(no subject)

[marineflower.livejournal.com]

[ So, here is Umi, hair pulled back in a braid, dressed in a black leotard, pink tights, legwarmers and toe shoes, stretching her muscles out on the barre in front of a mirror. She's working on her plies and her arabesques, silently counting the steps in her mind as she goes through her warm up routine. Arms out, then in, up and then down, sort of lost in her own little world.

When she's satisfied, she nods to herself, and seemingly out of nowhere, music begins to play, and Umi waits patiently for her cue.

And then she begins to dance. Her movements flow like the water she commands, eyes closed and face blank in concentration. She's trying to remember the movements and choreography, the leaps and twirls, and by the time she's finished, she's sweating a little.

She still hasn't noticed you standing there, by the way. ]

Comments

because pgsm ballet-fu needs recognition. :D

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Her hair is short already, and blue like Umi's. Her leotard is simple and black, rown with a classical tutu of stiff black tulle. She is Umi's perfect partner: graceful and flowing as the water just like the other girl, and she performs the moves effortlessly: turns, spins, leaps. That isn't the strange part.

The strange part is that her leaps turn into kicks. Her flips end with punches. Her plies look like ducking a blow. A pretty twirl closes with an elbow strike. Each move closes with something aggressive, or a quick evasive motion. They are no less graceful, but they certainly aren't part of the choreography.

When Mercury finally comes to a stop, she, too, seems to have exerted herself; but they seem to be practicing two very different things.

[marineflower.livejournal.com]

Umi lets out a breath, and opens her eyes, dropping from her toes to her feet, and blinks wide at the girl suddenly standing next to her. She hadn't seen the display, hadn't even realized someone else was there but she smiles all the same, trotting over to a nearby bag and pulling out two bottles of water.

"It's really a workout, huh?" She asked, offering one of the bottles.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

It's probably for the best that Umi didn't see it. Mercury gives the water bottle a quick glance before accepting it. She takes a long drink, and a few drops trickle down the side.

"It's worth it," she says frankly. "I don't intend to neglect keeping my body in shape." Those words wouldn't have come from her a few years ago, when a fondness for swimming had been enough; but now, she wants the strength to be the soldier she's being shaped to become.

[marineflower.livejournal.com]

Umi takes a drink as well, and moves to sit, pulling on a sweater. The music is still going, softer this time, and still pieces from the Nutcracker Suite. She flips her braid out of the collar, and scoots over, motioning for Ami to sit.

"I'm the same way. A healthy body has a healthy mind, right?"

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

"The two are believed to be connected." She takes the offered seat, after another hasty sip of water (a good workout, measured in water consumption afterward).

"Ryuuzaki Umi, right? We've met briefly before." In dreams, Ami and Mercury blend together so much more. After all, she is both; it's in waking that she uses one to escape from the other she feels less comfortable within.

[marineflower.livejournal.com]

Crossing her legs, Umi pulled out a small bag of snacks. Pretzels, just something light weight. She'd eat heavier when she got home, but for now, during practice, better to not fill herself up too much. She sets the bag in between them, and nods. "That's right! And you're Ami, right?"

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

There's just a second's pause before she nods, deciding not to make an issue of the informality with someone so similar to herself.

"Mizuno Ami." Even their names were similar; even their names were water-related. She almost wondered if this was some alternate self that simply had a very different life. (Though Umi's affluent background, aside from her parents still being married, was also similar.)

She ignores the pretzels, for the time being, busying herself with adjusting her dance clothes.

"Are you reviewing the dance again," she finally asks, "Or moving to the next?"

[marineflower.livejournal.com]

"I've only got the one part, so I'll be going over some of the things I messed up," she replied, taking a drink of the water. "I didn't know you danced, too!"

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

"There's a lot we don't about each other," she answers evenly. She does not admit to intimacy easily.

"But I remember the bakery, too. And you have powers using the water."

[thatoldthatkind.livejournal.com]

[ Oh, don't mind him then. Just watching the performance. ]

[marineflower.livejournal.com]

[ She takes a deep breath, and glances up, notably surprised when she sees him standing there. ] Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there.

[thatoldthatkind.livejournal.com]

Nah, it's alright. Most people don't even see me standing there when the TARDIS is flying straight at them. [ How do they miss a flying police box? ]