Lap's One shots & misc - New Jan 3 2023 - "Dashing Through the Snow..."

[Lap]

SXIII: Dashing Through the Snow...
For XPND.Dev


Rika first realized that she'd left her dorm room door unlocked when Saki burst into her room and woke her at what felt like the crack of dawn on Sunday morning.

"Rika! Wake up!"

"Whuh?" Rika mumbled blearily, then screamed, "Aaack!" as Saki threw open the blinds, letting in a torrent of sunlight. "Flaming hemorrhoids," Rika cursed. "You know I'm photosensitive! Shut the blinds!" She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in her pillow.

Saki ignored her, and said excitedly, "Look outside! Snow, Rika! Snow enough even for the Snow Queen!"

"Yeah, yeah, it snowed last night. So what?" Rika mumbled into her pillow.

"Yeah, but it didn't stop. Take a look!"

"I can't see a motherless thing," Rika growled. "Too bright."

"Then put on your sunglasses and look," Saki persisted.

"I don't usually sleep with them beside my bed."

"So where are they?"

Rika waved a hand blindly toward her desk. "Outside pocket of my book bag." She left her hand extended. She heard Saki rummaging around near her desk, then she placed her sunglasses in her hand.

"There, now come look!"

Rika sighed and sat up, her eyes still closed. She put her sunglasses on, then hesitantly opened her eyes. The room was still brighter than she liked, but bearable. It took a moment for her watering eyes to come into focus, even with the prescription sunglasses to help her.

What she saw was Saki, still in her nightgown, standing backlit by the horrifically bright window and grinning excitedly. "Look, look!" she repeated. "Your Majesty, your kingdom awaits!"

Rika tossed back her covers and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, grumbling, "That 'snow queen' line is just as funny now as it was the first two hundred times you used it."

Saki, as usual, ignored her complaints, but pulled on her arm and tugged her out of bed and toward the window.

Proximity to the window made her squint, even with her protective glasses. The outdoors looked like a blazing white sheet of featureless light at first glance, until she picked out some shadows among the white, and processed what she was seeing. She gaped, her annoyance at Saki evaporating. "What on God's green Earth?"

Saki giggled. "Not so green now."

"Uh, yeah."

"I think we got at least a meter of snow overnight. If not more."

"There was barely a centimeter of it when we came back from dinner," Rika said wonderingly. She stared out at the landscape, a rolling vista of white snowdrifts under a coldly brilliant cloudless blue sky. She could see where the trees and buildings were, but most of the bushes and paths were lost under a white glittering blanket. A few hardy figures were wading through the waist-high snow, romping and tossing snowballs around.

"Come on, get dressed, we've gotta go out and play!"

"What?" Rika looked incredulously at Saki. "Have your brains finally turned to cottage cheese? Not only is it literally freezing out there, my skin will fry to a crisp under that sun. The sunlight bouncing off the snow just doubles the effect!"

"So slather some zinc oxide on your face. It won't change your appearance any."

Rika rolled her eyes. "Menstruating Mary, do you even know the meaning of the word tact?"

"Tact is for those who have time to spare," Saki shot back. She headed out of the room, calling back over her shoulder, "Bundle up! I'll meet you at the door in five minutes."

"Fifteen," Rika countered. "I still need to pee and brush my teeth."

"Aesthete. No more than ten."

Rika closed her blinds, returning her room to a bearable level of brightness, and traded her sunglasses for her regular glasses. A glance at her clock showed her that it wasn't actually the crack of dawn—well, it couldn't be, with the sun that high in the sky—and she sighed. She's doing it again. Dragging me into an adventure. She gathered up her toiletries and headed toward the bathroom. Just hope it's not a misadventure this time...

____________________________

Once fully bundled up in her coat, gloves, hat, and scarf, only her cheeks and lips were exposed to the depredations of the sun. Her sunscreen wasn't zinc oxide, but she made sure to lay it on thoroughly, as well as a lip-gloss with a high SPF. Sunburned lips were no fun at all. She brought an umbrella with her as well, as she always did while going outside for more than just a couple of minutes.

Saki snorted when she saw her. "An umbrella? In the snow? Really?"

Rika glowered at her. "I don't like pain."

"You're a pain."

"Not as much as you."

"Live a little! Cut loose!"

Rika sighed. "Why do I like you, again?"

Saki grinned. "My charming personality and glowing smile always win you over."

"Uh-huh. Right. That must be it." After a moment's consideration, she propped the umbrella in the corner of the foyer and left it. I can always come back for it if I really need it. She pulled a pair of dark wrap-around glasses out of her coat pocket and donned them over her already dark sunglasses.

Saki winced when she saw the over-glasses. "Really? It's that bad?"

"Huh?" It took Rika a moment to understand what Saki was asking about. "Yeah. Kinda gotta double-up for this much light."

"Oh." Saki chewed on her lip for a moment, then offered a very quiet, "Sorry."

About opening the blinds, Rika realized. She flashed Saki a grin. "Come on, let's get outside, I'm melting."

Saki grinned back, her momentary embarrassment gone in a flash. They exited the dorms, and were immediately struck by a cold gust of wind. "Whoo! That'll put hair on your chest!" Saki exclaimed, pulling her scarf tighter around her face.

"Like you need any more."

"Bitch."

"Lard-brain."

"Snow queen."

"Jobbernowl."

Saki snorted. "You win. Let's go!" She grabbed Rika's free hand and dragged her off the dorm steps into the snow.

There was a vague suggestion of where the steps were, created by the girls who'd gone out before them, but they still slipped and staggered a bit on the way down. Which prompted Rika to notice, "You're not bringing your cane?"

"Nah, the snow is soft enough that if I fall it won't hurt."

"You hope," Rika said dubiously, but shrugged to herself and let it pass. Saki was a big girl; she could manage her own risks.

They immediately tested Saki's hypothesis as their feet slid out from under them. Saki yelped and laughed as they fell. As it turned out, the snow was deep and soft enough that it padded their falls nicely. This close to the building, drifting made the snow closer to a meter and a half deep, and it took a fair bit of floundering to get back on their feet.

"Hey! Guys!"

Saki and Rika looked to see Emi Ibarazaki plowing her way doggedly through snow past her waist with a huge grin on her face. She wore a festive long red santa cap, and her cheeks were almost as red as the cap from the cold. She was dragging something long and flat behind her on a rope.

"Whatcha' got there, Emi?" asked Saki.

"A toboggan!" said Emi proudly. "It's been gathering dust in the back of the track shed forever, and now we've finally got a chance to use it!"

Rika eyed the flimsy-looking wooden structure dubiously. "Is that thing safe?"

"Of course it is!" exclaimed Saki.

"Of course it isn't!" exclaimed Emi simultaneously. "That's part of what makes it fun!"

Rika snorted at the contradictory answers. She suspected that Emi's answer was more accurate of the two.

"Come on, there's room for three. Let's give it a try!" Emi cajoled. She wrestled it around so that the curved end was facing downhill, then gestured to the other two. "I'm smallest, so I'll get on first, then Saki, then Rika."

"Who said I'm getting on that thing at all?" asked Rika.

"Of course you are!" said Saki. "You don't want me to hog all the fun for myself, do you?"

"Fun?" Rika said dubiously. "Do I look like I have gopher scumber for brains?"

"Hold on to the toboggan so it doesn't slide away," Emi instructed, ignoring her, then she sat down in the front. She braced her feet in the snow on either side of the toboggan, and said, "Okay, you next, Saki."

Saki followed suit, and looked back over her shoulder at Rika. "Come on, Snow Queen! You're not going to find any activity more snowy than this today!"

Rika groaned. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered as she sat down behind Saki and wrapped her arms and legs around her. "We won't go too far, will we?" she asked nervously.

"The ground levels out in the parking lot, we should glide to a stop there," Emi reassured her.

"Okay..."

"Ready? Lift your feet, and let's go!" Suiting actions to words, Emi tucked her feet into the curve of the front of the toboggan. Saki and Rika did likewise, and the toboggan began to slide forward, down the gentle incline toward the parking lot. The path wasn't too steep, being fully accessible for students in wheelchairs, but they picked up a surprising amount of speed as they went. The wind blew Saki's hair into Rika's face, tickling her and making her laugh, and she relaxed a little and enjoyed the chilly sensation of speed.

They laughed and waved at other students out playing in the snow as they sped past, and all too quickly the parking lot appeared in front of them. Rika began to relax, happy that the ride had been without incident. They hit the level ground of the parking lot...and kept going. Their momentum was greater than she'd realized.

"I thought we were going to stop in the parking lot!"

"I guess the toboggan had other ideas!" Emi shouted. "Hang on!"

Saki whooped, apparently delighted with the turn of events. Well, at least that makes one of us, Rika thought, as she wrapped her arms tighter around Saki's waist and hung on for dear life. They exited the parking lot, and headed down the hill towards town. The much, much steeper hill.

The snow covered houses flashed past them faster and faster as they went, and it felt like they barely missed a few parked cars as they leaned left and right, attempting to exert some minimal control over the direction that the toboggan was racing. The run down the hill was mostly a straight shot, but there was a curve in the road just before the business district. Rika struggled to remember what was on the other side of the road at that curve. She'd never paid it much attention, which she now regretted. As the bottom of the hill got closer, the scenery jogged her memory, and she recalled, with a sinking stomach, Oh, right. A wall.

"Abandon ship!" Emi shrieked, and she threw herself to the side off the toboggan. She disappeared behind them, tumbling in the snow as Saki and Rika continued on, still picking up speed.

Is that safer than staying on? Rika dithered. But there was no time for dithering, as the remembered wall rushed toward them. It was a low wall, thankfully, and the drifting snow had piled up against it, making a ramp. So at least they should go over the wall instead of impacting it at terminal velocity. But what lay beyond that wall? I guess we're about to find out. I just hope it's not someone's living room picture window...

"Aaaahhh shiiiiiiiiit!" screamed Rika and Saki in unison as they hit the snow ramp and flew into the air. For one brief glorious moment they were airborne, flying free, and Rika had a split-second of relief upon seeing that the path in front of them was clear of trees or living room windows, being an open field in a park. Then they hit the earth with a bone rattling whump, and were finally thrown off of the toboggan, to tumble and spin through the snow, which seemed much less soft and fluffy when encountered at high velocity. Snow went everywhere, down her jacket and up her pants legs, and her hat went flying off. She ended up face-down in the snow, further adding to the chill.

Rika pulled herself upright, panting and amazed that at least her prescription glasses had remained on. She wiped the snow from her face and glasses, and took inventory of herself. No pain, so, no broken bones, she thought gratefully. Sitting upright allowed gravity to work its magic on the snow trapped inside her coat, and it slid down her front and back. "Frozen fish pizzles, that's cold!"

She looked around for Saki, to find her laying on her back in a drift a couple of meters away, eyes wide and her expression stunned as she stared at the sky. "Saki? You okay? Saki?" Rika waded through the snow over to where Saki lay, and reached out to offer her a hand up.

Saki blinked a few times, then took Rika's hand and stood up. Her stunned expression thawed into a wide grin, and she said enthusiastically, "Let's do that again!" She began hiking toward the toboggan, which had skidded a dozen meters past them.

Rika just stared at Saki as she staggered away, utterly speechless.

"Guys! Guys! Are you okay?" Emi called, as she clambered over the short wall they'd flown over, and waded through the snow toward them. She'd lost her long red hat somewhere in her tumble, and her twin tails were snow-crusted and hanging low.

Rika turned to the approaching Emi and jerked a thumb at Saki. "I'm okay, but this gibbering tickle-brained ferret wants to do that again!"

Saki laughed as she reached the toboggan. "Maybe without the wall next time, but yeah! That was aces!" she called

Rika was pleased that Emi looked as dumbfounded as she felt at Saki's reaction. "I think we need to get her checked for concussion and brain damage," Rika said.

"No shit," agreed Emi.

"Come on, let's go!" Saki cajoled as she dragged the toboggan back over to them.

"What in the name of Saint Joan's flaming dildo are you on about?" demanded Rika.

"We can't do something like that just once," Saki said. Rika wondered how she could sound so reasonable while making such an outrageous statement.

"Just because you're due to die next week doesn't mean you need to rush it, you absolute muppet!"

Emi flinched, but Saki's grin just got bigger. "All the more reason to live it up now! Tell me you don't feel more alive now than you have in ages!"

Rika opened her mouth to deny the allegation, but the lingering effects of adrenaline coursing through her body lent credence to Saki's claim. "Maybe," she hedged. "But there's no denying that it was just dumb luck we didn't crack our skulls. With emphasis on dumb." She spotted her hat in the snow a few meters away, and trudged over to retrieve it. It turned out that her outer glasses were tangled in the hat, and she gratefully put both of them back on, after shaking off as much snow as she could.

Saki was already trudging up the hill, pulling the toboggan behind her. She slipped and slid as she went, but she seemed cheerfully determined to climb back up and go at it again. Rika looked at Emi and shook her head. "She's certainly living her life to its fullest," she said ruefully.

"Even if she's also actively trying to shorten it," Emi agreed. She made a spirited if somewhat futile attempt at jogging in waist-deep snow to catch up with Saki. Rika groaned and hurried after them.

Saki shot her a grin as Rika took ahold of the toboggan's rope, assisting in pulling it uphill. "Tell me you won't remember this day fifty years from now."

You won't, thought Rika. But maybe making these kinds of memories with others is your reach for immortality. Or at least, a little less mortality. She grinned back at Saki. "You're right. But maybe we can find a slightly less terrifying hill for our next run?"

"Please," agreed Emi. "The hill at the back of the bleachers onto the soccer field should be safer."

"Almost anything would be," said Saki cheerfully. "Oh, all right. But you're still coming with me, right?"

Rika grinned at her friend. "Yeah. You won't get rid of me that easily, you rice-brained mammering lobster."

"Pants-wetter."

"Canker blossom."

"Pox-ridden harpy."

"Donkey's codpiece."

"Are you sure you guys are friends?" asked Emi curiously.

Saki and Rika looked at each other over the shorter girl's head. They both grinned. "Nah," they said in unison, then laughed.

"Right..."

Still laughing, they ascended the hill back to Yamaku.


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Victim: XPND.Dev.
Prompt: An unexpected blizzard passes through, leaving snow waist-high. Saki, Rika, and a character of your choice decide to try sledding downhill all the way into town. It goes about as well as you'd expect.

[Feurox]

Ha! A charming little tale indeed! I wonder why I enjoy the insult slinging so throughly, but I truly do! A brilliant story and very very fluffy. Well done!