[Kachi]: 373.High Fantasy.Hummingbird

I will freely admit this makes very little sense - it was based on a weird dream I had - but I do actually rather like it as a piece, even if it gives off the general aura of incompleteness. One day I might start again, or finish it, but... One day is far away.

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Hummingbird

  They spent a long time in the cluttered workshop. He couldn't really understand why she wanted a nose like that, but he couldn't deny her: a promise was a promise. And it was becoming quite companionable, in a way. Before, he'd had no one to work with on his projects, and although he would never admit it to her, he liked her enthusiastic company.
  They compared notes, and she drew a detailed diagram to point out quite which shape it was she wanted and how she wanted it set. He redrew it, surprising her with the accuracy and detail of his work. Although he looked the same age as her, he certainly knew far more than even she had expected. She found herself quite liking him as his abrasive nature became less so over the hours they spent together in there.
  They worked until the light started to fade and the room turned beautiful shades of sunset golden, reflecting off the whiteboard and the desk filled with notes and papers and leaving luminescent lines on the hard wooden floor as it filtered through the blinds. The weather may be cold outside, but in here it was warm with the heat of hard work and blooming friendship.
She bid him a goodbye as the sunset too started to fade, smiling and shaking his hand because she felt that a hug would somehow scare him and destroy this unusual companionship that had grown between them over the day. He assured her that what she wanted would take effect overnight, and tomorrow, there would be a definite difference. She was nervous about what they would say at her workplace, since she had left rather abruptly and without permission after receiving his call, but was sure that they wouldn't be too difficult about it. Smiling again, she thanked him and walked home through the thick white snow as a beautiful new layer began to fall.

The next day, as she looked in the mirror after she had awoken, she was happy. He had done as he promised and their hard work had manifested itself. Feeling overjoyed, Yukiki pulled on her warm, fur-lined coat and, happy beyond belief, almost skipped out of the door on the way to work.

The snow was beautiful. The astonishing thing about living in a climate was this was the beauty of the winters. Even bridges of ice were not uncommon around here, and were strong enough to walk on. They appeared overnight when no one could see their creators, vanished before they could become unstable. Around here, this was just one more winter miracle, and were taken for granted. Yukiki walked through the snow with her hood over her head to keep her ears warm and face covered - she wanted to surprise people, after all.
  A young voice calling her name made her look up from her thoughts. The child and mother she saw every day were standing on the pavement before her. The little girl was small and very lovely, always happy. She made Yukiki smile with her energy, like now as the brown-haired child ran towards her happily.
  "Yukiki! Isn't the snow beautiful today?"
  The older girl nodded. "It's a really nice day. Ohh, do you want to see something? You and your mummy would be the first people to see!" The child giggled and nodded, and Yukiki lowered her hood, showing, in place of her normal nose, a small and dainty dog's nose.
  While it looked strange, it certainly wasn't unattractive, and the little girl grinned happily. "It looks so cute on you!" Yukiki smiled in satisfaction.

  The child's mother smiled at her daughter and Yukiki. The girl was dog-mad, that much was true. A movement at the corner of her eye drew her attention away from the two girls, and she looked around in surprise. Sitting on an ice ledge that ran down the side of the pavement was a tall young man, wearing the same kind of fur-lined coat that Yukiki was wearing. On first glimpse, the woman wondered who he was. His stature bore a resemblance to the young man that anyone barely saw - the one that Yukiki no doubt went to when she decided she wished to have a new nose - but the boy in front of her was taller. He was also looking away to the side, and didn't seem to be paying her any attention. Approaching cautiously, she opened her mouth to say something when the boy simply turned and looked at her. It almost seemed as though his amber eyes were looking deep into her soul, and a vivid image suddenly came forth: a grey plaque with delicate filigree butterflies on that simply said one word. "Hummingbird."
  She gasped and backed away from the young man, her eyes wide. The sound made Yukiki look up in surprise. Her eyes travelled from the woman, to the young man. "...Kamau?" At this distance, she couldn't tell if it was the boy who had helped her yesterday or not. She moved towards him cautiously, then suddenly the man hood blew back in an unnatural wind and his eyes widened. He certainly looked like Kamau, but...not. He launched himself to his feet and pushed past Yukiki, heading towards the ice bridge a few meters up the road. Yukiki stumbled backwards and looked up at where he was going, only to be stunned to see a girl on top of the bridge. Unlike everyone else, she wasn't wearing a thick jacket to keep her warm - she was barely wearing anything. Her head was down, eyes in shadow, and her arms were out. Her long blonde hair billowed around her in a wind as natural as the one that had pushed the boy's hood back, and she looked rather dangerous. As the young man ran towards her, she looked up and raised her arms. The ice started to crack a little, and winds rose up around her, pulling up snow into a barrier in front of her assailant.