*Duo's Room*
*Sigh.* "I wish everyone wouldn't be so mad at me." Duo was squatting on the floor, sulking. "Maybe it's my fault, but why did they have to take it so hard? All of it was just a joke! Man, even Hilde's mad at me, and that doesn't happen often."
"Duo? Are you in here?" Hilde's voice sounded through the door.
"Yeah, I'm here. What do you want, lay some more blame on me?"
"Duo, what's wrong with you?"
"I dunno. Everyone seems to be mad at me all of a sudden. Even you."
"Duo, I'm not mad—at least not any more."
"You're not? What made you decide you weren't going to be mad at me after all? I probably did something really bad this time, but that's just the kind of person I am—always ready to bungle up things."
"No, Duo. It's just that sometimes you don't understand."
"What do you mean?"
"What I'm saying is you sometimes don't pay enough attention to note other people's feelings, and you end up hurting them or making them mad. Like that thing you did to Sally and Wufei."
"Oh. I guess I have been like that, haven't I? I'll try to change, but I don't know if I can."
"Thanks. Listen, you wanna go out for a walk or something?"
"Cool!"
* * *
"Wufei?"
"Go, away!" Mumbles, "Weak woman!"
"I am not weak! If I was weak, then would you have taken me in the park?"
"DAMN YOU! JUST SHUT UP! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW EMBARRASING THAT WAS FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!"
"It wasn't my fault."
"Well, if you didn't exist, then it wouldn't have happened, so therefore it is your fault."
"Well, if you're going to be that way, then I'll just leave…"
"Wait!"
Wufei opens the door and allows Sally to come in. What he doesn't notice is the shadow down the hallway.
"Hn. Looks like Sally and Wufei have gotten back together…"
Inside Wufei's room, Sally stalks around in anger.
"Why do you have to be such an asshole?'"
"WHAT? DON'T YOU START ON ME ONNA!"
"Come on, Wufei. Get a grip. Don't you realize that it's time you admitted that you feel something for me?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't tell me you're an idiot in addition to being an asshole!"
"That…that thing in the park…it was an—an—an accident!"
"Like hell it was."
"Okay—look. I let you in here cause I thought you were going to be nice. Don't start on me now."
"Whatever. Do you want to go back to the park and relive some not-so-old memories?"
"NO! Leave me alone about that!"
"Fine. If you so insist on forgetting the past."
"I do."
"Okay then. I have something to show you—come with me."
Sally grabs hold of Wufei and drags him out of the room at break-neck speed. Even she, with her usually keen eyes, doesn't notice the silhouette still hovering in the shadows.
* * *
Pamela strolls along around the Gundam mansion, or that's how she thought of it. She stops every once in a while to admire the blossoming flowers and trees.
Ahhhh, the beautiful time of year. Spring.
Butterflies flit around the budding flowers, trying to find the perfect opportunity to pick up pollen. They unknowingly keep the circle of life in motion.
While Pamela was walking, she saw a perfectly magnificent tree. Its branches seemed to touch the sky. The trunk was gnarly and old, and it ejected a kind of elegant majesty.
Pamela saw the tree as an opportunity to survey the grounds without completely tiring herself out. Skillfully, Pamela swung up into the very tops of the tree.
1 The view is so wonderful from up here! I wish I could stay here forever, and ever…
That was when Pamela noticed the lone figure striding across the lawn.
2 Who's he?
Pamela decided not to say anything, and see if the stranger noticed her. Strangely enough, the figure looked up, and Pamela saw half his face covered by long bangs.
"Who are you?" she called.
"…"
"Well?"
"…My name's Trowa. Trowa Barton."
"What are you doing here? How'd you see me?"
"…I just had a feeling."
"Weird. Anyway, can you leave me alone? I was enjoying myself until you came along."
"Are you the one who calls herself a prisoner here?"
"Yes, that would be me. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"…"
"Say something!"
"No."
"Then leave me along, okay?"
"Yes. Goodbye."
Damn, he was sure quiet. Wonder how he got that way. I'll have to ask Quatre when I get back.
'When I get back.' Pamela realized she was thinking of the mansion more and more as if it were home. Goddammit! I've got to stop thinking like that! This is not my home, and it never will be!
Angrily, Pamela swung out of the tree. That was when she heard the laughter.
* * *
"Come on, Hilde, hurry up!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Wait up for me, Duo!"
Hilde and Duo's laughter resounded throughout the courtyard. Duo had seemingly recovered from his rendezvous with Pamela, but if he hadn't, he certainly didn't show it. He and Hilde went crashing through the miniature forest that had decided to grow in the courtyard. They were having the times of their lives.
Finally, Duo and Hilde collapsed, exhausted. Duo mumbled something, and it sent Hilde into fits of laughter. She tackled Duo to the ground.
Duo tried to get up, but soon found out that he wasn't fully recovered. Hilde could easily keep him pinned. So he tried his last resort. He kissed her. It was a deep, deep kiss, and it had caught Hilde off guard.
"What…the…fuck…is…this?"
"Don't you like it?"
"Damn right I do!"
"Then shut up!"
"Whatever."
They were both lying there, kissing each other on what seemed like the brink of death when Pamela came along. She gasped and stared, and began to turn around, but Duo and Hilde had already seen her.
"I'm…I'm…sorry."
If looks could kill, Duo's scowl would have left Pamela flat on the ground. Hilde's glare was even worse.
"I'll leave right now."
Duo sighed. He knew that his moment had been ruined, and both he and Hilde were too embarrassed to do anything more in the way of…well…he'd rather not think along those lines, they were too uncomfortable.
"How 'bout we all just go inside now?"
Pamela seized Duo's apology up without a second thought. "Okay, I guess I've done enough walking for today."
Duo and Hilde picked themselves up, their pride in shambles, while Pamela was still working to recover from the shock of what she'd just seen. They left silently and entered the house.
* * *
"Hurry up, Wufie!"
"Don't call me that! My name is not Wufie, and if you're going to call me Wufie—Wufie, for god's sake. Where do they come up with these stupid names?—then I will call you a weak onna."
"Suit yourself."
*Spluttering* "You'd actually allow yourself to be called a weak onna?"
"If it makes you mad, then yes."
"Well, why are you mad at me?"
"Hmm, Wufie, I just wonder why. Maybe it's because you refuse to admit certain things that happen, like, maybe, what happened in the park."
"Just shut up! I don't want to hear any more weak crap!"
"Well, you wouldn't be hearing it if you weren't so stubborn!"
"I am not stubborn!"
"Like hell you aren't."
"Why did you drag me out here to argue?"
Sally's voice instantly softened. "I didn't."
"Then why'd you bring me here?"
"Follow me."
Sally led Wufei out of the mansion, and through an endless maze of trees. Even Sally couldn't tell when she'd actually passed the borders of the mansion, even though she'd been on the route before.
She finally stopped short. "Don't take another step forward."
In front of Wufei and Sally was the most beautiful waterfall Wufei had ever seen. The drops of water falling from the high cliff were tinkling and sparkling crystals plummeting towards the ground.
"I…I—"
"Don't talk, just look."
Wufei and Sally stood standing out at the top of the waterfall, hands eventually finding their homes with each other. Sally and Wufei completely lost track of time, too wrapped up in their own little world of beauty.
* * *
Trowa was restless. Ever since that stranger had come into the house, he had to make sure he crept around each corner in order to avoid seeing her. He didn't like strangers, especially ones that ended up in the wrong place by accident. He had decided to take a stroll around the woods, where he knew no one would find him. He knew the woods better than anyone else. After that encounter with Pamela in the garden, he didn't feel like talking to anyone.
That was when he heard the singing.
A sweet, lilting melody coming from the very heart of the woods. Trowa felt an irresistible attraction to that song, and couldn't help but follow it to it source. What he saw was not what he expected, not at all.
A tiny figure, if you want to call it that, was perched up in the highest branches of a tree. Her hair was spun gold, and it glinted in the rays of sunlight that found their ways through the trees. She wore a dress of the purest white, and she was sitting up in the tree as if she hadn't a care in the world. In her hands was a tiny flute, which, when she raised it to her lips, plays such a heart-breaking and beautiful song that all the animals of the forest seemed to swarm around her. Trowa watched, fascinated, as the wooden but delicate flute played notes that would pierce the soul.
The playing abruptly stopped as the girl, or rather, woman, noticed Trowa. Her eyes widened, and she prepared to jump off the tree.
"No—don't!"
The woman cocked her head, eyes still large with fright, and her whole body was trembling. "Wh—wh—what do you want with me?"
What do I want with her? What's going on? Trowa was completely baffled. "What do you mean?"
"Are you going to kill me now that you've caught me?"
"KILL YOU? Why would I want to kill you?"
"That's what your kind do to us. They use us, then kill us."
"I'd never do that—never."
"R…really? You're not trying to catch me?"
Trowa's voice was soft and coaxing. "No, I heard the most beautiful melody, and I couldn't help but follow it to its source."
"You liked my song?"
"And you."
This seemed to startle the woman, for her body, which had become relaxed, stiffened.
"I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry if that's what you thought. What's your name?"
The woman regarded him wearily, not sure if she should give out that precious piece of information. "Xaphanis."
As Trowa rolled the name over on his tongue, he found it more and more to his liking. "Where do you live?"
"The forest is my home. If I told you my name, can you at least tell me yours?"
"Trowa Barton. I'm an acrobat." How that information came out, Trowa didn't know.
"Catch!"
Xaphanis flung herself from the tree into Trowa's arms. Now that she felt she could trust him, she put all her faith into that little trust. Xaphanis wasn't disappointed. Surprised as he was, Trowa caught Xaphanis as she hurtled down from the tree. Xaphanis laughed at Trowa's startled expression. He also looked pleased. Xaphanis smelled like the earth and the wonderful flowers that bloomed freely in the forest. She could have been nature herself.
"Do you want to see where I live? I have a home that I normally stay at, but some of the time the whole forest becomes my home." Xaphanis's look was inquiring. She was curious to see Trowa's reaction. "I'll give you the directions."
Xaphanis promptly began giving Trowa directions to a place he thought he might be able to find later. They traveled through an endless, vast forest, and Trowa knew, in his heart of hearts, when they had reached the soul of the forest.
A towering redwood dominated the soul, and it almost seemed to glow with its presence. Animals flitted and wound their way around the tree itself, and everywhere Trowa looked, he could see the essence of life. The soul was like an aura of being, of happiness, of peace.
"Welcome to my humble—well, okay, so maybe it's not so humble—home."
"It's glorious. I couldn't have imagined a greater place."
"Glad you like it."
Xaphanis grabbed Trowa's hand, and led him toward the massive redwood.
"Where are we going?"
"Into my home."
With those words, Xaphanis brought Trowa face-to-face with the redwood. She placed her hand on the tree, and Trowa heard a huge groaning. Magically, the tree opened up to form a doorway in which Xaphanis and Trowa could enter. And so Xaphanis and Trowa were plunged into the soul of the forest.
*Sigh.* "I wish everyone wouldn't be so mad at me." Duo was squatting on the floor, sulking. "Maybe it's my fault, but why did they have to take it so hard? All of it was just a joke! Man, even Hilde's mad at me, and that doesn't happen often."
"Duo? Are you in here?" Hilde's voice sounded through the door.
"Yeah, I'm here. What do you want, lay some more blame on me?"
"Duo, what's wrong with you?"
"I dunno. Everyone seems to be mad at me all of a sudden. Even you."
"Duo, I'm not mad—at least not any more."
"You're not? What made you decide you weren't going to be mad at me after all? I probably did something really bad this time, but that's just the kind of person I am—always ready to bungle up things."
"No, Duo. It's just that sometimes you don't understand."
"What do you mean?"
"What I'm saying is you sometimes don't pay enough attention to note other people's feelings, and you end up hurting them or making them mad. Like that thing you did to Sally and Wufei."
"Oh. I guess I have been like that, haven't I? I'll try to change, but I don't know if I can."
"Thanks. Listen, you wanna go out for a walk or something?"
"Cool!"
* * *
"Wufei?"
"Go, away!" Mumbles, "Weak woman!"
"I am not weak! If I was weak, then would you have taken me in the park?"
"DAMN YOU! JUST SHUT UP! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW EMBARRASING THAT WAS FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!"
"It wasn't my fault."
"Well, if you didn't exist, then it wouldn't have happened, so therefore it is your fault."
"Well, if you're going to be that way, then I'll just leave…"
"Wait!"
Wufei opens the door and allows Sally to come in. What he doesn't notice is the shadow down the hallway.
"Hn. Looks like Sally and Wufei have gotten back together…"
Inside Wufei's room, Sally stalks around in anger.
"Why do you have to be such an asshole?'"
"WHAT? DON'T YOU START ON ME ONNA!"
"Come on, Wufei. Get a grip. Don't you realize that it's time you admitted that you feel something for me?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't tell me you're an idiot in addition to being an asshole!"
"That…that thing in the park…it was an—an—an accident!"
"Like hell it was."
"Okay—look. I let you in here cause I thought you were going to be nice. Don't start on me now."
"Whatever. Do you want to go back to the park and relive some not-so-old memories?"
"NO! Leave me alone about that!"
"Fine. If you so insist on forgetting the past."
"I do."
"Okay then. I have something to show you—come with me."
Sally grabs hold of Wufei and drags him out of the room at break-neck speed. Even she, with her usually keen eyes, doesn't notice the silhouette still hovering in the shadows.
* * *
Pamela strolls along around the Gundam mansion, or that's how she thought of it. She stops every once in a while to admire the blossoming flowers and trees.
Ahhhh, the beautiful time of year. Spring.
Butterflies flit around the budding flowers, trying to find the perfect opportunity to pick up pollen. They unknowingly keep the circle of life in motion.
While Pamela was walking, she saw a perfectly magnificent tree. Its branches seemed to touch the sky. The trunk was gnarly and old, and it ejected a kind of elegant majesty.
Pamela saw the tree as an opportunity to survey the grounds without completely tiring herself out. Skillfully, Pamela swung up into the very tops of the tree.
1 The view is so wonderful from up here! I wish I could stay here forever, and ever…
That was when Pamela noticed the lone figure striding across the lawn.
2 Who's he?
Pamela decided not to say anything, and see if the stranger noticed her. Strangely enough, the figure looked up, and Pamela saw half his face covered by long bangs.
"Who are you?" she called.
"…"
"Well?"
"…My name's Trowa. Trowa Barton."
"What are you doing here? How'd you see me?"
"…I just had a feeling."
"Weird. Anyway, can you leave me alone? I was enjoying myself until you came along."
"Are you the one who calls herself a prisoner here?"
"Yes, that would be me. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"…"
"Say something!"
"No."
"Then leave me along, okay?"
"Yes. Goodbye."
Damn, he was sure quiet. Wonder how he got that way. I'll have to ask Quatre when I get back.
'When I get back.' Pamela realized she was thinking of the mansion more and more as if it were home. Goddammit! I've got to stop thinking like that! This is not my home, and it never will be!
Angrily, Pamela swung out of the tree. That was when she heard the laughter.
* * *
"Come on, Hilde, hurry up!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Wait up for me, Duo!"
Hilde and Duo's laughter resounded throughout the courtyard. Duo had seemingly recovered from his rendezvous with Pamela, but if he hadn't, he certainly didn't show it. He and Hilde went crashing through the miniature forest that had decided to grow in the courtyard. They were having the times of their lives.
Finally, Duo and Hilde collapsed, exhausted. Duo mumbled something, and it sent Hilde into fits of laughter. She tackled Duo to the ground.
Duo tried to get up, but soon found out that he wasn't fully recovered. Hilde could easily keep him pinned. So he tried his last resort. He kissed her. It was a deep, deep kiss, and it had caught Hilde off guard.
"What…the…fuck…is…this?"
"Don't you like it?"
"Damn right I do!"
"Then shut up!"
"Whatever."
They were both lying there, kissing each other on what seemed like the brink of death when Pamela came along. She gasped and stared, and began to turn around, but Duo and Hilde had already seen her.
"I'm…I'm…sorry."
If looks could kill, Duo's scowl would have left Pamela flat on the ground. Hilde's glare was even worse.
"I'll leave right now."
Duo sighed. He knew that his moment had been ruined, and both he and Hilde were too embarrassed to do anything more in the way of…well…he'd rather not think along those lines, they were too uncomfortable.
"How 'bout we all just go inside now?"
Pamela seized Duo's apology up without a second thought. "Okay, I guess I've done enough walking for today."
Duo and Hilde picked themselves up, their pride in shambles, while Pamela was still working to recover from the shock of what she'd just seen. They left silently and entered the house.
* * *
"Hurry up, Wufie!"
"Don't call me that! My name is not Wufie, and if you're going to call me Wufie—Wufie, for god's sake. Where do they come up with these stupid names?—then I will call you a weak onna."
"Suit yourself."
*Spluttering* "You'd actually allow yourself to be called a weak onna?"
"If it makes you mad, then yes."
"Well, why are you mad at me?"
"Hmm, Wufie, I just wonder why. Maybe it's because you refuse to admit certain things that happen, like, maybe, what happened in the park."
"Just shut up! I don't want to hear any more weak crap!"
"Well, you wouldn't be hearing it if you weren't so stubborn!"
"I am not stubborn!"
"Like hell you aren't."
"Why did you drag me out here to argue?"
Sally's voice instantly softened. "I didn't."
"Then why'd you bring me here?"
"Follow me."
Sally led Wufei out of the mansion, and through an endless maze of trees. Even Sally couldn't tell when she'd actually passed the borders of the mansion, even though she'd been on the route before.
She finally stopped short. "Don't take another step forward."
In front of Wufei and Sally was the most beautiful waterfall Wufei had ever seen. The drops of water falling from the high cliff were tinkling and sparkling crystals plummeting towards the ground.
"I…I—"
"Don't talk, just look."
Wufei and Sally stood standing out at the top of the waterfall, hands eventually finding their homes with each other. Sally and Wufei completely lost track of time, too wrapped up in their own little world of beauty.
* * *
Trowa was restless. Ever since that stranger had come into the house, he had to make sure he crept around each corner in order to avoid seeing her. He didn't like strangers, especially ones that ended up in the wrong place by accident. He had decided to take a stroll around the woods, where he knew no one would find him. He knew the woods better than anyone else. After that encounter with Pamela in the garden, he didn't feel like talking to anyone.
That was when he heard the singing.
A sweet, lilting melody coming from the very heart of the woods. Trowa felt an irresistible attraction to that song, and couldn't help but follow it to it source. What he saw was not what he expected, not at all.
A tiny figure, if you want to call it that, was perched up in the highest branches of a tree. Her hair was spun gold, and it glinted in the rays of sunlight that found their ways through the trees. She wore a dress of the purest white, and she was sitting up in the tree as if she hadn't a care in the world. In her hands was a tiny flute, which, when she raised it to her lips, plays such a heart-breaking and beautiful song that all the animals of the forest seemed to swarm around her. Trowa watched, fascinated, as the wooden but delicate flute played notes that would pierce the soul.
The playing abruptly stopped as the girl, or rather, woman, noticed Trowa. Her eyes widened, and she prepared to jump off the tree.
"No—don't!"
The woman cocked her head, eyes still large with fright, and her whole body was trembling. "Wh—wh—what do you want with me?"
What do I want with her? What's going on? Trowa was completely baffled. "What do you mean?"
"Are you going to kill me now that you've caught me?"
"KILL YOU? Why would I want to kill you?"
"That's what your kind do to us. They use us, then kill us."
"I'd never do that—never."
"R…really? You're not trying to catch me?"
Trowa's voice was soft and coaxing. "No, I heard the most beautiful melody, and I couldn't help but follow it to its source."
"You liked my song?"
"And you."
This seemed to startle the woman, for her body, which had become relaxed, stiffened.
"I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry if that's what you thought. What's your name?"
The woman regarded him wearily, not sure if she should give out that precious piece of information. "Xaphanis."
As Trowa rolled the name over on his tongue, he found it more and more to his liking. "Where do you live?"
"The forest is my home. If I told you my name, can you at least tell me yours?"
"Trowa Barton. I'm an acrobat." How that information came out, Trowa didn't know.
"Catch!"
Xaphanis flung herself from the tree into Trowa's arms. Now that she felt she could trust him, she put all her faith into that little trust. Xaphanis wasn't disappointed. Surprised as he was, Trowa caught Xaphanis as she hurtled down from the tree. Xaphanis laughed at Trowa's startled expression. He also looked pleased. Xaphanis smelled like the earth and the wonderful flowers that bloomed freely in the forest. She could have been nature herself.
"Do you want to see where I live? I have a home that I normally stay at, but some of the time the whole forest becomes my home." Xaphanis's look was inquiring. She was curious to see Trowa's reaction. "I'll give you the directions."
Xaphanis promptly began giving Trowa directions to a place he thought he might be able to find later. They traveled through an endless, vast forest, and Trowa knew, in his heart of hearts, when they had reached the soul of the forest.
A towering redwood dominated the soul, and it almost seemed to glow with its presence. Animals flitted and wound their way around the tree itself, and everywhere Trowa looked, he could see the essence of life. The soul was like an aura of being, of happiness, of peace.
"Welcome to my humble—well, okay, so maybe it's not so humble—home."
"It's glorious. I couldn't have imagined a greater place."
"Glad you like it."
Xaphanis grabbed Trowa's hand, and led him toward the massive redwood.
"Where are we going?"
"Into my home."
With those words, Xaphanis brought Trowa face-to-face with the redwood. She placed her hand on the tree, and Trowa heard a huge groaning. Magically, the tree opened up to form a doorway in which Xaphanis and Trowa could enter. And so Xaphanis and Trowa were plunged into the soul of the forest.
