Haruhi loved riding horseback. And she loved going
fast on horseback. She loved her Asahi, of course, but he was a big, slow horse, and Masaru left him in the dust, even at a fast canter. She laughed, wanting to spread her arms and feel the biting, chilly wind, but holding some very sharp objects that probably made that a bad idea. Even out here it wouldn't be great; she didn't want to hurt herself, Takara,
or Masaru. But when they got into Heiseina proper it'd be an even worse idea. So she kept the shaft mercifully tucked in alongside her, and kept the blade to herself. The trees flurried by in a blur, the new leaves emerging from the buds leaving splashes of bright green in a world that had been brown and white for too long now.
"
I haven't actually worn one in a little while, haha, my parents never minded what I wore for the festival. But Fuyucchi keeps giving me these gorgeous kimono, and it makes me feel a little bad, y'know? Never wearin' one. I know what you mean, though," she added after a moment. "
They get so stuffy after a while, and you feel like you can never move, right?" She grinned. She had a feeling that Takara would agree with her. So many people
loved getting dressed up for the festival, but Haruhi had never really been a fan.
...Well, she was starting to feel it a little more amenable to it these days. Maybe it was a growing-up thing, she thought. Or maybe Fuyucchi had finally rubbed off on her. But as much as she protested it, she
was looking forward to it. Just a little bit. And it would make her friend happy too.
Masaru was a speedy horse, and before too long they'd entered Heiseina proper, and slowed down. Haruhi laughed lightly at the sounds of roasted soybeans clattering to the ground all around her. Perhaps it was how close she lived with nature, or perhaps it was because her closest friend was the shrine maiden, or perhaps it was both; but Haruhi had always respected and offered to the youkai, and hearing what basically amounted to the whole village doing so put her in a heck of a good mood. Now that they'd slowed, she was more comfortable with fiddling with the hoe; so she swapped hands again, leaving one open to wave at people she knew as they passed, broad smile still on her face.
It wasn't long until they'd reached her destination, and she raised her eyebrow; the sound of conversation wasn't rare in the forge, not with Tsubasa working there, but it was usually accompanied by the sound of hammer striking anvil, something conspicuously absent today. Hopping off the horse--getting off was always easier than getting on--she stroked him along the mane and neck. "
I'll bring you extra apples this fall, boy," she murmured to him, then waved to Takara, and jogged up to the entrance. Eh? Fumiko was there? Haruhi didn't come to the forge often, but she also didn't usually see Fumiko there often when she
did come. She was about to call out to her, when she heard something come from the inside that shot both of her eyebrows up:
"I suppose we could postpone our little date if it's super important. What do you think?"Kei-chan?DATE?Well wasn't
that fun! Squeezing past Fumiko with a "
Hey, Fumi-chan!" she popped into the forge in time to see Tsubasa and Keiko, arm-in-arm, and her smile ballooned to truly tremendous proportions as he mentioned they were gonna
go to the festival together!"
Tsukkun, you sly dog," she joke-scolded, "
and nobody told me?" Her eyes played between them, not even flinching when they played over Keiko. She hadn't talked with her a
ton, since she obviously had no use for a Signkeeper, but she'd never minded her, or her reputation; and she found the suspicion and isolation of someone who came from outside of the village rather shameful. If anything, she thought the little pranks Keiko pulled were pretty consistently funny (though maybe that was because she didn't think she'd ever been a victim of one herself!)
A moment later, she remember why she'd come here to begin with, and backpedaled from them with a final smiling wave, a "
have fun at the festival, you two!" and an exaggerated wink, before turning and diving deeper into the bowels of the forge. Coughing a little on the soot, she found who she was looking for tucked away in a corner.
Mio had been treated strangely by people since the two of them were, what, ten years old? She faintly remembered playing with her before that, but afterwards her parents had told her not to talk to her too much. Which she found weird; there
was a weird sort of presence about her, but it had never bothered Haruhi unduly, not really. And so, she trotted up next to her, and poked her on the tall shoulder.
"
Hi, Mi-chan! Do you think you can fix my hoe?" She thrust the fragmented implement in question forward, beaming up at her:
"
I hit it on a rock!"
Member
Sky Blue
Xaltwind
CitrusArms
TokyoPewPew
AlteredTundra
Kuro
Red Hood
rabidbacon
