2nd Gen Pandavas

व: The Fourth Rank - Part 2

CHAPTER 6:

Where we droppin bois?

One thing that southerners like us can agree on is that no matter how many times you visit cold climates, you never get used to it. For instance, just because we spent time in the Himalayas not too long ago without proper clothing doesn't make us any less stupid for showing up to snowy Kashmir in nothing more than a T-shirt and shorts, a sundress, and some dirty PJs. So as you can imagine, within minutes, we were all shivering.

"A p-p-perfect SAT score b-b-before high school and you d-d-didn't think to ask f-f-for jackets b-b-before w-w-we left?!?" demanded Priya.

"You w-w-were t-t-the one who r-r-rushed off w-w-without thinking!" I retorted.

"Why are you talking like that?" asked Ghata.

To our surprise, she was walking as casually as she did before the portal.

"D-d-did you f-f-forget h-h-how to b-b-be c-c-cold too?!?" said Priya.

"It m-m-must b-b-be her r-r-raksha b-b-blood!" I deduced. "T-t-they're more used to l-l-living in the w-w-wilderness!"

"That and she's not dumb enough to come here without wearing something thicker than a T-shirt." said a familiar voice. "But at least one of you has good taste."

We looked around to see where it came from, but all we could see were the forested and frosted hills. We were pretty sure Astoria dropped us in the middle of nowhere.

Priya, stick your tongue out. I thought.

Now's not the time to catch snowflakes! she thought back.

Smell the air. I explained. See if you can pick up a heat signature.

Oh, gotcha.

Priya uses her tongue and in less than ten seconds she looks up. We do the same and are surprised to see a blur of orange jumping through the dark green pines. In the same time it took Priya to find her multiple feet above our heads, the blur moved down and right in front of us. In front of us was a girl no older than I am. She looked ready to go skiing with her fully-zipped orange parka, red-knit cap, jeans, large Strawberry Shortcake backpack and pair of red-tinted goggles.

"Here," she said, opening her bag. "Put these on."

Now, was it smart to just take something from a random stranger? Probably not. Were we in a right state of mind with the icicles hanging down our noses? Only if you count Ghata and she's arguably not in the best state to be making decisions either. Plus, the girl didn't seem like she was trying to hurt us. I mean, none of them ever do, but somehow I got the sense that she was just being friendly. Within a few minutes, we went from shivering to style with various jackets, hats, and gloves from the Strawberry Shortcake series. For that reason, I think I'll call her Shortcake until we get some kind of name reveal. I got Lemon Meringue, Priya got Blueberry Muffin, and Ghata, who just wore it for the look, got Orange Blossom. By the time we finished putting them on, we looked like a bunch of fruit-themed magical girls about to go through their winter special.

"Now I just need an orange slice purse and tangerine glitter eyeshadow!" Ghata said, excitedly.

"Oh great," said Priya. "Another layer of cringe to add to my cake of embarrassment."

"Wow!" said Shortcake. "Priya being grouchy and Ghata's being passionate about something? This I gotta see."

Now, at first the girl didn't look like anyone we knew, but when she took off the goggles...