The cave the group found on the side of the mountain they were climbing turned out to be a tunnel that led them to the other side of the mountain. Unfortunately, it was blocked by snow, but Maya’s love for fire-based magic dealt with that in a matter of seconds.
“You are by far the worst person in existence!” The group was still near the exit of the tunnel and had currently gathered around a big campfire where Steph was glaring daggers at Maya.
“Wow, she really is fire-resistant!” Anna stared at the dog-girl with an amazed expression. Steph was completely soaked and had stripped down to her underwear while her clothes were drying close to the flames, but she looked completely unhurt after Maya had used fire magic to melt the snow she was in earlier. Not even a strand of her hair was burned.
“Aren’t you cold?!” Ari also looked amazed while she looked at the almost naked girl, only wearing a matching set of a black bra and panties, but for a very different reason. “I’m shivering over here just looking at you!”
“Not at all~.” Steph smiled at her. “If it weren’t for restrictions and morals placed on us by society, I could run around like that all day. Even less than that would be fine by me!”
“Even in the snow?!”
“Especially in the snow~.”
“Wow.” The jaguar didn’t know what else to say.
“Right now, I would even be okay being trapped in a glacier. My burning rage for Maya would keep me warm there, too!” She returned to glaring at the cat-girl.
“My love for you burns passionately, too~.” Maya smiled back at her. “Come on, you would’ve done exactly the same in my position.”
“…” Steph went silent for a moment. “Fair enough.” Her raging fire was immediately extinguished.
“That easy?!” The princess couldn’t believe it.
“When she’s right, she’s right.” The dog-girl just shrugged.
“By the way, again, shouldn't I just dry you and your clothes with air magic, and we're good to go?" Sophia joined the conversation. "I told you earlier already, but you simply continued to strip out of your wet clothes…"
“Because I have no issues with stripping! Nothing to hide in this group~.” Steph then smiled at her sister. “Also, getting soaked and making a campfire to dry yourself and your clothes is such a fun mood I can’t miss out on! Magic is amazing, but it makes some things too easy!”
“If you say so.” The blonde had no intentions of stopping her. “I do get that, though. Sometimes, I also like to do something myself instead of letting magic take care of it.”
“Anyway, we’re good, right?” Maya wanted to make sure, after all, and faced the dog-girl once more.
“Sure!” She just nodded.
Afterward, once her clothes were fully dried, Steph put something on again, and the group decided to continue their exploration of the mountain range.
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“Oi!”
“Now we’re good~.” They managed to take exactly three steps when Steph decided that it was time for revenge. Spotting a massive pile of snow right next to them, she got behind Maya and instantly pushed her into it. It also was the soft and powdery type of snow, so the cat-girl sunk completely into it before jumping out of it again around half a second later.
“What do you mean we’re good?!” Once she was out of the snow, the cat-girl immediately glared at her. “I only used flames earlier because I know that you’re fire-resistant! I’m not the slightest bit snow-resistant, though!”
“Are you seriously comparing snow with actual fire?!” The dog-girl couldn’t believe her.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“No, she’s got a point.” Ari, Anna, and Sophia sided with Maya.
“I don’t accept complaints from the cat faction on the matter!”
“By the way, how did you become fire-resistant in the first place?” As Fen wasn’t interested in their fight, he changed the topic to something that did catch his attention. “That seems like a very handy feature I’d very much like to have, too.”
“It just naturally happened during my magic training with Fey.” The dog-girl actually acknowledged having that feature. “I’m sure she’ll let you join our next lesson.”
“Ah, uhh…” He suddenly got very awkward. “It’s not that important.”
“Still scared of the fierce fox, huh?” Aura lightly rolled her eyes.
“Can you blame me?!” He didn’t appreciate the comment. “You still remember the punishments when I overdid it back when we were traveling together, right?!”
“Oh, maybe I should have her teach me some of those for future use!” The female wolf liked the idea.
“How about you don’t?!” Fen, however, did not.
“Everyone’s in a fighty mood today, huh?” Chloe sounded like she had mixed feelings about the group’s current dynamic. “I like it better when we get along.”
“To be fair, while I agree, it would be kinda weird if there would never be any sort of fight.” Sophia saw her point. “Also, the war crime of being pushed into the snow aside, I’d say most of it is just some light bickering as usual.”
“I guess so.” The fox nodded. “Also, getting pushed into snow is not a war crime.” She couldn’t agree with that part.
"Imagine being in a desert, and someone pushes you into the scorching sand, is that not a war crime to you?” The blonde translated it into Chloe’s most hated thing.
“…” She had a hard time coming up with a reply to that.
“Thank you for proving my point!” Steph then got loud. "I hate the heat, and Maya literally set me on fire! Fire resistant or not, it still got too toasty for my liking!”
“Ha.” The short tiger went silent before looking at Maya. “I tried to defend you because the snow thing was dirty, but she’s got a point there.”
“Yeah,” The cat-girl awkwardly scratched her cheek. “I guess I really complained too much there. Sorry about that.”
“As long as you understand~.” The dog-girl was happy with that.
Once their differences aside and they forgave each other, Maya used air-based magic to free herself from the snow that was still sticking to her clothes, and the group was finally ready to continue to explore the mountain range in front of them. Their surroundings had turned into a complete winter wonderland with snow having piled up everywhere, and the only vegetation was some scattered pine trees, which also were covered in a thick layer of white snow.
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"Is it just me, or are the four of you sticking quite close together?" They found something loosely resembling a path where the snow wasn’t quite as high and followed that for a while. As they were doing so, Chloe kept glancing at Ari, Anna, Sophia, and Maya. “Well, I mean, even closer than usual.” She noticed that there was absolutely zero space between the four while they were walking.
“WE’RE COLD!” Every single one of them glared at her.
"A-Ah, I see." As she was completely overpowered by the replies of the cats and the force behind it, the fox-girl had nothing better to say.
“Are you really, though?” Steph took a better look at them. “I see no shivering and… Is the snow below your feet melting? I don’t want to get close, but you turned up the heating, didn’t you?”
“OBVIOUSLY!” The four were still in perfect sync.
“Then stop being so loud!”
“Never!” Sophia had no intention of complying with the request of her sister. “We might be physically warm thanks to my heating magic, but looking at all that snow makes us feel cold regardless!”
“Exactly!” The other three cats nodded in unison.
“You are by far the whiniest group of people I’ve ever met.” Steph slowly shook her head.
“We’re sorry for being cats!” They had no intention of changing anytime soon.
“Also, syncing up with four people is seriously creepy!”
“Again, we’re sorry!”
“Ahh!” She couldn’t deal with them any longer. “Chloe, let’s take the lead and have some fun! Those four are too much for me!”
“Okay!” She liked the plan. “But, if possible, I would be happy if we take an easy route up the mountain… I’m not a good climber, and the snow, as much as I love it, doesn't exactly make it any easier."
“That’s fair!” The dog-girl smiled at her. “Thanks to the snow, we also can’t see the ground anymore, which makes it a little dangerous and easy to misstep. Taking it easy and being cautious really is the best approach in this snow paradise!”
“Great!" Chloe was happy that she didn’t plan to be too reckless.
“Let’s go!” Steph grabbed the fox's hand, and the two started walking in front of the rest.
“Wait for me!” Aura dashed after the duo. “Snow isn’t my favorite, and nothing beats getting comfy in front of a fireplace, but I still like to play in it!”
“I knew I could count on you!” The dog-girl happily welcomed her, and the trio continued to increase the distance from the cats.
"You're sticking suspiciously close to us, Fenny~." It was the cats and one wolf that stayed behind. "Does a certain someone want to stay warm, as well?"
“Shush!” He lightly growled at her. “I don’t mind the cold, but I can’t say I like it, either. As long as it isn’t too overbearing, I much prefer a warmer climate."
“Hehe.” She liked his reply. As there also was no way she could tease him about this in the current situation, the blonde just patted her hip a few times. “Come closer, my big guy~.”
Not saying no to that, Fen got close to Sophia’s side, and the five slowly followed after the much more motivated trio that had covered a good bit of distance already.