"Could you please stop doing that?"

Cinder retracted her hands from the helm of the sleigh at the irritated warning from the electronic woman. The screen descended into blackness once again after Cinder had pressed every button she could find just to see its actions. Every light and word that came to life at her touch only fed her curiosity to see more, much to the dismay of the sleigh.

Nainsi, she reminded herself of Kai's introduction earlier as they rode out of town towards the Northern Peaks. Seconds afterward, a holographic reindeer appeared to pull the sled along, helped by Kai's control of the leather reins. The phenomenon, so fascinating and foreign to her, ignited a desire to learn more about the strange machine she rode in.

"You've really never seen a portscreen before?" Kai asked at her side. The ride over the pre-drawn path outside the Capital had yet to become rigid, though both knew it was only a matter of time. Cinder reminded herself to steer clear of the sled door she leaned against once the path began its sharp twists. Until then, she found herself trying to get as close to the chandelier of ice-coated branches as the confines of Nainsi would allow.

She frowned, slightly befuddled. "Wasn't that the black box you were supposed to deliver to the palace?"

"Portscreen is a general term for portable screens that allow net access and touchable commands." Kai turned to see Cinder's face blanker than a frozen lake covered in fresh powder. "They both are," he clarified with a smile.

"I'll take that as a no, she hasn't," Nainsi chimed in.

"Technology can't be found in the Capital." It was rare to find it anywhere in Iceland, she thought to herself with a shrug. It seemed so common to live without technology to her she never thought how odd it must seem to someone from another country.

With distaste bland enough to twist her face, she remembered the only words from another countryman she heard about Iceland's unique situation. Just thinking of the smug face of her nuisance of a fiancé dampened her mood on the otherwise enjoyable sleigh ride.

"Cinder?"

Butterflies flew to life inside her stomach at the mention of her name without an added title. Other than her parents, her name had only been called by her younger sister, and even her loving tone had a hint of admiration. Kai spoke to her as an equal, as a friend.

"Hm?" Just as she turned to address Kai, a curve in the road sent her sprawling into his lap. Their collision only helped him barrel into his side of Nainsi with a hard bang as his shoulder met the edge. He groaned in pain before another sharp turn jerked Cinder over onto the seat, and Kai toppling over her. Lifting her head slightly, she was met with his wide eyes trying to blink away the dizziness from being joggled.

"I was just about to tell you to be careful," he said, "Though it seems a bit pointless now."

She smiled. "Let me guess, we've reached the base of the mountains?"

Lifting himself off from on top of her with an outstretched hand to help her as well. She took it gladly before he cringed at the extra weight against his injured shoulder. "Are you alright?" she hovered.

"Fine," he tensely commented, the strain in his voice too intense to be a passing pain. Cinder suspected even through the cushioning of his jacket there would be a bruise.

"As much as I'd love to let you two have some alone time," Nainsi interrupted. "I am physically unable to do so."

A pink tint lightly brushed over Cinder's cheeks as Kai himself hid his flustered appearance in the collar of jacket. Unconsciously both slid away from each other an extra inch as if the sleigh could feel the proximity between them. Mumbling something of protest Cinder couldn't make out, another veer in their path sent her head sprawling into his shoulder. This time Kai was able to stand firm against the laws of physics.

"Are you alright?" he echoed her question as she shook her head free of dancing colors. Nodding, she adjusted her seating for a stronger resistance against the swinging sled as a light lit up on the screen. As Cinder watched in awe, Kai pressed the small circle with one hand to pop up a blinking warning in red letters.

"That's a snow storm warning, Kai," Nainsi whined.

He sighed. "I can see that, Nainsi."

"Yes, but I don't think you are putting together the implications. And the implications are that snow storms scratch my wood!"

"Alright, alright." Waving off his friend's pestering concerns, he tapped another icon on her screen and leaned over to Cinder. "I'm sorry, but she might lock her brakes halfway up the mountain if we don't wait out the storm."

"Considering you don't have a top, I'd have to agree with her." With a dancing pattern of his fingers, Kai began typing incomprehensible commands until a decorated map appeared. A highlighted pathway was drawn up a slope Cinder assumed symbolized the mountain. It bared significant resemblance to the map burning a hole in Cinder's side, the one she only took out when Kai wasn't looking. Somehow she couldn't imagine defending the direction a fictional map as her guide.

Tapping on a bleak dot nearby the outline of crawling branches, the screen grew a design of a small shack pixel by pixel. Writing scrolled over the imaginary cabin in a print Cinder could barely make out, even squinting. To her embarrassment, she realized the foreign language the words were written in may have been the reason. She was able to make out the word for vacancy to her surprise, but nothing more.

"There seems to be an abandoned cabin a few hours away." Jolting the reins to the left, they changed their direction slightly. Both of them felt the slight bump as the terrain shifted from a paved way to frozen underbrush. "We should be able to reach it before night falls."

"And the storm," Cinder agreed. Though the clumping of bloated clouds painting the sky a milky grey gave her reason to be concerned.

A little fluffy love.

This wasn't up as soon as I'd hoped, and the next one won't be either (Sorry!) since August is a busy time for me. Next Chapter will be with Cress and the wolf pack.

A GRAND THANK YOU TO MY 40TH REVIEWER Cheesehead101!

Cheesehead101: Thank you so much! Jacin was a bit difficult for me to figure out at first, so I'm glad you liked how I portrayed him!

Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. Please review!