The crunching of crisp white snow drowned out the natural sounds of the forest. Whistling accompanied it as a redhead made their way through the trees that look less menacing without their leaves for once. A tune that most likely would annoy a certain werewolf thanks to drunken singing the red head was doing one late October night. Well...It wasn't exactly her fault, she did have a few cups of sake beforehand, and a plethora of songs decided to make themselves known to everyone else. Still the brunette was more ticked off then offended, so no harm done. Sekibanki chuckled as the hazy memory returned, the prominent part of her running away to escape the tackle hug to then have a swift greeting with the ground. Although it was funny to watch Kagerou chase after her head once it detached from her body from the impact.
The redhead stopped whistling once she heard voices from the lake. It wasn't hard to figure out who they belonged to since there was only one youkai that lived in it. Rounding a corner, she spotted the werewolf flat on her stomach and the mermaid, who was half out the water deep in conversation. Sekibanki called out to them, but they must not have heard her. She frowned slightly, noticing how deeply Kagerou is listening to anything the mermaid says, but an eyebrow rose at how the brunette's ears were flattened to a relaxed state, her tail wagging side to side playfully. A look of awe and adoration on her face, a look Sekibanki recognizes on the brunette's face.
'They're flirting again, aren't they?'
She sighed as she began to walk over to them, but quickly stopped. An idea forming in her head, grinning widely. Kneeling down, she placed the sack she was carrying and took out what was inside to put on before grabbing fistfuls of snow, quickly forming a fairly large snowball. Standing up, she took aim towards the brunette, who still seemed oblivious to her presence. Chuckling mischievously as she threw the snowball as hard as she could, waiting for the surprised reaction of the prank. However, she didn't expect the mermaid to sit up on the ice.
Right in front of the snowballs trajectory. The red head quietly cursed under her breath as it hit the back of Wakasagi's head, kicking a nearby tree in disappointment. Since her surprise was ruined, she sighed as she picked up the sack she brought and began making her way towards the two youkai.
/-/
Wakasagi leaned back slowly, processing what had just happened. Wincing slightly as she felt coldness on the back of her head and pain on her forehead. Opening her eyes at the sound of Kagerou whining in pain, her ears drooping as she leaned towards the ice she was sitting on, her hands clutching her nose.
"Oh my god, are you ok Kagerou?! I am so sorry!"
Kagerou groaned in response, giving a thumbs up before sitting upright, making sure her nose wasn't bleeding.
"Hey, how's my two favorite youkai in Gensokyo?"
The two turned to the sound of the voice, Wakasagi grinning as she recognized the redhead, Kagerou nodded in greeting.
"Just so you know, that was actually me. Who threw the snowball."
The mermaid sighed, wondering why she didn't realise this sooner.
"Of course. I should have known."
Sekibanki threw her hands up in defence.
"But I wasn't trying to hit you Wakasagi, I was aiming for fuzz ball here."
Sekibanki grinned mischievously as she glanced to the werewolf, who glared at her at the mention of the nickname as well as the self implication of her prank. Moving over to her to pat the brunette on the head, ruffling her hair in the process to annoy her even more. Kagerou growled, swatting the offending hand away before getting distracted with what Sekibanki was wearing on her feet.
"Are those blades on your shoes?"
Sekibanki proudly showed the two youkai her recent purchase from the village. Turning around to show off.
"Pretty cool, aren't they? I got them from that antique store, apparently they're called ice skates. The guy told me they originally used to travel across large lakes or rivers that had frozen over. They look to just have fun in my opinion, so I brought two."
Sekibanki dug around the sack and brought out another pair and gave them to the werewolf, who gave the redhead a questionable look. Grasping the shoes in her hands, unsure about what to do with them.
"Really Kagerou? You put it on like normal shoes...just because they have blades on the bottom of them doesn't mean they're something special."
Sekibanki scoffed before skating a distance away and turning, waiting for the brunette to remove her shoes and putting on the skates. Tying them up securely and began to stand up, although Kagerou was unsure how at this point since the blades made it a little difficult to get a grip on the ice. Realising that putting her weight on her hands behind herself wouldn't do as the shoes moved away due to the force, and instead tried to go on her knees and stand up from there. At first it worked, the blades moving every so often on the ice but at least they weren't making the wolf fall. She straightened up, arms held outstretched for balance and for a brief moment, she wasn't moving. Kagerou giggled in triumph before beginning to make her way to the redhead.
To promptly meet the ice face first the moment one of the blades left it, knocking the wind out of her as she slumped with a groan. Laying there in quick defeat, sighing loudly as she heard Sekibanki laughing uncontrollably up ahead before hearing a thump and even more laughter. Looking up to see the redhead rolling around on the ice like a dog rolling around in mud and groaned again, dropping her head onto the ice. She felt the mermaid's hand on her shoulder, most likely in comfort.
"Well, if there's one thing. There's comeuppance."
Kagerou turned to stare at the mermaid in confusion, wondering why Wakasagi uttered such a phrase. Until she heard a faint cracking sound over Sekibanki's manic laughter, and the ice under her breaking. The laughter cut short by a yell of surprise and spluttering of water.
The wolf couldn't quite suppress the bout of giggles escaping her mouth, the sight of Sekibanki flailing around in the cold water being pretty amusing to watch. She heard the mermaid beside her chuckle as well, causing Sekibanki to turn in their direction and scowl.
"Wakasagi...I should have known to not put my guard down around you."
The mermaid simply grinned as she continued to chuckle, making the redhead grumble under her breath as she pulled herself out of the water. A dark expression on her face as she made her way back towards the two, trailing water behind her.
"Great, now I gotta walk back to the village to change. Thanks a lot."
Wakasagi quickly dove back into the water, as she didn't want to endure the redhead's wrath. Kagerou smiled wryly, earning a few water splashes as Sekibanki flicked the excess water from her sleeves in the wolf's direction before skating off to the shoreline.
/-/
"I definitely overdid it. I feel I should apologize when she comes back."
Kagerou shrugged, bracing herself on the fallen tree trunk and slowly standing up. Experimenting on keeping upright for the moment as she did not want to repeat the same painful mistake from before, even though the redhead wasn't present, it was something the wolf would gladly avoid regardless. Sighing when she noticed the mermaid pensively staring into the forest where Sekibanki had stormed off.
"She'll be fine. She's just doing that for amusement, she isn't that upset over being dunked into the water."
Wakasagi sighed through her nose in concern, her tail raising out of the water worriedly as she continued to scan the woodland area. Kagerou's ears drooped slightly, she didn't like seeing the mermaid like this.
"Look, Seki doesn't care, really. If anything, this probably would have given her enough time to think up of another prank to pull."
Kagerou slowly skated nearer to the hole in the ice, where Wakasagi currently wades in with worry. Hoping to cheer her up, the wolf placed a hand on her shoulder as the wolf sat down onto the log, grinning wildly as the mermaid turned to listen to what Kagerou was going to say.
"You know, I think I have the hang of this. Do you...um. want to experience this? I mean it will kinda be the same, I think. Except that you're not actually skating, since you don't actually have legs…"
Kagerou continued her babbling as her face increasingly became more red the more she tried to justify what she was saying. Which only made it worse, Wakasagi giggled at the wolf's flustering before grasping her hand softly. Making Kagerou immediately shut up, staring at their hands in embarrassed confusion.
"I accept your offer Kagerou."
Kagerou smiled, her ears perking up as Wakasagi lifted herself out of the water and climbed onto the log, waiting. The wolf quickly stood up, flailing her arms out as she lost balance a little before spinning slowly around in a circle, causing the mermaid to giggle. Grinning, Kagerou motioned for the mermaid to climb onto her back. Securing her in place as Kagerou grasped her arms softly, which were wrapped around her shoulders carefully to not fall off. Thankfully, Wakasaki's tail fins were a few inches from the ground, so Kagerou didn't need to make sure she didn't catch them with the blades. The wolf did not want a repeat of that accident, whether the fact she mistook the mermaid to be a common fish or not is present.
With the mermaid firmly in place, Kagerou gingerly pushed forward. A slow pace but at least she wasn't falling down. Wakasaki tightened her arms around the wolf's shoulders when she felt Kagerou stumble slightly. Who chuckled nervously as she patted the mermaid's arms, beginning to skate once again.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to fall on you. If anything, at least you'll have me to fall on if I do slip."
Wakasagi giggled quietly, sighing as she rested her chin on Kagerou's shoulder, taking in the surroundings they skate past in a different perspective. Noting that it was slightly strange to not view it from the water surface, even if it was from under ice or not. She barely heard the wolf's question over her thoughts.
"Are you ok? You seem a little pensive."
The mermaid sighed again in response.
"I can go back to the hole in the ice. If you need to."
Wakasagi shook her head, before nuzzling into Kagerou's neck affectionately. Making the wolf blush slightly.
"No, not yet. I still want to have the experience of being above the water for once."
Wakasagi giggled as the wolf stammered out a response, continuing to skate further away. She looked at the ice the wolf skated across as they turned, amazed at the small grooves the blades carved out. How the thin layer of snow on top completely hides the ice in some areas, especially near the shoreline, hiding the slippery surface from unsuspecting visitors. It felt serene.
Unlike underwater.
Sunlight barely breaks through the surface, replaced with dim light that never brightens unless parts of the ice break apart. Secluded for a few months underwater felt...lonely. Wakasaki sighed once more, her eyes closing in thought.
"Hime, what's wrong?"
Kagerou stopped skating, gliding gently to a standstill as her grip on Wakasaki's wrists tightened. Turning her head to look at the mermaid in worry. Wakasaki began telling the wolf not to worry, but stopped halfway. Thinking it would be pointless and possibly make Kagerou worry even more, she shook her head and started over.
"I...I was just thinking about how lonely it feels in the winter. With the ice forming over the surface, not being able to see the world above water much. It's…"
Wakasaki trailed off, but Kagerou didn't need her to finish her sentence as she knew where the mermaid was going with her train of thought. The wolf sighed this time, resting her head against Wakasaki's, smiling gently as she began to skate again.
"Well, you have me. So I doubt it'll be as lonely anymore."
The mermaid blushed slightly, giggling as she nuzzled into Kagerou's neck in affection again. The wolf smiled, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of relief. Opening them a second later to stay focused on the ice, only to be a moment too late as her blades ran across lose leaves that had landed on the ice from branches that hung over the lake. Causing her to immediately lose her balance and fall face first into fluffy snow. Landing a little harshly as she was already holding the mermaid's arms to keep her from falling. Who, in turn became concerned immediately if Kagerou was hurt.
"Kagerou? Are you ok?"
The wolf lifted her head up, shaking off the snow that clung to her hair. Her ears twitching as she grinned wildly. She turned over so she was on her back, chuckling as she took Wakasagi's face in her hands who was a little curious to the brunette's cheeriness. Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion calmed Kagerou, who sighed in contemplation before giving her answer to the mermaid's non vocal question.
"I told you I wasn't going to fall on you."
Kagerou's grin was all that was needed to break the mermaid's composure, as Wakasaki started chuckling. Which quickly turned into laughter at the current situation. She brushed away snowflakes that was still on the wolf's hair once her laughter had died down.
"I love you."
Kagerou smiled gently, opting to stay quiet. She didn't need to say anything, instead she stroked her thumb across a part of Wakasagi's blushed face, who closed her eyes and leaned into Kagerou's hand. A moment, maybe two, shared in contentment before returning to the ice. Catching a glimpse of the red head, who must have seen them as she is waving, the two began gliding across the frozen lake to reunite with their friend. Who immediately initiated a snowball fight once Kagerou sat the mermaid down on the snowy ground.
A/N: I was meant to upload this before Christmas day, buuuut I sort of didn't have enough time to write the last third of it and reread it through for that to happen. Considering I wrote most of this in February and kinda forgot about it until this month, oops. But anyway, this is a sequel to Winter Solitude, but you don't need to read it to understand this, but the idea of ice skates did stem from that. (I am sorry if Wakagaki seems a little ooc when Sekibanki falls in the water though)