#at least not without a lot of convincing asdfg

[tvrningout-a]

making a complete 180 turn and thinking about chiyo having someone she can call at 2 am like " i can't sleep bc i've got writer's block driving me up the wall and this stinkin' chapter is due tomorrow -- do you wanna get ramen at the convenience store with me?? " and just late night escapades in general once the other person realizes chiyo is awake at ungodly hours bc she's a goblin who draws and writes whenever the inspiration hits. the intimacy of being very sleepy and tired but too stressed to actually sleep and going to someone for the comfort of company... honestly it really says something if you get to that point with chiyo :' )

[sleepyfoodtruck]

back in the day (part 3)

swear to GOD i'm gonna link the other 2 fics lmao asdfg i just keep forgetting!!!

part 1

part 2

i think this is gonna be the last part of their "meet cute" (lmao), i'm gonna try and start writing about the actual mod during the weekend and stuff.

The school year had gone by in a blur, which was rather odd. Usually, Snowhill felt like the days just dragged on and on, it was annoying but she'd liked the predictability of it all.

Wake up at 6 AM. Go to school. Stay in class until 3 PM. Go home. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

Sometimes they'd go on field trips, other times she'd volunteer to help with a school function (for a grade of course) or to stay a bit later to clean up the classroom. Her whole life had been like that and she'd liked it enough, sure it was a bit lonely at times, but everyone feels like that sometimes, right? Besides, it allowed her time to practice her spells and potion-making.

After Coral showed up, however, things took a rather harsh twist. Long gone were the days where she'd know exactly what would happen, her routine went through the window and splattered all over the pavement. No mercy from her "new bestie for life".

Wake up at 6 AM, call Coral so she'd wake up on time. Go to school and don't unpack anything yet, lest Coral crashes into the table again. Stay in class until 3 PM, skip a class or two with Coral if she's too bored. Go home? Absolutely not, Coral's hungry and she wants to beat the record for most french fries eaten in an hour; remember to carry a thermos with tea for her stomachache. Refuse to eat at home because you're full of french fries. Stay up until late talking with Coral through videochat. Sleep an hour or two. Repeat.

It...was a lot to get used to. She'd complain all the way about the numerous changes in her day because, honestly, how messed up is it that you gotta re-acommodate your whole day for only one person?

Truth was, she didn't mind it that much. It was a bit annoying at the beginning and it did take a while to get used to. Sometimes she'd forget to call Coral and, though her friend never got upset about it, she did feel awful and ended up apologizing a lot. Other times she'd be "too down in the dumps" (read: depressed) to even go to school. On those days, Coral would drop by her house around lunch time and hang out with her; sometimes she'd drag her outside, by the horns, just so she could "get some fresh air in your itty bitty lungs!!!".

She never had anyone take care of her like that. It was gross and disgusting and she didn't want it to stop. Her family was very supportive through it all, they'd come to accept her new friend with no issue. Or, rather than accept...

"That kid's way too skinny for her age!!" her mom, a centaur, huffed "Have you been giving her the lunches I've sent?"

"I have. She chows them down, last time she almosr swallowed the fork" Snowhill sat at the living room table, working on her History homework.

"Y'know how seamonsters are, they eat too much and gain almost no weight" her dad sat down next to her, petting her horns and getting to work on new spells "My coworker's like that, at least".

"I know that! But still, she makes me so nervous" she huffed again, her tail swishing in agitation "Oh! I know! Invite her over next week, I'll make casserole!"

"Moooooommm..."

"Don't you sass me! You gotta take care of her, she takes care of you!"

"We're classmates, she sits right next to me and she helps me with math, of course I gotta take care of her"

Her dad snorted, dropping his spell book "Oh sure, "classmates". You hear that? That's what they call it now?"

"What? But we're classmates!"

"Sure you are, dear" though she was facing the stove, Snowhill got the distinct impression her mother had that sardonic smile, the one she loathed, the one that said 'I know more than you about this but I refuse to tell you, however I will laugh at you by the time you find out'.

"B-But we are!!!!"

_______________________________________________________

We're just classmates. Nothing more, nothing less.

Snowhill kept repeating that same sentence over and over. On her way to school, during classes, at lunch sharing her portion with Coral and on the subway back home.

She was absolutely sure of this fact. More than that, she was sure their relationship (whatever it was) was not what her parents were implying. She'd had crushes before, even a boyfriend and a girlfriend (kinda?), and this didn't feel anything like those two instances.

We're just classmates. Nothing more, nothing less.

Could they even be considered friends? Coral seemed to put more effort into their hypothetical friendship. She'd sit with her, help her with math and, recently, forced her to socialize with the rest of the class. She hated that last part though, it wasn't a lie that being lonely was just more comfortable for her.

We're just classmates. Nothing more, nothing less.

"What'cha thinkin' about?" speak of the devil.

Snowhill looked up from her knitting. She'd taken it up recently, her aunt and grandmother finally decided she was ready and had begun to train her; craftmanship spells were an ancient art in her family, and it was her turn to carry on the tradition.

Shrugging, she untangled a bit more yarn and continued knitting, the scarf slowly taking form "Nothing. Just trying to not miss any stitches"

"OOOOHHH!!! What're you making? Is this yarn?! It's such a pretty color too!!!" Coral grabbed the ball of yarn, twisting it between her claws and admiring the lush green color.

"It's supossed to be a scarf, granny said this was the easiest thing to start with"

The undine nodded, not answering as she was still too entertained playing with the yarn, her pupils ridiculously expanded.

"What the fuck, she looks like a cat?" Snowhill stared, perplexed "Why is that cute".

"Say!!" Coral stood, a bit dizzing from doing so too fast "Wanna come over this weekend? I found a super rad abandoned ship, I think you'd like it!!"

"Uh..." shit, shit, shit. How to turn her down without seeming like an asshole "I...have...goat things to do. This weekend. In my house. M-My goat house".

What??

"Uh-huh" the undine crossed her arms, an amused smile on her face "your goat house?"

"Yup!!!! My goat house!!!!" she started knitting again, missing every single stitch.

"Where you do goat things. Because you're a goat?"

"Yup!!!!"

"Soooo...I'm sure you won't mind doing your goat things in the sea? Your mom said you'd be delighted!"

"...You arranged this with my mom..."

"Sure did!!! See you by the shore this Saturday, 12 PM sharp!!!"

Shit.

______________________________________________________

The week passed by in a blur and, before she knew, it was already Saturday. That meant...Snowhill was gonna come by today!!! They'd hang out and check out the spooky abandoned ship, maybe she'd finally convince her to give sea food a try!!! Then, she could finally get her hands on her hair and braid a bunch of shells and small rocks all over it AND her horns. It promised to be a very, very exciting weekend!!!

...That is, if she'd just get in the water already.

"C'mon Snowy!!! The water's great, you've been standing there for fifteen minutes!!" Coral was lounging on a rock, her tail making small waves as it swished back and forth.

"Don't call me that" Snowhill gripped her sweater, a very tense expression on her face "I, uh, can't swim".

"Yes you can!! Your mom showed me pictures of you guys on the beach. She can swim, and she's half horse! You'll manage"

"The ocean scares me?"

"I'll be with ya, I'm the most dangerous thing in this part of the sea!!"

"My fur's gonna get wet?"

"I'll help you dry it later. C'moooon!!!"

The goat bit her lip, twisting the bottom of her very rumpled sweater. Coral sighed, she really didn't wanna pressure her and she did seem really uncomfortable. But, her mom said it was fine? If there was an issue, she would've been told, right?

Eventually, Snowhill sighed and began taking off her sweater "...Fine. B-But don't laugh. And...and don't tell anyone, or I'll curse you".

Excited, the undine perked up. She finally managed to tug her sweater off her horns and dropped it on the hot sand, twisting her hands and nervously looking around. As expected, she was incredibly hairy; as a goat, it was only natural. Coral still couldn't help but stare though, it hadn't occurred to her that it might be a problem and she might feel self-conscious about it; it looked so soft! She must spend hours brushing it.

Taking another deep breath, Snowhill slowly treaded into the water. Coral propped up on her elbows, a confused frown on her face; her friend had said she was a goat, so why--

"Why do you have fins?!"

She startled, a loud "BAAA" escaping her before she covered her mouth. Her very small but clearly visible ear-fins also dropped, she was mortified and her yelling wasn't helping.

"Sorry!!"

"UGH. This is why I hate the ocean!!! My fur gets stiff and these stupid fins come out, and my tail hurts and--"

"YOU HAVE A TAIL?!" Coral dunked into the water, way too excited to completely process the full sentence.

Sure enough, there it was: an honest to god mermaid tail complete with very fragile-looking fins and scales. The tail was coated with a light layer of fur, she still had her goat legs somehow. In fact, it looked as if she had attached a mermaid tail to her waist. A bit weird, bu cool nontheless.

"This is SO COOL!!! I knew you weren't a goat, but I didn't think you were a seagoat!!!"

"Y-You knew?! Who told you?!"

"No one! But, c'mon gimme some credit here" Coral stopped swimming in circles, placing her hands on her hips and looking a bit annoyed "I've lived in the sea my whole life, I could smell it on you".

"...Oh..." to her credit, Snowhill seemed a bit embarrassed "S-Sorry"

"No biggie!" she grabbed her hand, still tiny and still fitting perfectly with her own "This'll make everything so much easier!! We just gotta swim for a bit, enjoy the view!"

At first, it went great! They went slowly for a bit, so that Snowhill could get used to actually swim in the ocean again. They passed by a few schools of fishes, collected pretty seashells and shiny rocks and even tried a few mollusks; despite claming they were "absolutely disgusting", Snowhill still ate them.

They'd been swimming for a good 30 minutes before Coral noticed something was wrong. She was babbling about the abandoned ship, how there were some doors that wouldn't open but could, most definetely, be broken if they rammed something against them. She was about to suggest using her friend's horns, turning around excitedly just to notice she was alone.

Well, not alone. But Snowhill was slowly skinking to the bottom of the ocean, very still and very much not breathing.

"SHIT!!! WHAT HAPPENED?!" Coral quickly swam to her, lifting her with ease and going back up to the surface as fas as she could "Please don't die on me!! Please, oh god, please don't die on me!!"

She reached the surface in record time, throwing Snowhill on the sand roughly. As she grabbed her shoulders to wake her up, she couldn't help but watch in fascination how the tail disappeared; it slowly faded away, merging with the back of her legs and further up her waist.

"Whoa...n-no, I gotta focus!!" once again, she began shaking her "C'mon sis, wake up! You can't die here, we still got a test on Monday!!"

But she wasn't waking up, she was too still. Touching her face, Coral noticed that her skin was cold; Snowhill ran like a furnace, her being cold couldn't be a good sign. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hands on the goat's chest.

"Please work, just focus and don't dehydrate her" she looked at her face one las time, then closed her eyes.

Everything was still for a moment. Then, focusing very hard on extracting the right amount of water, Coral lifted her hands. A small bubble began to form, its color murky; a bit of sand was also inside, as if the goat had managed to swallow it somehow. Very carefully, she dragged herself to the shore and dumped the bubble in the sea. Her tail hurt considerably (there were many rocks and they cut deep), but she crawled back to where Snowhill was.

A bit of color seemed to return to her face, though it was hard to tell since she was so pale. With shaky hands, she gently slapped her cheeks.

"S-Snowy? Can ya hear me?" nothing. She though for a moment, then leaned down and whispered in her ear "The teacher said the math test's gonna be on Monday"

"WHAT?!" the goat got up and promptyl smacked her horn on Coral's forehead.

"OW!!!!" "FUCK!!!!"

Coral rubbed the sore spot on her forehead, while Snowhill coughed up what little water was left in her lungs. Gingerly, the undine rubbed her friend's back, the coughing fit lasted forever and it sounded awful.

"Ya good?" still rubbing her back, she sat down propperly. Her tail was ridiculously sore.

"Y-Yeah, sorry" Snowhill's voice was raspy, she still seemed to be out of it, as she leaned into her friend's side as soon as she stopped coughing.

"Oh! Um, good! You give me quite a scare there" a bit flustered, Coral hugged her back "What happened? If you don't mind me asking"

"..."

She didn't say anything at first, staring off into the ocean and breathing a bit too loudly. The undine took a deep breath and hugged her a bit tighter, she was so tiny and she was shaking and it was her fault and--

"I should've told you before, that's on me" she spoke slow and ver low "Yeah, I'm a seagoat. But I haven't been to the ocean in years"

"You don't like it?"

"Uh, it's not that. My fins are too small and my gills are under my fur. I'm not supossed to be underwater for more than 20 minutes" she paused, took several deep breaths and then continued "Used to be about...6 hours, but I moved to the city and there wasn't much time to come back to the ocean. I guess my body forgot it can breath underwater"

"I'm really sorry" giving into temptation, Coral rested her head right between her horns "It was a bit obvious, you were kinda anxious. I shouldn't have pushed ya"

"It's whatever. For what it's worth, I had fun"

"You did? But we didn't even get to see the ship!"

"Well, yeah. I mean, drowning sucked but-" Snowhill sat up a bit, almost snuggling into her "I missed the sea. We'll find a way around, maybe an air bubble will work better next time"

Next time? She was planning for a next time? Coral bit her lip in giddy excitement, trying her hardest to keep still. They watched the ocean for another minute, both shivering as a cold breeze blew past them.

"I'm guessing it's late enough, I should get going" reluctantly, the goat stood up and (slowly) walked towards her discarded sweater "Ugh, gross, its covered in sand"

"Wish you could stay over but, uh, I don't think it's a good idea" she brushed a bit of sand off her tail, hissing when some of it got into her injuries.

"What the fu-- you're hurt? Why didn't you tell me?" Snowhill walked over and dropped to her knees, placing her hands on her tail "Don't move"

"You don't gotta--"

"I'm not dumb, you must've done something to get the water out of me" the cuts and scrapes glowed green before closing themselves "It's only fair I help you out, too"

"Awww, bestie, you didn't need to do that!!"

"...It's...it's what friends are for"

_____________________________________________________

We're not just classmates.

Fuck.