Of course Oscar came, he had been looking forward to hunting the Galarian birds with Mint ever since the idea was proposed to him. He just wished they could have started somewhere warmer, he knew venturing into Shoal Cave was inevitable but once again he underestimated how cold it would be. He had on standard winter wear, but with how thin he was it did little to defend him from the cold.

Oscar reeled as they entered the cave, immediately lambasting the chill with a string of expletives. It caused him to lag behind, which prompted Mint to wonder if he was okay. Recalling how Mint treated Oscar when he was sick, the former beast did not want to give Mint a reason to worry about him.

"Yeah I'm fine!" He called out as he repressed his shivers. "Just acclimating to the--climate." Oscar revved himself up, taking a few deep breathes before running to catch up with Mint. "So uh, where should we start looking? Do you think the Galarian Articuno would have gone as deep as the original?"

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Mint stopped to offer his hands to warm Oscar, and the shocked Oscar found himself blushing--unsure how to respond. Of course it was just a gaffe, with Mint revealing the handwarmers. This made Oscar's face light up even more, but despite his embarrassment he would accept the handwarmers in good humor. "Why thank you, this is just what I needed!"

Oscar shoved his hands and their warmers into his coat pockets as Mint's flareon began frolicking around him. Normally the affection of Mint's dogs made him nervous, but the flareon's warming aura was more than welcome today. As they pressed forward, Oscar would respond to Mint's statements.

"Knowing Zapdos it's more than happy to stay as far away as it can from its relatives. I don't think it likes them very much." Zapdos was likely not hostile, but it seemed to enjoy its solitude. Its more social cousins were probably an unwelcome presence within its vicinity--hence its reluctance to help seek them out.

The mention of Articuno made Oscar curious, and he would muse out loud as they began trekking through a rockier passage. "A bit ironic that the fuckin' ice bird would get done in by the ice dragon. Then again Kyurem's power level is off the fuckin' charts. Articuno is more of a natural freeze, Kyurem is like--an apocalyptic sci-fi freeze."

As they continued forward, Oscar realized something that would require the expertise of Mint to put to rest. "The other Articuno, the one from Galar, is it an ice type?"

mint frost

Oscar tapped his chin, trying his best to think deeply while navigating the uneven terrain of the cave. "Galar again." He said out loud, nearly to no one. By this point Oscar had heard a great deal about what had happened with Galar, yet he still understood none of it. The puzzle pieces fit together, but the image it made looked wrong. As if it was blended up in a paint mix or something.

"It would make sense that the Galarian variant would appear in Galar I guess." Oscar mused while carefully moving up a frozen slope. "I don't really understand what had happened though. Every time it's explained to me it makes less sense. I wish I could have been there."

Oscar briefly paused as he recalled some of the more traumatic stories he had heard. Sure the best way to get what happened would be to experience what happened, but perhaps it was best that he did not. "Maybe I don't though."

Oscar pressed forward, trying to keep up with his companion. "I guess what I'm thinking is, it probably wouldn't bother being somewhere this cold if it weren't an ice type. Maybe it would be drawn somewhere with psychic power, like--fffFuck!" Oscar had lost his footing and slipped backwards, landing on his behind with a loud thump. There were worse places he could have fallen, but that didn't heal his pride or his ass.

"Fuuuck that hurt."

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Poor Oscar was too embarrassed to look Mint in the eyes as he approached to help him. Like a prideful child he would just pout and look away, hoping that it would all resolve itself on its own. "I'm fine I just fell on my--"

Oscar tensed up as Mint touched the back of his head, asking him if he could still see straight. He had not hit his head at all, but the gentle pressure of Mint's hand was too comforting to reject. Oscar made the mistake of locking eyes with Mint, briefly getting lost in his emerald gaze. Oscar's agitation slowly melted away, replaced with the annoyance of being charmed by a pretty face.

He tried to play it off. "Yeah I'm fine. I see fine. I feel fine. I'm fine." Oscar carefully pushed himself to his feet, wobbling slightly as his boots struggled to readjust to the ice. "I've got bruised in worse places, I'll just sit on ice when I get home."

Oscar teetered forward before finally settling into a confident stride. The ice smoothed out the further in they went, almost as if it were turning into stone. Their surroundings began to crystalize, the cave surfaces being smothered by frost. It would be pretty if Oscar were not focused on looking for the bird. Oscar shuttered as the chill became more biting. "H-how much further sh-should we go i-i-in, do you think?"

Oscar was trying to not appear cold, but his body's trembling betrayed such a notion.

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At last, their destination. Oscar shuffled forward as Mint presented Articuno's 'lair', placing his gloved hand upon the legendary bird's cocoon. Even through his glove, he could feel the terrible chill of the ice-wall.

"It's--in th-there?" It was amazing to be so close to yet another legendary bird, too bad it was currently inaccessible and hibernating. Oscar kicked the ice a bit, attempting to see how tough it was. It was like kicking a slab of stone.

"This thing h-has to be as t-t-tough as steel. Articuno r-r-really went all out with its isol-lation." Oscar hugged himself, shivering as he took in the twinkling ice that surrounded them. It seemed more like crystal, beautiful prisms that shone one thousand colors. Oscar would have been dazzled if he were not struggling to stay warm.

After a moment of taking in the spectacle, Oscar turned to Mint. "Okay so now-w-w-w what?"

mint frost

Mint and his flareon came closer to Oscar, and as the beast commented on his stammering Oscar could not help but blush. Oscar felt himself getting warmer as Mint fumbled for something within his pocket, though that was probably thanks to his flareon. Still, he could help but stare, fixated on Mint's every motion as he set up the sensors. He was like an oil painting in motion, absolutely captivating.

Then sensors were placed into Oscar's hand, and as Mint moved away the spell was broken. Oscar chastised himself internally, chalking his momentary infatuation to the cold compressing his brain or something. How infantile. Oscar began to place the sensors in blind spots, chuckling as Mint brought up post-mission hot cocoa. "Yeah, and pancakes."

As he placed the final sensor, Oscar tucked his hands under his armpits and faced Mint. "Alright s-s-so I hope you know the way back because I've been too b-b-busy being cold."

mint frost