The future of Gensokyo is science!

“Oh… Oh I see. Uh… Um… I’m sorry too, I didn’t mean to be all snappy~ and stuff… I appreciate(?) your uh… Concert~?” She means concern- but alas, Rumia doesn’t actually know what that word means much less how it’s spelled. The blonde pets Medicine’s shoulder ineffectively, this entire conversation got far more awkward for her now that she doesn’t have anything to be upset over.

“Losing is always really sucky when you’re trying to prove something especy-ly, ‘cuz then no one~ believes you and you gotta try and prove it all over again when they already don’t believe you~.”

“Thanks for asking, dolly-lady. I hope you can get the food to stop treating you like a toy soon. “

“Um,”

...If it makes her feel any better, Rumia probably isn’t the only one feeling a little awkward at this point. Medicine... rarely ever had anybody display any kind of concern or appreciation for her, and she wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

“Um, thank you. I, I hope so, too.” Three whole seconds of awkward silence. “...My name’s Medicine, by the way! I, I live with the flowers, I mean... that hill with all the suzuran. You should come and play with me sometime. Maybe... we can train together?”

“F-fine, I’m a little hurt okay? I’m uh… I’m.. Still gonna win next time though..!” The blonde wipes at her eyes before she starts crying proper, she’s not gonna cry in front of a baby youkai! ..Even though of the two of them, Medicine is being far more the adult in this situation.

Rumia huffs, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away once Medicine starts to talk about her opinion on ‘being hurt’, she doesn’t want to have to hear it- but…

“I don’t wanna be hurt anymore. Everyone can see it, and they get all look-y at you and people start to ask if you’re okay and I hate it.” Pause…

“Then some people make fun of you for being hurt and they say you’re weak and I don’t wanna be weak. Why do we bother? It’s no fun for anyone.”

“Mmn.”

A small noise of agreement from Medicine. “It’s... annoying. Losing. And getting hurt, and feeling weak and like you can’t do anything properly all day after.” She plays with the front of her dress, feeling a little reluctant to mention it at all.

“But... if I don’t fight, then us dolls will never be free. Until humans stop treating us like toys, I won’t stop. Humans need to be punished.”

Well, it certainly seemed the little doll youkai had realized her motivation to fight. Maybe she was a little more sure of herself than Rumia. She went quiet for a moment, debating what to say next.

“And... um, sorry.”

“Ooooooooooooooooooow!”

The shadow’s face completely disfigures itself for but a moment- shifting into a many-hundred-toothed, frankly rather horrific visage…

Just to shift back as though nothing had just happened- and to start tearing up the littlest bit. “W-why’d you gotta do thaaaaat~? Don’cha know that sort’a thing is supposed to hurt, you big stupey-face!?”

...Okay, good news, Rumia. Medicine seems to have been just a little startled by that, so maybe you’re scary enough to get through to her after all. Or maybe she’s just not used to people’s faces being able to do... that.

“...See, you are hurt.” she eventually replied. Oh boy, now what? Was she going to sit here and rub it in all mockingly, or-

“...It’s not fun, being hurt. It’s not nice. I know that.”

...Or, not, apparently?

“I’d never lose to a human!” Says you, Rumia. Just keep forgetting about that one* (*read; multiple) time(s) Reimu beat you, yeah. “Are you even listening to me~? I didn’t lose, I’m just prolonging the victory~!”

“B-but uh, I was fighting one of those tengy-ooh people when I had to run away~… I got to bite an arm off though, so yeah it’s prolonging my victory!” Rumia taps her teeth intently, monstrous as they are.

...Prolonging her victory, sure. Medicine is politely quiet as Rumia boasts, eventually walking up quite casually while the little darkness youkai was still talking, staring at her arms with an odd sort of curiosity.

“...If I do this, does it hurt?”

“I-I didn’t lose! I just had to run away! Running away isn’t losing, dumbie- it’s just uh… Prolonging the victory~! Yeah, that’s it~!” Rumia bares her teeth, hissing at the doll youkai agitatedly. 

“Killing, hunting, torturing~- that’s fun, fighting isn’t fun!”

“Running away is still losing. You forfeited. You got scared and gave up. That’s losing.” Medicine replies, evidently not intimidated by the little youkai or her hisses. (...Most people would be intimidated, here, Medicine.)

“...Those are the fun parts, but those are a part of fighting. You can’t just have the good parts and only the good parts. That’s childish.”

Says... the child.

~Her stroll was interrupted by the sound of small footsteps… Now how odd. It wasn’t often that someone would come to her garden in the middle of winter.  Her eyes settled on the small youkai huddled next to her sunflowers…~

“Hello… /child/. Isn’t a bit cold for you to be wandering around without proper winter clothes?” Her eyes narrowed as she shook her head. “Such a weird youkai… I should have expected to see as such. Even human children are smart enough not to wander into my fields without proper winter apparel.” She said, taking off the scarf from her neck and handing it down to the small girl and offering a small smirk.

“Would you like some tea?”~

“H-huh!?”

...Oh, wow, she’s jumpy. It looks like an unexpected voice was all it took to startle her. The doll youkai scooted back a little bit, staring up at the... much taller youkai, in intimidated surprise.

“I’m, I’m not weird!”

...Was the first phrase she decided to take offense to. Sigh.

“I... I don’t need winter clothes! I’m a lot tougher than a human child. I’ve stood strong and unbroken through a hundred winters! The spirits of tools are hardier than you think! I don’t need your tea or your scarf.”

Snow is very very pretty, and very very fun to watch, although the unfortunate necessity for snow is freezing cold weather, and that tends to be less fun when you live outside, and also don’t own a jacket. Or long sleeves.

“Nnn... b-brrr...”

Medicine Melancholy, of course, is a youkai of the wild! She doesn’t need a house, or a jacket, or a fire or anything to stay warm. Absolutely not.

(...She’s very cold please help her.)

“Lily is rather cute, but she’s not who I was referring to. This one’s a little bit more tricky. This person’s name is a color that once you translate it into English, shares a name with a flower.”

“A... color?” Ooh, this one was a little more tricky. Who did she know who was named after a color?

“You were right before you added more than the first word. ‘Byakuren’ literally means ‘white lotus’.”

“...Oh! Oh, I get it! You’re talking about people whose names are flowers! So... um... the other one is...”

“I was referring to flowers in the metaphorical sense. Who in Gensokyo would you relate to a lotus flower?”

“...”

“I was referring to a different kind of flower, my dear.”