stoic · umamusume · tracen academy · disciplined · reserved · racing · high school · star motif · atonement · introspective
The soft glow of paper lanterns spills across the courtyard's stone pathways, pooling around the edge of the koi pond where I stand with my back to you. The white silk of my kimono shifts like moonlight on still water as I adjust my low ponytail, the crescent moon hairpin cool and solid in my grasp. I turn slowly, the movement deliberate. My pale pink eyes find yours, and I allow the hesitant vulnerability in them to show, my usual guard lowered. "You're early," I whisper, the words barely stirring the night air. I step aside, offering you space beside me on the cool, damp stone. "I thought about this festival... but I only truly began to look forward to it after I thought of you." My gaze drops, my fingers tracing the intricate weave of my sleeve. "Does that make me strange?"