As she walked out the door, Leah knew to prepare herself for the onslaught of odors that came from having so many fish in one spot. Belatedly, the realisation kicked in that she hadn't warned Anna, and so had to try to stop herself from laughing at the poor farmer for pulling a face and gagging at the smell of fish that permeated the air around the cabin.
By some small miracle, the smell didn't ever end up inside her home after the event. Looking around, the artist was greeted by the sight of both Robin and the Mayor. The former was working away at her own sculpture while the latter was talking to a group of 3 people she didn't know, presumably the judges for the art competition. Oh, how she hated that part in particular. After the fishing contest was done and most people went home, there was always another part that most of the townsfolk didn't know of and that half of those that did know ended up outright ignoring. The art competition. The judges, all professionals in the field of sculpting, would come and judge the ice sculptures of those who participated. Every year it was the same. Robin would win, and hers would be written off as second best, beautiful but 'without soul' being one of the recurring themes in their criticism, as if they could know how she felt. She felt her hands start to shake, frustration building up inside her.
"Hey, is everything okay?"
The voice cut through her negative thoughts like a warm knife through butter. A hand, delicate and soft, grasped her own, and she turned towards Anna in surprise, having forgotten her presence for a moment.
"… yeah… sorry, I was just… caught in my head, is all" She knew that the farmer wanted to press for more, but she could see her hold back, letting Leah have her room to breath while still providing comfort by staying by her side. She could appreciate that, and let it be known by squeezing the girl's hand. Glancing back to the mayor, she let out a sigh of relief as she noticed the judges had left for the moment, likely staying cooped up in the mayor's house like every year.
Her anxiety receding, she decided to go up and talk to Lewis, despite how much she loathed the idea of being judged lacking yet again this year, she still went through with it, like every year prior, and likely every year after. No matter how much she disliked the judging process, the activity of creating itself was far, far more enticing, outweighing the negatives by leaps and bounds. Mind made up, she walked towards the mayor, letting go of Anna's hand.
"Hey, I'm not too late, am I?" She scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
"No, of course not. Sorry again for interrupting your, ahh, 'get together' with miss Anna, but it wouldn't be very… how do I say it… appropriate for you to get too intimate when you are so close to the festival, and by consequence, the children."
Slowly, realization dawned on her as a blush started to make its way onto her face. The mayor averted his gaze, coughing slightly as he did so.
"Oh god, no! You think we were, that she and I…" she let out an embarrassed groan. "I swear it's not like that. She came over last night, piss drunk, and I couldn't have her walk back like that. So I just had her sleep over for the night. That's all." She finished. Though part of her was confused as to why she was objecting so much.
The mayor just sent her a glance with mirth dancing in his eyes.
"Of course, I'm sure that's all it was. Your block is right over there by the way, it's the one on Robin's right. Oh, and you have about ten minutes left before people start arriving, so if you need to get anything from your cabin, feel free to get it now."
"Oh, I've got everything I need here, but thanks for the heads up." She said as she started walking towards the large block of ice. On her left, Robin was in the middle of a conversation with Anna as she was working away at her sculpture, which was shaping up to look like some kind of castle.
She was too far away to hear what they were saying, but something the carpenter said caused Anna to blush. Her stomach tightened slightly at the sight, but taking a deep breath calmed the emotions grumbling inside her chest.
Shaking her head, she gazed up at the block of ice in front of her. With how much time she had already wasted in the morning, her original plan wasn't going to work. Her eyes strayed, landing once more on Anna.
For a moment, their eyes met. Butterflies started taking off in Leah's stomach, and she was met with a breathtaking smile, courtesy of the farmer she was so enamored with. Looking at her, a small, flickering ember started to heat up in her mind, an idea, no, an emotion taking physical shape in the depths of her very being. She probably would still have no chance of winning against Robin this year either, but for once, she didn't particularly care about the contest. She just had one person she wanted to impress now, and it certainly wasn't any of the judges.
It didn't take long for Anna to get used to the smell of fish. Not half an hour had passed since the festival truly started and it was already the furthest thing from her mind. Aside from the teasing she'd gotten at the hands of Robin earlier, the farmer was absolutely amazed at the entire event. Currently, she and Penny were making snow 'men' with Jas. Though Anna was less focused on making regular snowmen and more focused on the tiny army of snow-junimo she was making instead. It didn't take long for Jas, and by consequence Penny, to join her in her junimo takeover.
She spared a glance towards Leah, off in her own inner world of creativity. She had no clue what the end result would be, but Anna would be willing to bet all of her money that it would be just as beautiful and awe inspiring as all of her artworks.
"You still there Anna?" The question tore her gaze away from the artist to another red head, specifically, Penny.
"Huh?" Oh, right, she'd forgotten where she was for a moment. Anna blushed, embarrassed at having gotten lost in the moment. She saw Penny follow where her gaze had been, and to her horror, a small, amused smile raised on the red head's face.
"I swear, it's not what you think." She said, hands covering her cheeks, trying to hide her red cheeks.
"Oh, it isn't?" She said, the cheek in the girls tone an obvious indication she didn't believe her for a second. "You know, I heard a rumour in town this morning. Apparently, someone was caught in quite… the position with someone else earlier. You don't happen to know anything about that, now do you?" And then the self-appointed teacher had the audacity to avoid her gaze.
Oh, she was going to kill this girl. Then she'd get Marnie. Maybe the rest of the town too while she was at it. But instead, she dipped her hands down in the snow, forming a scoop with her fingers. The girl was still refusing to look at her, so she took out the snow, formed it into a ball, and, with great accuracy, threw the snowball straight at the back of Penny's head. She fell face first into the snow, and both Anna and Jas broke into laughter.
From behind her she thought she could hear someone, maybe Abigail, saying something like 'oh no, now she's done it' or something but she paid no attention to it, too busy laughing.
The teacher pushed herself up, and started laughing menacingly. She held snowballs in both hands, and her whole body language changed.
Slowly, Anna inched backwards, only to freeze as the girl in front of her, without looking, sent a snowball hurtling towards Jas, the poor kid still laughing. It hit her in the face, receiving a squeal of joy and a face full of snow.
From behind her, Anna heard a chuckle, and she whirled around and there, flanked on either side by a snowball wielding Maru and Alex, was the purple haired crystal eater herself, Abigail.
"You brought this onto yourself, I hope you know that."
Anna hardly had the time to think 'Oh no.' before she was pelted with snow and started running. Laughing all the while as she was chased. Only to be cut off by the red headed devil herself, Penny. Wise as she was to what was about to happen, she only had the time to raise her arm to cover her face from the oncoming projectile and run off to try and avoid both groups. She saw a safe spot and ran for it. Right behind Leah.
"Hey! What's the- Anna? What are you…" Before she could finish her sentence, the artist received a face full of snow and a shouted apology from a far-off Penny.
Leah glanced behind her at the laughing Anna, a smile growing in size on her face as she put together what had just happened.
"Anna?" She said, eyes closed as it almost looked like a shadow was starting to cover her eyes.
"Y-yes?" Oh, now she had the nerve to try and act innocent. How… cute.
"Did you, and this is just me wondering here, just use me as a meat shield?" Oh, and now she was avoiding looking at her, was she?
A chuckle escaped the redheads' lips.
"N-no..?" Anna's voice was shaking slightly now, and she took a step back. Leah seemed to tower over her despite being only a few inches taller. Her throat went dry as she tried to fight the urge to run. Maybe coming here was the least safe option after all.
"Is that an answer or a question? 'Cause you sounded pretty uncertain there, flower girl."
Oh, she was screwed. Yet for some reason, Anna couldn't stop her cheeks from heating up slightly.
Leah made a tisk tisk sound, and wagged her finger side to side. Her eyes shone with an almost predatory light.
"You know, Anna, there's an unwritten rule that everyone in town follows during this festival." At this, Leah lowered her lips next to the farmer's ear, her voice lowering and gaining a raspy quality to it that caused Anna's heart to skip a beat.
"You don't, distract, the, artists."
Following those words, she was pinned to the ground. Snow weaved itself with her hair to make a wavy pattern of brown and white, her beet red face contrasting with the pale nature of the snow. Anna's breath caught in her throat, and Leah, like a true predator, had a wide, almost vicious smile that slowly went from predatory to smug.
"Got that, little flower?"
Instead of responding vocally, all that Anna could do in response was let out a low, almost needy whine. It was that moment, more so than any other before it that solidified in Anna's mind just how deeply and utterly she'd fallen for this girl. With the farmer pinned in the snow, the weight of Leah holding her down, and all she could do was stare into those immaculate, navy blue eyes, completely transfixed.
She'd known before that she liked Leah. Liked her enough to date her, given the chance. But never before had it occurred to her that she might love her. She hadn't even known her for a year and yet, there, lying in the snow, she came to that horrifying realisation. This girl, she could absolutely destroy her, and she would accept it, and that, that terrified her. Anna's throat felt tight.
She'd fallen in love with this girl, and there was nothing she could do about it. Thinking back, things started finally lining up. Little things, moments that meant so little at the time, but all added together had planted this seed in her. The very fiber of her being was now open to the artist, and it was simultaneously the best, and the worst feeling she ever felt.
A tear (of joy, or was it sorrow? Perhaps it was a mix of both) rolled down into the white snow below her. Immediately, Leah removed herself from on top of the farmer, shocked and scared. Had she taken it too far? Did she push too much? Did Anna get hurt as she fell? Hundreds of similar questions ran through her mind.
"Anna? Hey, hey, you're gonna be okay, I promise. Are you hurt? Did I do something wrong? Should I-" She was cut off as Anna caught her in a hug. Now she had no clue what was going on. Wasn't Anna mad or hurt? But if not, then why had she been crying? Leah had no clue of what was going on.
"I'm okay. I promise, so can we just… stay like this for a while?" A small, soft smile grew on her face. This girl would be the death of her.
"Of course. Take all the time you need."
With that said, Leah closed her eyes and put her chin on top of Anna's head, stoking her back lightly. She would have slightly less time to finish the sculpture, but that didn't matter. So long as she got 'that' part ready in time, that was all that mattered. She stroked the back of the farmer's head, receiving a purr of content in return.
Yes, this girl would be the death of her, and she wouldn't want it any other way.
