turn the white snow red as strawberries - trixya

whether weather be the frost

It was freezing, and she watched her breath escape in a puff of fog that dissipated on the icy breeze, feeling the wind whip her hair off her shoulders. She noticed that most of the women around her had their hair in braids, and she supposed that might have been more practical for a day on the ski slopes. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

She watched the skiers coming down from the black diamond, towards where it ended at the top of the bunny hill, looking to see if she could see Pearl among them. They all looked pretty much identical, almost everyone in all black, sleek and sporty as whey whizzed through the snow. Her eyes fell on one figure in a bright red jacket over black and white chevron snow pants, slicing in and out of the rest of the crowd as they zoomed down the black diamond slope.

Trixie, who didn't know jack shit about skiing, had to admit even she was impressed by the flagrant display of skill as the figure arrowed through the snow, leaving the rest of the skiers in the dust. They were getting closer and closer, and just as she was considering moving out of the way for fear of being mowed down where she stood, the figure came to a smooth stop, skidding gracefully to a halt right in front of her in a burst of flying snow.

Trixie blinked, watching stupidly as they reached up and tugged down the black balaclava covering the lower half of their face, revealing chiseled cheekbones and a pair of full, red lips, then plucked the ski goggles away from her eyes, tugging them up to rest on her helmet.

She was probably the most gorgeous woman Trixie had ever seen, and it took some effort not to audibly whimper as Trixie took in her icy blue eyes, the sharp line of her nose. Trixie could see blonde bangs plastered to her forehead and peeking out under her helmet, two blonde braids sticking out haphazardly from under the bottom of it. She looked vaguely familiar, but Trixie couldn't quite put her finger on it, and she chalked it up to the fact that the woman was just so incredibly hot as to be off-putting.

She gave Trixie a smile that was brighter than the blinding snow around them. "You must be Trixie," she said, in a voice that was low and husky and tinged with a rolling Russian accent. "Lucky you, you're my only student today. The other two cancelled. I'm Katya."

She held out a gloved hand, still smiling that bright smile. Her helmet was covered in the most bizarre assortment of fading stickers Trixie had ever seen, eyeballs and drawings of weird babies and the word BITCH in capital white letters across the front. Trixie could see wrinkles around her eyes, deep smile lines on either side of her wide mouth.

Trixie swallowed, her throat suddenly dry, and reached out to take her hand and shake it. Katya's grip was firm, and it made Trixie a little hot under the collar. "That is the ugliest ski suit I have ever seen," was all Trixie said, eyes traveling up and down the black and white chevron monstrosity.

To her great surprise, Katya burst into hysterical, wheezing laughter. "You don't like it? It's Twin Peaks! I thought all Americans knew that show."

Trixie felt her lips twitch upwards in a smile. "Not the normal ones, girl."

Katya had Trixie follow her over to a little roped-off area that she assumed was designated just for people like her who had no idea what they were doing and needed someone to hold their hand while they put on the skis for the first time. She wished Katya really would hold her hand, she thought to herself as she watched the other woman ski across the slush and snow easily, using her poles to propel herself forward.

It must have taken an incredible amount of arm strength, Trixie marveled, watching Katya push herself forwards as if it was nothing, while Trixie sweated and plodded along like a pink snow beast through the snow and the slush. She wondered briefly what she looked like under the puffy snow suit, then chastised herself for being gross. Don't perv on your ski instructor, girl. She's a professional.