[Chr24] Frozen Waters

While the group of Deepsea’s were accustomed to travel, especially at sea– what they weren’t used to was the chilling wind that seemed to settle over them as the boat approached nearer and nearer the ice caps of Clria. Light snowfall seemed to blanket around them, and while most of them were beginning to shiver– one particular deepsea of the group seemed to enjoy the cold. Echo appeared to relish the cold, his tail calmly swishing back and forth while his pet aboard– a frosty Vulpip named Neva, nudges him in the side. He tilts his head towards her, giving her a small smile. He knew what she wanted- and he went to dig a hand into his bag to pull out a fresh yarshaa fruit. The vulpip’s ears immediately perk, and she takes the fruit from him gently with her teeth, going to then lay down at his feet and begin to munch on the snack. 

“I’m not sure how you’re so calm in this cold,” the Deepsea, Ollie, to his left murmurs under her breath– pulling her jacket closer to her as the snowfall seems to grow harsher the deeper they go into the ice caps. It was a personal mission from a Yarujai, so of course she accepted along with the group– but what she wasn’t (mentally) prepared for was how damn cold the Clria ice caps were! She was used to the warm, tropical waters… oh, how she missed home right about now.

“Didn’t you grow up in the mountains, Echo?” Darya asks, going up to the other two who were standing at the edge of the boat- peering out to their destination. She leans forward a bit, looking out into the distance. It was her first time all the way out here, and sure it was cold, but at least she had company. Hopefully the Rohaara stones they were to obtain for the mission will also keep their hands warm on the way back… 

“I did, it was beautiful in the mountains…” Echo smiles softly in reply, reminiscing. He never thought he would leave the mountains, but he decided one day that if he was to grow as a person, he would have to leave his comfort zone– aka his home. Who knew that other places could be as beautiful? 

“Though I’ll say, the trek up the mountains into your village was always a pain,” Kori pops in, giving the others a gentle smile of his own. Having come from the village just at the foot of the mountain, he was the only one out of the group to have known Echo the longest. Their villages did trade, and tended to hold both festivals and holidays together. A childhood friend– though when Echo left, he decided to also leave with him. As quiet as Echo was throughout childhood though, Kori always made up for him. They were almost always together (whether Echo liked it or not). 

Chatting amongst themselves, the group didn’t notice when the boat had come to an initial halt– the chilling wind picking up around them. It was only when Ollie noticed they weren’t moving any closer to land that they noticed that the boat had stopped entirely. 

“I didn’t turn the engine off, is there anything blocking us?” Kori says, confused as he’s going over to the captain’s seat– looking over the wheel and all the controls. No, he still had the engine on and going steady towards their destination- but they were at a complete standstill. 

“I think I know why we’re stopped…” Ollie laughs, albeit a little nervously– and she gestures to the side of the boat. The entire perimeter of the boat was surrounded in a now frozen bed of ice- halting completely. This close to land, the entirety of the water had frozen over– a sleek sheet of ice covering the entire water’s surface. They would have to continue on foot to land– but the question was how they were going to haul a bunch of piping hot stones over an icy surface without a potential visit to the bottom of the ocean. It was said that the stones even gave off heat even from a distance. 

Well…at least they could swim.