Shivian sits to the side of rehearsal. She should be practicing herself, she knows, but the morning after she was somewhat pulled out of a forlorn aether, stupid Arctina had said, You look terrible! You're not tired? Then is that just your face now?
Idiot. She lacks tact. But Shivian cannot stop thinking about it, so she rests for now. Though, it is not as if she finds herself raring to sing as of late, even after finding her voice.
Shivian observes as Frozy writhes in midair in the guise of dancing. Try as she might, she cannot seem to master the choreography expected of her. And yet, the others praise her so. Her pathetic, clumsy excuse for dancing is so preciously lauded by everyone in this blind clan on the flawed basis of an absurd prophecy.
As delightful as it is to see Frozy so wretched, Shivian curses at the fact that her lack of effort is accepted as perfection. Frozy is not the prima donna. And yet, everyone, the sycophantic froslass they are, oohs and awws her every move, even if it spits in the face of the clan's tradition.
The last rehearsal of the day ends when Frozy collapses from high in the air, unable to complete the dignified pirouettes required of the prima donna. Glaciari helps her down, then motions for everyone to gather near. Shivian reluctantly creeps towards them.
Elder Glaciari slowly blinks as she scans the faces of the frost maidens. "The time nears." She nods at the other elders. "We have detected a shift in the air. We shall soon experience our first snowfall after what feels like an eternity. The Frozen Gigant is fast approaching."
Chatter explodes amongst the crowd. Shivian narrows her eyes and steels her heart. The frost maidens are nowhere near ready for the Frozen Opera. No matter. She already knows they can never compare to her, so she will make up for their faults. Because that is what she is supposed to do as prima donna.
With that, everyone readies for slumber. They retreat to the heart of their cave, sans Arctina. Shivian remains by the entrance, having taken to sleeping near the guardian and away from the others.
Arctina is away for a short patrol of the nearby area. This is her routine before she takes her place at the mouth of the cave. And as per Shivian's routine ever since she came out of hiding, she takes tiny steps as she creeps toward the sleeping area.
She dives behind a stalagmite and holds her breath, heart skipping a beat. The elders and the two outsiders are still awake, gathered away from the frost maidens. They are supposed to be sleeping. Shivian contemplates turning back and skipping what has become her nightly ritual, but decides to remain hidden and get her fill this way.
"We will begin the period of silence tomorrow. I can feel it: we are mere days away from Their appearance. The mountain to the north has been cloaked in fresh snow. They must be there at the moment," Glaciari announces. "Do not bother scavenging anymore. We have enough resources for the time being. Pour your efforts into ensuring the frost maidens' vows of silence are not broken and perfecting the choreography during our remaining rehearsals. Chillena, divine Their exact arrival. That is all."
"Why must the children keep quiet?" Agnice asks.
If she does not know, she should simply keep her mouth shut. Shivian wants to strike the outsider down. Such ignorance. Yet Glaciari entertains her with a response. "To preserve the perfection of the frost maidens' sound, they shall rest their voices and only use them when required. The same reason Frozy refrains from speaking, is it not?"
"Oh, yes, of course!" Agnice laughs loudly. She hooks an arm around Frozy in embrace and fiddles with her garish cloak with the other hand. "How smart of you!"
Shivian sneers are the clearly improvising outsider. How can anyone believe she is anything but a pox upon their clan, a parasite? Shivian's eyes drift from Agnice to Frozy. The false messiah is so loved. A suffocatingly affectionate mother always by her side. A foolish clan falling over themselves to praise her. Elder Glaciari a surrogate mother to her. A prophecy proclaiming her the chosen one. Is she not so wonderful? Yet she dares don a face so vexed.
Agnice lovingly grabs one of Frozy's hands. Glaciari does the same with the other. Shivian hugs herself, pulling her cloak closer as she tries her best to remember the sensation of Glaciari's touch. Her caress, not her wrath. It comes to her, but disappears so easily.
Shivian can remember the instances when Glaciari adored her so. It was always, always when she progressed in her prima donna training. And now that the duty has been stripped from her, she knows she will never feel it again as things are.
Glaciari forgot about her so easily. Shivian wonders if they will go back to how they were before after she reclaims her birthright and saves everyone with her Frozen Opera. It must, she tells herself. Glaciari will praise her for fulfilling her role and warmly embrace her. That is the only future Shivian will acknowledge.
"It has been decided. That is all." Glaciari dismisses the meeting with a wave. The other elders return to the sleeping area by their daughters, except for Chillena who rests by her lonesome a distance away. Glaciari and the outsiders remain, the two mothers engaged in idle conversation that regularly shifts back to complimenting Frozy.
Shivian continues to gaze at Glaciari, soaking in every gesture, every blink, every smile, every word, every breath. And she imagines Agnice has disappeared from this world, and in Frozy's place is her.
Such behavior is unbecoming of the prima donna, but Shivian cannot stop herself. She falls to the ground as an everlasting hunger refuses to be sated.
Eventually, the trio retires for the night. Shivian stays put until she hears utter silence. Determined to complete her nightly habit, she tip-toes to the sleeping area and crawls on her belly ever closer to Elder Glaciari, who unfortunately rests beside Frozy.
Inching ever closer, Shivian holds her breath. She passes Fridgette's statue without so much as a glance. As pathetic and indecent as it is, she inches her way until a voice utterly shocks her still.
"I warn against venturing deeper." Chillena suddenly rises from nearby and approaches her. "Glaciari has yet to nod off, I can tell. Your regular visits have made her somewhat paranoid at night, but she is not yet aware of what. I applaud you."
Shivian gulps, still on her hands and knees.
"But if it is that which you so desire, I have no qualms in indulging in the act if it will impart a modicum of the same satisfaction unto you." The ghastly elder helps her up and guides Shivian's tiny hands onto her arm and moves to stroke the snorunt's cheek with a thumb as if Shivian were puppeting her.
The mere fact that Chillena is aware of her nightly jaunts is beyond mortifying. That she believes her own version of it is comparable is exceedingly sickening. In contrast, the simple touch from Elder Glaciari makes Shivian feel as though all is right in the world. When Shivian gently rubs her cheek along her supposed mother's frigid hand, she prays that the moment will last an eternity. At the present, she wishes Elder Chillena would drop dead.
"Hm, yes… If my daughter were still here, I believe she would be to you as you are to Frozy." Chillena gives a quaint chuckle that sends a shiver down Shivian's spine. Chillena did not have a daughter, or any child as far as anyone knew. "No, if I could be so bold, you would be to her as you are to Frozy."
It is hard to discern whether she is musing aloud or if she means for Shivian to hear this at all. It is likely the former, her eyes peering beyond her at something, or rather someone, that is not there.
"Stop touching me!" Shivian viscerally recoils and hugs herself.
"Ah, my apologies, child. I lost myself for a moment." Elder Chillena's voice, hauntingly warm, returns to its usual detached tone.
"You…" Words cannot describe the disgust festering in the pit of her stomach.
"I will only say, I do advise you to abandon your immature dream." The words halt Shivian as she finally turns to leave. "I can tell, you wish to reclaim your place during the Frozen Opera. Going against Glaciari will only end in ruin."
"What do you know?" Shivian instinctively spits. Though she herself does know.
"Yes, what indeed?" Chillena strokes her throat, the ominous parallel scars marking it never failing to draw the eye. Ice fills and protects what remains, a chunk of what should be there gouged out, her vocal chords on display a mangled mess. "There were many of us, you know? So many splendiferous voices. But it is her legacy that lives on…" She places a hand atop Shivian's breast, the other on her belly. "Glaciari made it so."
Huffing, Shivian rolls her eyes. Elder Chillena is delusional. She obviously references the previous generation's frost maidens, but Shivian knows that they were only twenty-five of them the last Frozen Opera. More than this generation's, but far less than their ancestors'. Folktales from the elders told of many more frost maiden candidates, but Elder Glaciari said that they forsook the clan and fled the mountain before even trying.
If Chillena's words are to imply she believed herself worthy of being the prima donna, then Shivian questions the elder's sanity. Her voice has always been hoarse and gruff aside from detached, syllables fading out every now and then against her will likely due to her injury. It is a miracle that anyone, much less Glaciari tolerated her as a frost maiden. She ought to be humiliated with herself. At least she serves as Glaciari's right hand, but whatever goes on in her head is questionable at the very least.
"What I am getting at, Shivian, is that Glaciari's vision will be realized. It always will. The prophecy has all but come true, and she intends to see it through. Do not think of doing anything so foolish as to interrupt or steal away from Frozy's rightful place." Chillena reaches out for Shivian, who jumps away from the touch. "I say this for your sake, child."
"What…" Shivian grumbles to stop herself from lashing out.
"Though, if you attempt to do anything on your own, I will not dissuade you." Chillena shrugs and lies back down. "As long as you do not interfere with Glaciari's Frozen Opera, who am I to say anything? In fact, I encourage you to. Go on, flee into the night. I will not wake Glaciari for something so trivial. I wish you luck and pray for your safety."
Shivian almost asphyxiates screaming into her closed mouth. As Chillena turns her back, pretending to doze off, oozing insolence, Shivian takes a sharp gasp of air and makes a mad dash for the mouth of the cave. She runs beyond the exit until she feels she is far enough and allows herself to shout and curse Elder Chillena to kingdom come.
What an utterly disturbing froslass. But Shivian wryly smiles to herself. At least she gave her a decent idea. What if Shivian were to go off and face the Frozen Gigant alone? If she performed her Frozen Opera to Them, tuned to perfection, she would appease them so. And at her humble request, They will enrapture the clan's mountain in salvation, restoring it to its original frozen glory. Glaciari said They were to the northern mountain. She needs to leave now if she wishes to confront Them before the clan's opera can take place.
Shivian pauses. Is she crazy? Why, yes. But this is the only way. It is the only option she has. Otherwise, she might as well wither away to dust. Here, she is not the prima donna. She is not even Elder Glaciari's daughter. She is nothing. She refuses this existence, so she decides to do something absurd. She might as well.
It does not take much to convince herself. If there is a chance Elder Glaciari, will recognize her once more, then that is all Shivian needs. And even if Glaciari does not acknowledge her, then this pilgrimage will instill her life with meaning once more.
This is all she can do. So she simply takes a deep breath before charging north, intent on confronting the Frozen Gigant.
"Where are you going?"
The sudden voice almost gives Shivian a heart attack. She halts and looks up to be met with a perplexed glalie returning home. Unable to meet Arctina's eyes, Shivian only marches below the floating guardian and steps beyond the border of the trees.
"Hey, why don't you go to bed? It's dangerous out here!"
"Then protect me. You're the guardian, aren't you?"
Shivian laughs to herself. Is this not how that night went down? The night the clan officially welcomed their sole guardian. That reminds her: she needs to find a transcendent jewel on her way. Only gorgeous froslass can become frost maidens.
"Where are you going, Shivian?" Arctina crashes onto the earth before Shivian, blocking her path.
With the same dignified pride she displayed once upon a time, Shivian states, "I am going to perform the Frozen Opera for the Frozen Gigant."
"What?" Arctina sustains the syllable long enough for Shivian to circumvent her body. "Hold on!"
"I am the prima donna, so you are to protect me above all else." Shivian snorts. "And if I am not, then I am simply nothing. So ignore me and return to your precious Frozy."
"No, you're not making any sense!"
"I don't care!" Shivian screeches. "Nothing will change my mind. So either follow me or go back. Do no attempt to stop me."
"But the Frozen Opera…"
"The Frozen Gigant is currently on the mountain to the north. I will find them and perform the opera myself. I will satisfy Them and bring upon an ethereal blanched paradise. That is my duty."
"Just leave it to Frozy. You don't have to do anything! Just don't leave. You're gonna get hurt!"
"I am the prima donna! Nothing else matters! Do not make me repeat myself."
"But you-"
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Shivian spits. "Nothing, you said? Right… Everyone has their part to play, and mine is to simply be? Am I so worthless?"
Shivian forcibly gulps. She wants something. She wants to be something. Anything. Even a fool chasing an idiotic dream. There is little else she can be. Why is this stupid guardian trying to stop her?
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"It is all I have! I was born to be the prima donna!" Shivian's voice breaks. "And she took it away from me so easily. So I'm left with nothing. I cannot do anything. I have no value. Then what is the difference between me existing and me dying? There is none, and I refuse to accept that."
"But you're my friend!" Arctina stupidly says. "I don't want you to die! You matter to me!"
"I don't care. I don't care, I don't care, I don't care!" Shivian pushes Arctina away and heaves. "I don't care about the stupid Frozen Gigant. I don't care about the useless Frozen Opera! I don't care about this worthless clan or its mountain or the dumb prophecy! This world can combust into an eternal hell for all I care! If I was born for naught, then so was everyone else. "
"Wait, you're not even doing this because you want to save everyone? You don't even want to do it?" Arctina gawks.
"Are you daft?" Shivian's teeth creak as she bites down. "I am going to do it because I am meant to. I am the prima donna. It is my destiny. Nothing matters except that I perform the opera and its aria to perfection. Why else did she praise me so? All she ever did was train me to be her successor. Then that is my sole purpose, as yours is to be the guardian. Whatever happens after that doesn't matter. I will do it because I must, and that is all."
"But the prima donna is supposed to save us…" Arctina stares at the ground.
What does she know? Oh, that is right… Did Arctina not proclaim she would be prima donna when she was still a snorunt? Look at her now.
Shivian takes a deep breath and rubs her throat. She cannot be screaming like this if she is to perform a perfect opera. She clenches her fists and quietly says, "If I cannot be the prima donna, then why was I born? I might as well die."
"Shivian…" Tears fall from Arctina's large eyes. Are those meant for her? Shivian wants to laugh, but it dies in her throat and festers.
"Goodbye." Shivian marches on. A frigid breeze blows by and she catches the scent of frost from the north.
Constipated groans come from the glalie behind her. As the guardian, she ought to return to the mouth of the cave and keep a lookout for danger like she always does. Shivian will not fault her for that. But she will also not fault her for coming with her.
"Frozy?" Arctina stops grumbling to herself and says.
Shivian pauses mid-step and looks over her shoulder. The froslass is indeed there, and Arctina goes to her without hesitation. Shivian let's out a loud huff, and continues her stomping strides.
"Shivian!" Arctina changes her mind so easily. And still, Shivian takes all the time in the world to take her next step. The glalie moans before giving a final, sharp grunt. "Wait, I'm coming with you!"
Shivian cannot stop her heart from soaring. She does not attempt to wrangle her feelings. She simply waits until the guardian floats by her side.
"Go back to the cave, Frozy. We'll be back soon. Please don't tell the others!" Arctina pleads.
Arctina finally sees the light. Though a tiny voice nags at the back of Shivian's mind that the glalie does not believe in her and is simply going only to fulfill her duty as guardian. She shakes her head. That is enough for her. As long as Arctina recognizes her as important enough, she cannot ask for more.
Frozy, the absurd mute she is, trails after them. Shivian hisses, "Stay away!"
Arctina says, "You can't come with us."
Frozy advances until she catches up to them. Only gazing at Arctina, she clasps her hands together as if to plead, then taps her puffed out chest.
"No, you have to stay-"
"Wait." Shivian comes up with an idea. How clever she is. "You can come with us, but you will be a guardian, not the prima donna. What say you?"
"That's-"
Shivian drags Arctina along with her, smirking all the while. She never stops looking at the froslass, and her crooked smile grows as Frozy continues to follow them, looking back to the cave for only one fleeting moment.
"Then it is settled. Let us go, before the Frozen Gigant departs the mountain to the north." Shivian claps and giggles.
Arctina reluctantly nods, and Frozy simply follows. She throws more nervous looks back to the cave, but it is clear she will stay with them.
A thought hits Shivian, and she jumps at the realization. "Wait!" She visibly hesitates, but turns around and walks back to where they came from. "First…"
"Shivian?"
They return together. Shivian steps into the clearing and takes a deep breath. She grips her yellow cloak tightly and rips with all her might. Arctina opens her mouth, but cannot speak. Frozy watches with intrigue, a curious smile on her face.
"As a member of this proud clan, I turn my back and forsake you all." Her voice trembles as she yanks her cloak harder. "And so, as prima donna, I relinquish my cloak in shame."
Shivian conforms to the tradition of the clan she supposedly hates. Only because that is what she is supposed to do. If a frost maiden abandons their home, they are to leave their sash behind as a mark of disgrace. Still a snorunt, Shivian can only shed her cloak.
Tears unwittingly fall from her eyes, muffled screams coming from her mouth shut with bit lips oozing crimson. "Arctina, assist me," she manages to say at a low, steady volume. "Now. It is tradition."
Head bowed, Arctina approaches the devout Shivian and slowly takes the fluttering bottom hem of her cloak in her mouth. With a steady bite after long hesitation, Arctina peels it away with unbelievable force.
Shivian's feet dangle off the ground and her mouth cannot stay shut as pathetic whimpers escape. The bottom half of her body is bathed in blood as she is stripped bare.
Frozy freezes her feet to the earth and fills her mouth with ice, gagging her. Shivian watches Frozy with eyes bulging out of their sockets. At the sudden entrapment and the serene smile gracing the froslass's face, Shivian's heart stops, then starts only to pump sheer terror through her veins.
Shivian allows herself to scream, the ice gag rendering her silent. Then finally, her cloak tears clean off her body with a haunting rip. Skinned cleanly, blood drips over and stains the entirety of her being, just like Arctina used to look like in her original coat of ice armor. Such indescribable pain leaves her shouting and sobbing until the ice in her mouth melts small enough for her to crunch and grind away. Arctina freezes her back, giving her a frozen shell. It hurts ever so slightly less.
Stripped bare of everything, Shivian picks up her shed cloak from the ground. She clutches it tightly, then thrusts it out at Frozy. "Freeze it to the garland in the sleeping area. I know you know what I speak of. Do it, quickly. Now."
With a finger to her chin, Frozy takes it in her hands, spreading it out as if to admire the bloody cloak. Shivian simmers until Frozy shrugs and takes off for the cave. There is something very wrong with her. At least she will complete the tradition, Shivian will give her that much.
"That is your friend?" Shivian forces out, body still searing in pain.
"Why did you have her do that? Er, why did you even do that?"
Arctina truly has nothing in that large head of hers. "How can you not know any of our traditions?"
"I never paid attention to what was important when I was younger…" Arctina laughs to herself. "Then one of those sashes belongs to my…"
Frozy soon returns, dusting her hands stained dark crimson with Shivian's blood. The froslass pouts at the sight.
"Let us be off now." Shivian marches on.
But it tugs at the back of her mind. Perhaps she got ahead of herself. Without her cloak, she will be unable to rightfully return here. Alas, it does not bother her as much as she thought it would. She will return when the deed is done, and if the excommunication holds true, she will leave for good. And Elder Glaciari will surely chase after her and welcome her back with open arms.
After they trek beyond the trees once more, she glares out of the corner of her eye. Grumbling to herself, she finally says, "Arctina, you will serve as a vehicle."
"Uh, okay." Arctina obliges and helps Shivian to the top of her head.
"Onward." Satisfied, Shivian smacks the top of the glalie's head. This will be much more efficient than traveling on her stubby feet. She reminds them, "You two are my guardians. You will protect me above all else and ensure the completion of my Frozen Opera. And keep your eyes open for a transcendent jewel. If we cannot find one, then we will have done all this for nothing."
Frozy rolls her eyes and glares at her. Shivian did not know her to be so brazen. Was this pokémon not acting so frail in front of their clan? How shameless.
Shivian imagines the journey ahead. But thinking on it, Shivian truly wonders. The Frozen Opera is meant to show deference and gratitude to the Frozen Gigant? Shivian spits at the thought. No one gives a damn about Them. Everyone, Elder Glaciari especially, cares only for the blizzard They will bring, nothing more.
Do They even exist? Even if physically, do They truly exist if the clan's faith is false?
Why did the first Frozen Opera bear such fruit? Why did the last and all the ones prior?
They are simply begging for unearned salvation. What were all the sacrificed guardians worth if the Frozen Gigant never saved them? What is the point of their clan, melting away on their cursed mountain?
No matter. All Shivian need concern herself with is performing the feat and nothing else. They reap what they sow, as will she. Shaking the useless thoughts off, Shivian asks, "What will be the quickest route to the Frozen Gigant?"
"First we descend our mountain, then we go through…" Arctina gulps several times. "The Gorged Gorge. I don't really wanna, though. It's too… scary."
"Are you not the guardian?" Shivian drives her fist down onto her head. But she cannot imagine somewhere that intimidates even the musclehead Arctina. "Then is there… another way forth?"
"No, we must traverse the Gorged Gorge. It encompasses the entire base of our mountain. We cannot avoid it unless we turn back and stay."
"Then brace yourself, fool." Shivian tightens her grip on Arctina's good horn. "I am not allowed to be harmed."
They traverse in silence. For whatever reason, Frozy leads. Thanks to their cave's close proximity to the Gorged Gorge, they arrive in no time. Arctina remains on a ledge overlooking the valley reeking of stagnant blood and rotting bodies, taking several deep breaths. In contrast, Frozy dives in with no hesitation.
That's right, she was found here, Shivian thinks bitterly. Perhaps if Arctina was just a bit slower in crossing paths with the outsiders, they would have been mauled and none of this would have had to happen. Though how comfortable Frozy is in this land that strikes fear into Arctina irks her.
"Are you quite done yet?" Shivian asks sharply when Arctina verges on hyperventilating.
"I… Yes. Stay close. This place is beyond wicked." Arctina slowly takes off after Frozy.
When they make it to the bottom and hide behind a rock formation, Shivian eyes the walls a distance away. A smooth, significant scoop has been removed from it, and land in a circle containing the recess is utterly barren. Arctina refuses to look at the damaged land.
Frozy waves at them to follow her. She floats along, so carefree despite sharp eyes surveying the area. Her ability to float is still as clumsy as it has been since she arrived, but her speed has managed to improve.
"Do the both of you even know the way north?" Shivian looks up where they came from one last time.
"Just follow the chill in the air, right?"
As the distance home grows larger, the temperature gradually drops. The Gorged Gorge and subsequently their mountain leeches the cool away from the mountain to the north. Descending into the gorge brought great relief from the heat, but if Arctina is any bit trustworthy, perhaps there is more than one reason for this feeling.
"Just keep up with her." Shivian smacks Arctina.
"Okay…"
Frozy swoops in and pushes both of them into a ditch in a hug. Despite the calm of the night, she silences Shivian with a rough hand and keeps them pressed down. Arctina shivers and widens her eyes on high alert, and Shivian lets out muffled groans of annoyance.
She stops her grumbling when the earth quakes. One tremor, two, three… Consecutive thumps resound through the night from a distance and set off heart-stopping shakes in the ground to match its rhythm. Whatever the source, it nears, and Frozy detected it before Arctina.
Frozy peers out the ditch with narrowed eyes. Her clutch on Shivian's mouth, muffling her amplifying cries, threatens to rip it from her face. The world-shaking tremors come even closer and overwrite Shivian's pounding heart.
It is right there. Whatever the source, it is but mere steps away outside of the ditch they lay in. Shivian cannot manage to voice her terror in any capacity, pressing herself deeply into the muddy walls and silently hiccuping. Crush, crunch, boom… Shivian desperately prays for whatever it is to pass. A pokémon? Surely something that can slay her with a single touch. Perhaps even a glance.
Shivian squeezes behind Arctina. The guardian ought to shield her from whatever comes their way. Frozy hiding them leaves Shivian somewhat thankful.
But in an instant, she is gone. Frozy floats away, disappears into thin air, and leaves Shivian cowering with Arctina. And next thing they know, a monster peers down at them from above.
Cloaked in a menacing armor outlined against the moon, it releases a single cry and swings its thick, heavy tail down on them. Arctina rolls out of the way, but when the tail strikes the ground, the sheer force sends them flying out of the ditch in a tizzy and before its spiny head. He raises his jagged claws and drives it into Arctina's side, sending her into the gorge's hard wall.
Shivian, clinging onto the glalie with dear life, narrowly avoids being squished between rock and guardian. She clamours to the top of her head and whips her own head about, but fails to spot that damned froslass anywhere.
Frozy is gone. She ran away to save her own skin. Coward! Did she not agree to being a guardian?
Arctina cannot come to her senses in time. The savage pokémon charges at them, claws and tail glowing with absurd power.
"Arctina, move! You must!"
They are going to die now. The pilgrimage has barely begun. Shivian screams hopelessly into the night as the pokémon comes at them, shouting nonsense about how they dare invade his territory. His pounding steps make it clear he is the source of the miniature earthquakes from before.
Shivian almost laughs. Death is imminent. Of course it is.
A ghastly gale blows from behind them, strong enough to forcibly halt the metallic pokémon. The temperature drops, and the enemy's bottom half is now frozen to the ground. He swings his upper body wildly when a volley of shadow balls slam against him. They strike harsh enough to shatter the ice shackles and are followed by an onslaught of water pulses.
The pokémon crashes to the ground, a shock harsher than any of his footsteps. He is utterly soaked, and a strike of lightning smites him. He convulses wildly, thunderbolt crackling about, never relenting until he ceases to move and a burnt smell infests the air.
Rustling from nearby shrubs makes Shivian's mind run blank. It cannot be an even stronger pokémon than that brute. But it is. Something had to have laid him to waste.
Arctina, still woozy, pries herself off the wall and unsteady floats away. "Hold on, Shivian…" Her words are slurred. A chunk of her ice armor falls off and crashes to the ground.
The rustling stops and something emerges. Shivian looks back at it, every fiber of her being desperately fighting her to not. And when she sees what comes out, she punches Arctina and allows herself to recklessly scream into the echoing gorge.
Frozy approaches them so casually. She tilts her head as Arctina says, "Frozy? Where did you go?"
"You abandoned us! Left us for dead! How dare you, insolent dreck!"
Frozy motions to the still-warm body and gives a crass shrug. She confirms what Shivian dares not voice as the snorunt looks at the fallen pokémon with eyes refusing to focus.
"Why don't we rest for now?" Arctina lets out a deep breath. She exudes a gross shame. "You're too shaken, Shivian. I'm sorry I didn't fight back… I'm gonna pay more attention, don't you worry!"
Puckering her lips, Shivian only buries her face in Arctina's head. Frozy beckons them toward her, toward the fried corpse. She tugs on the pokémon's armor and roughly peels off the metal layers coating its body. She deftly bobs her head and sways her body to avoid the spray of blood.
Arctina helps her strip the body bare. When the flesh is exposed, Frozy claps her hands together and licks her lips. Arctina mirrors her. "Let's eat! It'll make us all feel better!"
Shivian wants to vomit, but holds it in to stare at Frozy. This froslass… Shivian does not know if Arctina is trying to ignore reality or if she really does not realize what happened. Maybe their friendship blinds her so.
Frozy picks up the helm they removed from the pokémon and places it atop her head and pantomimes a giggle. Then, she rips off an arm along with a chunk of the chest.
"Aw, that's the good part!" Arctina sighs and bites the rump. Was she not the one who chose to sit so far from the front of the body on her own? Frozy glances over to the tail, only to wrinkle her nose. Arctina chortles. "Yeah, the tail is super yucky."
Shivian already knows that. The dim glalie was the one who told her! At least she recovered from the assault. How normal Arctina acts at the situation makes Shivian wonder if she herself is overreacting, but she holds true her convictions.
Frozy is the odd one. Frozy is hiding something. Frozy is plain wrong. Shivian cannot hold it in as the froslass happily munches on bloody flesh.
"You dine so eagerly upon a corpse after being spoiled on souls! What manner of beast are you?" Shivian steps away, hiding behind Arctina as blood drips from Frozy's mouth, a sinew strand dangling a chunk of flesh swinging about. "You are not the prophesied one!"
"Hey, let's just-" Arctina cannot come up with anything to say. Oh, she must be ignoring the implications. But not Shivian.
Frozy's eyes narrow at Shivian as she greedily slurps the sinew up, face losing all emotion. She rises and closes the distance between them in an instant. She casts a looming dagger of ice poised to pierce Shivian's heart.
Weak in the knees, Shivian drops to the ground, eyes glazed over. "Demon…"
Not hesitating, Frozy glowers and huffs. She looses her icicle, and Shivian screams like weathering her vocal cords is her sole purpose.
The ice plunges deep into its target, causing an eruption of blood. It pierces through the entire body and a scream even more haunting than Shivian's just before peals through the area.
A body falls limp to the ground as Frozy mercilessly rips the icicle from their chest and stabs it into the head several times.
Shivian weeps pathetically. A kecleon suddenly appears before them, now but a bleeding corpse full of holes, tongue lolled out until Frozy drives the ice stake into it and pins it to the ground.
Arctina rises and adopts the same bloodlusted air as Frozy. Shivian screams again as the glalie's melancholic eyes pierce through her. Arctina charges ahead at breakneck pace and slams into the body with enough force to shake a mountain. She relentlessly bashes her skull into them, mashing their small body into a stew of solid and liquid red in a pool on the ground right behind Shivian.
What was once a ninjask is unrecognizable. Its wings and poison-dripping claws fly away as Arctina desecrates their weak corpse with a single hit. The carapace emits a twisted crack.
They attack as if their bodies compel them to. They automatically jump to battle, to kill without hesitation. That is who they are. As she is born to perform the aria and save their clan, Arctina and Frozy are born to kill.
"You are both monsters!"