Obligatory Disclaimer: Characters-Not mine. How's that for concise?
Cobweb Afternoon
The lazy afternoon sun cast tall, anorexic shadows on the small taxi as it sped with purpose down the harsh, gravel road. Moving through the cool, emerald hues of the lush forest surroundings, the young woman in the backseat slowly rolled-down her window, instantly being greeted by the welcome and clean air of a virgin atmosphere. The breeze whipped her golden and meticulous curls about her face unkindly, obstructing Juri's hazel eyes from the lonely vision of the forest; the trees, however were not the reason she was venturing so out into such desolate surroundings. No, she thought, her emotions wading through a pool of anticipation; she had an appointment. The man driving would sometimes sneak small, wondrous glances at this woman, for she certainly seemed to be something special. Her features were strong, containing with them a sharp, undeniable beauty; this woman was dressed very well for a meeting in the middle of nowhere, he thought. Wondering who would entice such a woman out into this god-forsaken land, the man tried his best to focus, careful to watch the road ahead of him.
The taxi stopped near the entrance and she paid the man accordingly. Stepping out from the car, the young woman's critical eyes moved across the expanse of the secluded mansion. It had a feeling of emptiness, weariness, and the airs of something long lost and forgotten; still, its beauty and construction was well-noticeable. Straightening out her small, silver dress, Juri Arisugawa took to her feet. She traveled across the outside hall with her head held high, the tall, dirty parapets casting out long shadows across the quiet walls as the sky started to slowly cloud and thicken. The air around her grew dense and she felt as though it might rain, the temperature however still retaining its pleasant coolness. The steady and strong click of her heels on the pavement was the only pervasive sound as she entered through a door to the inside of the house. She started wondering, suddenly, if anyone else would find such an odd tryst disheartening, or perhaps frightening. Then again, she doubted if any such person would be sent an invitation to this mansion to begin with. The young woman smiled ironically to herself then; since when would her host ever consider her of such elite character, her, above the countless others? No, there was no such bond between them. She had known this, had to know it, because self-deception or even the faintest glimmer of hope was a foolish and deadly thing. This was, as it always, a call to a need. A consentive meeting of two people who only desired one thing. It wasn't love; it wasn't some blind, hopeful affection. It was a temporary fix to wounds that would never be healed, a distraction from some eternal, self-strewn prison. Juri Arisugawa was an intelligent person. She understood this, thus accepting it.
The halls of the building were quiet; cool blue shadows hung peacefully over the rooms in a silent vigil, never frightening but always there. None of the furnishings, tapestries, or rugs were worn or wrecked, simply old and unused, unseen, unkempt things which seemed content in their exile. The tall, athletic woman took to climbing the stairs. An army of small pitter-patter from outside indicated the rain was starting to fall, as expected.
Walking with her usual air of steady confidence and determination, Juri could feel a small foreign breeze slowly waft into her. That feeling, that strange unnamable emotion tugging deep and hidden somewhere inside, the thing she had no desire to seek or find. That hidden drug laced carefully into her cocktail of anticipation mixed with desire. She didn't want to think enough of it to give it form, or name, or any tangible existence. She didn't have time to waste, room to fill, or energy to use on any horrible device of her emotions. Weary eyes gleamed with resolve and she nodded steadily. Whatever it was, Juri thought as she rounded a corner, couldn't threaten her if it didn't exist. So that small gale which whispered to her silently, that tiny hint of light being cast from the shadows, remained unheard and unseen. It would have no choice but to atrophy and disappear, fade away like a thin puff of smoke. Thankfully.
Finally, she had entered a room with its familiar, waiting inhabitant. The rain sliding unbridled down the window pane cast specters of light dancing across the faded, lime-tinted walls, as well as along the profile of the young woman who stood gazing out to the forest. The shadows played quietly along the white spread of the untouched bed-sheets and swirled down across the cold, wooden planks of floor. The room seemed mostly barren and lifeless, save for the bed and a small nightstand, and Juri took a surprisingly deep breath before approaching the girl before her. She strode over coolly to the windows, drinking in the figure of her host. Her thin yet able body, the wild, cerulean mop of hair, the way her shoulders were always so confidently set. The smaller, younger, immature wild child who would call out to her. The brave girl who would challenge her. The contest was always unworded but always set forth, that want to invoke something inside Juri none other would dare. Standing behind Kozue, she touched her arm for a sign of recognition of her newly made presence.
**
Kozue, of all the things she liked to consider her own, treasured this old manor most. Houses, places, people, all would present to her what she despised. They could be beautiful, they would be clean, or elegant, something shining or graceful; whatever it was, she knew it all to be false, and she hated this most of all. Chip away at the beauty, and you would have dirt. The pretty, precious things they would present would always be ugly, and she resented this most of all. But this house, this house was real. It was cold, it was shadowed, and it was empty. No one lived here to give it some fake glimmer; no one possessed the chance to create a farce. It was her dirty little haven.
Approaching someone like the fencer was curious. The older girl was something different, she would admit to herself, something she had yet to figure out. Out of all the plastic glitter and shining ugly faces…Her light seemed real. That blazing incandescence which all who knew her would admit to, it seemed genuine. But she wondered. Could something like that be real? What did it possess within it? Was it some shining miracle, or some hopeful, spirited promise? Could she taint it, bring it down or prove it false, or was such a thing unchangeable? This was the reason, she supposed, why she was drawn to Juri. Maybe, she would sometimes ponder, maybe she was trying to win it for herself. Claim this wondrous thing for her own, but why would she? Was she not satisfied with her current self? She had been content before, with herself, her beliefs on the world, and her place in it was well. These thoughts of course, were disrupting and she tried usually not to think of them. For now, in this current state of being, she was merely content to play with her new toy.
She could feel eyes on her suddenly and smiled.
She paid no attention to the steady click of soles on the floor as the other approached her, simply deciding to let the older girl make the first move. There was a way to them, their game, and the rules before them were always applied. The intricate moves of the dance both were graciously willing to step to, and Kozue knew Juri to be in favor of leading. Kozue felt entertained enough to humor the fancy. A warm, strong hand touched her arm, and repressing the urge to fall back into a waiting embrace, she danced away lightly to eye her visitor.
A playful smile earned its way onto her pleased expression; she was never disappointed in how Juri appeared to her. A mix of strong femininity and unyielding masculinity wrapped up in an almost ethereal body, a form which one would perhaps find in a master's sculpture. Some exquisite work of marble in the shape of a golden queen, a warrior goddess, fresh with youth and vitality, but possessing weary eyes which had been known to fill to the brim with unbridled, searing emotion. This was Juri Arisugawa; this was, for today, hers.
This queen approached her again, calmly, slowly. Outwardly, her confidence seemed to never waver; Kozue wondered if she was really so unmoved, so unshakable. Was there nothing under her flawless skin? No soul, no heart heaving steadily under her breast? No, she smiled, there was something there. She could feel it. As strong as one like her would seem, there was always weakness. Under the coldness was a fire, a small flicking amber, just waiting to be unleashed.
Juri stood before her now, and Kozue wondered if the fates had decried that she would be the one who should light the pyre.
**
**
She leaned back into the tub, feigning graciously to herself a feeling of contentment. The small wisps of dancing steam rolled across the glassy surface of the water, and she blew away sternly at the joyful looking spirits. Her eyes focused on the ceiling of the empty bathroom, before slowly closing them in weary concession. Juri sighed.
This had to stop; this thing, the action which filled her with a feeling not unlike contentment, the rolling emotion washing her despair cleanly, gently away. it wasn't right, it couldn't last. She was like an ornamental plastic star, one you would hang on a tree, or from the ceiling perhaps. Something dead, false. But now…Now she could feel the old tired skin break and fade, bending to form a new her, a real star, a shining body of heaven. Something of that kind of beauty could not be forged in such an atmosphere, could it? This game they played would have to end eventually, she knew.
But did she want that? Could she have anything else, was there a way to create something more? She shifted uncomfortably in the water, causing the smooth surface to ebb and ripple. She laid there for several minutes, eyes closed, basking in the warm, soothing heat of the water. Her thoughts slowly drifting away and she didn't hear as someone approached her.
Smelling suddenly a familiar wisp of nicotine, Juri opened her eyes in alert. However, the puff of smoke's owner had already retreated into another room, leaving behind she noticed, a fresh glass of blood red wine. A smile worked its inexplicable way across her face, and as she felt it form, realized how dangerous it really was.
Cobweb Afternoon
The lazy afternoon sun cast tall, anorexic shadows on the small taxi as it sped with purpose down the harsh, gravel road. Moving through the cool, emerald hues of the lush forest surroundings, the young woman in the backseat slowly rolled-down her window, instantly being greeted by the welcome and clean air of a virgin atmosphere. The breeze whipped her golden and meticulous curls about her face unkindly, obstructing Juri's hazel eyes from the lonely vision of the forest; the trees, however were not the reason she was venturing so out into such desolate surroundings. No, she thought, her emotions wading through a pool of anticipation; she had an appointment. The man driving would sometimes sneak small, wondrous glances at this woman, for she certainly seemed to be something special. Her features were strong, containing with them a sharp, undeniable beauty; this woman was dressed very well for a meeting in the middle of nowhere, he thought. Wondering who would entice such a woman out into this god-forsaken land, the man tried his best to focus, careful to watch the road ahead of him.
The taxi stopped near the entrance and she paid the man accordingly. Stepping out from the car, the young woman's critical eyes moved across the expanse of the secluded mansion. It had a feeling of emptiness, weariness, and the airs of something long lost and forgotten; still, its beauty and construction was well-noticeable. Straightening out her small, silver dress, Juri Arisugawa took to her feet. She traveled across the outside hall with her head held high, the tall, dirty parapets casting out long shadows across the quiet walls as the sky started to slowly cloud and thicken. The air around her grew dense and she felt as though it might rain, the temperature however still retaining its pleasant coolness. The steady and strong click of her heels on the pavement was the only pervasive sound as she entered through a door to the inside of the house. She started wondering, suddenly, if anyone else would find such an odd tryst disheartening, or perhaps frightening. Then again, she doubted if any such person would be sent an invitation to this mansion to begin with. The young woman smiled ironically to herself then; since when would her host ever consider her of such elite character, her, above the countless others? No, there was no such bond between them. She had known this, had to know it, because self-deception or even the faintest glimmer of hope was a foolish and deadly thing. This was, as it always, a call to a need. A consentive meeting of two people who only desired one thing. It wasn't love; it wasn't some blind, hopeful affection. It was a temporary fix to wounds that would never be healed, a distraction from some eternal, self-strewn prison. Juri Arisugawa was an intelligent person. She understood this, thus accepting it.
The halls of the building were quiet; cool blue shadows hung peacefully over the rooms in a silent vigil, never frightening but always there. None of the furnishings, tapestries, or rugs were worn or wrecked, simply old and unused, unseen, unkempt things which seemed content in their exile. The tall, athletic woman took to climbing the stairs. An army of small pitter-patter from outside indicated the rain was starting to fall, as expected.
Walking with her usual air of steady confidence and determination, Juri could feel a small foreign breeze slowly waft into her. That feeling, that strange unnamable emotion tugging deep and hidden somewhere inside, the thing she had no desire to seek or find. That hidden drug laced carefully into her cocktail of anticipation mixed with desire. She didn't want to think enough of it to give it form, or name, or any tangible existence. She didn't have time to waste, room to fill, or energy to use on any horrible device of her emotions. Weary eyes gleamed with resolve and she nodded steadily. Whatever it was, Juri thought as she rounded a corner, couldn't threaten her if it didn't exist. So that small gale which whispered to her silently, that tiny hint of light being cast from the shadows, remained unheard and unseen. It would have no choice but to atrophy and disappear, fade away like a thin puff of smoke. Thankfully.
Finally, she had entered a room with its familiar, waiting inhabitant. The rain sliding unbridled down the window pane cast specters of light dancing across the faded, lime-tinted walls, as well as along the profile of the young woman who stood gazing out to the forest. The shadows played quietly along the white spread of the untouched bed-sheets and swirled down across the cold, wooden planks of floor. The room seemed mostly barren and lifeless, save for the bed and a small nightstand, and Juri took a surprisingly deep breath before approaching the girl before her. She strode over coolly to the windows, drinking in the figure of her host. Her thin yet able body, the wild, cerulean mop of hair, the way her shoulders were always so confidently set. The smaller, younger, immature wild child who would call out to her. The brave girl who would challenge her. The contest was always unworded but always set forth, that want to invoke something inside Juri none other would dare. Standing behind Kozue, she touched her arm for a sign of recognition of her newly made presence.
**
Kozue, of all the things she liked to consider her own, treasured this old manor most. Houses, places, people, all would present to her what she despised. They could be beautiful, they would be clean, or elegant, something shining or graceful; whatever it was, she knew it all to be false, and she hated this most of all. Chip away at the beauty, and you would have dirt. The pretty, precious things they would present would always be ugly, and she resented this most of all. But this house, this house was real. It was cold, it was shadowed, and it was empty. No one lived here to give it some fake glimmer; no one possessed the chance to create a farce. It was her dirty little haven.
Approaching someone like the fencer was curious. The older girl was something different, she would admit to herself, something she had yet to figure out. Out of all the plastic glitter and shining ugly faces…Her light seemed real. That blazing incandescence which all who knew her would admit to, it seemed genuine. But she wondered. Could something like that be real? What did it possess within it? Was it some shining miracle, or some hopeful, spirited promise? Could she taint it, bring it down or prove it false, or was such a thing unchangeable? This was the reason, she supposed, why she was drawn to Juri. Maybe, she would sometimes ponder, maybe she was trying to win it for herself. Claim this wondrous thing for her own, but why would she? Was she not satisfied with her current self? She had been content before, with herself, her beliefs on the world, and her place in it was well. These thoughts of course, were disrupting and she tried usually not to think of them. For now, in this current state of being, she was merely content to play with her new toy.
She could feel eyes on her suddenly and smiled.
She paid no attention to the steady click of soles on the floor as the other approached her, simply deciding to let the older girl make the first move. There was a way to them, their game, and the rules before them were always applied. The intricate moves of the dance both were graciously willing to step to, and Kozue knew Juri to be in favor of leading. Kozue felt entertained enough to humor the fancy. A warm, strong hand touched her arm, and repressing the urge to fall back into a waiting embrace, she danced away lightly to eye her visitor.
A playful smile earned its way onto her pleased expression; she was never disappointed in how Juri appeared to her. A mix of strong femininity and unyielding masculinity wrapped up in an almost ethereal body, a form which one would perhaps find in a master's sculpture. Some exquisite work of marble in the shape of a golden queen, a warrior goddess, fresh with youth and vitality, but possessing weary eyes which had been known to fill to the brim with unbridled, searing emotion. This was Juri Arisugawa; this was, for today, hers.
This queen approached her again, calmly, slowly. Outwardly, her confidence seemed to never waver; Kozue wondered if she was really so unmoved, so unshakable. Was there nothing under her flawless skin? No soul, no heart heaving steadily under her breast? No, she smiled, there was something there. She could feel it. As strong as one like her would seem, there was always weakness. Under the coldness was a fire, a small flicking amber, just waiting to be unleashed.
Juri stood before her now, and Kozue wondered if the fates had decried that she would be the one who should light the pyre.
**
**
She leaned back into the tub, feigning graciously to herself a feeling of contentment. The small wisps of dancing steam rolled across the glassy surface of the water, and she blew away sternly at the joyful looking spirits. Her eyes focused on the ceiling of the empty bathroom, before slowly closing them in weary concession. Juri sighed.
This had to stop; this thing, the action which filled her with a feeling not unlike contentment, the rolling emotion washing her despair cleanly, gently away. it wasn't right, it couldn't last. She was like an ornamental plastic star, one you would hang on a tree, or from the ceiling perhaps. Something dead, false. But now…Now she could feel the old tired skin break and fade, bending to form a new her, a real star, a shining body of heaven. Something of that kind of beauty could not be forged in such an atmosphere, could it? This game they played would have to end eventually, she knew.
But did she want that? Could she have anything else, was there a way to create something more? She shifted uncomfortably in the water, causing the smooth surface to ebb and ripple. She laid there for several minutes, eyes closed, basking in the warm, soothing heat of the water. Her thoughts slowly drifting away and she didn't hear as someone approached her.
Smelling suddenly a familiar wisp of nicotine, Juri opened her eyes in alert. However, the puff of smoke's owner had already retreated into another room, leaving behind she noticed, a fresh glass of blood red wine. A smile worked its inexplicable way across her face, and as she felt it form, realized how dangerous it really was.