Coldsnap: Harbinger of Ice

Chapter 18: Pressing Forward

The next day, Coldsnap was woken up by her newfound partner, Keena, who shook her excitedly. 

"Come on, Snowdust!" she said tenderly. "Hydraxus has prepared a little surprise for us before we all head out for the Earth Sect's region!" 

Coldsnap sat up in her bed and yawned. "Hey, Kiki," she replied. Although she was still tired, seeing the young water mage with a happy smile on her face was enough to bring her energy back in an instant. "What does he have planned?" 

Keena laughed. "Come on, now! I'm not going to tell you! You, Firebird, and Leo have to come down to the main chamber and see it for yourselves!" 

"Really? What kind of soulmates don't tell each other everything?" the icy heroine countered. 

".....Meh. Good point." 

She leaned in and whispered something into Coldsnap's ear, at which point she gave an interested smile. 

"Well.....I didn't think Hydraxus had it in him. Then again, I suppose he did make us some stellar drinks back at your initiation....." 

"Yeah, it's going to be great!" Keena exclaimed. "We're sitting together, right?" 

Coldsnap chuckled. "Of course." 

After sharing a kiss, they got dressed and exited out into the hallway, stopping at the top of the staircase to wait for the others. 

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In the other room, Firebird and Leo had already gotten out of bed. Firebird was checking her armor and weapons---making sure they were spotless---and Leo was stretching and smoothing out his outfit. 

"You ready to pay a visit to the Earth Sect?" Firebird asked. 

"Definitely," Leo replied. "I heard their mages are pretty lax, though." 

"They're not really so much 'lazy' as they are 'laid-back'," she insisted. 

"Yep. .....Wait, aren't those the same thing?" 

Firebird shrugged. "Beats me. I don't know.....someone said that. Besides, Sledge hasn't really been acting like himself lately....." 

"Coldsnap just returned to the Elemental Realms," Leo pointed out. "He's probably still on edge about what she could possibly do to him and his Sect. Even regular ice has been shown to break apart entire cliffsides, given time." 

"Yeah, but.....I'm not sure. I get the feeling that something might be bothering him. Something more than just Coldsnap." 

"Well, at any rate, we're going to visit them today, right? Maybe we can help get Sledge's spirits back up." 

"If he doesn't curl into a ball again and roll for the hills at the mere sight of Coldsnap, like he did at her birth ceremony," Firebird laughed. 

Leo sighed wistfully. "I remember when you and I were also still in training.....we were put in our own little section of the chapel that housed those who weren't ready to become Aspects just yet." 

Firebird's eyes widened. "Wait.....did you get frozen by Coldsnap's sneeze, too?" 

"Yup, sure did. Everyone was," Leo responded. "Was quite an.....interesting.....event." 

"I was so shocked when our own heat wasn't enough to thaw us back then. Flamestar, of all people, had to come to our rescue. Actually.....the entire chapel's rescue, now that I think about it."