The temperature was cooler than usual but it was still quite clammy. The sky was clouded over, and the wind blew more fiercely. Soft gusts of wind beautifully blowing pink petals around were yesterday's weather, not today's weather. It wasn't the usual beautiful day in Faerindell but it didn't seem any different to Solar Flare. They lingered on the ledge of their window as they frequently did every morning. They watched intently, not on the sky, but on the yard. What did they look for every morning? Their heart fluttered lightly with excitement as they looked all around but nothing seemed to pique their interest.
Their eyes pulled up from their fixture on the yard with a hidden disappointment, and then they surveyed the town. Many of the buildings here seemed to prefer stone walls. The roads here were a well-worn cobblestone that had obvious gaps between all the stones. The paths were lit with the colours of spring as flowers seemed to grow from every gap that reached any sort of sunlight. Vines climbed up the stone walls and they too bloomed with beautiful colours. The faerie shroud would be considered a weed anywhere else given the proliferating ability it seemed to have.
This peaceful survey was erupted by the prominent sound of a kittom below Solar Flare's window. The voice immediately caused Solar Flare's ears to drawn back so far in annoyance that someone might think they had lop ears. Even though Solar Flare avoided Jubilee, it wouldn't have been hard to confront Solar Flare given their very specific morning routine of looking out their window for that purple spark of joy.
"Hey SF! Let's go play!" The voice was so endearingly sweet as it called up to Solar Flare that someone who didn't direct a lot of misplaced pain in their direction couldn't possibly be upset. However, Solar Flare did direct a lot of misplaced pain in Jubilee's direction. They felt like they were invading their home, their love, their life, and most importantly that they were going to put a wedge between Solar Flare and Whimsy because of their different circumstances in birth.
"Oh, um, uh..." Solar Flare coughed to fill the gaps as they looked for an excuse. "I..."
"Oh no! SF! You sound sick." There was an odd quality to the sound of her concern. It was so apparent even though Solar Flare couldn't expressly see Jubilee's face.
"Oh?" Solar Flare played along. "I guess we can't play then!"
That would be that. Solar Flare began withdrawing away from the window but as they began to close the window they heard something that stirred fear into their very being.
"I'll be right up!" Jubilee sounded so excited, and that could only mean the worst for Solar Flare.
The panic was exhilarating, and Solar Flare did the only thing they could think of. They ran. They ran down the stairs hoping they could get out the front door before Jubilee got into the backdoor. Unfortunately for Solar Flare, Jubilee had run to the back door as fast as Solar Flare had run downstairs. Solar Flare had reached the front door when Jubilee had reached the stairs. It was a clear sight, and once again Solar Flare's ears tried to conform to another mutation. It seemed that this time they perked up so high that from behind someone might think they had upright and forward-facing ears.
"SF! Where are you going? I thought you were sick!" The concern was deep in her little voice, the pitch changing without her intending for it to.
"I'm fine. I just had something caught in my throat..." Solar Flare edged toward the door, hoping Jubilee wouldn't notice.
"Where are you going?" There was a trill in her voice, not suspicious or doubtful of Solar Flare's intention. "I'll come with you!"
There was an obvious pause in Solar Flare's reply.
"M--Ms. Whimsy wants me to pick up some new flowers for the vase." Solar Flare said it confidently but their head lowered substantially. Mom. Why couldn't they just say it? They had changed their mind when they remembered who they were talking to. Jubilee would have laughed, wouldn't she? Whimsy WAS her mom. Solar Flare... they were just some kittom in the daycare in comparison. It was a battle Solar Flare would never win, even though they kept thinking they were making headway.
"Ohhhhh! I love flowers!" She made her intention clear but there was no aggression to it. If Jubilee's words had a scent, they would have spoken of flower petals blowing softly in the wind. Solar Flare hated it because it was so conflicting.
Solar Flare didn't say anything but when Jubilee came up beside them with a basket, Solar Flare took the other end of it. If Whimsy had seen the two of them, side by side, each carrying one side of a basket that was a little too big for either of them, she would have squealed over her two sweet angels.
Jubilee tried to walk in tandem while they headed toward the field but Solar Flare wanted to be done with this torture sooner than later so they kept a much faster pace than Jubilee, practically pulling her alone until they reached the field.
Jubilee seemed in awe when they placed the basket down. Of course, it was such a beautiful place. Any second Jubilee would probably run around delighting in all the beautiful sights but it never happened.
"SF! You're so strong, and fast! No wonder mom is so proud of you! Maybe you can show me how you walked so fast on your hind legs!"
Solar Flare's ears shot back into a position similar to lop ears again. Their face was red but it was hard to tell given the colour of their coat. Solar Flare didn't take the compliment well, probably worse than anything else, because Jubilee had rubbed the fact that Whimsy was her mom but not theirs.
"We should pick the flowers," they said, trying to change the subject. "We should split up and get an array."
Anything. Please. Just go over there.
Jubilee didn't have any qualms about getting a variety of flowers. They used a tall tree as a base camp for the basket and then they went around collecting.
Solar Flare tried to go back to the basket when Jubilee wasn't there but somehow, without fail, each time Solar Flare came back to the basket Jubilee seemed to be there waiting for them.
"Do you like these ones? They're lavender!" Jubilee said with a laugh. She seemed so excited but Solar Flare's face said a whole other story.
"L-L-Lavender?! I don't like Lavender! I hate Lavender!" Solar Flare yelled, their face extremely red.
"Oh, I didn't know that! I'll pick more of the other flowers." Jubilee smiled, unfazed by Solar Flare's flurry of emotions. If only Jubilee had realized the Lavender really in reference here was a proper noun.
The smell of lavender had flooded Solar Flare's senses by this point. The sweet smell, the familiar scent. It took Solar Flare a minute to compile their senses again. They went off to find a scent to cover the lavender and soon found themselves with a bundle of lilac branches. It took quite a bit of effort to pluck them off the bush but eventually, they did so passionately.
Solar Flare arrived back at the tree to find Jubilee already waiting. This time the other kittom had a row of lupines at the foot of the basket. Gloriously pink, they would stand taller than the two kittoms should they stand them upright.
Solar Flare tilted their head. Okay, so that was a little impressive. Solar Flare chose to leave instead of reply but it was at that moment that the sky opened up with a loud bang. The thunder crashed, and the lightning lit up the sky. Suddenly, the rain began to pour. Solar Flare took a step back under the tree again.
Uh oh.
Solar Flare looked at Jubilee hesitantly. Jubilee seemed concerned but it was quickly obvious that it wasn't over the storm.
"Are you all right, SF?" She asked softly, a little sing-song in her voice, as she carefully approached Solar Flare.
"I... I'm fine." Solar Flare said unconvincingly. The thunder went off again, and Solar Flare was practically hugging the tree. They shot a glare at Jubilee but Jubilee seemed to be looking in the opposite direction.
Jubilee turned around a few moments later and approached the tree as well.
"What a great idea. I heard it is much safer than being out in the open," she said softly.
It didn't even seem like she had seen what had happened. It brought great peace to Solar Flare for the first time since Jubilee had said good morning this morning. They sighed lightly and sat down as close to the tree as they possibly could have gotten.
Jubilee on the other hand began to load the flowers into the basket. She seemed to be carefully arranging them, shifting the flowers into carefully thought out places. Solar Flare looked at her with interest and shifted so they would be closer to the basket. Jubilee looked up at their half-sibling.
"I want to make it easier for us to deliver," she said proudly.
Solar Flare seemed surprised. That definitely wasn't something that had crossed their mind. They would have tossed all of the flowers into the basket, crushing many of them in the process.
"That's clever..." Solar Flare admitted. That was probably the nicest thing they had ever said to Jubilee.
"You think so?" Jubilee seemed flustered, swaying back and forth for a moment before focusing back on the flower delivery system she was setting up.
"I bet Ms. Whimsy will be happy with your work." Solar Flare said with a hint of regret.
"I think mom will be happy you went out to get her flowers in the first place," Jubilee said as she looked over at Solar Flare who looked aghast.
Solar Flare didn't know what to say.
"I was really happy when I found out we were siblings."
Solar Flare was still eerily quiet. The lightning was far enough away now that the thunder had all but vanished.
"I'm so happy you allowed me to join you!" Jubilee's voice was full of joy as she stopped what she was doing and physically tackled Solar Flare in a hug.
"Jubes!" Solar Flare cried out as the two of them fell onto the ground.
"Y-you!" The sentence didn't come out, and Jubilee squeezed Solar Flare happily.
The time seemed to fly by after that. Jubilee asked Solar Flare if she'd help her organize the flowers in the basket, and the two of them worked until the rain stopped. The walk back was in tandem, and when the two of them took a break at the top of the hill they turned back to the vastly pink treeline to see a rainbow through the clouds.
I suppose... it wasn't all bad.
