"Coming!"
Taranee let out a sigh of relief the moment she heard her friend's voice, although it wasn't enough to relieve the mild irritation that had built up waiting for her. After all this time being friends, didn't she know how much she hated being late for school?
The door whipped open and Hay Lin was suddenly shooting past her, and then Taranee was being pulled along with her.
"Sorry! Can you believe it? My alarm clock forgot to go off! Well, I forgot to set it, I mean... meant... good morning!" Hay Lin flashed her a brilliant smile, and, inwardly, Taranee wondered if waiting so long for her friend while the others had gone on was worth it.
... then she really looked at Hay Lin, at the complete and utter lack of worry on her face over the possibility of facing detention, and decided that yes, this was worth it.
Heck, even she was starting not to worry about detention.
"Umm... you... you could slow down... I have something I want to ask you."
Hay Lin almost came to a dead stop, but Taranee kept her going with a gentle tug as they assumed a brisk walk to school.
"I need some help..."
Whirlwind Advice
WRITTEN BY: Jamie Jeans aka Lemon Ranger Blue aka Big-Wired aka JOLT!
Started: Late June, 2005
Finished: Monday, January 09, 2006
Legal Disclaimer: The characters of W.I.T.C.H belong to whomever owns them and not me. I'm simply borrowing them for a spell to write good fiction about. Don't sue, I have no money to give anyhow. ;p
While my writer in arms, and fellow Lemon Ranger, Racewing works on building the Irma/Will camp of WITCH fanfiction, I'll just be over here, slowly constructing the Taranee/Hay Lin one.
What can I say? I love Hay Lin... she really reminds me of Tomo from Azumanga Daoih... if Tomo had magical powers...
... whoa damn, I think I just came up with a fusion idea... oh Racey!
"Alright, here we are! The first thing to being relaxed is looking relaxed, and your look is not relaxed."
Asking Hay Lin for help had been easy and had required next to no convincing, Taranee had discovered. However, the beginning of her help had now lead her into an area she never dreamed of; looks.
"My look isn't relaxed? Wouldn't that require me to have a look?" Taranee asked skeptically, looking down at herself and fingering the braid on the side of her head. After all, Will had a look, and Cornelia had a look and a half, two if she had just finished shopping at a store, but she? No, no look here.
"Well believe me, you have a look, and it's good, but if you want to attract this guy, you need to look relaxed!" And for the first time in Taranee's life, she saw Hay Lin assume a serious look as she began inspecting her clothes.
"Hmmm.. hmmmm... hmmmmm..." Hay Lin's face scrunched up in thought as she looked over Taranee and then across the store and the bounty of young women's clothes it had.
"Hmmm?" Taranee replied, curious. This was a side of her friend she hadn't seen before.
"Got it! Nothing says relaxed like Hawaiian shirts!" And as though to prove her point, Hay Lin reached over and snatched up a horrendously bright yellow shirt decorated in shapes that reminded Taranee of what a fruit truck accident would look like.
"Uh..."
"Yeah, too bright. Come on, lets head over here." Hay Lin grabbed Taranee by the wrist and tugged her over to the blouses. "See, nice soothing blues... they fit you so well!" She snatched one off a rack before Taranee could say anything, and held it against her. "Here, look in this mirror," she added, and turned Taranee about to look at herself in one of the store's full length mirrors.
Sure, Hay Lin's advice was coming out at a speed normally reserved for auctioneers, but once she had found herself in front of the mirror with the blouse draped in front of her, Taranee found that it was pretty good advice indeed.
"Hey, this is pretty nice..."
"I know, thank you." And in the mirror, Taranee saw Hay Lin drap her arms about her shoulders. "Trust me, by the time we're done, you'll be so relaxed, you'll be sleeping!"
"Uh, I don't think we have to go that far..."
"You sure? You work so hard for Witch, after all, sometimes I think you should do nothing but sleep." And now there was a look of slight concern reflected on Hay Lin's face. "Maybe you could get some days off from school for it!"
"I don't think they'd allow that," said Taranee, wondering just why Hay Lin hadn't let go just yet.
"Awwww... but you really really work hard for us all! Like how you wielded the tracks back together after the giant plant destroyed them, and then nearly got smeared across the front of the train, and freed us all from that underground sand trap, and got all those icky bugs off of me in Cavigor...!" Hay Lin made a face at that one. "Especially the big bugs... blech!"
Taranee squirmed a little, uncomfortable with all the sudden praise. "Hey, you know, all part of the job of being Guardians of the Veil... and it's not like you don't do your fair share too."
Hay Lin came around to look at her, eyes shining like a puppy dog's. "Really? You don't think I'm just all warm air?"
"That's hot air... and no, not at all."
"Oh, thank you!" Hay Lin glomped her, hugging tightly.
Taranee hugged her back. "No need for thanks, I'm just telling you the truth."
"Yeah but even hearing that is good." Hay Lin smiled, but if Taranee was reading her face right, she also looked relieved.
But that would mean she had been worried before, and about pulling her weight in the group.
Mentally, Taranee gave herself a shake; that was something to think about later. As for now, Hay Lin was dragging her off to another rack of clothes, this one full of jeans, and was pawing through various colours, holding random pairs against her friend's legs, and throwing aside those which did not meet her approval.
"Relaxed, relaxed, RELAXED," Hay Lin repeated, like a mantra, as though it were a spell to bring forth the clothes she desired.
This... was definitely going to be eventful.
"Exactly how is this going to help?"
Taranee glanced up from her desk, which was covered in books, some open, some closed, with a pen in her hand, and looked over at Hay Lin, whom was seated on her bed. She had a large sketching pad perched on her drawn up legs and was leaned up against the wall, watching her carefully.
In response, Hay Lin licked her thumb, and stuck her hands out in a thumbs up at her friend angled the wrong way, "Observing the Taranee in her natural environment!" She frowned thoughtfully, and rotated her hand before taking up her pencil and sketched out a few lines.
"Uh... observing?"
"Well yeah! See, I went about it the whole entire wrong way, Taranee. What I should have done first is look at how YOU look, draw you, and then sketch up some clothes that would fit you, make you look relaxed, while also making you seem you." She glanced up over the edge of the sketch pad, and the smile on her face was evident even if it was hidden. "Got it?"
"So I'll just sit here, study for tomorrow's math test-"
"Oh oh, and let me see your notes too, please!"
"Right, and you'll draw me," Taranee finished.
"Exactly."
Taranee shrugged and went back to her studies, while Hay Lin watched and sketched. She really should have done this earlier, truth be told, but when Taranee had come to HER for advice, she had just gotten so lost up in the excitement that she didn't think. But now that she had, she found this to be the best thing to do ever. The only other time she had been able to sketch someone was Caleb, after he had first come to this world...
Hay Lin sighed at the missed opportunity there; he would have looked SO NICE in that aviator's outfit. He had the whole classic Hollywood appeal to him and he would have come off like that one actor in the escape movie... Stevie Queen was it or something?
Looking at Taranee over the edge of the sketching board, Hay Lin blinked, as her artist muse all but knocked her over the head with a huge mallet.
Of course!
Flipping over to a new page, Hay Lin sharped the pencil, never minding the shavings that gathered on her skirt, and started to draw.
Yes, yes, YES!
Images came to mind of a Taranee in WITCH mode, fire gathered at the hands like a punishment dealing Guardian of Justice, and with wings flared out in mid flight. But soon, additions began to appear that normally would not be there. For starters, Taranee's glasses were replaced with stlish aviator's glasses, and a sleeveless coat came to be as well, with it's tailcoats cut in two and spread out to either side, giving the drawn Taranee the appearence of additional wings.
The look on the drawn Taranee's face was determined, one that spoke of battles she knew were to come and ones that she would fight and win...
... it was very much like the look she wore when they had all been trapped within the Sands of Torus Filney, and she had saved them all.
Her hands moved more quickly now, and with a final flourish, Hay Lin held up the drawing for all to see.
'All to see' looked up from her homework, took in the outfit, and continued looking.
"What do you think?" asked Hay Lin, happily expectant.
"Oh, it's nice, very nice, Hay Lin, but I don't think it'd be good for me to wear now, not while I'm normal." Taranee rather did like the strong and fierce look on the design's face, and wondered if that's how she really looked during a battle. The wings of the open trench coat certainly added to the cool factor, and she liked having aviator glasses in Witch form.
"Well, we could always ask Will to see if she can make the changes next time. I think you'd look great in it, I really do!" Hay Lin smiled, happy at the response to her drawing.
"Oh, well maybe..." Distracted, Taranee couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to fly through the air with the trench coat flapping in the wind. It sure wasn't the clothes that Taranee would wear to a date but then again...
"Here, I'll do something in normal wear, promise." Hay Lin threw her friend a thumbs up, flipped the sketch book to a fresh page, and started anew. "This outfit will be perfect! They'll make calenders of your new clothes, because of how date perfect it'll be!"
"You don't have to go that far," said Taranee, feeling a touch concerned. Hay Lin, when pointed in a direction and given an avenue to work out, could be a dangerous and determined thing indeed. It rarely happened, but when it did...
"Um, maybe if I modeled for you, you could get a better idea, instead of..." Taranee paused here a moment, carefully choosing her words. "... instead of going with the flow, imagination wise."
Hay Lin looked up, and smiled as she took in her friend sitting simply in her chair with her hands held in her lap. "Yeah! It'd be way better than drawing you locked in combat with some monster and stuff. No way would dates go for that, because then they'd have to get super powers to keep up, and then they might turn evil, and we'd have sorta cool super villain boys to fight, and that wouldn't be any fun."
For a moment, Taranee boggled at her friend's line of thought, then smiled. No way would she really want an evil boyfriend super villain, she was quite happy with her friends...
... and Hay Lin.
Taranee almost blinked with surprise at her mental addition. Adding Hay Lin in such a fashion meant that she wasn't a friend, and was often done on TV to denote sarcasm when referring to someone that was more foe than friend.
But of course Hay Lin wasn't a foe; in fact, ever since they had all begun their adventures as WITCH, they had grown even closer as friends. Will and Irma certainly seemed to have something for one another, and that was something that even a blind person could see.
But Taranee and Hay Lin?
Taranee removed her glasses, iddly cleaning them with a clean cloth as she studied her friend in depth. If there was one thing that could sum up Hay Lin at a glance, it was her energy. It eminated from her, and sparkled the most in her eyes, which took each day of life as another day to do something more than she did the previous day and which were currently alternating between the paper and Taranee.
Sure, that energy lead heroff in wild directions every now and again, but Taranee had always been there to steer her back onto the right course.
Replacing her glasses, Taranee stole a glance or two at the paper, curious at what Hay Lin was drawing, and was put back in her dance with a request from Hay Lin not to move. The young Chinese girl licked her thumb, aimed it at Taranee in the tradition of all artists, as she had learned from movies and books, and resumed her work.
Taranee certainly felt flattered that Hay Lin would use her skills for her, and that she had helped her with studies before, and no doubt will in the future, but...
Oh, if she could blush, she'd certainly be doing it now.
"Ta-dah!"
Hay Lin held up the new picture, showcasing Taranee in a wonderful dark shaded dress with a small slit up the side, allowing a glimpse of a leg adorned with a strap tied shoe. The dress itself came up to just below her shoulders, and the drawn Taranee was also wearing a slightly frilly choker with a thick cross hanging off of it.
"Wow," was all Taranee could say at the moment. It was a beautiful design, and would be perfect for a date, if the date included dancing. In fact, the dress looked as though it had been designed with casual dancing specifically in mind. Taranee could almost imagine wearing such an outfit, and dancing to some light jazzy tune with...
Come on, her mind urged her, think it, you know you wanna...
Oh all right, with Hay Lin. Hay Lin would be wearing a nice little tux too, but Taranee would be taking the lead. After all, she did know how to dance... well, she had watched that documentary on ballroom dancing following a movie where everyone danced. It was as close to actual dancing with a partner experience that she had, which was still something more than Hay Lin had.
Guh, why was she having these thoughts? She didn't have thoughts like these, she had thoughts about math, and science, and defeating Phobos and how to use her fire...
Dancing with Hay Lin...
Well, it wasn't bad but...
Dancing with Hay Lin.
Come on, brain, get off that point.
But it's such a nice point, her brain insisted. And besides, you don't want to get off the point either, why else would you think about it at all?
Taranee sighed, and a touch of disapointment ran across Hay Lin's face. "It's bad?"
"What? No! No, it's not bad, it's good," Taranee blurted out. "I'd really like to go dancing wtih you in it."
Well, there's dwelling on the thought and then there's blurting it out loud, Taranee's mind needlessly pointed out. Guess which one you just did.
Hay Lin stared at her friend, and then giggled and wrapped her arms about her in a hug. "Oh, I'd love to dance with you too! Course, I'd have to get a nice dress too, and we could practice here using your stereo for the music..."
"Wait, you mean... you want to?" Taranee was relieved that Hay Lin wasn't freaked, but surprised as well. She was taking this in stride pretty well.
"Of course! I mean, who wouldn't want to? You're cute, and smart, and really really cool and brave when we go all Witch and kick butt. That time you welded those tracks back together when the monster flower was attacking was really great!" Hay Lin giggled again and pulled back to tap Taranee on the nose. "That, and you help keep even ME on track from time to time. I really apprecaite it,especially when we have all of those boring math assigements. Bleh!"
Taranee slumped with relief, even if she was still feeling a bit confused. She wasn't sure if Hay Lin understood her completely, or if she simply thought that Taranee wanted to practice dancing with her.
Either or, Taranee wasn't so sure herself, except that being around Hay Lin felt very nice, and it was never boring.
The rest of their time together before Hay Lin had to return home was spent talking about what shoes to wear with what shirt, the homework that was due tomorrow, and when they'd be all getting together to practice their Witch powers. By the time Hay Lin left, Taranee had all but forgotten about her embarrasing little outburst.
But in an unforeseen twist, Hay Lin reminded her.
Taranee rubbed her cheek, and watched a departing Hay Lin skip down the street, turning around to wave happily to her friend.
Taranee waved back almost numbly, and stumbled back up to her room to sit down at her desk. The picture that Hay Lin had drawn of her in Witch form with the coat and aviator glasses graced her desk, but Taranee's mind was focused on another image instead.
It was of Hay Lin, her lips pressed to Taranee's cheek in a warm kiss.
It hadn't been quick, and then Hay Lin had said "We can dance later. Promise," before skipping off on her way.
As if Taranee didn't have enough distractions. No way was she going to get to the history homework tonight.
Authour's Notes:
What can I say that hasn't already been said before? I guess what I can say is that the Taranee/Hay Lin pairing is one that does not get much limelight considering how most of the attention is based upon either Will and Irma or Cornelia and Caleb. Much like how Usagi/Mamoru and Haruka/Michiru of Sailor Moon get all the fame while Makoto and Ami are left on the sidelines.
I also have to save that I very much like writing Hay Lin and Taranee, although my compatriots would say I have a natural affinity for writing Hay Lin, since it seems that she and I are on a perpeptual sugar high most of the time. Well, sugar high for Hay Lin, caffiene high for me.
Basically, Hay Lin has such a natural energiticness to her that does not seem forced or over the top, while Taranee has a warm, gentle down to Earth attitude, despite the element she wields, that works perfectly in tandem when writing Hay Lin/Taranee fiction. Thus, expect more from me on these two later.