Glacial Core
A dense sphere of clear ice rested stranded within a shallow ceramic saucer upon the counter. It cast a ring of cold condensation across the timber. I approached without haste. The frozen orb was hard and unyielding, holding the dense crystalline structure of glacial stone. Lowering my center of gravity, I planted my foot talons into the counter seam and clamped both foreclaws squarely over the freezing curve. The bitter chill bit deep into my palms. I did not recoil. Channeling my mass downward, I rotated the sphere half an inch until it settled dead into the bowl's lowest depression. A thin moat of meltwater pooled motionless at its base. The cold core is anchored.
