Running Into You (Moriko)

The morning air was crisp and chillys. Not cold, per say, but definitely cool enough to warrent a jacket. It also made the thermos of hot tea that Ffion had on her a welcome addition to her morning run.
The welsh girl had her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and had headphones in playing through a song that she had recorded. Her breathe could be seen as she ran down the path. Ffion could be seen running this path almost every morning; she had found that running regularly helped to focus her mind and calm down the racing thoughts she tended to have. She couldn't wait to be able to join a sports team at her new school; she had competed in track and in football back home, and she already missed it.
Ffion was missing home, and she had found it harder then normal to focus on her school work and her assignments. But keeping to a routine seemed to be helping a little, she and spoke to her dad and step mom regularly. 
But right now, Ffion was listening to the piano piece that she had written the week prior; she had had an idea to turn it into a grand chorale song, and so she was listening to it on repeat when not practicing. This did mean, however, that she wasn't really paying attention to where she was running on the path. Thankfully, she had run this path several times now and was relatively familiar with it...

It's early morning, the light of the rising sun spilling into the sky and over the campus walls. A thin fog shrouds the surroundings, obscuring all the grounds in a soft swirling paleness. Small pockets of clarity open up in the fog, only to fill in once again as the wind shifts it about.

This is the time of day that Moriko loves the best. It's quiet out, without another human soul in sight. The only sound is the hissing wind, the dry rustle of fall leaves, and a few bird calls. The world is still waking, with Moriko wide awake before it. Wearing a simple gray jacket, blue jeans and running sneakers, she stands just outside the dorms. Strapped to her lower back is a thin metal container, filled with a piping hot drink for after her run. Tilting her head back, she stares up at the lightening sky. Breathing out into the chilled air, she watches the vapor that streams up and away. A small grin takes hold of her. It's the perfect weather for a run.

At the thought, she gives herself an excited shake and starts out in a light jog. Normally she runs on the pathways that follow the outskirts of the school grounds. The ones that hug the campus' inner walls. People don't usually go so far out this early in the morning, making it less likely to run into someone. Which is just how Moriko likes it.

But today she's decided to change things up. The walking paths that wind through the school buildings and small rest areas are more twisty than the ones farther afield. Bushes and trees line sections of the paths, making small tunnels. It's these tunnel's that Moriko wants to run through. With the cooling weather the leaves of the trees have started to change colors. She wants to experience running through the tree tunnels, with all those colors surrounding her as she passes by.

In her mind's eye she's marked out the pathways that have the most tunnels on them, and how they interconnect with one another. Easily, she falls into the mile eating lope that she learned when running back home. Her shoes thump against the ground, her soft breaths puffing out in the brisk air. The fog eddies around her, clinging with frosted fingers to her face and clothes, before being torn away by her forward momentum. Silently, she listens as the animals begin to stir around her. Her gaze drifts all around her as she runs, taking in her surroundings.

One of the multistory buildings rises to her left, a behemoth bursting through the fog. Right around the corner of the building is the start of one of those tree tunnels. She can see some of the leaves and branches of the trees poking from around the side and slows her pace down. She wants to be able to focus on the leaves as she runs, after all. The sound of a woodpecker knocking into a tree catches her attention. She looks up at the noise as she rounds the corner, just in time to see the a flash of movement as the bird darts away. Her head automatically turns to follow the bird's flight. Thusly distracted, she doesn't even realize that there's another person on the pathway until it's much too late.

With an abruptness that jolts her whole body, Moriko runs straight into another girl. Caught completely by surprise, she bounces right off the taller girl. Staggering back, Moriko's feet clip each other with just enough force to throw her balance off. Eyes wide, she reaches forward as she starts to fall backwards.

The notes flowed through her headphones at a relatively loud volume; Ffion wasn't the best pianist by a long shot, but the sound was fluid and Ffion's attention was entirely taken up by it. She was imagining her hands flowing across the keys, imagining the pressure underneath her fingers and the dynamics she wanted to add to what she was recorded. She was also running through the lyrics and words that she wanted to add to the song, piecing together the story she wanted the music to tell.

Just like the other girl on the trail, Ffion had no idea that there was somebody else on the trail with her; her thoughts were so taken up by the music she was listening to and her plans for the song. This was a fairly common occurance, Ffion tended to not be able to pay attention to more then one thing at a time, and her thoughts tended to wonder pretty easily. It wasn't until she felt something collide with her that her attention was ripped away from her music and back onto the trail that she was running.
With a surprised cry, Ffion stumbled back. In an effort to regain her balance she threw her arms around, before falling bacwards and landing on the ground with a thud. Her headphones fell out of her ears and the music that she had been listening to suddenly halted and she was reintroduced to the sounds of her surroundings. She landed on her back, with enough impact to temporarily knock the wind out of her. Ffion laid there for a moment while she regained her breath, before slowly sitting up.

She slowly stretched her arm above her head with a flinch. "Ow.." She muttered at the soreness in her shoulder. She was pretty certain that there were no serious injuries, but her upper arm was still a little tender. After a moment of gently moving her arm around, she suddenly remembered the other girl that she had so gracefully collided with.

"Oh, my gosh!" she gasped, her words spilling out in English, her Welsh accent strong and noticeable. She stumbled to her feet and ran over to the other girl, concern evident in her expretion.

"Are you alright?" She reached her hand down in an offer to help the girl back to her feet. "I'm so sorry, I didn't even see you there!" Then, realizing that she was speaking English, Ffion cleared her throat and said in Japanese, "I'm sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you!"

Arms stretching forward, Moriko watches as the unknown girl falls backwards away from her even as she too is falling. Having a bit of experience with unintended slips, instead of flailing her arms around, Moriko flings her arms forward and up, forcing her center of gravity to move forward. It's enough to counteract the force of her fall, but not enough for her to catch her balance. The smaller girl ends up landing heavily on her rear end, but quickly rolls onto her hip to diffuse the force of the fall. Luckily, she'd been turning a curve and had been near the edge of the sidewalk. So instead of falling right on the pavement, she ends up falling onto the much softer grass.

A loud clang rings out as her metal thermos bangs hard against a rock at her landing. Tears stinging her eyes, Moriko rubs her butt. That's probably gonna leave a bruise... she thinks to herself, before she remembers that she had crashed into someone. Head jerking up, her gaze darts over to the prone form of the other girl. Before she can ask if she's all right, the blonde slowly rises up and stretches one of her arms. A look of pain flashes across the other girl's face as she winces at the movement.

Oh no, she's hurt! Guilt pings through Moriko. She hadn't been paying enough attention to the path before her. It was her fault that they'd run into each other! Opening her mouth to apologize, she instead gives a start as the taller girl suddenly exclaims something. It takes Moriko a moment to realize that it had been in heavily accented English. With surprising energy for someone who had just fallen flat on her back, the other girl rises unsteadily to her feet and then rushes towards Moriko.

The blonde towers over her for just a moment, before bending forward and reaching her hand out. The smaller girl hesitantly reaches out and grasps the offered hand. Her own hands are rough and calloused from her woodworking, but her grip is firm. With help from the other girl, she rises up to her own modest height.

Still a bit stunned by the impact, and by the unexpected apologies from the stranger, Moriko replies to the English questions in kind. Her light Irish accent adds an almost musical lilt to her words.

"N-no, you didn't hurt me. I'm all right." Worry fills her voice as she tilts her head back to peer directly into the other girl's eyes. "Are you okay?" 

At a thought, sudden determination shines in her bright teals. "Also, it's not your fault! I got distracted and looked away while I was running. So it's my fault!" Guilty she clasps her hands behind her back and glances down at her worn shoes.

Rocking back and forth on her heels, she apologizes softy,

"Sorry about that."

She hadn't noticed the switch back to Japanese and had kept speaking in English.