Logs:Slick moves

Slick moves
Dramatis Personae Astrid, Cassy
In Absentia	2020-11-14 Astrid & Cassy go on a rather awkward date at Salem Center Ice Arena. Despite several slips & trips neither of them cause any horrifying calamities.
Location Salem Center Ice Arena
The Salem Center Ice Arena is one of those massive industrial buildings that was designed 100% with only function in mind. The bottom half is grey painted bricks with the top half corrugated metal that’s aged into a yellowish white. Once inside, the space seems massive. Brown carpet leads up to the concession space that is lined with long picnic style tables. The main counter houses shelves upon shelves of rental skates with several canisters of disinfectant spray interspersed throughout. A couple bored looking teens are running the cash register. Just behind the counter is the short glass paneling letting those still outside the rink look in. There is a decent crowd inside the building with a mixture of all types of people, but families with young children and teenagers appear to make up the majority. The volume is a little on the loud side as voices echo off the mostly metal construction material and the exposed slightly domed metal roof clearly has no sound insulation. Astrid is walking towards the tables, arms wrapped around two pairs of ice skates as she maneuvers around a kid bent over trying to lace up their skates. The ice rink is cold and the gangly teen is dressed for the occasion - navy blue hoodie, black beanie and black jeans. “Alright..” she says, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s been a couple years since I’ve done this, but I think we’ll be fine. You’ve roller bladed before, right?” She asks Cassy, moving the bundle of skates around to catch sight of the tag so she can pass off the correct size to her. At the best of times you might describe Cassy as a show off. So it's no surprise she's (over)dressed to impress for a date-adjacent trip out. Black strappy shoes, white knee high socks, a black frilly dress that reaches just above her knees and plenty of ribbons for her hair. She's also wearing some fingerless gloves because they match the rest of the ensemble (and also it's chilly outside). With the addition of an apron she'd probably pass for someone cosplaying as an anime maid. She's also got a little bag to keep a cell-phone, purse and a fold up umbrella in. "Roller bladed... Yeah I think.... once?" She frowns. "Don't worry though I packed bandaids in my bag." The audio-kinetic deliberately keeping her voice low so as not to cause an anti-mutant panic. "And I've taken enough dance classes that I'm pretty confident in my sense of balance." “You’ll do just fine then.” Astrid starts to fumble as she’s trying to hand the correct pair of skate’s over and drops all but one. She looks down, chewing on her bottom lip before handing off the one skate she still holds. “Well, I should be a little more coordinated once I get out on the ice… I hope.” She bends down to pick them off the floor, looking for the one that matches the skate already handed to Cassy. Once found, she grabs the remaining two and stands back up. “You look really nice.” She says with a quick cadence, cheeks turning slightly red as her eyes fall down towards her feet. Suddenly she becomes aware of how dressed down she is in comparison and decides not to comment on it. Moving towards one of the benches, she takes a seat and begins removing her shoes. “Oh, I got a locker for our stuff too.” She holds up her left hand to display the key hanging off one of those bright orange elastic cords wrapped around her wrist. "Even if I'll do fine you should totally fully prepare yourself mentally for when I scandalously grab hold of your arm for support." Cassy states solemnly, stepping a little closer to help with the whole collecting skates business. "And thanks! It's not the most practical outfit for... well anything really," she adds with a grin. "I did take the precaution of wearing shorts under my skirt." She gives a teasing little wink and adds "So don't look too disappointed if I fall and there is zero flashing." "A locker seems like an excellent idea." She looks down at herself as she follows Astrid over to the benches. "Because literally zero percent of these pockets are real functional places to keep useful things. I have one with trick silk scarves in and another with..." She pats at her outfit. "Uh... three ninja smoke pellets." She starts changing into the skates too. "Those better go in the locker. Just so no-one freaks out when I slip and vanish in a cloud of smoke." “I can’t promise I’ll keep us both up when that happens, especially if this arm grabbing is going to be as scandalous as you say.” Astrid cracks a toothy grin. “Well, I pretty much only dress for practical purposes, so I think we even each other out, right?” She stops to adjust her glasses. “And I’m sure you’ll be disappointed I forgot a helmet. We both know that is apex of high fashion.” She scratches at the back of her head. “So if you take me down, I’ll try my hardest to fall soft and not…” Astrid leans closer to Cassy, dropping her voice. “...blow this place up.” Both feet are now firmly in skates as she awkwardly stands up, reaching out to grab Cassy’s shoulder for support. “The good news is this is the hardest part. Walking across the carpet to the ice.” She looks down at the skates. “Crap. I should have run our stuff to the locker before putting these on.” She plops back down onto the bench with a laugh and starts removing the skates. Once off she grabs their shoes and other belongings and pauses briefly before running them to the locker. “Anything else in those non-functional pockets you don’t want to go off out there?” "Don't worry I have a plan to prevent that happening," Cassy promises while Astrid is leaning in. "If we both slip I'll try land on you. And you'll hopefully be so flustered that you forget to explode." She shrugs and sticks her tongue out "And I think you look nice. Jeans figure hug enough that when you zoom off ahead I'll have something to appreciate." Unsurprisingly it takes her a lot longer to get her impractical shoes off and the skates on. So she's only just got her skates properly laced up by the time Astrid returns from the lockers. "Nothing physically dangerous in them, no. I've just got a bunch of conversation starters written on scraps of paper. The idea was if we get stuck for things to talk about we could take it in turn picking them out. Although fair warning I didn't really know what to write so for some of the questions I used things I remembered people asking in truth or dare..." “I’ll hold you to that then.” Astrid responds in-kind with her own tongue extended out. She briefly glances over towards the ice. “Chances are good we are both going to eat it many times over. So It is good we have a plan.” She looks back to Cassy with a smile, though it’s obvious she feels a little embarrassed by the compliment and tries to cover it up with humor. “Aw thanks. I got out my best jeans for you.” She’s clearly blushing. It doesn’t take long for Astrid to get back into her skates and lace them up once she’s returned from the lockers. “Oh wow… I suddenly feel woefully unprepared. I’ve kept it a secret, but I used to be a champion figure skater as a kid and thought I could just get past any awkwardness by dazzling you with my jump spins.” She said sarcastically. “That’s the professional term - jump spin.” Elbow is hooked and held out for offered support. “Shall we?” Cassy laughs as she wobbles to her feet. "Awh see now I'm disappointed we don't have figure skating costumes," she hammily laments. "But I guess it's for the best. If you went pop in one they'd be finding sequins all over Salem." She's not shy about accepting the hooked elbow for support. "I just hope the vibrations don't make my skates wobbly or I'll be spending most of the time impersonating a new born foal." She does at least manage not to fall flat on her face during the trip over to the ice. Unless of course Astrid slips. In which case they'll both be collapsing. "Lets go make fools of ourselves." Once they're close to the ice the petite red-head frowns. "So we just go round the edges and try not to crash into anyone? Everyone goes the same way round right?" The sequin comment causes Astrid to erupt in hysterical laughter and stops her in her tracks. She’s bound to topple both of them over if she continues to walk on the skates. “Now that would be awful. I’d probably have to move back to the west coast in shame. And everyone would call me the sequin bomber.” She shakes her head letting a couple more laughs slip free. “My parents would be so disappointed.” “Oh yeah… this wasn’t very well thought out now was it.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I think our chances of eating it have definitely gone up.” She’s grinning as they continue towards the ice. It’s by no means steady, but the two do successfully get to the entryway without falling down. “You bet’cha. We just go with the flow and skate in circles trying to avoid all the other skaters. Pretty complex, but I think you’ll get the hang of it.” She points to a little kid who is clearly struggling to stay upright. “Watch out for the little ones. They’ll take you out at the knees.” Carefully, Astrid steps out onto the ice and turns around to extend both hands out. She looks sort of steady on the skates. “If there is one thing I can promise, it's making a fool of myself.” "Or the sequin streak if you woke up fast enough to make a getaway," Cassy teases. "I guess if we were really prepared you'd have a bag with a change of clothes in the locker." She shrugs. "Although that might be a little too... you know... pessimistic? I think you'll be fine anyway." She can't help but wince when Astrid points out their chances of falling have gone up. She should have worn shin and knee guards under her socks! "I want you to know that, while I probably totally seem like the sort of girl who'd dramatically swoon and cling to her date, anything of that nature will be completely accidental." She blinks a few times and sighs. "Oh gawd I just realised I kinda really am that sort of girl." Another pause. "And you totally must have figured that out long before me.." That moment of awkward self awareness over she attempts to slide onto the ice. Reaching for the outstretched hands without a second thought. "So do we try make a circuit while holding hands? Or do we cut loose so if one of us falls the other is safe?" She giggles. "It's weird but my fingers can sense the blood moving through your hands. " Of course every time Cassy talks it generates the same kind of tingle someone might feel if they put their hand directly on a speaker. And that probably doesn't make for the greatest mutually supporting grip. “Gee… you accidentally pop like 20-30 times in the last month and everyone thinks you are some sort of wild card to be around.” Astrid exaggerates. “So thanks for the vote of confidence.” She offers an overly exaggerated pout. “Oh, and I’m going to steal pop from you thank you very much.” She laughs at the swoon and cling comment, squeezing her elbow tighter to keep her balance.”How about we chalk it up to both this time. Given the situation, it’ll accidentally happen and you are that girl.” Again she laughs adding a shrug. “At this point, I say we are in it together and if one falls, so does the other. Right?” Somehow her smile only continues to grow. “Unless the whole blood feeling thing is too weird for ya. I’d get that.” Her eyes glance down to the hand she’s holding on to, feeling the slight vibrations every time Cassy talks. Slowly she begins to skate in the set clockwise direction, keeping her grip tight and arm riding to ensure Cassy isn't left behind. She starts to speak, hesitating briefly before continuing. “So… does that drive you nuts? The constant vibration that is. Or is it something you don’t even notice anymore?” "Last time I stubbed my toe and my 'eep' broke the windows," Cassy admits with another giggle. "And you're welcome to use it as much as you like. It doesn't really work for when my power gets out of hand anyway." She mock pouts back. "I'm blaming it entirely on my showbiz upbringing and shameless excess of self confidence." She doesn't seem to mind holding hands for support, even trying for a re-assuring squeeze. "No it's fine. Just.. I have a stupid worry I'll magically know if you're bored because it'll slow down? Seems kinda... unlikely though when we've got dangerous powers and are skating on ice." Her head tilts to one side and she frowns. "I don't actually notice it at all. My body absorbs vibrations super efficiently, like soundproof material, so I don't 'feel' anything. And when I'm talking I'm all moving in the same way so it's not a problem.. My vision can go a little fuzzy at very high frequencies though." Thankfully all those dance classes have left her with a pretty good sense of balance. So she can just about talk and skate while being guided along. "Oh I suppose I have to be careful what I'm touching too. People, glass and stuff.. I totally had a power question for you, but I'm pretty sure it's the one thing everyone asks and you'll find mega awkward." Astrid twists her head just enough to catch Cassy out of the far side of her glasses. “So it sounds like if this whole dating thing doesn’t work out, we could potentially have a solid career as partners in crime. You break the glass and I… well, this is all conjecture at this point, but I can blow open the safes.” She laughs before turning to face back forward. “I’ll blame it on those too then.” “Or maybe I planted the idea that it could be the danger of our powers and the ice that is causing my pulse to go so fast instead of my extreme nervousness?” She squeezes back. “I mean, I haven’t tried making things happen by thinking really hard since I was like five, so we can’t rule it out.” Astrid nods along with the description of how Cassy’s powers affect her. “Well that’s really cool it doesn’t impact you physically. Or at least not to any sort of debilitating degree. I imagine that would make normal life… well… very difficult.” Eyebrows raise as she momentarily looks back. “Oh? Yeah, ask away.” "A life of crime? Never. I'm going into showbiz," Cassy says with a dramatic arm swoop that is probably not advisable given her balance. "But I'm sure I could find a place for you in the act. I've always wanted to learn the sawing someone in half trick!" She wobbles a little. "Well.. I wouldn't say it doesn't impact me but.. I'm coping." Some more wobbling and a blush. "Is going slow making it hard to balance? ...But going faster will hurt more... The thinking things to make them happen is... not actually far off how I do the music thing." She coughs awkwardly when Astrid says ask away. "So you totally, absolutely, do not have to answer this." She notes. "It's just when you said twenty to thirty pops I couldn't help but wonder how that works... I mean did they give you a special suit to practise in?" Astrid lazily shrugs her shoulders. “Guess I’ll just have to find someone else to help with my crime spree then.” She laughs, starting to get a little off balance herself. “That is crazy. I have always wanted to be sawed in half.” She looks back, grinning wildly. It’s brief, as she starts teetering on her skates and turns back forward in an attempt to rebalance herself. “Coping is good.” Instinctively her smile softens, though she does remain facing forward. “Sounds like we should pick up speed then?” She makes a mental note to ask more about how the whole music thing works at a later time. “Oh, well I was exaggerating a little on how often it has happened without my control, but I don’t have any special suit.” She slows down, making sure they are as close to me shoulder to shoulder as possible, her voice lowering. “There’s a room in the basement of the school they have me work on my powers in. It is… well, I guess it is protected from my blasts and a safe environment for me.” Her voice rises back to a normal volume. “I don’t think they let all the students down there though.” "It's probably a lot less exciting than you're imaging," Cassy points out. Her confidence steadily, and with absolutely no basis in reality, increasing the longer she keeps up this balancing thing. "But you get a stage costume." She attempts to speed up without actually indicating that's what she'll do up front. Making her faster moving and briefly without guidance. To compound the mistake she tries to turn to keep Astrid in view and neglects the ice rink being curved. "I figured there was something weird about the basement. I can sometimes hear the elevator." She blinks. "So you just..." Whatever that sentence was going to be is brutally cut short by Cassy gliding back first into the barrier at a thankfully still only moderate speed. “Won’t know if you don’t experience it, right?” Astrid laughs. She then positions herself directly behind Cassy, facing her as she speeds up and turns around. She starts skating faster, making sure to keep up in speed. “Could I get a black sequined hoodie as my stage costume? Or does it have to be the traditional assistant skimpy dress you see on tv?” Astrid should be paying attention to where they are going, but she isn't. At least not when it would matter most. She’s keeping her eye on Cassy, so by the time she notices that Cassy is headed straight for the curved wall, it’s just a little too late for a warning. “Wait.. behind…” she chokes on her words, realizing she is not at all skilled enough for an immediate stop and slides straight into the other teen immediately after impact is made with the barrier. The impact when Cassy hits the side is, perhaps unsurprisingly given her previous comment, more muffled than you'd expect. A dull thump then a woosh as her skates slip out from under her. She lets go of Astrid, trying to cushion her fall with her hands, and lands mostly on her butt. A landing that'll bruise more than just her ego. Thankfully she manages to keep her yelp to a normal Human volume. "Oh. Crap. Not gonna lie, kinda wishing I'd worn pants about now." She says, her voice a little odd as her power simulates the chatter of teeth without her mouth moving. "Help me up without laughing and you can wear whatever costume you want!" She forces a smile, "And don't knock the traditional skimpy dress until you experience it." Astrid is lucky in that she barely keeps herself upright and doesn’t tumble straight over Cassy who is now on the ground. She does bump into the glass wall, but is able to continue to keep her balance with outstretched arms now that her hands are free. Once she stops and feels steady, she looks down at Cassy. “Well… I’d do the, um... gentle… uh, woman thing and give you mine, but… well… yeah…” she cracks a smile, trying her hardest not to laugh. Both hands are extended towards Cassy, her skates twisted to the sides in an attempt to keep herself steady. “Fair enough, but I still want a black sequined hoodie if I’m going to be your assistant.” Cassy laughs. "And here I was trying super hard not to mention your practise must involve problems with clothes and you casually tease me about that," she points out. "See that is why people think you're a wild card." She takes the offered hands and smirks. "Letting me think I'm the forward one but secretly all along it's a ruse." All things going well she should get back up to her feet okay. Ego aside no serious harm was done. And she's less clumsy than careless. "Sequined hoodies do kind of make me think of professional boxers though. But I'm sure we can figure something out." She obviously feigns a pout and adds "I didn't bring an assistants costume to New York though. It's not the sort of thing you can really pack for boarding school without a bunch of awkward conversations." Astrid shrugs, briefly flashing her teeth inside her grin. “Oh, so that is where that line of questioning was headed.” She leaves the subject there for now. “Well, you gotta keep people on their toes, right?” There’s a brief pause. “Or butt I guess.” “Perhaps I should start boxing. They teach that at the school?” She seems to get excited from the prospect. “Talk about wildcard. No one would want to hit me hard, right?” She steadies herself, making sure her quick playful elbow jab doesn’t send her toppling over. “That makes sense. Don’t need to be the weirdo with the assistance costume… wait? Does that mean you are trying to make me the weirdo wearing the assistance costume?” She can hardly keep her laughter in as she teases Cassy. Cassy wobbles some more. But thankfully the one benefit of crashing into the barrier is you can use it to steady yourself. "I'm pretty sure I called it that I'd fall to break the ice," she says. A muted ba-dump-tish snare drum plays. Then she readies herself to resume skating alongside Astrid at a presumably much more careful pace. Her head tilts and she shrugs. "I don't know about boxing, but they have self defence classes of some sort. Martial arts I guess. I haven't looked into it 'coz I took similar classes back home. For this one trial there were kidnapping threats but thankfully nothing ever happened." She winks. "Not for on stage. Maybe if I ever get to pick your Halloween costume though." “That you did and I applaud you for it.” Astrid laughs, clapping her hands softly in rapid succession. “She loses her balance slightly and takes a second to right herself. “Now I wish I could do that. The whole drum thing but without a drum.” Clearly she is duly impressed. She too begins skating again at their earlier slow pace. “Oh boy… so next year I might have one of those Halloween costumes?” There’s a brief smile. “A self defense… wait, what? You were almost kidnapped?” Her tone quickly switches from her usual deep monotone to a little higher pitched. “Or there was the threat at least. What was that like? Pretty terrifying?” "Yeah just... if anyone notices...." Cassy whispers, seemingly only realising just now how risky identifying herself as a mutant could be. "If anyone asks blame it on my cellphone.." Thankfully most people seem too busy with family or friends to notice two girls seemingly from out of town badly skating. "I promise it'll be very tasteful." She informs solemnly at a more normal, if still discreet, volume. "And that I'll have a back up if you don't like it. How'd you feel about bunny ears?" She makes a confused hmmm noise. "Oh not almost. Just... sometimes Mom has clients who did bad things to other bad people. And they try pressure people involved with a trial.." She shrugs, then offers her hand out again. "It's hard to explain but yeah I guess pretty scary. It sort of grinds you down because you have to be alert but pretty much all the time nothing happens." She carefully brushes her hair back. "Sorry that was kind of a downer. Topic change? So... Tell me something about you that no-one at school knows? Like it doesn't have to be a huge secret and it can be as boring as you want." She looks guilty for a moment. "That's totally going to turn out to be one of those conversation prompts I mentioned.." Mimicking Cassy, Astrid’s voice also lowers. “Oh yeah, it is easy to forget that we live in a bubble at the school.” Her eyes shift back and forth, checking to see if anyone else on the ice is actually paying attention to them. Doesn’t appear so. “If anyone does happen to ask, I’ll plead the cell phone.” She laughs while she wiggles her nose in a poor attempt to straighten her glasses. “Will they be creepy rabbit ears?” She pauses, eyebrows slowly raised. “We’ll see if you aren’t sick of me in what? About a year?” “Like that guy you mentioned the first time we met. Meat?” She bites into her bottom lip head tilting slight upward. “Meat… oh, Meat Hook? Right?” She straightens her next, twisting it slightly to look at Cassy. “I honestly can’t even imagine that. Nothing like that ever happened in my family. Sorry you’ve had to deal with that.” She shakes her head. “Oh, no need to apologize. Seriously.” She grabs the offered hand. “Let’s see… something boring. Well, my parents were pretty young when they had me. Both were 19. Neither were very stable, so I’ve spent most of my life staying at both of my grandparents' houses. Well, I should say me and my younger sister Juni did. My Pops got me into skateboarding, though he doesn’t do it professionally. My Moms is a tattoo artist. Which is pretty cool I guess.” Cassy shakes her head. "The ears are not creepy at all. I promise you wouldn't give them a second thought," she assures. "Just a little make-up and a corset costume with a fluffy tail..." She can't resist breaking into a smirk. "Okay I admit it. Plan B is a bunny girl outfit." Revenge for the earlier teasing! "It feels a little like we'll at least make it to a second date.. first proper date? Either way a good sign if we're joking about next Halloween..." She gives Astrids hand a little squeeze. "And right now I'd say your chances of walking me home are pretty great!" "Yeah very much like him. Not specifically that guy though. This was before my powers so I didn't actually hear many of the details.... They suggested maybe the stress triggered my mutation to develop." It's not entirely clear who they are. Presumably someone at school. "But we had a body guard and I took classes on what I should do to try improve my chances of getting out okay. Thankfully I'd already got pretty great at lockpicking. I don't think I've had to deal with much compared to most people. Like for lots of kids at my school that sort of class was normal." "I always wanted a sibling but I think I was a little too high maintenance for my parents to even consider another kid." Astrid laughs. “Fair enough. I probably deserve that.” Her smile widens. “Just promise if that happens my sister never finds out. She’d never stop teasing me for it.” She skates slightly closer to Cassy, letting her shoulder nudge gently into the other girls. “Yeah, I think we are well on our way to a second date, right?” Astrid starts to sound a little nervous. “How about, if you are willing, I’ll plan number two?” She squeezes Cassy’s hand back. “I’m still a little shocked by that. From my perspective, your earlier life sounds pretty crazy. No one I knew could come remotely close to that. I guess we were all pretty poor, so not a lot of money in kidnapping us.” Glasses are adjusted with her free hand. “Stress is what they think triggered my power too. Happened in the middle of class and three of my classmates died from it.” She gets quiet, biting down into her bottom lip hard enough to leave indentation once released. “Haven’t mentioned that to anyone before. There… now I’m the one that’s a downer.” She looks over to Cassy with a solemn smile. “I don’t think my parents planned having my sister. They definitely didn’t plan on me, but after Juni was born, that’s when they realized they kind of couldn’t stand each other.” There’s light, somewhat awkward laughter spilling out of her. “My sister is cool though. I miss her.” "I have to admit I didn't expect you to be so onboard with the whole dressing up in costumes thing," Cassy admits blinking a few times. "And I can solemnly swear not to tell your sister." She winces. "I can't even process how that conversation would even go. Does she know you're dating?" She shoulder nudges back. "Date two confirmed. But I have conditions! No increased risk of falling or other moderate peril situations. And maybe something less crowded than this place? Keeping my voice down can be tough." She glances sideways at Astrid "I guess some of it was. Rich people aren't really special no matter what most of them tell each other. They just fuck things up in different ways and then usually get to run away form the mess." And then there's mention of classmates dying and Cassy stumbles a little. "I'd totally try give you a hug right now, but I'd probably knock us both over." She settles for another hand squeeze. "Lets agree to no more downers? At least for today. If you ever need to talk about it later though you know where to find me." “My parents always said I was the easy going one. It’s my sister that’s a handful.” Astrid shrugs, lips curling back onto a full blown smile. “That’s a deal then. Not just yet. Figured I’d make sure there was something to tell.” She returns the returned shoulder nudge with another of her own. “Those all seem like reasonable requests.” She nods her head. “Yeah, I can figure something out that checks all those boxes. “I am not at all surprised at that.” She comments on rich people fucking things up all the same, just in different ways. “Remind me to tell you about the time my Pops got ran over. Talk about doing something fucked up, but no more downer stuff. So another time.” With pursed lips, Astrid glances over at Cassy. “We definitely don’t need to fall down. I think once was enough for you young lady.” She laughs for a split second before turning somber. “Thanks. I really appreciate it, I do.” Her eyes dart to the entryway between the ice and the carpet as her face completely morphs into something far more devious. “How about we race over to the concession area and grab a soda or something?” "Once we're back on the actual ground I am happy to pretend to slip so you can catch me and steal a smooch if you really want something to tell," Cassy jokes back. "But I guess if you're used to dealing with your sister being a handful it means you'll be wise to my ways huh? Well some of them at least. The somewhat bratty ones. Oh and my friends back home had a rule about never ever going to the movies with me. Apparently I get bored easily and distract people from the story." "I will very much remind you to do that. But not on a fun date." She nods. "That seems more fitting conversation for a watch a tragic romance show back in the dorms time." She makes a little salute with her free hand. "Yes Ma'am no more falling." She hmms thoughtfully. "Is this about getting me safely off the ice before I fall over again? Or because you want that hug?" "Either way solid un-slippery ground does sound wonderful. And I could go for a soda or something. My treat. Although fair warning I'm enjoying this whole hand holding business. So I will totally pout if it stops just because I'm not going to faceplant.." “I’m not sure you should be so confident that I’d be quick enough to catch you? And didn’t I already say no more falling?” Astrid teases back. “Oh, I got my ways of dealing with a brat, don’t you worry. But I’ll note no movies for now. We’ll cross that bridge at a later date.” “It’s a deal.” The words are stated simply as she looks at Cassy. “Well… there is only one way to find out, right?” She smiles, eyeing the gap in the barrier that allows people to move in and out of the ice rink. She drops the other girls hand and crouches down slightly, readying herself for a n attempted sprint towards the opening. “Ready?” "The key word is pretend," Cassy points out with a wink. "It's really more for show than anything. See I always tried out for the school play. It's usually a lot of fun and you meet new people." She laughs when Astrid talks about dealing with brats and then sticks her tongue out. "Ooo. Now there's a bold claim!" There's basically no way she'll win a race. Having not yet mastered the art of going fast. But she's also not the sort of girl who turns down a challenge. So she adopts a similar position to Astrid. Except of course she maybe drifts a little closer to the finish line. Accidentally of course. She's too new to skating to stop right on the go line! Well at least that's her story and she'll stick to it... "Ready." “So you say.” Astrid teases back with a half hearted shrug. She cracks a grin, still crouched down and ready to take off. “Why do I get the feeling my claim is going to be seriously tested now?” By no means is Astrid a great ice skater, but she recognizes she definitely has at least a leg up on Cassy. She hasn’t fallen to the ice just yet, so that is something to brag about. She watches as Cassy begins sliding forward, past the designated starting line and quietly chuckles. “Go.” She says I’m a raised voice that definitely is too quiet for a yell. She holds off, letting the other teen get a head start before she takes off herself. "Just keep in mind I can escape from handcuffs!" Cassy fires back. Not above using distractions to help herself win it seems! While Cassy might not be a great ice skater she's still got a fair bit of power thanks to years of dance classes and an overactive lifestyle. And no matter how quiet the go might be she picks it out easily. Setting off with a whoosh which rather suggests she's not given much thought to actually stopping at the finish line. Nor is she taking it easy because she has a head start. Although while she may score high marks for cheating and effort it's still not exactly the most graceful or rapid skating. Astrid meant to give Cassy a head start, but the handcuff comment catches her off guard and she ends up standing there baffled and longer than planned. “Hey, that’s not fair!” She shouts after her as she takes off. Though she may be a little more steady on her skates, graceful is definitely not a term that would come to mind for anyone watching Astrid attempt to catch up to Cassy. She looks slightly crazed, eyes wide and grin sharp as she concentrates on attempting to get to the set finish line. Clearly there is a competitive streak in Astrid that isn’t obvious. "Muahahaha," Cassy mock evil laughs as she tries her utmost to win. The thing is for all her effort she isn't really gaining a lot of speed. And inevitably Astrid will find herself catching up. Unless someone falls over or gets side-swiped by another skater then slowly but surely Cassy will slip back into second place. "How're you going so fast?! Hey did you give me kids skates or something?" There's no falling over for her at the end either. Technically at least. Because she crashes into the wall again. This time instead of landing on her butt she windmills her arms and then latches onto a bit of the barrier. Some nearby kids putting on skates laugh. So in a very mature and ladylike response she pulls a silly face at them as she begins carefully shuffling to the way off the ice. “I made sure your skates were dull.” Astrid says trying to stifle her laughter since that only hinders her catching up to Cassy. And just as she is about to catch up, she notices two little kids out of the corner of her eye that are clearly on a direct path for collision. She tries to turn just enough to avoid the kids but maintain her speed. Unfortunately, she over corrects just a little too much with her left skate, which catches onto the top of her right blade, sending the teen sprawling forward and sliding head first into the barrier with a solid thud. “Did I win?” The words barely slip out between the constant laughter. She looks up from the ice, trying to reorient herself and find Cassy. Cassy seems to be slowly making her way along the barrier to the exit. Clinging to it like she's here for a rock climbing lesson not to go skating. "I have no idea," she admits. "I was too busy trying not to bash my face into anything..." She frowns. "Did you play a lot of baseball? Because it looks like you missed your calling with that dive for home." She chuckles. "I think you win the moral victory anyway. Although you broke your own 'no more falling' rule!" Eventually she gets to the point where she's wobbling on regular ground on skates. Rather than slipping and wobbling on the ice. "Do we take get our shoes and stash the skates in the locker? Or just wobble over there and hope we don't spill too much soda?" Still laughing, Astrid begins to pick herself up using the barrier for support. Once she’s upright again, she cautiously starts skating towards the carpeted area. “Baseball? No, why?” And then it dawns on her. “Oh, yeah, well maybe I should.” She sticks her tongue out at Cassy as a final gesture to perhaps the lamest comeback. She scrambles onto the carpeted area with relief, eyeing one of the empty tables. “Let’s ditch these skates ASAP. Between the two of us, who knows if this place can handle another spill from either of us.” She doesn’t even wait for acknowledgement from Cassy, but immediately begins clomping over to the table they were originally sitting at. "I guess the school can't compete with other schools or have enough players to field two teams," Cassy muses, needing no encouragement to wobble-walk off the ice. "Yeah seconded. It was fun to try it though. Got my mind off the upcoming exams. I think roller skates might be better... with plenty of padding." "Throw me the keys and I'll grab our stuff from the lockers? Seems better than walking over without shoes!" “Could you imagine a Xavier’s team playing in the local high school league?” Astrid laughs at the thought. “No kidding.” She comments on the distraction from the upcoming exams. “Personally, I think I’m going to stick to skateboarding. That I am actually good at.” It doesn’t take long for the laces to be loosened and both skates kicked off to the ground. Pulling the orange elastic bracelet holding the key free from her wrist, she tosses it in Cassy’s direction. “Thanks!” Catching while balancing on skates is thankfully something Cassy has a bit more experience with. Snatching the keys out of the air and then heading locker-wards, collecting just the shoes for now to make it easier to walk over and re-locking it. "I'll get the rest once I can walk without fear of throwing everything." She reunites Astrid with her footwear and sets to work on changing back into her own shoes. "Is it hard to do a lot of skateboarding tricks? Like do you have to build lots of strength or is it more you.. just work on balance and muscle memory?" Astrid watches as Cassy catches the locker key with ease and a smile creeps back onto her face. “Nice catch.” She sounds genuinely surprised, but not from the catch but really from the fact she actually threw the keys so they were catchable. She remains seated at the picnic style table until her shoes are returned, thanking Cassy before slipping the worm looking maroon Vans. “I’ll get the rest of the stuff while you get your shoes on.” Quickly she darts over to the locker, returning with the remainder of their belongings in hand. “It definitely was at first. Now it just seems to be figuring out logistics of what I am supposed to be doing and what I need the board to be doing.” She nods her head. “So yeah, mostly balance and muscle memory at this point.” "Ballet was absolutely awful. I mean it looks pretty and delicate but the workout makes pretty much anything else I've tried feel easy," Cassy replies, striking a mock ballerina pose once she's got her shoes back on. "Do you have one particular trick that you totally wow everyone with? Ooo could you leap through a ring of fire? That would make a great trick but... I bet sequins aren't good around open flames." Once she's done posing she tucks everything back where it belongs, checks her knees don't need band-aids, then looks over to the concessions stand. "What's your drink of choice? I wonder if they do hot cocoa." “I can’t even imagine. I have literally zero personal experience, but I honestly can’t get past those shoes.” Astrid moves closer to the part of the bench she was momentarily seated. “Plus there is no way I have the dedication. And I am way too lanky for it.” She laughs, jutting both arms out to the side and letting her hands dangle down like a scarecrow. “See?” “I totally could jump through a ring of fire if it were big enough. But my luck, I would fall into it.” She’s back to standing straight with arms crossed over her chest. “Casper slide.” The word is practically blurred out. “That’s the trick I have been working on that I think is impressive. Also the one I broke my wrist trying.” “Do you think they have iced tea?” She turns around to squint at the concession stands menu board, but is unable to make any specifics out. "I didn't have the dedication for it either. It's why a few months later I swapped to another dance which I also ditched," Cassy admits with a wry grin. "But you work out a bunch of muscles you never knew you had and you wind up really flexible. Well if you keep doing it I guess." There's a little shake of her head. "I think your figure wouldn't be the problem you think it is. But you'd need to really want it and you don't so..." A shrug. "I know I won't take another class again. That's for sure!" "So what's a Casper slide? Do you stick your arms out and make a friendly ghost noise?" And then the bit about the wrist. "I probably shouldn't tease you when you've actually hurt yourself getting it right. Sorry." She tries listen out for the words iced tea in the crowd. But the chances of someone just happening to offhandedly mention it at the right moment are pretty slim. "We can always ask!" She sets off towards the concession stand. “I suppose wanting it is key to most things in life, right? What was the other dance class you took?” Astrid looks down, scratching at her right arm. “Just as important to know what you don’t want. So you won’t be taking any more ballet classes and I won’t be taking any period.” Her smile turns toothy. “Nope, but that would be funny. It’s where you start with a kickflip, but instead of letting the board completely spin around, you catch it mid flight and land with the top down, sliding across the ground on the tail before flipping it back upright on the wheels.” She pauses, eyes slightly closing as she thinks about the trick. “Totally landed it once and really should work on it again.” Her eyes slowly open back up. “Eh, it’s no big deal. Bones break and heal, right?. Sure it won’t be the last time.” She offers up a single nod before following along toward the concession stand. "If people offer a class in it I've probably tried it," Cassy notes casually. "I had a phase where I'd do two or three months of a hobby then switch it up. I did some drawing classes, photography and... all sorts really. After I while I realised I was never sticking with things as I was spending a lot of time doing magic tricks and kinda stopped doing quite so many random things..." She uses her hand to try mimic the board movements Astrid is describing. It's not really accurate but a close enough imitation for someone with no skateboarding knowledge. "I'd rather you try not to break anything though. Seems like it'd pop you." She scoots forward as the queue moves along until eventually it's time to buy drinks. They even have iced tea and hot cocoa. Neither are great value for money but Cassy doesn't seem to notice or care. She hands the iced tea over then muses "It just hit me I could do the shake a soda can up prank by talking." Astrid laughs, “Running the whole hobby gauntlet then? I’ve tried drawing, but am absolutely horrendous at it. Actually surprised I’ve stuck with the banjo as long as I have.” She watches the skateboard hand mimic and gives it a nod of approval. “I’ll show later. It’ll make more sense. But that’s close.” She remains next to Cassy in line, taking slight steps forward each time someone leaves the front. “Oh, it’s fine and something I’ll hopefully have control over in the near future.” She takes the offered ice tea and immediately takes a sip. “Oh, you should totally do that.” Her eyes light up as she quickly scans the eating area for any abandoned unopened cans. "I could try flirting by asking to paint your portrait," Cassy notes with a sigh. "But I suck at it so... it'd be a really unflattering painting regardless of how nice your pose was.." She takes a firm grip on her hot cocoa as if to warm her hands up. The surface rippling when she talks. "I don't think I wanna prank a stranger though. The fun is in doing it to someone who might get back at you later on. If you just coat a random stranger in soda that's mean." “But it could turn out abstract and possibly a little creepy? That would be pretty cool.” Astrid smiles while her excitement is an attempt to convey she is not at all joking. “Good call. You, it seems, are full of common sense. If roles were reversed, I’d probably do it without giving a second thought.” She takes another sip of her ice tea, her eyes slowly lowering down to stare at the tips of her shoes. She digs her left toe into the ground, twisting it a couple times. Her mouth parts slightly while her head remains lowered. “Probably shouldn’t have said that out loud.” Cassy finally taps a sip of cocoa then briefly leaves it on a nearby empty table to make a picture frame with her fingers. "If you want me to try I could," She offers with a shrug. "Maybe a sketch first though.. I haven't really done much art since I came to Xavier's. Mostly I've dabbled in the school newspaper and a whole lot of figuring out how you know what stuff works." "Before I totally would have done it without a second thought. Just hearing all the things other people worry about made me want to be more... you know considerate?" She offers a re-assuring grin. "So... we're not keeping anything secret are we? About dating? I don't mind anyone knowing but I don't want to just presume how you want things to work. If that makes sense." Astrid looks up, a grin returning to her lips. “I think you should. Why not, right? What’s the worst that could happen?” She takes another sip from her tea, the container nearly half empty already. “Feel free to practice first if you want. This…” she holds her free hand flat under her chin. “Should never be butchered.” Her attempt at stifling any laughter is an utter failure. “I didn’t even think about that. There is so much that goes along with your…. uh…” she pauses, eyeing those around them. “Well.. you know. For me? I just need to make sure no one or nothing is around me. Easy peasy, right?” She follows the last question poised to her with a quick shake of her head. “Nope, no reason to keep anything secret at all.” She smiles, hooking her elbow again and offering it out to Cassy. “Shall we head back?” "I think we'll have to go through your closet and see what you have to pose in." Cassy takes another sip of cocoa and nods. "And you should totally hold your skateboard. Models in art classes always have props.... I think? You know I have no idea... I remember a prop but I could be thinking of a TV show.... But anyway that's not important. What matters is it'll be more fun to draw right?" "I don't mind. There might be a lot of figuring out but that just makes me more mysterious and intriguing." There's a brief moment as she adjusts how she's carrying her bag and then she hooks her arm through Astrids. "Yeah I don't mind if we head off. Could use a little more revision time. So we just drop the skates and the key back at the rental booth on the way right?" “That might only be something in tv shows, but it makes sense to me. Skateboard it is.” Astrid tilts her head back and finishes the rest of her ice tea, using her hoodie sleeve to wipe her mouth clean. She looks around for a nearby trash can, and once spotted tosses the empty cup away. “Sadly, you probably have seen the majority of my closest. But I’m sure there is something hidden in there my Moms slipped in my suitcase.” She twists sight to face Cassy. “Mysterious and intriguing is good. Working for me, right?” She laughs before turning back forward. “Good call. I would have forgotten both.” She quickly unhooks her arm, gathering up the skates. “Drop these off and then to the bus stop?” She asks as she starts heading towards the main counter. "I'm sure we'll figure something out. If nothing else it'll give me a chance to stop by and hang out," Cassy assures as she follows along. "Just don't get your expectations up for how good it'll be." "You certainly have been full of surprises that's for sure!" Thankfully Astrid seems to be picking up the skates so Cassy can keep hold of her cocoa. "Sounds like a plan. Oh! And we can take a photo together on the way out too."