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spenceraverywrites · 10 years ago

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To Brave the Clouds - Howl’s Moving Castle AU - Tuyen/Ikki (Tuyikki)

A little piece inspired by sleepysenshi‘s really charming art of Tuyen and Ikki in the same pose as Sophie and Howl during the sky walking scene in the movie. It’s really cute, and features Ikki as the Witch of Seven Gales, rumored to be cruel and deadly, and Tuyen, a flower girl from the fictional Huāchéng.

Here’s to you, sleepysenshi. Thanks for great art to inspire some writing.

A gale whipped up, tugging at Tuyen’s skirts, wrapping them first about her calves, then winding them between her legs, until the hem was twisted up about itself, knotting at her knees. She held up an arm, trying to fend off the dust kicked up the avenue, eyes squinting as she joined the crowd rushing away.

She’d long since abandoned her flower basket, freshly picked blooms swept away in the wake of the wind, crushed underfoot by the shifting, growing masses. Sensible, she knew she could fetch more: would, if she made it through this.

It’s her! she heard a woman shout: she had her thick, broad hands on the backs of her two sons, urging them away from the fierce winds. Tuyen heard numerous voices join her, one word standing out: Feng.

Wind, Tuyen thought.

The trademark of the Witch of Seven Gales.

Tuyen found her footing and took off, stumbling and panting as she clawed her way through the crowd, trying to escape. She felt a second, then a third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh wind join in moments after, yanking at her until she was clawing at the cobbles, rounded nails trying to latch on as, all around her, chaos ripped citizens from the ground, tossing them about like dolls.

“No!” Tuyen grunt, trying to curl up on the ground, form herself into a ball. The winds focused on her now, rushing up the avenue until Tuyen was torn from the earth, pulled up high.

She shut her eyes and set to screaming as loud as she could, thrashing around, fists bashing empty space, legs trying in vain to untangle her skirts. If the witch was here, casting her mysterious spells and murmuring her arcane words, Tuyen’s limbs would find her and knock some sense into her.

“Oops, sorry!” Tuyen heard a voice cut through the white noise of the wind, soft and feminine, mischievous and kind. She opened a nut brown eye and peeked out, mouth forming a circle of surprise.

The witch wasn’t craggily or ancient or old as the grandmothers at market said. She was young, Tuyen’s age, cheeks flushed with color, light grey eyes the same color as the sky at the edges where it turn to horizon. Rather than the rags everyone said she wore, she had on a curious suit: a one-piece uniform with button snaps at the waist and shoulders, tucked into soft, grey boots. “Hello there. It appears that I’ve lost control of my abilities… again.” She chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.

“Who… are you?” Tuyen asked, still being tossed about. The girl looked so at ease, practically standing on the nothingness of the sky.

“My name is Ikki. Well, Tuulikki, but that’s too fancy.” She waved her hands and Tuyen was righted, hovering at eye level on the open air. “You’re Tuyen, right?”

Tuyen mutely shook her head in agreement. “How… how did you know?”

“The wind told me,” Ikki answered. Tuyen quirked an eyebrow, but Ikki waved her off. “Now, let’s get you down in style.” Tuyen blinked anxiously, ready for the drop of her stomach. “Odd question, but do you trust me?”

“Trust you?” Tuyen breathed. “We just met. Plus, you’re the Witch-”

“Yes, yes, The Witch of Seven Gales,” Ikki finished, rolling her eyes. “You and the rest of Huaxia are horrified of me. But that still begs the question do you trust me, at least, enough to get you down?”

Tuyen bit her lip, and thought for a moment, the answer coming quickly. “Yes.”

“Good. Now…your hand, madame?” Ikki asked, extending a soft palm. Tuyen carefully placed her hand in Ikki’s, fingers clutching hers as the wind shifted, dropping out from beneath her a bit. Ikki turned her around artfully, spinning her in the air so that her back was against Ikki’s, warmth between them. “Aaaand going up!”

They whirled up into the clouds, puffy masses shifting apart as the witch spiraled up, up, up in a lazy helix, twisting around until the entirety of the merchant ring was below, tiled roofs glinting like precious jewels. Tuyen found that her fear was fading into awe as she drank in the cityscape, land sprawling beneath her. She bit back a scream of excitement, only to hear Ikki cackling behind her, let out whoops and hollers as they twisted higher.

“This may seem a bit counterproductive, but… Well, I can’t help but show people how the world looks from up here. It’s gorgeous,” Ikki breathed, drinking it in. “Gets me every time.” Ikki nodded down. “Look.”

Tuyen saw the entirety of her home sprawl out beneath her, patchwork landscape pieced together in shades of greens and browns. she could see all the way to the small, rice village of Dàliàng, its paddies overflowing, and to the beginnings of Yue Lake, peeking through the Black Thicket.

“I…” Tuyen stopped, speechless, and nodded instead, heart thudding in her chest. She squeezed Ikki’s hands, trying to convey her feelings: elation, joy… freedom.

Tuyen wasn’t sure how long they stayed up high, but she mutely heard Ikki chanting behind her, and the wind changed, becoming more solid beneath her. “What are you doing?” Tuyen asked.

“Take a step,” Ikki replied.

“…Excuse me?” Tuyen said. “There’s nothing to step on.”

“Take a step,” Ikki said. Tuyen gulped and nodded, carefully stepping down. She felt something solid beneath her, invisible but there, and took another. “Another,” Ikki said, coaxing her with a squeeze of her hand.

They took steps down a spiraling staircase of wind, sky walking down until the city closed up, from its splendid sprawl, the cobbles turning from brown smudges to solid shapes, roof tiles more diluted up close. Yet the splendor of the city was not completely lost, and as Tuyen saw the ground coming closer and closer, the grasslands outside the city gone from her peripheral.

Thankfully, the streets were cleared, terrified citizens all back in the residential districts, storefronts shuttered for the remainder of the day. They settled back on the same avenue, silence embracing them. The ground felt heavy as Tuyen landed, right back next to her basket. Ikki bent over and placed the few salvageable blooms back in, passing it to Tuyen. “Well, I suppose I should go. I’m a bit notorious around here.”

“I’d say so,” Tuyen agreed, unable to not smile. In her heart, she was miles above still, untethered to the earth.

“However,” Ikki began, tugging a flower from the basket. She sniffed and smiled, eyes lighting up. “I’ll take this before I go.”

Tuyen though Ikki meant the flower pinched between her fingers, but she leaned forward and kissed Tuyen’s cheek, cool, brown lips brushing across Tuyen’s freckled face. Tuyen gasped, feeling something rise up in her, and smelt the salty scent of magic fill her nose. Ikki leaned back and waved, and with a sharp gale of wind, disappeared, leaving only fading sparks of sky blue sparks to fall at her feet.

#sleepysenshie #tuyen #ikki #tuyikki #femslash #romance #flluff

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