[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/VpuM4Dq.png[/img]

And Summer!

[color=e3bbc6]”Friends write collabs with friends.”[/color]

[color=888888]— Aria[/color]
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As a fellow lover of gossip, Aria was happy to be surrounded by so many talking people. The fact that none of them were talking to her was just a bonus! Well, that wasn’t entirely true, she was trying to get Summer to open up to her. 

Before she could get an answer on her request for a bunny hunt, most everyone moved outside the lodge to watch Maura dance, and the first few activities were unveiled: Ice carving and snowman making. 

[color=e3bbc6]”Oh well that’s...”[/color] She placed her hands on her hips. [color=e3bbc6]”I mean making snowmen is painfully ordinary, but ice sculpting might be fun! I still find it hard to believe we’re getting paid to participate in all this.”[/color] 

"I guess. Money's not really that important. It's just used for stat buffs that barely matter in the first place."

Aria blinked. [color=e3bbc6]”Well, they don’t have to be! Money has lots of uses if you don’t want to just spend it all on power ups. I could pay you to do something you normally wouldn’t do. O-or you could donate it to a good cause, like the reopening of my shop!”[/color] Aria was getting nowhere with this and knew it. [color=e3bbc6]”But I suppose if you focus too much on monetary rewards, it starts to feel like work.”[/color] She pointed at the ice blocks.  [color=e3bbc6]”Let’s see what we can do with that ice!”[/color]

Aria took Summer by the hand and walked over to an ice block. While some tools had been provided, Aria took her tiny gourd and shook out a few large chisels. [color=e3bbc6]”It’s been a while since I made my last ice sculpture, but I’m curious to see how my next one comes out.”[/color] She giggled before picking up one of the chisels. It was large enough to hold with two hands, and was half as tall as Aria was. [color=e3bbc6]”What are you going to make? I want to make a dragon!.”[/color]

Summer blinked in response to Aria's blinking. "Yeah I guess that shop idea isn't terrible." She muttered something under her breath and then found herself dragged to an ice block. 

"Uh… I guess it depends on if we're doing it the regular way or the magical way." Summer replied, picking up a chisel.

[color=e3bbc6]”I suppose it’s whatever your preference is. It’s not a competition, so just do what feels right.”[/color] Aria started to shave the ice. She started in the center of one face and carved the edge in several passes. She appeared to be rounding off the block. [color=e3bbc6]”I work with my magic a lot, so I’m going to use nothing but hand tools for this one. It’s more limiting, but that just means you have to stylize to compensate.”[/color] She huffed. Her block of ice now had rounded corners and edges. [color=e3bbc6]”Normally I’d start with a large saw, but I plan on making a chubby dragon. So there’s no need to cut away large chunks.”[/color] She set down her large chisel and picked up a smaller one. This was what she was going to use to carve out all the faces. [color=e3bbc6]”So I didn’t get an answer before, are you new to Penrose? I haven’t seen you around.”[/color]

"That's a… complicated question." Summer said, staring at the chisel in her hand. "I've been around for a while, but I haven't really [i]been around[/i] very much. And you're new, aren't you? At least to the city." She changed her gaze towards the ice block.

Aria stopped chiseling, and just stared at her ice block. [color=e3bbc6]”It’s been a while since I’ve been in Penrose.”[/color] She resumed hammering out some eye sockets. [color=e3bbc6]”I didn’t plan on coming back for any length of time. I don’t know how old you are but I strongly advise against revisiting places that used to mean a lot to you. You might think you can help and stick around.”[/color] She brushed off a face before starting to block in the teeth. [color=e3bbc6]”You didn’t miss much being away. In some ways I wish I had never come back.”[/color]

"I guess." Summer looked over at the sculpture Aria was making. "What makes you say you didn't want to come back?"

Aria worked pretty quickly. Once she had her faces(?) roughed in, she moved on to one of her smallest tool: a v chisel. It was actually large in comparison to a wood chisel, but the V shape let her really dig into the ice. She used this to make the canals of the ears, the nostrals, the gaps in the teeth. She was also using a pretty light touch. As the ice was worked into shape, it became thinner and easier to break. Even if she was sculpting on a giant chunk of ice, the features themselves were quite small and wouldn’t be hard to break.

[color=e3bbc6]”For some reason, Penrose has always had the ability to get itself into trouble. If a world ending cataclysm is going to happen, it’s going to happen there. I figured over time people would start to leave. What was the population the last time you visited? Half a million? Maybe more?”[/color] she sighed. [color=e3bbc6]”I think right now we have more magical girls than normal humans living in Penrose. But it’s not all bad, some big businesses have moved in. Things might be getting better.”[/color] She looked at Summer. [color=e3bbc6]”It’s just a little depressing, you know? I can’t go back to my home in the over city with things the way they are.”[/color] She chuckled. [color=e3bbc6]”That and I have some good business partners now. One of them is an old apprentice of mine. Perhaps you’ve heard of Binky?”[/color]

Summer nodded along as Aria talked, thinking. When she heard the last bit though, she perked up. "I may have a massive crush on her, yes." 

[color=8dc73f]Why did I say that?[/color] Because you do have a giant crush on her. [color=8dc73f][i]YOU[/i] have a giant crush on her.[/color]
[i]WE[/i] have a giant crush on her. Shut up.

"Anyway." Summer tried to change the subject. "I don't think Penrose is going to get peace from businesses moving in or anything like that. Really, our only hope is…" She paused, considering if it was a good idea to continue. "Well, do you know about inertia? Things can only move when an outside force moves them."

[color=e3bbc6]”Penrose will never have peace. But at least with businesses coming in, we know the city isn’t going to turn into a ghost town. Whatever’s causing the ‘inertia’ is not something I want to mess with.”[/color]

Aria did a bit more work with her V chisel before pulling out a metal comb for the final touches. Technically she should have used this tool first, as a lot of the tiny ice particles it would create were going to fall inside the groves she had just made. But she continued to shave at her sculpture while dusting away the debris with a brush. She used the brush to create fine lines, and used it to give the totem faces texture and even style in hair. By this point Aria was content with her work and was just going to give it a good brushing to make sure none of the dust stuck to it. And there it was, a totem pole worth three faces. An angry eagle, a surprised bear, and a happy wolf were stacked right on top of each other.

[color=e3bbc6]”Mmmm, not bad, considering how long it’s been since I made my last one.”[/color] She walked over to Summer to see how she was making out.

"It's more that nothing is acting on it, so it's not moving, but oh well." She watched the finalization of the totem. "... Thought you said you were making a dragon…" 

[color=e3bbc6]”I say a lot of things!”[/color]

Summer turned to her own ice block and held her chisel to it, smacking the end of it with another chisel in place of a hammer. The block of ice instantly fell away to reveal a well-done sculpture of what appeared to be Cirno from Touhou. "This is boring with magic, you're right."

[color=e3bbc6]”I know, right? It’s still cute though!”[/color] She rubbed her chin. [color=e3bbc6]”Though maybe if it’s mundane enough, something like making a snowman or two could be fun with magic.”[/color] Aria walked towards the snow field with Summer. [color=e3bbc6]”As for peace ‘not having any inertia acting on it’, I’m not sure I agree. I feel like most magical girls try to get along, but the ones that don’t are just that good at stirring the pot.”[/color] She tapped the side of her head. [color=e3bbc6]”Mmm, to get away from the analogies, it seems like everyone has an ace up their sleeve. Beacon has the Ascendancy, Mint has their unlimited machination works, The monsters have their queen, I think? There’s just no end to it.”[/color] She chuckled. [color=e3bbc6]”I really didn’t expect to be talking politics with you. I do actually have optimism for Penrose’s future, but it’s something that needs to be worked towards by than more than just a few people.”[/color] 

"Making snowmen with magic? I guess." Summer followed to the snow field. "I guess that's how one would view it, yeah. But it's good to be optimistic." 

[color=e3bbc6]”And speaking of optimism, let’s play with some snow!”[/color] A flurry of butterflies raced outward. Most of them were rolling up snow, but a few others had gone on a search for items for their respective snowmen. [color=e3bbc6]”Suppose this time I really will make a dragon.”[/color]

"Thinking of an oriental or western one?" Summer asked as she began to roll up a large snowball.

[color=e3bbc6]”hmm, didn’t think that far ahead. Maybe an eastern one? Might as well, I already have a western-inspired totem pole ”[/color] One could argue that Aria wasn’t even making her “snow man.” She didn’t even seem to be paying attention to her butterflies, who diligently  prepared everything before beginning the dragon’s assembly. It was hard to see exactly what was going on with so many butterflies. swarming the construction site. hundreds of fist sized snowballs were being flown in, and another set of butterflies seemed to be taking care of the construction. Rupy was off in the distance, diving into the snow before shooting it as snowballs. They rolled across the snow before being picked up by other butterflies. [color=e3bbc6]”Are you also making a dragon?”[/color]

"You could say that." Summer finished with a two foot by two foot snowball, then began on another, and another, until she had seven of them in a small circle. She began drawing little stars on them with her fingers, until each one had a different number of them. She muttered something in an unknown language and a giant western dragon made of snow appeared overtop of the balls, guarding them like a hoard of gold. 

"Shit. I messed up somehow."

Aria giggled. [color=e3bbc6]”There’s no need to be so hard on yourself. At least it wasn’t something that was too easy!”[/color] The butterflies had finished as well. After the snowballs had been packed, shaved, and supported, what remained was a dragon girl. She was made mostly out of snow, but the butterflies had found colored plants to stick to her to give her some color. Green eyes, yellow scales, andthey even laid a white dress over her. Once she was done, they placed a bouquet of flowers in her hand, which the dragon girl seemed to be sniffing. [color=e3bbc6]”Dragon girls are eastern technically even if they aren’t oriental, right?”[/color] she looked at their creations. [color=e3bbc6]”Even if you messed up, I really like yours.”[/color]

"Thanks. Yours is good too." There was genuine belief in her compliment, even if it was simple.

Aria giggled with a blush. [color=e3bbc6]”So, any plans to show up around Penrose more often? You seem like a lot of fun, and I could even introduce you to Binky if you'd like.”[/color]

"Ah- … Yeah, I plan to stick around. You don't have to go that far though. And thank you."