008 → It's only different seasons

[wrigurun]

Characters: Wriggle Nightbug, Open
Setting: Floor 35 (summer), Lift (winter)
Format: Action tags, tags will follow original taggers style
Summary: The summer was fun, winter was not
Warnings: Potential character death

Floor 35
[Maybe it was the mist, or maybe it was the winter, or maybe it was the knowledge that no matter what the tower would probably get the better of her weighing down on her shoulders. Whatever the reason, once thing that was certain is that Wriggle had been miserable for a long time, much longer than usual for her and her normally curious and aggressive disposition had been significantly subdued for the past month.

The rain didn't mean much to her, she had nothing that wouldn't be fine after being dried out. The heat she'd been able to stave off by staying in the shadier areas of the tower and moving as little as possible. However as the humidity started to rise she felt a sort of nostalgia, a longing for the carefree days of Gensokyo. She could have easily become more depressed at the thought but she was tired of sulking. Even though this place could be a nightmare at times there was nothing stopping her from experiencing the same joys she did at home.

The fact that she'd almost forgotten it meant that she had to work even harder to preserve that memory.

As dusk starts to fall Wriggle wanders down to the lake with a large jar of fireflies collected from the forty-first floor. She can't control them here and she can't fly but right now there's no place she'd rather be and she's sure they'd enjoy it more too. She unscrews the lid and releases them into the floor. Even if she can't control them they seem to float around her as she skips and dances and sings in a slightly off key, basking in the memories of summers past]

Pandora, Pandora, Pandora's box was cat coloured ♪
Pandora, Pandora, Pandora's box, was it black or white? ♫

Lift
[After the summer autumn had actually been fun but everything took a sudden nosedive the moment winter rolled around. She'd had a hard enough time getting by during the tower's actual winter but this was on a whole other level. Wriggle had stolen all the sheets that werne't in use from her dorm room and cocooned herself up in them but even that wasn't enough to keep the harsh chill out. There was nowhere to keep safe and Wriggle didn't know if she should stay in the dorms or try and find somewhere else.

Eventually she manages to get off the bed but struggles to keep herself afloat, even her legs feel too frozen to move. She wills herself forward and into the lift, hoping it might take her to warmer weather. Who thought moving around could be so exhausting? Wriggle bundles herself into the corner and closes her eyes just to rest a little while, content with riding the lift to wherever until she's ready to move again.

Although if someone doesn't wake her and help her get warm soon she'll surely perish]

Comments

[wrigurun]

Wriggle had started to drift off to sleep when she felt something heavy placed on top of her. She could have sworn someone called her name but she couldn't be sure. Opening her eyes she thought she saw the figure of someone over her but blinking a few times they were gone. With the addition for a few new layers she was about to settle down again when she felt something warm curl up besides her.

A strange creature she'd never seen before, but she almost instinctively draped her arms over it's body.
"Hey, what's your name...?" she murmured, her voice weak. Even breathing was becoming a chore with her chest frozen like that. Hopefully it would thaw soon.

[notagiraffe]

"It's me, Taiki." He murmured, using his nose to pull her further into him, hoping he was enough to keep her warm.

[wrigurun]

"Taiki..." Did she know a Taiki? It seemed vaguely familiar but it didn't ring enough of a bell. "I don't know that person..." Wriggle mumbled, letting herself get pulled along. With a satisfied sigh she nuzzled into his coat, losing the battle to stay awake.

[notagiraffe]

Sadly enough the fact that she couldn't remember him didn't surprise or upset him, he just lent over her trying to keep her warm.

"Stay awake Wriggle, don't sleep... sorry... but you can't..."

[wrigurun]

She would have gladly complied if her eyelids weren't so heavy. Besides, if she went to sleep that meant she'd have to spend less time dealing with the cold.

"I'm tired though..." she mumbled with a slight yawn "Just a few minutes..."

[notagiraffe]

"No... Sorry..." He nudged her with his nose. "You can't... sorry..." He had to get her out of the snow...

He nudged her again. "Can you get onto my back?"

[wrigurun]

Wriggle doesn't seem to be listening. Even when he nudges her she barely reacts beyond a small murmur and a twitch. It might be cold but it's comfortable and it's just easier to switch off.

[notagiraffe]

"Wriggle..." He nudged her with his nose again, scared and not sure how he was going to move her or save her. "Wriggle..." He reached down to grip her shirt with his teeth, but a moment later there were ghostly arms wrapped around her, lifting her onto his back.

Taiki blinked. "Sanshi..." The hands just stroked his head and disappeared. He stood up, slowly as not to knock wriggle off. "I'm... sorry I'm taking you somewhere safe..."

[wrigurun]

The shift onto his back seemed to be enough to jostle her awake. She gave another yawn and made herself comfortable. Despite only being vaguely aware of her surroundings she seemed to take in what was being said.
"Where are we going?" she mumbled.

[notagiraffe]

"I don't know... sorry..." Taiki didn't stop walking, "I'm going to find someplace warmer..."

[wrigurun]

"That sounds nice..." Wriggle murmured with a small smile on her face. She was drifting in and out of consciousness but the movement of Taiki seemed to keep her from falling under completely.

[notagiraffe]

He just hoped she was warm enough up there. He thought about where to go, everywhere was covered in snow... In the end he headed towards his room, at least there were blankets there.

[wrigurun]

It seems like Wriggle had gotten a little too comfortable on the ride over. She was fast asleep, still breathing, but slowly. If she wasn't warmed up soon her condition would get quite dire.

[notagiraffe]

He put her on his bed for the time being, turning back into a human, grabbing his tunic and putting it on. He was instantly colder but the most important thing was Wriggle. He looked around and then knelt in the snow, digging a hole in the snow that had piled up next to the bed. He grabbed Wriggle and his blankets and pulled her under the bed. There was no snow here, no snow falling on them and the snow piled around the bed made a good shelter from the blizzard. He wrapped his now human arms round her.

[wrigurun]

The space had become smaller, she could sense that much. Forcing her eyes open she saw Taiki, now human again but he didn't look particularly warm either. With what little energy she had she struggled around in the sheets a little until she got enough free that she could throw the excess around the other boy.
"Where are we?" Wriggle mumbled, still hazy from sleep.

[notagiraffe]

"Sorry..." Taiki snuggled closer to her, feeling bad he was taking some of the blanket, but so cold that he couldn't bring himself to give it back.

"Under my bed... there's no wind..."

[wrigurun]

She gives a small hum in response and closes her eyes again. Without the wind it was certainly a lot less intense.
"Thank-you," she murmurs in response, slowly drifting off the sleep again.

[notagiraffe]

He holds her tighter, hoping that here under the bed out of the wind she will be warm enough to sleep safely. He would stay awake though, to make sure her condition didn't deteriorate further.