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(( Kumo and Vanille, RPin' here since the threads are screwy sweatdrop ))

Kumoru had figured that all the nice weather for the last few weeks must have been too good to be true. One might call him a pessimist, but then it was bound to rain again eventually, wasn't it? Of course the glass would become half-empty at some point if one kept on drinking.

The mage walked carefully past the Anima Gardens on his way home, gingerly skirting the larger and deeper puddles like a noblewoman afraid of getting her dress dirty might. He held his robes up a bit, to ensure they would avoid getting muddy (though they looked to be getting quite damp nonetheless), and in his free hand, propped on his shouder, was his "modified" umbrella. It was holding up well enough, although it appeared, judging by a few colorful trails of water running off the edges, that not all of Vanille's patches were quite colorfast in the rain.

The mage stopped just as the car was passing, and, grumbing quietly, removed his glasses to mop the stray raindrops off of the lenses. A few rubs over his outer robes only succeeded at smearing them, though, and as he put the still-wet spectacles back on, he caught sight of Vanille across the street.

Letting go of his robes - whether he held them up out of puddles or not, the beige robes were still quite wet at this point - Kumoru waved to her, forcing a small smile. "Hello, there," he called. "Lovely weather, isn't it?"

Kumoru laughed a little and bowed to her slightly. As he straightened, a droplet of water fell from the edge of his umbrella, and he made a face and blinked as it splashed on the bridge of his nose. With a sigh that turned to a laugh, the mage removed his pair of water-spotted glasses again, and just held them.

"So wonderful, I think it's getting to be a bit much for me," he said. "I think I've been out here long enough to justify going inside for just a little bit. What say you?"

"My home is still a little ways from here," the mage told Vanille, glancing down the road in the direction he had been heading before turning back to her. "How far off is your home?"

When Vanille straightened again, the mage offered her the umbrella. "Here, you can borrow this. I think I might still remember a little cantrip to keep the rain off of myself."

Kumoru whispered a few words, and traced a small pattern in the air with the index finger of his free hand. It took him a few tries, but once he got the wording right, he managed to make the air over his head solid enough to keep the rain off.

Kumoru smiled a little; he was unable to keep himself from feeling just a bit of ego at her wonder. Then he glanced up at where the water was hitting his magical umbrella, and addressed her question. "I can keep it up for quite a while. It's not a very difficult spell to maintain. Still, if it rains too much harder, some droplets might get through anyway." The mage's glasses were tucked away from the rain in the pocket his sleeve formed, for which he was glad; the bit of thin mist that managed to get through his rain shield would have gotten all over the lenses.

Kumoru blinked as the girl suddenly took off down the street. In spite of the rain, she seemed to be spirited enough. The mage smiled a small smile, half-wishing that he was bursting with energy like that. Then, not wanting to be left behind, he gathered his robes up a little in one hand and started afer her, using his other hand to help bring the magical umbrella along with him.

The mage followed her as quickly as he could - mage robes aren't exactly made for running - and tried to avoid falling in any puddles. Once or twice, he tripped on uneven pavement, but managed to catch himself before getting too wet or muddy. ... Well, not that he could get much wetter by falling in a puddle.

Needless to say, Kumoru was thankful when Vanille started to lead him around behind the teahouse; if they were heading around back, then this must be their final destination. He smiled a bit as he, too, smelled the scents of baking scones, but wasn't familiar enough with the recipe to identify it by smell alone. But logic followed that home-baked goods were always a good thing, and typically implied warmth, too. Even with the spell over his head, Kumoru had been wet to begin with, and had not gotten any drier, running through the rain.