Submission (#5292) Approved

Fwoomp 

Wish found herself facing the sky again. She was too defeated to bother untying herself from the snowboard. Wish stretched her arms and waved a few times to form the shape of a snow angle. Surely this way no one would think that she had fallen and needed help to get up.  

She shut her eyes and remained still, trying her best to ignore the ticklish feeling of snowflakes landing on her nose. The fae was really not a fan of the cold, but here she was anyways because she didn’t want to miss out on the end of term trip (and maybe also to see a certain skater girl in action). Of course, Luka was all the way on the other side of the resort, ripping down the double black diamonds gracefully.  

Wish really wished (haha get it?) she was in the comfy confines of her home right now. Of all the sights to see in Eyre, who thought that the ski lodge in the middle of nowhere was the one worth visiting? Unlike her land dwelling peers, Wish had never been snowboarding before. Her classmates had quickly conquered the bunny hill and moved on to greater slopes, leaving the poor fae all alone. While Wish was busy fuming inside her head, a slender figure had made their way over.  

“Mind if I join you?” a smooth voice asked. 

Recognizing the voice, Wish’s eyes fluttered open in surprise. She couldn’t believe that Luka was sitting next to her, and she was struggling to come up with something clever to say. 

“N-no, not at all,” she stuttered. 

Luka laughed. “You don’t have to be nervous around me, you know,” she said. “I’m just a regular person.” 

Wish nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. “I know, I’m just…not very good at this,” she admitted. 

“At what?” Luka asked. 

“At talking to people,” Wish said. “And also snowboarding. If you couldn’t tell already.” 

Luka smiled sympathetically. “Well, lucky for you, I’m pretty good at both,” she said. “Wanna go for a run with me?” 

“O-only if you don’t mind!”  

The dark-haired girl extended her hand towards Wish, gesturing for her to grab on. With a strong tug, Wish came flying forward into Luka’s arms. It was a good thing that Wish’s cheeks were already tinted red by the cold.  

When they reached the top of the bunny hill, Luka helped Wish adjust her bindings and gave her a quick tutorial on the basics of snowboarding. Most of what Luka said had flown over Wish’s head, who was fixated over the fact that Luka had been holding her hands this whole time.  

“Wanna try going down? I’ll hold you steady.” said Luka gently.  

Too nervous to say anything, the fae nodded her head enthusiastically. Aside from a few close calls (mostly caused by Wish being too distracted by Luka’s cute smile when she was explaining techniques), the pair made their way down the slope safely. Wish was a quick learner and soon she was standing up on the board and making her way down the gentle slope with Luka's guidance.  

With each run, Wish grew more confident and soon she was carving turns and speeding down the hill. Wish fell a few times, but Luka was always there to help her up and encourage her to try again. Luka was impressed with her progress and couldn't help but smile as she watched Wish's face light up with excitement. 

As they took a break at the bottom of the slope, Luka turned to Wish and said, "You're a natural, Wish. You just needed someone to show you the ropes." 

Wish beamed with pride at the compliment. "Thanks, Luka. I couldn't have done it without you." 

As the sun began to set and the other students started to head back to the lodge, Luka and Wish found themselves on a quiet run. With no one else around, they took their time, enjoying the peacefulness of the snow-covered mountain. 

"You know, I’m not really good at talking to people either.”  

“Really? But you’re so charismatic.” said Wish earnestly.  

“You can probably relate, undines and faes, we’re a little...” Luka gestured vaguely with her hands. “Different from everyone else. It's hard to connect.”  

“I grew up in the tropics,“ continued Luka. “I learned to skateboard and surf as soon as I was big enough to walk.” 

Wish nodded. “I’ve seen some of your posts,” she said. “You’re amazing.” 

Luka blushed. Wish seemed to be receptive to her rambling, so the undine continued on. “The first time my parents took me snowboarding, I went straight for the big hills. I tumbled my way down and crashed into the ski lift.”  

“No way!” Wish gasped dramatically.  

Luka chuckled. “You bet. Turns out skateboarding and snowboarding are two completely different things. But I didn’t want to give up. Something about Strynhalde, the gentle snowfalls and crystal-like scenery. It’s so beautiful...“ 

Luka’s voice trailed, allowing the pair to enjoy the final moments of sunset in a peaceful silence. When the last sliver of sun disappeared over the horizon, they reluctantly stood up to go their separate ways. 

“This was fun,” Luka said, giving Wish a warm smile. 

“Yeah, it was,” Wish agreed, feeling a little sad that it was over. “Thanks for keeping me company.” 

“Anytime,” Luka said. “And hey, maybe we can do this again sometime.” 

Wish’s heart soared. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.” 

They exchanged numbers and said their goodbyes, and Wish couldn’t help but feel like something had shifted between them. Maybe they were just friends, but for the first time in a long time, Wish felt like she had a chance at something more. 

As she made her way back to her group’s cabin, the fae couldn’t stop thinking about how much fun being with Luka was. Maybe this class trip to Strynhalde wasn’t so bad after all.