anahita's got a body like a waterfall, slipstreamed to glide smoothly through a crowd. warm azure eyes and straight cut black hair like a sheet of rain, a black mirror cut from glass. a head narrowing to a pointed chin, somewhat like a droplet.
the rose room she's chosen wafts its softened scent around her, even like butter spread on hot bread. faded pink coats the room like petal dust, a shade above flushed tones under humid skin. small paintings hang on the blushing wallpaper, of golden sunrises and sunsets bleeding so elegantly on onto the page that dying didn't seem so bad. a shallow basin of water filled with rose petals floating nonchalantly sits by the window, with a view over the garden pressed smooth behind the hotel.
anahita unlatches the window and leans with her forearms crossed and draped beyond the ledge, staring at the thick of green like paint daubed on hurriedly with a dirty paintbrush. it didn't rain often here.
she rubs her fingers in circles on the polished ledge, a slow reverberate like ripples drawn curtain-like across the glass of a pond. nothing happens in an instant. the skies above seemed to inch toward the black side of the spectrum, a gradual shading as the clouds pile on top of each other, crushing and jostling slowly together like woollen sheep. a pinprick of brackish blue appears in the centre, like an eye within a twister.
the blue broils and spreads across the grey, and floats directly above the smudge of dusty green. the rain drips thick and fast, like a citrus squeezed expertly into a glass. the ground swallows the water eagerly, the dust eradicated within seconds.
a sudden startled yell issues from the bushes below and terra emerges, drenched to the skin beneath the torrent of water. anahita laughs and leaps out the window, stepping down with the moisture from the air cushioning each step until she reached the damp ground.
terra! what are you doing here? anahita passes an open palm across her sister's face and draws out the excess water, where it collects in animated spheres at her fingertips. a small umbrella of air envelopes them, shielding them from the rain above.
none of your business, anahita! terra fumes and tries to brush out her damp curls with her fingers, tangling it further.
anahita frowns and attempts to dry terra's sundress, to no avail as the earth fae gives up on taming her hair and picks her way gracefully toward the hotel.
terra, i'm sorry, the bushes looked sick from my window-
are you the earth fae now too, ana? do you know when to water them now, too?
anahita gives up on reasoning with her, doesn't stop her when she pushes open the reception doors and soaks the rouge carpet until her footsteps could be made out in maroon prints.
she waits until she's sure she won't pass terra on her way up the stairs and cleans up the trail she's left behind, stepping carefully backwards up the stairs until she reaches the second landing.
with her free hand she tries the cream doorknob, pushes it back and forth until it rattles from the inside and hephaestus' disgruntled features suddenly appear behind the open door.
oh-! sorry, i thought this was my room. i must live one floor above.
yes, you must. hephaestus glares at her briefly before clicking the door shut and leaving anahita dazedly alone in the hallway.
