The following day was colder than the last, the frost clinging far longer on the windows when the girls woke up. A slight wind had also picked up, rattling the chimes outside Rosetta's door and making a racket. For her, this was normal. She had learned long ago to sleep through their noise. For Isolde, she was used to a more quieter room out in the middle of the woods, where the only noise was the trees creaking or the far off sound of a bird in the distance. Peaceful sounds. Nature sounds. Not the constant jingling of those chimes against the frame of the house, making her ears twitch with their sharpness. But she'd never ask Rosetta to take them down. She didn't want to impose more on the Tundra than they had already. Two extra mouths to feed while she was probably already trying to stay afloat as it were.
The house was a modest one. At least it seemed that way to Isolde, in comparison to the other houses along her path in the town with her sister, before the sleigh broke down. The houses around Rosetta's were all about the same size. A perfect size for a single Kitsu or a young couple just starting out. With the three of them, she found it a bit cramped feeling. Than again, her own house was larger, so perhaps she was just being ignorant. She wasn't used to being able to hear everyone else in and outside the house so easily. She was used to more quiet surroundings.
The wind died down, leaving a silence that spread across the entire home, lulling Isolde back into a cozy slumber under her blankets. That was when an even louder noise invaded her peace. With a startled cry, she burst out of bed, rushing out the door in one quick stride.
"Oh!" came another startled cry as Rosetta weaved just in time out of the way before Isolde could smack straight into her. The tea in her cup sloshed about, some of it spilling onto the floor at her paws.
"Ah! Rosetta, no, I'm so, so sorry!" Isolde bent down to clean at it with her fur, but was waved away by the other female.
"Please don't worry about it. This floor has seen many stains. And will see many more, I'm sure." For a moment, she just watched Isolde, breathing a little heavily against one of the walls. She gave an amused giggle. The loud screech picked up tune, causing Isolde to jump and fidget. "And do not worry about the noise. My neighbor likes to sing."
"....Sing?" All the Kirin could do was stare dumbfounded at the Tundra, one paw over her fast-beating heart. Sing? That sounded like a dying animal. She had been expecting to look outside and see an attack or the aftermath of one. "Sing?"
"Mhm!" Rosetta confirmed, taking a sip of her tea as she did so. Ah, splendid. Roost berries really did make a fantastic cup of tea in the morning. "He's a rather sweet old man, so we let him do so without any complaint." At once, her smile faded and a look of concern came onto her face. She reached out a paw to pat Isolde on the shoulder in sympathy. "I'm sorry, dear. I really should have warned you about him. He hasn't done that for weeks. I guess he just had a cold."
Well. How lucky for Isolde, he had a cold for weeks and suddenly decided to start singing on the second night she was staying here. The animals in the forest sometimes loved to sing, too, but their voices were much more melodious than this Kitsu next door. Anyone who didn't know any better would have thought someone being murdered in the next house. As had she. She hoped to never meet him, for fear of letting her opinion of the matter come through.
"Are you ready for a tour of the town today, Isolde?"
The Kirin blinked a few times, coming out of her thoughts to look at Rosetta with momentary confusion. Right, she had been promised a tour of the town. In all honesty, she just wanted to crawl back into bed.
"Yes, we could do that," she agreed instead, instantly turning around to get her cloak from her room.
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"And this is the school where I teach."
Rosetta stood in front of a small building. There were no classes today, so the double doors were closed off and locked against intruders. Isolde went around to one of the windows to peer inside. Having grown up in the far off woods, she'd never seen a school before. Or even a classroom. When there was only a few per generation to teach, one didn't have need of an entire classroom like this. There were so many desks, the chairs stacked on top and out of the way for the cleaning crew before the doors would be open for the students once more in two days time. The blackboard had a few scribbles on it, nothing she could make out through the frosted glass her nose was pressed against. Was this Rosetta's classroom?
As if reading her thoughts, the Tundra with her spoke up.
"My class is further in the back, behind the gate. You're more than welcome to come visit me after my classes if you want to see it. I can give you a tour of that, too, if you want."
Isolde turned around, an excited grin on her face as if she were one of the kits Rosetta taught, looking forward to a treat for doing good on a test. "So long as that wouldn't get you in trouble," she said, the grin starting to slip with her worry. It wasn't like she had any kits to pick up from school, wouldn't that look weird if she, a random adult, just showed up one day?
"Why would it?" Rosetta stepped away from the school, continuing on down the street. Isolde moved from the window, following in step besides the other female, their paws making crunching sounds on the snow. "You're a visiting friend. There's nothing strange about it." Breathing in the cold air into her lungs, she sighed deeply and contently. "Now. Where should I take you next? Oh, maybe the cafe! I go there all the time after classes."
Wordcount: 1065
