"You're like a spider," Juri said lowly, eyes narrowed.
Anthy said nothing, eyes seeming to stare sightlessly through the orange haired woman.
"Juri-" started the pink haired girl beside the dark skinned one. Her voice was reproving, but Juri interrupted her.
"You spin webs," Juri stated accusingly. "You spin webs with our lives and watch from the background. You had us all fooled with false obliviousness, but you were always there behind the scenes weaving. And you!" Juri's burning gaze fell upon Utena. "You are no better! You are her sister spider! But instead of webs of trickery and deceit, you spun webs of honor and nobility! You blinded us with your brilliance and fooled us with your true innocence and naivety! You both play horrors with our world!"
Utena huffed indignantly. "We're not spiders! We haven't spun anything!"
Juri's burning gaze cooled instantly, eyes suddenly frosty and removed. "You're both spiders… Your webs are intricate and binding. Alone, you were both formidable… But together… you're downright untouchable." Juri's eyes slid away from her targets to the blue sky above. "How is it, that two entirely different webs, woven by entirely different creatures, combine so finely into something so complex and intangibly whole… that none escape…? It's really unfathomable. It is no wonder that everyone is so in awe of you. You're both so foreign to our own ways of thinking, we can't help but be drawn in by your glittering webs."
"Like moths to a flame," Anthy said softly, eyes seeming no more interested or emotional then they were before.
Juri looked at the dark skinned girl evenly. "Precisely. You see? You're still spinning."
Utena frowned and stepped between them. "She's not spinning anything! Leave her alone!"
Juri scoffed at the pink haired girl. "You are still so naïve… I still wonder how it's possible… I know you've seen your share of darkness and secrets. I can't help but wonder how you keep fooling yourself. But that's how you spin your own web. It's practically golden in its purity. Your charm and charisma have swayed even the coldest of hearts. Should you ever break free of your obliviousness, you'd realize the following you've gathered and put use to them. But you won't. You will never notice. Why? Because you can't change your web. You can't change your inner self. You're an entirely different spider then the Rose Bride."
"What are you talking about?" Utena questioned, looking confused and uncertain. Yet, she still stood confidently and protectively in front of Anthy.
"The Rose Bride is cunning, where you are naïve," answered Juri. She looked dangerous, like she was ready to pounce. Even seated, her very presence screamed intimidation. "She knows… She knows all the secrets. She knows how to play the cards because she knows the secrets. And she plays them well. She spins her web… and toils away patiently, agelessly, as the web just keeps spinning. She can't stop. She doesn't know how. So she spins and spins… The web only becomes more complex, thicker, stronger. It's unbreakable… except to the likes of one who is opposite in every way. But then again, that sword is double edged. Whereas you could break her web, she could easily break yours. But neither of you have done it. She's tried. I know she has. You know she has. But it hasn't stopped you. Oddly enough, you're even more stubborn and foolish then before." Juri sneered and looked away. "Such foolishness. So very blind to what lies in front of you…"
The sound of a footsteps made Juri look at the pair again. Utena had stepped forward and approached her. The pink haired girl stared down calmly at the older girl, blue eyes clear but unreadable.
And then she saw it.
Juri's eyes widened in shock, and a mite bit of fear, as she finally saw what Utena had hidden so well.
There, buried deep, hidden beneath layers and layers of internal webbing, there was a crack. Utena's perfect image had been tarnished. That simple, single little crack, broke the seamless image that had stood defiantly before them all and had conquered them each.
Juri nearly gasped when she suddenly found those same blue eyes, once so bright and clear, suddenly misty and understanding. It happened so fast, Juri was left defenseless and speechless.
Utena smiled calmly, eyes still cloudy and knowing. She reached out and gently touched Juri's cheek. "We all spin webs. The make and design may not always be of our choosing, but we all have our own web that binds us… and saves us. It is our lifeline, our saving grace, and our downfall. Even cutting a single thread could cause terrible upheaval. And yet, it doesn't stop us from spinning." She glanced back at Anthy. "Once and a while, our webs touch. They cross or blend together. Sometimes they become so meshed, you can't part them, and they become even stronger then they were alone. Other times, the webs will wither and break." Her soulful eyes locked with Juri's. "But as a spider, we spin. We spin for survival, even if our web gets broken or snared. We spin and push past the broken parts… and make our web even more beautiful."
"But-" started Juri.
Utena gently shushed her with a finger to her lips and a shake of her head. "The Rose Bride has indeed spun many a treacherous web. We've all been prey to it, and we've all fallen inside its seemingly endless labyrinth. And yet, we haven't perished. Realizing her own folly, the Rose Bride has been weaving her web in hopes of finding redemption. It's been so long, however, she'd given up any hope of such a blessing. And with the assistance of another spider, her webs were becoming even darker and more deceiving."
Akio's face flashed in Juri's mind. Seeing the understanding, Utena's lips curled into a half smile.
"You see? Even you know that her web wasn't made solitary. No web truly is. For, how is a web created, if not for something to brace its form to hold it aloft?" Utena smiled warmly, cupping Juri's face in her hands. Anthy watched in silence, still as a statue in a garden. "Even your web has a base. And it will continue to grow, as well. Even after we've all parted ways and seemingly vanished, your web will still blossom." Utena leaned close and placed a single chaste kiss on the older woman's cheek. "You will amaze everyone with it's brilliance."
Stepping away, the pink haired girl retreated back to Anthy's side. Her eyes were once more bright and clear, seeming clueless to all the events that had just transpired.
"Come Anthy," called Utena, turning to walk away. "Let's go find something to eat. I'm starving."
This time Juri did gasp.
For a split second, just before the Rose Bride turned away, it was crystal clear.
Burning in feverish white blindness, hope, trust, and love flared in the dark skinned girl's eyes. Dark eyes locked upon her retreating Prince, Anthy was completely and unarguably head over heels for the younger girl. She followed her Prince like a lost pup, and all that had been denied her was blooming admirably in the seemingly coldhearted girl's chest and bleeding into her face and eyes. There was a small but genuine smile on the girl's lips.
And then she was fully turned away, and the image was gone.
Juri was left staring breathlessly after the two, shocked beyond words. She'd once again been proven wrong. She thought she'd braced herself for any sort of shocks the two could dish out, but apparently, they still had tricks up their sleeves that left her completely winded.
After staring after the two sightlessly for several hours, she finally shook herself back to her senses.
"An odd sort of miracle," she murmured softly. Gracefully, she rose from the fountains edge and brushed any clinging dirt from her clothes. Her gaze drifted after the long gone pair one more time before she resolutely turned and walked the other way with long confident strides. "Conversations with her always end strangely."
A/N: (ignoring the plot bunny still knawing on my ankle) So, how'd you all like it? (glances down at the plot bunny) Yes, that wee little thing attacked again. It always jumps out at the weirdest of times... Anywho, hope you enjoyed the read.
-salute-