drabble :: utena and undine, squarewarts ←
Utena liked Quidditch games, but she liked it best when she was alone on the pitch. She didn't practice today (Haruka's training was stringent, and had her beat), but she did fly in lazy twirls and arcs through the sky. The sunset painted her bright hair with orange and red. Here, there was no one else. She was not so arrogant to assume she owned the sky when she was alone like this: Utena disliked placing claim to something so open, so free.
Ownership was an incorrect term. Instead, she felt a kinship, a connection. The same way she'd felt when she'd left Ohtori, for the outside world. The same way she felt when she...
"Hey, loser! Heads up!" A practice Bludger whizzed dangerously past Utena's head, and she went into a rolling dive in mid-air, awkwardly righting herself and her broom a few seconds later. The peaceful moment was ruined. Utena's hands clenched the broom handle so tightly that her knuckles went white, and she turned to face her assiliant.
Her eyes darkened. Undine, of course. The older student watched her with an oddly impassive expression, her arms crossed. Utena wondered, not for the first time, why the other girl was so muscular. It was disconcerting, and possibly the only reason Utena had not yet been foolish enough to fight her. "Got your fuckin' head in the clouds again, Tenjou!"
"So you try to kill me? What's wrong with you? That Bludger almost got me!"
A nonchalant shrug. "Figured if you were worth anything as a goddamn Chaser, you'd be able to dodge."
Utena ground her teeth, clenched her hands into fists and thought of something soothing. Rainbows. Or bubbling brooks. The cute girl in her Transfiguration class. Kittens. Kittens playing with yarn. With the cute girl, near the bubbling brook. "That isn't the point," she finally bit out. "What did you do that for, anyway?"
Another shrug. "Trying to get your attention, dumbass."
"For what?!"
"'Cause you're flying around moping and shit! What the fuck's wrong with you now?"
Now, Utena was, for all intents and purposes, a nice girl. She rarely got into trouble and tried to keep her grades up. She didn't like confrontation for silly reasons -- she saved her aggression for important situations. It was a good trait.
It was unfortunately, not in practice at the moment. "What's wrong with me, is that I was having a good day until you showed up! Even if there was something wrong, there's no way I'd tell someone like you!"
"An' what the fuck is wrong with me?!"
"You don't know? You seriously don't know?! What the hell? You terrorize younger students, you get into arguments with professors, you curse and yell at anyone who even tries to be nice to you!"
"I'm just not a pussy like the rest of you!"
Utena thought of saying something biting, something cruel. The ugly thought moved from her head to her throat, and caught on her tongue.
She remembered Anthy's face, and swallowed the thought again. "Doesn't matter." She laughed, hollowly. "You won't have to see me for much longer, anyway. I've been here too long." She stared off in the distance for a moment, and shook her head. Then she and her broom flew in a slow, meandering path back down to Earth.
Or would've, had Undine not yanked her arm back so hard she almost snatched it out of its socket. Utena made a strangled noise, somewhere between a sound of outrage and a high-pitched squeak. She turned to glare at Undine, or say something, and whatever thoughts she may have had of misguided bravery died as soon as she saw the look on the other girl's face. She looked furious. And there was a strange, inhuman quality about the expression. Something about her eyes was off...
Utena was rarely frightened. At this moment, the fear had made her ordinary self retreat to a safe corner of her subconscious. She froze, and Undine took this as a cue to speak.
"You. Are Fucking. Retarded." Each word was punctuated by poking Utena, hard, in the chest. "You've got two more years in this shithole, and you're gonna just blow it off? For what? What the fuck is that going to do?!"
Utena managed to say something, after a few long moments. "Himemiya is out there, and I've gotten too settled. I-I need to find her --"
"YOU'RE LEAVING SCHOOL FOR YOUR FUCKIN' GIRLFRIEND?!" Undine shook Utena, and her teeth rattled in her skull.
"She --" Utena found some of her misplaced bravery. "She's not just a girlfriend! I made a promise! I thought she'd be here, or show up, but it's been too long." Too long. "If you..." Understood, she wanted to say. If you knew that kinship, the feeling of having someone so connected to you it was as if they were the air in your lungs. That they were your whole world. "I want the person I love to be with me."
Undine briefly looked angrier. She opened her mouth to scream something, and in an odd change of pace, thought better of it. "That's fuckin' funny, 'cause I'd want the person I loved to be safe."
Utena blinked. "What?"
"I said, dumbass, that I'd want the person I loved to be safe. What the fuck do you think your girlfriend is out there doing? Lookin' for you, right? If this beautiful epic romance bullshit you're spouting is true."
Utena nodded.
"Well, how the fuck do you think she'd feel if her moron girlfriend went away from the one place she was safe to play catch up? If you don't stay put, idiot, you two are never gonna find each other. And how do you expect to provide if you do find her, and you're a worthless dropout, huh?"
"I don't--"
"Exactly! You don't know! So stay fuckin' put, and wait for her to show up! Goddamn, you're so stupid!"
"I. Uh." Had Undine just given her advice? "Sorry."
"You're damn right, you're sorry!" Undine released her arm, finally. The strangeness to her face had changed back into something relatively normal...normal for Undine, anyway. "Don't say stupid shit."
"Okay." This was...bizarre. "I won't."
"Good. Now get lost." Undine's arms crossed in front of her chest; her eyes narrowed.
Utena knew better to protest, and flew back down. It was probably for the best, anyway. Looking at the sky was depressing, sometimes. And Undine was confusing.
"Where'd that come from?" Utena muttered to herself.
"Out of all the people to talk about love...geez. This place is insane...you'd think she had experience, or something..."
Ownership was an incorrect term. Instead, she felt a kinship, a connection. The same way she'd felt when she'd left Ohtori, for the outside world. The same way she felt when she...
"Hey, loser! Heads up!" A practice Bludger whizzed dangerously past Utena's head, and she went into a rolling dive in mid-air, awkwardly righting herself and her broom a few seconds later. The peaceful moment was ruined. Utena's hands clenched the broom handle so tightly that her knuckles went white, and she turned to face her assiliant.
Her eyes darkened. Undine, of course. The older student watched her with an oddly impassive expression, her arms crossed. Utena wondered, not for the first time, why the other girl was so muscular. It was disconcerting, and possibly the only reason Utena had not yet been foolish enough to fight her. "Got your fuckin' head in the clouds again, Tenjou!"
"So you try to kill me? What's wrong with you? That Bludger almost got me!"
A nonchalant shrug. "Figured if you were worth anything as a goddamn Chaser, you'd be able to dodge."
Utena ground her teeth, clenched her hands into fists and thought of something soothing. Rainbows. Or bubbling brooks. The cute girl in her Transfiguration class. Kittens. Kittens playing with yarn. With the cute girl, near the bubbling brook. "That isn't the point," she finally bit out. "What did you do that for, anyway?"
Another shrug. "Trying to get your attention, dumbass."
"For what?!"
"'Cause you're flying around moping and shit! What the fuck's wrong with you now?"
Now, Utena was, for all intents and purposes, a nice girl. She rarely got into trouble and tried to keep her grades up. She didn't like confrontation for silly reasons -- she saved her aggression for important situations. It was a good trait.
It was unfortunately, not in practice at the moment. "What's wrong with me, is that I was having a good day until you showed up! Even if there was something wrong, there's no way I'd tell someone like you!"
"An' what the fuck is wrong with me?!"
"You don't know? You seriously don't know?! What the hell? You terrorize younger students, you get into arguments with professors, you curse and yell at anyone who even tries to be nice to you!"
"I'm just not a pussy like the rest of you!"
Utena thought of saying something biting, something cruel. The ugly thought moved from her head to her throat, and caught on her tongue.
She remembered Anthy's face, and swallowed the thought again. "Doesn't matter." She laughed, hollowly. "You won't have to see me for much longer, anyway. I've been here too long." She stared off in the distance for a moment, and shook her head. Then she and her broom flew in a slow, meandering path back down to Earth.
Or would've, had Undine not yanked her arm back so hard she almost snatched it out of its socket. Utena made a strangled noise, somewhere between a sound of outrage and a high-pitched squeak. She turned to glare at Undine, or say something, and whatever thoughts she may have had of misguided bravery died as soon as she saw the look on the other girl's face. She looked furious. And there was a strange, inhuman quality about the expression. Something about her eyes was off...
Utena was rarely frightened. At this moment, the fear had made her ordinary self retreat to a safe corner of her subconscious. She froze, and Undine took this as a cue to speak.
"You. Are Fucking. Retarded." Each word was punctuated by poking Utena, hard, in the chest. "You've got two more years in this shithole, and you're gonna just blow it off? For what? What the fuck is that going to do?!"
Utena managed to say something, after a few long moments. "Himemiya is out there, and I've gotten too settled. I-I need to find her --"
"YOU'RE LEAVING SCHOOL FOR YOUR FUCKIN' GIRLFRIEND?!" Undine shook Utena, and her teeth rattled in her skull.
"She --" Utena found some of her misplaced bravery. "She's not just a girlfriend! I made a promise! I thought she'd be here, or show up, but it's been too long." Too long. "If you..." Understood, she wanted to say. If you knew that kinship, the feeling of having someone so connected to you it was as if they were the air in your lungs. That they were your whole world. "I want the person I love to be with me."
Undine briefly looked angrier. She opened her mouth to scream something, and in an odd change of pace, thought better of it. "That's fuckin' funny, 'cause I'd want the person I loved to be safe."
Utena blinked. "What?"
"I said, dumbass, that I'd want the person I loved to be safe. What the fuck do you think your girlfriend is out there doing? Lookin' for you, right? If this beautiful epic romance bullshit you're spouting is true."
Utena nodded.
"Well, how the fuck do you think she'd feel if her moron girlfriend went away from the one place she was safe to play catch up? If you don't stay put, idiot, you two are never gonna find each other. And how do you expect to provide if you do find her, and you're a worthless dropout, huh?"
"I don't--"
"Exactly! You don't know! So stay fuckin' put, and wait for her to show up! Goddamn, you're so stupid!"
"I. Uh." Had Undine just given her advice? "Sorry."
"You're damn right, you're sorry!" Undine released her arm, finally. The strangeness to her face had changed back into something relatively normal...normal for Undine, anyway. "Don't say stupid shit."
"Okay." This was...bizarre. "I won't."
"Good. Now get lost." Undine's arms crossed in front of her chest; her eyes narrowed.
Utena knew better to protest, and flew back down. It was probably for the best, anyway. Looking at the sky was depressing, sometimes. And Undine was confusing.
"Where'd that come from?" Utena muttered to herself.
"Out of all the people to talk about love...geez. This place is insane...you'd think she had experience, or something..."