I'm back! Sorry for taking longer than usual, I experienced minimal writers block. But here it is! And I've slredy started on the next chappie!

Guess what?! I got a Microsoft Surface! Hooray!

As much as she hated it, she was flattered. But she couldn't help it! Come on, how many girls could say the man courting them had given them their own constellation? She was pretty sure she was the only one. "Oh Zalim..." she sighed. The two marsupials were perched high up on a cliff, watching the ocean. With the crescent moon smiling at them, the crickets singing in the grass and her tiny sprite playing what looked like a tiny violin- where she had gotten that, Raz would never know- on her shoulder. The music was surprisingly high in volume; still incredibly soft and peaceful, but loud for a sprite. The tiny water-being was surprisingly experienced; she herself had never even touched a violin, but her little copy played with the expertise of a pro, someone that had been playing all their life. Which was ironic, since its life started two hours ago. "Wha' am I gonna do w'th you?"

Zalim smiled, tracing the fourth finger on her left hand. "Be my bride?"

Raz laughed. "Yeh, righ. In ya dreams, buddy."

"Or in June."

"No' gonna hap-pen." she sang. "Zalim, I- Even if Ah said yes, Ah couldn't stay."

"And why not?"

"Because. Because I... I've go' a family. They depend on me, an' I depend on them." her voice softened into a tearful whisper. "I need them."

"Then... I shall bring them here." he was beginning to sound desperate, before taking her hand. She didn't struggle. "Then will you stay?" she kept her gaze on the ground. "Then will you stay?" he repeated. Reaching forward, he gently took her chin in his hand, tilting her head up to look at him. Her golden eyes were wet, heartbreak and loneliness brimming. He felt guilt tug at his heart. "Will you stay?" he whispered.

"I..." she sniffled. "I... Maybe."

He sighed and released her; that was better than no. She turned away, pushing away. "I'm just.." her voice hitched on a sob. "Ah'm jus no' sure. I'm no' sure of aneh'thin anymore."

For a while they sat in silence. Her little munchkin had put away its instrument and disappeared into her pouch. The crickets had stopped chirping, the frogs had quit croaking; even the waves far below seemed to stop lapping at the rock and sand.

"I... I am sorry, Raz."

She turned to him. "Wha for?"

"I did not mean to bring you pain."

She shrugged. "Eh... les no' talk about it. Kay?"

He smiled. "Kay."

...

"Raz, where *are* we going?"

Raz chuckled, clearly enjoying this. "No' tellin."

"Why?"

"Cuz if I toldja, i' wouldn't be a surprise. Now would i'?"

"...I strongly dislike you and your insufferably familiar logic." at this she laughed, shaking her head.

"I know."

Raz smirked as the trees opened up and the grasses thinned, the familiar gritty feeling of sand making itself known beneath her feet. "Alrigh, here we go."

He looked around. "It is a pond."

"Exactly. A frozen pond."

"And your point is...?" he drawled, a brow quirked.

She rolled her eyes and laughed, before reaching forward and grabbing his wrists "C'mon!" she dragged him out, both having a clearly difficult time due to their kinds' way of hopping. Despite living on an ice vessel, she was clumsy as anyone on any other ice. On the ship she knew all the dips and grooves, the rough and slippery spots (due to a number of painful falls as a child, a couple landing her in the frigid waters of the ocean). And when the deck has been freshly mopped or just gotten out of a rainstorm? You could forget it. She stayed below deck or in the same place, lest she end up on her back.

The two, slipping and sliding, made it to the center of the pond. "Alright, really." he said when they stopped. "What are we doing?"

She smiled, hands sliding down from his forearms, fingers tangling together. "You go' ta show me your magic." she explained lowly, whispering. "Now iss' my turn ta show ya my kind of magic."

He was at a loss. "What..."

Her grip suddenly tightened, and she leaned back and to the side, and they spun in a slow circle. They stopped abruptly as she tightened her muscles. "Your turn." when he didn't respond, she swatted his arm. "C'mon! Were gonna ice skate! An th' only way for creatures like us ta do it is in pairs."

"Why?"

"Cuz we need each otha's weight an' movement to keep us movin. Make sense?"

"Not really."

"Too bad. Try it!

"Raz, I don't th-"

"Try it!" she demanded.

"Alright..." giving in, he gave it a whirl. After a bit of time to get used to one another, they got the hang of it. They were by no means perfect, but surprisingly well for creatures that couldn't move their legs separately. Raz hadn't skated since she was a little and she was still small enough for her brothers to help her; she was a bit rusty.

"Woah, woah!" slipping, she tightened her grip on his arms and pulled herself back up, her fiancé assisting her. She laughed, before sighing, an uncontrollable shiver wracking her body.

Zalim frowned. "Are you cold?"

She smiled. "Just a bi'. Ah'm used ta it though- doesn't botha me none."

"Are you sure?" he searched her face. "What if you contract pneumonia? I've heard its terrible."

"Yeh." She agreed. "I' aint fun."

He quirked a brow. "You have caught it before, my dear?"

She nodded absent mindedly. "Yeh, four timed in mah life, Ah think. Or was it five… no wai', maybe four…"

They were quite awhile longer, just standing there on the ice.

"Tell me" he began quietly. "What does it feel like?"

"What does… wot feel like?"

"To be… mortal. To be vulnerable- at any moment, your life could end. Doesn't it… disturb you?"

She thought about it a moment. "Mm… no' really. We 'mortals' don' really think about dyin. Ya live, ya die, I' happens. Iss' no' something we try ta dwell on too much."

"Ah."

Raz smirked. "Well? Tell me, how da you immortals live? I mean… doesn't I' get boring afta awhile?"

"Well…" he thought about it a moment. "No, not really. New things happen every few centuries or so. Before I gained my powers and was made immortal… did you know there was no snow on the ground?"

Raz looked startled. "What?"

"Yes. Thousands of years before now the ice age had not yet begun."

"Wow…" she breathed. "So… b'sides massive changes an all tha, anything else I oughtta know?"

"…No. No, not really. Only that-" he stopped abruptly.

"What?" she asked, curious. "What? Only that what?"

"Shush!"

Instantly she frowned, offended. "'scuse me?! An jus who da ya think ya are shushin me like tha-"

"Shush!"

She growled. "You've go' some nerve, ya know that. I oughtta-"

She was promptly cut off as, suddenly, the ice beneath them gave way and they went plummeting into the freezing, dark waters below.

Here we go! What did ya'll think? Please leave a review! Free cookies for all people that leaves me a review! What do you think Zalim was going to tell her? Take a guess! Please review!

Hey guys, I need a quick vote. I'm considering doing a Valentines Day one shot concerning this story. It would have minor spoilers to this story (c'mon, you all should now by now how these two end up). Should I? Your choice!