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 Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 7:45 pm
It turned out to be quite difficult to study much biology in this weather. Luckily, Naeria's mushroom farm seemed to be getting established in her closet, and there were a few greenhouses and museums that she could have visited in the city, but as far as seeing things in their natural ecosystems, which was really the interesting part of being here on Earth? A layer of snow a foot deep covered all but the largest plant life. Naeria's precious mushrooms had shriveled away with the cold. Yes, she was aware that it was simply their fruiting bodies that had died back and that mycelium remained in the soil, but if she could not find a blade of grass, seeking that out was all but impossible. In the absence of much else to observe, Naeria found herself observing the snow itself. Her ComTech scanner simply said it was ice, but something about the structure seemed different. Naeria switched to the camera and began to take pictures of the snow on the ground, as well as the flakes that were still falling from the sky. Back at the house, she could zoom in on the image and refine it.
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Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2021 2:35 pm
At first, Fae-Fae did not care for the snow at all. Or the winter in general. Frankly, the shifting of seasons to something so cold and dreary made her weary of Earth. She missed Velencya's predictable, programmed climate. It was somewhat exhausting to have to strategize what kind of clothes she would have to wear on a given day, and every day it changed. She spent the first snowy days she had witnessed cooped up inside. But then she had learned of snowball fights, and snow sports. Humanity's inexhaustible creativity, it seemed, could add meaning to anything, even these miserable piles of ice particles. And as intense as her initial distaste for it had been, snow was still a product of nature. Now she was compelled to study this phenomenon through practice. Today, Fae-Fae had decided to attempt a "snow man." They had popped up all over their neighborhood and beyond, and it seemed many of them had been created by children. In the past few days she had spotted several kids rolling up huge snowballs, stacking them on top of each other and adding decorations to create a crude representation of a person. They often did this in pairs or groups, indicating that it wasn't just a creative act -- it was a social act as well. That made it a fascinating lead for her research. So, while Naeria was looking at the individual snowflakes, Fae-Fae was gathering snow into a large, round mass that had become as tall as her knees. Stepping back to assess it, she asked her friend, "Does this look big enough?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 6:34 pm
Naeria turned to examine Fae-Fae's project. "It looks to be of average size compared to the others," she said, thinking back to the false creatures made of snow that she had seen lining the street. Unlike some of her housemates, Naeria did not spend much time actively observing the humans, but she could not help but notice the snow creations that she could see from her bedroom window. She was always interested in the other's discoveries, though. "Did you find out the purpose of these," she waved a hand at the ball of snow, "Constructions?" she asked. She stepped forwards, flipping through her photo files and zooming in as much as she could. "There's something different about the structure of these particles but-" She couldn't quite make it out, although she was so focused on trying that she did not notice the way her boot had began to stick, a little, to the ground."
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Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2021 10:20 am
"There is a social aspect to it," Fae-Fae answered, carefully. That was still all she could say. The rest was still a bunch of abstract thoughts. There was something about seeing those snowmen on the street, after their builders had left. Something about knowing someone had been there to make it. It had inspired her to build her own... Inspired by example... A little lightbulb went off in her head, something she would have to think more about later. After that, it was only polite to peer in on Naeria's research as well. She approached the fellow Cadet with the intent to squint alongside her at her photos, and as she did so, she felt something strange as she walked. Heard something too. The snow wasn't crunching under her boots like normal. Instead, there was a squishy softness to it. Curious. Fae-Fae tested this, shuffling her boots against the ground. Instead of scattering, the snow congealed around them and started to swallow them up. She would say it was more like mud than snow, but that description didn't feel quite right either. She made a little ah, ah noise to get Naeria's attention and pointed at both of their feet. It looked like her boots were experiencing the same phenomenon.
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Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2021 8:08 pm
"Curious," was all that Naeria could say about the snow creatures having some sort of social aspect. Even Velencyan social norms were mostly lost on her. Naeria tended to stick to what she knew, which was to research and to ask about others' research. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she looked at the sphere in front of them. The complexity of the human's interaction with each other and the world around them made her head spin. This was why she studied simpler things, like snowflake shapes, and why she rarely went into town. Fae-Fae's warning made her look down at her feet before she could think too much about all that. She could see tendrils of goop attached to the sole of her boot when she tried to step back, and this time, it did not break all the way free. "It's not supposed to be like this," she said, quieter, her brows edging even closer together. "The water is fragile in its solid state, and slippery. I don't understand."
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:09 am
Fae-Fae's lips were curled back in preliminary disgust. Anything that made water behave in ways water was not supposed to behave could not be good. Even though the snow -- and therefore water -- was quite abundant here, her Velencian upbringing was making alarm signals go off in her mind about it. Cautiously, carefully, she took a stick from the snowman crafting supplies she had gathered, and poked at it. A little dollop of the stuff was gathered at the tip for her to scan. "Inconclusive..." she read, anxiously. "Naeria." She looked up seriously at her friend. "This is not water."It could be a hazard. Maybe they should leave.
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 5:42 pm
Naeria knew they should leave. It this was not water, and especially if their scanners could not tell them anything about it, then they needed to do far more research before they got anywhere near the stuff. Naeria tried to step backwards. This time, her foot did not move at all. In less than a minute, their surroundings had shifted from standard, slippery ice into something that was not only slippery but inescapable. "Fae-Fae," she gasped. I can't move, she wanted to say, but as the caution turned to anxiety, the words caught in her throat. Her eyes were wide, though, nervous, and she tugged at her caught foot again, instead, to demonstrate.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 8:55 am
Fae-Fae had gotten stuck as well, and with an unpleasant sounding whap! she tripped face-first into the false snow. And then a look of pure horror snapped to her face as she got a mouthful of -- sugar. Pure sugar. Revoltingly sweet, squishy and chewy sugar. She cried out through her muffled mouth, and struggled to shove the disgusting substance out of it. She had been poisoned!! Her stress and dismay amplified while she flailed against the trap had fallen into. Would this how she would die, then? Stuffed full of sweets? Oh, she always knew that stuff was dangerous.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 1:50 pm
Naeria was stuck, but at least she had her balance. She gasped when Fae-Fae toppled into the not-water, especially when her face hit. She needed that to breathe. With their recent losses still fresh in her head, Naeria couldn't shake the images that flooded her mind, of Fae-Fae sputtering and then slowly suffocating in a snowdrift while she stood helpless. In reality, Fae-Fae did not look happy, but she didn't look like she was suffocating, either. Perhaps like her mouth was stuck. Naeria took a deeper breath and tried to think logically about the situation. Physical force wasn't getting them anywhere against this substance. Perhaps a solvent? Naeria always kept a few necessities in her subspace pocket. Now, she summoned it from her subspace pocket and shook it to make sure that it had not somehow transformed, too. When she heard the water sloshing around, she offered it over. "Try this?" she managed to say.
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Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 6:59 am
Bless Naeria for her pragmatism and resourcefulness. In that moment Fae-Fae could have kissed the girl, and not only because she was cute. Her arm that wasn't half bound-up by the sticky-sweet substance eagerly snatched the water bottle and poured it on her face, dissolving some of it off. Limbs snapped free as the stickiness everywhere else started to become brittleness, and they were freed in a flurry of sugary powder. "Let's leave," she requested. " And warn the Vanguard about this."
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Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 4:05 pm
The moment the sticky pressure lessened on her boots, Naeria bolted out of the snowdrift. She looked over her shoulder as she ran, to make sure that Fae-Fae was freed, too, and not still stuck or suffocating or anything. That meant there was nothing to keep Naeria from sprinting through the snow. Thankfully it seemed to be made of normal, crunchy and slightly slippery ice again for the moment, but there was no knowing how long that would last. Fae-Fae didn't have to ask twice. With a nod, Naeria adjusted her course back towards the house. They could make sure nobody else got caught up in this situation.
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