untitled mariali drabble i wrote in 2021 [Touhou]

woah a story

It was winter, and snow seemed to cover every surface. In a clearing of these snow covered woods lay a blue and white western-styled house, uncommon for the area.

With a quiet woosh, a girl with long, blonde hair landed near this house upon a broomstick, displacing some of the snow beneath her feet. She wore mostly black and white, making the pink scarf around her neck stick out. Alongside her broomstick, she also wore a large brimmed hat with a pointy tip (though it drooped down near the end), contributing to her witch-like appearance.

Marisa nudged the brim of her hat out of the way as she looked up at the house. Seeing the lack of chimney smoke, lights, (though, it wasn't dark, so who would have lights on, anyways?) or any other sign of life inside, she trotted over to the entrance with the hint of a grin on her face.

So I guess what Alice said the other day was true... but who in the world would go to a puppet show in this cold? She thought.

The door quietly creaked open, letting light stream into the empty house. Marisa instinctively took a few cautious glances around before quickly slipping inside. It was a quaint house, Alice's, and one that she usually visited due to the two magicians living so close to each other. She felt quite calm here, though the dolls in seemingly every room, used by Alice for her own magic, took some time to get used to.

For the past few weeks, many winter themed decorations adorned the inside of the home. Some she was unfamiliar with, but was eventually enlightened by the house owner herself.

Hm... they look nice, Marisa thought as she passed through a doorway with some decorations.

But, I shouldn't be getting distracted!

Afterall, the witch had one location in mind: the house's library.

Taking a turn into another room, she quickly found it. The library was much smaller in comparison to the one she frequented, but she'd found a nice trove of books that appeared easier to get, considering the security in the other. Marisa walked between the shelves, glancing over the titles printed on the books' spines and looking out for one in particular...

***

"Aha! Here it is!"

The overconfident voice exclaimed, though the sound of the opening door and her footsteps gave her away long ago.

Along one of the walls of the library was an alcove with stairs that led to a study, and currently also served as Alice's hiding spot. She had similarly colored hair as her intruder, but it was lighter and cut short. She also wore a light blue dress with short, white sleeves, a reddish-pink sash wrapped around her waist, and a similar one around her neck.

She paused, listening, but only heard the sounds of pages being turned.

Taking care to be quiet, she crept around the shelves until she reached the one her trespasser was between. For a few seconds she remained unnoticed, before surrounding the other magician with her dolls, puppeted by magical strings and armed with small, yet sharp lances. She yelled,

"Marisa! What are you doing here?"

"Ack!" Marisa was visibly surprised, slowly turning around to face her. "Ah, hey Alice! I could, uh, ask you the same thing. Weren't you...?"

"I haven't left my house since this morning." She replied; she'd grown suspicious of the other girl recently, who had a reputation for being a thief, and lied that she'd be away that day. Marisa's presence now wasn't exactly helping with disproving that rumor.

"Now, you didn't answer my own question. Why are you here?" Alice continued.

"Well... I was outside admiring the weather, and decided to stop by here to warm up!"

"And you're also stealing one of my books that I remember seeing you eye a few days ago?"

"Hey, I see it as one magician to another, right?" Marisa shrugged, looking away. "Plus, I'm not stealing, I'm just gonna borrow it for a little bit."

Alice simply tilted her head to the side. "...a... cookbook?"

"Ha! An opening!"

Before she knew it, the other magician had darted out of the dolls surrounding her and was now bolting towards the exit. Alice let out a surprised "ah!" before quickly stretching out an arm, silently 'commanding' some of her dolls to intercept Marisa before she could escape.

At the same time, she'd run after Marisa, finding her standing in the doorway to the main room and awkwardly turning around to face the puppeteer, trapped between her and the closest thing she had to familiars.

Alice sighed and stretched an open hand out. "Could you please hand over the book, Marisa?"

The magician looked around before seemingly giving in. She took the book out of a pocket on her outfit. "Alright... here."

Alice quickly took the book into her own hands, and dismissed the dolls that barred Marisa's path. Saying a quiet thanks, she began to turn around.

"But... just hold on a second."

"Hm?" Alice turned back and was caught off guard by Marisa being much closer to her than she expected, her yellow eyes seeming to twinkle and a small smile on her face. A light blush was creeping onto the puppeteer's own face, which she hoped wasn't noticed.

"A-ah... Marisa...?"

"Could you take a look upwards? I'm pretty sure you've told me about that, right?" She narrowed her eyes at the other magician, trying to appear composed. Alice half expected her to bolt as soon as she was looking away, but turned upwards anyways.

And there, dangling on the doorframe above them, was some mistletoe she'd somehow failed to notice.

Marisa cut through her now racing thoughts, saying quietly and with a now softer gaze. "You said that when two people are under a mistletoe, they kiss."

"Th... that's..." Alice's words trailed away as Marisa stepped closer. There was a moment's hesitation before the little distance between the pair was closed.

Alice felt herself grow warm and heart race the moment the other magician's lips met hers. Her earlier panicking mind blanked and she felt a spark of emotion in her chest.

There was little time to process. As soon as it happened, Marisa stepped away, leaving both of them seemingly surprised at what just happened.

"Ahaha... well, uh..." Marisa pulled her hat down, but not enough to hide her red-tinted face.

"I think it's time I take my leave, ze~!" She announced suddenly before racing towards the door. A stunned Alice stood still for a few seconds before she came back to her senses.

"H-hey, wait!" She ran after her, stopping where the porch of her house ended. The witch was midair on her broom already.

"Marisa!" She called out in an irritated tone, but was at a loss for what to add.

"I would've stol- er, taken back the book back there," Marisa yelled from the air, "But you're too cute when flustered!"

She let out a laugh, seeing Alice grow even more so, before flying away and leaving the puppeteer to yell at her again in vain. The cold, winter air didn't do much to help as she felt herself heat up again, and watching Marisa disappear over the treeline, Alice turned around and stepped back inside her house.

...what was that feeling she'd gotten when they'd kissed? Certainly some surprise, but the way her heart had leapt...

"...idiot..." She murmured, pushing away the small smile trying to grow on her flushed face, before shutting the door.