I'm Not Moving

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex had no idea why she agreed to this.  She couldn't skate, hell, she'd never even tried to skate before.  She was a California girl, what the hell did she know about ice?  She supposed she could blame the want to see her old friend, Artemis James  again for the foolish acceptance to meet him at the skating rink.  She'd even gone so far as to rent her skates and start out like she had a clue.  That quickly came back to bite her in the ass.  Within moments of trying she was seated on the ice, legs splayed out in front of her, red strands of hair hanging in front of her face.

Apparently ice skating was much more difficult than it looked on TV.

"No."  She said, stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest.  She was wearing enough layers to stave off the frigid chill that would normally come with sitting on the ice.  She blew a stray strand of crimson from her face and huffed loudly.  "I'm not moving."  Alex insisted, her head shaking with an exaggerated motion that caused the fluffy ball atop her bright pink beanie to bobble to and fro.  "I'm just going to sit right here.  My butt can't take being fallen on anymore.  It's already bruised."  She mumbled, the last bit coming out with more than a hint of a whine.

[Artemis James]

Artemis was far from a natural at most activities. He'd spent his childhood being constantly outdone by his twin save for the moment when a violin was in his hold, and he fully expected that once he placed his feet on the ice the outcome would be a predictably embarrassing one. Still... He'd agreed to it. He'd smiled and nodded, mostly due to the simple fact it had been Alex who had asked. The last thing Artemis wanted was for the redhead to think he was trying to avoid her. His breath caught in his throat at his approach to the rink, his footsteps slowing to a slight shuffle, his heart heavy in his chest with anxiety. Once he'd rented his skates however, his fingers shaking a little in his gloves as he tied them, he mustered his courage, clumsily walking to the rink's entrance. He hoped she was already here... He didn't want to be alone on the ice. He scanned the people skating, amazed at the amount of people with skating talent; His eyes then fell upon a figure huddled up on the frozen mirror, sat firmly and seemingly refusing to move.

"ALEX!" Artemis called out, a shiver of panic sweeping him at the idea that she may have fallen. Clutching the rink's edge, Artemis gingerly stepped out onto the ice, biting his bottom lip and gasping when he nearly slipped. He clutched his eyes shut, grabbing the edge as if his life depended on it, before slowly opening his gaze back up again. He looked back out over to Alex, knowing he couldn't reach her if he remained glued to the edge like a limpet. With a deep breath of cold winter air and a further mustering of his drive, Artemis pushed himself off from the rink's railing. He flailed his arms for some moments, like a newborn bird, before he came to a stop. He stared down at the ice, before slowly moving one foot forward. Then his other. He began to slowly shuffle across the ice, glancing over to where Alex was sat before concentrating back down on his feet.

HE HADN'T FALLEN YET.

"ALEX!" He managed to call out once he'd gotten closer. "A-Are you okay?!"

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex sat on the ice, arms still crossed, legs still out in front of her, absolutely refusing to budge. She stuck her tongue out as someone nearly tripped over her and offered a sassy comment about her choice of seating and remained undeterred. Alex didn't do ice. Ever. Period. It wasn't something she liked or even felt she could ever get used to. It was like these damn cold, snowy winters. One would have thought that a mutant suffering from an over heating problem due to her power would enjoy a nice Montana winter but Alex was, apparently, the exception that proved the rule.

With a furrowed brow Alex glanced around at the sound of her name being called. At first she couldn't see anyone around that she recognized causing her to turn her eyes upward to the sky as her name was shouted again. "God?" She asked curiously. "Is that you?" She received her answer quickly, though, as Artemis drew closer. Her eyes did light up upon catching sight of him trundling his way toward her. "Hey!" She said, offering a cheery, two handed wave from her vantage point on the ice. "You came!" She exclaimed with not small amount of glee. She'd worried that the young man would try and avoid her given their history and was pleased to see that wasn't the case. "Me?" She waved a hand dismissively. "I'm fine. Just, uh, hanging out. You know." She nodded a bit to herself and looked out over the ice as if she was completely oblivious to how badly she, as a five-foot-nothing girl sitting on the ice wearing a bright pink wool cap and oversize, heavy overcoat stuck out among the crowd of skaters.

[Artemis James]

Artemis was utterly bemused as to why he'd hadn't fallen to the ice yet; He wasn't exactly someone who usually took to things naturally, save for his violin, and even though his shuffling was hardly "talent" it was a major step considering he had been fully expecting to slip and slam into the ice the moment his foot graced it.
With tense and unsteady shuffles, his outspread arms waving a little in some desperate attempt at keeping himself balanced, Artemis got closer to the girl sat firmly on the ice. He managed a small smile once he saw she wasn't injured. "Oh... I thought you were hurt!" He spoke, a relived sigh escaping him.
Things had been... A little awkward between him and his ex when he'd first returned to Kalispell. Artemis had been unsure on if she wanted to even see him, then of course he'd been struck hard by the SPRITE, which pretty much cut off the majority of his social life. Alex had visited him in hospital, but he'd been far from in the best position to cope with rebonding to the young woman. Now... Artemis wanted her friendship; But he feared she felt, somewhere deep down, still awkward around him... Which was the last thing he wanted.

He continued to shuffle, a little unsure on exactly how to stop, now slowly circling Alex where she sat steadfastly with no indications of moving any time soon. "... Um... Mind if I... Join you?" He smiled, attempting to stop. He almost slipped, giving a small gasp and throwing the top half of his body forward, thankfully coming to a stop. He blinked a moment, rigidly still. "... Y-You know, this is harder then it looks..." He slowly attempted to drop onto one knee, giving another yelp and falling forward, managing to catch himself on his hands before his face slammed into the ice. Casting his friend an embarrassed smile, Artemis clumsily managed to move himself into a seated position beside the redhead. "... I don't mean to alarm you, b-but I don't think I can get back up."

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex's eyes lifted upward as Artemis drew closer. There was a smile in her gaze in spite of the predicament she was in and she followed him as he lazily looped a circle around her. Just his presence alone had done wonders in melting away the anymosity and frustration that had built inside her while she sat on the ice. He'd always had that calming effect on her. His naturally introverted demeanor had clashed with Alex's extroverted persona resulting in the redhead finding herself acting in a much more reserved, relaxed manner. "Yeah." She said with a knowing nod. "I figured out just how hard this is."

A tiny gasp escaped when Artemis slipped and Alex's hands reached out toward him even though there was nothing she'd be able to do from her vantage point on the ice. Wide eye watched as he caught himself and then shifted to a sitting position and Alex breathed an audible sigh of relief. She smiled as he scooted closer and she followed suit, inching her way in his direction to close the gap until the two of them sat in the middle of the ice as the rest of the skaters who were out and about shuffled on around them. "This is our fate, Art." Alex breathed with resignation. "We're destined to die here on the ice in front of everyone." Slowly she turned her eyes to look at Art one more time. "If I go first, you can eat me." She said with a nod.

[Artemis James]

Sitting on the ice sent a chill running up Artemis's spine, drawing a shiver from him. He gave a defeated sigh, looking down at his skates, which felt pretty much useless at this point. How exactly they were going to escape the ice, Artemis wasn't sure... Likely a delicate, embrrassing crawl towards the exit.
He slowly pulled his legs to his chest as best he could, digging the blades of the skates into he ice to prevent them from slipping, hugging his knees as he cast his blue eyed gaze to the redhead. Her comment brought out a smile from him, and he gave a nod. "This... This is our life now," He agreed defeatedly, shifting his gaze to watch the rush of skaters sweeping by, many circling them, a few casting annoyed glances at the pair taking up the rink's centre. "Eat you?! I don't think I could," Artemis replied, pouting his bottom lip out thoughtfully, although he kept his gaze watching the skaters. "I could become a hunter, tackling a skater or two to feed us. We could become self efficient ice people."

There was something to be said about moments like this, moments in not every day environments spent with with a friend, having light hearted conversation. Artemis had missed it... The hospital had pretty much cut off his social life, and now he felt he could count his friends on one hand; Although he was glad Alex was one of those still, despite everything. He finally brought his gaze back to her, his lips drawn into a small smile. "I heard... You joined the Academy as staff," He spoke, having heard but hadn't yet seen the young woman in her new role. "It must be nice coming back, right? That place... Feels like home." Mind you, that might be because Artemis didn't really have anywhere else to call as such. He paused a moment, before speaking again. "I'm still living there, you know, so... So if you need any help with anything, you can just let me know." Artemis had every faith that Alex could handle her new career, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to offer his help, even if he knew she'd likely never need it.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex sat on her rear and glanced around the rink, her face nearly green with envy at the skaters who could glide across the ice with such ease and grace. Even those who weren't the most adept got nothing but a scornful scowl from the diminutive, pouting redhead. They were so smug with their skating prowess while she had covered far more ground on her butt than she had her skates. She lifted a hand and reached out toward the nearest skater, her fingertips not coming anywhere near them. "I don't know how effective hunting is going to be." She said, dropping her hand into her lap with resignation. "Unless we can convince them to come closer we're not chasing them down." Her brow furrowed then and she she looked at the ice around them. "I could melt it and we can swim back to the edge." She offered.

"Oh. Uh. Yeah." Alex coughed a little and nodded. She was still uncertain about her decision to take up a part time position helping out the Academy administrative office. She shrugged faintly and glanced down to her hands which were now fidgeting within her lap. "I'm so bad at organizing things." She admitted with a light laugh. "But Erika is really doing me a favor by hiring me. It's only part time but it pays a little more than the club and no more getting off work at two in the morning."

Alex studied Artemis for just a moment before offering him a light smile. "I'll do that." She said with a nod. "I have a feeling I'm going to need all the help I can get." Another soft laugh escaped. "I don't know the first thing about working in an office."