By the time the fight was over she had been soundly defeated, and a good portion of one snowball had managed to fall into her coat. She could feel it melting on her. She squirmed appropriately. She wasn't sure if he'd cheated or not during the game, but was hedging her bets on not. She'd hit him a few times after all, and that definitely didn't seem normal.

"Well, that was fun." She dusted what was left of the melting snow off of her, pulling her coat away to try and dislodge any stubborn bits from inside. It had grown fairly dark. She could see the coat tails of the sun vanishing around the backside of the mountain.

"Do you wanna set up camp here, or go up to the summit to look at the stars?" She was partial to either, really. The clearing they were in was just off to the side of a hiking trail. There were a few spots scattered around where snow hadn't managed to settle on the ground. The summit though, she was sure would be a block of ice by the time they got to it.

"I'd be fine with camping here for a bit. I can show you what I brought!"

Saph celebrated his victory proudly, throwing his fist in the air, and then trying in vain to dig out the snow that fell down her coat.

When she posed the question of them going to the summit, or staying there, he couldn't help but stare longingly up at the mountain. It seemed like she was hinting she didn't really want to make the journey, and he couldn't blame her. He was freezing his taters off.

Still, his sense of adventure told him that the world would look small beneath his feet if he stood up there. Fake and all, he wanted to stand on top of it all and maybe jump off. That was the energy absorbing mutant in him speaking.

"Oh, you know... I'm good if we stay down here... kinda wonder bout the view up there..."

He let the speech trail off, turning to look down at her after a second.

"Wachu bring, anyway?"

Watching him think, she felt a warm little smile tugging at her lips. He looked like a puppy, fixated on a toy he couldn't reach. After a moment he gave her his answer and she giggled. "One sec." She let her pack slid back off her shoulders and fished his thermos out, handing it to him and then grabbing her backpack back up.

"Computer, move to coordinate 23A, elevation 14,300." The world blurred around them for a moment, before re-adjusting to her direction. When everything re-set they were just down the crest of the hill from the summit of the mountain. The snow crackled under them, before caving in and sinking the both of them up to mid-thigh. Well, Saph was mid-thigh. She was in up to her waist.

"Ahh!" There was snow in her pants! She flailed wildly for a moment before setting to work at getting herself out.

He felt her eyes on him, and knew what she was going to do before she did it. a hand reached out to receive the thermos, which was slightly warm to the touch, nice, considering the freezing temperatures around them.

"Computer, move to coordinate 23A, elevation 14,300."

Huh she'd kinda gotten a handle on using the voice commands hadn't s- "SHHHHHHAAA-"

The dangly bits were at snow level suddenly.

"c-c-omputer, lower temperature sensitivity... f-fifty percent." Suddenly, the feeling of cold offered to them via the simulation was muted.

Saph moved to give her a grumpy look, but couldn't help laughing when he noticed just how deep in the snow she was. He grinned, and gave her a little push, diving in after her.

She saw the grin coming and attempted to point at him threateningly. "Saph, Don't you Da--Ahh!"

She toppled over easily, vanishing into the white fluff with a poof of snow dust. In came Saph after her and she couldn't help but laugh. It really helped that he'd raised the temp.. she'd have to thank him later for--

CraaaaaaaaacK

The snow around them rumbled slightly. She speared Saph with a questioning look shortly before the whole snowy face of the mountain they were on started to move.

"OhSH-" She was cut off as the snow picked up speed, rushing down it's more frozen under layers like water on ice.

There was a loud cracking sound.

"Uh oh..."

The snow they were now laying atop decided to slide down the mountain. Much avalanche, so wow.
Saphirus was the type to act quickly in such circumstances. He latched on to her before she slid away or anything like that. "Computer, move to coordinate 23A, elevation 14,300"

The world shifted ever so slightly, and they were standing in the same position they were before, with an avalanche rolling out below them. Saph let her go after a minute, and shrugged, watching the snow slide down the mountain. It didn't look bad from up here.

"Well... that was a thing."

His eyes then diverted to the rest of the view... well damn. With such a clear sky, they could see everything, for miles. He pointed out to a cluster of lights in the distance. "That Seattle? Damn..."

He still hadn't looked up yet, and night had officially arrived.

"Well... that was a thing."

"You're telling me." She shook herself off, silently praising his quick thinking. She was starting to feel uncomfortably wet. She set about peeling off the wet bits and digging out the sweater she'd brought. Once she was feeling less soggy. She peered out at where he was talking about. On the horizon, past the sea of dark trees and lingering low hanging clouds, was a bright blob of light. A glance to the side a bit showed a dimmer, similar blob of light. 

"Yep! And that over there is Tacoma by the looks of it." She pointed to it, while envisioning a mental map in her head. "Funny thing is that Tacoma is actually closer to us where we currently are, but they have less lights."

She left him to marvel for a moment, while walking a few paces away. They were surrounded by snow, and while the cold factor had been adjusted, she kinda liked the idea of snuggling to watch stars together on something more comfortable. "Computer, import one pen stylus."

Before her appeared a slim white pen. She took it, fiddling with it for a moment. While it looked like a simple pen at first glance, it was modeled after the type of stylus' used for digital art. She clicked a little button on the side and a little box window appeared above the tip of the pen. [Build] Another little box popped up and she shifted through a few simple texture options with a finger. 

She walked a little ways away, angled the brush down and held down yet another button as she moved the pen back and forth in front of her. Layers of what looked like grass started to appear. She moved about until she had a good sized portion of the stuff down, before tucking the pen into her pocket. She glanced over her shoulder at Saph to see what he was doing, then dropped her bag and started to unpack. Out came two large, soft blankets. Out came a little box with various snacks tucked away inside. Out came the other thermos. She set up a little cuddle spot in the grass, unscrewed the lid from her bottle and took a sip. Her tea was still hot, even!

Her attention turned back to her boyfriend. She smiled. "So, what do you think?" Above her the sky was decorated to the brim with stars. The milky way stood out like a beautiful scar, stretching from one edge of the horizon to the opposite side. She watched as a shooting star arched quickly across the sky.

"Yep! And that over there is Tacoma by the looks of it. Funny thing is that Tacoma is actually closer to us where we currently are, but they have less lights."

Saph nodded at her pointing out of the different blobs of light. "Tacoma... Never heard of it. You from there?" He tilted his head as she summoned a stylus and started painting the ground with grass.

That... He'd never seen before. "The... hell? Since when is that a thing?" He poked at it with a cautious observing eye. It was like she'd installed photoshop in the danger room! He quickly got bored of the artsy stuff, and turned to adventure around a bit more. From the other side of their little bump on the mountain he could see two other huge mountains off in the distance.

"Jees... how many of these volcanoes do you guys got around here?" He turned to see the spot opened up, and ready for a night of leisurely star gazing. On his way back he got to thinking about how he hadn't even really thought to look up yet.

When he did... Wow... It was stunning. There was so much. He was so small, they were all so small. A little laugh drifted from his lift.

"Holy s^$t... How many stars do you figure are out there?"

He wandered over to her, still looking right up at the night sky.

"Tacoma... Never heard of it. You from there?"

She chuckled. "Originally? No. I was born in Bellevue. I lived all over Washington state." Like, seriously. All over it. "Bellevue, Spokane, Yakima, Puyallup, Tacoma, Vancouver... The list goes on."

"The... hell? Since when is that a thing?"

"I had it installed when this program was being made." She was tempted to reach for the pen again, but held back. "It makes it easier tailoring the environment to suit my needs, since I don't know all the fancy codes. Plus, well, ya know... art."

"Jees... how many of these volcanoes do you guys got around here?"

"Mmm... ten?" She paused, thinking it over. "Yup. Ten." She grinned, knocking her boots together. "Oregon has nineteen."

"Holy s^$t... How many stars do you figure are out there?"

Laughing, she scooted over to make room for him. "At least a hundred billion or so in the Milky Way alone." She looked up as well, leaning back on her arms for support. 

"Isn't it phenomenal?"

Within seconds, he was comfortable next to her, gazing the stars. It was a bit much for him, honestly. He couldn't really perceive what was being presented to him properly. What was he looking at. A lot of stars? He knew that they were in a solar system, which was in a galaxy, which was in the universe, but he'd never really thought of any of this stuff.

"It's somethin' else. One hundred billion... So you know all this stuff, huh? From College?"

He turned to her for a second, refocusing his attention... She was beautiful, painted in starlight. The older mutant felt as though all this time he'd been sort of missing something, and maybe... Just maybe it was right here, somewhere.

It was a strange thought.

"Uhm... Hey, what's that bright star right there. It's brighter than all the others."

"It's somethin' else. One hundred billion... So you know all this stuff, huh? From College?"

With a giggle she shrugged one shoulder at him. "There are an uncountable number of stars in the observable universe... There was an estimate made a while ago... something like a hundred sextillion?" With a smile, she glanced at him, before turning her face back up to the stars. "Nah. I've been an astronomy nerd for a few years now. Ever since I read the book 'Ring World'."

It had really opened up her imagination, away from simple dragons and dungeons. She could easily recall the first time she'd ever seen mars. 

"Uhm... Hey, what's that bright star right there. It's brighter than all the others."

She leaned in toward him and followed the point of his finger. With a squint, she spotted the bright speck. "That... looks like Jupiter, maybe." She pondered breaking her pen out to magnify the spot, but thought better of it.

"Computer, import Celestar 86, computerized telescope." She stood as it started to materialize, dusting off her bum as the large piece of equipment settled in the grass just in front of their blanket. Moving to the telescope, she swiveled it toward the spot he'd pointed out, and adjusted the height on the rig a bit. "Yep! Jupiter." Stepping aside, she waved him toward her.

"Here, come look." Then she stepped aside and tucked her hands into the pockets of her sweater.

"There are an uncountable number of stars in the observable universe... There was an estimate made a while ago... something like a hundred sextillion?"

Sextillion? Was that some sort of innuendo? It was one of the nerdy numbers that people used when they were talking bout things that in no way affected anyone on earth. It was nice to hear it from her, though. He smiled, warm with a type of admiration as she went on.

"That... looks like Jupiter, maybe."

"J-Jupiter? That's a @#$^in planet?! For real?"

She set out to prove this by making a serious, honest to goodness high powered telescope appear, and zeroing it on it. Saph looked at her strangely for a sec, and then leaned in to look.

"No @#$%in way.. That's a planet. I'm looking at a planet." He stared for a few solid moments, and then turned to her.

"Uh... can you get any other ones on this? Planets." Well damn... seeing a planet with his own eyes kinda made it all feel more real, didn't it? He'd had a taste, and he wanted more.

"No @#$%in way.. That's a planet. I'm looking at a planet."

She watched excitedly as he bent over the telescope eyepiece, smiling to herself. It was always fun watching someone else discover something new, especially when it had to do with space. Not a whole lot of people ever really bothered looking out. They just focused inward, as if Earth was the center of the universe. In reality they were so small... just a blip on the radar. "Did you see the Great Red Spot?" She questioned, "That's a huge storm on Jupiter that's been going for hundreds of years."

"Uh... can you get any other ones on this? Planets."

She nodded, cheeks pink with happiness, and turned to look at the sky. She wasn't exactly sure how the stars were aligned out in real life but in the simulation she'd had the ability to override nature a bit. She pointed up, away from the bright spot that was Jupiter to another bright, silvery, glowing spot. "Can you see that spot right there? That's Venus." Moving the angle of the telescope to match, she took a peek though the eyepiece once more, before stepping back again.

"Venus is the closest planet to us, so it's usually fairly easy to spot." She glanced up at it herself, battling a shiver away, before she decided to try and squirrel her way in between Saph and the telescope for warmth. He was taller than her by enough that she could easily lean out of the way while he looked, and she'd be able to leech his heat away from him.

"Interesting Venus fact: One day on Venus takes about two hundred and forty-ish days for a full rotation... and yet, it's orbit only takes about two hundred and twenty... that makes a day on Venus longer than a year on Venus!" She tilted her head back a little to look up at him.

"Did you see the Great Red Spot? That's a huge storm on Jupiter that's been going for hundreds of years."

He nodded a little bit. He knew that one from grade school, luckily enough. Grade school never had him actually looking at the damned thing, though. "Kinda. It's a little bump in all the lines."

She redirected the microscope toward Venus. He wasn't as familiar with this planet; people just kinda glossed it over for the big ones like Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter. He gladly accepted her in for her warmth gathering, listening intently as she spouted various factoids. Interesting fact, though, he once punched someone named Venus through several walls. Or was that Mars?

"Really? Didn't even think something like that could happen... Jees, it looks so small. Is it a tiny one? Like, uh... Pluto?" He knew Pluto was small as far as planets went. Essential to the solar system, though, Pluto. The most underrated planet.

Not. Debated. At all.

"Really? Didn't even think something like that could happen... Jees, it looks so small. Is it a tiny one? Like, uh... Pluto?"

She chuckled. "Actually, Venus is nearly the same size as Earth." She turned to look up at him slightly. "Pluto is a tiny speck compared to it." In fact, on a size chart you had to break out a magnifying glass in order to find it. "They actually declassified it as a 'planet', into a dwarf planet at some point... I would show you through the telescope, but you have to find it's specific star field and watch it over several days... it's a ton of work." Hence why, when it came to her own gazing she'd never been devoted about to try and track it down. She replied on the most current pictures from NASA for all of her Pluto know-how.

"Buuuut..." She took hold of the telescope, picking out another of her favorites. "I can show you something better~" The sing song tone she adopted and she tracked down Saturn was light and silly. "I bet this one will blow your mind."

She edged away again having found the planet she sought, to let him peek through the eye piece. There, before him would be a miniature version of Saturn. Ever so slightly blurry, but still clear enough to see the full shape of the planet and its well known rings.

She watched him with a content smile on her lips, cuddling back into his warmth.