As the sun began its setting, three picnic-bound hikers began a slow-paced ascent up the side of the imposing Mt. Bonsel. To the right of their trail was its steep upwards slope; in the far distance, across swathes of rainforest valley, were its sibling mountains. The worst of the summer heat had passed with the early evening, but even now the three hikers kept to the shade of the trees whose leaves overhung the path. The red X marks spray-painted on their trunks were faded from exposure and time, but not yet gone.
As they climbed further up the cleared path, a rocky clearing came into view. It too was sprayed with an assortment of eroded symbols, divested of their meaning and left to disappear. Abandoned construction materials laid around the site in haphazard piles. Yellowish dust coated corrugated metal panels and patchy growth grew through and around cracked tiling.
“Safe to say we can write all this stuff off as a loss,” Choc mused, flicking their bottle cap back into the basket. “I doubt it’s worth anything, even as scrap.”
“It’s nature’s now,” agreed Bonbon. “At least we can get up the trail.”
Previously too busy with the refreshments to speak, Mocha let out a satisfied ahhh before turning to their captain. “Why’d you bring us up here, anyway?”
“It’s a nice little scenic spot. I figured it’d take the edge off of what I’m about to show you.” Bonbon pulled their phone out and showed their two teammates the results of a recent poll. Narrowed down by team and affiliation, its results were hardly optimistic for the Chocolatiers: only 18% of non-fans believed they could qualify for the upcoming League, and amongst fans that dropped to a mere 13%.
“Well, who cares?” Mocha declared, masking their discomfort. “Oh, we DNQed in the first winter League, so we’ll DNQ in the second one. Real genius-level analysis, here’s your award.”
“If we do DNQ, that’s more facilities we’ve built for nothing. Nothing against hockey, but…” Choc glanced down the slope to the experimental, half-done tarmacking, now slowly falling apart. “You don’t need to tell me how important qualifying is. I promise I’ll be giving it my all.”
Bonbon nodded. “I’ll be ramping up training, too.”
“So that’s why you didn’t bring Cocoa,” said Mocha, smirking.
“We’ve already spoken.”
The trio went silent.
“I want this to be a good year for us. I brought the two of you up here because I need you not to bicker when it matters. Got it?”
Tall shadows cast against the rusty earth, the two waited before nodding in quiet agreement.
“Great. That’s all I ask.”
To: [REDACTED]@snowballs.org
First, congratulations on your event win! I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how much it means to all of us Blancouverites that you and your team have won Hockey, but I will tell you to enjoy it. You really shone there, as did your teammates, and I think it’s a great sign you were able to pull off such a solid performance together.
Onto the main topic: I’d like to remind you about the goals and fears list I’d asked you to create prior to our next session tomorrow. There’s no right way to define either of those things, and it doesn’t have to be long. I just really want to know how you feel about the trajectory of your life and career so we can hopefully identify some themes and work backwards to see what’s informing your perspective. I’m a bit behind you timezone-wise, so if you need to discuss anything I should be around until late.
Speak tomorrow,
(REDACTED)
Was it possible for two teams to be inexplicably linked together for an entire season?
That question hadn’t been on Ember’s mind at the start of the season, but it only took two events and a podium reclassification to make them ask it. Earlier today they asked themself again. There was no other way to explain so many of the team’s newfound achievements having Team Momo woven into the conversation.
And here they were, asking it once more – it was hard not to when they and their teammate went to celebrate their team’s first gold medals at a cozy cafe, and Momomomo and Mimo had coincidentally picked the exact same one as them.
“Is this gonna be a theme? Us and them?” Radiance whispered. Ember shrugged.
“Hey, gold medalists!” Mimo called out from the other side of the cafe. “Get over here!”
The two stared at each other before setting sights on the table closest to the window. Upon taking seats across from the duo, the first thing they noticed was a large plate of pastries.
Momomomo greeted the pair with a smile as they put down a mug. “Congratulations on the gold! How does it feel?”
Ember looked up from the plate and met Momomomo’s eyes. “How’s what feel?”
“Winning a gold medal,” Mimo blurted. “Or y’know, simply a medal you actually deserved at the end of the day– ow!” They were cut off by a strong nudge from their teammate, a look of disapproval following suit. “…anyways, not many get to say they won a gold, and now both of you can say you have!”
Radiance smiled as they looked down at their medal. “I feel like I’m dreaming whenever I look at this medal… I guess that’s to say it feels great! Never thought this would happen to me.” Their teammate nodded, a silent confirmation that their feelings were mutual.
The air between the marbles went silent. Ember’s gaze kept falling on the plate at the center of the table; the pastries stacked on the plate looked as enticing as ever.
“Do you two want some of these, actually?” Momomomo asked – they knew Ember was staring. “I’m not sure we can finish all of this, so help yourselves.”
Ember leaned in closer, enjoying the sugary scent. “What are these?”
“A Glidavikian doughnut of some kind?” Momomomo answered, unsure. “Either way, they’re good. Go ahead and have some!”
Seeing no reason to refuse their kindness, Ember picked up one of the warm doughnuts. A light drizzling of chocolate covered the golden brown pastry; the sweetness of it made for an interesting contrast to the pastry’s spiced flavor.
“These are so good!” Ember gushed. “Are you sure you’re okay with sharing?”
Momomomo nodded. “It’s the least we could do to congratulate you on a gold medal performance. That and we’d love to get closer to your team. Doesn’t hurt that every time your team achieves something, we’re close by. Maybe we were meant to be friends?”
Radiance’s expression turned confused. “Friends with us? This quickly?”
“Hey, I’m not saying no to seeing more of you two! Maybe we can see each other again whenever your team next medals,” Mimo remarked with a laugh. “Always seems to get us in the same area!”
“Well, when you put it like that…” Ember took another pastry and laughed between bites. “We’ll see you on the podium again, then!”
Glidavik wasn’t in any way short of ice, but it was nonetheless the venue for a gigantic city-centre ice rink for the duration of the League. With a gold medal putting them firmly in the top of the standings, the Green Ducks had decided amongst themselves that they were in a good position to take a break in the city, and Mallard and Bombay had headed to the ice rink with the hope of reliving one of Bombay’s fondest memories with Gadwall. But despite being at the ice rink, peering out onto the busy ice, breathing in the cold air, Mallard wasn’t moving.
It wasn’t for a lack of trying. In fact, they’d put their skates on a good fifteen minutes ago just to be nowhere near the ice. That was because Bombay, who per their own account had “loved” ice skating before they and Billy had arrived, was only now close to finished with their long lecture about safety on the ice.
“…and finally, don’t bring the blade of the skates too close to anyone. They’re seriously sharp; that’s how they keep a good grip on the ice. Understand?”
Mallard had given up listening five minutes in. Eager to get on the ice, they nodded anyway. “Yes, I’ve got it. You can lead me onto the ice, if you’d like.”
Bombay nodded and took Mallard to their side. They entered the ice together with a tentative grace that almost had Mallard believing their tales of former ice-rink glories. But all of that pretense quickly fell apart as Bombay started to flail and skid about on the slick surface, the initial momentum and stability of their first push having disappeared. As they drifted further towards the center of the rink and away from the rails, Bombay began to hold tighter to Mallard, pressing up until they could hardly move for the added weight of their parent. All of the bluster about safety and confidence had vanished instantly.
“Didn’t you say you knew how to do this?” asked Mallard, exasperatedly trying to maintain their momentum lest they both lose control and fall onto the ice. Bombay wasn’t making it easy for them, slipping and sliding every time they focused on moving rather than keeping them in place.
“Yes—well—that was a long time ago!” they protested, clinging even closer. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Mallard grumbled under their facade of agreeable composure. “It’s fine. But…”
Unbeknownst to them, Billy and Ducky had just returned from their shopping trip in the city with Fenrir and Sirius in tow. Their teammates’ flailing was as eye-catching as it was embarrassing, and it was impossible for them to have gone unnoticed.
“All of that advice you gave me was for solo skating, right?”
“…Yes…” Bombay replied.
“So, you’d probably be more confident if I let you go.”
Bombay let out a faint whimper of hesitancy, but Mallard had already made their mind up. Darting away too quickly to be caught, they left Bombay to the mercy of the ice and the rink, to gravity and their own balance. For a brutal few moments they wobbled wildly in place, but it was just as Mallard had predicted—memory kicked in and Bombay was quickly upright and alright, if vexed. Meanwhile, Mallard was finding their own balance.
“Mallard! What on Marblearth was that for?” Bombay chided, skating with remarkable grace but insufficient speed towards them, setting into motion a chase that skirted the entire length of the rink.
Out of their view, Sirius turned to Ducky and flashed a toothy smile. “I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s great,” they gasped.
“Just wait for the crash,” Ducky replied quietly, taking a sip of their steaming cup of hot chocolate.
Credits
- Writers: Millim, Momoikkai
- Copyeditors/Editors: Evolution
- Reference: ❄️ MARBLE LEAGUE 2024 ❄️ E7 Ice Hockey 🏒 | ❄️ MARBLE LEAGUE 2024 ❄️ E8 Ice Domino Bowling 🎳 | ❄️ MARBLE LEAGUE 2024 ❄️ E9 Curling 🥌
- Release: 10/02/2025
Project Marblearth 