"Skates," Atreau supplied. Kiram felt a little embarrassed, because he was sure that he'd known the right word; it had just slipped his mind momentarily.
"And you do have skates, actually," Nestor told him. "I helped Javier find a pair for you at the fair during the tournament. They're nice. Double-lined deerskin and probably warmer than those thin boots you're wearing now."
And that settled that. Minutes later Nestor had retrieved his own skates and Kiram's. The other Hellions gathered their skates as well as scarves, caps and gloves. Javier tossed Kiram a woolen cap and a pair of fur lined gloves.
Then all of them made their way through the snow-covered apple orchard. They followed the frozen stream to an open meadow where the waters pooled into a glassy pond. They weren't the first students to arrive.
Several youths raced from one of the wooden bridges, spanning the stream to the far end of the pond and back. Groups of younger students stumbled and linked arms to spin like dancers out across the ice. Falls seemed common and were generally accompanied with shouts of surprise and laughter.
Kiram eyed the long thin blades of his ice skates as he pulled them on and laced the supple leather tight. He couldn't imagine how anyone could balance on such a thin edge. And yet many Cadeleonians did so easily. Already Javier and Atreau had joined in on a race. Fedeles spun in amazingly fast circles and even jumped from one foot to the other, landing as easily as if he were barefoot.
Kiram watched Nestor. He shoved off from the bank of the pond and glided in a slow circle, brushing snow off the back of his pants and coat. Then Elezar pounced down from the bank onto the ice. He snatched Nestor's cap from his head.
"Hey! Give it back!" Nestor demanded.
"Catch me and I will." Elezar pushed off from the toe of his skate and went hurtling across the frozen surface with Nestor in dogged pursuit.
Kiram stepped gingerly out onto the ice. He felt his skate begin to slip from under him and clutched at the bank to keep from falling. Hanging there, he kicked his feet out attempting to find some kind of footing. Then he felt a firm, steadying hand against his back.
"Stop thrashing around," Javier said. "You look like a startled colt. Relax. I won't let you fall."
Kiram calmed down and discovered that his stability did improve, though he didn't trust it enough to completely release his grip on the bank.
"Good." Javier smacked a thick clump of snow off the front of Kiram's coat. "Now take my hand."
"I'll fall and you'll just come right down on top of me," Kiram responded.
"Only if you pull me down after you. If you start to go down, let go of me. I'm sure you shouldn't have any trouble doing that." There was an edge to Javier's tone, but Kiram wasn't sure if it sounded more bitter or amused.
"Maybe," Kiram suggested, "I should just go back to the academy and finish up my work on the engine."
"Come, Kiram, you know you want to learn how to do this. It's fun and next winter you'll be able to whip past all the first years." Javier gazed at Kiram and it seemed that his mere physical presence drew Kiram. "Come, take my hand."
Kiram watched the other students, spinning and racing across the ice. He did want to join them. Slowly he released his grip on the bank and accepted Javier's hand.
He expected other students to stare, or at least make some comment about the two of them skating hand in hand, but then he saw several of the first-year students offering each other similar support. Atreau swept up beside two of the clumsiest youths- one in particular seemed only able to remain upright in an odd squatting position-and pulled them along by their belts while disseminating advice on proper form.
"You have to relax." Javier pulled him farther out from the bank. "Just push off of the ice and then allow it to slide away beneath you. If you tense up and fight it, you'll fall."
"I'm going to fall no matter what." Kiram tried to emulate Javier's fluid movements with his own jerky ones.
Javier smiled. "True, but you won't get as badly hurt if you give into it."
Kiram did fall numerous times, often on patches where stones and submerged reeds roughened the ice. But he always managed to release Javier and he never hurt himself badly. Between the falls, a wondrous sensation washed over him, a feeling like flying. With just a stroke of his blades he slashed across the ice and giddy delight rushed through him at the novelty of such effortless speed.
He joined Javier in several races, and when Fedeles caught his hand, Kiram allowed himself to be whisked away. Fedeles showed Kiram several tricks, spinning and jumping, which Kiram could never hope to emulate but loved watching. Where Fedeles leaped across the ice, Kiram managed to land a small hop. Still the accomplishment emboldened him.
When a game of tag started up, Kiram joined in, racing and laughing as some bulky third-year student sped by and tagged him. He managed to tag Nestor and Elezar, but was taken utterly unaware when Javier swooped up on him, moving so fast that upon contact, Javier's momentum carried them both away. Their two bodies pressed close as they flew across the ice. Kiram felt the slight stubble of Javier's jaw against his cheek. Javier's hand caressed his hip. Instinctively he leaned into Javier, aching for nearness.
The response startled Javier enough to make him miss his footing. But even falling, he didn't release Kiram. Instead he held him tighter and the two of them tumbled into a deep bank of snow. Kiram landed on top of Javier. From behind them Atreau whooped and Morisio laughed.
"Looks like Kiram took you out, Javier!"
"Looks like he did," Javier agreed but his expression was one of triumph. Kiram pulled himself up, a confusion of emotion roiling through him. The pleasure of embracing Javier tangled up in both his fear of being caught and his embarrassment at being so easily seduced.
Kiram brushed snow from his coat and refused to look at Javier; instead he glanced up at the clear blue sky and narrowed his eyes against the slanting sun.
"I should get back to work on my project while the sun's still up," Kiram decided.
Nestor looked disappointed. "Can't it wait a day?"
It could have, but Kiram simply shook his head. The weeks that he'd spent hiding from Javier's flirtatious smiles and arousing caresses had served his steam engine well. Now it stood complete. Kiram needed only to test it and fine tune his design.
"Let him go," Genimo called. "That steam engine isn't going to build itself."
Kiram didn't remember telling anyone but Javier and Scholar Donamillo that he was building a steam engine. But then Genimo spent much of his time with Scholar Donamillo and he knew that Genimo often cranked the mechanical cures for Fedeles' treatments. Of course he would know what Kiram was building and for what purpose.
Genimo gave Kiram a cold smile and flicked his hand as if he were shooing away a bird. "The work of a genius is never done."
"So true." Javier stepped up beside Kiram. "In fact I have a paper to work on myself. I might as well walk back with you, Kiram."
"You don't have to walk me back."
"Damn it, we were just getting a game going!" Elezar protested. "You can't crap out now!"
"Can and am." Javier brushed the snow from his coat as he spoke to Elezar. "As effortless as my excellence may appear to the rest of you, I do have to put a little work into it from time to time."
Elezar scowled. Javier ignored him and addressed Kiram. "Shall we?"
I suppose so.
They skated side by side across the pond and gathered their boots. But instead of trading their skates out, Javier insisted that it would be better to follow the stream up to the far bridge, where an easy path would already be beaten through the deep drifts of snow.
The surface of the frozen stream was much rougher than the pond and the two of them had to keep close to the center and one another to remain upright. Even so, falls were only narrowly missed by erratic flailing and quickly catching one another.