Heavy hung the canopy of blue WHO: Yako and Shizuka because strikes are like Jedi mind-tricks to me WHAT: The challenge! WHERE: Harmony Beach RATING: PG-ish. Mentions of underage drinking.
The second thing Yako thought when she awoke to a mash-up of sound not unlike the unholy roar of the Inferno and a chorus of avenging angels was God, please, make it stop.
The first thing was not so much a coherent thought as it was a general mental whine of Graaahughnnn...
When the hellish cacophony kept going with no sign of reprieve, Yako screwed up her courage and cracked open her eyes, just barely getting a brief glance at something big a blue above her before letting out a silent sob of agony as light flooded in like a thousand needles. After a few whimpers that seemed to make the voice drop down, her wits began to return to her. Squinting up, she realized that the blue blur above was not the sky, as she had first assumed, but a baby blue beach umbrella. Things began to make a bit more sense after that.
With a great effort and a pounding head, Yako shifted up onto her elbows and squinted up at the figure crouched over her in the slow, pale and unforgiving light of morning. Their white dress caught the creeping tendrils of the dawning sun creeping up over the waterline behind them, and for a moment Yako was seriously convinced that an angel had found out about Neuro and Descended to kick her ass.
But then she caught sight of red hair and worried eyes and the soft, urgent whispers struck a chord within her memory. "...Sh'z'ka...?" she mumbled, her tongue oddly heavy and sticking against the roof of her mouth. "Wh...W'happ'n'd...?" Yako wasn't even going to attempt English as she was now, but even her Japanese was clumsy and disjointed.
Shizuka immediately let out a sigh of relief, dropping to her knees beside the small blonde and reaching out to smooth a hand over her short hair soothingly. "Hey, sweetie," she murmured. "I...I think you had a bit of a mix up yesterday when it got dark, or the guy with the cooler was too far gone to to watch out. Do you remember which drinks you were supposed to stick to?"
Yako struggled to remember anything, and managed to pull out the desired tidbit of information. "The...the ones with...green caps?" Luckily her motor skills seemed to be returning, but she stuck with Japanese to stay on the safe side.
Shizuka nodded and reached over the younger girl's shoulder, showing her what seemed to be an altogether average Sprite bottle...with a bright red cap. Curious, she sat up, nearly toppling over in the process as the blood rushed from her head. Shizuka steadied her, rubbing soothing circles between Yako's shoulder blades.
Once she was certain she wasn't going to topple, she screwed off the scarlet lid and took a whiff of whatever she had imbibed in last night. She nearly swooned back into her elder friend and quickly sealed it up again. Good God! She let out a shocked laugh, wincing at the spike of pain it elicited. It smelt like cleaning fluid laced with lime juice. How on Earth had she been able to down half the bottle without dying?
"Oh my Gooooood..." She moaned, in English, dropping her head back against Shizuka's shoulder. The redhead shook her head ruefully and pressed a gentle kiss to her throbbing temple.
"Poor baby," she whispered sympathetically. "You think you can stand up and walk?"
Yako thought about it for a moment, cuddling up to the comforting presence embracing her. "I'll try," she finally mumbled, and after an embarrassingly uncoordinated stretch of time they managed to get into a working joint stumble. Yako let out a small noise of displeasure as her equilibrium finally stabilized. "...m'head hurts."
Shizuka bit her lip and shot her an apologetic look. "I know. I'm sorry I lost you."
Yako glared at the charred remains of the large bonfire as the slowly lurched past. "...m'never going to a college party again. Or drinking."
Shizuka was quiet for a long stretch, before making a choking noise and dissolving into soft giggles. Yako was able to hold onto her poor, pain-driven humor for a moment before wavering and admitting defeat, joining in with sheepish laughter of her own.
"This...was a really bad idea," Shizuka ruled between snickers.
"The worst," Yako concurred.
Still laughing, they unsteadily made their way over the sand, the sun still sluggishly climbing behind them.