[PRP] Flowers and Butterflies (Horioka & Torabura)

[Hattaki]

Little blue hooves dusted together, though there was no dust present to knock off, as the last customer of the day left with their mostly finished piece. It had taken much longer than Horioka had expected to black in most of the mare's back hind quarters and twist the outlines for the beginning of her legs in as well, but blackwork tended to be the longest. As she saw the Pegasus out, bits in hoof, and watched her fly away thoughts trailed through her own mind faintly and she sighed wistfully about her own lovely flying lady that she hadn't seen all day. Or for the past two now that she thought about it. Torabura never stayed gone for long though, not unless she was on a heist or had made plans of a sort.

Within a day or two they should be back and when she was Hori would be the first to wrap her in a giant hug and grill her for stories. Tora had the best of all.

For the meantime she looked around at all the frost flowers in her office and went about watering them and cooling the temperature down for them again, she'd warmed the building up for the summer aligned Pegasus to feel comfortable as she was being inked, it was only respectful. But her flowers had suffered a little bit for the warmth and she would have them be bright and beautiful by the time her lovely lady got back! In fact before anyone came again, it was the nicest part of the shop after all.  

[houllow]

It didn't take long for Torabura to realize that she was kinda...late...getting back home. She hadn't even gone off to do things other than scout with her partner, but somewhere along the way she'd gotten sidetracked and a couple of hours had turned into a full day. Two days, if she was honest, and boy howdy was there likely to be a salty unicorn waiting at home for her. Actually no that wasn't true, her sweet Hori was very understanding, but that didn't mean a cold drop of sweat or two didn't run over her withers.

That was why she'd stopped on the way home and gathered up some lovely flowers (even if she knew the missus already had plenty); it was so much easier to stay in Hori's good graces with gifts. Well, gifts and just being around. She loved the unicorns company so much that when she arrived, she was terrified of opening the door.

And so Torabura stood out front, wondering just how she'd explain her absence.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

If someone was silly enough to ask her how she always seemed to sense exactly when an arrival happened, Horioka wouldn't be able to answer with anything but a knowing grin and a wink. Yet it always came to pass that when someone was standing at the door she knew exactly the moment their hooves hit the mat and this time was no different. Rolling her eyes, a smirk crossing her face and a sigh that was more laughter and amusement than anything else leaving her, the silver unicorn's horn began to glow bright violet. With no warning at all, or so it seemed from the outside, the shop door opened wide and the tattoo artist pony stood just past it, horn and doorknob still glowing.

"Torabura, the sweetest butterfly that ever graced a flower, why're you standin in the cold when it's warmer close up to my heart?" While every word was true, the grin on her muzzle couldn't be denied and given her eyes were still hidden behind the fringe of her bangs it might be hard for anyone other than her love to notice the sliver of concern in them. "I tried to get the flowers nice and perked back up before you came home, but the last customer was Summer aligned, so they wilted a bit. Should be back to normal soon. And I can add these new lovely additions in the meantime!"

While she'd originally kept flowers in her shop's entrance as a tribute to where she'd grown up, when Horioka had fallen for the Spring Pegasus that she was lucky enough to call her love, they'd become an expression of her respect and adoration for Tora. Especially since she knew the cold of Winter likely was hard to return to when one's alignment was so warm. If she was focusing on the flowers a bit more then normal it was because she was restraining herself from leaping across the threshold and hugging the lovely pegasus, while at the same time shaking her down for all the information about her latest whereabouts.

Better to let her tell that story in her own time than violently shake it from her.

houllow

 

[houllow]

"Uh." It was silly to say after years of being together (had it been years? Was it only weeks or months?) that every time Torabura saw her wife, she as stunned. It didn't matter when or where it was, it could be first thing in the morning or after one of her trips out, but the fact remained; Horioka always took her breath away.

If there was a chance music could play whenever their eyes met, Torabura would have an orchestra following her just for dealing with the unicorn; she was so wrapped up it took the mare speaking again just to snap her out of it. "No worries about the temperature, babe. I know it had to be harder on you than me." As a Spring pony she could handle the heat quite well, even though there were some days she needed a fan or what not; Horioka liking the cold meant Tora'd learned to wear jackets at home. Super cute jackets, which she hoped were hanging up near the door so she could just slide one on.

Which she'd do if her wife would move a little and not stand there looking stunning and judgmental. "So are you going to invite me in or are we going to have the neighbors talking again? I'd wager that old nag survives on gossip rather than food." Tora liked her neighbor, really. She liked her better when the mare left the pair alone, or didn't attempt to call the constables whenever she arrived at random hours. "Or should I just hand you the flowers, since clearly they're all that seem to matter."

Her tone was loving and teasing and the music that followed all of Hori's motions still played in her head like someone had demanded an encore. The way her heart pounding in time made her want to sweep the smaller mare into her arms and swing her around in dance.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

A cheekier grin than she was already wearing spread across her face as the little unicorn looked up at the larger pegasus that melted her heart every time she saw her. For Horioka it wasn't just a matter of how long it had been or how short it had been, just that she was happy to have her wife back. Her smart a** replies weren't lost on her ears, but she was just happily looking at Torabura's eyes with an inner sigh of happiness. So lost was she that she almost didn't realize that she hadn't been listening to a thing that her wife had been saying up until that point.

"... old nag survives on gossip rather than food." caught her attention and Horioka lifted an unseen eyebrow behind the fringe of her mane before taking a step forward and planting a smooch right on Tora's lips. "Let her talk, I never care that she talks about how much we love each other and it clearly keeps her occupied enough with that so she never complains about the shop in general. Besides, who wouldn't talk about my beautiful wife? You're stunning and deserve their adoration and if they don't adore you, I'll kick them in the teeth until they do and tattoo obscene things on their rumps."

The last part was said with a brilliant smile as she pulled the flowers from Tora's hoof with her magic and kissed her cheek this time before smelling them. "You know I love flowers but you're the most important one to me." Horioka pulled a little yellow flower from the bunch and brushed it playfully under Tora's chin as softly as she could, leaving a yellow tinge to her brown fur. "The most beautiful flower that ever crossed my path will always be you, beautiful butterfly."

It was the truth, but she'd told Torabura that endless times over the time they'd been together and would never stop telling her that each time she returned. For she was the reason that her heart beat, which was why a butterfly in the shape of a heart with flowers in the wings, made in her wife's colors was the only tattoo of color she had on her entire silver body, everything else black of some sort.

Slowly she placed the flower in the twist of Tora's mane and stepped inside, her tail flicking back at her wife in invitation. "As if I'd let you stay out there in the cold all day, come on. Tell me where you've been this time maybe?" A flash of bright pink came from behind the fringe of her mane before it swished back the way it always hid her eyes.

houllow

 

[houllow]

"Love, you'll lose your license if you tattoo obscenities. We've been over this before." Torabura shook her head as she laughed at her wife, amused by the Unicorn's threats. Except of course she knew they weren't entirely idle threats considering the Winter Unicorn had more than enough gumption to carry them through. "Also you can't change the subject of threatening our neighbor that easily, though I must admit it's a lovely attempt and I certainly enjoy the affection." The mare rubbed her hoof beneath her chin, the flowers having tickled.

Torabura didn't hesitate to follow her wife back inside their shared house, pausing only a moment to wipe her hooves and close the door. "Where I've been? I can't tell you, it's a secret."

[quote="Hattaki]  

[Hattaki]

"Now don't you worry about that." Laughter bubbled up from Horioka as she swished her tail and violet began to glow around her horn once more, a broom glowing simultaneously that began to swish up some dust around the edges of the entrance lobby to the shop. "I know for a fact that only a few would ever know it even happened to her, with where I'd put it." Her grin was wicked as she acknowledged Tora's comment. Her nose crinkled a bit as she watched her wife trying to itch the spot where she'd left some yellow flower pollen residue on her fur.

A sharper look crossed her features for a moment when Torabura mentioned that her whereabouts were a secret, but then she always thanked her lucky stars that she didn't exactly know what the pegasus was up to. The small bit that she'd ever been told wouldn't exactly be conducive to staying out of a jail cell if she went along with her, but if only there were some level of trust there. Swallowing her sigh, the smaller unicorn let a smile spread over her features to wipe away the worry that had been there moments before. "Well, I suppose that I shouldn't worry either then. I'll just keep tattooing and if you call one day needing bail money I'll have enough saved up."

Laughter pealed from her as she bumped her hip against Tora's and walked back into fiery domain of her studio for the meal she'd had in the fridge, broom still sweeping in her absence.

houllow