Summary: Frankenstein watched the clear sky as he and Muzaka sat by the fire, his breath misting in front of his face. "The temperature has dropped a lot, hasn't it?"

Set in any of the verses, really. Set before they branched.


Collection of Frankenstein/Muzaka Snippets

By Dark Ice Dragon

Skate


Frankenstein watched the clear sky as he and Muzaka sat by the fire, his breath misting in front of his face. "The temperature has dropped a lot, hasn't it?"

"I think so?" It was harder to tell for Muzaka, but Frankenstein was holding himself stiffer again.

Frankenstein hummed. "I wonder..."

He didn't expand on what he was thinking, but Frankenstein eyed their wood pile. "Now I'm glad I kept that gauntlet," he muttered to himself, as he inspected the pile.

They'd been attacked a few days prior, and Frankenstein had kept the gauntlet to study.

It seemed like a new project Frankenstein was working on so Muzaka turned his attention back to preparing dinner. If it was something Frankenstein intended for further use, he would show Muzaka, but it could be something Frankenstein only created and as soon as he was done, Muzaka never saw it again.

He would find out eventually which one it was.

[-]

Frankenstein sucked in a breath when he saw the frozen lake in front of them, his face lighting up. Muzaka peered at him and then the lake - Frankenstein had... Had Frankenstein seen a frozen lake before?

"Shall we set up camp here?" Frankenstein said, already setting down his bag.

"Sure?" There was still a couple of hours of daylight left, but the sun would start to set soon anyway.

Frankenstein hummed, smiling as they set up camp, his gaze drawn to the lake every once in a while. Huh, maybe he hadn't seen a frozen lake before -Frankenstein had never mentioned it if he had.

Once they were done with camp, Frankenstein walked up to the edge of the ice, a dagger in hand. He took a few careful steps onto the ice, knelt down and stabbed the ice. He pressed down and then removed the dagger. He peered at the hole and then he eased his way back, his smile wider.

Frankenstein put his dagger away and pulled out the instruments he'd been making the day before. They were rectangular sheets of wood about the length of Muzaka's hand, a strip of metal hammered along one long edge and leather straps threaded through the opposite edge.

"What are those for?" Muzaka finally asked. Frankenstein had made four of them, each identical as far as Muzaka could tell. He might not understand Frankenstein's answer, but Muzaka had found out that even asking seemed to help settle Frankenstein's own questions he'd had.

"These are-" Frankenstein looked down, and then at Muzaka. "Hm. You've never skated on ice before, have you?"

"Skated?" Muzaka repeated, mulling it over. "Don't think so." He hadn't heard that word before.

"Most humans aren't able to leap across frozen lakes in a single bound," Frankenstein said, his voice dry as he sat down and began tying the wood to his foot over his shoes. "We had to learn how to traverse them, since going over them is far faster then going around."

"And that's how?"

Frankenstein nodded as he finished tying the other skate(?) to his foot. "The skates my parents made for me were made of bone, but they were merely a way to stand on the ice with no way of propulsion. I'd tested other designs, and this one seems to allow for freer movement without need for additional sticks to push oneself along."

Frankenstein stood up and wobbled over to the edge of the lake, his hands out for balance. Muzaka watched him, confused. The skates seemed to make his movement worse, not better?

At the edge, Frankenstein paused, exhaling. He then stepped back onto the ice, his movements jerky as he kept adjusting his balance.

Frankenstein wasn't standing straight, his centre of balance forward, and he began sliding his feet back and forward, staying in place. He did that a few times before he leaned forward some more and he just started...gliding across the lake. Huh.

His first few steps were shaky, but the more he did it, the more confident Frankenstein became, the longer between each 'step' was.

Muzaka watched him, enjoying the carefree smile on Frankenstein's face. He didn't see that nearly enough - he caught it sometimes when Frankenstein was caught up in a new discovery, but Frankenstein didn't forget himself for too long.

Frankenstein came back around to Muzaka, stopping with a spray of shaved ice in Muzaka's direction. "I'm surprised you haven't tried joining me yet," Frankenstein said, nodding towards him.

"I was just..." Muzaka followed where Frankenstein was looking, seeing the pair of skates next to him. ...Oh. Frankenstein had made four of them, hadn't he?

"Keeping your balance should be easy for you, yes?" Frankenstein said, grinning.

Muzaka heard the challenge in Frankenstein's voice and grinned back as he reached for the skates.

Frankenstein came back to land, his gait easier now. He crouched next to Muzaka, eyeing what Muzaka was doing.

"I can tie these on," Muzaka said, wryly. He was already done with one.

"They need to be tight enough that they don't slip," Frankenstein said, tugging at Muzaka's skate. "Losing your footing on ice can hurt."

Muzaka finished with his other skate, watching Frankenstein test it with amusement. Frankenstein seemed to forget Muzaka's healing sometimes, but it highlighted how Frankenstein's default action was to look out for others.

It was strange when Muzaka stood up, the wood pressing against his soles. His balance was a little off but didn't seem too bad.

Frankenstein offered his hand, and Muzaka took it anyway as they walked towards the lake.

Frankenstein stepped onto the ice first, his grip on Muzaka's hand tightening.

Muzaka stepped onto th-

"Ack-!" His foot shot forward as if nothing was holding it back and it was only because of Frankenstein's hold on him and jerking him towards him that Muzaka stayed upright. He still slammed into Frankenstein, and they span in tight circles, Frankenstein's laughter muffled against Muzaka's shoulder.

"Not quite so easy as it looks, mm?" Frankenstein said, his other arm around Muzaka's waist as Muzaka regained his footing.

"No, it's not," Muzaka admitted. His reactions had done nothing except make him tumble faster.

"Raw strength won't win here," Frankenstein said, letting him go, but kept a hold of his hand. "Your balance will."

It had been a long time since he'd had to learn something like this and it sparked something in Muzaka's brain he had forgotten was there.

Muzaka couldn't help the fierce grin on his face as he studied how Frankenstein was moving, trying to see if he could do the same.

[-]

Muzaka and Frankenstein tumbled back onto land, laughing as they leaned on each other. They all but fell next to the fire, Muzaka tossing some more wood onto it. The fire flared and he held Frankenstein close, hearing him hum.

Frankenstein hadn't seemed too bothered by the dropping temperature but as soon as they stopped moving, he knew Frankenstein would start cooling down.

"That worked well," Frankenstein said, stiff fingers trying to undo the leather straps. Muzaka reached over to undo them himself. "Hnn, thank you. I wonder if I should add a base where the foot rests upon the skate, so weight is distributed more evenly..."

Frankenstein continued muttering his thoughts out loud as Muzaka removed their skates. They would need to think about dinner soon, but until then, they would enjoy each other's company.


Wooden and metal skates weren't really in use until the 13th century, but hey, it's Frankenstein.