Closed Growing Together

[Celeste Arumen]

43rd Day of Summer, 509 AV

Celeste stood with her back to the dilapidated brick building, kicking at the dirt beneath her feet. She’d asked Kit to come and meet her, though now she was beginning to feel nervous. The little girl wore a plain black dress, tapered at the waist and her hair was bundled into two casual pigtails that hung past the front of her shoulders to middle of her waist. Her golden pair of earrings chimed softly as they were tickled by the breeze.

It was hard to define their relationship. They were friends, each both student and teacher, but what did that even mean? As far as she could remember, she never really had a friend in the conventional sense. Unless you counted Daisy, but she was a dog, so most would say she didn’t count. Not that the opinions of most mattered to her. In fact, the opinions of some didn’t even matter. The only opinions she considered relevant were Kit’s, Grams’ and Wrenmae’s.

The sound of footsteps stole away her dreaming. She glanced up to see the familiar face of Kit Rowan and she flashed her a grin, moving to brush some of the fallen moss from her back. ”Hallo,” she called out softly, shyly almost. What would they do, even? She couldn’t think of a single excuse to feed the other girl on just why she’d asked to meet in the first place.

”I’ve been practicing auristics,” she said casually. ”How’ve you been? I hope you’ve been taking care of yourself.” She sounded a little too concerned. Trying to play it off, she took hold of one of her pigtails and smoothed the hair nonchalantly. ”Not that I assume you hadn’t been.”

Oh blast it all.

x

[Kit Rowan]

It had been a while since anyone had asked Kit to meet them; especially long since anyone had asked to meet her as a peer. Kit recalled Rechail and her gang, Kit thought, by lethlight, stealing small things and moving through dark places as they skittered, nervous, through the quiet streets, years ago.

This wasn't the same; Syna was bright and clear in the air, the buildings around her shifting and sliding with color, begging for her attention as she moved. Kit's wore a blouse with sleeves that barely covered her shoulders, allowing release from the heat of the summer along with a pair of ankle-bearing trousers. She moved with the deliberate grace of a girl who was aware of her body's quirks like a card-counter knew a deck, honed and athletic regardless of her youth, her hair tucked in tail that brushed across the back of her neck as she walked.

Kit spun round a corner and found Celeste standing there. She drew an inverted triangle over her chest and thought thank you before smiling and raising her hand in a subdued wave. "Practicing carefully, I hope." There was levity there, but worry tugged downward at her smile. She still remembered Celeste when the younger girl pushed herself too far, and the memory made Kit uneasy still.

Kit grinned at Celeste's worry, reached behind her head and scratched at the back of neck. "Oh I've been taking great care of myself," she said, and wished she had a cleverer way to say it. She shifted from foot to foot, clenched her toes and wondered at her options. Kit found herself lost, like a ship without a rudder. Why were they here? What the intent, the purpose? "So, Cel . . . ." But Kit couldn't find a proper follow up.

[Celeste Arumen]

”Oh,” she replied sheepishly, suddenly recalling the overgiving incident. ”I am. Don’t worry about that. I just got a little carried away, is all.” A faint blush crept over her cheeks. She wanted so desperately to impress Kit. Worse still, the girl started a sentence, no doubt inquiring after the nature of their meeting. She couldn’t really think of what to say.

”I was thinking we might find something fun to do together,” she answered at last. Transparency was the best policy. The little girl was rubbish at lying to people she knew well, so it was better to just not lie at all. It was almost paradoxical; she made a living off dishonesty with strangers, but she couldn’t do the same when it came to a friend. ”I hadn’t seen you in awhile, so I wanted to see you again.” She smiled brightly, though it was a bit watery, given how nervous she was.

Cheeks aflame, she dropped her eyes to the dirt. ”What do you do for fun?” She asked softly. This was not going how she’d planned it, not that she really had planned it in the first place. Perhaps that was the great failing of it all. Next time, she’d actually have something set up for them to do, rather than just making it up as they went along.

”I know what I do,” she added, ”but I don’t think you’re quite ready for that much.” The girl shot her a mischievous grin, which helped alleviate her nerves. The thought of a dog and a fox running about town was almost comical. And of course, Kit would want to learn the shape of a fox.

x

[Kit Rowan]

Nodding, still smiling, it was something of a bittersweet relief to know that Celeste hadn't thought much beyond the meeting. They were on similar ground, at least. But that also meant they didn't actually have anything much to do.

Kit dared a glance over her shoulder, checking for unwelcome watchers or listeners. There were a few pedestrians that shared the street with them, but none seemed particularly interested in the antics of two little girls. "I guess that'd depend on what you meant." She brushed a strand of hair out of her eye, the corners of her mouth crawling a barest hint of a inch up. Kit's knowledge of Cel's habits included magic and playing cons on unsuspecting bystanders. She had some practice at the latter, at least. "But I'm not much a shapechanger."

What did Kit do for fun? She tapped a finger to her cheek and hmmed. "When I can snag the mizas for it, I'll slip in to watch something at the Playhouse." She held up a finger. "Try to find something interesting over the rooftops, explore." Second finger. "Relieve some rich sod and give it to a redhead in need." A smirk and another finger. "Or, or I might just slip into something colorful and tumble, see how big a crowd I can get." Four.

It wasn't until the ticks started to build up that, it occurred to Kit that maybe Celeste didn't know what she meant by tumbling. Kit gave Celeste an apologetic smile. She stood up straight as she could and reached for the sky . . . Then pushed her hips forward, reaching hands back, back, back.

She felt the tight warmth of a good stretch in her stomach as her hands touched the ground, her body an arch with hands at one end and feet the other, her belly pushed up. She brought her feet up in the air over her body, standing on her hands for a brief instant before her feet came down on the other side. Kit landed with a little bounce, the motion natural and smooth from beginning to end, with a grace born from a body long fashioned and shaped into the purpose. "You know, tumbling. A bit like that."

[Celeste Arumen]

The child listened in silence, trying to commit her preferences to memory. The Playhouse sounded fine, though she’d never really been there before. Never had a reason to go. Exploring on the rooftops, now there was something she’d yet to try. Doing it with Kit sounded doubly exciting. And of course, the proposition of robbery never went amiss when it came to Celie. She couldn’t help but smirk a little when she referred to the “redhead in need.”

Tumble? She looked somewhat confused. But Kit automatically moved to answer her question. Celeste gaped as she bent backward, hands over head, before walking herself upright once more. It was so graceful, so seamless. ”Wow!” She exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. ”You’re good. How do you do that?”

She’d known the girl was an acrobat, as it was mentioned in passing once or twice. But she had never seen her artform in the flesh. ”I’ve always wanted to learn how to be so flexible, but I wouldn’t know where to start.” Trying would only lead to embarrassment, she wagered. So instead, she tried to fall back on some of the other suggestions Kit had made.

”How about the rooftops?” She didn’t have any models for it, but it still sounded like a blast. ”We could go exploring the city that way, though you know how the buildings like to shift. If we’re careful, it should be fine.” Plus, the city and her were on decent terms. Celeste paid her respect to Alvadas and it did the same in kind.

”So what do you think?” Though if she were being honest, she could stand and watch the girl tumble without shame. It was mesmerizing. ”Sound good? It is the sort of thing you said you like to do.”

She tucked an errant strand of hair behind one ear, bouncing on her heels in excitement.

x

[Kit Rowan]

Cel's eyes were alive with wonder and admiration, and Kit felt her heart rising up. She propped a hand on her hips and smiled, preening under Celeste's praise. Her father had taught her magic, and that was what had served as the basis for their young friendship, but the city had taught her acrobatics. The appreciation in her friend's face mirrored what she saw in a crowd after she nailed a hard trick . . . It was enough to live for.

"I was always a bit of an urchin, getting into things and places I really ought not too." Kit told the story, skipping over Rechail and her gang . . . She hogged the memory of them, keeping her old companions secret in a passing nod to Akajia. "But I didn't really get it down until I trained under some performers. I did them little favors, carried things, worked for them, and they taught me things. How to work a crowd, how to juggle . . . But mostly, how to tumble."

"You gotta stretch out every day, so your body stays limber and flexible. Your body is stiff and hard to move around at first, but as you work it, it starts to learn that it can bend too." She grinned at Cel. "A bit like morphing, actually! Aaaand it's usually real hard for someone to learn properly unless they start young." She looked over the younger girl slyly. "Eleven, twelve, thirteen . . ."

"Running the roofs is a good start," Kit said, turning her eyes longingly toward the skyline. "And if there isn't a way around, we can find one." Kit spun around in place, her eyes focused. She stopped, turned toward a low-roofed building with a weathervane and grinned. Inviting Cel with a finger, she took off in a jog, pressed her back against the wall, knelt down and made a little holster for Cel's foot with her two hands. "Step in and I'll try to heave you up. Grab hold of the roof, and try to pull yourself up."