one half of my brain: mirtala has three snippets of a personality right now.
other half of my brain: okay but...mirtala/chloe.
Bells and Bows
Jingle jingle jingle went the bells in Chloe's hair. They were perfectly symmetrical on the sides of her head, her reflection in the mirror a blurred image within them. They retained a glossy sheen under the dim lights of the advanced kids' cabin. The sterling silver appeared a shade darker. Chloe caressed them, noting the faintest hints of cracks towards the underside of the left bell. With the slightest touch or tilt of her head during her examination, they continued to chime without rhyme or rhythm.
Mirtala held her hand mirror out for Chloe. Her grin pushed into her round cheeks and made them squint, the corners crinkling with tiny lines. "I knew they'd look good on you," she said, tossing her mirror on her bunk and taking off her crown.
"These are very intricate ornaments," Chloe replied, dragging her finger along one of the many bobby pins used to secure the bells in place. "I'm surprised you had such an influx of these."
Mirtala smirked and threaded her fingers through her long, deep red hair. It was a rare sight for Chloe to see the other girl with her hair down. Mirtala spent longer than their old nemesis, Kitty Bubai, in the bathroom braiding her hair before wrapping them in silk, washed out purple ribbons. It was perfectly logical for her to carry an immense quantity of hair pins to keep her curls perfectly in place.
"When you have hair like mine and pockets these deep-" Mirtala thumbed the sewn pockets on her skirt, which Chloe hypothesized could comfortably fit an entire squirrel. "-it only makes sense." She shrugged and leaned forward, counting the number of bobby pins under her breath. "Huh, ten pins. That's not even halfway near the amount I use for my hair."
Chloe rubbed through her scalp and felt the cool metal through her short locks. Their tips were stretched to accommodate the length of the bell. Mirtala had inserted them through the holes in the bells and through her hair at the same time to secure their placement, and the large shape of bells, bigger than Mirtala's hands, shadowed them well.
"Have you ever thought about growing your hair out?" Mirtala asked, leaping off her bunk. Her lace drapings fluttered as she clasped her hands together. "You know, I think it'd look good on you. It framed your face so well."
"While I appreciate the compliment, that would be a negative," Chloe replied as she gestured to her nearby helmet resting on Mirtala's pillow. "Any excessive hair would impede my vision. It would also decrease the space I have within my helmet. Also, it would be incredibly hot on my scalp and neck with that amount of hair."
Mirtala tossed her crown between her hands. She looped her pinky finger through a small slit in front of her crown, twirling it while she said, "Yeah, that's one way to put it. If I performed with my hair down, it would just fly in my face, and I'd risk crashing head-first into the safety net, which would not be fun for anyone." She broke into a grin and held out her crown. "Okay, time for the pièce de résistance! I'll set it right between my, I mean, your bells."
"You're not wrong by referring to them with 'my.' They are yours, after all," Chloe said, Mirtala shrugging at the correction.
Mirtala slid off the bed and stepped in front of Chloe. She cupped her crown between her hands and raised it above Chloe's head, the deep teal jewel in the center taking on a translucent hue. Slowly, she set it above her hairline and stepped back, Chloe feeling surprised at how lightweight it was compared to the heavy material it seemed to use.
Mirtala's eyes twinkled like the stars Chloe adored. She laced her fingers together and clasped her hands, rubbing her palms together. She sucked in a breath and held it, her smile filled with crooked, white teeth before throwing her arms out as she shouted, "Gorgeous! You look like a princess from space!" She brushed her knuckles to her chest and snickered. "I knew they'd look good on you. Then again, with a pretty face like yours, you make anything look good."
A faint hint of red colored Chloe's freckled cheeks and warmed her skin. She touched her right cheek, surprised by her internal temperature change. It had been unexpected, as if her body reacted to Mirtala's words despite the intangible nature of a human's voice.
But she still smiled. The compliment was more than appreciated. She thanked her, her legs slowly kicking out to the dinging of the bells. As Mirtala sat next to her, fixing loose, blonde strands back into bobby pins on Chloe's head and traced her knuckles against her cheek, Chloe held Mirtala's other hand and squeezed.
"Although it isn't as extravagant as your accessories-" Chloe reached behind her and withdrew the large, worn cotton bow she'd clip into her hair. "-would you like to try my bow on? I believe it is similar in nature to your ribbons that you would view it as a suitable substitute."
"Would I?" Mirtala batted her eyelashes. "Well, of course I would."
Chloe shifted to her knees and crawled behind Mirtala. The bells chimed as she steadied herself. She could smell the scent of green apples wafting from Mirtala's hair, the shampoo's aroma still strong after a long day of Agent Nein's personal training. Mirtala's tresses even retained a silkiness unknown to Chloe, and she threaded her fingers through her locks, effortlessly gliding through them without hitting a single snag.
Mirtala cocked her head and looked at her out of the corner of her eye. She spoke out of the side of her mouth. "Feels nice, huh? It's my mom's personal shampoo that makes it really nice. You can use it whenever you want."
"I think I will," Chloe murmured, nodding.
With such long hair, Chloe was unsure where to place the bow. When she set it in her hair, she fastened it on the back of her head. That way, it would be unobstructing throughout her day. But with Mirtala's thick tresses, she hesitated on where to insert the slightly rusted clip.
"Hm, how about here?" Mirtala offered, gazing at her reflection in the mirror.
Chloe followed her finger. Mirtala was tapping the right side of her head just above her temple. She uttered an agreeable hum and slowly slipped the bow in place. It gathered Mirtala's hair just above her ear, and Chloe clipped evenly behind it, which she noted with her logical mind that it made her hair seem uneven.
But Mirtala smiled at her reflection and bobbed her head. She twisted her head from side to side, Chloe's bow appearing in every shot. She pinched the tip and rubbed it, marveling over the smooth fluff before dropping her mirror to the side. She swiveled around and leaned closer to Chloe, hands on her knees, her eyes so large that Chloe thought they were black holes.
"It's perfect just like you," Mirtala whispered, and she wrapped her arms around Chloe's back.
Nestled into Mirtala's hair, she breathed in her scent of green apples, cotton candy, and copper. Chloe returned her embrace, the feeling of intimacy still foreign but not exactly unpleasant. If she had been younger, such an act would have earned the offender a swift reprimand, but she kept Mirtala close and gripped the silk fabric of her striped shirt.
Chapped lips pecked her cheek. Once again, scarlet warmed her face to the very tip of her nose. Mirtala chuckled as she leaned back, observing how Chloe patted her cheeks.
"You're really out of this world, huh?" she asked, and Chloe flicked the bells on her head, confirming her deduction.