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... Let down your hair!

_______________________________________________

Gracie was honestly starting to get tired of coming to the fair repeatedly, especially after that embarrassment at the ticket wheel the other day. That wasn't even what was really getting to her, though. Mostly, it was that she came here and saw so many others hanging out with their friends. Besides that day she'd caught Keith while he was passing by, she'd spent the fair all alone.

It made her realize how lonely she was.

She didn't like the feeling, and she was actually about to leave the fair early when someone caught her eye, lounging in a tree a good distance away from the outer tents. The familiar silver flash of their eyes gave them away.

Excitement filled her as she trotted towards the auri in the tree, peering up at them with a grin on her face. It took them a moment, but they then looked back at her, and she could swear she saw surprise flash through their eyes. "Hi! It's me," she greeted with a chirp. "I've been learning to read sign language, like you asked me to, just in case I met you or anyone else like you who uses sign language to talk!"

Vanada stared at her for what felt like forever, and she was beginning to think she would never get a response. Then they blinked slowly and tilted their head. 'Didn't think you here.' Well, that's not exactly what they signed, but that was the most Gracie could glean from it with her new and limited knowledge. She guessed they were expressing the surprise she'd seen in their eyes.

"Of course I'm here, silly!" Gracie giggled in response to that, trying to be charming and lovely like all the pretty girls were, even going so far as to bat her eyelashes. "The fair is fun, and everyone's here! You're here, aren't you?"

Though they had no pupils, she could sense their eyes wandering from her to the tents in the distance, then back to her. 'Don't want.'

They didn't want to go to the fair? But why? Was it maybe... for the same reason as her? There were certainly no others around that they might be hanging out with.

"My name's Gracie," she blurted out, an idea spontaneously spawning in her mind. "I just realized I never told you that. What's yours?"

Now they just looked confused at the abrupt questioning, but they held up one ear-hand, spelling out their name letter by letter. 'V-A-N-A-D-A'

"Vah-nay-dah?" Gracie sounded out, then looked up at them quizzically, silently asking if she was right in her pronunciation. When they shook their head, she tried again. "Vay-nah-dah?" They let out a snorting sort of noise and shook their head again, signing something she couldn't yet understand. She thought a bit before speaking, then supplied a hopeful, "Vah-nah-dah?"

This time she could see the smile crinkle the corner of their eyes as they nodded. 'That's it.' They folded their arms as they looked down at her, shifting to perch more comfortable before signing once more, 'Why? What do you want?'

"Oh, um." Was she that transparent? She was taken aback for a moment, but tried not to let it phase her as she once again put on her most dazzling smile and placed her forepaws on the bark of the tree. "Vanada," she said carefully, looking up at them. She reached one paw farther up on the bark, leaning forward on her hind legs so she could almost reach them when they absentmindedly let their paw fall down from its place beneath them. "I was wondering if maybe you would want to come down from there and enjoy the fair with me?"

Their reaction was completely unexpected. She really didn't think they were going to just... bristle up like that, body rigid and their eyes quickly going blank and guarded. 'No.'

"Oh." She was again at a loss for words, her gaze falling to the purple and gold tents before wandering back to Vanada. "Why?"

'Don't want to,' Vanada signed with a huff from under their mask.

"... Will you at least come down and talk to me?" Gracie asked, her voice unexpectedly small as the words escaped her throat. "Not - talk. You don't even have to sign if you don't want to." Oh, this was not how she had wanted this to go at all. She was going to show off her perfectly princessly behavior to her new acquaintance and hopefully get them up to some kind of friend level. Instead she was inadvertently guilting them into coming down from their perch, where they looked very comfy, actually, and -

They landed gracefully on the ground beside her after hopping down, blinking slowly with concern in their gaze, just like the first time she'd met them. 'I can't go there,' they signed, nodding towards the fair, 'but I can be here.'

Gracie couldn't help the little giggle that escaped her, along with the tears trailing down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she said through her laughter, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. "It's just, I'm being so silly about this, but you're being the friendliest to me that anybody's really been... ever. Thank you."

Vanada once again looked floored, but they recovered more quickly this time. "Tell me about the fair," they said in their raspy voice, catching her off-guard again. "Maybe... tomorrow."

She immediately perked up at that. It wasn't a promise, but it was a maybe! And they were speaking to her!

They didn't talk much, mostly signing and spelling things out when she couldn't read certain words, but for the most part, she was the one that did the talking. She told them about all the things they could do at the fair, if they came with her, but then she started talking about other things, like the books or how she liked the sky when it looked just so as the sun was setting. By the end of the day, they were walking back to the Auribell together, and Gracie had never felt better.

1,011 words

ngl, i am really grateful for the fair because i've been very inspired for the plot between these guys! and also because it's gotten me to write a lot, lol. plot-driven characters wooo!

2 fullbodies + background + shading + story
49 tickets

19 / 223
art and characters
species

Description
... Let down your hair!

_______________________________________________

Gracie was honestly starting to get tired of coming to the fair repeatedly, especially after that embarrassment at the ticket wheel the other day. That wasn't even what was really getting to her, though. Mostly, it was that she came here and saw so many others hanging out with their friends. Besides that day she'd caught Keith while he was passing by, she'd spent the fair all alone.

It made her realize how lonely she was.

She didn't like the feeling, and she was actually about to leave the fair early when someone caught her eye, lounging in a tree a good distance away from the outer tents. The familiar silver flash of their eyes gave them away.

Excitement filled her as she trotted towards the auri in the tree, peering up at them with a grin on her face. It took them a moment, but they then looked back at her, and she could swear she saw surprise flash through their eyes. "Hi! It's me," she greeted with a chirp. "I've been learning to read sign language, like you asked me to, just in case I met you or anyone else like you who uses sign language to talk!"

Vanada stared at her for what felt like forever, and she was beginning to think she would never get a response. Then they blinked slowly and tilted their head. 'Didn't think you here.' Well, that's not exactly what they signed, but that was the most Gracie could glean from it with her new and limited knowledge. She guessed they were expressing the surprise she'd seen in their eyes.

"Of course I'm here, silly!" Gracie giggled in response to that, trying to be charming and lovely like all the pretty girls were, even going so far as to bat her eyelashes. "The fair is fun, and everyone's here! You're here, aren't you?"

Though they had no pupils, she could sense their eyes wandering from her to the tents in the distance, then back to her. 'Don't want.'

They didn't want to go to the fair? But why? Was it maybe... for the same reason as her? There were certainly no others around that they might be hanging out with.

"My name's Gracie," she blurted out, an idea spontaneously spawning in her mind. "I just realized I never told you that. What's yours?"

Now they just looked confused at the abrupt questioning, but they held up one ear-hand, spelling out their name letter by letter. 'V-A-N-A-D-A'

"Vah-nay-dah?" Gracie sounded out, then looked up at them quizzically, silently asking if she was right in her pronunciation. When they shook their head, she tried again. "Vay-nah-dah?" They let out a snorting sort of noise and shook their head again, signing something she couldn't yet understand. She thought a bit before speaking, then supplied a hopeful, "Vah-nah-dah?"

This time she could see the smile crinkle the corner of their eyes as they nodded. 'That's it.' They folded their arms as they looked down at her, shifting to perch more comfortable before signing once more, 'Why? What do you want?'

"Oh, um." Was she that transparent? She was taken aback for a moment, but tried not to let it phase her as she once again put on her most dazzling smile and placed her forepaws on the bark of the tree. "Vanada," she said carefully, looking up at them. She reached one paw farther up on the bark, leaning forward on her hind legs so she could almost reach them when they absentmindedly let their paw fall down from its place beneath them. "I was wondering if maybe you would want to come down from there and enjoy the fair with me?"

Their reaction was completely unexpected. She really didn't think they were going to just... bristle up like that, body rigid and their eyes quickly going blank and guarded. 'No.'

"Oh." She was again at a loss for words, her gaze falling to the purple and gold tents before wandering back to Vanada. "Why?"

'Don't want to,' Vanada signed with a huff from under their mask.

"... Will you at least come down and talk to me?" Gracie asked, her voice unexpectedly small as the words escaped her throat. "Not - talk. You don't even have to sign if you don't want to." Oh, this was not how she had wanted this to go at all. She was going to show off her perfectly princessly behavior to her new acquaintance and hopefully get them up to some kind of friend level. Instead she was inadvertently guilting them into coming down from their perch, where they looked very comfy, actually, and -

They landed gracefully on the ground beside her after hopping down, blinking slowly with concern in their gaze, just like the first time she'd met them. 'I can't go there,' they signed, nodding towards the fair, 'but I can be here.'

Gracie couldn't help the little giggle that escaped her, along with the tears trailing down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she said through her laughter, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. "It's just, I'm being so silly about this, but you're being the friendliest to me that anybody's really been... ever. Thank you."

Vanada once again looked floored, but they recovered more quickly this time. "Tell me about the fair," they said in their raspy voice, catching her off-guard again. "Maybe... tomorrow."

She immediately perked up at that. It wasn't a promise, but it was a maybe! And they were speaking to her!

They didn't talk much, mostly signing and spelling things out when she couldn't read certain words, but for the most part, she was the one that did the talking. She told them about all the things they could do at the fair, if they came with her, but then she started talking about other things, like the books or how she liked the sky when it looked just so as the sun was setting. By the end of the day, they were walking back to the Auribell together, and Gracie had never felt better.

1,011 words

ngl, i am really grateful for the fair because i've been very inspired for the plot between these guys! and also because it's gotten me to write a lot, lol. plot-driven characters wooo!

2 fullbodies + background + shading + story
49 tickets

19 / 223
art and characters
species