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Kicking the same can for the fourth time did nothing to quell Narita Taishin’s irritation as she walked back toward the dorms under the cover of darkness. “Why are my times slower,” she muttered. She had been pushing herself hard, maybe too hard, to keep up with Winning Ticket’s times from the day before and she just…couldn’t, and it irritated her to no end.
As she approached the dorm, she looked up, the lights in her room were still on, which meant Creek was still awake. She always stayed up when Taishin stayed out to, or in some cases past, Curfew. She really didn’t want to deal with Creek right now, she didn’t want to be coddled, but considering her options were;
A: Trying to crash on the floor of Ticket and Jordan’s room (Not happening, Do not want to be around Ticket right now).
B: Trying to crash on the floor of Hayahide and Opera’s room, (More likely, not worth it).
C: Flopping down on the couch in the common room and hoping Creek fell asleep before Fuji went around and made her go back to her room anyway (not worth the hassle).
All the same she lingered in the common room for a just a little bit, hoping maybe Creek would get tired and fall asleep.
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“Taishin!”
Nope, she didn’t. Taishin sighed as she closed the door behind her, Creek was sitting in bed with a book in her baby blue nightgown that hid her figure quite well. “I was getting worried about you Taishin.”
“Yeah yeah, I’m gonna go shower,” Taishin muttered, grabbing a towel and beating feet back out of the room.
As the relaxing warmth washed away the sweat and grime, Taishin’s mind wandered. Deep down, she didn’t mind Creek’s coddling, at least some of it. Introverted she might be with as small a circle of friends as she had, it wasn’t awful, and Creek at least had more tact than Hayahide did about her petite stature and eating habits. Her mind shifted back to her lackluster training session and she started fuming again. Why couldn’t she get faster, she had beaten Ticket before, why couldn’t she now?
Returning to the room, she hoped again that Creek might be asleep this time. She saw I wasn’t attacked by like an axe murderer or something, she’ll be asleep now.
But she wasn’t, in fact she was less in bed than twenty minutes ago, she was sitting on the edge of her bed.
“Are you okay, Taishin?”
No Creek, I’m pissed off. Taishin thought. “I’m fine,” she actually said.
Taishin pulled herself into bed which was Creek’s own invitation to start hovering. “Are you sure you’re okay? I can get you some warm milk, it’ll help you sleep, maybe you need your calves massaged with that special ointment again-“
“I said I’m fine, Creek!” Taishin snapped. Creek, used to the outbursts and Taishin eventually giving in, kept going.
“Oh no dear that’s not true is it, come on, let me just grab that ointment.”
“Creek! Leave me alone!” Taishin shoved the taller uma backward, out of her space. She hadn’t meant to shove her so hard, but irritation fueled her. Creek flopped backward, her foot catching on the flowing bottom of her nightgown and causing her to loose her balance. Creek fell on her butt with an audible thump, it didn’t hurt near as much as the look of Taishin staring daggers at her before rolling over to face the wall. Creek couldn’t find the words, her ears falling flat against the top of her head.
“Everything alright in there?” A voice said, opening the door. It was Fuji, who looked between the sulking Taishin and the stunned Creek and felt utterly confused. “Are my darling ponies having a fight? We can have one of you in a spare room if you want a night alone.” Taishin was about to accept but Creek spoke up first. “Yes, I’d be okay with that, Fuji-san, let me grab my things.”
Fuji was surprised too, but said nothing as she watched Creek grab what she needed before escorting her to one of the spare rooms on the first floor.
Taishin couldn’t sleep after Creek had left, she felt awful. The look Creek had given her as she sat on the floor kept playing back in her mind. “You just had to hurt the one who only wanted to care, didn’t you” it kept saying to her as she tossed and turned. “Damnit,” Taishin groaned. “I’ll just…talk to her at lunch.” She said to herself.
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Taishin skipped her usual spot with Hayahide and Ticket to look for Creek at lunch. Usually she would find her pampering somebody, but when she finally did spot the taller Umamusume, she was sitting alone, an uneaten plate of food in front of her. Taishin slid into a seat opposite. To the average Umamusume who knew Creek's reputation, she probably looked fine, but to Taishin as she sat down, something was off. The smile was there, but it seemed forced.
“I uh…hey, Creek.” It took her a second to register Taishin was even there. “Oh, hello Taishin,” she replied in a monotone voice Taishin had never heard before. “I’m…” Taishin began. “I’m really sorry about last night, I just…I was irritated, and I…I took it out on you, I shouldn’t have and-“
“Its okay Taishin.” Creek cut her off. “I forgive you.”
Taishin didn’t feel so sure with the monotone voice and painted smile Creek gave her. “Oh, I need to meet with my trainer, I will see you later Taishin,” Creek said abruptly, taking her still full plate and leaving.
“Taishiiiiin!” It was Ticket. “Why are you all by yourself!”
“Not so loud! I’m coming!”
Taishin joined the rest of BNW, but remained quiet as Ticket excitedly shoved the day's lunch into her mouth while trying to talk. "Ticket, chew first." Hayahide chided gently. She was multitasking going over some notes and nibbling at her own food.
"Are you alright, Taishin?" she asked, looking up from them. "Yeah," Taishin replied with a lack of interest. "I see," Hayahide replied, before returning to her notes. She had noticed the earlier interaction between her and Creek, and decided to keep her nose out of it.
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The late afternoon light draped over Tracen as it did in the summers, Taishin was sitting in the bleachers taking a breather after doing some partner runs with Hayahide. She was just standing up to head back down for another lap when another shadow joined her own.
“Oi, Taishin.”
She turned around, it was Tamamo Cross, she looked off. “The ‘ell you did to Creek?” she asked bluntly. “What?”
“Somethin’s wrong with Creek, I know you seen it. She’s not…” Tamamo looked around. “She ain’t doin’ the coddlin’ thing. Not even ta’ Oguri!”
It hit Taishin like a bus. “Nothing?”
“Nothin’” Tamamo confirmed. “Wha happened”
Taishin sighed, before relaying to Tamamo what had gone down the night before.
“Geez Taishin, I get annoyed with ‘er but I wouldn’ shove ‘er like that.”
“I know, I feel awful but-“
“At the same time,” Tamamo cut her off. “Creek gettin’ affected by just that is also ‘bit odd. Maybe ya should talk to ‘er tonight.”
Taishin nodded. “I will.”
“Please do, I know she’s a bi’ much but…its wuh makes ‘er Creek, ya’know?” Tamamo rubbed her temples. "Aaaagh! I'm just worried."
"So am I, i'll talk to her."
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Taishin returned to her room at a regular time for once, Creek had returned and was reading a book as she had been the night before. “Taishin,” she said flatly.
“Creek…” Taishin took a deep breath, and sat on the edge of her bed.
“What’s wrong, Creek.”
Creek put her book down and looked at Taishin, it was the first time she had smiled all day, but it was a sad smile, one not befitting of Creek. “When you…did what you did last night, Taishin, I realized maybe I am too cuddly, maybe I coddle too much, Tamtam-er, Tamamo doesn’t like it, Inari doesn’t like it, you don’t like it, I should respect that, you aren't children after all."
“Creek-“
“Its okay Taishin, I won’t coddle you anymore,” Taishin could physically hear Creek’s voice cracking as she held back tears. She wanted to pull Creek into a hug, to apologize, hell she’d probably start crying too, but…she couldn’t. She was too stubborn and not bold enough, so she got into her bed and faced away, feeling somehow worse than the night before.
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“Shit,” Tamamo said the next day at lunch. “She said dat?” Taishin nodded. “I don’t think she’s fully committed to it though, I mean…its Creek. She needs to coddle like Ticket needs to cry about every damn thing."
“We gotta force ‘er to coddle someone then,” Tamamo began.
Taishin looked across the cafeteria, noticing Oguri messily tucking into a pile of food bigger than her head. “So we get Oguri to do something.”
“Naw, ‘as to be you, me or Inari,” Tamamo replied. “Oguri is Oguri she never minded Creek bein’ Creek.”
The two shared an awkward look at eachother. It had to be one of them.
“I ain’t wearin’ a kindergartner uniform,” Tamamo declared. “I ain’t goin’ to be that kinda bait.”
“Agreed…Hmm.” Taishin wracked her brain. “One of us could get hurt near her, she’s always got gear for that doesn’t she.”
“Yeah but gettin’ hurt on purpose-“
“Just scrape a knee or something? What if we hurt her trainer?”
Tamamo’s eyes went wide. “Naw we’re trying to get her back ta’ normal Taishin, not more pissed off.”
Taishin didn’t ask.
"Les' regroup after trainin'." Tamamo said, standing and stretching. "See if I can get Inari in on this, doubt she'll have a better idea but-"
"Alright, wanna meet at that Ramen place in the shopping district?"
"The Ramen Place?"
"Aaagh! Oguri! Don't sneak up on people like that!"
"Sorry, I heard Ramen place."
Taishin couldn't help but chuckle as Tamamo berated Oguri while the latter stared at Tamamo like she was speaking a foreign language. "Fine, you can come too."
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As it turned out, the two needn’t have planned.
Creek for her part was diverting her lack of coddling onto running and running hard. She still felt awful, but no matter how awful she felt, she still wanted to coddle. The heavens opened up as she continued her laps but she didn’t care.
Taishin and Tamamo found her running as both of them headed down to do their own, the heavy rain wasn’t a deterrent for them but the track conditions were getting worse.
The two took off, deciding on a partner run. Creek was about half a lap behind them, and she kept it that way, she didn’t want to be in their space, however if she’d been closer she might have seen how events would transpire.
Taishin says Tamamo slammed into her, while Tamamo says Taishin lost her footing and knocked off her balance, either way the two pint size powerhouses had a mild collision coming into the backstraight when one of the two found an especially muddy spot on the track. Taishin was knocked toward the inner railing which she was able to catch but not without cutting her hand, and Tamamo spun off toward the center of the track, scraping her knee.
Creek rounded the same corner and came upon this chaos, and for all of five seconds ignored it, before sliding to a stop and running toward Taishin. “Are you okay Taishin? Oh my goodness your hand.” She ran to the side to grab her little daycare bag and pulled out antiseptic, but hesitated to do anything. “Creek,” Taishin smiled, “Its okay. I’m sorry. You can be…you, please.”
Creek immediately set to work helping both smaller umas, up to the point of giving Taishin her jacket and carrying Tamamo inside the locker room out of the rain.
“Creek, I’m sorry I pushed you away,” Taishin said as the trio sat in the warmth. “But you not doing…this, it’s weird.”
“No truly, I’m sorry. I realize now sometimes I am a bit too…clingy.”
“Creek ‘is fine just…double check first, yeah?” Tamamo added.
“I will…I just…I really care about my friends…”
“we know, Creek.” Taishin and Tamamo chuckled, Creek couldn’t help but laugh too.
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“Taishin?” Creek asked, she was being weirdly timid
“Yeah? What’s up?”
The two were walking up the hall to their dorm after the days events
“If you’re…pouty and upset could I…hug you? It might help.”
“Creek I-“ Taishin was about to argue, but she couldn’t find the words to after the last few days. “Yes, but if I tell you to stop-“
The second the two entered their room, Creek pulled Taishin into the biggest bear hug, one that would rival the kind of hugs Ticket would surprise Taishin with, but those never felt as warm and comforting as this. She went rigid at first but the sheer comfort of being in Creek’s caring embrace disarmed her. “Thank you, Creek.”
“Thank you, Taishin.” Creek whispered back.