A Whole New World

[tidesnpc]

Characters: Anyone and everyone from all three ships.
Content: The clouds are gone, revealing the long-sought world below.
Setting: The edge of the continent, near the blast site.
Time: After all the monsters have been fought and the ships head southeast.
Warnings: What you bring with you.

Comments

[flailingbento]

Watanuki had come to out view the new continent with all the rest, of course. He was still moving gingerly; the healers had done their work well on his wounds, but the blood loss had left him weak, especially after the frantic escape through the Badlands. But, well, how could he not have come out now to see history in the making?

Anyway, it was hard to sleep after the events of the past few days. Why not come out here and watch the world below instead? There was comfort in the presence of other people, after all. So Watanuki wandered the streets, contemplating buying a drink and wondering if drinking alone would be stupid, but all in all more than content just to walk.

[tiny_tinker_toy]

"Kimihiro! Why are you not lying down!?"

Rikku hurried over to her best friend, holding on tightly to her hat. "You lost a lotta blood, you could get sick if you don't rest!"

[flailingbento]

"Rikku!" Watanuki turned to give her a smile. "I'm fine - no need to worry. I rested all day, and I've been taking it easy." He was still a little pale, it was true, but he already felt better than he had this morning.

"Isn't it a little windy up here to be wearing a hat?" he asked, indicating her grip on it. "With the clouds all gone, I mean."

[tiny_tinker_toy]

Rikku grinned when he mentioned her hat. Oh, she was hoping he'd say something.

"Sorta, but that's why I was heading to the edge. Since you're up, wanna come with me? I got something to show you."

[flailingbento]

"Of course I'll come with you. I haven't gotten a proper look yet, anyway." He moved with her toward where the shifting crowd could be seen, distantly gathered at the egde, where the wind blew harder than that corner of Reial had ever felt it. "What do you have to show me?"

[tiny_tinker_toy]

"You'll see~"

Rikku led Kimi to a spot with less people, waiting for him to catch up before letting go of her hat. The wind snapped it up instantly, blowing to who knew where.

And instead of a mess of braids flapping behind Rikku's head, there was just her hair, cut to about shoulder-length and held back with the pins Shuuhei had bought her for her birthday.

[flailingbento]

Watanuki had never once seen Rikku with her hair cut. He'd grown so used to her braids, half-messy and half-artful, that all he could do for a long moment was blink and stare - there was Rikku's bright face, her familiar smile, but it was strange.

Strange, he thought-- but after the initial shock, not at all unpleasant.

He gave her a wide and genuine smile. "Rikku! It looks so cute! When did that happen?" He felt he should remember - the end of the world was no conventional time to get a haircut.

[tiny_tinker_toy]

She smiled. "I ran into Shuuhei today," she admitted, biting her lip. "And...well, we survived the end of the world, and I really do like Shuu a lot so it seemed like the perfect time."

[flailingbento]

"He asked you to do this?" Watanuki was still staring, but it was so unusual - so tame, compared to what he was used to on her. "I like it!"

And, well, if she could think about this now, after all that had happened-- "So he's all right? You're both all right?"

[tiny_tinker_toy]

"No, I wanted to. And yeah, we're both okay." Rikku ran her hand through her hair. "I'm thinking about maybe getting a potion to make some of my hair a funny color, like green, or red. This is a little too...normal, for me!"

[flailingbento]

He had to laugh at that. "And what's wrong with normal?" he demanded. "You know, if you think about it, this isn't normal at all for you." And, well-- green hair was a little tough to picture, even on Rikku.

[tiny_tinker_toy]

"But it's normal for everyone else! D'you know the last time I had normal hair? I was thirteen!" Rikku flailed a little, being purposely melodramatic. "Maybe I'll enchant my hair so it does awesome styles on it's own."

[flailingbento]

"What!?" Watanuki gave her his best look of affronted concern. "You might be the only person on Reial who could manage to blow up her own head trying to style it. I forbid it!" He was joking just as much she was - not that it was terribly easy to distinguish from his usual behavior.

[tiny_tinker_toy]

Rikku giggled, but sadly, Kimihiro was right. She probably would end up doing something insanely stupid.

"But what if I got a professional?"

[flailingbento]

Watanuki shook his head. "Like I could stop you if you really wanted to get it done. Just keep in mind that you'll have to be seen in public."

Hey, it would have been enough to stop him.

[tiny_tinker_toy]

Giggling, Rikku threw her arms out and flopped back on the grass. "I don't care," she said. "We're not dead! There's a new world! Why can't I get stripes in my hair?"