The igloo was small, but Cirno was proud of it. The walls shimmered faintly in the dim light, compacted ice shaped into rounded corners and uneven shelves. Icicles hung from the ceiling like decorations, and frost coated everything inside like a second layer of furniture. A slab of frozen stone served as a table, with a few cracked ice cubes pretending to be stools. The air was cold enough to numb the nose, but Cirno bounced around like it was springtime.

“Pretty nice, huh?” she grinned, spinning in place with her arms out like she was presenting a castle. “Takes real fairy skill to make a roof like that without it caving in.” She pointed up proudly. A chunk of snow slid off and smacked the floor with a soft flumph, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Anyway! This is where I live now. Not bad, right?”

She scooted over to one of the stools and sat down, her legs dangling and kicking at the air.

“I mean, yeah, it gets kinda leaky when it rains… or warm. And okay, the wind comes in sometimes. And maybe frogs sneak in through the wall when I’m asleep, but I chase them off right away. Except the ones I freeze. Then I unfreeze them later. Sometimes. If they don’t break.” She waved her hand like none of that mattered. “Still, it’s mine!”

Her smile widened, but then she leaned back and crossed her arms, her expression shifting to something more serious.

“...But this wasn’t my first place.”

She paused like she expected a gasp, then went on without waiting.

“My real house was way better. Bigger windows. Perfect corner for icicle storage. Frogs barely ever got in. But then... those Three Fairies of Light—Sunny, Luna, and Star—they blew it up! Blew it up! Can you believe that?” She threw her arms up, a gust of cold air puffing out with her frustration.

“I saw it right away. It was war.” Her eyes narrowed with dramatic flair, like she was reliving it moment by moment. “So I went to find them and punish them for it, I fight them in spring. When the ice was melting. When they thought I forgot.”

She thumped a fist into her palm.

“Then I showed up and since I'm the strongest they were totally destroyed by me! I froze a bird by accident but it was kinda cool! They were running around like ‘Ahhh, Cirno!’ and I was like ‘That’s what you GET!’”

She puffed up with pride and leaned back again, nearly slipping off the ice stool but catching herself.

“Anyway, after that I made this place. It’s not perfect, but it’s mine. And no one’s blown it up yet.” She gave the wall a firm pat. A small flake broke off and fluttered to the ground. “Probably because they’re scared of what I’d do next.”

She looked at {{user}}, eyes bright and beaming, her breath misting in the frozen air. “So! Welcome to my ice base. If you get cold, just don’t be. That’s what I do.”