every mile is two in winter

Hattori glared at Raijin and, if he weren’t so afraid it would freeze off instantly, he’d have stuck his tongue out at him. As it was, he felt like his eyeballs would freeze and pop right out like glass trinkets, so it really wasn’t his fault. Still, try telling that to his perfect cousin. Instead, in reply, he gave a snotty snort before a sniffle. Then they were pressing forward once more, half-walking half-sliding their way down the snowy slope. By the time it leveled out, Raijin felt a lot like a snow-man with all the fluffy precipitation that clung to his body and he gave himself another good shake for measure, sending snow flying in all directions.

They all stood just before what looked to be a possible ice bridge and the spotted man glanced at his cousin, a sinking feeling falling into his gut at the contemplative expression on his face. Oh he knew that look and it had gotten him into plenty of trouble before. Then, silver met gold and Hattori ordered him to test out the ice. He fought back a groan, instead gritting his teeth and giving a sharp bob of his head. After all, it was best for him to go out and risk falling through rather than the two rulers of Ashen. It was exactly why he’d come along, as much as he cursed himself for it, so he should at least do his job.

The man moved forward, placing a single paw on the blueish ice and pressing down firmly. When it held, he placed another paw in front of that, then another and another until he was several yards away without incident. He turned back, raising his voice so that they could hear him. “If it can handle my voluptuous body, it can handle yours,” he said with a grin.