eachdraidh | [video;]

[ Someone's chilling in boxers in a steaming hot spring he'd obviously made for himself. Problem is, everything around him is covered in an ungodly amount of snow. ]

You never actually miss the sight of hot babes in short skirts and plunging necklines until your spire gets dumped in a place so cold Satan would probably freeze his butthairs off. On the bright side, I think I might've spotted a yeti. Or that might've been someone's mother-in-law, who knows?

[ Still, Johnny looks largely unaffected by the mildly unfriendly climate. He's fishing an egg out of the hot spring, cracking it on the ice. It's hard-boiled. ]

So, anyway, Gailleann's basically stuck in Everwinter. When life gives you snowballs, make an awesome sport out of it, right? [ He bites into the egg, chews carefully, then swallows and adds: ] If you're sick of the tropical, muggy weather and want to come by, the Spire's open to you. The fires are always burning in Gaillean. Just don't try to kill anyone, and we're good.

More importantly: there's a new skating rink that my guys just worked overtime to make, and a bunch of awesome slopes I spent days creating; go nuts on it and tell me what you think! I'm always a fan of continuous improvement.

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Whoa, whoa! Now you're just gonna hurt my feelings. Is that what you say to a friend you haven't seen in ages?

[ He teases right back. But there's no doubt in his mind that he'll do what he can to help her, too. ] You've gotta come show me what you can do with your fire magic, maybe we can figure something out.

And you have neither denied it nor answered my question. Actually, it's been so long since I used the magic with any regularity I doubt I can do much with it. Zuko has been helping me keep myself from sending everything around me up in flames again, but the quicker I can master it all the happier I'll be. So I'll visit.

Fine, fine, I'll teach you! At least, I'll do my best.

[ He contemplates her thoughtfully. ] Are you immune to it, too? The fire, I mean.

[ her mouth twists and brows furrow in a thought. ]

I don't see why I would be. I've never been burned, but that's just because I'm careful and know how to handle a flame. And of course had the magic for a time, too.

[ but that's an interesting question. she's sure she can be burned, but how far does her grace extend when it comes to bearing heat? ]

[ Huh, that's always interesting. Johnny studies her thoughtfully. ]

Well, first off, we gotta get you immune to it; you don't want that backfiring on you. Luckily, you've got the best guy in the world to do that.

[ He winks at her. Flame absorbent, baby. ] So, when are you coming down?

You can make me immune to fire?

[ One can practically see the wheels turning in Katsa's head. She's definitely starting to get ideas. When will she ever need to be immune to fire? Who knows, but it would be exciting to have the option.

That's a smile on her face. That's definitely a smile. ]

Well, as long as you're not short in confidence. When will it all be ready? When can I come? How long does it take to get there? I don't exactly have anywhere I need to be.

Well, uh -- we can try. I don't know if you've got the same thing I do. I mean, mine's biological, you know?

[ But Johnny will help however he can -- it can never hurt to be immune to fire, right? And he's also decided that he's quite the fan of her smile. He beams at her. ]

You can come by anytime after Christmas, there's gonna be that hunt thing going on, right? Are you gonna hunt the Hart?

[ Whether immune or not, it's still certainly worth the try. Katsa almost laughs at the pleased look on Johnny's face. ]

I'll hunt it, but I'll not put in the same effort that I did before. I've killed it once already; now I know that I can do it, so there's no need to try so hard to repeat it. It's a marvelous quarry.

That's badass. [ He whistles; remind him to never cross you. ] I think Jack's planning to hunt it this year. But so, uh. It just comes back to life again every year, huh? Like some sort of weird Jesus thing?

[ She gives him a weird look because she has no idea who the hell Jesus is, but she also doesn't care enough to ask for now. ]

That's what I wanted to understand when I hunted it. I know that I killed it—I watched its life slip from its eyes, the weight of it. [ It had been intelligent, at least as much as a human if not even more so. Something about it had made Katsa understand that very well—and it had made her shiver. ] But it still seems... I don't know. I still don't understand all of it.

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