Happy Again (Rain):
At first sight, seeing a purple skinned woman with hooves and a horn protruding from her forehead with a large celestial staff felt peculiar. To top it off though, there was now a taller half-metal man walking beside her with a metal cane. The mismatched pair found themselves together in the misty morning outside the Institute on a dirt path, where the air under the open sky was clean, fresh, and light like the sprinkling rain the two were walking in. The blue above them was cloudy, but still the sun continued to shine.
Two tan early birds sang their little songs as they flew overhead chirping and fluttering about, shying away from the soft breezes that ruffled their feathers. Further down their way, they saw a pair of small tracks that appeared over the trodden dirt road. Walking peacefully on, they later came across two different colors of plants entangled by each others' leaves and roots off by the side of the path. The flowers clung to each other, seemingly trying to snuff the other plant out of existence, but upon closer inspection they were only thriving together, supporting and relying on one another to survive.
"Water," the Herald suddenly began as the sprinkling rain turned into a shower, "in literature can symbolize 'Catharsis,' the purging of a person bathed in it of his emotions—"
"And problems." Soraka smiled at him and tucked a few loose strands behind her pointy ears. She stopped walking and took a deep breath, spreading her arms wide. She looked up to meet the rain that kissed her soft skin. It was cool and soothing, Soraka released her breath, sighing, "I think it's wonderful."
Viktor spared her a glance behind his mask and opened his palms to the sky, watching the water seep into his clothes, hearing the pitter-patter of droplets on his left forearm and feeling its slight moisture on his right. It was cold, cold like metal, and, oddly, he felt discomforted this. "We should not stand too long out in the rain. This invites sickness."
Soraka peeked an eye at the Herald, "A little water won't hurt, Viktor." She giggled; hearing someone else "mother-henning" her was funny, especially if it came from someone so unexpected like her bananas. She blinked and lowered her arms when she noticed the Herald shaking his head. "Hm?"
As hackneyed, as it may seem, "Water," he said, reaching his human hand towards his mask, "there's too much water in my mask." He tried flushing it out.
Viktor reached behind his head and unclasped the mask, pulling it off his face. He raised his right arm and used his sleeves to dry his face. His usual tousled black hair was now slicked backwards in the rain, earning another giggle from the Starchild. The man looked at Soraka and arched a brow at her.
"You find me amusing?" his voice still metallic.
"Just silly." Soraka said, stepping closer. The Starchild planted the lunar staff into the ground before clamping her legs around it.
She carefully raised both of her hands before him, making sure he could see them. Seeing as the Herald merely watched her and said nothing, she slowly cupped her hands around his cheek, feeling the odd little contraption on his face. Soraka hushed him, feeling his body tense at the foreign contact, but he still did nothing, which prompted her to continue.
"Is this your respirator?" she asked, rubbing it lightly with a thumb, concerned for his health.
He stared at her, and then gently covered her hand with his human one, "Something like that…."
Viktor gently brushed her hands away, but she wouldn't let him.
"Feel it. Come on, Viktor. Feel the rain." she urged him with another encouraging smile. "Just this once."
"To wash away one's emotions…" Viktor relented; perhaps listening to the celestial goddess could be helpful.
He let his shoulders relax, and his hands dropped to his side. Soraka's hands followed his and they stood there in the shower. The Starchild felt the world through each droplet, and the Herald felt her. Together, they felt the rain.
In spite of himself, Viktor smiled, if only a little.
((Spot the reference: The title is the last line from "Singing in the Rain." Also, notice the nuances! They're everywhere! This was done for my Viktor ask/rp blog on tumblr.))