Perekoo One-shots

Pirates

Alma grinned as she looked at herself in the mirror.

This whole idea was silly, but when her new ymbryne students attacked her with puppy eyes and pleading, the peregrine couldn't say no. At first, she thought she'd only stand close by, watching over her wards, not intervening in their theatrics, however, when she found Isabel all excited, already pulling massive boxes full of costumes from the attic, she fell short of her resolution. Now, she stood in front of the mirror admiring the costume the cuckoo stuffed in her hands the moment she saw her.

Alma almost couldn't recognise the person standing in the mirror's reflection. The woman in front of her wore a snow-white Victorian lingerie dress with small ribbons and bows of various shades of red, yellow, and green. As the centrepiece of this ridiculous puzzle were three layered necklaces around her neck. The first two were plain, one pearl, one gold, but the third one made her look so bizarre she had to smile. It was made from wooden crystals of all copious sizes, shapes, and shades. Shaking her head she pushed a golden tiara in her hair.

On further inspection, the ravenette didn't hate her appearance. Sure, she looked foolish-extremely so. The dress was too big around her hips and fit terribly on her narrow shoulders but there was something about the reflection staring back at her that she (in fact) quite liked. The contrast of her dark hair with the white dress looked interesting, the different colour accents were a nice touch of warmth and they complimented the jewellery around her neck. One fleeting thought in her head made itself apparent-she felt pretty.

Through the open window, she heard the kids cheering and squealing with excitement. They were waiting for her. Turning her head back to the mirror she swayed on her heels a few times as if weighing her options before a determined look set on her face. As a last touchup, she reached into her hair and pulled out the pins that kept her raven locks in their usual up-do before turning on her toes and walking out the door.

As she got closer to the garden the laughter grew. With each step, she became more excited about the adventure prepared. Turning around the corner she finally joined the party.

The first thing she had noticed was that she wasn't the only one who was wearing a ridiculous costume. All the new ymbryne students were wearing some sort of fancy attire, whether it was a large old belt over their shoulder or an ornamented head scarf around their head, wooden sabres and big leather boots, torn dresses, puffy trousers, fake guns. Only now did Alma realise she forgot to ask what kind of expedition she agreed to part-take in. But it was too late to draw back as some of the kids already turned around and cheered at her arrival. She made a mental note to ask Isabel when she found her.

Investigating her surroundings she noticed a smaller crowd behind a big oak just further in the garden. As she moved closer, more wards joyfully ran towards the tree.

"Oh stop it you little monkeys," called a charming voice from behind a tree. The peregrine recognised it immediately. With a smirk, she turned around the corner and finally found the silver-haired woman she was looking for.

Isabel sat at the centre of the circle, fiercely protecting a large woven basket from the thieving hands of the children.

"C'mon now," she gently slapped another hand away, "It's a surprise! You wouldn't want me to spoil it, would you now?" Any following attempts stopped straight away. A smile reappeared on Isabel's face. She looked like she was going to say more but stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted the smaller ymbryne. A big grin crossed her features as she scanned the ravenette's outfit. Alma decided to do the same.

The first thing that caught her attention were the cuckoo's coffee-brown eyes. They were lined with black eyeliner; her eyelids were dusted with dark eyeshadow; her lips were painted dark brown. She wore a light green waistcoat over a cream poet shirt, khaki-coloured baggy trousers with a golden extravagant belt, and high leather boots. And lots of golden jewellery; rings, necklaces, earrings. Her short silver hair was partially slicked back by a red head scarf scattered with white spots. Alma smiled as she finally deduced the theme of the gathering. Isabel was clearly a pirate.