Beware the frozen heart

[silverandcold]

High up in the mountains of Yamagata Prefecture, there are stories of a woman who is strange, but singularly beautiful. Her hair, they say, is of such a pale color that it looks white. Her eyes are the blue of frozen water. Even in the coldest days of winter, it's said that she always wears only a summer yukata, as white as a funeral shroud.

No one is quite certain of who or what she is. Rumors abound that she is a ghost of a woman murdered in the snow or perhaps she is a yokai who takes the shape of a human woman. More practical minded people suggest a runaway woman from the west, while others ask how a young woman could endure such cold. No, others say, she is a princess from the moon, trapped on earth, like the stories of Kaguya-Hime.

No one knows for sure but whatever the legends, if someone happens to climb the mountain today, they will see a pale woman who seems unaffected by the cold.

[[Inspired by the tale of the Yuki-Onna. Either Elsa is, in fact, a runaway princess with ice powers OR if you prefer, make this a true AU and go with whatever iteration of the legend most interests you.]]

no subject

[nebaritralk]

Enough things in the hotel are free that Chiana doesn't exactly need to steal very much. But old habits die hard, and maybe the cred will come in handy some day, when she gets out of here or when things change. Things always change, and rarely for the better; it's the way of the world. The hotel might be in its own bubble of existence, but she's pretty sure even it can't escape that universal law.

So she's been nicking things here and there, when people aren't looking - and even when they are. She's great at misdirection; she's had to learn to be, over the years.

Sometimes, people make it so frelling easy on her, too. Like right now, in the bar. The man's standing at the counter, his back to her, completely focused on his conversation with another patron. All she has to do is lift the wallet sticking out of the back pocket of his trousers; the toughest part is making sure no one's looking at her when she does, since she tends to draw a lot of attention in these mostly Earthen crowds. But she manages, she's pretty sure, and she even has the luxury of palming the cred inside and putting the wallet back where she found it, so she does just that, and sticks the notes down the side of her corset. No better place to keep her prize safe.

A carefully neutral gaze travels around the bar, making sure no one's spotted her, and she walks over to the next person leaning on the counter, giving them a sharp smile as she stops by their side. "Buy a girl a drink?"

There's no point wasting hard-earned cred on buying herself a drink when somebody else might do it for her.