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"are you lost, ma'am?"
betty blinks. turns.
there, standing beside her. an ice scout. one of the winter king's little toy soldiers. she carefully unsticks her hands from the railing. "yeah. i was, uhm. looking for the library." she lies.
the scout tilts her head. she looks like she wants to say something, probably in regards to the obvious lie, but she holds her tongue. "of course. follow me, ma'am."
the scout takes off and betty follows. it's been a while since she's been alone with anyone besides winter. it's strange. she taps her palm with her middle finger a few times, before a question pops into her mind. "hey, uh," the ice scout tilts her head backwards. betty swallows. "how, like. sentient are you?"
the scout stops. "pardon?"
"like. ok so, the winter king made you, yeah?"
she nods.
"are you just an extension of him or..?"
a blank stare.
"ok, uh. do you have a name?"
"i am an ice-"
"no no, i mean. a Name. like samantha or tiffany. ice scout is a title."
bingo. that gets her a thoughtful look, a finger on the chin. she's thinking. "you know, i haven't actually.. thought about it." she mumbles.
"do you want one?"
the ice scout jumps. "wha- you mean- right now?"
"yeah!" betty steps closer, grabbing one of the scout's hands in both of her's.
"u-uhm. how about... 'scout'?" she stutters out. betty purses her lips. scout's shoulders hunch.
"hey- no! that's not bad! plus, you can always change it later." betty says, trying to reassure her.
"you can do that?"
"yeah! i did!"
scout's eyes seem to sparkle. betty's smile grows wider. then, scout jolts. "the library!" she shouts. betty stares blankly at her, before hesitantly nodding.
"r-right! library. let's go."
betty heads off, scout trailing behind her.
-
"what about gender? are you a girl or-"
"that's deeper than i want to go."
"right."