Well, the weather outside is frightful

[rosestolilies.livejournal.com]

Characters: Everyone!
Date: Midnight the 16th of December
Summary: The inhabitants of the Garden get their reward for making out beneath the mistletoe, in the form of a lights show in the sky.
Warnings: N/A

In the dead of night, the Garden is dead silent. Without the sound of the city or urban life, only the noises of nature pervade the air. Crickets. Rustling leaves. The occasional footsteps of an animal.

However, tonight, at midnight, the silence is broken by a loud pealing of bells, rousing the people of the garden from their sleep. The bells continue ringing for nearly half a minute before falling silent. For a moment, the peacefulness of night returns to the Gardens.

Then the enormous mistletoe plant begins glowing, with a brilliant white light bright enough to be seen from all corners of the Garden. It fizzes, shooting off heatless sparks, and then bursts, shooting up into the sky and breaking into pieces of glowing light, forming various shapes. Above the Orchard, a series of hearts form, burst like fireworks, and reform. Over the Necessities, nymphs made of sparkling light kiss and dance through the sky, winking down at the people below. Over the ruins, flowers of multicolored light pop into existence and disperse. And above the Viridian Pavilion, fiery red phoenixes swoop through the air, burn out dramatically, and are reborn in a new cascade of light.

The show will continue until morning. Fortunately, now that the mistletoe's light has dispersed, it's not so bright that it should keep people awake.

Comments

[revolutionized]

It was irrational, but the first thing Utena thought when she heard the bells was of the duels. It makes her jolt awake, startled, but she's only greeted by the high windows of her room and the flashing lights outside.

"Huh...what is that?" She climbs out of bed, pads over the the window, and presses her hand against the glass. The fireworks were beautiful, but where had they come from?

A little while later she's dressed, and runs a hand through her sleep-rumpled hair in an attempt to look presentable before heading outside into the Gardens. It's chilly, but the cool air helps her wake up, gets her blood flowing. She picks a hill to sit on to watch the fireworks, and tries to ignore the bells. Her expression is oddly pensive; it lacks the open cheer and enthusiasm she usually has.

[heartovertime]

Waking to the bells and discovering Madoka gone from their apartment, Homura likewise finds herself out in the cold night tonight. Half looking up at the sky in wonder at the unexpected display, the girl is also half keeping an eye out for her girlfriend as she slowly moves through the Gardens.

Homura is in a less dressed state than Utena, having only pulled a warm coat, hat, and boots over her lavender pajamas before setting out into the night. Still, the cool air isn't something to be minded tonight.

It's not long in wandering that the girl finds the pink-haired girl - not the one she was searching for, perhaps, but still a friend nonetheless. Still a bit groggy, she doesn't catch anything unusual at seeing Utena's face. "It's quite something, isn't it?" she says between a couple loud pops, approaching the girl with a light smile.

[revolutionized]

Utena is surprised to see Homura, but recovers quickly, giving the girl a warm smile. She shifts against the frost covered grass atop the hill, rests her hands at her sides. "Yeah, it's really nice."

She nestles deeper into the warm cocoon of her jacket. "Did they wake you up too?"

[heartovertime]

"They did. But I'm kind of glad they did." Homura moves a little closer, where perhaps she can be heard better over the various explosions in the sky. "But I can't imagine anyone would want to miss this. Madoka was gone when I woke up; I guess she's probably out somewhere watching them too."

[revolutionized]

The sky lights up with another explosion, briefly illuminating the area in brilliant gold light.

"Well, even if they wanted to miss it, there's a lot of noise and light. I don't think anyone could sleep through it. Mm, Madoka-chan's out here too, huh?" Utena is quiet for a moment, and then thinks to ask: "How have you both been? I haven't seen you in a while."

[heartovertime]

The dark haired girl's attention is drawn up at the close explosion before lowering back down to Utena. She looks a bit sheepish at the last observation, shifting her weight a bit as she catches a bird-like firework moving in the distance, though she responds after a moment. "Sorry, I guess it can be easy to miss each other here." At least without resorting to the Vine, but calling up people out of nowhere when they're not exactly close friends is a little awkward to her. "But we've been well and keeping warm. Have you been up to much?"

[revolutionized]

Utena seems to notice Homura's discomfort, and quickly attempts to set her at ease. "Say, it's all right. Things get hectic here sometimes, y'know?"

She is grateful that it's so dark - Homura's innocent question has inadvertently reminded Utena of her recent encounter with Mami, and she pulls the collar of her jacket further up to hide her blush. "I haven't been up to much. It's too cold to play basketball. I was thinking of building a sled...that sounds fun, right?"

[heartovertime]

"Sledding?" Homura doesn't even notice the change in Utena nor concern herself with the movement the girl makes. Her hand goes her chest semi-consciously. "I haven't done that sort of thing in a long time."

As delicate as she was the previous winter and in the years before, the cold was always more of a hardship than fun in the past. It's hard to enjoy the snow when your chest aches being out in the cold, or worse, are stuck in a hospital bed. She had sledded as a little child, long ago, but her sickness progressively lead that kind of fun to end. Now there's little worry about that kind of thing, she realizes, her body being much more resilient thanks to her magic, so it's kind of an exciting thought, being able to try something like that again.

"I guess it would be harder to do a lot of normal things, but sledding sounds like a lot of fun." She smiles down to Utena, her face made visible by another burst of light. "Do you do it often in the winter?"

[revolutionized]

"Me neither." Utena admits. When was the last time she'd been sledding, she wonders. She would've had to have been quite young, and of course it must have snowed...maybe with her parents. But that line of thought is immediately closed off and pushed away. It's not important to remember, really. She'll sled here and it'll be just the same.

"I don't sled too often, but it can't be hard to pick up again. If I make a big enough sled, maybe a lot of people can join in." She returns the smile.

[heartovertime]

"I'm sure you'll be able to." A cold breeze catches Homura and she shivers a little out of discomfort, though at least she'll be wearing something more appropriate if they do go sledding. "I don't know if I would be of much help but it'd be great to have fun with a bunch of people."

[revolutionized]

"I'm sure you'll be a lot of help." Utena returns her attention to the sky. "I bet we'll find a way for everyone to pitch in. Say, maybe we can paint it...unless the magic dirt does that already. Oh, and we'd have to have a place to store it..."

[heartovertime]

"If it isn't, it'll be fun to paint it, won't it?" It may be more convenient if it's magically painted, but it's just like relying on the birds for dinner instead of making it themselves. It's not like their lives are so jam packed as it was on Earth that there isn't time to do things like that.

"Where do you think would be a good place?" Homura asks, dividing her attention between the sky and Utena. "Is there any nice hill you can think of? Maybe we could make a shed or something near there."

[revolutionized]

"I think so." She's already considering the color they might use...and maybe they can give it a cool design, like lightning bolts.

Utena glances around and frowns, considering this. "I don't know. There might be one close to where I stay. Have you seen a hill in the Necessities at all?"

[headedforhope]

Mami walks along at the base of the hill, unaware of Utena's presence above her. It's a meandering, languid pace; she's going slow, taking her time to take it all in.

The fireworks burst and flash in the endless sky, illuminating her for brief instants as their flares burns away the night: reds and golds, blues and purples, everything in between. She comes to a halt and glances up to regard the display, her smile faint and hard to make out even when the brilliant light throws her profile into sharp relief.

[revolutionized]

There's a brilliant burst of light in the sky, and that brief flash is enough for Utena to catch sight of Mami from her vantage point atop the hill. She sinks deeper into her coat, pulling the collar up high against her neck and the lower half of her face, as if it might hide her from sight.

She wonders, not entirely irrationally, if the Garden is once again concocting some scenario to get the two of them in the same place alone. Her cheeks burn with the memory of their last meeting, when they'd kissed under the mistletoe. She had not thought a kiss could ever be so gentle, and so sweet. It's tempting to pretend that she hasn't noticed Mami, to maintain the illusion that they are in their own separate worlds this evening, but there is the irrepressible and frustrating urge to speak to her as well.

Eventually, that urge wins out, and she calls from above: "Oi, Mami-san."

[headedforhope]

She turns at the sound of her name before the identity of the voice registers. When it does, Mami goes tense - quivering slightly, like a deer that scents danger. She squints into the darkness, can't help but search for the person she knows is there, the one she's been carefully avoiding.

"...Utena-san?"

Another firework, another majestic explosion, and Utena is revealed. Only for an instant, maybe, but Mami has to swallow hard all the same. She searches for something to say - she comes up with nothing.

[revolutionized]

"Mm, it's me." Utena watches Mami carefully, her expression oddly pensive and serious. She is hesitant to move forward, to make her way down the hill, but she speaks up again during a momentary lull in the fireworks display.

"You're up really late."

...Not the best way to start a conversation, she knows, but she is at a loss as to what to say.

[headedforhope]

A pause, a slight hesitation before Mami responds, her voice just a shade unnaturally calm - almost forced, one might think, should they happen to pick up on the subtle tension behind the serenity. "Ah, I suppose I am. Sleep didn't seem all that possible after the bells and seeing....well, this."

She gestures toward the sky, which takes the opportunity to explode with dazzling light again. Mami angles her face slightly away from Utena, no longer looking in the direction where the other girl's face must be. There's that fluttering in her stomach again, a feeling that makes her control and composure seem like such frail and slippery things rather than her sword and shield. And now, where before there was no hope of words, comes a question that slips out of her mouth before Mami can swallow it back.

"Do you mind if I take a seat by you?"

[revolutionized]

"The bells woke me up." Utena tucks her knees to her chest, and suddenly looks very young. "It reminded me of the duels."

The question catches her off guard, and it shows for a brief instant before she recovers, nodding her head. She is nervous being around Mami, uncomfortable and often flustered. She never knows lately what to do, or to say. But for all of her hesitance, she still enjoys when the other girl is around, and that makes her nervous for another reason entirely.

She nods her head. "Sure. I don't mind."

[headedforhope]

"Did it? ...I see." Mami's at a loss for what to say, how to spin that remark into a conversation much less uncomfortable than this. She sucks in a breath of the cool night air and begins walking up the hill toward Utena. Measured, careful steps - she doesn't want to trip and fall. The memory of the last time that happened is already enough to set her cheeks aflame.

Mami sits down beside Utena, keeping a respectful distance. She, too, curls her legs against her chest and hugs them there, chin resting on her knees; it's warmer that way, and soothes her nerves on some primal and half-forgotten level. "...thank you. I had been walking around for awhile, and this is a good spot to rest. It has a nice view, even."

[revolutionized]

"You don't have to thank me." The statement could be harsh, if said the wrong way, but Utena's voice is warm and soft. Mami is a friend, awkwardness or no, and she doesn't want her to feel uncomfortable. "It's just as much my space as it is yours, right?"

As much as she wants to inspire a feeling of comfort, however, she doesn't shift closer. It's too soon for that. "Have you seen anyone else walking around?"

[headedforhope]

A light shrug, a small and helpless rise and fall of her slim shoulders. She makes an agreeable enough hum in answer to that question rather than try to fake a shallow, redundant reply.

Part of Mami is grateful for Utena remaining where she is - as though they could pretend that a much more meaningful physical distance between them had never been broken. Another, less relieved part is frustrated and confused. That side of her is why Mami is fidgeting slightly, the reason for this nettled feeling taking over her nerves.

"Ah, I saw Amamiya-san and Madoka-san, and a few others I couldn't make out well enough to name."

She curls tighter into herself, a slow and painful tensing up. "What about you?"

[revolutionized]

Utena stubbornly keeps her focus on the sky. She feels strange if she studies Mami for too long, gets an unusual tightness in her chest.

"I saw Homura-san. There may have been others around, but like you said, it's hard to see." The sky lights up again - this time, it portrays what looks like two nymphs in an intimate embrace, and Utena glances down quickly, her face beet red. She sits like that for a while, quiet and embarrassed, and then notices the way Mami has curled in on herself.

"Um...say, Mami-san. Are you cold?"

[headedforhope]

Mami misses out on that particular firework. She's closed her eyes, feeling a rush of weariness that only has partly to do with her interrupted sleep; this constant yanking around by the Gardens has got Mami feeling like a marionette on strings being tugged in a dozen different directions. The flash of color in the sky blares against her shuttered eyelids in a shapeless, meaningless burst of light.

She's slow to crack them open again when Utena asks her question. "Mm?" Mami blinks and exhales, watching her breath turn to a white cloud. A lingering pause. "I suppose I am, to be honest. I've never much liked the cold...."

[revolutionized]

She falls silent in the wake of Mami's response, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth and appearing to mentally debate something. Eventually though, she says:

"I could help. I'd have to move closer...is that all right?"