He was locked tight in this barricade of ice, his clumsy footsteps giving out rumbles of displeasure through the sub-zero walls of the cavern. His teeth clattered against the chill that permeated the air and tore out his breath from his poor lungs. Running his claws through his fur, scraping out the frost and trying to get feeling back in the flesh, Banjo tiptoed his way along the frozen river within the Icicle Grotto.

The pads of his feet slipped and slid along, claws grabbing hold of cracks and pileups as he tried to keep himself upright. Running was futile- he would just be stuck in place, losing his breath and tiring his muscles whilst his progress was halted. Of course, he could've asked Kazooie to use the Talon Trot- she could navigate so much better on this slippery surface- but she was asleep, cozily curled in a feathery ball, a nest made of blue fibers warmed by his body heat.

He frowned, inching his way past another icicle standing tall in a foreboding tower at the ice's edge. 'She's such a jerk.'

The icicle shifted, and Banjo halted, one foot poised in the air, eyes wide and breath held. He couldn't fight well. Not while Kazooie was asleep. His nose twitched and went still. His ears flattened against his skull. He became a living statue, lungs burning for oxygen while he bit his lip for silence. A moment or two, and the icicle's shifting slowed. Frost tinkled to the ground below in a haze of particles and it went still once more.

Slowly, ever so carefully, Banjo let his left foot descend and land with a soft thump against the ice. His right ear flicked up, followed by his left. He wiggled his fingers a little, ignoring the numb chill that traveled through his wrists. His lungs cried for relief. In a slow stream, he let the air out, and just as slowly sucked more in.

A few more moments of this. His blue gaze flicked upwards. A tunnel where water once roared was frozen in a worn arch, the river itself stopped in a steep descent to the cavern below, never to move again. Just a few more…

With a breath of courage, Banjo shifted his weight to his left foot and moved his right forward, the claws giving out silent scratches against the freezing floor, pad slipping before finding bearings to hold him steady. 'Right foot… left foot… right foot… left foot…' Each scratch screamed to his tensed ears, each shuffle a broom against a splintery floor, echoing throughout the grotto. Several icicles trembled and shook, as if to hop to life, then went still in their slumber.

'Now I know what a robber feels like.' He mused in a moment of gained calm as he reached the ascent. He reached out and touched the forged wall, running a paw over the edges with a relieved sigh, so silent only he could hear it. 'Home free.'

A rustle in hs pack made his fur rise. 'Oh no.' His eyes widened, teeth gritting against one another so hard he through they would crack under the pressure. A yellow beak poked out of the flap and gave out a flitty yawn. "H-Hey Banjo…" Wings extended out and hoisted the top half of a feminine bird from the blue bag, stretching out the wingspan and scratching the head, running flight feathers over emerald eyes. "W-Where are we now, eh?"

Banjo, despite himself, gave a low hiss as the iciles began to tremble at the sudden voice. "Kazooie…" He growled quietly, keeping an eye on the icy enemy he had just passed, a paw still on the wall. "Keep your voice low… stay quiet…"

Kazooie frowned, a wing still working at an eye, her other wing resting on his shoulder. 'What'chu mean, fuzz butt? You sayin' I'm loud?" Banjo shook his head as a grin rose on her beak. She thought it was a challenge! "No, Kazooie!" "I can be louder than that! Watch this!" "No, Kaz, don-" Taking in a breath and turning to the new cavern before her, Kazooie opened her beak and gave out a loud "BREEEEEEE!!!"

It echoed and rebounded, coming back and washing over the duo in a thick wave, traveling up the tunnel behind them and going higher to spread out where there was open air. The moment it stopped, Kazooie turned to her partner and grinned. "See?" Banjo's ears were flat against his skull, looking beyond her. Another irritable frown. 'What's up with you!" Banjo's teeth clattered and gave a tiny point behind her. 'T-That." She turned.

The icicles that had been rooted into place tore themselves up from the ground, small feet with no legs or ankles moving them up. Bleary eyes opened, turning and narrowing as bright red, brown, yellow, and blue caught their eyes. "HIEEEEE!" A screech followed Kazooie's outburst, and they began to waddle at a fast pace towards the two.

"Oh… that's why." Kazooie and Banjo were silent. She turned back to him and frowned. Silence. "What?" "GET MOVING FLUFFY!" He gave no further argument. He tensed his legs and shot forward, making it halfway up the ice slide before falling on his face and sliding all the way back down, if not farther. "I CAN'T!" He wailed, trying to hoist himself up on all fours. Kazooie, with a little caw of urgency, shoved her legs out of the bottom flap with a quick shove and squawked out, loud as she could against the icicle's battle cries, 'TALON TROT, BANJO! NOW!"

One ear caught the name. With a huff, he used the bearings he had gotten and flipped onto his back. The moment her talons touched the ice, Kazooie was grappling the crevices like a pro. Lifting the none-to-light bear onto her back, she folded her wings along her sides and ran forward with little bird pants, seconds before the icicles touched Banjo's lifted feet.

In the ten minutes it had taken Banjo to walk along the frozen river, Kazooie had made it to the second level of the grotto in ten seconds.

"…you ok?" She asked, slowing long enough to look back at the grumpy icicles, who had begun to retreat at the lost prey. She stuck a tongue out and continued along the bank of the ice, looking around, half interested in this new place. Blue and cold. Seemed to go together a lot.

Banjo was quiet, arms crossed over his chest as he tried to rid himself of his shivering spine. "…I told you to be quiet."

Kazooie turned to look at him, stopping with her claws digging out ice shavings in the floor. "Say what now?" "I told you to be quiet .We would've gone undetected if you had just listened to what I said." "Well, excuse me, Mr. Don't-wake-me-up-to-tell-me-where-we-are!" She started back to a slow trot, her beak clicking angrily as she spoke. "If you had just woken me up, I would have been able to kick their butts instead of run away like a coward." "…sorry?" "That's what I wanted to hear. You learned your lesson. Now, let's go exploring!"

Her cheery mood restored after her nap and speech, Kazooie sped up the pace and started giving out comments in the area in a scathing tone. Banjo didn't hear her. Ears lowered, he stared at his paw with a sad frown. 'But… I just…' He shook his head.

Not all actions are interpreted correctly, it seems.

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Why, hello! Z has returned, it seems, with another badly written chapter of Atlantis!!!

I found the original I had written, involving a small appearance by JamJars, but I haven't finished it and decided to make this quick one. (Funny thing is, I wrote the other about two years ago and still have it.)

Maybe one day, I'll put it on here… (ponders)

Anyway, until next time! (scurries off to write for Beyond the Surface)