Hay Is For Horses (F, Updated 3/21/2014)

[Lilyofthevalley]

This was a great collaboration!! Well done!

[Blah!?]

Well, well, well. What have we here?

Not too long ago, PuddinPop and I decided to add another little installment to this story. It's more of a distant addition than a direct continuation, and it's a bit more fluff than story, but I think you will all still enjoy it. Also, assuming things go reasonably well in the idea department, we may also end up continuing the story from here. That remains to be seen.

Anyway, what would this story be without another set of recordings? Thanks again to the awesome PuddinPop for making them, so please give them a listen as you read, or after you read, or whenever you please.

High Quality: http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ld7ts7775187n7t/beach_h.wav (60mb)

Small File: http://www.mediafire.com/listen/nmefcfmqm89hcdi/beach_l.wav (6mb)

Anyway, let's not waste any more of your time...

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"Come on, Ayame! Wake up!"

Kasumi ran past her friend's bed and threw the curtains open, flooding the room with light. Ayame groaned and rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. Giggling happily, Kasumi approached the bed and tore the covers away. Ayame drew her legs up to her chest and shivered.

"Ayame?"

"Ah-Ahh-Ahhh! Ah-KSHHT!"

Ayame's shoulders tensed as she sneezed. Now Kasumi knew for sure that she was awake, but she kept her back turned on her friend.

"What's the matter?" Kasumi asked, placing a hand on Ayame's back. Letting out a sigh, Ayame rolled over to face her friend, placing a finger under her nose.

"Kasumi," Ayame began, her voice a little stuffy, "do you remember when it rained last night?"

"Yep!" Kasumi said with a happy smile.

"Do you remember how soaked I was when we got back here?"

"Yep," Kasumi responded again, a little less enthusiastic this time.

"I believe I said something like 'I just know I'm going to catch a cold.'"

"Yeah, I remember," Kasumi said with blissful ignorance. Ayame rolled her eyes, but she tensed up again as she felt another sneeze coming on.

"Ah-Ahh! HA-KSHT!"

After sneezing, Ayame rolled over and faced away from her friend. She curled up into a ball again and shivered, sniffing quietly to hold back another sneeze.

"So you've got a little cold," Kasumi spoke up, trying to sound encouraging. "But we're at a beach resort! The heat should be good for a cold!"

"I don't want to," Ayame responded. She reached a hand over to the tissue box on her bedside table and grabbed one to blow her nose. Kasumi rubbed her friend's back gently as she blew, but she wasn't about to give up yet.

"But there's a party!"

"I don't like parties."

"Why not?"

Holding the tissue under her nose with one hand, Ayame rolled over again to face Kasumi. She closed her eyes and blew her nose, and then she gazed impatiently up at her friend.

"Because I'm..." Ayame trailed off, feeling a bit self-conscious.

"Because you're shy," Kasumi teased, running a hand through her friend's long hair.

"I'm not shy," Ayame protested, pushing Kasumi away.

"Yes you are! But that's okay! Come on, I promise you'll like it."

With a little more coercion, Kasumi finally managed to get Ayame to agree. They put on their swimsuits and made their way down to the beach, and Ayame already regretted her decision as soon as she stepped outside. The air was comfortably warm, but Ayame still felt nervous. She had to admit her usual outfit was still a bit revealing, but she felt positively naked in a swimsuit. And, although she would never admit it, Kasumi was right. Ayame was a little shy.

Kasumi ran over to a crowd of mingling party guests, leaving Ayame behind. Ayame sighed as Kasumi beckoned her closer, and she apprehensively made her way toward the group. However, even once she arrived, the conversation proceeded without her. Kasumi joked and laughed with the others, but Ayame didn't have much to say.

"Ah-Ahh-Ahhh! AH-KSHHT!"

Ayame covered her nose with one hand as she sneezed, and when she looked up again she almost screamed when she saw everyone staring at her.

"Bless you!" they said all at once, startling Ayame even more. Keeping her hand cupped over her nose, she backed away and glanced around for a way out.

"Um, excuse me," Ayame said softly, starting to blush. The party guests laughed, and then they went back to their socializing, forgetting all about what just happened. Kasumi put an arm around her friend and hugged her, keeping her from getting away.

"Kasumi! Let me go!"

"Come on, hang out with us!"

"Fine, just..." Ayame grumbled, starting to sniffle. "Just let me find a tissue first."

"Okay! Hurry back!"

As Ayame wandered away from Kasumi's group of loud people, she realized it would probably be difficult to find a tissue on the beach. Luckily, after only a minute of searching, she found exactly what she needed. At the far end of the beach, a woman was sitting in a reclining chair, and a box of tissues sat on the small table next to her. Ayame felt a little self-conscious, but she definitely needed one of those tissues.

"Um, hello," Ayame greeted, approaching the relaxing woman. She opened her eyes and looked up, giving Ayame a smile. The woman opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, her eyes narrowed and she took a deep breath.

"Ah-HMMP!"

Reaching a hand up to her face, the woman gently pinched her nose with her thumb and forefinger, stifling a sneeze. Releasing her nose, she sniffed once and began to rub her fingers back and forth under her long, slender nostrils.

"Bless you," Ayame said, taking a step closer.

"Ugh, thanks," the woman breathed, reaching for a tissue from her box. Ayame smiled slightly as she noticed the woman's accent. The way she spoke, along with her flowing blonde hair, made it clear she was a foreigner.

"Can I sit with you?" Ayame asked, gesturing to the empty chair next to the table.

"Of course," the woman answered happily, wiping the underside of her nose with a tissue. Ayame smiled and sat down, rubbing a finger under her own nose for a moment.

"You're not from around here, are you?" she asked, glancing nervously at the woman next to her.

"What gave it away?" the woman laughed, massaging the sides of her nose. "Yeah, I'm a tourist. I... Ahhh... HA-HMMMP!"

The blonde woman stifled another sneeze, tipping forward with her nose pinched between her fingers. Shaking her head, she rubbed her nostrils and sighed.

"Ugh! I can't stop sneezing!" she complained, reaching for another tissue.

"What's wrong?" Ayame asked, putting on a sympathetic smile. "Allergies?"

"I'm not sure," the woman answered, wiping her nose. "I'm allergic to hay, but I don't think there's any hay around here."

"You're allergic to hay?" Ayame felt herself blush a little as she asked. "Me too."

The blonde woman gave Ayame a smile, but once again her head tipped back and her eyes closed.

"Hhhh-!" she gasped, waving a hand up and down in front of her face. Once she couldn't hold back any longer, she squeezed her nose and stifled another sneeze.

"HMMMP!"

"Gesundheit," Ayame said with a giggle.

"What's that?" the woman asked, rubbing her nose. Ayame blushed, realizing what she'd said.

"Oh, it's just something my friend says when I sneeze."

"And what does your friend call you?"

"What?" Ayame stammered, a little surprised. Her new friend gave her a smile, and after a second Ayame realized what she was asking and smiled back.

"Oh, um, Ayame."

"I'm Ashleigh. Nice to meet you, Ayame."

They shook hands, but it wasn't long before Ayame felt like she had to sneeze too. She fanned her face lightly, just as she had seen Ashleigh do, but it didn't do much to help her stave off the sneeze. Wrinkling her nose, Ayame shook her head and held her breath.

"KSHT!"

"Gesundheit!" Ashleigh blessed. Ayame stared at her for a second, and then they both began to laugh. Afterward, they struck up a conversation and talked about all kinds of things. She had only known Ashleigh for a few minutes, but Ayame already felt as comfortable with her as she did with Kasumi. They were having so much fun together that she didn't even remember to ask for a tissue. Eventually, after the conversation died down, Ashleigh and Ayame both started to feel a bit sleepy. Closing their eyes, they reclined in their chairs and quickly dozed off.

Unable to stop herself from giggling, Kasumi crept up to Ashleigh and Ayame as they slept. Being very careful not to disturb either of them, she slipped between their chairs and grabbed a tissue from the box. Rolling one corner of the tissue into a sharp point, Kasumi knelt down next to Ashleigh.

Placing her free hand over her mouth to silence her giggling, Kasumi used the tip of the rolled-up tissue to lightly tickle the underside of Ashleigh's nose. Her long nostrils flared briefly, prompting Kasumi to back away, but she quickly returned to normal and Kasumi got back to work. Almost crying with silent, immature laughter, Kasumi gently inserted the tissue unto Ashleigh's left nostril. Ashleigh wrinkled her nose, but she was still safely asleep. Then, once Kasumi had inserted the tissue far enough into Ashleigh's nose, she began to wave it around lightly.

"Ahhh..." Ashleigh breathed, wrinkling her nose again. Her long nostrils flared wide in protest, and then her chest heaved with a deep breath.

"HAA-SHOOOO!!!"

Since she started off asleep, Ashleigh was unable to stifle her sneeze. The full force of it surged out of her, blowing the rolled-up tissue clean out of her nose. She sat up and furiously rubbed her fingers under her nostrils, too preoccupied with her tickly nose to even notice Kasumi. Awoken by the loud sound of the sneeze, Ayame sat up too and glared at her friend.

"Kasumi!"

"Sorry! I couldn't help myself!"

After rubbing her nose for a few more seconds, Ashleigh finally managed to open her eyes. She massaged the sides of her nose and sniffed, raising an eyebrow. Ashleigh sniffed a few more times, and then she ran her index finger across the underside of her nose.

"Wow, my nose feels great!" she exclaimed, giving Kasumi a smile. "I think you cured my sneeze!"

"Kasumi..." Ayame sighed, resting her face in her palms. Kasumi and Ashleigh laughed, both scooting a bit closer to Ayame. Lifting her face from her hands, Ayame began to laugh too, but then she remembered she still had a little cold.

"Ah-Ahh-Ahhh! Ah-KSHHT!"

-----

And we find ourselves at that time once again. It's all done for now, though with any luck we'll see these characters again. I hope you all enjoyed reading and listening as much as PuddinPop and I enjoyed creating. Plus, this time PuddinPop took care of all the editing before it even got to me, so I think she deserves a big round of thanks for this one.

[a red nine]

YOU CAN WRITE SIMPLE I'M tELLING YOU

Anyway that was real cute and fun, Kasumi and Ayame have an adorable dynamic. I can tell which one you're partial too, but that's okay because I agree that Ayame makes a nice subject HEHE. It was very nice and incredibly simple! I think your goal should be to make a universe you don't have to invest yourself much in, it's just kind of time for anything, so anything can happen. But these characters are flexible, and it makes it easy to have goofy situations with them. Très French word for adorable!

[count tiszula]

This is, again, wonderful, and PuddinPop's soundtrack is just masterly....especially the enormous sneezes!

[Katsuo]

Please continue. This is awesome

[Trc]

Very good first chapter - one of my favourite scenarios, with a flawlessly executed buildup.

[flowerpower]

I love these scenarios, very well written.

Also am very much enjoying the audio's.

Thanks Blah & PuddinPop,

please continue with this