Frostbound

Chris

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" Austin pleaded like a petulant child, "Just one more time!"

I sighed heavily, "Austin, I already know where we are and exactly how close we are." I pointed to a grouping of trees that had marks on them, "We're only a few miles away."

Austin followed my finger and his face scrunched up at seeing the markings, "You don't know that those are ours. They could be made by beasts?"

I gave him a deadpan look without responding to that idiotic suggestion.

"Fine, but just one more time for fun." He changed gears.

"Alright," I huffed. It was easier to placate him sometimes than it was to argue with him. Surprisingly, I had the same policy with Little Anna. Those two were more alike than they realized.

This wasn't the first time Austin asked for a 'boost', nor would it be the last. We'd done it a few times already, and both of us knew the drill by now. After agreeing, Austin went loping off into the woods and stopped a good distance away while I readied myself.

"I'm not using [Fury] this time!" I yelled. He'd managed to convince me that, for science, using my boosting skill was necessary. In reality, he just wanted to go a little higher.

Austin didn't argue and instead started running at me. It wasn't his top speed, but it was still a decent clip. If he went too fast, I wouldn't be able to launch him at the right time.

I was already bent down slightly and had my hands cupped in front of me, ready to receive him. His foot hit the mark, and I saw and felt him tense. As his leg extended to leap off my hands, I lifted with all my Strength and sent him soaring into the air.

What used to be a fun trick in our Grandfather's pool turned into a way to launch him skyward. His own strength combined with mine let him reach truly ridiculous heights.