"It's getting warmer, isn't it?"
Taihou giggled. Her Commander could be fond of stating the obvious sometimes. But it was indeed true. It had gotten warmer. The long-awaited summer had settled in, taking the place of the gloomy rainy spell. Even where they were now, with a canopy of trees filtering the sunlight, it was warm.
The Commander had gotten sweaty—even if that made him look less dignified, she didn't mind. But she knew it'd be uncomfortable to continue wearing that scarf as the coming days grew hot, and she'd hate it if the Commander were to suffer from that. And she'd also hate the strange looks that some would undoubtedly give him in secret if he continued to wear it so stubbornly.
She'd hate those even more than seeing that the Commander wasn't wearing something she had painstakingly crafted.
"My Commander, forgive this Taihou for being presumptuous...but maybe it's time for you to take off that scarf for the time being?"
The Commander met the suggestion with an incredulous stare—before taking the scarf off and handing it over to Taihou. It felt cooler, but he also felt like something was missing. Already he missed feeling the silky fabric wrapped against his neck, warmed by the emotions of the person who made it. It had made the days of past winter and early spring more bearable.
But he acknowledged that Taihou did have a point. It was only good sense to let it go for the time being.
"Don't fret like so, my Commander," Taihou spoke. "This Taihou knows more than just making a scarf. Should you need something more comfortable to wear in the sweltering heat, just say so, and I will make you the finest clothing you could dream of! Anything you want!"
"Thank you, Taihou...but won't that trouble you?"
"Oh, you, my Commander. Always so mindful. But don't be so modest. Ask away. "
"I see...thank you. I'm glad you're with me," the Commander smiled. The air grew even warmer and humid as he waited for the inevitable.
"MY COMANDDERRR!" Taihou cried out as she leaped and threw herself at the Commander, knocking him off balance.
"Haha, you never change, do you?" The Commander laughed it off. "But please don't."
"...Do you mean it? That you're happy with me being around?"
"Yes, of course. I said so, didn't I?" the Commander reached up to stroke the girl's face, earning a pleasant little squeal from her.
"You did...and I'm happy...so happy..."
The Commander felt the weight of her head as it lay against his chest. She paused as if to listen to the beat within.
"I'm happy..." she whispered. At that time, with their bodies being that close, she realized that their life was very much like a cloth. The Commander was very much like a warp, the stationary thread around which the weft danced—the thread the weft would always chase after. She was always that weft.
And when matching threads met and interweaved, the cloth it produced could warm someone. It could help heal wounds. It could bring happiness.
And they're very much happy.
