Submission (#7544) Approved

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8 December 2024, 17:27:57 PST (2 months ago)
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11 January 2025, 08:52:55 PST (1 month ago) by wintry-chan

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After her impromptu performance, the two decided to take a break. While Ifrit appreciated it, he couldn’t say he ever had a picnic… in the snow. After changing out of her attire, Shiva had brought a blanket to sit on, as well as an assortment of snacks. 

 

Shiva noticed Ifrit’s puzzled expression, and couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“What, never had a picnic before?”

 

Ifrit arched an eyebrow.

 

“Not in the cold, no. And I thought picnics were beneath you?”

 

“Hmph, only the ones that others generally have. Can you imagine sitting on nothing but a flimsy plastic sheet, barely separating you from the dirt-covered ground, bugs swarming about in sweltering heat? Absolutely abysmal.”

 

Shiva lifted a dainty teacup to her lips, savouring the sweet flora aroma before taking a sip.

 

Ifrit chuckled.

 

“Ah yes, the common populace not discovering the joys of winter picnicking, freezing their poor butts and having the warm food they prepared turn ice cold,”

 

He grinned as Shiva glared at him, popping a sugar cookie into his mouth.

 

“Hmph.”

 

She turned her head away, not wanting to respond to his jabs. Her gaze was set upon the horizon instead, drifting over a vast expanse of snow and ice. It was absolutely breathtaking. Sure, winter picnicking was certainly not something commonly done, but that just meant others hadn’t caught on to the charms of it yet, similar to how ice fishing was a novelty of its own, offering different experiences from regular fishing. She closed her eyes to immerse herself in her surroundings, letting the cool frosted air gently caress her face and hair. She could spend an eternity just basking in the radiance of this winter haven, and perhaps would have, if she were not brought back to the present by a strange patting sound.

 

She opened her eyes, an unimpressed look on her face as she already had a hunch who said sound was coming from. Ifrit was currently packing some snow into an ambiguous shape, while busy munching away on another sugar cookie.

 

“What… are you doing?”

 

“Making a snow nin! Or maybe snowbird? I haven’t quite decided.”

 

Shiva only let out an exasperated sigh as Ifrit continued shaping his mound of snow. Sometimes, she wondered just exactly what went through his mind. He would often do strange, ambiguous things that were often beyond her understanding, though she supposed his quirkiness was somewhat part of his charm.

 

“Remember how you said you were interested in how those glass bowls and vases were made, and the artisan suggested starting with something a little easier to handle, like clay?”

 

She grimaced, the memory surfacing in her mind. The very thought of touching mud made her skin crawl, as well as the very likely possibility of her getting her clothes stained was very much a living nightmare. Just the very sight of the artisan and even Ifrit being covered in soot, dust, and other inexplicable filthy substances made it very clear she was content leaving this type of work to those with more expertise, and wanted absolutely nothing with it.

 

Ifrit laughed, seeing a wave of emotions play out across the icy djinnin’s face.

 

“Well, why not start with something you know you’re for sure ok with?”

 

He pointed at the piece he was working on, and though crude, Shiva could tell it was slowly shaping out into something that looked like… a head? No, a bust, of… an elnin?

 

“For all your poetic talk about crafting and muse and what not, I would have assumed you’d be a little better at this.”

 

The fiery djinnin only grinned sheepishly.

 

“Hey, my expertise lies in smithing, not focusing on the more intricate details. Those earrings were only possible because the artisan helped me every step of the way. You, on the other hand…”

 

He reached out and took Shiva’s hand, pulling her towards the snow sculpture.

 

“You have way more attention to detail, and way more patience in the intricacies of making sure things are refined to absolute perfection. Whether it’s in your performances, your jewelry, the way you carry yourself, you’re constantly discovering ways and things to improve, so familiarizing yourself with sculpting could help bring you closer to understanding the crafting process for your pieces? At least you don’t have to worry about getting dirty with snow.”

 

Shiva gave him a look, but rather than trying to refute him, she turned her attention to the sculpture instead.

 

“What exactly were you trying to make, anyways?”

 

“You.”

The look on her face was enough to make Ifrit burst into laughter, and she had half a mind to throw the misshapen sculpture at him. Comparing this… this thing to…!

 

Letting out an exasperated breath, she decided to focus her attention on trying to salvage the poor thing, at the very least for the sake of her dignity. Her fingers traced over the sculpture, fingers slowly moving to smooth out uneven lumps and bumps. Her taloned nails were used to etch out finer details, starting with where the eyes, nose and mouth would be.

 

At some point, she had gotten quite into it, shaping the tips of the ears and emphasizing each tuft, rounding out the horns and tracing the details of the gilded snowflakes that adorned them. Having studied her own features quite frequently to make sure not a single hair was out of place, especially after each performance, she remembered the placement of each wave and curve, reinforcing the strands against the head so that they wouldn’t easily break.

 

After what possibly seemed like hours, Shiva was finally content with her work, leaning back to admire it. It was certainly no master artisan level of effort, but it was certainly much more passable than whatever Ifrit was attempting. Speaking of…

 

It seemed odd he had been quiet for so long, and when she turned to see what she was doing, she was greeted with him diving towards her and her sculpture as she let out a shriek.

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Thumbnail for ELN2923: Ifrit

ELN2923: Ifrit

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Thumbnail for MYO-ELN743: Shiva

MYO-ELN743: Shiva

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