14 Jan 2024, 18:13
Slippery Sticks and a Death Plank
What on earth was Mahlioz doing outside in the freezing cold? It was snowing - not hard, but it had been earlier, and the Hogwarts grounds were covered in a duvet of white. Freezing, wet, snowy white. Exactly the kind of Saturday morning weather that Mahlioz should have been enjoying inside with a mug of hot chocolate and a good book. But no. She was standing outside at the top of a hill, wrapped up in heavy snow clothes that made weird noises when you walked with them, gripping two skis.
Time: ~11:00
Mentions: X
Thoughts
How had they gotten here?
Just an hour ago, they had been sitting on their bed in their dorm, rereading one of their favorite Calvin and Hobbes books. Nora had walked in, proclaiming that she wanted to learn to snowboard, and because Mahlioz couldn't refuse her beloved dormmates anything (if that Halloween party had proved anything, it was that), she reluctantly accepted to go outside with the other girl. After a quick stop at the Room of Requirement to get their equipment, here they were. Mahlioz had refused to snowboard. Nora could learn whatever she wanted, but Mahlioz was not about to get on that death plank.
Mahlioz had skied twice before, though they could only remember one time, a few years ago, and they - to say the absolute least - were not exactly proficient. She knew how to put the skis on, and could walk (ish) with them, but that was nothing like actually skiing. She was at the top of a hill, and she had to go down it on two slippery sticks. How the heck were they supposed to do that without tearing their legs off? Just because she had learned to ski a long time ago, didn't mean she actually knew how to.
They turned to Nora, already regretting having accepted to come. "Uh... I know you're snowboarding, but... do you know how to ski?" The only thing she remembered was triangles, but she had no idea what that meant. Triangles in the back or the front of the skis? And to go faster or slower? And how did they even do that?
They hoped Nora was having a better time teaching herself to snowboard... though they doubted it, considering how much harder snowboarding looked. Welp. They would figure this out...?
Last edited by Mahlioz Evethisawe on 10 Apr 2024, 21:00, edited 1 time in total.
4 Apr 2024, 03:28
Slippery Sticks and a Death Plank
Interacting with @Mahlioz Evethisawe.
January 27th, 2024
For the seventh time in four weekends, Nora awoke to a feeling of dread. She didn't even have to open her eyes to know, but after rubbing them awake, it only took one glance out the window to confirm her worries. Grumbling, she pulled the blanket over her head, blocking out all noise, light and, most importantly, cold. Why did it have to happen to her? Sure, it was also happening to everyone else in the UK, but why her, in particular? What made the universe hate her so much that it would prolong such a dreadful event? Well, maybe dreadful wasn't the right word. After all, it wasn't that she disliked winter; it wasn't even her least favourite season (that was spring). It was just that winter happened to be the most boring season, especially during the weekends.
Today, like most winter days, was the kind of day that you'd usually watch from the inside of your home, nestled next to the crackling fire with a blanket and a cup of mocha. Maybe you would have a book to pass the time, or maybe you'd just sit in silence, watching as the tall pines droop from the weight of their load and the winter critters make tracks that will disappear in minutes. It's a nice scene, yeah, but realistically, it's a whole lot of nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing. It's just this repeated pattern of sitting down, falling asleep, waking up, going to the washroom, sitting down, falling asleep again and before you know it, a whole day has gone by. Just poof! Of course, other people probably did find other things to do on the weekends, like chess, homework, clubs and other stuff, but Nora had very little interest in most of that. Chess was overdone, homework was permanently on the "to-do-later-but-not-now" list, and clubs were the only option when the club was actually having a meeting. Plus, all of those things were indoor activities, which would just make her fall asleep. She needed something active, something to get her blood pumping (and yes, she'd already thought of a snowball fight, but she sucked at those-- the three times she'd tried to start one, her shot had missed so badly the target didn't even know there'd been an attack).
Yawning, Nora poked her head out from her covers, investigating her bookshelf for inspiration. Crooked Kingdom, Tales of Beedle the Bard, Heroes of Olympus, The Appeal, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie... No luck there. She peeled the covers off of her and went to sit near the window. Being mostly underground and right next to the lake, the view was truly beautiful. It reminded Nora of the fish tank at her kickboxing place, albeit a bit bigger. She really missed her kickboxing place, and home in general. Around this time of year, her muggle school would be putting on their school play. In a few weeks, the older grades would be going on a field trip. Nora never got to go on one; she started Hogwarts the year she became old enough. She didn't even really remember where she would have gone. An art museum? London? A nature thing? No, too cold... Wait a minute.
Jumping from her spot, Nora rushed to pull on some warm clothes. She ran out of her dorm, up the stairs, and out into the courtyard. She needed a better view to see if her idea was possible. It took maybe a few minutes or more of searching, but eventually, she found a spot that would work. All she needed now was an accomplice, and she knew exactly where to find one. As fast as she could, Nora hurried back to her dorm, and a mere hour later, she returned to the hill, Mahl in tow. They'd gotten some equipment from the Room of Requirement and buddled up in their warmest gear. The cold sun shone down on the snow, making its bright white even more harsh against her eyes. Snow drizzled down around the pair, sticking to the strands of hair that stuck out from Nora's touque. Her nose, ears, fingertips and basically everything else was numb from the cold, but her eyes shone with excitement. They were going snowboarding.
Or, skiing, in Mahl's case, but it was really all the same. Nora didn't really know how to snowboard, but she'd seen the photos of the older kids at her school doing it, and it didn't look so hard. Besides, they had helmets, so Nora didn't really see how anything could go wrong that Madam Pomfrey couldn't fix. Inhaling the fresh winter air, she smiled to herself. She was feeling electrified.
"Exciting, isn't it?" Nora breathed. Dropping down her board, she tried to slip her boot into the clasp mechanism but nearly fell over in the process. Not deterred, she lowered herself to the ground and tried again, but the board escaped from her grasp. She had to leap forward to stop it from sliding down the hill without her. After a few more tries, she managed to get one foot in. However, it felt way too loose. Lifting her leg, she swung the whole contraption towards Mahl before realizing that they were already strapped into their skis, standing and ready to go. Or, at least, it looked like it. Nora's jaw dropped. She was about to chide Mahl for keeping this hidden talent from her when Mahl interrupted her thoughts.
"Uh... I know you're snowboarding, but... do you know how to ski?" they asked. Darn. She supposed that meant they were both clueless. That was when Nora began to feel her confidence dim, but she pushed down that feeling. Today was going to be fun, and she wouldn't let it be otherwise.
"No," started Nora, putting on a fake look of confidence,"But the first guy who did it didn't know either. So, I say we wing it, huh?" Her smile was strained, but at that moment, she found the tightening strap, prompting her to let out a cheer. "See, we're learning things already!" she said cheerfully. After wrestling on the second foot, she managed to stand up with some difficulty, using Mahl as a post. Looking down the hill, Nora was a bit scared. However, she was determined for this day to be successful, and if she had to break a few bones in the process, so be it.
1069 words. #420c55.
Last edited by Nora De Carie on 14 Apr 2025, 03:08, edited 2 times in total.
18 Apr 2024, 00:50
Slippery Sticks and a Death Plank
Nora was not being very helpful. Not that Mahlioz blamed her, really, but winging it was not what they'd hoped for as advice. Though they weren't all that surprised. Especially considering Nora had barely gotten her second foot on her board yet.
Time: ~11:00
Mentions: X
Thoughts
Well. This was going to be interesting. Neither of them had a clue what they were doing. The only thing Mahlioz had been successful with was attaching the boots to the skis, by stomping down on them. That did not mean she knew how to get them out, but that would be future Mahlioz's problem.
What was not future Mahlioz's problem was the fact that, just as they said "You might be," their friend had used them as a post to get up. And that they were standing on two long slippery sticks. She could feel herself start sliding down already, and by the time Nora was up and steady, Mahlioz was just about the opposite.
"AaaaaAAAASHOOTSHOOTSHOOTWAIT-" Not only was she slipping, but her skis were somehow turning her around as well and soon enough she was going down the hill backwards faster than she ever would have wanted (which, to be fair, was not hard considering she did not want to be going any kind of speed at all). Because sliding backwards on two sticks they did not know how to steer made it hard to stay upwards, it was not long before they were leaning forwards with all their might, clutching at the snow in a vain attempt to keep themselves from continuing their descent.
And because gravity was a thing, just reaching forward for the snow in front of her ended up in Mahlioz landing flat on her face, skis splayed on either side like a v. This had the one advantage of finally getting the poor kid to stop sliding down the hill, but now her mouth was full of snow and she had absolutely no idea how to get up. Did she even want to get up? If she got up, she'd keep slipping, right? Maybe she'd just stay here until she died. That sounded good.
Except it was cooollllddd. Finally getting the energy for it, Mahlioz propped their chin up to look at Nora. They'd gone a good dozen meters down the hill from where they'd started. "I think you were right about the winging it," she said, spitting out a piece of snow. "I figured out how to stop."
19 Jun 2024, 02:17
Slippery Sticks and a Death Plank
Interacting with @Mahlioz Evethisawe.
January 27th, 2024
Nora looked down the hill, sizing it up. Sure, it was steep. Sure, there was a random tree in the middle of it. But she'd made a commitment, and after all that tough talk, she certainly couldn't back down now. Plus, the boredom had truly been killing her. So, this was it. She steadied her board, lowered her stance and was ready to tip off when she was startled by a yelp coming from beside her.
Turning towards the noise, she could only widen her eyes before Mahl began hurtling forward. Her yelp quickly descended into panicked yelling, and soon enough, she was out of control. At this point, Nora couldn't hold in her laughter. Careful not to lose her own balance, she flopped backwards onto the snow and repositioned herself to better watch. When she looked up again, she was startled to see that Mahl was now turned backwards and plummeting down the hill at an accelerating speed. While she knew that Mahl was probably freaking out, Nora thought going that fast looked kind of fun, and Mahl's expression was definitely a bonus.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and this was no exception. After a few dozen meters and quite a few tears of laughter from Nora, Mahl came to a stop, falling face-first into the snow. She didn't come up right away, and for a second, Nora was worried that she had a concussion or something. This immediately made her feel guilty, after all she was the one who dragged Mahl into this whole thing. But then again, Nora had a couple of friends in her muggle school who were always getting concussions, and they seemed just fine. Plus, didn't they have wizard doctors at Hogwarts just for this? Yeahhh, Mahl was going to be fine. The last bit of Nora's guilt then completely evaporated when Mahl lifted up her head.
"I think you were right about the winging it," Mahl said, looking rather frazzled. Her clothes were frumpled, and Nora wasn't entirely sure she could see all of her equipment. On the other hand, Mahl also wasn't dead. As proof of this, Mahl continued, "I figured out how to stop."
Nora grinned. She attempted to get to her feet, failed, settled for her knees, and let out a cheer. "That's the spirit!" she exclaimed, pumping a fist for Mahl. Her other one was restrained to the ground for balance reasons. "Next time, wait for me, will you?"
As she waited for Mahl to come out, Nora tried again, more carefully, to get to her feet. It took a few tries, but far less than the first. Hey, she thought, progress! Steadying her stance, she moved the front half of the board to tilt away from Mahl and did a quick prayer. She didn't really know to who, seeing as she was an atheist witch, but she figured that if there was any divinity, it would assume she was talking to them.
"Alright, here I ago," Nora said and leaned with her right foot. The board wasn't budging at first, but when she applied a little more force, it immediately sped off. She was going faster than she'd ever hoped for, and the wind was whisking by her ears, freezing and enlivening them at once. She managed to stay upwards, and for a few seconds, everything was right in the world. Her eyes were wide, her mouth was in an even wider smile, and every sense in her body was tingling. This was the sense of excitement she'd been looking for. This was the thrill she'd been imagining. This was what winter break was supposed to be. Nora hooted in excitement, turning her head to grin at Mahl. When she turned back, she found herself two meters away from the only tree on the hill and heading straight for it.
"Bloody hell!" Nora shrieked. She realized a little too late, but she had absolutely no control over her direction, speed or anything that really mattered. She was barrelling down a hill at what felt like 50 miles per hour, and if she didn't figure something out soon, she was going to hit this tree like a Looney Tunes character. Thinking back to how Mahl had stopped, she tried leaning backwards, but when she got close to falling, something forced her back up. Ugh, she'd never been good at trust falls. Maybe forward? She tried again and, this time, found some success. It was a bit painful, but she ended up tumbling to her knees and hands and then... she kept on tumbling. She turned at least a few times before hitting the tree with a light thud.
She grabbed onto the trunk and looked up. Hey! She was alive too! Cheering, she called up to Mahl to let her know the good news, saying "I'm alive!" maybe more times than necessary. But she was! And she couldn't help feeling like she wanted to go again.
831 words. #420c55.
Last edited by Nora De Carie on 14 Apr 2025, 03:09, edited 2 times in total.
13 Jul 2024, 19:06
Slippery Sticks and a Death Plank
Ah, wasn't it great to have friends. Especially the kind that would laugh at you when you failed miserably at things. If Mahlioz wasn't so annoyed at the universe, she probably would have joined in. They spat the last bits of snow out of their mouth - eugh - and propped themselves up a little more so they could watch Nora's attempt. That was enough action for them. Time to be entertained by someone else's suffering.
Time: ~11:00
Mentions: X
Thoughts
Her friend managed to get up without too much difficulty, and with a few jumps and something, she was on her way down (Mahlioz couldn't quite see what the something was from down here, but the board suddenly went from immobile to racing down the hill, so there had to be something). Though Nora looked a lot happier to be there than Mahlioz had. Which could have had to do with the fact that she was actually going forwards rather than backwards. Lucky.
Unfortunately, Nora, though a lot more excited than Mahlioz ever was in dangerous situations, did not seem doted with their caution, because she turned her head to grin at the second year. Mahlioz's eyes widened and they pointed frantically at the tree Nora was heading right at, but by the time the girl had turned to look at it, she was already only two meters away.
Then ensued the five stages of grief, in which Mahlioz could only watch as Nora tried leaning backwards, then forwards, then fell down, then tumbled head over heels through the snow until she hit the aforementioned tree. As soon as her head popped up and Mahlioz was sure her friend was okay, she could not help but burst out laughing herself. "Well, I'm not sure if that was any better than my attempt, but I think you had quite a deal more fun than I did. Oh, and also, yours was purposeful." Time to try again, because Mahlioz was not going to let Nora have all the fun.
She undid her skis and clambered back up the hill with them in hand. This took her a decent chunk of time because ski boots were impossible to run in and also, apparently, nearly impossible to walk in as well. But they made it, panting, to the top, and almost wished they were back in the snow, because why was that so exhausting. She was so hot. They took a few moments of rest, reluctantly put their skis back on, and waited for Nora. "You ready?" They held out their hand. "We're doing it together this time. That way if I go down again I'm taking you with me."
11 Aug 2024, 03:36
Slippery Sticks and a Death Plank
Interacting with @Mahlioz Evethisawe.
January 27th, 2024
If that wasn't a steaming success, Nora didn't know what was. Sure, maybe they'd fallen, but they had also flown! Not bad for a first go. With a little more practice, she was sure they'd be kings of the hills in no time. Maybe then, they could even teach their roommates, Qrow and Mellani, how to ski and snowboard. The possibilities were endless, and in Nora's mind, there was no time to waste. As soon as she could, she popped her boots out of the clasps on the board and jumped to her feet, ready for action.
"Well, I'm not sure if that was any better than my attempt, but I think you had quite a deal more fun than I did. Oh, and also, yours was purposeful."
"Yours wasn't?" Nora joked as she climbed past the green-eyed witch. The hill was steep, but she found that she was making good progress when she took slower, longer strides. At a few of the worst parts, she used her board as a sort of leverage to stay steady. However, she was disappointed to look up and see that Mahl had beaten her to the finish line. It wasn't a competition, except for that everything was a competition in Nora's mind. Finally though, she made it up and had her board secured in no time.
"You ready?" Mahl asked, and Nora grabbed her hand gratefully. She could hardly feel it through her thick woolen mitts, but Mahl clearly had a strong grip. "We're doing it together this time. That way if I go down again I'm taking you with me."
"At least you'll cushion my landing," Nora half-teased, and with that, she took the first plunge forward.
As soon as she tipped off the hill, she could feel herself accelerating. A second burst of momentum told her that Mahl was on track, too, and sure enough, Mahl soon came gliding to her side. The side of the hill that they found themselves on this time was much more open, and unless they swerved wildly to the side, Nora couldn't see anything that might hinder their journey. And so they went down, down, and down. Her eyes had started to water a bit from the cold wind, but she blinked them away, relishing the rush that came with the descent.
"Woo-oop!" Nora cried out, raising her left fist. As she did, she noticed an owl had stopped on a tree, one farther down the hill. It was very pretty and looked like it had just caught something in it's mouth. "Hey, Mahl, look! A letter bird!" This was the term Nora had started to use to describe owls ever since she learned that they delivered mail in the wizarding world. Once again, another thing her dad had forgotten to tell her until the very last minute.
As she was admiring it, however, something else caught her eye. By the base of the tree, Nora noticed a familiar brown lump of fur that was poking out from the snow. There were no tracks, so she figured the little thing must have burrowed through the snow all the way from the castle. Impressive fella. She knew she didn't like to be left alone, but this was kind of extreme. That bird probably thought it was getting a second lunch. Squeezing Mahl's hand, Nora gestured to the lump. "Look! It's Oonie!" she exclaimed and started veering her snowboard towards the tree. She knew Mahl probably wouldn't like it, but if she had to crash land to save her ferret from a letter bird, well, gosh darn it, she was going to do it.
607 words. #420c55.
Last edited by Nora De Carie on 14 Apr 2025, 03:09, edited 3 times in total.
8 Sep 2024, 22:46
Slippery Sticks and a Death Plank
Perhaps I should have taken a bit longer to rest, was the first thing Mahlioz thought as she and Nora began their descent. Because she found herself once again wondering why on earth she had agreed to this. As soon as they were no longer stopped, relatively safe, but instead racing down a hill, they remembered that this was in fact not what they had signed up for when they woke up this morning.
Time: ~11:00
Mentions: X
Thoughts
Too late now for regrets. She had to deal with it, and try not to die in the process.
Though it seemed that wouldn't be as much of a problem as last time. Though Mahlioz's legs were shaking quite a bit too much for comfort, and they were going way faster than they wanted to, at least they were facing forwards this time. And the hill was clear, without trees for a good few meters, so that wasn't a problem either. Nora seemed to be having the time of her life, letting out a whoop of excitement and punching her fist in the air. Mahlioz was too terrified to do either of those things - what if she lost balance, or got distracted, and was no longer going straight and bashed into her friend?
They were very, very slowly getting used to the feel of the skis. Their legs were beginning to get exhausted, and they had a feeling their skis were too far apart, but they didn't want to bring them closer because that made her less balanced and that was terrifying. She just managed to take her eyes off her slippery sticks to look up at the landscape very quickly when she heard Nora again.
"A- a what??" What on earth a letter bird was, Mahlioz had no idea. It sounded like a bunch of random letters mushed together in the shape of a bird. Actually, they wouldn't have been surprised if that existed in the wizarding world, a live bird made of words and letters. It was only when she looked up again (only an instant, like last time - it felt way too dangerous) that she saw the owl. It took her another moment to begin to realize that that was what Nora was talking about, but her thoughts were interrupted.
Because Nora was pulling them to the side. She was veering them off of their perfectly fine, already terrifying straight path, and into the unknown. Mahlioz only barely registered that she had said anything before doing so, and had no idea what was happening, so they did what anyone else would do in their situation - they screamed. "AAAAH WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING-" Perhaps they would have made it out fine if they hadn't panicked, but this was Mahlioz and an unexpected turn of events. What could you expect?
So much for pulling Nora down with her - she shook off her hand vehemently, trying to catch herself because she was falling now, completely unbalanced, and tumbling towards a tree. One of her skis dislodged, she felt her hat come off, and she was twisting and turning and falling and something small and brown was moving nearby and-
Just like Nora, they ended up bumping into the tree, though a bit more forcefully than she had. "Owwww..." was all they could get out, because their mouth was once again filled with snow. Why did this have to happen again??
She felt something move behind her leg, and moved over slightly until she could see it. The small and brown thing from earlier. It seemed to be... hiding? Mahlioz gingerly moved her (very heavy from the weight of both winter clothes and much snow) body until she could pick it up, and realize it was a ferret. "Wait a second..." They looked up at Nora. "Is this Oonie?"
1 Jan 2025, 04:53
Slippery Sticks and a Death Plank
Interacting with @Mahlioz Evethisawe.
Reducio
January 27th, 2024
Maybe it was a bit shortsighted of Nora, but she wasn't about to let her long rat get eaten by some big-eyed night chicken. Besides, there were plenty of real rats on the grounds to eat; it didn't need to munch on her fake one. However, this was not entirely the letter bird's fault. Oonie was too clingy for her own good and too bold, and stuff like this couldn't just keep happening. Suppose Nora hadn't noticed a small tuff of fur from ten feet away. Suppose she'd just snowboarded on, and Oonie had been left to freeze. Yes, there would be ramifications for the young ferret's actions, but death by avian ambush was not going to be one of them.
So, she turned to save it, like the hero she was, even though Mahl would probably not like it. They were nervous enough after their first crash, so speeding straight towards a tree that was not unlike the one Nora had already crashed into? Probably not the best idea for a happy afternoon. But hey, they were the one who wanted to hold hands, and so they must deal with the consequences of that decision. And if those consequences are a few minor injuries to save the life and dignity of a beloved pet, then so be it. Nora would be perfectly fine going solo, but with the clock ticking and Mahl's iron grip, she didn't have the time to consider alternatives. All she could do was go, and so she did. She leaned with all the force she could and surprisingly managed to remain upright and go in her desired direction. Right towards the tree.
And, as she predicted, Mahl did not indeed like it. In fact, they started to freak out immediately, yelling at Nora in confusion, "AAAAH WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING-" They twisted themself free, but it cost Mahl their balance, and they began tumbling even faster toward the tree. Faster than Nora had been going on her last trip. After a few seconds of chaos and the loss of a hat, they hit the trunk with a firm thud. This was enough to scare the letter bird away, much to Nora's pleasure. Implementing her previous tactic, she fell forward and slid to a stop on her front. She quickly unlatched her boots and hastened to the tree, where Mahl lay in pain.
"Wait a second..." they said, and Nora noticed that they were holding something brown and furry "Is this Oonie?"
"Indeed it is!" Nora exclaimed, patting the adventurous furball on the head with her snowy mitten. Oonie shook her little head in protest and tried to tuck herself farther into Mahl's hands. Nora sighed, unravelling part of her scarf and unzipping her jacket to make room for the creature. She worried it would get rat hypothermia or something from being out in the cold for so long. It'd probably been out around the same time as them. Picking it up by the scruff of its neck, Nora looked it squarely in the eyes. "Bad, bad rat," she scolded before tucking it into her jacket so only its little head was peeking out.
Then she took in Mahl, who was still looking pretty rough from her fall. Nora felt pretty bad, considering she was the one who pulled them into the situation, both the skiing and the crashes. She did hope Mahl would want to continue. "Sorry, bud," Nora said with a wince. Turning around, she grabbed Mahl's hat from a snow bank, shook it out, and handed it back to her. "I'll carry your skis up, as this was slightly my fault," she offered, picking them up in one arm and her own snowboard in the other. It was a bit awkward, but she managed. The board was pretty lightweight anyways. "I got distracted, but who could blame me? Okay, maybe you could. But come on, that letter bird was going for her!"
"You still on to go again, right? Please, you have to!" she rambled, already trudging up the hill. She was walking up backwards with a huge grin on her face. "The cold and adrenaline will numb the pain, I promise."
701 words. #420c55.
Last edited by Nora De Carie on 14 Apr 2025, 03:09, edited 2 times in total.
1 Mar 2025, 04:30
Slippery Sticks and a Death Plank
It was Oonie, Nora's one and only ferret and one of the terrors in Eusèbe's life. Nora took it, scolded it - "Rat?" Mahlioz asked in confusion before remembering that this was Nora and you could never expect the expected - before placing it inside the warmth of her jacket. Mahlioz was still slightly worried about the, er, "long rat". There was no way Oonie wasn't going to worm her way out of that jacket, and what if Nora fell on the wrong side? Would Oonie get squished by her weight?
Time: ~11:00
Mentions: X
Thoughts
However, they had slightly more pressing issues to deal with because while Nora had not fallen, Mahlioz had. "Appreciate it," they mumbled at their friend's suggestion to bring their skis up, spitting out a last bit of snow.
"You do realize your letter birds have names, right? You know, owls?" It didn't answer the question of whether Mahlioz was blaming Nora - which she absolutely was - but the Slytherin couldn't hold a grudge and especially not against a friend. Who was trying to save their pet. Mahlioz would have done the same for Eusèbe (though he would have been harder to spot in the snow, considering how white he was). Besides, carrying skis up was good compensation.
"Alright, alright, I'll go again -" as if she could even think of refusing when Nora was grinning so much in anticipation. "But I've learned my lesson, I'm staying away from you." She started making her way back up the hill again - gods, why were ski boots so hard to walk in? They really needed one of those machine thingies to bring people up hills here. Like at ski resorts or whatever. But they got to the top, gratefully accepted their skis from Nora, and reluctantly put them on again. Here goes...
The descent was terrifying. First it was slow, which was good, but then she started speeding up, and that was less good. The only positive point was that she was going forwards this time, not backwards, but her legs were shaking so much and they were starting to spread apart and she didn't know how to fix it. Frantically trying to slow herself down, she leaned to the side, which made her turn, and - hey, wait. They were going slower now. They weren't rushing down the hill at full speed, but going down diagonally, like they were hiking in a mountain. She had no idea why this was working - physics were confusing and wizards didn't put much emphasis on science anyway - but it was working, and that was all that mattered.
When hiking in a mountain, you had to turn sometimes, to make zigzags, so you didn't go too far. However, when it came to skiing, turning meant facing directly down the hill, and that meant speed, and that meant certain death, of course. So Mahlioz did not turn, instead slowly, smoothly inching down the side of the hill diagonally, until there was no more hill to slide down and they came to a stop.
She was alive. She was standing and alive and not covered in snow. This was a miracle - or if not a miracle, at least progress. She turned to look back at Nora and show off this incredible feat, before realizing Nora was not there. Nora was a good 30 meters away. As it turned out, not zigzagging had its downsides. With a sigh, Mahlioz began the long treck of waddling forward with her skis to get back to her friend.