Pff, I'm Not Sleeping -PrIvAtE-

Taylor grinned, seeing Zach slightly pink. Even if she does fall, she was sure that the snow-covered ground will protect her from serious injuries. And besides, she used to climb trees as a little girl, so she was confident that she would be able to climb without any problems.

"O King, I trust you with my life," Taylor said in a high sing-song voice as she started climbing. She felt somewhat elated, as she couldn't remember the last time she climbed a tree. She lost her footing once, being out of practice, but she was still able to catch up with Zach. Once she was near enough, she whispered, "Stick to Snowy, Tarzan."

Soon enough, Taylor was seated on one of the tree's sturdy-looking branches, successfully balancing herself so she wouldn't fall. She smiled. "Gods, I haven't been up on a tree in ages," she remarked, looking at the distant snow-covered land.

Taylor noticed that Zach made eye contact a lot. Not that it bothered her, really. Taylor smiled at him. "More than nice," she said before turning back to the white winter scene in front of them. The sight of the snow covering everything made Taylor very comfortable. It made her feel at home, like she could feel the very presence of Khione right there around her. "It's beautiful."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "You fell asleep reading. Must have been a boring book," she said, lightly punching Zach on the shoulder.

Taylor started at the sudden sound of footsteps slightly muffled by the snow. Gripping the branch tightly with both of her hands, she leaned forward just slightly only to see the kid she punched earlier, along with two of his friends. She gritted her teeth. So he brought reinforcements. What a coward, she thought to herself. Taylor glanced at Zach, seeing that he was nervous. She raised her eyebrows; why would he be nervous? Not like it was anything big to worry about, right?

"Wanna have some fun?" Taylor mouthed.

Before Zach could answer, she brought one of her hands up as she stared down at the snow. She clenched her hand, and instantly, the snow around the boys' feet closed around them. The boys looked on, shocked, as the ice crept up right below their knees, freezing them into place. They began squirming, trying to pull their feet out, but the ice was too frozen and too strong. Taylor grinned at her work, but she felt a little tired. In fact, she almost fell down, but her firm grip on the branch saved her. She smirked at Zach, as she planted both of her hands back on the branch.

Taylor's smirk turned into a frown. Okay, so one of them was a Hephaestus kid, creating a flaw in Taylor's plan. Well, that was bad. At least the other two kids were still struggling with the ice. They won't be much of a trouble as long as they were stuck there. Before Taylor could say something else, Zach told her to stay as he jumped off the tree to fight.

Zach's grass powers didn't do much good against a son of the fire god. Just great. The kid Taylor hit earlier was smart to bring a Hephaestus kid as revenge. Taylor began hating the coward. She watched Zach for a few moments, and her eyes grew wide as the Hephaestus boy brought out a pocket knife. She gasped as the boy struck, and breathed a sigh of relief as Zach dodged easily. But Taylor grew restless. Did Zach seriously expect her to stay there without doing anything? She didn't think so.

With some effort, Taylor climbed down the tree. One of the boys still stuck in the ice threw her a disdainful look as he attempted to dislodge himself. Taylor smirked at him, before shifting her attention back to Zach's fight. Taylor raised her arms, and the snow below the Hephaestus kid rose up, catching his hand. Before he could burn the ice off, another pillar of ice rose, knocking the knife out of the boy's hand. Taylor smirked at the Hephaestus boy, taunting him.

Taylor ducked to avoid the fire ball aimed at her. She watched from a distance as Zach pinned the boy down and they began fighting again. Watching them, Taylor brightened up as an idea struck her. Zach was a genius for getting the kid on the ground. This would make it easier for Taylor to execute her plan.

Moving closer to the two boys, Taylor now got a clear view of the situation. She took a deep breath, and channeled her energy to the snow beneath the fire user. Most of it was melted, but it was enough for Taylor to work with. She felt a tug on her gut as she crouched down and planted both of her hands on the ground. Pretty soon, the snow under the fire user began moving, growing quickly around him. The ice began wrapping around various parts of his body simultaneously, and with Zach distracting him, he wasn't able to burn most of them off. More ice kept coming as the kid fought, and it crept around him in lightning speed.

"Fire and ice," Taylor whispered to herself, her eyes half-closed. "Come on Zach..."

"I'm good," Taylor said, getting up. She threw a look at the Hephaestus kid trapped in the ice, and felt a little sorry for him. But just a little. She shook off the snow from both her hands, and started picking at her hair. Turning to Zach, she realized that he wasn't looking his best. "The question is: are you okay?" she asked with a hint of worry. She wasn't blind; she saw how Zach flinched when the grass and tree caught flames. It must be a Demeter kid thing.

Taylor rolled her eyes as Zach showed off. Boys will be boys, she thought, shaking her head. "Didn't I tell you to stick to Snowy, Tarzan?" Taylor said, narrowing her eyes. She looked at the two boys, who were too shocked to move, and the other one who was still frozen. "For starters, we better get out of here," Taylor muttered to Zach. She started walking and after a few paces, glanced at Zach to see if he was coming.

"Where did that come from?" Taylor said, laughing at the faces Zach made. Zach really had the most random ideas, she thought as she ran her hands down her hair to fix it. She shoved him to the side, but didn't use enough force to actually push him to the ground. "Why do you ask, Tarzan?" she said slyly, her eyes twinkling. She was actually starting to enjoy this.

Taylor found the flustered Zach very adorable. She turned away from him, chuckling, and she could practically feel the blood rushing to her cheeks. The Taylor she knew did not blush like that. She gathered control of herself in a few seconds and faced Zach, her face only the slightest shade of pink now. "Why, thank you for the compliment, Zach!" she said with a straight face and a genuine smile. Trying to make the situation less awkward, Taylor patted Zach's cheek--the same way he did when she woke him up before. "I think you're quite the handsome boy too."

Taylor knew that the situation was still a bit awkward, but she didn't know how to remedy that. Zach didn't seem to take her compliment seriously. Well, she was serious in saying that... Taylor shrugged nonchalantly, trying not to think of her suspicions about Zach's sudden demeanor, which started from when he asked about her love life. "So..." she said, trying to rack her thoughts for something to say. "What about you... have a girlfriend or something?"

Well, it wasn't the best thing she could ask, but Taylor wanted to turn Zach's previous question against him. Besides, they were both out of words. She was quite open to say anything that would somehow ease the tension. And honestly, a little part of her mind was curious.

Taylor glanced around, ignoring the three frozen boys behind them. They had certainly strayed far away from the lake. Taylor didn't feel as secure as before with the huge number of trees around them. The less snow, the less safe she felt. But that was something that she wouldn't admit aloud.

[[OOC: Continued -- https://camphalfblood.forummotion.com/t9089-am-i-forgetting-something-private#205899 :)]]