People thought that her fear of ice was due to her status as a Dragon-type trainer, which was and still is a weird assumption. Fire-type trainers don't have hydrophobia, and you won't see any Electric-type trainers fleeing from mud. Yet they persisted, making stupid jokes and jeers. She had wanted to yell at them, watch their faces curdle and pale as they learned where it had truly stemmed from. But with that urge came the memory of that day. And whenever that happened, Iris found that she suddenly didn't want to do much of anything anymore.
Ice was the merciless winter. The chill of her parents' skin when she went to wake them, and the emptiness when they wouldn't wake up. To the rest of the village, it had seemed that Iris had come out unscathed, but she knew that wasn't true. Like it did to her parents, the ice had seeped into her body. But unlike them, it wasn't content to encase her heart and slow it to a stop. The ice had somehow snuck into her soul. She could feel it. Why else would she feel so numb? Why else would she see the gray of winter, no matter what the season? Living like this. It was nothing more than being a walking corpse.
Meeting Peach brought warmth back into her life. Happiness that made her eyes shine and cheeks rosy. Apple pie that tasted sweet. The forest and the village regained their vibrant colors. But the ice still lingered, simply laying dormant. It would strike once more when the cold returned, when her moods were low, whenever she was alone. So she'd stick to the warmth, to all the suns in her life. But then she was selected to be a vessel for Kyurem, which meant she'd have to conquer her fear.
If only she knew how.