"One...foot...at a...time..."
"Cress, you have to loosen up a little."
"But I'll fall over!"
"Try to shimmy!"
"What does that even mean?!" *thud*

A follow-up to the previous skating picture - some nine years later, Rhime heads back home on a Tamberlands winter vacation and brings along her favorite student, so that Cress can experience her first time on skates. Obviously, musical talent and infinite bookwormishness don't mean you're any good at staying on your feet. Obviously.

There was a lot in this picture that's new to me - it's the first thing I've ever done with this kind of extreme perspective, for example, and there was a lot more reflection and background study that went into it. Cress' ice skates are a design I came up with to fit over digitigrade feet; the rod in the heel is supposed to be just slightly springy, to give a better range of motion, but not so much that the entire skate bounces off the ice awkwardly. It was fun to come up with and put into drawing form, and along with the custom earmuffs, this means she finally has a complete winter outfit, provided I stick with this general design. (I lightened her hair up a bit again, too, but she still has a mostly-full head of it now.)

This may also be the most elaborate outfit Rhime's ever worn or ever will wear - it's basically a more elaborate version of the one she had as a kid. I guess she's probably just happy as long as she can put bells on it.. =)