Courting the River Maid Collection

Birthday / St. Paddy's Day

Kohakunushi was in a generous mood again. He loved sending his Promised One little surprises. She was just such a sweet and innocent thing that he couldn't resist, and the blush that she wore whenever she came to his banks to thank his was so fetching. In other words, the more often that she shyly shuffled down to him, the more he found himself craving her demure mumblings.

It had to have something to do with his wooing instinct, closely related to his hoarding instinct. Dragons tended to seek favor with the females they courted by presenting choice and precious things. It was usually jewels, but if he showered her with jewels, she would complain that she couldn't do anything with them.

That was an easy problem for him to get around though.

Most of the gifts were useful things that she needed. Fresh foods, an article of clothing if something was beginning to wear out, money for books, paying for Shrine upkeep, medical expenses and other such things. He had lost count of how many flowers he had sent when he received a report of her having a bad day. Three quarters of the things he gave on her behalf or of the other shrine occupants she never knew of, and she would probably yell at him if she did, but it was his job to provide for her.

He enjoyed it too. What woman in their right mind would turn down things they needed anyway?

He was tired of giving purely functional gifts though, he wanted to send her something special. Something that she didn't need to break the tedium of clothing and other such things. Frowning, he poured over the selection of jewelry that he kept in a silver coffer in his office. It was just too much temptation. Many fine items lay in here, but none of them was quite what he was searching for tonight. Today was her birthday, and it needed to be something special.

His eyes fell on a tiny gold box next to the silver one. No, not that special. The scales were for later. He wanted to present that himself.

Finally, in a small velvet pouch at the bottom of his silver coffer, he found something that satisfied him. The stone was like the grassy field that his sweet one had gone through to leave the Aburaya. A flawless emerald, it had been shaped into a perfect teardrop, rounded unlike the angular copies the humans usually made. Set in a cage of fine silver, the same metal suspended it on a filigree chain. Delicate, it was not meant for everyday wear, but once in a while, when the mood needed lifting, or for special events.

She needed something like that. The pearl necklace that she wore was lovely, but surely she would like something else, especially when he could finally get that thing off of her. Shaking himself out of his contemplations, he remembered that she would most likely be waking soon. With a wave of his hand, he sent the necklace to rest around her neck, and the pouch to sit on the bed stand. Before doing so though, he made sure to tuck a little note into the bag.

BlowingWind was up before everyone else. Donning a green dress that she had bought a couple weeks ago, the woman thought back over her life. She was half Apache, and up until the age of seven she had lived on a reservation. However, she was also half Irish, and after her father died, mother didn't want to stay. Everything had reminded her of him.

And so they moved.

Her mother had done her best to teach her what she knew of the Apache culture. Most of what she could teach was her Irish culture. Being actually from Ireland itself, the woman had been a storehouse of information. Songs, stories, dances, crafts, history, you name it, she knew it. She had been a very superstitious woman in BlowingWind's experience. She had always gone on about how the fey folk had taken a particular interest in the family, and how a dragon had once cursed the family.

Still, for all she knew about her Irish heritage, something felt missing. Mother had always been very silent about the details of her family. Dragons also seemed to be attracted to the two for some strange reason. The few tiny ones that she had met had always asked her why she smelled like a dragon. It was a question she had no answer to.

That did nothing to curb her love of Saint Patrick's Day though. Yes, the man known as Saint Patrick had not been what one could call completely kind to the original people of Ireland, but somehow had become a kind of cultural icon much later on in history. It was the celebration of her heritage that appealed to her, both Pagan and Christian, both Historic and Mythic. And the fun of pinching people who didn't wear green today was nothing to pass up either.

Digging out the slow cooker, she happily recalled her mother's recipe for roast beef. Most people did the canned corned beef and hash, but BlowingWind scoffed at that. Canned was cheating, and roast beef was what corned beef was made out of anyway.

There was another reason that she was going to all this trouble though. Today was her best friend's birthday. Her gift was a taste of a real traditional Irish meal. Chihiro had found learning about other places and cultures was very interesting.

"Want some help?"

Chihiro was up too, waking up to go and greet the sun when she rose. They loved to go sing and dance in the dawn. It set the tone for a good day.

"Sure Chi. Happy birthday."

"Thanks."

The pair sliced up the vegetables and put them in the cooker with the meat. BlowingWind put in the water, and carefully placed in the herbs as well. It would be left to cook all day, and would be ready in time for dinner. Not much longer, they were on their way out the door for their ritual.

"OW! What was that for?"

"You aren't wearing any green."

"I am so! See!"

Here, Chihiro pointed at a teardrop of emerald suspended about her neck, polished and cut to perfection, set in a silver that gleamed in the low light. She had been planning on wearing a green obi to deter her friend's pinches, but when she had woken up, this had been around her neck. Since it was green, Chihiro forwent the obi. If BlowingWind didn't see it, and pinched her, then Chihiro got to punch back! She had learned the rules.

Of course, she knew who it was from. He was always leaving her little gifts it seemed. Some of them were obviously very expensive, like this most recent one. Where on earth did he come up with these things anyway? He was spoiling her, and he never left an explanation as to why he kept giving the gifts. Dragons could supposedly be very generous to those in their good graces, but this was getting ridiculous. As Ryu had once said, it was almost like she was being courted.

Nah. Well, maybe? Maybe it was just because it was her birthday. Yes, that was it, forget about that fantasy. There was no time for romantic pining.

Punch.

BlowingWind laughed and rubbed her arm.

"That's nice. New?"

"This morning."

"A virile young dragon leaving gifts in your bedroom. Should we keep some condoms under your pillow? Just incase he gives you a very different present later tonight?"

"Wind!"

"Just a thought."

"Ryu's rubbing off on you."

"Eck! You're right."

"Maybe I should get you some condoms."

"I deserved that."

Calming down from shared laughter, BlowingWind began playing the music as they lifted their voices in song. Chihiro allowed her body to drift through the steps, greeting the sun goddess as she rose in the sky to bring light to the world once more. The goddess riding the solar disk smiled down at the pair of young women as they sang the praises and gave thanks for the lives that they led, calling upon their ancestors to lead them in the proper ways. Once they were done, Chihiro took her morning offering to the river.

"I'll be right back. I have to talk to Haku real quick."

"Ok. I'll wait here for a bit and listen to the wind then."

Chihiro took a bit longer than usual down by the river. Stammering was a bit of a problem today, and it got worse each time the river lapped at her feet. It took her five minutes to say thank you. He seemed to think it was funny or something, because the river kept chuckling and encouraging her every time she opened her mouth only to shut it and blush. She came away with the distinct impression that there was something else he was dying to give her, but the only clue that she received was one word echoing and curling in her mind. This one word, for some weird reason, easily pulled back to her thoughts the vivid dreams that she would purposefully ignore, and every fantasy that snuck up on her while she was researching more on dragons or pursuing her studies.

'Soon.'

Soon enough, the pair of women were done with their morning rituals and back inside the house, ready for breakfast.

"Happy Birthday!"

Ryu was taking the meal he had made for everyone to the table, resplendent in a frilly green apron, purposefully wimped out. Across the chest, in big white script, it read 'I'm not Irish, but kiss me anyway!' He had also put one of those big bows in his hair like the women wore in 1950's America, also green and polka-dotted to match his apron. He only dug those out for today for a laugh. He was going to take those off later, and he wore a gree obi underneath to fend off his girlfriend later today.

Chihiro tried to speak through her laugher.

"A-arigato!"

As Wind and Chihiro seated themselves, Koji also came to the table, bearing his gift. Today, in acknowledgment of the pinch crazy Irish woman in their midst he had donned a green headband. In white, he had written 'watch out for the Irish assistant today' as a warning to anyone that he met who might ask about the object he usually did not wear.

Chihiro unwrapped the gift, carefully removing it from the blue paper and white ribbon. As she read the title, her eyes grew huge.

"'One Thousand and One Dragon Tales!' Arigato gozimasu! Why the 'Breeding Dragons' book though?"

After watching her finish opening Koji's present, Ryu got one last dish out of the kitchen, and put it before his girlfriend. He just couldn't resist this joke any longer after she had told him she had hated reading the book 'Green Eggs and Ham.' Personally, he had thought it was cute.

"Green eggs and Ham?"

"Happy St. Paddy's Day, 'Wind. Sorry, but some Leprechauns insisted on helping cook."

"Ryu. They can't travel outside of Ireland."

"Well, see if I ever make you anything special again. You could at least kiss the cook."

Ryu was now pretending to have some seriously hurt feelings. She could tell he was faking though, his lips kept twitching at the corners.

"I suppose I could, but the cook would need to close his eyes first."

When he had, BlowingWind picked up the whole fish that was on a plate in the center of the table. Carefully, so the cooked animal did not fall apart, she held it up to his lips. Quickly, she made contact.

"Hey!"

His eyes flew open to pin her with a sharpened glare as he wiped his lips. He really was put out that she had done that. He had worked hard on breakfast, and this was the thanks she gave him, a pucker session with a trout! For her part, she was laughing, causing her breast to heave. Maybe it wasn't so bad if he could watch that jiggle, but it still hurt.

Taking pity on him, she leaned over and gave him a peck on his cheek.

"EWWWWWWWW!"

The peanut gallery just had to chime in.

"It was on the cheek! What are you two complaining about?"

"We remember coming back from shopping the other day and finding the two of you playing tonsil-hockey on the couch."

"Yes. Chihiro and I were most disturbed."

"It's almost as bad as coming home and finding your parents doing that."

The rest of the day was uneventful as usual, if you didn't count Queso somehow getting wind of the fact that today was her birthday. His birthday gift was reservations for two at a posh restaurant for dinner.

"I'm sorry, but I can't accept that."

"Why not?"

"I've already got plans for tonight, and this is too expensive anyway."

Brown eyes narrowed as they spied the gem that hung close to her throat.

"You say my gift is too expensive, but I've never seen you wear that before."

"Oh, this? I just got it today."

"From who?"

"Kohaku."

Again, he had been shown up by that pretty boy she had obsessed over since he first showed up during the river project. The guy had even held her during the river matsuri, and here she was accepting a rather large emerald from him while turning down dinner reservations that didn't even come close to what the necklace was probably worth. Someday, that interloper was going to pay. And did she really have to sigh when she said his name?

"I see. Well, have a happy birthday anyway."

Chihiro had been surprised at how well Queso had taken it this time. She didn't realize that he was up to something.

At last, it was bedtime. She was full of boiled cabbage and roast beef. It wasn't fare that she was used to, but it had been tasty none-the-less. As she sat on her bed, Chihiro frowned. She didn't want to sleep in her necklace, in case it got messed up. Instead, she took it off and went to put it in the jewelry box that she had received on Valentine's Day two years ago.

At that time, she noticed a little green velvet pouch sitting in front of the box. Curiously, she opened it and removed the folded paper.

Chihiro.
I put a spell on the pouch so you wouldn't see it until you
were ready for bed. I hope that you like your gift,
and that you had a happy birthday.

By the way, which do you prefer, coral or marble?

Carefully putting the necklace into the pouch, and then the pouch into the box where she kept her hair combs at night, the woman smiled. Looking towards the river through her window, she hoped that her words would reach him.

"Thank you again Haku. It's beautiful. As to your question, I would have to know what you are asking about."

Rain's Replies

Jaded image - I liked it too. You should have heard me while writing the last one. I scared me! Ryu, Ten, and Sakananushi are glad that you enjoyed their trick, and now are in hiding for when those two figure out what happened.

Monchi - By all means, peruse the list. Glad you found the last story amusing.

Alaina - :laughs and just floats higher on the broom . . . discovering that ceilings are, in fact, quite solid.:

Sakurablossoms - Good, a laugh a day, keeps the doctors away. Especially if flying apples are launched.

Neech - Would you trust her if when you ran across her the last April Fools she pretty much admitted that she had pulled a prank . . . and heard Ryu's scream? But yes, his retaliation was a bit extreme. Don't try to trick a kami, eh?

Jojo - Chihiro will find some way to make him pay.