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 Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 10:34 pm
"Geez, what a bunch of freaks," she said with a sigh, glancing over her shoulder at the receding line of trees. "Duels, and rose brides, thank god that's over." A smug look crossed her face as she remembered how shocked Saionji had been. Beaten, and beaten by a girl with pink hair.
She couldn't wait to tell Wakaba how she'd owned that battle. When she asked about all the bloody gashes, she'd proudly respond, 'You should have seen what he got!' Then again, she couldn't really tell Wakaba about all the duels. . . she'd be considered crazy. Hell she might even be crazy. She'd still let it slip she'd crippled his little bum, though, how could she let that opportunity pass?
It was time to go back to her nice, cozy, temporary dorm where she could sleep and wake up knowing this was all a lousy crappy dream. Hallelujah.
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 10:55 pm
All the same, this girl, this -- Utena, was her name? -- bore the rose crest, and had defeated Saionji, and thus, her duties laid before her by others, Anthy immediately ceased her engagement with Saionji and set out to find Utena. She was still incredulous at this strange and unexpected turn of events, but she would not complain or scoff or voice any concerns. It was not her place.
As the pink-maned Ichsa approached, the Rose Bride stepped out from between several trees and offered Utena her well-practiced smile, and bowed her head deeply. "I'm glad I found you, Miss Utena. My name is Anthy Himemiya, and because you defeated Saionji, I am now engaged to you."
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 11:10 pm
Utena stopped dead, blinked, and then swallowed. Her mouth was slighly agape, but knowing her manners, quickly shut it. Not only was Anthy somehow ahead of her, but she had tracked down a fleeing Utena and shoved insanity straight upon her.
No. ********. Way. In. Hell.
Pardon the language, but this was seriously bomb diggedy BAD.
"I - engaged?" her mouth fell open again. "What!?" She frowned.
"You're going to get in trouble being out here this late. I'm going to get in trouble for being out this late," Utena said, frowning and making her way past Anthy towards her dorms. She didn't have the time or the patience for this! Hopefully Himemiya would get the message.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 9:25 am
Anthy merely continued smiling her perfect smile as she followed Utena. It was her duty, afterall, and she was not one to go against the duties given to her by others. "You bear the rose crest, as do the members of the Student Council. Saionji was my engaged before you defeated him, and because you did, I am now engaged to you," she explained, the ever-present, mechanical smile still plastered on her muzzle.
"Oh, no; the Student Council will see that we get in no trouble for being out late," she reassured Utena, or attempted to; no, the Student Council had ways of arranging these things. "And, now that we're engaged, the members of the Student Council will come to you for duels to decide who I am engaged to, which is always the winner."
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:16 am
Well if this wasn't a kick in the face.
She looked down at the rose that laughed at her from her right shoulder. 'This thing. . . duels, and the student council is a part of them? This school seriously needs therapy.'
"I don't want to be engaged to anyone! I'm still growing, and you're a girl!" she explained, picking up the pace, but somehow she doubted she'd be leaving the smaller girl behind.
"More duels!?" she groaned and her head sunk, nearly dragging on the ground. "I barely survived this last one!" She took a look at that smile and was slightly unnerved, she couldn't imagine how any of this could be pleasant. She recalled Saionji mumbling about something eternal, but no, she couldn't get interested in this. She wasn't going to be involved in this. She was just a normal girl out to meet her prince.
"Don't you have dorms to go to?" Utena said when she paused at a series of trees that wound together and created a nice dry, protecting cove. It looked so tempting, but Ms. Weird was still here.
She sighed at that face again, "Look, Himemiya, you're a person. You can't possibly expect me to believe you're going along with all this nonsense?" Please let her go away.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 10:43 am
Well, she didn't seem to be taking to it too well. Oh well. The thought of why she found it so insane and strange didn't even cross the purple-maned Reya's mind.
"All the same, I am still engaged to you until you are beaten by one of the Student Council members in a duel," she explained with the ever-present smile on her face. "Of course I do, though I'll be changing dorms tomorrow, as will you."
Utena's last words flowed through her ears, her fake smile never wavering. She obviously didn't understand. "Of course I do. I am the Rose Bride, and whosoever is engaged to me will be granted the power to revolutionize the world when the duels have finished. That is the reason the Student Council members duel each other constantly; each wants the power to revolutionize the world," she explained. It was just a rough description of what she had been told so many times. "I am the Rose Bride, and my duty is to become engaged to whoever wins the duel and do as they please, Miss Utena."
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:13 am
Utena knew they were changing dorms tomorrow, and she couldn't wait. Wakaba had reminded her about it for the past week. 'We'll be in dorms together, Tenjou, isn't that great!?'. 'Yes Wakaba,' she'd answered, and then had been brutally bashed in the side by an overzealous girl with onion hair.
All I have to do is be beaten and this all ends, she muttered to herself. It shouldn't be too difficult a task to manage, after all, she'd nearly lost the first duel.
"Power to revolutionize the world?" she repeated aloud. "How silly. Well, I don't want it."
She sighed and entered the moderately wide 'home' of hers. The ceiling dangled with herbs - present in every other sleeping space as far as she knew. What left her puzzled, though, was the basin of stone that lined the right wall. Water trickled in and out in constant motion, but for the life of her Utena could not figure out how. "Water flows funny in this place," she said, picking up a small woven basket from the floor with her teeth. They were compliments of the humans from Ryuten, she assumed.
Shrugging off the subject of 'revolutions' and 'engagements', she dipped her muzzle into the basin to let the grass container fill. "Can I - uh - fix you anything while you're here?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:32 am
Anthy followed Utena and halted outside her dorm politely, the ever-present smile still... present, of course, and waited. Ah, fix anything? That was an invitation to enter, so the Rose Bride took it and stepped inside. Of course, Utena could not get her anything, that was not her place. Didn't she understand that? "Would you like some tea, Miss Utena?"
She did not want the power to revolutionize the world? If she didn't, why did she challenge Saionji to a duel in the first place, if not for the possession of the Rose Bride and the power? Huh, strange. "Whether you want it or not is of no concern to me, Miss Utena," she explained with her picture perfect smile. "All that matters now is you have it, you have me, and you will continue to possess both until you lose a duel to one of the Student Council. Tea?" She prompted again, her fake smile ever plastered to her face.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:50 am
It was her home, shouldn't she be making the tea? She stared back at Anthy, slightly put back by the whole ordeal, but after the second chime of 'tea' Utena guessed the girl had her foot down on the matter.
"Oh, sure. I mean to say, I'd love some tea, Himemiya," she finally choked out, her head spinning with all sorts of crazy thoughts. Yep, she was definately going insane. She set down her bowl and backed up so Anthy could 'work her magic.'
"And don't call me Miss," she added. "I'm not a 'miss' anything. Just Utena." From her spot she peered over Anthy's shoulder, wondering if Anthy liked her tea a certain way and just didn't want Utena messing it up. She found that idea rather awful. Utena was sure she could make tea just as good!
She made no response to her constant reminder of the duels. She'd avoid Anthy at all costs tomorrow, amd maybe the girl would give up on this silly game the boy's had no doubt put her up to.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:10 pm
Delighted that she had, or at least thought she had, gotten some sense knocked into the girl, Anthy quickly set about making tea. Picking up two bowls carefully, one in the other, she turned and set both on the flat surface she assumed was used as a table. Honestly, what else would it be used for? ..scratch that, she didn't want to know.
Turning back to the basin that was trickling water, she thought for a moment. Hum... Yes, that should work. Nosing a larger bowl over towards the basin which was, consequently, next to a larger flat rock - counter? Of course - and then concentrated a bit. She pulled more water out of the hole the water was dripping from, floating it in a curved and winding stream into the larger bowl. Once it was filled, she left the dripping basin alone, and began heating the tea as she set about with other things. She looked at the herbs hanging from the ceiling and, picking out the tea leaves, reached up and nipped some down. She turned to the 'table' and placed them all in the top bowl before picking that up, and placing it on one side. She then delicately picked up half of the leaves she'd procured from the ceiling - only four or five in total - and placed them in the second bowl which she nosed over to the opposite side.
As she was doing this, the water in the larger bowl had begun to bubble and steam, so she turned and ceased heating it. Instead, she pulled it out of the bowl and cast it in a constant stream towards the table. "Of course, Miss Utena." Directly above the table, the stream of water split into two, with equal halves flowing over the leaves into the bowls. Due to her tea-preparing skills, Anthy had measured out the exact amount they'd need for two bowls so, by the time the large bowl was empty, both smaller bowls had been filled. Turning fully towards the table now, she easily forced the water to swirl around in the bowls as it continued to steam, as she also made sure it didn't get too cold. No one liked cold tea, did they? She didn't think so. "Because I am now engaged to you, it is my duty to do whatever you ask of me, Miss Utena," she said with her well-practiced smile. Except call her, simply, Utena. That wasn't about to happen. Once she was certain all the flavor had been pulled from the now-soaked leaves, she used her water-controlling powers to pull the leaves from the bowl and allowed them to drip over said bowls for a moment or two before forcing them to float off to a corner of the 'counter' to do something with later. She wasn't sure what. She turned to Utena and offered her the ever-present smile. "The tea is ready now, Miss Utena."
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:31 pm
It all started out normally. Anthy was moving around woven bowls and placing them here and there. Utena was going to have a nice relaxing spot of tea, and maybe make a new friend at this-
What in the seven hells!?
Her eyes grew wide, then continued to grow as Anthy continued her work. She felt a chill go down her spine. This wasn't the second time tonight she felt her steadfast bravery faulter and her brain fry under the pure insanity that went on around her. Had she completely lost it?
She swallowed heavily, shying from the boiling water as it ventured towards the containers on their stone flat. She was so completely shocked that she missed all 'Miss Utenas' and plastic smiles.
It took her several moments to partially recover. 'The tea is ready now, Miss Utena.' She shook her head, squinted, titled her view, and finally decided that the results of what she'd just seen were not changing.
There, right in front of her, were two perfectly gorgeous bowls of tea. "Is that safe to drink?" she questioned. It looked safe, but all the voodoo magic that had just occured left her baffled.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 1:18 pm
Completely oblivious to Utena's incredulous look, she merely continued to smile. "Of course it is, Miss Utena," she assured her, wondering why she thought it wouldn't be. "Hasn't anyone ever made you tea before, Miss Utena?" Didn't everyone make it the same way as she?
Pushing all thoughts and wonderings aside, the Rose Bride dipped her head down to her bowl of tea, and took a few gentle, unsophisticated-noise-making sips. Honestly. Was it safe? Hell, she'd made it directly in front of the girl. What could she have possibly done to make it not fit to drink, unless Utena had poison leaves or tainted her water supply or coated the bowls in something awful. Is it safe to drink. Honestly.
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:21 am
"Well, yes, but. . . " she wanted to add 'not quite like that', but she didn't want to seem rude. With an unsure smile towards Anthy she slid one foot forwards. Nothing jumped out of the bowl to eat her, so she took a few more. Her own reflection stared back up at her from the still brownish hue of the tea.
At last she took the plunge and took a small, unsure mouthful. "Mmm, Himemiya, where did you learn to make tea like this? Its delicious!" She was soon to learn it was one of the few things that Anthy could make.
She paused for a moment, but finding she did not drop dead consumed just a bit more. It would have been easy to just gulp it all down right then, but manners always kept her in check. Good breeding, her Aunt had told her, was the key for any aspiring princes.
She drug her tongue along her teeth thoughtfully, her ears tunring with the effort of finding the next topic for discussion. She didn't want to sit in silence with the girl she hardly knew. "This school is pretty different, huh?" she asked, lifting her muzzle from the warm bowl of tea. "I mean, not to say I don't like it, but there's nothing like this where I come from."
For example, people didn't fight duels over ownership of a Nequus, or heat up tea, and water did not move on its own like that. Heck, they didn't even have tea where she came from. Maybe different wasn't quite the world for it.
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:22 pm
"I'm glad you like it, Miss Utena," she said with a smile. It was still her picture-perfect smile, though; even though she was rather pleased to receive a compliment. She couldn't remember if any of the other duelists she'd been engaged to had paid her any compliments. She didn't think so, but it didn't matter. She didn't need them.
"Different?" She questioned before taking another sip or two of her tea. She kept both ears perked forward, her wings settled comfortably on her back. With a flick of her lengthy purple tail, she raised her gaze to look at the pink-maned Ichsa. What did she mean? Weren't other schools like theirs? Well, not exactly the same, no; she figured not every school had a Rose Bride or duelists being directed by a disembodied, message-sending omniscient being that called himself End of the World. But they had something similar, right? Right, of course. "What do you mean, Miss Utena?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 11:13 am
"Well, I've never actually been to another school," she began, biting her lip. Unless all schools were like this? Maybe that's what they were to learn in school. How to make water move on its own and heat, too.
Anthy Himemiya was probably getting tired of all of Utena's pauses before she spoke. It didn't seem to make in any difference, she'd found. Utena still sounded as silly as ever.
"I'm trying to say, well, the outside world is nothing like this. First off, there's no such thing as dorms, or fountains of flowing water. Water flows downhill, here it doesn't seem to care." Indeed, Anthy's water had drifted over to the bowls all on its own. "Plus, well," she really was treading on thin ice here. "People aren't this crazy."
Well it was true! The people at this school - student council namely - were completely insane!
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