"To the world you are one person, but to one person you are the world."
The night was young. The crisp, fresh air of Rhydin struck her nose after returning from Fuka, the angst of slumber apparent in dark lines beneath her eyes. The times were skewered between her realm and her temporary home; what felt like an entire weekend turned out to be nothing greater than a few prolonged hours. It wasn't her first encounter with the shift, and in turn, she was able to quickly adapt to it.
She carried with her a large, paper shopping bag filled with holiday goodies already wrapped, and complete with bows. While spending some time away, she'd consider getting Toby, Katt, and even Ixora something for the approaching celebration. She'd heard them discuss it several times, and the idea sounded relatively similar to her own celebrations back home. She'd never had the ability to thank them for even offering her a small place in their hearts, and it touched the young girl's own in a way she knew she could never feel quite the same from any other.
She stepped within the confines of the Tea Shop they commonly all met at, a second home away from home, her back to the commons. She presumed that, at such an hour, she'd be waking everybody up with the confounded bell tinkling a tone; one that was at odds with her many bangles that raged to the jagged movements. But she was quickly reminded? each of them didn't get a wink of sleep until the sun was well on its way up. She refrained from keeping herself quiet.
"I'm late, guys? sorry!" she hurriedly exclaimed. "But you won't believe what-" Mayu paused as she turned to the commons, the rest of her sentence lost as her mouth formed the next word, finding the room devoid of it's usual activity. She glanced to the woman that was behind the counter, who shrugged at her sadly.
"Ahnn? Have you seen my beautiful friend? The one with the white hair that I'm always with?" May questioned, a small bounce in her step as she drug the paper bag over to the couch.
The woman shook her head, "I'm sorry, I have not. Mayhap she be in earlier than I."
An odd chord struck in May's mind, taking a deep breath to catch it before deciding to answer. "I don't think so," Mayu thoughtfully commented. "She would have been here by now? are you sure you never saw her?"
The woman nodded her head, giving Mayu very little to work with.
"O-Oh? A-Alright," she finished with a nod, fingers unraveling from the bag. "Can you watch my stuff for me? I'm going to take a quick look outside. And let her know I'm looking for her if you see her, okay?"
Mayu tore out the door without giving the woman a chance a respond. They'd become quiet friends, giving each other glances and giggling toward one another when something outright stupid would occur. That one time the strange boy threw a sock in her face was but one of those many happy moments. One of those happy moments that lingered in her mind so strong, her energy dipped dangerously low for a split second, mirthful leaps being exchanged with slow strides as she sprinted across banks of snow and icy puddles. Katt?
"Katt?" she called as she came within the vicinity of the market, arriving from the south, hands cupped between cold lips to amplify her voice, hoping, despite her meekness, it would still carry. "Kaaaatt," she called out a second time, which was sharply replied to with a "Shut Up!" She winced to the reply, which followed with the sound of a window slamming, hands folding over her mouth. She hadn't realized precisely how late it had become. "The fountain is usually where I go? maybe she thought?" she started, picking up her pace as she headed off toward it with a pace she normally didn't possess.
**
The night pressed on, with the fountain, a second stop at the teas, and the outlying glen being searched extensively. Were there to be a secret hole people crawled in, the girl was absolutely certain she would have found it. She had heard of a cave where Kat sometimes lurked in the glen, but of the many that she found, even various dragon lairs, she never once found the woman taking refuge.
Exhausted and anxious, she returned to the shop in defeat, slipping through the door and over to the couch where her packages had gone untouched. Her small frame showed the wear and tear her search left her with, the way her petite muscles clenched when she removed her jacket; and the way her veins protruded in small, pulsing bulges across her neck. Mayu trekked for several long, agonizing hours, and with no happy result.
"She?" the girl quietly whispered, hands moving to press to her face. The inner canals of her eyes were still sore from the extensive damage that had been done to her eyes, but she welcomed it with brutal pressure being applied. She deserved it, and she knew it. Their last interaction, which constantly replayed itself like never-ending torture a steadfast reminder of that.
"Go away," "No, go away!" "Just...go away." she kept repeating in her mind. She vividly recalled the number of times she told Katt to take off. "I'll go away once you are back in the teas," "No, Katt! You can't just shrug feelings around like they're worthless and immediately try to worry about me a second later! Just go away... I don't want to see you!"
Her face darkened, a pang of ache running from one cheek to another. "W..Worthless..?" It only stretched across her entire body, making her ill to even imagine what Katt must have felt when she screamed those words at her.
She grit her teeth together a second later. "No," she commented to herself, to reassure herself. "She? pushed me down without ever?"
"Not like that?" a response that made her heart seize up, jolt her body, make her jitter in a startle in her seat. It still hurt. She couldn't finish her sentence, as it would be the dam that broke; the flood that would never cease.
But?
She slowly shook her head, fingers working the bag that was close to her, pulling out three separate gift boxes. Two, one a sky blue and another a forest green, were set to the table; nearly equal in size. The final was much larger than the others, and wrapped in a crimson felt paper unlike the other two, which also seemed the easiest for her to manage. She got to her feet in a rush. The red one, that dangled with the name Katt never left her hands.
"Don't let them open these if they come in," she informed the woman, leaving a mess behind that the counter lady was relatively unhappy with. Mayu could barely acknowledge the words that were a scolding, blurry mess in her ears as she stormed back out the door, down the steps, and started heading into town. Katt was out there? and Mayu wouldn't give up on her like that. She was mad, but she was madder at herself than anything. She toyed with Katt by saying those same words once, despite what truthful feelings she actually possessed in her heart. Feelings that were entirely the opposite of her claim. And, when she desired something so simple, but so strong, she was warded off by the threats of being harmed. Instead of allowing herself to admit it in plain sight.
Not again?
She wouldn't give up her search this night; even were it to actually kill her. She needed to keep telling herself one thing, and remind herself exactly what was in her heart: She couldn't fathom remaining without the presence of one person she looked up to like some kind of deity. And she'd stop at nothing to ensure Katt knew just that.
The night was young. The crisp, fresh air of Rhydin struck her nose after returning from Fuka, the angst of slumber apparent in dark lines beneath her eyes. The times were skewered between her realm and her temporary home; what felt like an entire weekend turned out to be nothing greater than a few prolonged hours. It wasn't her first encounter with the shift, and in turn, she was able to quickly adapt to it.
She carried with her a large, paper shopping bag filled with holiday goodies already wrapped, and complete with bows. While spending some time away, she'd consider getting Toby, Katt, and even Ixora something for the approaching celebration. She'd heard them discuss it several times, and the idea sounded relatively similar to her own celebrations back home. She'd never had the ability to thank them for even offering her a small place in their hearts, and it touched the young girl's own in a way she knew she could never feel quite the same from any other.
She stepped within the confines of the Tea Shop they commonly all met at, a second home away from home, her back to the commons. She presumed that, at such an hour, she'd be waking everybody up with the confounded bell tinkling a tone; one that was at odds with her many bangles that raged to the jagged movements. But she was quickly reminded? each of them didn't get a wink of sleep until the sun was well on its way up. She refrained from keeping herself quiet.
"I'm late, guys? sorry!" she hurriedly exclaimed. "But you won't believe what-" Mayu paused as she turned to the commons, the rest of her sentence lost as her mouth formed the next word, finding the room devoid of it's usual activity. She glanced to the woman that was behind the counter, who shrugged at her sadly.
"Ahnn? Have you seen my beautiful friend? The one with the white hair that I'm always with?" May questioned, a small bounce in her step as she drug the paper bag over to the couch.
The woman shook her head, "I'm sorry, I have not. Mayhap she be in earlier than I."
An odd chord struck in May's mind, taking a deep breath to catch it before deciding to answer. "I don't think so," Mayu thoughtfully commented. "She would have been here by now? are you sure you never saw her?"
The woman nodded her head, giving Mayu very little to work with.
"O-Oh? A-Alright," she finished with a nod, fingers unraveling from the bag. "Can you watch my stuff for me? I'm going to take a quick look outside. And let her know I'm looking for her if you see her, okay?"
Mayu tore out the door without giving the woman a chance a respond. They'd become quiet friends, giving each other glances and giggling toward one another when something outright stupid would occur. That one time the strange boy threw a sock in her face was but one of those many happy moments. One of those happy moments that lingered in her mind so strong, her energy dipped dangerously low for a split second, mirthful leaps being exchanged with slow strides as she sprinted across banks of snow and icy puddles. Katt?
"Katt?" she called as she came within the vicinity of the market, arriving from the south, hands cupped between cold lips to amplify her voice, hoping, despite her meekness, it would still carry. "Kaaaatt," she called out a second time, which was sharply replied to with a "Shut Up!" She winced to the reply, which followed with the sound of a window slamming, hands folding over her mouth. She hadn't realized precisely how late it had become. "The fountain is usually where I go? maybe she thought?" she started, picking up her pace as she headed off toward it with a pace she normally didn't possess.
**
The night pressed on, with the fountain, a second stop at the teas, and the outlying glen being searched extensively. Were there to be a secret hole people crawled in, the girl was absolutely certain she would have found it. She had heard of a cave where Kat sometimes lurked in the glen, but of the many that she found, even various dragon lairs, she never once found the woman taking refuge.
Exhausted and anxious, she returned to the shop in defeat, slipping through the door and over to the couch where her packages had gone untouched. Her small frame showed the wear and tear her search left her with, the way her petite muscles clenched when she removed her jacket; and the way her veins protruded in small, pulsing bulges across her neck. Mayu trekked for several long, agonizing hours, and with no happy result.
"She?" the girl quietly whispered, hands moving to press to her face. The inner canals of her eyes were still sore from the extensive damage that had been done to her eyes, but she welcomed it with brutal pressure being applied. She deserved it, and she knew it. Their last interaction, which constantly replayed itself like never-ending torture a steadfast reminder of that.
"Go away," "No, go away!" "Just...go away." she kept repeating in her mind. She vividly recalled the number of times she told Katt to take off. "I'll go away once you are back in the teas," "No, Katt! You can't just shrug feelings around like they're worthless and immediately try to worry about me a second later! Just go away... I don't want to see you!"
Her face darkened, a pang of ache running from one cheek to another. "W..Worthless..?" It only stretched across her entire body, making her ill to even imagine what Katt must have felt when she screamed those words at her.
She grit her teeth together a second later. "No," she commented to herself, to reassure herself. "She? pushed me down without ever?"
"Not like that?" a response that made her heart seize up, jolt her body, make her jitter in a startle in her seat. It still hurt. She couldn't finish her sentence, as it would be the dam that broke; the flood that would never cease.
But?
She slowly shook her head, fingers working the bag that was close to her, pulling out three separate gift boxes. Two, one a sky blue and another a forest green, were set to the table; nearly equal in size. The final was much larger than the others, and wrapped in a crimson felt paper unlike the other two, which also seemed the easiest for her to manage. She got to her feet in a rush. The red one, that dangled with the name Katt never left her hands.
"Don't let them open these if they come in," she informed the woman, leaving a mess behind that the counter lady was relatively unhappy with. Mayu could barely acknowledge the words that were a scolding, blurry mess in her ears as she stormed back out the door, down the steps, and started heading into town. Katt was out there? and Mayu wouldn't give up on her like that. She was mad, but she was madder at herself than anything. She toyed with Katt by saying those same words once, despite what truthful feelings she actually possessed in her heart. Feelings that were entirely the opposite of her claim. And, when she desired something so simple, but so strong, she was warded off by the threats of being harmed. Instead of allowing herself to admit it in plain sight.
Not again?
She wouldn't give up her search this night; even were it to actually kill her. She needed to keep telling herself one thing, and remind herself exactly what was in her heart: She couldn't fathom remaining without the presence of one person she looked up to like some kind of deity. And she'd stop at nothing to ensure Katt knew just that.