The crunching of dried leaves under Aster's foot, snapping through the air. The crisp air smelling of dew and fresh pumpkin. The vibrant colors of orange, red and yellow leaves, slowly falling through the air, dancing up and down, carried by nothing, but the wind. The brisk cold causing the very edges and outside of Aster's skin to tingle, feeling ever so sensitive to a brush of the wind or a cut of a leaf. The large trees overhead block out a majority of the sun, while stray beams of light shining through random gaps between the leaves, casting a show of shadows of the trees onto the ground. Aster kept walking, walking past the large trees with their thick barks, over small hills and tiny batches of leaves, past rocks with moss and birds singing in the sky. As she arrived at a small clearing, there was a barn, and people were bustling about, selling pies and playing with animals, as large metal cars drove in and out. She watched, for a moment or two before slowly descending the small hill she was on and to the stalls, a few people watched and stared. It wasn't a common sight to see a 6ft tall woman with long golden hair and fair skin like that, walking around with closed eyes. She didn't heed them any time though, she only smiled and continued on her walk, passing people yelling out from their stalls, bragging or promoting how much better their item was compared to another, or past small groups of children, running wildly with no sense of safety or danger, and occasionally a table with men or women, drinking and laughing, riling each other up for conversation. The sun beams down past clouds, onto the festival, as Aster approaches a stall selling pies. It has been a long time since Aster first arrived, and she knew how these went, she gave them something of material value in their eyes, and they gave her yummy food. She looked and talked with the tender of the stall, talking, asking questions, before eventually purchasing two slices of pumpkin pie, taking the cardboard box it was in, slowly putting it away into her satchel, so as not to damage it, as she continues on forward, looking through stalls, in search of something that could catch her attention, and one does, with the smell of ground coffee penetrating through the air, it indubitably catches her attention, as she approaches.
It was a stall selling coffee, made in front of people, causing it to attract attention, Aster approached of course, ordering two separate hot drinks, a latte and an americano. Sitting down on the wooden, hand made stools in front of the stall, they were smooth and sturdy, poured with dedication and time, as she reverted her attention back to watching the barista grinding the beans into a fine powder, tampering it down into a disc and running hot water through it. Aster didn't know what it all meant, but it was fascinting to her nonetheless. As she eventually paid and thanked the man for the coffee, carrying it in both her hands, as she walked off, away from the laughter and chatter of the small festival, and to the side opposite of where she emerged from the forest, as she walked in, hiking up a small hill and back in the forest, taking smalls sips of the latte, it was creamy and warm, sending shivers of warmth down to whole of her body, as she continues to walk forward, the rustling and occasionally crunch of the leaves beneath her providing another dimension of sound in the forest, another detail like the ants on the logs, or the birds in the trees, the worms under the leaves, it was all there, all part of the forest. After a few minutes of walking, she eventually arrived at a lake, the shores littered with leaves, as there was a soothing calmness and emptiness across the vast lake, reflecting the light of the sun as it slowly dipped down to the horizon, walking along the shore, the water sloshing silently forward, before retreating back into the lake, approaching a dock in the distance, outstretched and leading into the lake, it's wooden planks old but intact, as there was a figure, sitting down at the edge of the dock, their foot barely an inch above the surface. Looking into the water, reflecting only themselves.
Iris looked into the perfect mirror of the lake, sitting down at the end of a dock, wearing some nice warm clothes, and a sweater knitted by her beloved. Looking down at the placid waters, as a vibrant orange leaf flutters down, landing on her reflected face, ripples moving across the water. She lets out a sigh
"When is Aster gonna arrive..?", Iris says with longing hanging on the ends of each word
She said, opening her eyes to look at her reflection again, only to see not only her own, but that of Aster's behind her, her heart jumps as she quickly whirls around, seeing Aster, steam coming out the coffee cups in her hands, she was wearing a beanie, a plaid jacket and a long skirt for the autumn season.
"I brought some food and drinks" Aster says, quoting what she usually hears for things such as this.
She sets the Americano down, next to Iris as she also sits down on the dock, a bit further away from the edge, so as to not have her feet hit the water, reaching into the satchel, taking out the slices of pumpkin pie
"O-oh....t-thanks" Iris mutters, looking down at the food
Blinking a few times, blushing a bit from embarrassment as she reaches and drinks the cup of coffee given to her by Aster, the warm cup feeling off but soothing in her chilled hands, slowly watching the sun setting beyond the edge of the lake, the light of the sun turning from a bright yellow to a vibrant palate of red and orange, resembling that of the leaves of autumn, the water reflecting the orange light and yellow sun, mixed together like a painting, she takes another sip, watching the sunset, before turning to look at Aster, who was laid a bit back, her hair swaying with the wind, the sun reflecting off of her, making her only more stunning to look at. She stares, more at Aster than the sunset as her grip tightens around the coffee cup.
Aster turns, looking at her as she smiles, her eyes opening slightly, the endless cosmos in one and an orange daisy in the other. Reaching down and grabbing one of the slices of pie with her bare hands, watching the sunset as she takes a bite, the soft custard of the pie, filling each bite and chew she takes with flavor. As the smell of pumpkin fills her nose and her taste buds
Iris watches as Aster eats, her face softening slightly as she smiles, reaching and starting to eat her own pie. It was warm, despite the cold weather, and tasted quite fresh and the crust wasn't so bad either, she chewed and swallowed, taking another sip, before moving her hand, slowly working and inching its way to Aster's hand.
She notices, blinking a few times as she chuckles softly and smiles taking Iris's hand in her own, squeezing it tightly, rubbing her thumb against Iris's fingers, feeling the details and each inch of it, the sensitive skin of her own hand and Iris's melding together as they grip each other so. Aster leans forwards, towards Iris, kissing her on the lips.