YURI SHIPPING OLYMPICS 2024 - BONUS ROUND 4

[a1c0bb]

for this bonus round, the theme is historical fiction! prompts inspired by specific moments in (real or fictional) history.

this round will end on july 15th

Fills can be in any format, and you can fill your teammates prompts, but you cannot fill your own prompt.

You can post as many fills and as many prompts as you want!

for your prompt post title, please use the following format:

PROMPT: TEAM [TEAM NAME]

for your fill post title, please use the following format:

FILL: TEAM [TEAM NAME]

POINTS - BONUS ROUNDS
For prompts: 10 points each (maximum of 150 prompt points per team per round)
For fills:
First 4 fills by any member of your team: 100 points each
Fills 5-10: 50 points each
Fills 11-20: 40 points each
Fills 21-50: 30 points each
Fills 51+: 25 points each

Comments

FILL: TEAM ROSEMARY

[thestoryeater]

Rapid knocking startled Kanaya from her sleep. She nearly fell out of her cot, but managed to summon up just enough dignity to sit upright and regain her composure instead. Blearily, she wished for a cup of coffee and a fresh towel.
As she fully regained consciousness, Kanaya began rifling through her memories to see if she’d been expecting someone. It was obvious she’d overslept, but after a long morning spent digging out Crocker’s car from a ditch that had taken considerably longer than expected, Karkat had insisted she return home to rest. And truth be told, the ache in her muscles had eased considerably, even if the ache in her stomach had only worsened. But from what she saw outdoors, it was already pitch black. She didn’t feel as if she’d overslept that long. And who would want to visit at this hour?
The whistling of the wind finally registered in her ears. Kanaya’s eyes went wide. The knocking started again, and this time she practically sprinted to the door. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a gale of sand that swept in alongside a figure caked in dust who appeared on the verge of collapse.
It took notable effort to shut the door, enough that the figure held off on her collapse to assist in pushing it back against the wind. Both of them managed to close it, then collapsed against the door. By then, everything inside was covered in sand. Rather unfortunately, it was not as significant of an aesthetic difference as Kanaya would have preferred, given how it complimented the preexisting coat of dust.
“My apologies for such an unexpected visit,” the figure pulled a bandanna off the lower half of her face. “But I found myself in rather dire straits and yours was the nearest sanctuary I could think of.”
“Rose!” Kanaya exclaimed. The upper half of her unexpected guest’s face remained so coated in grime that there was a clean line between what had and hadn’t been left exposed to the elements. “Why on earth did you venture outside in such weather?”
“This current situation is not one I ever intended to land in, though I will shoulder a portion of the blame due to my carelessness,” said Rose. “Maplehoof had escaped again. I set out in search of him, and by the time I noticed the black blizzard it was too late to return.”
Any further explanation Rose might have provided was cut off by a coughing fit, at which point Kanaya retrieved a jug and ladle, bringing sips of precious water to Rose’s lips when the coughing died down. The walls of her house in that moment suddenly felt all too thin.
“Thank you,” she found her voice eventually. “I sincerely hope I’m not imposing.”
“I do not believe that anyone can impose on their neighbor in these times. Not if we are to survive,” said Kanaya grimly. “Unless one includes the scarf that Eridan has taken to wearing.”
They shared a laugh over that, and that launched them into a conversation about Eridan’s recent attempts at what could charitably be described as courtship, and so they whiled away the hours together that way. Sometimes, their words nearly drowned out the howling wind, and they forgot the cause of the visit.
At her own insistence, Kanaya acquired her least dirty towel from her room and gave it to Rose when she complained of feeling like a walking sandbox.
“The endeavor of cleanliness has always had something of a Sisyphean aspect to it, but I do confess, our current conditions have me often returning to a sentiment of futility on the matter,” Rose pondered aloud.
“Well, if you truly feel that way, then you are more than welcome to open the door for some air,” Kanaya said with a perfectly straight face. Although, now that she thought of it, the winds outside sounded as loud as ever despite the fact that hours had to have passed by now. Had they? Every time a black blizzard struck, she found herself wishing for a watch.
Rose’s stomach growled, and so the two of them split a half-empty can of beans between themselves. Kanaya swept the floor as best she could manage, while Rose attempted to wipe off the counters, and by the time they were finished, they were almost certain it was the evening.
“I myself have already enjoyed plenty of time on the cot today, so I believe-” Kanaya began, but Rose held up a hand.
“Keenly aware as I am of the level of hospitality you believe it is your duty to uphold, I cannot allow you to be driven from your own bed for my sake,” said Rose. “You have already gone above and beyond what could be expected of any host in such conditions.”
“Rose, to allow you to spend the night on the floor would be unconscionable.”
“Then surely you realize that I cannot ask the same of you.”
“As much as it is admirable, such a refusal will do you no good, for I refuse to deprive you of what little I may be able to provide you with.”
“Then we are at an impasse.”
“You can be as frustrating as you are beautiful,” said Kanaya without thinking.
“Well,” Rose blinked. “I suppose that there is one possibility that the both of us had overlooked.”
“Oh?”
“We could both make use of the bed. Simultaneously.”
The cot was far too small for two people to use it at once, not unless they were both thin as a rail. And yet, when both she and Rose tucked themselves back-to-back beneath a quilt, Kanaya could not say she was entirely uncomfortable.
The wind had not ceased in the slightest. By now, it sounded more akin to screeching than any gust of air had a right to. Kanaya turned around to face Rose’s back, watching her body rise and fall ever so slightly. It was steady. Almost graceful, somehow.
Suddenly Rose turned over to face her. Even in the dark, Kanaya could see the dull expression on her face.
“What is it?” she whispered.
There was a pause before Rose answered. “Maplehoof is still out there.”
“Oh,” said Kanaya. She’d half-forgotten about the horse.
“Do you suppose that there’s any chance of finding him alive by the time the storm ends?”
Kanaya opened her mouth to reassure Rose that yes, she would certainly find her horse after all this was over. Then she was reminded of the constant ache in her own stomach, and Rose broke into another coughing fit. Half by instinct, Kanaya reached out a hand to stroke her along the shoulder. It was all she could do besides wait for it to subside.
“Maplehoof is a clever enough horse to survive in unlikely circumstances. These, however, strike me as extremely unlikely,” were the words she had decided on by then.
Rose sighed. “Thank you for not sugarcoating your words.”
Another pause. Rose had not removed Kanaya’s hand from her shoulder. Kanaya pressed on. “Something else is on your mind.”
“How perceptive of you.”
Had she overstepped her bounds? “My apologies, consider the matter forgotten.”
“No, it’s fine, I suppose this thought needs to be expressed,” said Rose quickly. She pursed her lips, then her eyes looked away from Kanaya’s face. “This area- it’s one that Maplehoof has been familiar with his entire life. We have previously established that he is intelligent and tenacious enough to have a chance of surviving such circumstances. But now I cannot help but wonder if perhaps, despite how he might have convinced himself that life is tolerable in the status quo, it might not be time to seek greener pastures.”
“We are still discussing your horse?”
“Of course,” Rose’s face wore an expression somewhere between comfort and weariness.
“Well,” Kanaya’s mind filled with glamorous images, photographs she’d glimpsed of scenic landscapes and elegant models posing in cities. They quickly disappeared, replaced by pictures from the newspapers of people standing in line for miles at soup kitchens. “I would wonder if the proverbial greener pasture exists for a horse of his beauty. The horse economy is rather far from stable.”
“True,” Rose sighed. She closed the distance between them, putting her head on Kanaya’s chest. “As painful as it is to face that reality- and that particular worldplay- the facts are inescapable. Perhaps it’s foolish of me to imagine that any corner of the world isn’t in dire straits at the moment.”
Kanaya felt her heartbeat pick up. “It isn’t.”
“I have so many dreams that feel impossible, as much as they deserve to exist.” as Rose snuggled in closer, her words growing almost imperceptibly quiet, Kanaya moved her arm so as to embrace her rather than hold her shoulder. “But if I could make one come true, do you know what I’d choose?”
“What?”
When Rose didn’t respond, at first Kanaya thought that she was taking her time to think again. Then she realized that her breathing had changed subtly. The other woman had fallen asleep.
Kanaya shut her eyes and tried to sleep as well, wishing she could provide more than her tiny home and arms. She drifted off eventually despite the howling wind, dreaming of a better world where dust didn’t settle in their lungs.