ic Polar Vortex [IC]

[trollthumper]

Friday, January 24th, 2014

6:22 AM

 

The sun had yet to rise, but Eliza Oxum was already in the shower, preparing for the school day. She knew she was supposed to get out quickly - the hot water had been on the fritz lately, so much that she'd taken to a cold shower or two (then again, unlike her mom, she didn't really feel the cold). But on a day like this, with the weekend just around the corner, she felt like indulging a little. 

 

"...let it goooo, I am one with the wind and sky, let it goooo, let it goooo..."

 

A knock at the door cut her off. "Eliza," came her mother's voice, "are you ever gonna get sick of that song?"

 

"Sorry, Mom! Kinda speaks to me!"

 

"That makes one of us. Dear, I wouldn't rush you, but I gotta get to work soon, and --"

 

"Two minutes! Just let me do my hair!" Eliza's mom worked down by the Boardwalk in a rented store front as a palmister. It was a "breakout" space that allowed her to service clients when the winter weather meant a general downturn in Boardwalk audiences. But in the past few days, Freedom had been unseasonably warm, and the forecast promised clear skies today, so there was talk of going back to the Boardwalk. 

 

After putting her ablutions to rest, Eliza turned off the water and got ready to finish things up. She walked to the mirror when she saw the ghost of movement through the fogged-up window. She brushed aside the fog -- only to see curtains of snow falling from darkened skies. It was already piled up an inch, and didn't seem to be quitting.

 

"Mom? Think you might be working from the office today..."

[Gizmo]

Kimber Storm was having a fantastic day. Really she considered just about every day a good day but even with that relative standard in mind things were looking pretty great. Freedom City rarely got quite cold enough for the Canadian poltergeist's tastes but the recent plunging temperatures had been positively invigorating. What's more, not only was the steady snowfall beautiful, the dark grey clouds provided enough shade from the sun that she was able to go out and about without needing her umbrella to hide her ghostly, translucent self!

She didn't even try to hold in a bubbly laugh as she skipped down the sidewalk quickly enough that no one had a chance to nice the distinct lack of footprints she left in her wake. She'd asked Indira if she'd wanted to come along but her roommate had had other things to take care, which was probably just as well. Even best friends needed some time apart now and then and when neither of them had to sleep and one of them could walk right through walls, that personal time required a little more doing.

Which wasn't to say Kimber was entirely alone, as attested to by the put upon yowl from hood of the winter coat she had affected. Avro poked his head out to look over her shoulder, his own small glamour giving him the outward appearance of a mundane tabby kitten, before snorting and curling back up into as small a furry ball as possible. "Aw, don't be like that, Avro!" Kimber teased, scooping the protesting manticore out of her hood scratching him behind the ears. "Do you wanna build a snowmaaaaan~? C'mon, let's go and plaaaaay~!"

[trollthumper]

It wasn't much of a surprise that a snow day had been called soon after. Freedom City was made of hearty stuff, but with the forecasters predicting a good foot and a half by mid-day and the snowplows being incredibly slow to mobilize, the superintendents had thrown in their collective towels and bowed to the inevitable. Already, vast heaps were forming in the streets, and children were running about in snowsuits, dragging plastic saucers behind them on bungee cords.

 

Eliza walked through the snow with a pea coat and a beanie as her apparent protection from the elements. She was in no danger of frostbite or hypothermia, and while she knew she had to keep up appearances, she just wasn't feeling the puffy coat on a day like this. This would be a great occasion to cut loose - even before she'd gotten a grip on her heritage, she'd always been good at a snowball fight. Possibilities came to her: ice fortresses... snowball howitzers... great, mighty sculptures crafted from raw snow...

 

She shook her head. There were just enough people out on the street that cutting loose might draw attention. And while it'd be good to put on the mask and do stuff like that, making snow angels that could flap their own wings didn't quite fit the "mysterious lady of ice" image. But, that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy herself. So in the end, she set up in one of the little squares of Port Regal and started crafting a snowman.

 

The old-fashioned way. 

[Gizmo]

Unimpressed by the musical interlude, Avro regarded Kimber flatly and wiggled about until she let him jump down to the snowy sidewalk. Despite finding himself buried up to his haunches, the cub decided it had been a victory and began leading the way, tail upright like a periscope. "Mrrnf!"

"Easy for you to say!" the incognito poltergeist giggled as they continued down the sidewalk, sticking out her tongue to catch a falling snowflake. The ice crystal passed right through her unhindered, actually solidifying rather than melting, but it was the thought that counted. Smiling broadly at everyone she passed by, she made little tweaks to the winter clothes she was affecting, adding a pair of bright periwinkle mittens and a matching scarf that by all appearances looked to be knitted from wool. Pleased with the results, she wiggled her hands in front of her face before continuing along her way.

Never really bothering to pay attention to where she was going, Kimber eventually found herself in Port Regal. Spotting another young woman rolling the second sizable snowball of a snowman, she clapped her hands and skipped over to get a closer look. "Ohmigoodness, that's going to look so rad!" Avro contented himself sniffing curiously about the hem of the snowman builder's pea coat.

[trollthumper]

Eliza was making steady progress on the torso when she heard the voice calling out over the rising snow and turned to the woman. She looked about her age, and much more kitted out for the weather than her. "Thanks," she said as she started shifting it into place. With her thin gloves - and a little push from her talents - she was able to help shift the snowball so that it looked a lot more spherical than the lump that she'd been rolling across the square. It now sat on the snowman's lower body, looking like it was working its way towards something out of a Christmas card. "Planning to get a whole snow community going. Could use a second set of hands, if you're interested."

 

She felt the little tugging at the hem of her coat, and looked down to find the cat playing with the little fringe. Some part of her realized the cat seemed a bit too comfortable with being out in a storm like this, even if he did have a fur coat to keep him warm - but then, that part was somewhat drowned out. "Awww," she said, reaching down to pet the cat behind the ears. "Is he yours? He's real friendly." 

[Gizmo]

"Avro's a little sweetheart, hee!" Kimber agreed with a sunny grin. "Well, unless you're a small bird," she amended after a moment's though, raising a mitten to her chin and considering. "Or a medium bird. Or a squirrel or a mouse or a bunny or mole - or maybe a vole, I'm not sure what the difference is really - oh, and there was that poor badger..."

The tabby leaned into Eliza's fingers as she scratched behind his ears, less out of a loud though oddly brassy purr. His mistress abruptly recovered her train of thought and bounced up and down on the balls of her feet so lightly she didn't even disturb the falling snow. "Oh, gosh, sorry! I'm Kimber! I'm totally great to meet you! Isn't this weather outrageous?!"

[trollthumper]

"I've heard that can be an issue with some cats," said Eliza, who still kept giving the little cat appreciative pats - even thought she was somewhat more mindful of her fingers. "They have their own way of showing appreciation, and they just want to keep showing it. But aside from that, he's really well-behaved. I'm sure he'll get the idea that you love him for who he is, and not for the dead things." 

 

With her other hand, she finished applying her touches to the snowman's torso - it had been a little distracting to use her powers while maintaining the conversation, but the torso hadn't gone flying through the air or anything, so she at least had it down. "Eliza," she said. "And yeah, this weather is kind of wild. We've had worse, of course, but still is still kind of intense. You ever see anything like this?" 

[Gizmo]

"Oh, I know a thing or two about blizzards!" Kimber assured Eliza with a broad wink down at Avro before dissolving into laughter. "Aheeheehee!"

The feline responded by looking up with an oddly human looking grin and a short laugh like sound of his own, once again with a noticeable brassy tone the other young woman couldn't quite place. "Mrr mrr mrr!"

"Heegheehee!"

"Mrr hrr mrrh!"

The laughter went on for a few moments past long enough to be distinctly unsettling before Kimber abruptly stopped and explained, "See, 'cause I'm from Thunder Bay, originally! In Canada? It gets a lot colder there than it does here! And dead things aren't so bad! They can even be pretty great!" The strange girl and her pet fell back into cheerful laughter.

[trollthumper]

Between the long waves of laughter and the exultation about the greatness of dead things, Eliza wondered if she should have been running for the bus stop. But... nah. For all her quirks - and it seemed like there might be a number - Kimber didn't exactly seem like the psycho killer type. She just felt like someone who was enjoying life, if maybe a little bit too much. Besides, if she did decide to pull a knife, she could easily beat her out in that department. And she'd easily seen weirder. 

 

"Sounds like an interesting place," she said, "especially if it gets colder than here. Mind you, today's kinda strange. Lot colder than it's been lately." And if even I can tell, it's too damn cold. 

 

She started to roll up the head, working it towards the snowman. "So what brought you down to Freedom?" 

[Gizmo]

"Oh, I was sort of a foreign exchange student, I guess you could say!" Kimber explained as she turned her back to Eliza and began working on another snowball for the snowman. With her hands out of sight it was a lot easier to pretend to actually be using them rather than her phantom telekinesis to gather and roll the snow together. "Anyway, I graduated but I'd made so many friends here and I didn't really have any reason to head back home just yet, so I stuck around! Did you grow up here?" In short order she had a snowball larger than her head but it was tricky to roll it about without accidentally letting her immaterial hands pass right through its solid mass.

[trollthumper]

"Been here since birth," said Eliza as she kept working on the head. It was certainly picking up extra snow faster than it would have appeared - in part because she was subtly guiding the snow towards it. "Grew up in Lincoln, still live there. Looking at going to school in town, too. Part of me's thought about somewhere else - Manhattan, maybe, or Philly - but Freedom just feels right, you know? It's in my blood and bones." 

 

She placed the head atop the snowman, signaling the creation of a whole - if faceless - snowbeing. "Looks good," she said, "but he still needs a face. Would you like to do the honors?" 

[Gizmo]

"Oh, I couldn't!" Kimber insisted. She was pretty sure she really couldn't, at least not without giving herself away. Pretending to hold or carry something with her immaterial hands was one thing but imitating the resistance of pushing something into compacted snow seemed like a trick she probably wouldn't get right on the first try. "Why don't I look from some branches to use as arms? I bet the wind has knocked loose some good ones!"

Avro, meanwhile, had decided to leave Eliza's pea coat along long enough to scramble up the back of the snowman, leaving a row of matching claw marks in his wake, to stand atop its head. Pawing idly at the snowy scalp, he seemed quite pleased with his new vantage point, tail swaying back and forth with subtle flicks for emphasis.

[trollthumper]

"Hey, that'd work," said Eliza. She was already beginning work on the second snow-abdomen, rolling a tiny ball along the ground until it could attain critical mass. "Wind like this, we could probably find a lot of things. Sticks for the arms, stones for the eyes... don't think we'd have much chance of finding a carrot out in weather like this, but a girl can dream. Sides, I saw a corner store down the street if we get desperate." 

 

She looked up from her snowy work to see Avro sitting on the snowman, looking out over his frosty domain. She let out a little smile. It was great to have days like this, when you could relax and enjoy the tranquility. 

 

As she continued work on the second snowman, the winds picked up with a sharp whistle. But under them was an unmistakeable sound - a dull, thunderous roar, perhaps from about two blocks down. 

 

"Kinda hoping a snow plow just scraped a curb..."

[Gizmo]

Kimber dropped the branches in her arms to the ground the moment the sound rumbled past and if it was a little surprising that they fell to the snow so smoothly without catching on any of her heavy winter clothing the energy with which she bounded back over to the first snowman certainly distracted from it. "We should totally go check it out! Somebody might need help! C'mon, Avro!" The tabby accommodatingly leapt from his perch onto his owners shoulder with feline grace, claws and superb balance keeping him in place as she raced on, shouting, "Adventuuuuure!"

[trollthumper]

Eliza admired Kimber's verve - and the way she managed to keep a cat balanced on her head while running into danger - but would probably have to have a few words with her about her initiative. In any case, she scooped up some of the snow from the ground and worked it into the pockets of her coat. With a little effort, it'd keep from melting until she needed it to - and if there was danger out there, then Eliza might need to run around a street corner just so that Temperance could "miraculously" appear. 

 

She followed Kimber down the street, into the wide row of shops and storefronts. The snow was still piled high here, both on the roads and on the sidewalks. The sound had died down, and for a second, there seemed to be quiet. Then she heard it - the thunderous sound of... were those hoofbeats? 

 

Two seconds later, a beast the size of a semi-truck came hurtling around the corner, hanging a sharp left - and as it did, its rear trotter sent a parked car flying down the street. Its skin appeared to be made of frozen earth, and gigantic icicles hung from its lips, jutting upwards. It took Eliza half a second to realize it was a gigantic boar, carved from the stuff of winter. And it was running wild. 

 

Hoping Kimber was distracted by the boar, she started to work the snow in her pockets into her mask. This thing needed to be put down before it skidded again and took down a block. 

[Gizmo]

Eliza needn't have worried about Kimber, as a translucent blue figure in a tattered reaper's cloak over an incongruently fresh looking, super-heroic body stocking and domino mask flew through the air toward the rampaging boar. The creature perched atop the specter's shoulder wasn't quite a cat, with a mix of russet fur and quills and a dangerous looking scorpion tail wrapped across the back of his mistress' hood to help hold him in place.

"Hey there, big fella! I'm Ghost Girl," she introduced herself in a soothing tone, floating backward and matching speed to stay just in front of the massive ice monster. "You seem super worked up about something but you can't just go smashing people's stuff, okay? Do you maybe wanna talk about it?"

[trollthumper]

The apparition appearing out of nowhere, with a feline creature on her shoulder and a very upbeat tone of voice... it probably wasn't a coincidence, but still... Wait. Didn't Sharl mention a "Kimber" at his school? Didn't think she'd be that Kimber... then again, not like it's a real common name... 

 

The gigantic boar locked eyes with Ghost Girl, as if judging her words. It wasn't exactly roaring in her face, but it wasn't like it was rolling over and showing its belly either. Which, given conditions, might have resulted in an avalanche. The boar stood still, and the last thing Temperance wanted to do was to goad it into making a hostile decision. So, for now, she extended her will out into the snow around her - feeling its warp and weft, drawing some of it into hardened spheres, and accounting for how hard and fast it might fly given the current wind decisions. Just because she didn't want to strike this thing across the nose didn't mean she wouldn't be ready if it decided to strike first. 

[Gizmo]

From his spot on Kimber's shoulder, Avro watched the boar with wide, intent eyes. The fact that the other creature was many, many times over his own size did not seem to deter the manticore in the slightest but he was at least deferring to his mistress' more restrained approach for the time being. Even so, his barbed tail swished back and forth excitedly and the quills the formed a sort of mane about his neck stiffened and readied to fire. From her distant vantage point, Eliza was given the unsettling impression that the diminutive beast was grinning in anticipation.

"Okay, alright, that's fine," Ghost Girl continued in a soothing voice, raising her hands non-threateningly. "You're kinda made of snow and ice and stuff, eh? Me too, a bit! Do you know where you came from?"

[trollthumper]

The gigantic boar looked at Ghost Girl with eyes the color of an arctic spring, almost as if trying to make some sort of connection. But those eyes swiftly clouded over, as the beast's snorting took on a more excited and terrible pitch. It reared back, drawing breath in a manner that made Temperance instinctively dive for cover. A second later, a terrible wind emerged from the boar's mouth, blowing down the street with all the force of an insistent blizzard. Rimes formed instantly over streetlights and parked cars, and the snow that had settled in the street rose up in frosty projectiles. By the time it had passed, the road was wholly iced over, reflecting the faint light of the day. And the boar was rearing again, as if preparing to charge. 

 

One day, Temperance thought, I'd like it if the things bigger than a house really were friendly. She willed the melted snow into her hands, trying to fashion it into orbs. But, no. Looks like I've gotta make some cold bacon. 

[Gizmo]

The moment the massive creature made an aggressive move, Avro loosed a volley of poisoned quills but the sheer force of the wintery gale that erupted from the Veltgoltr's maw tossed the needle like projectiles away and forced the diminutive manticore to curl into a protective ball with a frustrated, "Mrrrv!"
 
"Hey!" Ghost Girl protested indignantly, planting her hands on her hips as the wind and ice passed through her immaterial form without resistance. "That is not very nice, mister! How would you like it if somebody blew a big blizzard right in your face, huh?" With that the poltergeist's lower jaw unhinged and stretched downward, far past what any mortal flesh could have managed until her mouth was a gaping chasm from which an even more furious roar of wind and cold exploded forth. The frigid blast smacked straight into the boar's head, enveloping its mass and much of the street behind it, leaving a second set of jagged icicles on the surrounding scenery pointing in the opposite direction. "See?!" Kimber continued, using both hands to work her chin back into place with the rest of the head. "It's rude. What do you have to say for yourself?"

[trollthumper]

The storm of Kimber's wrath - or at least, mild irritation - blew down the street past the giant boar, sending her own distinctive frost over everything for close to a block. The one place it didn't seem to settle, however, was the giant boar. It fell on him, but the way a gentle snow falls on a moving car - there briefly, then swept away or melted. With one little shake, like he was trying to get the mud out of his coat, the last of the blast faded away, leaving a slightly more perturbed beast. 

 

Well, thought Temperance, looks like this guy's pretty good with ice. Which leaves me with... what? She looked around the street - she could try smashing up a fire hydrant, but that would make one hell of a mess in weather like this. Or maybe, if she extended her will, she could pull something out of the sewer...

 

She almost smacked herself when she realized it. She was standing in the answer. She placed her hands to the ground, sending her will outwards. She was well-versed at diffusing the heat in water, sending it out until it expanded into ice. Now, she was just going to have to do the same in reverse. She could feel the snow melting, much faster than it normally should, and soon there was a small, lukewarm puddle in the middle of the road. Let's hope I can turn this into a fire hose...

[Gizmo]

With frost clinging to his whiskers, an extremely irate looking Avro climbed agilely about Kimber's shoulders and up onto the top of her head, giving the gigantic boar a trumpet-like roar of defiance before leaping off from his poltergeist perch, landing on the Vetrgoltr's back. The smaller monster flicked his tail back and forth as he hunkered down and dug in with his claws, securing his position and deciding how best to register his displeasure. With a whip crack the barbed tail came down over his head and buried itself into the icy boar's hide, pumping supernaturally vicious acid venom into the wintery mass.

[trollthumper]

Avro's strike managed to find its way through the giant boar's hide, which had all the integrity of cured leather armor and permafrost. But it was still no match for the manticore's stinger, and especially for the venom that ran into its veins. The boar roared in terrible pain, trying to shake the cat from its back, but the manticore's claws proved much more tenacious. Trying to direct the pain somewhere, it directed its rage outwards, a bitter wind sweeping down the street. For Kimber, it was nothing, but for Temperance, it was the first time she'd felt cold in a long time. Her bones ached, her muscles felt dull and leaden, and it took all the effort in the world not to huddle up on the ground. 

 

Despite all that, the water on the ground was still liquid. She had to smile at that. Just hope I can make this work before piggy turns me into a popsicle... 

[Gizmo]

"Hey! Hey! Stop that!" Kimber insisted sternly, swooping about in front of the massive boar, unaffected by its outbursts but rapidly losing patience with the beast's antics. "Hang on back there, Avro," she called, cupping her hands to her mouth. "I'm starting to think we might have to do this the hard way after all!" Coming back around to the supernatural monster's face, she plunged her immaterial arm right into its snout up to the elbow, rummaging about in an unsettling manner as she sapped its strength.

[trollthumper]

The frosty beast quivered, shaking slightly under the enfeebling touch of Ghost Girl - but shook off her assault, standing taller and more firmly than ever. Given the ice that clung to its body, there was a good chance it had dealt with worse conditions, even ones meant to go down to the bone. It bucked, pawing the ground with trotters the size of snowplows, glaring down at the two women. Temperance was still trying to feel some warmth in her bones - it was slow coming, but it was at least getting there - and turned her will towards the water. With a flicker, the pools rose up into waves, resisting the deep wind chill and the wintry conditions. And, with a lowering of her fist, the waves came crashing down on the boar's snout, with all the impact of a falling anvil. 

 

The boar tried to pull back, but maneuvering such bulk at such speed in reverse was beyond its capabilities. The blow sent it reeling, leaving it struggling to stay up on its feet. Hopefully that gave it some real disincentive...