Journey Of Fate ~ mayakuro

•The Ice Incident•

It was dusk by the time the two women left the pizzeria. Both were well satisfied. The cookie had been extremely delightful, and Claudine, despite being full, ended up eating the lion's share of it. Now the duo was walking along the beach bordering Lake Michigan, hands intertwined yet again. This time, Claudine had been the one to grab Maya's hand. The brunette had looked at her surprised when she did, but Claudine brushed it off as merely to keep her hand warm. For once Claudine was grateful that the chilly air was around, if only to obscure how flustered she was about the whole ordeal.

Away from the towering city skyscrapers and buildings, the wintry air blowing off the lake became much more pronounced, buffeting both of them. While it was pleasant to have a nice walk on the beach, Claudine really wanted to get back to the hotel room and unwind. That'd mean having to let go of Maya's hand sooner though, and for some reason, she didn't want that. So, Claudine put up with going on Maya's long walk on the beach in the middle of winter. The sand was stone-hard, likely because the water in it had frozen over. Barely any waves lapped at the shoreline as much of the lake had froze over too.

"I would've liked to have gone swimming here. Too bad it's winter, huh?" Maya remarked suddenly. Claudine hummed her agreement as the two of them stared at the frozen lake. Suddenly, Maya detached her hand from Claudine's. The French woman was about to grab it back, but then noticed the spark in Maya's violet eyes. 

Oh no. Maya had some kind of idea. Somehow, Claudine didn't think that eccentric Maya and a frozen lake were a good combination.

"The lake seems pretty frozen, doesn't it?" Maya said cryptically. Claudine narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, it does seem like that..."

"Then, I think, because we can't swim, we should partake in another activity; we should ice-skate!" Claudine frowned. That was an awful idea. How could they even ice-skate? They didn't have the proper shoes. But more importantly, there was no way the lake was stable for an ice skating.

"Maya, I don't think that..." Claudine started, but it was too late. The brunette was already bounding over to the water. Claudine watched in horror and tried to run after her, but it was quite difficult in her winter get-up. She couldn't fathom how Maya was moving so fast in hers. Evidently, Maya reached the lake first and took a confident stride onto the ice, before spinning around to face the blonde.

"See, nothing to worry about," she proclaimed proudly. "This is Tendou Maya!" 

Claudine sighed at the sight in front of her.

"How do you even plan to ice-skate? You don't have the shoes?" She called from the shore.

"Never underestimate me, ma Claudine. Surely it is possible without them. Ice is still slippery after all." To prove her point, Maya tried to make what Claudine assumed was an action an ice-skater would make. However, instead of gracefully gliding across the ice, the brunette ended up losing her footing and falling on her ass. Claudine roared with laughter at the sight, although it soon turned into a shriek of horror as the deafening sound of ice-cracking filled the air. Ah shit.

The formerly frozen surface fractured into pieces as jagged lines splintered along it at a rapid speed. The two made brief eye-contact before the ice broke and Maya disappeared from her view. Claudine stood there paralyzed, struck by an unfathomable amount of fear. Maya was there a moment ago. Now she wasn't. Her legs felt rooted to ground like cement blocks. Her hands permanently fixed to her side and her gaze pointed vacantly forward. Her mind scrambled to catch up with what was occurring. The ice had broken and Maya was now underwater. Underwater in subzero temperatures. She'd only last a few minutes... She had to do something!