#th 02

@ursidaexvigilante

Pink and purple dotted the dipping valley, the flowers bending beneath the brush of the breeze. Yuuri stood at its edge with a straw basket in the nook of her arm and a backpack slung on her shoulders. She was most conscious of the weight of the small pocketknife she carried in her skirt’s pocket and at times her left hand would reach in as she surveyed the horizon just to make sure it was still there. 

Doing this once more before she stepped into the valley, the crinkle between her brows faded as she bent forward to inspect a light purple flower. The task today was to brighten up her new home. According to the organization, there would be others housing with her so it was only right for her to tidy up the place for them. Taking out her knife, she sliced the flower’s stem and placed it in her basket. She would place these in the rooms, bringing color to the otherwise bleak house. Yuuri repeated the process, gathering more flowers.

There was an overbearing emptiness that Yuuri couldn’t stand. Her thoughts would return to people she couldn’t see and things she couldn’t do and the neglected house with its loose wooden boards and creaking floors reminded her too much of certain parts of her old school. So, she was outside. Picking flowers would have been one of Yuki’s suggestions, Yuuri was sure. So she picked and picked until her basket was almost full enough to fill her thoughts. And she whispered absentmindedly with one pink flower held between her fingers. “Ruu would love these.”

@dynxmism​

A pleasant hum rose and fell over the grumbling noise of the convenience store’s heater. Akari listened to this as she strolled through the cozy aisles. Truthfully, she did not have much money on her but she was curious. With so many people from so many other worlds put into this one the convenience store had to have many different items. The food she had taken for granted might be strange and amazing to someone else. Similarly, the snacks that could be common in one world would be entirely new to her.

The humming stopped as the manager, an older man whose name tag had only the word ‘Gramps’ hand-written on it, got down from his stool to put more meat buns out. Akari approached, smiled, and pointed to a meat bun only to have it slowly disappear. “Eh?” She stared at the place the food had been in. “Ah?” She said. “I-It disappeared! It disappeared!” She exclaimed.

@tiniistic

The sun had risen to be blocked out by the tower’s top. Spiral’s End took no notice of the sun’s rays, its interior cool and drafty. Yuka zipped up her jacket and tightened her ponytail. She stood at the very bottom of the staircase that wound up the center of the spire, lips pursed as she stared up at its height. It was a simple task today, something she could actually accomplish. Before she officially moved into any room, she wanted to explore the levels. She wanted to reach the top.

A sinking of shoulders and a deep breath exhaled. There was something rising in her chest, a kind of fluttering anticipation that coursed through her body, drove her to clench her fists and raise her head. “Alright! Yuka’s tower trip is a-go. Time to depart!”