The Lotus Peak

Eka smiled. It was a bit of a slip up, but she did find Feruza to be incredibly attractive. All the more because she was cheerful and helpful and everything Eka needed at the moment. Her smile was not the false smile when one saw an acquaintance at the grocery store, but a heartfelt smile when one saw a true friend. "Yes, it will be very cold soon," she began, "and we should get going. And I have no problem leading the way." Eka made a ridiculous pose and grinned like an idiot as she spoke, and giggled a bit afterwards. She had ascended the mountain that she may find some enlightenment, and it turned into a chance to make a friend.

Eka's boots crunched on the snow. She had a map in her bag, but she didn't need it. The way forward was clear, and her intuition guided her if all else failed. Zephyrs chased the duo down the mountain, and Eka oft looked back to ensure that her friend was still right behind her as she tread down the mountain. There was very little real risk of losing her, but this Uzbek beauty seemed like a bit of a neophyte when it came to mountaineering. Nestled in her pack was a measure of rope, and she could guide her with that, need be, but the situation did not necessitate that. The situation in the tent, meanwhile, could involve some ropes.

Eka blushed as she turned back down the mountain. It was not often that she had these sorts of lewd thoughts came to her, and she didn't quite know why they were coming to her now. Crunch crunch crunch went her boots as they neared the campsite. They got closer and closer, and Eka realized that they were going to be the only ones there. Good, she thought.

Once she reached a flat spot, she turned to Feruza. "Can you please set up the tent? I will prepare dinner. For both of us." The Georgian girl set her pack down once more, this time making sure to not set it upon any rocks.

Eka was so kind! She was nicer than half of the people she had met in her time in Japan... although, that wasn't too surprising, given her line of work. She followed Eka, smiling as she did. She knew that Eka couldn't see it, but that didn't matter. She was happy. And maybe she could make some small talk. She wanted to know a little more about her new friend.

"So, uh, besides hiking, what is it that you do for fun?" asked Feruza, the crunch of snow, sticks, rocks, and leaves making her walk very satisfying. It sure was cold, and her thinly gloved fingers were feeling it, but her body was kept warm by the same coat that had protected her grandfather from the elements 70 years ago. It was sort of beautiful, in a weird, sentimental kind of way. That was probably just her, though.

"Tent? No problem! Oh, and it looks like we are the only ones at the campsite... very nice! No noisy tourists for bothering us." she joked, as the campsite got ever closer, the pair eventually reaching the entrance. "I will let you pick out the spot." Feruza said. "Do not worry about cooking— I am not picky." Feruza assured her Georgian companion.

Eka loved the sound of her boots meeting the earth. It was music to her ears. "I study, and I read. History is my favorite subject, but you have already guessed this, yes?" She said and grinned. "And sometimes, I wrestle. There is this AFW. I am a wrestler there. Not a very good one." Her cheery disposition dissipated. She suddenly remembered her long losing streak, her recent screw up with Alicia, everything that had happened over the past year, basically. A cloud was hanging over her now.

Again, Eka was having some issues with her zipper. Her thick mittens failed to properly grasp the infuriatingly small slidey thing, meaning that Eka was grimacing with quiet fury and concentration when her friend addressed her. "I, uh..." She looked around. There were no trees, this high up, which would have provided some natural shelter in addition to their manmade shelter. The closest thing around was a particularly large boulder. If they were downwind of that, that would provide some solace. But the winds up here swirled, and you could never tell which way they were going to go. Had she been in a good mood, she would have said there immediately. The problem was, she was reminded of her pathetic career. "There." She made up her mind, and pointed next to the rock. It was as good as anywhere, she supposed.

She finally opened her pack and produced her mobile cooking set. The Georgian girl took great care in being economical with her matches, and only wasted one in setting the burner alight. She got her pan out, and set it above it, dumping an amount of water into it. Noodles and her own home made curry followed shortly, then dehydrated chicken she had. The Georgian girl folded her arms across her chest, before turning back to her friend. "I am sorry. I was being rude, yes? What is it you do? For fun?" The fire below her cast long shadows on her face, and her blue eyes appeared to shift right and left in the wan, flickering light.

Feruza's eyes widened at the mention of AFW. "You.. what?!" she asked, completely incredulous. Maybe she had heard her wrong. "You— you wrestle at AFW?!" Feruza asked, before calming herself. There was no way... the odds were astronomical! Two girls from former Soviet republics, who both wrestled for the same company, on the same mountain, at the same time.

Unreal.

Feruza followed Eka to the spot she had picked out, but she knew something was amiss. Eka didn't have that same happy spirit that she did before. As they sat down around the small burner, Feruza shivered. "I think I will go get some wood for a fire. It is too cold." she said, There was a firepit there for a reason, after all. "If that is okay?" she asked, before looking around for some good sticks and logs to toss into the firepit. She made sure she was still in earshot of Eka for most of it, though, so that she could talk if she wanted.

And she did. Feruza was, after a while, holding an armful of firewood. This was when Eka asked the same question back, and Feruza beamed. "You will never believe this... but I am AFW wrestler, too." she said, waiting eagerly for her friend's reaction.

Eka was looking at her little makeshift kitchen, wishing she had all her Georgian ingredients. She would surely make something fantastic for Feruza, and really warm her heart. But as it was, she had this shambolic collection to work with. Eka could still rock that, mind you, but this was not the best thing she could possibly produce. Her new friend seemed terribly surprised that she was a wrestler, and Eka supposed that it was because her athletic body was under what felt like a thousand layers of clothing. Still, she smiled a bit. She highly doubted that Feruza would recognize her body of work, but on some level it was nice to viewed as a wrestler. Even if she wasn't a very good one.

"Yeah I do. I am riding a bit of a losing streak at the moment, but I think I can turn it around. But one must work hard, yes?" The Georgian girl nodded to her new friend to let her know that it was totally fine for her to roam around the camp looking for firewood. She followed Feruza with her eyes as she thought long and hard about lots of things. This high, water boiled more easily, and she knew this simple recipe so she didn't have to watch it anyways. "Here, let me help too." Once more she fumbled with her pack and produced a tin of kerosene. She poured a liberal amount on the tinder Feruza had collected, and soon they had a nice, if modest, blaze going.

Then Eka's eyes went wide. This woman was not only a wrestler, but a wrestler at AFW. Wow. The chances of these two women bumping into each other here, of all places, was downright astronomical. She immediately stood up, not quite what to do. The Georgian girl wasn't quite sure if she should hug her or challenge her to a little impromptu match. For a second, she said nothing, then she extended her arms upwards and exalted. "This is a magical moment, yes? If only we had something nice to celebrate with." Eka paused for a moment. "I have some hot cocoa. Come sit, tell me of your matches. You must be one of the best, yes?"

Feruza nodded as Eka used... an effective method to get the fire going. Feruza produced a lighter and lit the fire up. It roared to life, scaring Feruza a little bit. "Wah!" she gasped, stepping backwards a bit as the pile of wood was engulfed in flame. In seconds, they had a warm fire to sit around, and Feruza sat back down on a log. She let her shoulders relax, and she sighed contentedly as Eka cooked.

However, upon hearing that Feruza was also a wrestler at AFW, Eka got to her feet, so Feruza did the same. She grinned, as Eka was just as excited as she was to hear that news. "Magical! Yes, so magical!" the Uzbek said, bouncing on her heels and hugging Eka again. "Hot cocoa sounds like a perfect after such a cold day, yes?" she asked, pulling away from the hug but keeping the Georgian in her grasp. "And do not worry about your losing streak, friend. Everybody has bad luck sometimes." she assured her raven haired friend before releasing her. "I will be glad to tell you about my matches, if you promise that my cocoa is extra good~"

It was nice to be hugged again. This woman was awfully friendly, and the down-in-the-dumps Eka really needed that. She swallowed a little bit. The harsh wind picked up and buffeted her pale face, causing her eyes to tear up. When she withdrew, she wiped the condensation away and really looked at the woman standing in front of her. She seemed earnest, without any ulterior motives. This Uzbek woman was good and kind and pure, as far as she could tell. She sat back down.

Eka got two bowls from her pack. When it came to camping, the Georgian girl was always cautious. She had a ton of things in her pack, which was probably why she was so damn tired, now that she thought about it. Her back was killing her, but she was feeling far less fatigued now that she was sitting and resting. She poured Feruza a healthy dose of the noodle-chicken-curry combo, and offered her the bowl. "It is a bit spicy, yes? But that is probably no problem for you." She laughed as she spoke.

The Georgian girl then poured her own bowl, getting rid of the concoction entirely. She poured in some water to rinse the contents of the pot, and then filled it with water. "I like it with milk, but there are few grocery stores up here, yes?" She joked. Two full packets of hot chocolate powder ensured the drink would be properly thick, and once more Eka waited for it to boil. She pulled her glove off with her teeth, so she wouldn't have to play with the zipper again. Then Eka moved as quickly as she could to find some cinnamon she had, and sprinkled a bit in the cocoa, before retiring it to the pack once more.

"It will be a minute. Should not be long, yes?" She started. "Did you make it to the top?"

Since Eka had gulped, and now her eyes were watering, it looked as if she was crying. Feruza didn't want her jolly friend too said, so she wiped away a tear from Eka's fair face and smiled. "Oh, Eka! Do not worry... I am sure that your losing streak is not that bad." she said, as Eka broke off the hug to sit back down and continue cooking. Naturally, Feruza sat next to her, bumping up against her to, uh, conserve warmth. Yes, that was it.

Feruza's eyes widened as she was handed a cup of steaming... soup-curry? She didn't know what the name for it was, but it looked and smelled heavenly. Eagerly and yet carefully she took a sip, making sure not to burn her mouth. "Ow." she hissed, as the delicious soup burned her mouth a little. However, it was indeed amazing. "Eka, this is delicious!" she remarked. "You will have to give me recipe..." she said, gingerly sipping some more.

By the time she had slurped the soup down, she was very much ready to drink her hot cocoa. "Oh, I do not care. I am sure that it will be very good, anyways." she said, waving a hand towards Eka's comment. "No, not many supermarkets at all!" she said, laughing a tad at Eka's joke. The two girls got along very well, it showed. Even at Eka's more corny jokes, Feruza laughed.

"Oh, no, I was on the way up to top when I saw that you were having trouble with glove." she explained. "It got late... and here we are!" Feruza said with a smile, taking her gaze off of the cocoa to rest it upon Eka. "Did you?"

Eka smiled when Feruza wiped away her tear. The Georgian girl had a fierce pride to her, back in the day. Now that she was riding this losing streak, she needed a pick me up, and here Feruza was on top of the mountain with her. She sniffed, and wiped her nose with her mitten. Her blue eyes shuttered and opened as she blinked a few times, trying to get the rest of the tears from her eyes. When she sat back down, she made a note of how closely Feruzawas sitting. Or rather, how they were straight up touching each other. Just like with the hug, and the tear wipe, Eka did not mind one bit.

"Maybe in the grand scheme of things, it is not so bad, yes? But it feels bad. I lost against Cecilia Northman. She is very good. Strong." Eka flexed a bit under her thick coat. Then she remembered that it was nigh impossible to see, and pressed on. "There was this one woman, Bunny Bomber. She cheated against me, to win. I would like to have another shot at her, but I don't think they will give me one." She said wistfully.

"And I am glad you like it!" Eka beamed. She tasted it to find that Feruza was not exaggerating. Despite the scanty resources she had, she had managed to concoct quite a good meal. "Yes, I made it to the top. I am very tired now." She took another forkful of her dinner and it warmed her insides. Nice and spicy, too.

She removed two cups from her pack, and poured the hot cocoa into them. The Georgian girl met Feruza's eyes as she handed the cup to her. "We can try tomorrow. Bright and early," she said, "and we will both make it to the top."

Feruza was a touchy-feely woman, there was no denying that. However, she knew her limits with a normal person. She had surpassed those limits. She definitely thought that Eka was pretty cute, and, since she was getting away with intimacy, she assumed that the feelings were mutual. Excellent. She had made, perhaps, a bit more than a friend.

"Cecilia... a quality loss. I have heard of Cecilia." Feruza said, nodding sympathetically, before her expression turned a little angry. "Cheaters... I hate cheaters." she growled, as she heard Eka's story. "You should find her, and challenge her yourself. If you cannot find a match with her, make own match." she said, putting an arm around Eka's shoulders and pointing at her with her index finger, in a sort of motivational way.

She pulled away (although that was relative), though, to let Eka eat and drink. "You made it to top? Wow!" Feruza said, hugging (she swears just to keep them warm) Eka carefully, so she didn't spill any of her delicious soup or cocoa. Speaking of cocoa, feruza had yet to try hers yet, although she knew beforehand that it was going to be good— at least, if the soup was anything to go by.

Feruza took a cup from Eka, and nodded in thanks as the sweet smelling fluid filled her cup. She offered a toast. "To the peak?" she proposed, holding her cup up expectantly.