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A walk wasn’t an irregular part of their training schedule; it was a nice warm-up or cool-down, let the leg muscles stretch, and it gave all of them opportunity to broaden their horizons and take in some fresh air.
Doing so in the dead of winter was debatably as good a time, but if Isa were to be strict, and he often was, he would simply say that to suffer through the cold was a test of endurance and good practice for surviving unfavourable conditions. The Land Of Departure was actually very beautiful in the snow - but trudging up the once-grassy mountains while the world was grey and frigid was less than desirable, some days.
He ran colder than many would expect; for all the lunar fire in him, when Berserk was dormant and relaxed his internal temperature was docile in equality, and so under normal circumstances he was accustomed to a chill. However when he felt it, he felt it to the bone - and simply had to power through.
The walk was nice - uphill through the settled snow, the odd few flakes starting to flicker downward again, sparkling trees and shimmering stones. Isa had his scarf wrapped close, collar pulled high, hands in his pockets, and simply listened as the kids chattered around him, playfully kicking up the fallen snow every often, picking their knees up extra high through the ever-growing layer of white. And he kept ignoring the double-checking glances they kept shooting his way, and the way their smiles and laughter and conversation stopped dead for a second each time they did.
He was at the back of the pack, Aqua in front, Lea to his side, Terra a few paces ahead of him, and all of them besides Terra kept checking on him. It was weird. He had no idea why. He was behaving as he should - chipping in with the conversation here and there, keeping pace, enjoying the scenery. It was when Roxas, close up front towards Aqua halfway through their planned walk, gave yet another look back at him, directly at him, with no distraction or effort to look at anything else first or after, that he finally spoke up.
“Alright enough,” Isa stopped dead in his tracks, breath puffing out over the rim of his scarf as he stood in the cold, back straight and eyes sharp, tone demanding no excuses or efforts to escape. “You all keep staring. Why?”
Lea gave a nervous chuckle to his side, scratched at a temple with a finger awkwardly. He ran hot, of course, and so had no need of a hat or gloves or scarf to hide anything, and so also had been unable to hide how warily he had been eyeing his friend from the side the entire damned trip.
“Well, you uh,” Lea started, uncomfortable, and Isa shot his gaze from the group before him to Lea directly at his side, hawk-like and impatient, scorned and unsettled. It would be enough to unnerve anyone, and Isa knew that, he had weaponised such a glare before many a time, and it clearly still worked on his brother. “Heartsdamn - jeez, Isa, just - relax, wouldya? We keep looking at you because we’re worried, that's all.”
“Worried?” Isa frowned, then looked at them each in turn, ending up directing his - now equally slightly worried - gaze up at Terra. “Whatever for?”
“The uh,” Lea continued at his side, and with a single made a vague indication to the middle of his own face. “It's, well… Are you okay?”
Isa could feel his brow furrow slightly in equal frustration and confusion - but did understand what the motion meant. The scar. Cold weather made skin react, tighten to preserve warmth, made it change colour. Scars did the same, but the damage exaggerated any reaction. The scar through his face was tight and uncomfortable from the cold - and so it must have looked… dangerous. Worn thin and like his patience was taut enough to snap.
“I - yes, yes, I’m fine,” He huffed, burying his jaw further into his collar and scarf, no longer able to look at anyone. “It's just the cold. I’m not - I’m fine, and so is Berserk, I’m not about to erupt or anything. The cold just - makes it look like that.”
Despite not looking at any of them, he could see them all exchange glances. Except Terra, who had not once given him a concerned look, and stood quite comfortably with his hands in his pockets, unburdened and unconcerned. He, in fact, looked at him completely openly, no stress or frown, just at ease and normal besides the tint of flush the crisp chill had given his cheeks and ears.
“You’d all know if something was up, you guys know that,” The brunette raised an eyebrow at them, not quite scolding but defending, not that Isa needed that, but it was valiant all the same. He had not been worried at all, because he knew Isa and his tells, and that was quite touching. “Besides, there would be way more obvious tells than the scar if Berserk was raring to get out. It's waning moon anyway,” Terra turned and kept walking, trudging through the snow, and it was just simple and patted down, smoothed over. “C’mon, let's get back - I want a hot cocoa and to warm up. Last one back has to do the dishes.”
That made the kids sprint their best through the slush after him - and Isa held up the back of the pack, subtly warmed too.