should know. With a start, Sollux realized that he had lingered a bit too long in thought. Without another word, he departed from the room, leaving Eridan a bit confused.

"Who was that?" he questioned his partner, a bit defensive of his friendship.

"Oh, that's Sollux, the lighting guy. He was nice enough to work a few more hours to keep us from skating in the dark!"

"How nice for a filthy lowblood like him to do his duty."

"Eridan! Be nice! Lighting is a reely difficult field, you know!"

"Whatever. Let's… just skate."

"Okay." Both of them began to move, synchronized with each other to near perfection. Feferi's strides extended just a tiny bit to seamlessly match her partner's, leaving the two trolls going at exactly the same speed, despite not touching one another at all.

"Do you know if we have our music yet?" asked Eridan, mirroring Feferi's motions.

"No, our choreographer was supposed to meet us here with the music. Guess he's running late." Carefully pushing against momentum, they turned a smooth corner.

"Who did Scratch get us this time?"

"Oh, you'd be pleased. He's a purple blood and a great skater! His name is Gamsea Mackerel. Oh, sorry! Gamzee Makara! I couldn't resist making those puns." Eridan groaned at the first mention of Gamzee's name, recognizing it even through Feferi's habitual nautical puns. He dropped out of sync a little bit due to his emotional change.

"That disgraceful clown? What was Scratch thinking?" Eridan muttered.

"You know him?"

"We've talked before. Vriska knows him, so he rubbed off on me like the mud he is." Upon hearing this snarling comment, Feferi slowed to a less joyful pace.

"I can sea you're a bit crabby, but he's our choreographer! We should accept him as he is, even if you don't like him!"

"He's always drinking that... sugary sludge. I'd be surprised if he can think straight enough to choreograph with us."

"Have a bit more faith! I'm shore he'll do just fine."

Eridan frowned, knowing that any rebuttal would just increase Feferi's insistence on being optimistic. In a way, he was quite glad she was there to oppose him. Though it seemed annoying, he knew that her positivity outweighed it. And, as he admitted silently, she was stunningly pretty. Eridan was still disgruntled, but he decided to let the topic drop. He changed the subject, pivoting to face his partner.

"How long do we have in the rink? Your lusus is going to be hungry if we're here too long."

"Don't worry! I've got everything on... schedule..." Feferi trailed off. Her gaze was not on Eridan. Her jeweled obsidian eyes focused on a target far behind him. He knew she was easily distracted, but in an empty skating rink? That seemed a bit of a stretch. Eridan pushed his head and shoulders to face whatever Feferi was affixed upon.

The first thing that caught his gaze was the striking white face paint in the dark stands. It was as if some hollow-eyed phantom had made itself at home watching the trolls skate. But as Eridan started to pick up the finer details, tall, curved horns came into view, sharp as spears. Combine those with the unruly, wild mop of hair, and that was a sight more unsettling than the white phantom this troll could have been. This mysterious clown in the dark opened his distantly grinning mouth and uttered a single cry.

"Honk."

Eridan jumped a foot. Feferi, giggling, addressed Gamzee.

"Gamsea! You're here!"

"I've been here for a while, Fef. I was wonderin' if you'd notice."

"Does… Sollux know you're here?"

Gamzee gave a brief shrug in response.

"Well, um… do you have the music?" inquired Feferi, determined to leave no loose ends.

"The wickedest slams," assured Gamzee, baring each of his dagger-like teeth as the corners of his mouth curled upward. Eridan shuddered. He wasn't used to conversations with Gamzee in person. He had talked with him before, but the frightening appearance of the troll's paint-laden face wasn't a factor over Trollian. Feferi was relatively unfazed.

"Great! Should we get started, then?"

"Show me your magic, fish dudes."

Eridan longed to be as patient as his friend.

"There's no such thing," he muttered under his breath as he took Feferi by the hand, pulling her into a firm hold.

Sollux settled down in a sizeable cushioned chair. The padding on the chair wasn't any better than anything he had back at his hive. The fabric felt coarse, but not unpleasant enough to make him stir from his position. However, he wasn't really concentrating on his seating conditions. For once, he was at least free to think about emotion. He sighed to himself, but he didn't hear his own breath. What he heard was a whisper. Soft, faint, and annoying. The voices of the soon-to-be-dead, as usual. He didn't mind the whispers. They made him feel at peace, similar to how a child would love hearing a bedtime story. Whatever those were.

He took a cautious sip from the ceramic mug he suspended in the air via telekinesis. The liquid wasn't too hot, so he gently tipped the mug until he had a mouth full of bitter coffee. Deliberately, he swallowed, in no rush to be anywhere. He ran his tongue over his teeth. They felt obstructive, as usual. They always got in the way of both nourishment and speech. He almost hated them, just as he hated the voices he always heard playing over and over again in his divided mind.

Glancing out the window into the rink, he watched as three pairs of horns danced and swirled around the ice, framed by charcoal-colored tufts of hair. Every once in a while, a mulberry-colored purple swipe would taint the deep blacks and oranges. Both anger and apathy swirled in Sollux's mind, sparked by the color of Eridan's hair. Unwilling to deal with those emotions, he instead turned his attention to the other seadweller.

She was moving so smoothly. Sollux knew that skaters generally do move with a silky smoothness, but she seemed to fit it better somehow. How could he describe it? Elegant? Charming? His own contradictions worsened as he tried to puzzle out his feelings. However, both parts of his duality agreed that he wasn't fit to make eyes at the heiress. He reminded himself that she had given him a healthy pay to stay until they finished skating. That would be the extent of his emotion.

As the other side of his mind ate away at the fact that he didn't mean what he had just concluded, he slumped back in his chair. This was only the beginning. Once the skating season started, he would never have a dull day.

And right he was about that.