Rising Shards

Somehow, Oka had gifted Lillia a moment alone with Naomi during intermission by somehow dragging Naomi’s friend away. Lillia wracked her brain trying to think of things to say as she approached Naomi. If she took too long, she’d seem weird, standing silently in front of her.

“Naomi,” Lillia said. “Greetings. I…wondered if. You.” She squinted as Naomi gave an inquisitive look. “Enjoy the play?”

“Sure?” Naomi said. “Are you feeling alright?”

Lillia stiffened up. “I’m not…ill or anything. I did have one of the donuts from the snack table…”

Naomi laughed. “I’ll chalk it up to nerves. You’ll feel better once we’re done.”

“Yes.” Lillia said, screaming internally at letting out such a horrible response. Worse, the conversation was now stalled.

A thought flashed in her mind. Why is Ko easier to talk to?

“I know I will be exhausted after this.” Naomi said. “But my prefect duties are a must, so I’m still getting time in for that later.”

Lillia nodded, a strange sensation worming into her. Like something warm spread across her back, seeping through her muscles before looping around to her stomach.

Why is Ko easier to talk to?

“I can imagine being a prefect can be very difficult.” Lillia said.

Lillia tried to analyze how she was feeling in an attempt to course correct this stilted conversation. She still had a crush on Naomi, that was clear. She wouldn’t be such a wreck talking to her if that wasn’t the case. But something had changed. And now she felt guilty.

Why am I feeling guilty about this? That's not fair. That is very much not fair.

She knew why, though. She’d made plans with Ko after this. What exactly they were going to do was a mystery, but for some reason Lillia her asked her to meet up once the rehearsal was done. So talking to Naomi on what was to be a Ko day didn’t feel right.

“Well, I should get back to…” Lillia trailed off. Naomi tilted her head, waiting for an answer, so Lillia basically just ran away.

Hiding in a dark corner behind a curtain helped her gather her thoughts a bit.

So I still have feelings for Naomi. But I also feel like I have to treat Ko well. And that there are Ko days and Naomi days. But what does a Ko day mean?

“How’d it go?” Oka asked from the other side of the curtain. “At least I hope that’s you. I think I recognize your shoes.”

Lillia exited the curtain.

“You look…tense.” Oka said. “I’m concerned my really great plan might’ve backfired.”

“No, it… it was very helpful.” Lillia said.

“Was it?” Oka asked eagerly. “So…do you get your feelings better?”

“Sort of…” Lillia said. “I still feel it for…but I also…can we just talk about this after rehearsal?”

“Sure, sure,” Oka said. “Sorry if I got you off your acting game or anything.”

Lillia watched Naomi across the stage start to get ready for the next act. “You didn’t.”

* * *

Amara dragged KJ along. She had got her friend on her feet at least, but KJ refused to follow her where she had actually wanted to go, and after a brief bout of wrestling between the two, they had compromised and gone to the garden.

“Well, I thought the hot springs would be nice,” Amara said.

“In winter?” KJ asked. “It’s freezing out. And they’re not really hot springs, they’re like lukewarm puddles.”

“How could you know if you’ve never been, you magnitudinous dolt?” Amara asked. She stopped as they reached a long table in the garden. “If not the hot springs, perhaps the majesty of big table will brighten your gloomy mood.”

“Rain used to sit here.” KJ said. “I don’t deserve to sit there.” She got down on the ground. “The stone floor here is more my speed.”

“You know, we agreed to go here, the least you could do is humor me and actually sit here.” Amara said. She had brought some tea as well and enjoyed a cup of that as KJ stayed on the ground. Eventually, KJ finally got up and sat across from her.

“I miss Rain too, you know.” Amara said. She offered to pour some tea for KJ, but she declined. “But…ergh. Don’t make me say it.”

“Say what? That all hope has ceased to be forever without Rain here?” KJ asked.

Amara sighed. “No, you dummy. That…though my affections are mainly, primarily reserved for Rain, you…are a notable companion as well.”

“Hrmm,” KJ said.

“And notable companions shouldn’t be so bleak,” Amara said. Her tail twitched from the stress of the words she tried to form. “Because we still…have each other. As companions. Of some sort.”

“Right, I understand,” KJ said. She sighed. “You’re right.”

“You can still be gloomy and gothic and what have you,” Amara said. “But since we spend time together as roommates and I suppose compatriots, could you at least try to be…more like a companion…around me?”

KJ tapped her claws on the table.

“Sure, yeah…” KJ said. “How do you want me to do that?”

“You could not instantly reject my offers to visit the hot springs,” Amara said.

“No,” KJ said. “What else?”

“Well, although Rain is away, we could still…” Amara said. “Do the things we usually do? Tea parties like we’re currently doing? Our after-school club? We could even compile a list of all the great things about Rain, get them professionally printed, then present a fancily bound book of all the things we love about her when she returns!”

“I…could do some of that.” KJ said. She looked up at Amara, and the two looked at each other silently. At first, Amara wanted to look away, as KJ had this pathetic frown on her face that just looked dopey and mopey. But…there was also something so relatable in the pain on her face. There was no one else at the school, or anywhere really, that knew the specific hurt the two felt at losing Rain. Without thinking much about the why, Amara reached out to pat KJ’s head and scratch her ears.

“There, there…” Amara said, her voice cracking as her eyes welled up. “It’ll be OK…”

KJ’s eyes were filled with tears as well. Amara expected her to run off and be mopey some more, but what she did next surprised her. Mirroring Amara’s motions, she reached out to pat and scratch Amara’s head and ears. The comforting sensation of KJ’s hand on her broke some dams she’d been putting up. Amara’s scratches seemed to have the same effect, and for a while the two wordlessly cried while patting and scratching the other’s head. To anyone looking on, it may have seemed a bit silly, but Amara didn’t realize how much she’d needed it. When she finished, her hand rested on KJ’s cheek for just a second, wiping the last tear away.