Life was a delicate balance of "Things One Knows How to Do Safely" and "Things One Wants to Try Because It Seems Fun"--the latter sometimes regardless of one's ability to do it "safely." Unfortunately, there was not much opportunity for Protego to become skilled at ice skating in particular, since there were long months between times when there was sufficient ice available. Ah, well.
Protego stood at the edge of the lake, teetering awkwardly on borrowed skates. He considered his feet with mild amusement. "Hard to be too graceful in these, isn't it?" he commented to one of his fellow potential skaters. Protego did wonder if ice skating wasn't invented by someone with an odd sense of humor, no matter how enjoyable an activity it may be.