Fixer-Uppers, Thursday

[the_merriest]

Okay, she might not be happy about it, but Rikku had to grudgingly admit that snow was pretty. Especially when it fell in huge, pristine flakes, dancing through the sky, and -- hey, hang on, those weren't snowflakes. That was powdered sugar.

Rikku supposed she could be okay with powdered sugar-snow. But why couldn't it fall on some day that was warm and sunny? It wasn't like powdered sugar-flakes were going to melt.

Anyway. Fixer-Uppers was open, and its proprietor was trying to get into the spirit of this world's nifty holidays coming up. The desert girl still didn't like the cold, dang it.

Comments

[heromaniac]

Momoko bounced through the door, probably producing heat, she was so energetic.

"Rikku Rikku Rikku! Hi! Hi! Hi! Isn't it awesome? Look! It's sugar! Look look!" She led up a handful of the stuff. "Sugar! It's snowing sugar outside like it did glitter once and it tastes delicious! Want some? It's totally sugar I promise!"

[the_merriest]

"No, that's okay," Rikku laughed, unable to stay grouchy in the face of her friend's enthusiasm. "I'd rather squeeze my eyes shut and pretend it's allll gone away again. How are you?"

[heromaniac]

"Great!" Momoko grinned, not at all put out by Rikku's comment. "And it's not snow so it's totally not cold! Just really sweet! And if it's like the pine trees from yesterday it will totally be gone soon. Unless it's like the garland from before and then tomorrow it will try to attack us."

[the_merriest]

"But by then, it'll be real snow," Rikku grumbled. "Sorry, don't mind me. I hate this weather. I'm glad you like it, though. Someone should be appreciating it."

Someone who didn't grow up in a desert, presumably.

[heromaniac]

"I like it until it gets boring." Momoko found a trash can and with a sad little sigh, dropped her handful of sugar in it. "but it totally won't be real snow for ages, Rikku! It's nowhere near cold enough yet, I can't even see my breath!" She tried again to make sure. "Nope! See? It's just a little bit! That's probably why it's sugar, so it can look pretty like snow but not be cold!"

[the_merriest]

"There's no sun," Rikku said, sighing a bit melodramatically. "I mean, at least this isn't Macalania? But I can't stand this weather. I need sunshine and warm beaches and sand."

[heromaniac]

"I totally don't get that. If you don't like the cold because you lived in the desert, then why do you like the beach? With the water?" Momoko leaned against the counter and reached for a stray object of some sort to fidget with. Hopefully it wouldn't explode, or, if it was dangerous, that Rikku would take it from her. "What's Macalania like? Is it snowy there? It's a city in your world, right? Is it pretty?"

[the_merriest]

"Because there's sand," she teased. "And we totally had water. I mean, there was an oasis or two, here and there. Besides, you lay out and feel the warmth on your skin and it's like you're alive."

It wasn't anything too dangerous, and really, Rikku trusted Momoko to watch out for herself. Besides, if the store blew up, they could rebuild it.

Rikku was a very hands-off kind of store owner, apparently.

"There's a lot of snow," she said, watching the gadget as Momo fiddled. "Very pretty. There was a temple there, on the frozen ice. It's beautiful, but ... not a very nice place."

[heromaniac]

"I like sand and sun, but I like snow, too. Maybe I'm just used to it." A piece shifting here and another there and "ooh, that clicked! what does this part do?" meant that some of Momoko's sugar-fueled energy was being redirected.

"A temple on the ice, though? That sounds awesome! It must be totally freezing there if the ice doesn't melt. Or is that what happened to the temple? Is that why it's not there anymore and it's not a nice place?"

[the_merriest]

One piece snapped out, then back again, in a pincer motion. The movement was a little slower than might be expected, and somewhat misaligned. Which was why it was in the repair shop.

"Maybe I'm just spoiled," Rikku laughed. Or maybe it was her reluctance to cover more than a fraction of her body in the extreme cold. Something like that.

"The ice melted," she said, "and the temple fell in. It had to do with ... the way everything's changing, lately. There had been some powers helping to keep it up, but they left, so."

Sidestepping the 'nice place' part of things, hopefully subtly.

[heromaniac]

"Oh, totally AWESOME!" Momoko had jumped a bit, but then excitedly pushed the piece so it lined up and slid back to its reset position. Once done, she turned the object, trying to figure out what she had done to get it to activate in the first place.

"Oh!" She looked up at her big sib. "Not the temple, that's terrible. Sorry! I mean it! It's horrible to lose a temple! But at least the people had left so no one got hurt when it fell in, right? So is the town going to rebuild the temple on land?"

[the_merriest]

Rikku had to laugh at Momoko's enthusiasm. "It's the wire underneath," she said, gesturing to the underside. "You must have tugged on it. That's supposed to be an arm, when it's not misbehaving."

You couldn't take crap from a machina. Had to show it who was boss, already.

"I don't care about the temple," she said, waving a hand as if the idea didn't bother her at all. Really. "I hope they don't rebuild it. It was a Yevonite temple, anyway, and the New Yevonites are trying to pretend they're totally different than the old Yevonites."

Not far enough for her tastes. And, well, that temple hadn't been a favorite.

[heromaniac]

"Awesome! So it's a part of another droid? Why does it snap like that? And arm that trap things? I sit one of those monster fighting ones you were working on before?" She gave a tug on the small wire and watched the arm extend again, still misaligned, and now Momoko could totally tell it was lagging a bit as it tried to reset.

"Eh? And I was totally going to offer to help! But I guess if the temple was one of the ones that was causing troubles, and hurting people," See? Momoko had paid attention when Rikku had talked about her world's politics! "I guess it's not really right to rebuild it just because it's a temple."