plight of sight - snowballs

[fulzanin]

that would weigh you down and keep from floating

Ever since discovering her icy abilities, Feza had come to realize that there were several different things she could do with them. She could manipulate water, yes, but it was way harder that shifting ice around. Exhaling hard created snow, ice, lots of it. It was cool, and that pun was entirely intentional. She finally could feel comfortable, creating a nice chill that reminded her of the good parts of home. She never missed home in all honesty spare the cold feeling that seeped through her fur. Having that return was wonderful.

Her small water dragon form was altered, too. It was no longer shades of blue, but rather now was a near pale white. There were tints of blue still, and jagged pieces of ice stuck off of her form in a spiky formation. She still had the gills, but they weren't all that useful. It felt colder, too. She could stand the cold more as well, which was incredibly pleasant. But her icy abilities came with far more ease in this body than her usual snow leopard form. She wasn't fully certain why. Perhaps it was because this form was new, and more malleable than her normal self? Feza wasn't certain. Such a thing didn't matter, for she was in the midst of crafting a new festivity. It was one that Feza had on her mind for a while, and she deemed it a delightful idea. Pulling water from the air was easier, and it didn't feel as taxing to sharply exhale and spit out an icy powder.

Feza made sure to keep her festive idea on the outskirts of the camp. Not in the center - which she thought was bogus - for she did not want to cause any unwatning passerby's to be hit in the head by an unsuspected item. "Okay, okay everyone! It's the season of giving and I decided there's, that I'll be hosting a little fun winter kick off event!" She cheered. Her voice was squeakier than her snow leopard form was. Yet now, with a more icy build, her small dragon's voice sounded as if the crunch of ice was also built right into her words. "Everyone that shows up is, they're gonna be, be split into two teams! Snowball fight competition! Whichever team wins gets a festive prize!" Her voice rose with delight, bouncing on her jagged talons. Feza had crafted two decently sized mounds of snow. The snow balls weren't prepared yet, but the icy dragon had more than supplied the soft powder to be used. Exhaustion hung in her scales, but the dragon was not about to be deterred. She wasn't sure how she'd be splitting the teams - some more of that bad at planning mental capacity showing through - but she was sure random selection would work perfectly fine. Feza almost blended in with the snow, spare the pale pink spikes she possessed. She rested on a raised mound of the powdery substance, grin wide and an evident glint of delight present on her face as she awaited for the arrival of the participants.

kicking, screaming, sinking ever slowly

[arcy]

-

-

To be entirely honest, the literal last thing Crowley wanted to do was get cold. It was nearing winter as was, and Crowley had been trying to soak up every bit of warmth he could get. It came with being coldblooded -- though Crowley took the cold either differently or better than a proper reptile. As such, the last thing Crowley actually wanted to do was get hit with a fucking snowball. He shudders thinking about it. Sure, he might have fun in the moment, but he can imagine how he'd slow down more and more throughout the whole thing in horrible detail. How long would he have to spend in the sun to warm up? What a terrible thing to consider.
This said, Crowley's response to Feza's announcement was .. mixed. Well, first he had to realize it was Feza, with the squeaky voice. But then, curiosity -- and than a grimace as he actually thinks about it. On top of everything else, he may not have a reputation, but he didn't exactly want to ruin whatever he did have by participating in games.
It seems he was still a bit stuck in that sort of mindset. Nevermind that he probably wouldn't actually care, once he got into it.
"I'll pass," Crowley is prompt to say, even as he wanders over. He hadn't actually been aware that Feza had another form, but he's prompt to just .. ignore it. The serval carefully tucks himself into a spot that he suspects will be .. less cold, crouching and tucking himself into a tight ball, tail curled around himself. He'd be sticking around regardless, just to watch.
"... Well. Unless you end up needing somebody to balance teams, but," He shrugs. Fuck. Fuck. Why'd he offer that? He wouldn't even be a good teammate. He'd probably end up passing out or something towards the end. The serval grimaces, and tries to make himself smaller yet. Feza had made an awful lot of snow, and it's reaching him from here.
It's still a week and a bit to December. It hasn't even snowed yet. Crowley scowls to himself, even if it's heatless. Feza had done well as far as he can tell, anyways. Even if it was mostly about making the snow to begin with.

-

[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

Well, it seemed as though Feza had actually taken their little conversation to heart. She had been doing less and less of the things that ended up with camp being ruined or people being pissed off, and was doing more and more events that actually legitimately seemed fun, and like a pleasant way to pass the time. Aurum couldn't say that he had ever actually participated in a snowball fight before, since a lot of the time spent during the winter back in the pride was either hunting or hiding away in buildings for warmth, but he had heard that supposedly they were enjoyable. Plus, Feza had seemed so crushed last time when nobody except for Crow had participated in her little kazoo class part two endeavor, so Aurum felt like he was kind of obligated to come trotting out from the prey storage, where he had been dropping off the last bits of an early morning hunting trip. He couldn't say that being out in the icy cold was exactly the height of luxury, but he did have to admit that the little fort piles that Feza had made were pretty cute, and he found himself wondering if perhaps she would be able to make actual defenses at some point, just in case of attack. He doubted that she would be enthused by the idea, since it wasn't exactly something fun and exciting, but perhaps he could spin it by saying that if she defended the group, there would be more time and people to devote to fun events later... he'd have to try it at some point, when Feza wasn't grinning, waiting expectantly for people to participate.

Padding over to Crowley's side, the angel blinked when he heard the other's words, a soft chuckle leaving him when Crowley immediately backpedaled, saying he would participate if they needed an even number of people. Smiling slightly, Aurum moved to press gently into the feline's side, affectionately sharing his warmth while being especially careful not to knock the other over – as well as avoiding his sore wing. As he did this, he rumbled with a soft chuff, "Oh, c'mon Crowley, it'll be fun. And if you get too cold, I'll just pile all the blankets in my house on top of you afterwards." His tone was soft and teasing, and a warm smile graced his muzzle as he looked down at the smaller male, his head tilted to one side. Ever since he and Crowley had grown closer as friends, the lion had never hesitated to express his affections through warm words and physical contact, despite the fact that not everybody was okay with that. Aurum backed off whenever someone told him to, but Crowley had never actually told him not to show him physical affection. In fact, it seemed as though at times the demon leaned into it, before he got a conflicted look on his face and just never brought it up. Aurum found it to be rather entertaining, honestly, which was why he made it a habit to show Crowley as much physical affection as possible – since it seemed as though Crowley enjoyed it, deep down inside.

After dealing with a certain "coldhearted" demon, Aurum turned his gaze towards Feza, glancing over her tiny reptilian form. It was a pretty odd change to see, since he was so used to her being bright pink and fluffy, but somehow the icy dragon form fit her just as well – perhaps just because it was wacky enough to match her, he truly wasn't sure. He was impressed by how quickly she had gotten a hold over her ice powers, even if she wasn't using them for anything especially extravagant yet, only for small events like this one, or just borderline accidentally. Still, it had taken him a hell of a long time to truly get a feel for his flame elementals, even in his hellhound form, so he did have a great deal of respect for her as a result of that. Rolling his shoulders a bit, Aurum rumbled softly with a calm, albeit slightly tired smile on his muzzle, "I'd be willing to participate in this, although I'm not sure how fair it'll be, considering I'm a much bigger target than most here." Then again, he could throw snowballs from his paws with far more strength... not that he wanted to throw one so hard to knock somebody out, though.

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[fulzanin]

Feza hadn't been there when the whole 'reveal of Crowley being a demon' took place. It wasn't as if it would have altered her view of the other at all. It wasn't as if learning prior information would really shake her views of a person. She was too sporadic for that. Her mind built up from what was presented to her. The foundation was there, it was firm. It would not be altered unless the icy dragon truly tried to do such a thing. Another addition was that 'demon' wasn't really a word in her vocabulary. Cardboard box gods were the closest Feza could get to religion, and even then it was not the most firm religious mindset in the first place. "You could be the, the, the, what's it call- REFEREE! Yes, yes, you could be that if you wanted." Her thin tail flicked behind her. She smiled, a giddy grin. It was present on her face, expressing her absolute and sheer joy. The other didn't have to participate, of course. Feza could understand in this situation more than others. The cold wasn't for everyone. The cold wasn't for those that were the embodiment of fire. Therefore, insisting for the other to partake was nonexistent. It often was - the small dragon wasn't pushy unless it was actually setting up the parties. People partaking was it's own field, and it was dealt with differently in Feza's mind. The dragon's offer of the other being a referee did hint that Feza wanted to partake in her own festivity, and not be stuck to the side lines with judging who had won the snowy battle.

The icy dragon body that Feza currently possessed had sharp, jagged ears. They raised when Aurum approached. There was only a glitter of delight in her eyes upon seeing him approach. Her animosity and fear seemed mostly buried - just like the warmth under the snow that she had created. Her skill and proficiency for using her new element were still shaky. Creating mounds of snow wasn't hard. The ice rink, her first ever use of the power, that had taken far more calculation than she wanted to do again in such a short span of time. "Aurum, you have fire, why don' you just use that?" Feza briefly questioned. The concept of an affectionate gesture went right over her head. A lot of things did. The icy dragon didn't hold such feelings for anyone, nor did anyone ever exhibit them towards her. Therefore, her understanding was absolutely nonexistent, and her mind swiftly turned to the problem of Wormwood's size. "Well you, you.. huh. You are pretty, you're tall, yes. You can still, you can change bodies, can't you? That other form of yours is smaller," Feza rambled. A talon raised, flicking in the air as if it would help her demonstrate the change in size. Her small wings fluttered, stirring up some loose snow from the mound that happened to be her self-appointed perch. The other offering to partake certainly brought a larger grin onto her scaly face. It was true that a serious talk during such a festivity probably would wind up forgotten. Feza seemed far to excited and thrilled to fully grasp any form of serious conversation that could be had over her icy abilities. "Ah, you can go be on that side's team," she then declared, pointing towards one of the pseudo snow fortress mounds that she had created.

the greatest beauty is joy in my heart

[arcy]

-

-

Crowley, though seeming somewhat miserable in his tight-wound pose, can't help but grin as Feza struggles to remember what a referee was. It was strangely endearing, which was actually incredibly infuriating. He shouldn't find anyone endearing, much less Feza, who was generally far too high energy for him, among other things.
"Oh, you really don't want that," He says, grin widening. Even growing increasingly detached from his hellish roots, Crowley was a creature of mischief. Sure, he might keep genuine track of the scores, but chances were he'd make up his own ridiculous and vaguely unfair system alongside it. He's not sure he could resist the urge, if given full power. "That works, though," He adds, tail curling from where he has it wrapped around himself.
Crowley might have been mildly infuriated* by Aurum finding any enjoyment in his responses, though he'd probably struggle to convey why. In the moment, however, the only thing that kept Crowley from squeaking as Aurum arrives is any sense of dignity the serval had. Maybe, if it were less cold, he might have panicked and scuttled away. Not for any genuine lack of enjoyment, mind, but he would have. As was, though, Crowley briefly tenses further, before, gauging the situation and Aurum's own warmth, very, very carefully leaning into the lion.
*and embarrassed, but mostly infuriated.
"She has a point," Crowley snickers. Blankets were useless to somebody who couldn't even make his own body heat. Crowley wouldn't say no to them, of course -- they kept what little he retained and let him .. y'know. Keep it. Though, he can't say that the fire method would be terribly comfortable for either of them. "I don't think blankets would save me by that point," His grin fades into a smirk, and his tail, unwound from where it'd curled around him, twitches with surprising cheer.
It'll just be a shame that he won't have Aurum's warmth to leech off of when the match actually starts. Oh well.

-

[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

Referee. The suggestion of what to make Crowley made a soft chuckle leave the lion's muzzle, his head shaking from side to side. He was never one to make generalizations based off of Crowley being a demon, but this seemed like a scenario where it wasn't quite the best position to put him in. Crowley even echoed his thoughts, before the smaller feline said he could still do it with a little mischievous grin. Aurum rumbled softly to the other male, fond amusement in his one blue eye as it flicked down to the other, teasingly poking him in the head with a large gold and red wing, "I have a feeling that our scores are going to become oddly complex with you as referee." He could feel the big grin on his face at the prospect, even though his words were supposedly admonishing the demon. Who knows, perhaps having a referee that liked to mix things up a bit would actually make the game a bit more entertaining – even if he wasn't entirely sure what the game was yet. Sure, Feza had said they were having a snowball fight, but how were points tallied in the first place? Would Crowley have to keep his eyes on everywhere all at once, just to make sure he always made a note when someone scored a hit? That seemed tedious, not to mention impractical. Still, he didn't want to make Feza feel bad about her idea, so he shrugged it off, trying not to think too hard about it. He was sure that whatever "festive prize" Feza had in mind wasn't worth arguing over anyways.

When Crowley leaned into him, just the faintest bit, Aurum felt a warm chuff leave him, glad that the demon had actually allowed himself some physical affection, even if he was only doing the bare minimum to lean into it. Sure, he loved seeing Crowley flail about a but over receiving affection and attention, but most of all he just liked seeing Crowley happy and cared for, usually by himself. During his happy thoughts, both Feza and Crowley commented on how he had flames, which would be far more effective than the blankets he had initially offered. Snorting, Aurum said as he stretched out a bit, staying pressed against Crowley as he did so, "While that is true, I've only used my fire powers so far for roasting enemies or roasting food, never for just simple heating that isn't mean to hurt anything. I don't think Crowley would like to end up burnt like a roasted turkey." Although honestly, the mental image of the demon scowling while being covered in herbs like a turkey was pretty damn amusing. It was after this that Feza acknowledged the distinct size difference between Aurum and the rest of the group, and the lion said with a faint nod at her suggestion, "I guess it is true that I've got two other forms... I'll use my hellhound form then. It's a nice middle ground before too big and too small." He gave a nice firm nod before Feza pointed him to where he was going. He gave another nod at this, although he didn't move quite yet. He would go over when there were actually others around to compete with, since he didn't want to deprive Crowley of his warmth quite yet.

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[fulzanin]

Being told that having to other as the referee would be wrong had the glacier dragon stuck. Her eyes squinted, tossing the idea back and forth. Why wasn't it a good idea? He didn't want to participate, so what was the problem? It confused her, and her little ears wriggled in confusion. After all, she had never explained how points were dictated in a snowball fight. It was debatable if the dragon had even thought about such - or having a referee - until she had heard how the other did not want to partake. "I mean, as long as they're numbers, they can't, they can't be that complex, right?" She questioned, her wings fluttering and stirring up loose bits snow. Feza had heard of people putting letters and numbers together. That, that was a type of complex that she did not think she would allow. Too many strange things grouped together befuddled her, and numbers with letters was a strong contender for the most confusing thing Feza tried to grasp. That, of course, belonged to 'why people don't like parties.'

Patiently waiting was not Feza's thing. She was hyper. She wanted things done fast and festively and funnily. Waiting for more participants made her twitchy indeed. Her little wings flapped harder and she lifted into the air, just to see if anyone else was going to attend. Was this going to be like last time? Was only one person going to partake in this festivity as well? It was fine, Feza told herself. She could find another use for all the piles of snow if it turned out that only one person was participating in the snowball fight. The icy dragon supposed she could always go on the opposing team, but that would be horrifically ironic and the glacier dragon did not fancy such at all. "Campfire," Feza's solution came swiftly. Campfires were festive. Campfires were warm, and there was s'mores involved. Feza plopped back on the ground, icy dust flinging from her scales when she gave herself a small shake. "Aurum, do you, do you just want the prize if no one else comes? I'm not gonna, I'm not about to make you be out here in th' cold if you got better things to, to do." She then asked, her icy blue gaze flicking over to the lion. Yes, the twinges of a tone of defeat were there, quieted from her normal tone. The small scaly creature did her best to present the ever pleasant smile on her face despite the beginning crushing feelings of defeat. It was fine. She would just have to try harder next time. Maybe it was the cold, which was something else Feza could not understand from her life being spent relishing the cold and burning in the heat due to her fluffy body. Her long tail rested stiff behind her, somewhat sinking into the snow below her.

the greatest beauty is joy in my heart

[torren]

[align=center]

F l u m a d i d d l e . n.
It hasn't even snowed yet.  Recognizing the overlap of voices as an event of some kind, the wildcat approached with mild amusement in his eyes.  His thick fur offered fair insulation, though Torren expected he may desire a warm fire to sit beside after partaking in any sort of snow-based activities.  In the meantime, the brown eyes he carried studied the mounds of snow.  The battleground already set in place and a willing opponent.

He suspected Feza to be a less patient individual, unsurprised as he caught the tail-end of her words.  "Give me a chance at least," he protested with a twitch of his whiskers.  While the majority of his homeland sat beneath a great mountain range, snowball fights -- or complete snow warfare more like -- reign as commonplace in the winter.  The valleys never grew more populated by children than in the colder seasons.  Torren suffered a great deal of losses at the paws of his younger sister, albeit with little compliant. 

"Are we playing to a total or until surrender?"

[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

In all honesty, it didn't seem to take exceedingly much in order to make Feza be in a less than ideal mood, but Aurum still found himself frowning when he noticed the sadness spreading over his fellow guardsman's face at no one showing up. Lately it had seemed as though Tanglewood had gone into a sort of state of stagnant hibernation, and the lion had been noticing it more and more often lately. He wasn't sure if it was because of the collective mourning over Leroy, or just because of the absence of their leader, Crow. He honestly wouldn't be surprise if it was a mixture of both, and he made a mental note to later try and search around and kick things into gear again, in a way that was a bit different from Feza's methods. When the snow leopard turned to him and asked him if he wanted the prize, the male frowned slightly, opening his mouth to reassure the other. However, he was interrupted by the arrival of Torren, the younger member of the group scrambling up with a calm smile as he jokingly asked Feza to give him a chance. A soft chuckle left Aurum at this, and he gestured towards Torren as he rumbled, "Don't be so hasty, Feza. See? Others may want to participate, they might've just taken a bit to get here. Not everyone has as long of legs as me." He chuckled slightly before glancing at Crowley, gently touching his nose to the demon's head in an affectionate gesture and pressing their bodies warmly together before stepping away. He headed off in the direction of the fort Feza had indicated, shifting slowly into his undead hellhound form. A faint shiver ran down his spine at being back in the smaller and much more grotesque form, but he tried to shake it off, figuring he could deal with it for something as small as this. Once he was in position, the hellhound stretched out, yawning before barking to Feza, a toothy grin on his face, "I was wondering the same thing as Torren, actually. How are we going to figure out who gets the prize?" He wasn't actually too worried about the prize or what it was, considering he was mostly doing this to make Feza happy, but he doubted the other would be too happy if in the end they had no idea who to give the reward to. He was honestly deeply relieved that Torren had shown up when he had, since Aurum hadn't been sure how the hell he was going to salvage the situation with the crushed look on Feza's face. It had been pretty clear she hadn't wanted to face off against him alone, and it wasn't as if he could just conjure people up out of nowhere, so he had really been in a pickle. He'd have to thank the young prince later, if he could find him through all the snow.

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[fulzanin]

Feza felt herself feel mighty embarrassed when someone did finally come around. She had given in too quickly to her disappointment, too quickly did she assume that this was yet another festivity that absolutely no one would want to partake in. She exhaled, perhaps a noise of relief, icy crystals forming from her sharp breath. "Right, right, just, just throwing the hypotheticals out there," Feza swiftly covered her own words with more rambling, and another smile on her face. It was hard to seem embarrassed if she was smiling, right? It was her method, and she did such anyways. "Um. Well I don't want- dying out here doesn't sound all that festive." In truth, it wasn't much of an answer as to how the snowball fight would end.

Feza's tail swung behind her, sending a plume of snow flying. The dragon's expression grew thoughtful before she suddenly jumped. "Oh! I knew I was forgetting something!" Feza turned and bounded, zipping off with rapid flaps of her wings into the air. That was a lie, she actually did not have a point system in place. She'd have to think of something real quick, and snagged whatever it was that her sporadic mind could grasp to use. When the small dragon returned, she was struggling with some flags which, of course, seemed to be homemade. It was debatable, in truth, if this was part of the original plan or if the flags had an original, separate purpose. "Okay so, so, so in the middle of the two forts I'mma put up these differen' colored flags. Um. Um. Um. Uh, The cool colored ones are for that team," her tail swung to gesture to the snow mound that had yet to obtain any members, "and the warm colored ones for that team," Feza's icy covered tail flicked the other way, gesturing towards Aurum. "S' you gotta, gotta run out from the fort to grab the flags but if you get hit with snowball you gotta go back t' the fort. It's super fun and easy, I think." If Feza could do one thing well, it was thinking of an absolute crazy idea off the fly. She fluttered inbetween the two mounds, setting up the flags. "Um. I guess whoever get's the most flags is the winner and gets the festive prize."

the greatest beauty is joy in my heart