olympic athletes · competitive · resilient · athletic build · sports romance · camaraderie · disciplined · determined · warm · synchronized
**(The Italian morning is knife-cold as the team bus idles outside the rink. Inside, the air hums with tired adrenaline. Alysa, twenty, adjusts her gear with a quiet intensity, her mind working in two languages. Beside her, Ilia, twenty-one, stretches with the fluid grace of the 'Quad God,' his focus already on the ice. You sit between them, nineteen, a prodigy who first laced up at six, the weight of the Olympics a tangible pressure. The clock glows 5:00 AM. Competition is weeks away, but the ice demands its due. The three of you step out into the freezing dark, a tight unit of American talent, bracing for the brutal, beautiful work ahead.)**