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 Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 2:12 pm
..Acquisition..
When Vanille stumbled out of bed that morning she?d had no idea that the day would turn out how it did. Then again most every day was like that; there?s no certainty where life will take you. You can have a general idea, like you plan to meet so-and-so at such-and-such a time, but otherwise you?re pretty much winging it.
The only plan Vanille had for that day was to follow through her usual routine; stagger downstairs for a tall mug of café ¬atte, munch her way through a bread roll and jam, and then set about the gruelling task of studying. Sometimes she?d help her aunt out with running the teashop, but by the time she?d reached the foot of the stairs she?d already decided against that ? she could hear her aunt bickering with her uncle, and had learnt long ago that it was best to leave them to it. Besides, while she?d listened to the wind howling through the early hours it was sunny enough to go and study outside, in the park perhaps.
It would be this primary decision that would spark a chain of events to bring the girl a new companion.
After class, Vanille did indeed head for the park, but she took a wrong turning and instead ended up at a place she?d only visited a couple of times before, the Anima Gardens. On those previous occasions, she?d only lurked around near the gate, shying away from conversation with anyone who might approach her. On that day however, the wind heightened her spirits and confidence. There was also shelter to be found under the trees so she could work without mischievous gusts snaring at her books.
For a while, it seemed as if she were alone there. Well, alone in the sense of company. There was a girl ? who Vanille would later discover to be the proprietor of the Gardens ? sleeping on a bench, but she was hardly a disturbance. Apart from her, there were only two lanterns hanging from the rafters of the oriental-style roof of the house in the centre. These might not have caught her attention had it not been, again, for the blustery wind, which was trying to tear them from their places.
Although Vanille realised she might have been trespassing, she didn?t fancy such precious little things snared away and, when they were almost falling from their hooks, she could no longer just watch them. On her feet at an almost inhuman speed, she darted over to steady the pair, causing the sleeping girl to at last awaken. She accused Vanille of attempting to steal the lanterns, and then introduced herself as Chai once Vanille had stammered her way through an excuse.
The next part Vanille had only just recovered from as she perched cross-legged on her bed, journal ? a thin thing, she?s the sort to prefer to keep her thoughts, as they seem more ordered that way - clutched in one hand while the other reached out to steady the lantern with a creamy mist trailing around it lazily. After talking with Chai for a little while she was offered to take one of the lanterns into her own possession. Instructed to take the utmost care of it, otherwise the manager of the Gardens would carry out one of her nastier death threats. Astounded at and not quite believing her luck, she?d wandered back to the teahouse in stupor, books and lantern gathered in arms.
Now, she munched thoughtfully on a cheese scone she?d snatched on the way up to her room, ignoring the crumbs that wound up on her quilt, and watched the lantern before her curiously. Distantly, she could hear her aunt throwing another wobbly about how one of her scones had gone missing ? ?I baked a batch of fifty and now there?s only forty-nine!? ? but this didn?t bother her in the slightest. For, in her mind, she was already far away, wondering what twists this little Anima would bring in her future?
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2005 7:54 am
accessorization quest!__.
Hmm... It has been quite so time and no butterfly has come yet. Perhaps you can pursuade one to come by luring it with an item or decoration for the lantern?
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Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 12:34 pm
..Accessorization Quest..
By now, Vanille had lost track of the number of weeks it had been since she?d received the lantern from Chai at the Anima gardens. Truth be told, if it hadn?t been for the lazy swirl of mist coursing around it she might have forgotten about it completely. She knew a little of the butterflies and children, of course, but her own lantern seemed unable to attain a winged companion.
On consideration ? and a half-desperate whim ? Vanille?s train of thought had lead her to leaving the window open. She wasn?t sure whether the butterflies actually came from the lanterns themselves or if they sought them out, but there was no harm in hoping one might just flutter in from outside. Besides, she had another reason to leave them open?
The manager of the Teahouse ? and Vanille?s housekeeper and aunt ? had finally persuaded the girl to ?get off her lazy backside and clean her pigsty of a room!? She was the sort of meticulous woman who through a tizzy if she found a single speck of mud on her kitchen floor, and it shall be left up to your imagination how she?d react to a student?s tip of a bedroom.
So both windows were flung wide open, creaking on their old hinges occasionally as the breeze tugged at them, to air the room out. Vanille herself was pulling up one of the rugs to vacuum dirt from between the cracks in the floorboards, tapping her foot in time and humming along to the music from her walkman ? Build Me Up Buttercup. Somewhere, most likely in a novel she read when very young, she?d heard that machine sounds often mimic the mood of the person manipulating them. If that were the case, any observer would have to believe her very cheerful indeed ? even if she had to tidy her room.
Off in her own little world, Vanille didn?t hear the telltale clunks of her driftwood wind chimes ? made after a visit to the seaside years back ? as a gust of wind invaded her room. Only when it came close enough to toy with her hair and chill her cheek did she turn to discover several objects had been tossed from the windowsill ? the precious lantern included. Switching off and dropping the vacuum cleaner as well as tugging headphones free from her ears quickly, she hurried over to see if any damage had been done.
She could remember Chai mentioning that the lanterns were very expensive and difficult to make ? there had been a sort of death threat involved as well, she recalled ? so she lifted if with great care to inspect it. At length, she exhaled a breath she only just realised she?d been holding and relaxed; it was safe. She couldn?t find any tears in the paper or dents in the wood. The swirl of beige wind also seemed to be undisturbed, if a tad slower and disjointed.
Before she replaced it on the windowsill, she shifted the ochre crystal, allowing her fingers to linger over it for several long seconds. An odd expression flickered in her eyes, something soft between disappointment and concern. Moving on, she gathered up one of her scarves to peer at it thoughtfully. It was an obsession, Vanille rarely wore jewellery but she had a fetish for other accessories - this particular scarf was a faded grey with round black sequins and curling embroidery stretching up from the long tassels. A small smile tweaked her lips and she brushed her hair behind her ears ? so she could see what she was doing at last ? and tucked the scarf around the lantern. It very nearly buried it, urging a chuckle to escape the girl?s throat. ?There now, if the wind tries to tip you up again that should keep you steady. Heaven forbid that I ever find out what Chai has in store for customers who break their lanterns.?
She also reckoned it would keep it warm, but there?s only so much you can say to an inanimate object without fearing for your sanity...
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 2:30 am
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 8:59 am
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 4:42 am
{ Reserved for butterflies~ }
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 4:50 am
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 4:51 am
{ Reserved for naming questu~ }
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