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[Junco]

Frostfawn Hold
Summer 8, 516AV

Densely boned and not so easily plopped, Junco did just that in front of his little sister, comforting himself on a little cushion beside the firing hearth in the middle of their arvinta in the Frostfawn hold. Danila, startled out of her childish wanderings, looked up at Junco with wide eyes, slightly annoyed with his sudden appearance and interruption. The older brother quickly made up for the intrusion, though, with a proposal.

Straight-faced he looked at his darling sister, then as a mischievous smile spread across his face he asked, "Have your glowstones with you?" Immediately the young Vathna's eyes brightened and she swiftly stood up, running across the arvinta into the children's room she was lucky enough to have to herself. Junco mentally patted himself on the back. That never fails, he thought. A half a chime later the girl reemerged, running through the arvinta common room to the front where she planned to exit. Junco managed to call out "How long?" before she got away, she yelled back "A bell!"

While he waited Junco lay down on two cushions pushed together, his feet bent and crossed, his ankle on his knee. He plucked the strings on his shortbow as he waited, listening silently as it made tiny little unknown notes. He tried to pluck into a rhythm, but he knew nothing of music and didn't know any tunes well enough to try and recreate. Continuing his inspection of his bow he pulled the string as far back as possible, testing his strength as well as the strength of the string. He let it go abruptly and it popped back into place with another little note and quiver.

Speaking of quiver, he pulled his up from the floor beside the hearth where he had placed it when he sat down with Danila. He counted the arrows it held as he had a million times before and came up with the same number as always, 20. He pulled each out, looking closely at their tips for any wear and tear. Seeing none he placed them back in their home, satisfied with his equipment.

Sitting up he realized he completely forgot his archery gloves and arm guard. He sprinted back to his room, although he had plenty of time to retrieve them, and came back, placed the bits of leather next to his bow and quiver and lay back down next to the fire. He stared up at the wooden ceiling, thinking about the small growth of trees around his hold, trying to find the best hiding spots within his mind. He knew they would be up in the trees, all of them, that was the rule. Though each time they got harder and harder to find despite their luminescence. Curse that child for being so good at hide and seek.

So deep into his thoughts he had almost fallen asleep when Danila bounded back into the room, slightly out of breath but grinning hugely. Sitting up and shaking the sleep out of his brain he looked at her waiting. She smiled mischievously at him for a moment before saying, "Sunset".

He gaped at her, sunset was perhaps two bells away. This was the least amount of time she had ever given him to find all the stones. The thought crossed his mind for a moment that perhaps she had made it a little easy on him, though he quickly swept that out of his mind. Knowing her this would be the most challenging yet. Upset, but accepting, he glared at her as he retrieved his quiver, slung it on his back, and adorned his archery glove and arm guard. He picked up his bow, letting it hang limply from his right hand as he walked briskly to the outside of the hold, Danila trailing tightly on his heels.

"You're mad." He stated as they reached the edge of the tiny wood. Danila just smiled even wider. Taking one last look at the sun before he started the challenge, he sighed, seeing as it was definitely past its mid day mark and was beginning its descent. He took one glaring look back at his sister and then sprinted off into the forest, looking around rapidly as he went.

"Zero down, ten to go."

[Junco]

Junco thanked Morwen that the trees around the Frostfawn hold were very sparse. That was the only reason the hunter had any chance at finding the stones. However glowstones were perfect to play with. They let out a slight luminescence which made them slightly easier to spot than what they represented, as well as the fact that they didn't move, compared to birds which took flight at any slight sound. The stones had many different colors, and having played this game many times before with his sister, he knew what colors they each were. There were 2 blue ones, 3 green, 1 pink, 2 yellow, 1 purple, and 1 orange. The blues and the greens would be harder to find in the background of the snow, sky and trees. So he would have to reply more on their glow than their color. Whereas the rest of the stones clashed somewhat with the background and would be easier to spot.

As Junco moved swiftly through the forest, he kept his bow knocked and relaxed, laying parallel to his moving legs. He had his head held high, his eyes up and scanning the trees and their dense leafs for any sign of colored light. Danila was still close to his side, snickering every once in a while with mad glee. Junco tried his best to ignore her.

"Why are you being so unfair? You know sunset isn't enough time." He complained to the girl.

"They're too easy to spot when it's dark. You should have asked me earlier." She quickly retorted. Junco frowned at himself. She was right of course... Glowstones in the dark are very easy to spot, that's why the Frostfawn hold uses them so often out in the Wastes and Reaches. In case a hunter got lost in the freezing night they might be able to see a stone, in other words a haven, from miles away.

They wandered silently for maybe ten or fifteen chimes. Sometimes Danila would hum a tune that sounded suspiciously taunting and Junco would immediately and frantically search the surrounding area while the child giggled. Soon though his patience, if one would call it that, and constant vigilance won out. In the corner of his eye he spotted something off. Hidden in a thicket of leafs about 20 feet up in an evergreen sat, preciously balanced, a vibrant pink stone. It shimmered in the sun and Junco smiled.

Danila pouted a bit, but waited and watched as her older brother lifted his bow. Junco pointed at the stone directly, then moved his arrow tip slightly higher. Once satisfied with his aim he pulled back, almost all the way, then let go. The arrow soared through the air and went straight for the glowing stone. Missing, though, but a few inches. It crashed quietly back down to the thicket. Not phased in the slightest, Junco knocked another arrow. This time aiming a bit more to the right. He pulled back, breathed in, breathed out, then let it fly. This time it hit the stone, knocking it off its perch and onto the ground below.

Junco grinned then ran over to collect his two arrows and the stone. Handing it triumphantly to his little sister, she obediently put it back in its black woolen bag.

"One down, nine to go."

[Junco]

Junco's neck began to ache. One huge rule about this game was that each stone had to be placed somewhere Junco couldn't reach, somewhere where he was forced to retrieve it by knocking it down by bow. The whole point was so that Junco could practice aiming and firing his bow at stationary, but small targets. Because of this rule each stone would be perched somewhere in a tree. Junco was a horrible climber and even if he had that skill it would be faster anyway to just shoot the stone down, and time was money, or points, in this hide and seek. This resulted, however, in Junco looking upwards almost constantly, and although he had expected, and was somewhat used to, this pain during this game, it nonetheless annoyed him.

It wasn't long, though, until Junco spotted a second stone high up in a deep green tree. He smiled at Danila, she pouted, thinking it was too soon for him to find another one. All the best, Junco though of course, the sun was setting much to quickly for his comfort. This time the stone was a green one and he thought himself lucky to have even noticed it in the first place. It was Danila's mistake, though. This area of the wood was a bit denser than the rest, and so darker too. The glow of the green stone was easier to spot than it would have been in a different part of the tiny forest.

Knocking his shortbow he aimed higher than the stone, just by a few inches. He had to let the arrow arch, and the fall back downwards, just a little bit, onto his target. This stone was lower in the tree, Junco reckoned, than the first. So he may have gotten a bit cocky about this one. His arrow, just after he let it loose, seemed to be headed in the right direction, but started it's descent sooner than the poor hunter would have liked. It ended up stuck, rooted firmly in the wooden branch that held the stone. The vibration the branch gave from the shock of the impact, shook the stone loose, and it fell to the ground below. Junco wooped in joy, but then frowned back up at his stuck arrow. He would ahve to go get it, he hated losing arrows, he certainly wasn't going to leave it there.

But the reality was that Junco couldn't climb. He was too stocky, not nearly flexible enough, his limbs not long enough to stretch as far as they should when climbing a tree. His younger sister, small, lean, very able, was much more adept at such things.

The hunter looked over, pleading, at his younger sitter who stood, arms crossed. "That's cheating."

"It's not cheating Danila! Come on! It's not my fault it fell, you should have placed it better!" Junco stopped, that was the wrong thing to say...

"I'm not getting it." Danila retorted, her voice steady and resolute.

Junco sighed, looking at the tree. He knew he would just hurt himself trying to get it back. But Goddess, did he hate losing arrows. He walked over to the base of the tree, though, stooped and picked up the painted stone and gave it to Danila, who stored it back in her bag.

"Two down, eight to go."

[Solemn Warborn]

Solemn had had a long day at the Stables but not so long that there wasn’t any light left in the day when he was done with all his duties. He needed to unwind, and unwinding meant getting away from people. People were impossible to escape in Avanthal it seemed, even in the forest of Frostfawn Hold. Still, it was secluded enough that the people who were present often seemed inconsequential. That was why Solemn had walked out into the forest until he found a good tree in one of the warmer areas, stripped down, and turned into a sloth in a flash of light. The tree he had selected was not that far away when he changed, but his sloth legs were even more useless than his human ones. They refused to push his body along, and so the work was left to his arms to do the work of dragging him the ten or so feet to the tree. Being only a foot and a half long didn’t help. In the trees, Solemn was nearly unequalled in his skill and speed in climbing, but on the ground, a toddler could outrun him. Run. Ugh. Even thinking the word took too much effort and didn’t seem worth it. Still, foot by foot, he neared the tree, and as soon as his arms found the trunk, he was steadily pulling himself upward. Perhaps, it wasn’t the fastest climb that existed, but there was no sturdier climber than a sloth. There was no faltering, no pulling him down. He was half way up the tree when crashing on the ground beneath him caused him to turn his head nearly completely around to see what was going on. A young Vantha girl was rapidly making her way up into the tree. Hugging the trunk tightly, Solemn cursed in his little sloth brain. He was small, and his sloth hair allowed moss to grow on it. Both these things made him difficult to spot, especially when he plastered to the side of a tree. Climbing quickly past Solemn and miraculously not stepping on him, the girl reached a branch not much higher up and stopped, wrapping her legs around the branch as she sat on it. Solemn watched as she reached into a pouch at her waist and pulled something amazing from it. It was a stone but not any normal one. This one glowed green, and Solemn was reminded of the glow of the moon through a heavy cloud cover. Setting the stone in the crook between the branch and the trunk of the tree, she quickly scooted down the trunk past him and ran off deeper into the forest. He watched her for a while until she shot up another tree and placed an orange stone higher up in the branches. Then, she disappeared deeper into the forest. When he could see and hear her no more, he reached one long sloth arm over the other again and again until he was suspended one branch above the one where the stone was nestled. Keeping an arm and both legs on the branch above, he reached down and touched the stone with curious but hesitant claws. It did nothing. He stared at the beautiful glow and watched, waiting for it to change. Once again, it did nothing, and tired from his long day, Solemn crawled to the branch below and nestled himself into some pine boughs that helped to trap some of the warmth of his body. Soon, while he watched the stone like some foreign star, he fell asleep. He awoke to the sounds of someone walking through the forest beneath him. Turning his head slowly to keep himself unnoticed, he brought his eyesight around just in time to see a hunter aim a bow at him and release a hasty arrow. Panic filled his mind, and he went with the first thing his sloth mind thought of: staying still. The arrow whipped past several feet from him, slamming solidly into the bough where the stone rested. The little green stone tumbled free from the branch. He remained still, his sloth mind panicking at having nearly been killed. Looking down, he saw the man retrieving the stone. So that had been his target. When the man looked back up and began to consider how he was going to get the arrow, Solemn reached up to the branch. He had recognized the man as a Frostfawn now that he had time to look. Solemn tried to free the arrow with his sloth hand, but his sloth grip couldn’t do the trick. In a brilliant flash of light, Solemn was clutching to the branch in his human form. Pulling the arrow out, he waved it at the man. “You nearly killed me, Frostfawn.” Tucking the arrow into one hand, he made his way down the tree. Usually being one handed would slow him down, but he was cold. His sloth fur did little to hold out the cold, but his furless human skin did him even fewer favors. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he tossed the arrow to the Frostfawn and ran past to start throwing on his clothes.

[Junco]

Just as Junco was ready to give up on his arrow, he looked back up once more. To his complete shock there was something trying to grab the arrow from the branch. It was a long, thin, very furry arm dangling from the branch directly above the one his arrow was lodged in, and attached to the arm were huge, slightly curved claws, each almost as the long as the owners arm. The claws, although daunting, did not seem sharp and as Junco's mind raced through the numerous native fauna that graced the upper reaches. He had not come up with a conclusion when a burst of light enveloped the arm and the surrounding body and when the light had vanished a man was in its place.

Junco sighed in exasperation. Kelvics. Although Junco, along with most others, though Kelvics were miraculous creatures, it never ceased to shock the hunter. It was small fear of his that he would be hunting in the wilds and shoot an animal only to discover it was actually human. The horror that would strike him in that situation wouldn't be easily recovered. He shuddered just thinking of it.

The man in the tree then spoke, and Junco shook his mind out of his imaginations. As the man scrambled naked down the tree Junco turned, grabbed his sister and hugged her into his chest to avoid her from looking at the man. She did not protest and wrapped her arms around her larger brother until he let her go.

When the Kelvic reached the ground and Junco managed to get a good look at his face he recognized him. Knowing everyone within Frostfawn hold, even the stranger ones, Junco recognized the strange Kelvic as Solemn Frostfawn, a Kelivc raised within his hold after not making it into the Icewatch at birth because of his non-Ice Bear form. Junco tried to remember what the pathetic form was, but seeing as he just saw it and could not identify it, he was at a loss.

Junco caught the arrow, leaning a bit in order to catch the slightly off course throw. "Ya really like to show up outta nowhere, eh, Solemn?" Junco let his sister go as Solemn put on some pants and said again to the Kelvic, "What's that thing you turn into anyway, really weird."

The hunter in training began walking again, his eyes scanning the trees once more. "Hey how long have you been out here? See anymore stones like that?" Behind him he heard a scoff.

"That's cheating," Danila squealed.

"No, you never said anything!" He countered. Danila simply pouted and Junco turned again to Solemn, questioning.

[Solemn Warborn]

Solemn dressed quickly, remembering the many lectures from his childhood about other people’s discomfort with various states of undress. There was a child present, and he didn’t want anyone to feel embarrassment for any reason. As Solemn slid his wool shirt on over his head, he answered the Frostfawn’s question about his Kelvic form. “It’s a sloth. We may not look like much in the trees, but put us on the ground, and there’s nothing that can match us for speed.” He was pretty sure neither would believe him. The man, he knew, was a hunter and, as such, would understand how various creatures’ forms would determine their function. And the girl didn’t strike him as being dumb. Still, it was fun to joke. He knew his domain was in the trees, a vertical world, not the horizontal one most people were used to, and he knew that he would likely never be a formidable opponent of any sort on the ground. Sliding his balaclava on over his head and wrapping his scarf around his neck, he continued his conversation with the two Frostfawns, his voice muffled by the extra layers over his mouth. “You know my name, but I’m afraid I don’t remember yours. I’ve never been much at recalling names. Just know I’ve seen you around Frostfawn hold a lot. Remind me of your names again?” Both gave their names, and Solemn stored them away in his memory. He’d try not to forget them this time. Solemn was about to ask what had been happening with the stones and why they were being hidden in the forest, but Junco beat him to a question. “Hey, how long have you been out here? See any more stones like that?” Danila argued that her brother was cheating, but Junco seemed to think it was within reason to ask. There was some sort of game afoot. Solemn had never had much of a competitive streak, probably because he always seemed to lose. “The glowing ones? Yeah. I got up the tree just before she arrived with the green one. She nearly stepped on me putting that one in place.” With his previous lies about sloths, he didn’t know if Danila would believe him or not. It didn’t matter though. He looked about trying to orient himself on the ground in relation to where he had been in the tree. The two were completely different worlds, at least to Sol’s mind. All the while, he pulled on his parka, feeling its familiar warmth begin to build as he buckled and belted it shut. Sighting his path up the tree, he remembered which way she had gone and pointed in the direction. “She took the orange one that way.” “That’s cheating,” Danila insisted again, under her breath. “I get the feeling there’s some sort of competition going on here. I’m not interfering, am I?” At Junco’s insistence that he wasn’t interfering and Danila’s second muttering about her brother cheating, Solemn shrugged and began to lead the way toward the stone at his usual slow amble. He hoped they wouldn’t insist on seeing the rapid pace he had promised sloths were capable of. He hated running. He tried to make conversation to distract them from any thoughts of speed. “What’s this game? Why’d you hide all the stones?”

[Junco]

Junco, already quite a bit ahead of the lazy sloth, knew better than to think the animal was fast. Although the small hunter did not know exactly what a sloth was, he knew enough about animals, living in the Frostfawn hold his whole life, to know that with claws like that, there was no way that animal could run, or even speed walk. Scoffing, Junco called back to Solemn, "Well if you're so fast, hurry up then!"

Looking back at the Kelvic, he grinned, as Danila pouted, upon learning that Solemn knew where another stone was. Junco started to feel a little bad for his sister, but he shrugged it away, telling himself she was making it hard on him anyway, whats the harm in a little help? Junco regretfully slowed down so Solemn could lead the way, and it wasn't long until Junco spotted an orange stone high up in the trees. Grinning once more he yelled, "Yes! Solemn you God!" Before retrieving an arrow from his quiver and knocking it in his bow.

Before pulling back his string he aimed up at the stone, which was slightly higher than the last in the trees. It's orange paint glowed brightly and harshly against the dark greens of the tiny wood and so easier to spot amounts the leafs. Aiming a bit above where the stone sat, Junco let loose an arrow. It missed, embarrassingly enough. And Junco looked around, knowing full well both Danila and Solemn saw, though hoping perhaps Solemn had not.

Hiding his red face he turned back toward the stone high in the branches above. He knocked another arrow in his bow and tried to correct his previous mistakes. He pulled a little farther on his string while aiming a little more to the left, as the arrow had missed its mark to the left, if it had had enough power to reach all the way to the stone in the first place.

This time the arrow hit its mark, if only barely, and the stone came tumbling down. He went to retrieve it as well as his arrows. Picking up the small orange stone he threw it softly to Danila, who was pouting to hard she refused to catch it and let it fall to the ground in front of her. After a moment she sighed, annoyed, and stooped to pick it up and placed it back in her bag.

As Junco was about to put the arrows back in their quiver he noticed something. The arrow that had hit the stone, something was off. The tip of it apparently had hit to stone with so much force it had chipped. Stone against stone was never a smart idea... Junco hadn't though much about that. He never had problem with chipping arrowheads before, but that was usually hen he shoots them into the soft flesh of a living thing.

Cursing he placed both arrows back in the quiver, hoping to try and salvage the broken one later. Turning back to Solemn he said, "Good eyes, Kelvic. Any more you've seen?"


"Three down, Seven to go."

[Solemn Warborn]

Solemn’s answer was no, but he knew the direction Danila had gone and a way he could possibly spot the next stone. “I think I know how to spot one,” he informed Junco, his arms already reaching up to hook around the lowest hanging branch. “Wait here.” He didn’t wait for any affirmation from Junco. If the hunter wanted to speed off ahead without Sol’s help, that was fine by him, but having a viewpoint from the top of the trees looking downward had its advantages. Rather than having light came from behind an object and, in so doing, lessen the light that object gave, this perspective took the sun out of the equation. It allowed more of the light of other objects to be appreciated. Trees were Sol’s domain, and in them, he demonstrated a speed belied by his clumsy form. Hauling himself up on top of the first branch, his arm was already reaching for the next one above his head and off to one side. His eyes were already searching for several paths up the tree while he memorized the steps he had already taken. It was a trick he had taught himself early on in his climbing days. If one knew their precise route up, they could make the descent practically blind. Knowing the general route one planned on taking beforehand made memorizing the route downward easier. He came to a point along his path where there was a space along the tree’s trunk bare of branches. Having spotted this difficult place to traverse from the bottom, Solemn had already devised a plan to get himself past it. From his position hanging underneath the branch, the Kelvic wrapped one leg around the sturdy bough and rolled himself over on top of it, using a considerable amount of what little strength he had. Pausing for a few moments to regain his breath, he stood and steadied himself against the tree trunk to keep his balance. Stretching his arms as far overhead as he could manage, he pressed himself up on tiptoes to give himself the extra needed reach to grasp the branch. It was an overconfident move, and his foot slipped on the frost. There was the sickening pause just before the feeling of gravity called him earthward, but his hand closed around his intended target. The infallible grip afforded him by his sloth nature did not choose this time to fail him. He dangled by the arm for several moments while he let his racing heart calm. Once it had, he struggled to drag himself up. When he made it up though, he quickly sped his way to the upper branches of the tree, stopping when the branches still supported him but sagged under his weight. It took a chime of peering through the trees in the direction Danila had gone and of shifting his position so various branches weren’t blocking his sight before he finally spotted the next stone. It was another of the green stones. It was several hundred yards out, and Solemn was lucky to see its glow. As he began to descend, something farther out caught his eye. He couldn’t tell if it was the light of the sun playing tricks on his eyes, but he swore for a moment he saw a yellow glow. He’d let Junco know. As soon as he hit the ground, he started off toward the next stone, knowing that even Danila could easily outpace him. “It’s this way.”

[Junco]

He was happy for the help. Junco knew it was near impossible to find all the stones in the time period Danila had given him, so having someone who could see farther into the trees than he could served him well. For some reason Junco never thought of climbing the trees to look for stones rather than retrieving them. This was probably because Junco couldn't climb worth anything. And, as he watched Solemn do it, it was slow and Junco didn't like slow in this game, especially today.

The hunter trainee watched impatiently at the bottom of the tree the sloth man was scaling. Sometimes he would idly pace a small ways around the tree in utter annoyance. He tried to contain himself. He was sure this way would be faster overall if the Kelvic spotted even one stone. And with the small size of this forest it was very possible the man could spot multiple ones with their colorful glow.

After what felt like bells to Junco and was probably only two or three chimes, Solemn began to return from the boughs. Eagerly awaiting his report Junco stared at the man, somewhat pleased, after a moments thought, that he had not turned back into that animal. It was very weird looking and he didn't want to have to shield his sister from nakedness again. He was not happy in seeing Danila's slight interest in that mystery.

Without even looking at the hunter, Solemn had started to speed if in a different direction. Junco stared absently at him for a moment, a bit confused, before he heard the mans words. Jumping into action he sprinted off to catch up with Solemn until he was heel and heel with the guy. Speed walking and sometimes needing to slow his pace to return to the sloth's side, Junco kept looking up at the trees, hoping to spot the stone Solemn had before he did again, or catch another one Solemn had missed.

[Junco]

The small group headed out towards the next stone and soon they reached it. It was a green on and it was rested, once again, in the tree tops. It was rather low in the branches, clear of any obstructing leafs or branches and Junco thought he could shoot it down rather easily. Danila stood quietly nearby, obviously peeved about the entire situation. If Junco paid enough attention, which he didn't really, he could sometime hear her mutter slight insults under her breath.

Junco knew he was being a little unfair perhaps, but it did not bother him too much to be completely honest. He needed the time and he didn't like losing. There was never a rule against this and Junco wasn't the kind to let his sister win just because of her younger age. Danila knew that too, tough love, but maybe she'll learn something from it. Like don't trust your older brother.

Back to the glowstone, Junco pulled an arrow from his quiver, holding it straight, close by the tail feathers he knocked the arrow into his bow. Aiming up at the stone he aligned his bow with his eyes, pointing directly at the middle of the stone so that it hit it as it flew upwards. Once he felt sure of his aim he let lose.

The arrow flew with a good amount of speed and power, and with a slightly less climactic 'clunk' the arrow hit its target and it came tumbling down making a nice little 'plunk' in the snow below. He quickly retrieved it and handed it to his sister who placed it into her bag with a look of anger and resentment. Junco laughed, "Oh come on little sis, it's all fun and games." Danila just rolled her eyes.

"Four down, six to go."

The group set off again to another stone Solemn was only a little sure was actually a stone. But after a little wandering through the tiny forest until they finally spotted it. It was a yellow stone, but a stone all the same and Junco gave a hearty laugh and clapped Solemn on the shoulder. "You do good work Sloth!" That's a compliment right?

Once again Junco knocked his bow - Only to be interrupted by a harsh and quick "Wait!" coming from Danila. Junco froze, turned and narrowed his eyes.

"Trying to waste me time, eh? That's low, my girl." Though there was a twinkle in his eye that Danila would pick up. The little girl shook her head.

"No, I want to make it more interesting. You seem pretty confident. How about if you hit it on the first try and it falls you win automatically. But if not, you have to kiss the sloth." She grinned, mischievously.

Junco laughed out loud, throwing his head back. The truth was he was feeling very confident with Solemn at his side. "Alright Danny. We'll play it your way." With a quick look over to Solemn, he winked.

He drew back his bow, already having the arrow placed, aimed right up in line with his eyes and shot. And missed. And stood frozen in shock for a moment before he had to face Danila's enormous and uncontrollable laughter coming from behind him. He stood, mouth agape at the arrow, now sticking straight up int he snow, and the yellow stone sitting peacefully, unfazed in the branches above.

"No way, there is no way I am kissing a guy. Come on Danila you can't be serious." Junco was completely awed at himself, and not in a good way.

Danila was now sitting in the snow, laughing silently from lack of breath. A few deep gulps of air later and she wheezed, "Alright, alright. Fine, Eskimo Kiss then." Her eyes looking seriously at Junco.

"...Fine." Junco looked over at Solemn with dread.