久慈川 りせ

    “Oh! Let’s see what’s inside!” As she took the gift from Kanji’s hands, Rise delicately took off the bow and wrapping paper to see what was inside. She’d admit that the gift was wrapped very nicely– She wouldn’t say it aloud, but he was probably better at gift wrapping than she could ever be. Brown eyes widened as she noticed the hair bows and plushie of her persona. She’d tease him only a little, but it was plain to see that there was thought put behind it.

             ❛   Mm — I was just wondering the same thing… !   ❜

       THE   sudden question brought her out of her thousand-yard stare, preoccupied with taking in the sight of the bamboo grove coated in snow. It was like someone meticulously took out a paintbrush and splattered it all by hand… The girl’s follow-up questions were rapid-fire, and all she can offer are some blinks in equally rapid succession. Was she alone ?  Well, yes — but she didn’t mind… Friends had jobs, after all — as did boyfriends. She’s kind of started to treasure her alone time lately… But this girl was so excited about it that Ruby couldn’t even think of turning her down. 

             ❛   Wait, so — does that mean you’re here alone too ?  I’ve never really done a sleigh ride — foxes or no foxes… So, uh — guess I’ll take your word for it !  If you don’t mind me tagging along…   ❜

    Her succession of questions was sudden, but she was glad to be greeted with a friendly face. “I am! I was hoping to come here with a friend or two, but they were super busy. I can’t blame them, though. So, I figured.. Why not come here and meet someone new!” A giggle left the girl’s lips, soon turning into a look of surprise when she heard she had never done sleigh riding before.

“Ohh, so they just kiss because of some plant?” Zeno did think that this was a kinda weird tradition, but hey, whatever the youngsters were into. He wouldn’t judge them too harshly as long as it wasn’t anyhting more than that. 

Rise’s teasing comment, made Zeno laugh. How bold this young girl was. With an embarrassed laugh, he started to scratch the back of his head. “Well, Zeno would lie if he’d say the guy who happens to be under a mistletoe with you, wouldn’t be very lucky! You’re pretty cute after all!” Not that he wanted to be that one guy, but there was no need to mention that. Complementing Rise was something she deserved, so he wasn’t really lying about that part either, he just didn’t say that he wasn’t interested in that kind of stuff. At least not anymore…

“Mhm, you’re definitely right, little miss. If you love someone, there’s no need for any symbol to tell you when to kiss, you just do it.” How wise she was for her young age. And even though he felt his heart ache a little, after hearing her last question, his smile still didn’t fade from his face. 

“Yeah, there was. And Zeno was even married to her!” Was all he said for now. His wife impacted his life so greatly, that he most likely couldn’t even put it into words how special she really was to him. And he was sure no one wanted to know it in that much detail anyway.

    Naturally, Rise was flattered at the compliment. She was used to being called words like cute and beautiful given her idol profession, but sounded very genuine this time! He seemed like someone with good intentions, from the girl’s perspective. With his wording, the tradition of a mistletoe did sound strange. Still, it was more than kissing under a plant! “Even if it is a plant, there’s a whole tradition behind it! I’ll tell you more about it, sometime!”

    What really caught Rise’s attention was when Zeno spoke about marriage. Wait.. He was married? Rise’s brown eyes widened, bringing her hands together and leaning forward: “Married? Did you have a wedding and everything? Come on, now! You have to tell me all about it!” Rise didn’t have marriage on her mind at the moment, but the idea of attending a wedding and watching a ceremony sounded nothing but lovely.

@wavesang​ liked for a winterfes starter

“Sure must be good to enjoy your youth like that…” Zeno was eating some cookies while sitting on a bench for a while now. And for some reason, couples were especially touchy today. What was up with that? His uncommon not-so cheerful comment, was heard by someone familiar. Wasn’t this the girl he helped out back when the city was in ruins? It was good to see she was alive and well!

“Oh, hey little Miss! Sorry, Zeno didn’t mean to ruin the mood, he just wondered why everyone who walks pass there, is kissing each other on the same spot…” Zeno wasn’t really interested in all that couple stuff. Not because he had anything against romance, it was just that the person that he loved, wasn’t alive anymore… His wife was someone so dear to him, that even after all these years, he hasn’t forgotten the impact she had on him. Seeing couples like that, did remind him of her, even though it was sometimes hard to remember her face, since it was such a long time ago… It somewhat hurt, but he would try not to let others see, that trying desperately to remember what she exactly looked like, hurt him. 

“Zeno doesn’t really get it, but I guess it’s good for them? What about you? You’re waiting for someone as well?”

    Rise found that you could learn a lot about people simply by observing them. The good, the bad..The mischievous! Still, she was passing by as she overheard Zeno seemingly upset. She stood in front of the boy as he spoke, nodding her head in correspondence to his words. “Have you never heard of a mistletoe before? I’ll tell you the deets if you give me one of those cookies!” She let out a laugh at her own words, sliding herself down to sit near Zeno. For some people, they did feel jealousy at that sight. She wasn’t sure if it was the same with him, though.

    “They say that if two people stand under the mistletoe, you’re supposed to kiss! It’s like.. A symbol of romance!” She paused, turning her attention to stare at the couple for a brief moment. “Oh, me? I’m saving my kisses for only super special people.~ Why? Were you hoping I’d take you underneath, too?” A giggle. “Just kidding! Anyways, there’s no need to be sad about it. Getting a kiss under a mistletoe doesn’t define your relationship. If you care about someone, you’d kiss them anywhere.”

    Rise hadn’t put much thought into the day as she rubbed her eyes open after a long night’s rest. It felt like she both had and hadn’t gotten enough sleep. A strange feeling, if she did say so herself. Regardless, she had been hoping to do some shopping for the upcoming holidays. That is, until she sat up in bed and her usual brunette locks suddenly felt much shorter. Surprise certainly was one word to use as she removed herself from the bed and looked in the mirror. This wasn’t her. Well.. It was her mind thinking right now, but-- It was too complicated!

    If she wanted to find her own body, the best place was likely near her home. Thus, that was where she headed. Standing outside the complex, she noticed her familiar silhouette exit through the doors. Without putting deeper thought behind it, Rise approached herself and placed a hand on her hips.

    Rise hadn’t been to Archimedes Ward too often, but when she did this time, she was greeted by an abundance of winter activities. The crystal fun house, for one, held an air to it that she couldn’t quite pinpoint into words. She was curious what was inside the mirror room, hence the location she opted to visit first. When Rise stepped into the room, she was (as expected) greeted by a large amount of mirrors. Where to look first..

    There were sleigh rides happening in Spirale? The thought alone was exciting enough to grab Rise’s attention. She couldn’t help and think about how much fun that may be-- Getting to sit in a sleigh and looking at all the snow and winter scenery.. It sounded like a perfect activity for this time of year! She couldn’t remember the last time she had an opportunity like this. Even if they weren’t reindeer, the foxes were just as cute.

    Rise definitely wanted to check out the icy koi viewing in Cotes ward. Something about looking at large koi from a right above them sounded like fun. Plus, she had heard about the beautiful lights glistening during nighttime. It was for this reason that the idol had decided to come during nightfall. Luckily, there seemed to be plenty of room for her to view the koi. Even if she wasn’t overly knowledgeable on every koi in existence, that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate their beauty-- Somehow, looking at them held a sense of calmness.

    The gingerbread man building event in Fibonacci ward certainly got the idol’s attention. She couldn’t remember the last time she had built a gingerbread man. The high-tech made it so that Rise wasn’t the one baking, but nonetheless, it still maintained the fun that was crafting your own design. As she walked up to one of the screens, the girl saw a familiar face. Rise remembered her from the time she briefly complimented her ribbon. Still, now was the perfect chance to befriend her and properly introduce herself!

@wavesang​ event starter

“Hey, you! Watch out!” Zeno didn’t even think, before jumping between the brunette and a monster that was about to attack her. Luckily, he did get away with only some deep scratch wound on one of his arm. Usually, he was the type that didn’t run from a fight, he could fight for all eternity if he really needed to after all… but not since arriving here… That was why he took the girl, that was staring already staring at him with big confused eyes, by the hand and started to run away from the danger.

He had no weapon, and his dragon scales usually only appeared once he was hurt a certain amount of times. So basically, he was defenseless. He couldn’t risk getting hurt without reason, since ever his wounds didn’t heal as they used to too. The yellow dragon did remember that mysterious voice that told him, he could definitely die now’ as well. So, as much as he wished he could fight that monster, so it couldn’t endanger anyone else, there was only the option to hide for now.

Once he found a broken building to hide behind, he did let go of the girl and sat down on the ground. A break was needed until his wounds would all heal up again. Though, he didn’t want the other to worry about him too much. After all, to someone like him, this was nothing but a slight scratch.

“No need to worry, Miss! Zeno is really though and healthy, so this will heal up really fast!” His regeneration skill did need longer than usual, but it was still in tact. Until then though, they had to keep hiding here… “Are you hurt? You shouldn’t be walking around all alone in times like these! Don’t you have anyone who can protect you? But no worries, if you want to, you can stay with Zeno!”

    Even back before Spirale, Rise was never much the one in the front lines. Her persona was more-so designed to be a navigator and Rise adapted to this. She was able to sense when danger might be present, but given the current circumstances, that proved to be difficult. Still, it seemed a monster was lurking near where Rise had stood. Before she had time to process it, she felt herself getting dragged by a total stranger. Given his tone of voice and the fact that he pulled her away, she didn’t sense any ill malice. Let alone, she saw an injury occur just to protect her.

    After running for a bit, the two stopped to rest and Rise immediately went closer to him to look at the wounds. “Are you sure? You say that, but.. I can’t help and be worried! You need to rest here for a little longer, okay?” For all she knew, he was just another person who’s wounds needed time to heal. Even if Rise wasn’t as big of a fighter as some other people she knew, that didn’t mean she was helpless. Rather, it was much the opposite.

“Rise.“

Giselle remembered her from the party, yes. That had been a fun stint for the evening, despite her not learning as much as she desired to about Halloween. Maybe she would be able to learn from the singer on why so many others were exchanging candies with one another.

“What is… pocky? Does it have to do with some type of artwork or game like you say?“

    “You don’t know what pocky is? Well.. Pocky itself is a type of snack! It comes in lots of flavors, too. Chocolate, Strawberry, Matcha.. You name it and it probably exists!”