Thanks very much to my favorite reviewers:
Hikari Tenshi: Yeah, I wanted to make Ray rude when he was younger-nobody could be a perfect little gentleman. I'm so glad you liked it. Thanks for reviewing!
whisper*2*imaginary: YES! Tala's blushing at me? Ooohh…! And my deepest sympathies for Johnny…hehe. He's starting to grow on me. Not literally, of course.
Starwave: That's too bad about your computer. ): Yes…poor Lee. I hope he gets better soon too. (;
Cool Quotes:
Johnny: "Robert's in trouble! We should try some of that teamwork stuff."
Olliver: "I don't know if I should yell or shout or whatever."
Reference to Robert's battle with Tyson in A Majestic Battle…A Majestic Victory?
My Naïve Corner: Where can you get the Beyblade DVD's? I've looked everywhere and I still can't find anything. Is there some secret underground distributing place? Shucks, I want in.
Authors Note: This chapter and the next chapter (SA: Part 2) were my all time favorite chapters to write. So far, that is. I'm looking forward to writing some other ones. (; I hope you like it as much as I think you will!
Disclaimer: Any misspellings, confused references or mixed up teammates are purely accidental and are a result of the author's new innocent fascination with the world of beyblading. Kira Ocelet, Mobekai Tart, Danika Woods, Colby Peterson and Trish ?? belong to me.
I made the poem up, "Where has nature gone?" Anyone can use it if they would like as long as they give due credit.
Italics are thoughts.
Bold Letters are songs.
*Ray*: Do you need help cleaning up, Mariah?
*Mariah*: Nah, I've got it. Besides, I need to hurry and get back.
*Ray*: Well, then, with two on the job, it'll get done faster.
*SecretQuill*: NO! Ray, you should stay here and play a game with me.
*Ray*: What kind of game?
*Max*: Uh…oh….
*SecretQuill*: I don't know! Any type of game! Darn, where in the world did my blue feathers go?
*Tyson*: Blue feathers? What blue feathers?
*SecretQuill*: The ones I'm missing. I found them in the chicken coop and decided they looked pretty, but I know Scarlet must have been playing with them.
*Ray*: Scarlet?
*SecretQuill*: My cat.
*Ray*: Um…I'm a little allergic to cats. I think I'll be safer in the kitchen.
(Ray follows Mariah into the kitchen).
*SecretQuill*: Hmmph! She shouldn't have come over at all! Soon, Ray will be following me into the kitchen. Hehehe…(^evil grin^)
*Max*: Fat chance, SecretQuill. Everyone who's anyone knows Ray and Mariah are crushing each other.
*Scarlet*: Meow!!
*SecretQuill*: (grabs cat and tosses out the window onto a pick up truck) THERE! How about that!? I certainly hope he's happy now!
*Tyson*: Actually, Ray's not allergic to cats at all. He made that up as an excuse to go help Mariah.
*SecretQuill*: (gasp!) SCARLET!
WATCH THIS!
Chapter 7: Snow Adventures Part 1
"I've got this for you, Ray," Kenny handed him a brand new rip chord, "It's longer than the average rip chord, so it should help your blade stay in the game longer."
"Thanks Chief." Ray examined the green rip chord.
"I also made some improvements to your blade. Max' too. It should help in your battle today."
"I'm blading today, right chief?" Tyson asked.
"Yes, but I'm counting on Ray and Max to pull off a quick win so you might not have to battle."
"I want to battle, though," complained Tyson.
"You should save your strength for the battles that count, Tyson." Kenny warned.
"What kind of upgrades did you use, chief?" Max poked around at Draciel.
"You have a great defense, Max, so I upgraded your offense. Your blade is now faster and I tweaked some of edges so it's little more unpredictable. It still goes where you want it to go, though."
"What about mine?" Ray asked curiously.
"On the contrary, you have a great balance between your offense and your defense, Ray, so I updated both. I added more curves to your blade, so it will spin faster and I added this plastic covering here on your blade ring, so it's less penetrable. That and the rip chord should improve your blade quite a bit."
"The Tall Boys will be easy to beat," Max smiled confidently, "What time is our match?"
"Not till tonight at seven," Mr. Dickinson suddenly entered The Alpine Plaza hotel room with a bagel in hand, "I've booked you boys overnight here. Let me tell you, Switzerland is beautiful at night. I trust you arrived here safely?"
They nodded.
"What have you been doing here, Mr. Dickinson?" Tyson asked.
He grinned and held up some small gray tickets,
"You can't very well visit Switzerland and not ski on the Alps."
"No way!" Max jumped forward.
"Wow!" Tyson grabbed a ticket, "You're the best, Mr. D!"
"Thanks," Kai added as well.
Ray looked out the window excitedly as he held his own ticket,
"This is awesome. Where'd you get these?"
"They're courtesy of the BBA team sponsorship. Actually, it works out quite nicely because, you see, I need to go meet with a business partner."
"When do you think you'll be back?" Max asked.
"I'll see you at the match tonight, I promise."
And with that, Mr. Dickinson left with a wave.
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Mariah clutched her pink jacket over her shoulders and walked down the sleet covered streets of Bern. She kept an eye out for a pharmacy or drug store at all times.
Gary and Kevin were at the hotel with Lee, who was running a fever. He must have gotten it in Paris the night he'd been practicing on the roof.
She finally found a quaint little place titled Shorty's Medicinal Store. Inside, it was very quiet. Only two or three more people walked the aisles.
"Excuse me?" She leaned over the counter and ringed the bell, "Anybody there?"
A strong Swiss accent replied from the backroom.
"Yes, yes! Hold on just a minute, ma'am…"
A tall man with dark orange hair, beard, mustache and a number of freckles came out, carrying a large load of empty boxes. He wiped his brow and leaned against the register,
"How may I help you, miss?"
"My friend is sick. He's throwing up and has a fever. Do you have anything I could use to make it go away?"
He began to laugh,
"I'm afraid right now the best thing for your friend is sleep and as much water as possible. But I do have some tablets that could lessen the symptoms."
"Oh, really? I would appreciate that very much."
Mariah waited as he scuffled into the back and came out seconds later with two prescriptions.
"I'll give you another for free. Business is pretty slow these days."
"Thanks!" Mariah paid him and walked outside, "Have a nice day!"
"You too! Keep warm!" He waved merrily.
The hustle of early morning traffic and snow blowers were loud and noisy in her ear. More men and woman had appeared on the streets, in a rush to get to work. They seemed quite unaffected by the icy weather, but they seemed to be appropriately dressed.
The hotel was two blocks away, but the area between was filled with all sorts of commercial stores and Mariah loved the see the people bargaining.
As she passed a clothing store, someone stepped out whom she recognized very plainly,
"Mobekai! Mobekai!"
But he did not seem to hear her and she had to grab his shoulder to get his attention.
"Mariah!" He turned, "When did you get here?"
"Last night." She held up the prescription and explained, "Lee's sick."
"That's tough. I hope he gets better."
"What have you been up to?" She eyed the four large bags in each hand.
"Clothes shopping for everyone. We're used to the heat," he grinned, "So, what are you doing today?"
"I'm not sure yet. Go see some sights, probably."
He reached into his bag and pulled out some yellow papers,
"Do you want to snowmobile with me later today?"
"Oh! I'd love to," she smiled excitedly, her eyes twinkling.
"You look pretty when you smile." he commented more to himself than to her.
She blushed at his statement and a little embarrassed, he covered up quickly,
"Are you cold? Here, you can take my jacket." He pulled out a newly bought fur jacket.
"Thank you," she felt the warmth envelope her instantly, "Where are you staying?"
"The Wind Chime. How about you?"
"Here at The Alpine Plaza."
"Well, I'll come inside with you. Everyone else has already headed over to the ski resort. I never liked to ski."
"I don't think I'd mind, but I never learned."
"I guess we're both good, then?" He held open the door to The Alpine Plaza. "Do you know where everyone else is?"
"The All-Stars are arriving today and the Bladebreakers should be here too. We were on the same train up. And as for everyone else, I have no idea."
"Is eleven all right? We can pick up some lunch before we go."
"Sure. That's perfect."
She took off the fur jacket and handed it back to him. She could feel the cold wind even through the double glass doors of the lobby,
"Thanks a lot, Mobekai."
"The pleasure's all mine."
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"I think these ski's are a little too big for me," Emily lifted the heavy boards behind her back and dusted the snow off her shoulders.
"They'll work out all right," Eddy received his own ski's.
Michael pulled his goggles down and looked around the shop,
"Where's Steve? I'm not going to wait all day for him. Let's go, Emily."
"Am I waiting for him then?" Eddy asked, "I think he's just buying some gloves."
"Yeah, can you wait?"
"Well, when you put it that way, I guess I should."
"Good. Let's get on that ski lift."
"Wait, Michael," Emily demanded and approached the counter where she grabbed some tissues, "I get a runny nose in high atmospheres. Okay, let's go."
They approached the line where they could see a man directing people to sit and stand at the appropriate times.
"Ready? 1…2…3…all right, who's up next?"
Emily and Michael approached.
"Put your feet there and just sit down like you would in a chair."
The lift pulled around and Emily and Michael took a seat. Emily shut her eyes immediately,
"I tend to have a fear of heights as well."
"Cool, let's try that pass over there!"
Emily opened her eyes and saw Michael pointing toward the steepest slope,
"Are you sure? I'd much rather work my way up."
"Nah-let's do it now before it gets too crowded."
Emily saw the long dark red hair and dark orange haired girls in front of them before it occurred to her who they were,
"Hey! Those are the girls that we saw the other day! They belong to that new team, the Wild Cheetahs."
Michael's eyes clouded over and he stared at the scenery below,
"Yes, I noticed."
Emily didn't notice his sudden gloominess and instead watched the skiers making their way down all the slopes.
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"I don't really like to ski," Kenny mumbled nervously in the ski lift, next to Tyson.
"Aaaaah, don't sweat so much. He-eey! Check out that slope!"
Kenny noticed a barricade of rocks and trees and branches,
"I don't really like that slope. Let's try this one here!"
Tyson stared at the dinky straight slope and shook his head,
"Nah. We'll do that one later."
He spun around in the lift and yelled down to Max and Ray in the next lift, pointing furiously at the first slope,
"Let's do that one!"
"Are you sure?" Max yelled back, giving a slightly concerned look at the slopes rocky condition.
"It's safe isn't it? Or they wouldn't be letting us use it! Tell Kai!" Tyson bellowed again.
Ray turned around in his seat behind them and replayed the message to Kai who was in the lift behind theirs.
"Well," Kenny began nervously, "It's not that I don't like to ski as much as I don't know how to ski, Tyson."
"You don't know how to ski?!" Tyson dropped his face in his hands, "I'll show you how to do it. You'll catch on quickly."
Kenny watched the second, perfectly straight slope wistfully as they passed below it,
"I'd still rather start out on less rocky terrain."
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"Lee, sit down! He said you need to rest!" You're overworking yourself!" Mariah put her brush down and walked into the main room.
"I'm fine, Mariah!" Lee picked up a magazine, "I just want to use my legs for a minute."
There was suddenly a knock at the door. Mariah answered it immediately, but it wasn't Mobekai. It was a desk clerk that looked young and inexperienced. He read off a manila envelope,
"Is this the right place to find the White Tiger Beyblade team?"
"That's us."
"This is for you from the BBA." He handed her the manila envelope. As an afterthought, he added,
"Yeah…have a nice day."
"Bye." Mariah shut the door quickly before he could say anything else.
"What is it?" Kevin sat up on the bed.
"A letter and four tickets."
She opened the letter and read it quickly before setting the tickets down,
"They're free ski tickets, courtesy of the BBA."
"I'm going," Kevin jumped up immediately and grabbed one, "I'm so bored I was afraid I might actually start reading."
Lee frowned,
"I wish I could go."
"I'll come too. It sounds like fun," Gary picked up the letter, which included a description of the lift area.
"How about you, Mariah?" Kevin asked.
"Actually, Mobekai invited me to go snowmobiling with him."
Lee looked up disapprovingly,
"I don't like him, Mariah."
"Well, I like him and I don't care if you do or not."
"You really shouldn't be hanging out with competition." Kevin frowned.
Mariah glared,
"He isn't competition!"
Lee stared at her for a few seconds and then calmly drank some water.
"Humph!" She returned to the bathroom.
"We'll be going now," Gary walked to the door.
"You don't want us to stay, Lee?" Kevin asked.
"I'm fine. Go!" He ordered.
"Bye!" Gary closed the door behind him.
"I'm going early to meet Mobekai," Mariah came out of the bathroom, "You should really try and get some rest, Lee."
As Mariah closed the door, she heard Lee say again,
"I really don't like Mobekai."
Mariah rolled her eyes.
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"I don't like skiing, Tyson." Kenny complained as he tried to pick his skis up out of the snow.
"Don't sweat it chief," Ray flew off to his left and skidded skillfully around some trees.
"Easy for you to say!" Kenny yelled.
"Push forward using your ski poles! You don't need to lift your feet like that at all," Tyson explained.
Kenny tried pushing forward, using the poles, but he only pushed himself into the ground,
"No, no, chief! You're doing it all wrong! I said you don't have to move your skis, not stand like a stiff rock!" Tyson shouted.
"You said not to move and now you're saying that's right?" Kenny looked confused, "Make up your mind already!"
A haughty voice called out behind them,
"Look, Emily, the Bladebreakers need a lesson on how to ski. Maybe they need it more for their Beyblading skills."
Tyson spun around and began shouting at Michael,
"Look, you pompous red-haired freak! I could out ski and out Beyblade you any day and I'll prove it you right now!"
Michael chuckled and pulled his goggles down,
"You're on."
Tyson dug his ski poles into the snow and leaned down fiercely.
"Tyson, this is stupid! What if you get hurt? Besides, I'd really rather have you here so you can-" Kenny said anxiously.
"Stuff it, nerd!" Michael narrowed his eyes angrily.
"I resent that remark very much, Michael," Emily put her hands on her hips.
"Are we gonna sit around and talk or are we gonna do something about this, huh?" Tyson shouted. "On your marks! Get set…GO!"
They propelled down the mountainside.
"No! Tyson! I need you to teach me how to ski!" Kenny yelled after Tyson's retreating back, "Just great."
"I'll teach you, Kenny." Emily pulled up beside him.
"Thanks!" He brightened considerably.
"It's easy. Push backward into the snow with the ski poles and lean your body forward at all times. Use the poles and push outward in the opposite direction to move left or right."
"Huh?" Kenny asked.
"Like this!" She took his hands, which were holding the poles, and placed them firmly in the snow. "Now push your body forward and push your arms behind you."
Kenny started sliding forward, accelerating with the mountain's slope.
"Good!" She called excitedly.
"Thanks and all!" Kenny shouted, narrowly missing a tree, "But you forgot to tell me how to stop…!
"Shoot!"
She pulled herself forward to try and keep up with him,
"Keep digging your poles in the snow, Kenny!"
"I'm trying! I'm trying!" Kenny dug frantically.
"Now swerve to the side and drag the ski poles along the ground with you till you stop!"
Kenny swerved and stopped, but only after he hit the tree.
"Ouch!" Kenny rubbed his forehead. Emily came up beside him and lay down her poles.
"You're bleeding!" She ran a finger along his brow, where a line of blood began to drip. He blushed a bit at her touch. She took one of her tissues and wrapped it around his forehead,
"That should keep the infection out. You should probably climb the mountain and take the ski lift down to an easier level."
"Thanks, Emily."
He got down on one knee and unclipped his skis, "I guess I just don't have the patience for this kind of thing."
"Everyone's good at something, Kenny. You're just better at analyzing data."
"Thanks, Emily, but I'll probably just head back."
"Suit yourself. I'll see you tonight, then."
"Yeah, okay. Bye!"
He watched her curve gracefully around the tree he'd just plastered himself into. He sighed and began to crunch his boots into the packed snow as he trekked up the snowy mountainside.
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Tyson swerved around a tree and saw Michael jump a rock and land in front of him.
"What?!" He stared and pushed faster off his poles, body hunched forward. He began to move past Michael, but it was only because Michael had hit some grass and it was slowing him down.
Michael skillfully dipped his ski poles behind him and hunched on his knees as he swerved past Tyson. Tyson tried getting closer to the ground, but each time he did, he got dangerously close to tumbling.
They were headed for a grove of big trees. If they didn't swerve right hard, they'd run into them. Tyson had started swerving and yelled for Michael to do the same thing, but Michael ignored him.
Tyson came to a stop as he watched Michael finally realize where he was headed, try to stop and instead hit a low branch between the two trees. He tumbled to a halt five feet below the trees. Tyson skied down and helped him up,
"Let's just call it a tie, okay?"
Michael looked a little disgusted, but after a moments hesitation, nodded in approval and shook Tyson's outstretched hand.
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Ray gracefully leaned in a figure eight around some trees and did a couple more loops around some rocks, enjoying the soft breeze on his face.
He moved toward the open snow and let himself slide forward freely while he closed his eyes to think.
He remembered now why the man on the train had sent shivers up his back. He knew now that he'd seen that face before. He kept hearing Rochelle in his mind, but he couldn't figure out what it meant. If he had met the man before, it must not have been a pleasant experience. Ray opened his eyes and swerved among the rocky terrain once more.
He heard her before he could see the wild red hair. She pulled up beside him and pushed fiercely off her ski poles, jumping over some grass. She turned and cocked her head to the side as if challenging him to do better.
Ray grinned at Danika and looped her quickly from the front. She dug her poles into the ground in surprise to prevent herself from skiing right into him.
She raised an eyebrow and jumped over a low lying tree branch.
What in the world? Ray thought. She was very good.
He knew it was going to be dangerous, but the blood pumping his veins only encouraged him further.
He spun around and began to ski backwards. Glancing behind his shoulders, he did a figure eight around two trees, narrowly missing the branches and jumped backward off the large rock directly behind them. He attempted to spin around and land on his feet facing forward, but his skis got tangled and he fell hard in the snow.
He started to laugh at what he'd been trying to do.
Danika pulled up grinning,
"You're very good."
"Thank you for that," he smiled a little breathlessly and got down on one knee, unbuckling his skis so he could see if he'd hurt himself or not. His leg was a little swollen but it seemed to still be working perfectly, "You were quite a challenge. Do you practice?"
"No. I just love skiing." She helped him up, "Have you had fun so far?"
"Sure, I guess."
"Do you want to go back up together?"
He looked back up the slope.
"That's a long way to walk."
"Sorry, that's not what I meant at all. We'll take the lift back up."
He readjusted his skis and stood back up, but she pushed him back down immediately and propelled down the slope,
"I'll race you!" she shouted.
"Oh no you don't…" He finally pushed off again as well.
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Emily stopped to the side of the trail and wiped her face with the tissue she'd gotten earlier. It was really muggy up here. The tightly packed air particles made it difficult to breathe, especially because she had a lot of trouble taking complete breaths.
The pressure on her sinuses had inflated too so all she felt like doing at the moment was sneezing, even though she didn't actually have to.
"Emily!" She looked up and watched someone pull up beside her. She didn't recognize him, till he pulled off his cap.
"Hi Max!" She smiled.
"Hey! Been having fun?"
Emily thought of all her troubles; her failure to teach Kenny right, her lack of anything productive on the slope and her stupid nose and sinuses.
She shook her head,
"Not really."
"That's too bad. Maybe it'll get more exciting."
"Actually," she looked down the slope, "I'm thinking about heading back."
"How about if I come with you?" He pulled his cap back on.
She pulled her goggles down,
"Sure, that sounds like fun."
"See?" he grinned. "Now you can't say you haven't been doing anything fun."
He pushed off lightly and she called behind him,
"I'm not racing, Max!"
Max pushed harder and put a little distance between them,
"MAX!" she shouted again.
She pushed off her poles a little harder and pushed her body low to the ground so the skis would go farther.
She caught up with him after a while only to realize he was going slow on purpose.
"Max!" She moaned.
"Emily!" He moaned back sarcastically.
Then, grinning, he added, "Hey, watch this."
He went for a tree to the left of them. At first it looked like he was going to run into it, but then he pushed his poles underneath his arms and went underneath the lowest branch on his knees. He stood up quickly and swerved to the right, narrowly missing a rock.
"You're going to get hurt!" Emily pulled up beside him.
"Nah-I've done it loads of times."
Emily's head started to hurt a bit with the pressure of the loud wind rushing past her ears.
"Now you try it." Max encouraged her.
"Me?" She shook her head intensely, "I don't think so. I could never do that."
"It's easy. Just get down on your knees and keep skiing till you pass underneath. Besides, Ray's the only one of us that can actually jump anything. You'll do fine."
"All right. I'll try…how about this?"
She had spotted a tree with a pretty high branch that looked easy enough. She pulled her poles behind her just like she'd seen Max do.
The branch came up and she dipped down onto her knees and closed her eyes, sure it would snag her hair. But it didn't.
She opened her eyes and turned around. She'd already passed under the tree. Max pulled up beside her grinning,
"I told you you could do it! You're a natural!"
She beamed with pride.
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"Mobekai, where's your ticket?"
Mariah looked at his hands worriedly as they reached the area. He felt around his suit and looked at the snowmobiles,
"Ooops! I guess we'll just have to take only one snowmobile."
She noticed he was smiling a bit and realized he'd left it on purpose. They got their helmets from the side of the gift shop and got their only snowmobile.
They were to ride south for town and drop the snowmobile off at another station there.
"Do you want to drive?" Mobekai offered. She shook her head.
"Okay, you'll have to hold on to me though or you'll go flying off the back."
He revved the engine once, but it didn't start.
"Why won't this go?" He wondered.
He revved it once more and it still didn't work.
"Hey!" Mariah shouted at the nearest attendant,
"This one won't work!"
He walked over and over the mobile engine for a second,
"Try it one more time."
Mobekai turned the ignition key once more, waited, and then turned it again.
A puff of smoke blew out the back before the engine roared to life.
"There she goes," he attendant patted the back, "She should work just fine right now."
"Thanks!" Mariah stuck her helmet on and swung her legs over the seat.
She grabbed Mobekai's shoulders and he glanced back at her,
"You ready?"
She nodded.
"If you keep your head down, the ride won't be as bouncy," he advised.
She rested her head on her hands and he pulled forward, slowly accelerating. It was like a motorcycle, only snow billowed up against their sides. It was bouncy and every time he accelerated quickly, she would fall backwards. The third time this happened, she just wrapped her arms around his stomach and rested her head on his back.
The countryside was really pretty and every so often, he would point out a deer, squirrel, or a bird. They had traveled about halfway to their destination point when Mobekai asked if she wanted to switch and drive for a while.
She took the wheel in her hands and accelerated forward very quickly. Mobekai grabbed her around the waist in surprise and she laughed; he looked quite white.
"Not so fast!" He yelled in her ear over the engine.
She nodded and slowed down a bit. Now this was fun!
She took pleasure turns in and out of trees and after a while, Mobekai asked,
"Enjoying it?"
"You bet!"
Now they were about 2/3 of the way to their destination. When Mariah reached the open country, she sped up a little. Mobekai started singing a song behind her,
"
The wind will blow through the willows, the river will flow
and trees will sway.
Each day the forest grew stronger and the inhabitants rejoiced, for nothing could destroy such a beautiful place.
But time began to pass, the owl got a little wiser and the coyote began to howl,
'Where has nature gone? Oh, where has the nature gone?
The trees are now falling, the waters are slowly dying and it's getting hard to breathe,
So tell me now, where has nature gone?'
And the human and his dogs sing into the trees,
'I need it now for my clothes and my things.'
The rabbit begins to burrow for almost all nature is lost,
But once in a while under the glory of the moon, you'll hear the coyote howl again,
'Where has nature gone? Oh, where has the nature gone?'
"
"That's pretty." She remarked when he was done, "Where did you hear that?"
"My grandfather used to sing it to me all the time. I know lots of folktale songs and stories. Would you like to hear some?"
"Oh, yes. I would love to."
"We should stop somewhere and take a break. I brought some water and grapes."
"I'll pull over here."
She stopped by the only small group of trees in the plains and brought the snowmobile to a rest. She couldn't feel Mobekai behind her and turned around, pulling her helmet off,
"Mobe-?"
A snowball suddenly flew at her face and she shrieked, grabbing her own little arsenal of snowballs and pelting them at him,
"So that's why you wanted to stop!"
He laughed and threw some more at her face,
"You should have been expecting a snowball fight!"
She grabbed a snowball and came running up to him. She tried smashing it in his hair, but he grabbed her hand and smashed his own snowball in her hair. She pushed him down into the snow and lay down next to him.
She put her hands and her feet together and then lifted them up in quick successions, making a snow angel in the ground.
He made an angel next to her, but then he said,
"I'll tell you a story, Mariah. It's about a fox and a rabbit. The rabbits name was Colter and the fox was Sliben. Colter always collected and ate as much food as possible before hibernating, but Sliben had gotten extra hungry and had eaten too many mice, so all Colter had left for the winter was carrots. Colter did not want to go hungry, so he told Sliben he would collect as much food for Sliben if Sliben found mice for him. Colter kept his end of the bargain and collected food for Sliben, but Sliben was too greedy and didn't see how he could profit from his end of the deal, so he found the mice and showed Colter, but he always ate them afterward. When Colter asked for the mice, Sliben couldn't produce any and Colter threatened to tell everyone what a slime ball Sliben was. Sliben began to get afraid of the rabbit's threat and ate Colter in his sleep. But Sliben had already eaten too much for winter and his stomach exploded when he ate Colter. The other animals found little pieces of fur, carrots and, of course, mice, around the area. It was called Colter's Den."
"That sounds like a fable." Mariah closed her eyes and dug her angel deeper.
"I think it is. My Uncle particularly liked it I think because there was really no moral. It's just a stupid story about a fox and a rabbit."
"Maybe there is a moral and we just have to apply it to us personally." Mariah suggested.
Mobekai sat up and poured some snow on her face. She put her hands up defensively and he replied,
"I don't think so. Don't think too much about it. It'll bog your pretty head down and we don't want that, do we?"
A shiver suddenly ran up her spine. Mobekai looked at her as if he'd felt it too.
"Let's go ahead and go before something happens," Mariah sat up and turned around to look at her angel, carved deep into the snow next to Mobekai's angel,
"I think it looks good, don't you?"
"Yeah…" he watched her, "Mariah?"
"Hmm?" She looked up.
"Can I kiss you?"
She blushed deeply and felt strangely upset at his request. Had she been leading Mobekai on? She was still very much attracted to Ray. If she kissed Mobekai, would she never have a chance with Ray? Or was she slightly attracted to Mobekai? He was very cute. He had dark blue eyes, tan skin and shaggy dark black hair that looked cute over his eyes. She couldn't have been leading Mobekai on falsely because she really did like him a lot. But did that mean she no longer liked Ray? Or would she have to wait till Ray finally figured out she liked him before she could decide? She felt so very confused.
"I…don't think you should yet Mobekai." She explained, "I'm sorry. I just don't think I'm ready for that kind of a relationship."
"That's all right. I certainly don't mind waiting."
She picked up her helmet and got on the snowmobile. She turned the key in the ignition and waited. Mobekai got on behind her,
"What's wrong?"
"It won't start." She frowned and turned it again, "It won't even rev."
"Let me try."
He turned it two more times and they got it to rev., but just as soon as it started up, a loud popping noise came from the engine and it died instantly.
Mobekai got up and looked under the engine.
"Do you see the problem?" Mariah came around.
He pulled back for her to see,
"Yeah…the engines frozen over completely! We shouldn't have stopped."
The engine looked like a huge ice block, little puffs of moisture emitting weakly from the surface.
She looked back up the desolate mountain and then back down to the blur that was supposed to be the village in the distance,
"I guess we better just keep going on foot. It's a longer trip back."
"Let's bring the helmets…they might come in handy." He grabbed the backpack with all of their stuff and followed her down the steep mountainside.
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Final Note: Like Hikari Tenshi said, the longer, the better and good thing too, cause the next one is just as long. After that is finally the battle with the Tall Boys. That about wraps things up, yeah…
