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[By the time Allura manages to find her balance to make it onto the ice, she...realizes it might have been a mistake to agree to this. While her mind is sufficiently clear of what happened on Oros, it's only because she's trying desperately to find her balance, letting out a yelp of surprise the moment both blades come in contact with the ice...falling almost immediately.

Now she's following Shiro's lead, clinging to the wall of the ice rink, scooting slowly along it. She's staring down at her feet, glaring at the ice below, not looking to Yuuri or Victor because they make this seem far easier than it actually is.

This...is meant to be fun??]

( Victor comes to a stop with a hissing of skates over ice, smooth and sure of himself and his movements. He's been watching, but at the same time he doesn't know how to explain to do what he feels as being the way to move, to balance, to glide, on ice. Crossovers and turns and everything come to him so easily, it's hard for him to figure out how to describe it all to anyone completely blind to it.

Which he knew before he got into this. Yuuri has better patience; Nekomaru has better skill. Still. )

May I lend you an arm?

[Allura probably has a whole slew of Altean curse words running through her head when Victor does make his fast approach, and she glares at him without actually meaning to. It's only the fact that he had made this seem easier than it actually is, and the fact that her bottom is already sore from having fallen however many times before resigning herself to cling to the wall.

Also the mice are laughing at her.

But when she realizes she's glaring out of frustration, her expression smooths, looking warily at him instead.]

...I...would appreciate that. Could you come a bit closer?

[It's obvious she does not trust this ice at all.]

( he obliges, sliding closer and coming to a stop again, still offering out his arm. he's relatively immune to being glared at; hoenstly, it slides right off his back. there's no personal stakes here, and frustration is simply frustration. he's not a stranger to it, nor a stranger to seeing it in others. it's when he does or doesn't care about it that things get wonky. )

Anytime. ( he winks; considering how all eyes he is on Yuuri, his kind of charm and light flirtation shouldn't feel like a threat, but hey. who knows? )

It helps when you keep your knees bent. For balance.

( don't ask him what to do with your feet. he can't actually articulate it on a basic level. just show. )

[She takes his arm once he is within a reasonable grabbing distance, grasping his forearm with a grip that is, admittedly, probably a bit too strong from a rather average-sized woman.

In fact, the light flirtation goes right over her head, she's already concentrating on both her feet and the ice, not even looking up at him.

Taking his advice, she bends her knees nearly comically so, pointedly still not moving. Suffice to say, she feels ridiculous, and knows that she looks it if the laughter from the mice watching her didn't already make it apparent.]

And...what of the feet?

[Too bad, she's going to ask.]

... Trust in them?

( sorry, Allura, but he is Not A Teacher in any classic sense. what he is, in the end, is a man who does; he winks and pushes off, bearing with the remarkably strong grip on his arm with no comment for the time being. sometimes the best thing is to get moving, to stop overthinking. things like that can trip anyone up, on or off the ice. )

Don't worry about thinking it all through. Feel it, too! Here, I won't just let you fall.

( a pause, and a light laugh. )

If anything, maybe we'll go down together, right?

( HE WILL FIGHT TO KEEP THEM UPRIGHT IT IS NOW A PRIDE THING )

[VICTOR PLEASE.

She gives him A Look when he gives her what barely passes for substantial advice, and she's about to say something when suddenly, they're moving, and she lets out a small startled yelp. Because for the past few dobashes, each time she glided across the ice, she was doomed to fall down and bruise herself.

Her grip on him tightens, even if so far this is the farthest she's skated without falling.]

Feel it? Feel what?

[And now she's kind of just...hugging his arm, knees still bent, and just stiffly being pulled along by someone who is far more graceful and far more adept at this than she could ever hope to achieve.

If anything, she feels foolish.]

And I would rather not fall.

Do we really learn from always staying upright? Feel the way your skates glide over the ice. You can hear it too, if you listen.

( He at least knows his advice isn't that great, but it's difficult for him to articulate in the first place. Exaggerated hand motions, mentioning ways of moving and the names of what he might expect someone well versed in the basics to know won't help here. So he doesn't worry about it, keeping their pace just swift enough to be smooth, in spite of it all. )

Relax. The more stiff you are, the more likely you'll be to fall. We won't go fast enough to leave any impressive bruises!

[ shiro gets the hang of it again quickly enough. it may have been years, but once he gets used to the feel of the skates on his feet and the ice under them, his body remembers how to do this and stay balanced. he was right: it is kind of like riding the proverbial bicycle: not something you really forget how to do. he won't ever be as elegant or skilled as victor and yuuri, not by any stretch, but he can manage a circle around the ring easily enough without falling, picking up speed on his second turn.

after a little while, he stops near allura again, a smile on his face. ] How are you holding up, Princess?

[Even with the help of others, this is just one of those things Allura feels she will not get the hang of. Is this truly something Earthlings did in their free time? She just can't quite see the appeal of it. Sure, you move faster, but all this slipping and falling reminds her of--

Well. She's far too young to concern herself with thoughts of that embarrassing virus.

As Shiro approaches, visibly not as skilled as Yuuri and Victor who move effortlessly across the ice, but still, sure enough of his movements that she's seen him pass her once he found his footing, she looks at him warily, frustration clear as day on her face.

Visibly embarrassed. And annoyed. And still clinging to the wall.]

I am barely holding up. But you seem to be doing well.

[ she looks frustrated, and shiro's smile doesn't dim, exactly, but it does soften a little. ] I've done it before. It's been years, though.

[ before the galra. before the garrison, even, and there's some of the teenager he'd been in his expression when he asks: ] What if I do all the work? You'll just have to stand still, I'll do the rest. [ he holds out his hands, though he's really thinking of maybe pushing her along the ice, or pulling her. hopefully that's not overestimating his own abilities... but probably not. he thinks. ]

It's really just a question of getting used to it, I think. Finding your balance. [ and you can't do that while holding on to the wall. ]

There was never anything quite like this on my planet. Not on ice, at least.

[In fact, all this slipping and sliding has her feeling like a middle-aged Altean and that-- is certainly not fun.

She does take a moment to consider his offer though, looking at Shiro, to the wall she's holding, and then back to him.]

If you did all the work, that would not be fair to you.

I don't mind.

[ but it is fun, or it can be. his feet are already beginning to hurt a little, but it's easy to ignore for now, fading into the background when he actually moves instead of standing still. ]

Trust me, Princess.

I... [She looks at him, because it's not that she doesn't trust him, she simply does not trust the ice. Even with Victor and Yuri being helpful, she still doesn't quite get it, and she hates feeling like a burden even for something that is intended to be fun.

But she lets out a sigh, acquiescing.]

All right. But...come closer. I do not trust my own two feet at the moment.

[ she's hardly a burden. there's no obligation in this, it's just supposed to be something fun and relaxing. no one will hold it against her if she isn't good at this and no one would hold it against her if she decided to sit this one out. but shiro skates closer — close enough that he can put both hands on her waist. ]

Just relax. Even if you fall, it won't be too bad.

[ and if it is.... there's always the healing pods, right? ]

[Even with his hands at her waist, steadying her, she is still remiss to let go of the wall. But slowly, she simply accepts his offered help as is, carefully removing her hands from the wall and she carefully holds on to his forearms, remaining still.

She's not entirely willing to look up at him, still staring down at her feet and the ice. Remembering Victor's advice though, she does bend her knees a little.]

Believe me, I have fallen. Many times. It isn't so much that it's bad it's just--

[Embarrassing?? Frustrating? A healthy mix of the two, honestly.]

[ shiro isn't the greatest skater, so skating backwards is a bit of a challenge for him, but he manages it with only some minor wobbling. ] Warn me before I skate into anything? Or anyone. [ he says it with a grin, clearly not too worried about the possibility. probably because he looks over his shoulder ever so often, and because it's not like they're going fast.

but they're moving, shiro pulling allura along. maybe in a little bit, he'll change so that he's behind her and pushing instead, for some more speed, but for now, he's really just trying to get her to feel more comfortable on the ice. ]

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idk if victor is still next to her or not in this, handwaves handwavily

handwaves back handwavily

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