log ; closed ; partially complete

[stargathering]

When; 25 December, daytime
Rating; Nothing questionable in here~
Characters; Tyr & Katara
Summary; Enjoying the nice weather on the beach
Log;

Yesterday was warm, but today was warmer.  Before he could even be woken up by the smell of Gremio's cooking, the sun shining in his eyes from a part in the curtains and the suffocating warmth of his blankets did it first. After weeks of deep snow and bitter cold, this sudden summer was strange and felt hotter than it normally would.

Not that Tyr minded, beyond having to dig out a sleeveless shirt to wear beneath his cloak. And the cloak was only necessary with Gremio here; everyone else Tyr cared about wouldn't be surprised by the scar on his arm. And, after all, Katara regrettably knew it well enough.

But that wasn't what he wanted to focus on. With the sun high in the sky, Tyr headed to the beach to meet with her with a red paper bag in hand. He might not have cared about the day beyond it being a nice, sunny day, but it worked as an excuse to pay back the "gift" Katara had given him a few weeks earlier.

The dirt changed to sand as he arrived to the beach and began to aimlessly wander to try to find Katara.

If there was one thing she never really liked about the City, it was their disturbing taste in weather. One moment it was okay and then they'd flood the whole area next. And now, upon waking up because of the surprising glare of the sun through her slightly parted curtains, Katara was feeling this same sort of distaste. This irritation didn't last, however, when she realized just what day this was.

She had already prepared what she wanted to wear today, but since the weather dictated some other plans for her, she went to grab one of her light blue sundresses. Perfect for the occasion and the weather, she mused. While combing her long tresses in front of her bedside mirror, Katara smiled. This was the day she promised to meet Tyr by the beach. Today was Christmas, that holiday where people get together and exchange gifts and be merry. Glancing at the bright sunny day through her window, Katara should have guessed by the way snow was melting yesterday that today would be different.

Were all Christmas days like this?

The question ceased to matter when she went to seize her present for the young man in a hurry. Tyr might already be waiting for her there. After all that snow, she had never thought she could see the beach like this in such short notice.

And without any snow to wade through or any ice to watch out for, it wasn't a hassle to get to the beach. It was strange to see what the beach had become, though: It was like mid-summer all over again. There were people playing games, swimming, having picnics - they wouldn't be alone, but the City didn't normally let people be completely alone. Tyr learned that a long time ago.

It was a bit surprising to him, though, that among the crowd of people, he actually could spot Katara rushing onto the beach. When was the last time he saw that dress? ...for that matter,why did he remember that dress at all? But that didn't matter. Spotting her, he waved his free hand to call to her with an easygoing smile. "Katara! Over here!"

Among the throngs of people apparently enjoying the warmth of sun that long since hid itself when the month began, Katara could easily spot Tyr. His bandanna might have given him away, but Katara knew it was more than that. His presence was unmistakable and her smile widened at the fact that she hasn't chanced upon that sleeveless shirt yet. Did spending time with Tyr almost everyday make her memorize his entire wardrobe to actually tell whether he had worn this shirt or not? Katara didn't know and for the record, she might have already known the answer to this long before.

Mirroring his smile with a warmer one, Katara ran to where he was, excited to see him. Which was strange considering the fact that they just saw each other a few days ago. When she was in front of him, she couldn't help but subtly hide her present behind her. "Hey, Tyr! It's good to see you again!" It always was.

Unlike Tyr, who continued to let the bag for her hang from his wrist. "You, too."

And that was all Tyr could stand in the way of pleasantries. "Come on, let's go find a spot to sit down," he said as he mad a move to go further along the beach, to an unoccupied part. "Do you think that this nice weather is because of the snow we had this summer? It's like the days have been switched around..."

Following the young man, Katara made an absent-minded move of seizing his hand with hers and holding it securely. They held each others' hands often when they spend some time together that it became sort of a habit for her. That, and it felt nice holding his. She knew why and this made her blush.

Her thoughts never hindered her from listening to him, though. "I guess so. You know how weird this place is. I'm sort of confused why we get to have this warm weather on Christmas day. Do you think every Christmas is like this that's why the deities changed the weather?" It was a safe assumption to make. After all, she had seen countless of strange things happen in the City already.

Tyr didn't mind the hand taking his, though it was a bit warm for that. It was a bit warm for the cloak he couldn't wait to shrug off. He didn't look over to her to see the colour that came to her face, though. His eyes were busy looking for the best spot for them. But he did listen to her theory and paused as he thought of it. "Maybe the world the holiday is from is really warm, so they were doing it as a treat for them..."

Katara stole a furtive glance up at him before resuming to help Tyr look for a spot. Azure eyes searching through crowds, she took care in walking with him on the beach. It wouldn't be nice to bump on to someone seeing as almost everyone seemed to be doing their own thing. Listening to him, her smile was resolute on her face. "Well, I guess we can forgive the deities this once if they're trying to be nice."

While still traveling her gaze, she chanced upon an empty spot somewhere by the end of the beach. It seemed secluded enough. "How about there?" Katara pointed out, going back to look at him.

He looked over to it before nodding with a smile. "Looks good."

The bag went down, with his cloak following soon after. Spreading it out over the warm sand like a blanket, Tyr wondered if Gremio would complain about the sang that would probably stick to it, but he didn't care. It was nice to have the sun on his skin again for once. Tyr took a seat before replying, "They're not always so bad. These times are just too rare for me to consider them nice at all, though..."

When Tyr shrugged his cloak off, Katara didn't know whether she'd feel a bit of sadness upon seeing that scar or blush at the fact this really was the first time she saw him wearing a sleeveless shirt. She decided to shake these off, though, and just smiled. It was very nice of Tyr to have his cloak as a blanket for them that the thought of Gremio minding took back seat in her thoughts as she joined him. Katara took ample care in placing her gift for him beside her. "I guess... well, we better make most out of it, then?" Her hand in his gave out a light squeeze.

"That's right," he answered with a bit of a laugh in his voice. Though after that, Tyr went silent for a few moments as he got comfortable, leaning back a bit.  The sun felt so nice on his skin, he wished winter would just come to an end early.

...But since it wouldn't, in all likelihood, he pulled his bag over beside him. "Hey, I got you something."

She should have anticipated the fact that the bag was for her, but Katara was never one to assume such proud things. Being someone used to the cold yet not that unused to the sun, Katara allowed some silence between them as well, just basking in the warmth the sun provided. She gave Tyr a smile, though, one that almost mirrored this warmth.

"You really shouldn't have, but... I got you something too." Gesturing for her own bag, which was blue in color, she placed it before her. Now, she hoped he would like what she'd give him as much as she knew she'd like what he'd give her.

Tyr wasn't expecting that. "You're going to make me have to give you another gift at this rate," he commented. He had just gotten it so he could repay her earlier generosity, but it would figure that Katara would get him something more.

He passes the bag over to her, the contents somewhat hidden just from some blue paper over top. It's just a white, knitted scarf and a small parcel of biscuits on top of it. No one said Tyr gave the most creative gifts.

Katara blinked. What did he mean by that? She wasn't exactly expecting that he'd repay her generosity then since she helped him without anything in return. "Why? I mean I'm okay with just one. You don't have to..." Really, he shouldn't have. And Katara briefly wondered if Tyr knew she gave him two gifts as well. Accepting his present with a smile, she gave him hers. As opposed to Tyr's uncreativity, which Katara wouldn't mind at all, her gift was composed of a light blue long-sleeved shirt and a tribal bracelet almost similar to the designs her people wore back home. These were neatly wrapped inside with white paper. It took her all night last night to knit his name on the edge of the shirt, a very tiny blue one.

With a smile, Katara continued to look at him. "Shall we open it at the same time?"

"Well, you'll understand when you open mine..." he said, hoping that she would, at least. Accepting hers with a smile, he looked down at it for a moment before nodding at her. "Yeah, let's open them right now."

And he waited for her before pulling off the white paper. It was done so neatly and nicely, he actually didn't just tear through it like he would if it was normal, birthday gift. Besides, it was soft... And with the paper off, he understood why. He pulled out the shirt first, holding it up. Light blue, Katara's favourite, Tyr thought. Then he noticed the bracelet fall back to the paper. Two gifts, huh? Picking up bracelet, he looked it over curiously. "Did you make this?"

Nodding, Katara opened Tyr's gift with the same smile. This only grew wider when she had successfully unwrapped it and found what it held inside. So, his present was also very soft and she fondly remembered what he meant along with the time when she gave him her scarf. But, Katara had already cemented her belief that she didn't need to be repaid for that time. Holding up the scarf, her face demonstrated that of childish glee. "Now, I understand..." She murmured, but still not gazing at him.

Katara glanced down at the parcel of biscuits left inside the bag, and this was when she gave him one of her warmest smiles. "Thank you..." Yes, Tyr might be uncreative with his gift but Katara never thought of this. In fact, she was grateful and this feeling only intensified when she saw his name knitted at the edge of the scarf. Turning to answer his question, she spoke with much fondness. "Yes, I did... did you also make this?" Referring to his name.

He shook his head. "I'm not good with this stuff. I paid someone to embroider it." For how much? Who knows that the price of Tyr's cheekiness is. It was worth it for Katara's cheerful face. It was cute.

Tyr continued to toy with the bracelet, trying to tie it to his right wrist. "I think I might wear this shirt on the way home, too... It's really nice." It could also cover his arms without him putting his cloak back on.

Katara giggled, both at what he just said and the way he was trying to tie the bracelet around his wrist. Approaching closer, she got the accessory from him. "Here, let me..." While tying her gift around him, she replied to what he just stated. "I'm glad you liked it. If it gets cold again, I'll wear this nice scarf too. I find it really pretty." Probably because it was in her favorite colors or it had his name on it. Whatever the reason was, Katara knew for sure that she adored the simple garment.
   
Tying the bracelet successfully, she took that hand in hers. "Why, you're going to swim or something?" Since that would be the only reason why he'd change.

Always holding his hand. Tyr still had no reason to pull his hand away, though it was strange. "I didn't plan to," he told her, though he guessed he understood her confusion. "But if I had a choice between a new shirt and wearing this cloak again, I'd rather have this shirt."

Nevertheless, he folded it back up, finally noticing the name stitched at the bottom. "Did you put this in yourself, too?"

She nodded both at the point he raised and at his question. Now, she understood why Tyr was wearing this cloak. It was probably to hide the scars that were obvious through his sleeveless shirt. Smiling wistfully, she slowly gazed away. Was that the only reason why he found her gift nice? Because he could use it to hide his scars? Briefly, Katara felt a slight pang inside her, but she immediately ignored it. She had faith in him. 

Silent for a while, she spoke in a softer voice. "Yes, I did. I hope you liked it," Katara hoped he wouldn't notice the puncture wounds she acquired on her hands while doing the embroidery and the bracelet last night. Thankfully, there were more of these on her free hand. She could have healed them, but she fell asleep just after wrapping her gift.