Submission (#2138) Approved

     "Okay you two, moms said I have to watch over you and let you play with me- but if you're gonna play with me then you gotta do what I say!" Chime piped up, exclaiming at her toddler twin-sisters; one hand on her hip and one hand waving a little index finger at Lumos and Whisper sitting in front of her- she was mimicking her mothers as best as she could, particularly Arcadia who was very articulate and easy to listen to when speaking to her children. Bard and Arcadia were both having a house cleaning day indoors, but their three daughters had all wanted to play outside. Chime, the oldest, complained about wanting to go out first and of course her baby sisters followed suite immediately.

     Lumos and Whisper admired Chime a lot; they held her in such high esteem and followed her all over the place- much to the chagrin of their young 9-year old sister. The twins were only about 3 years old, and Chime loved them to bits but they just couldn't keep up with her and that annoyed her greatly at times. They were all sitting or standing around right outside of their family home, just at the base of the stairs leading up to the front porch of their house where their moms flitted about. Every few minutes one could see either mother peek her head out the front door or a window to check on their girls- basically they were getting nothing done at this point in the house as they were too busy fretting over their daughters. Neither one liked to leave the girls out of their sight and they had strict rules about not going out of the yard. In the future Bard and Arcadia would come to give them more freedom and let them roam more- but the marshy woods of Enmir were thick and easy to get lost in- not to mention there were plenty of wet marshlands any of the girls could fall into.

     The family loved Enmir because it was very private and secluded; they were hidden from the resst of the world by marshes that were difficult to navigate if you didn't live there yourself- however the mothers of the family were very quick to instill rules into their girls routines in order to keep them safe. Not that they always followed these rules, but it still helped to a degree.

     This day none of the girls got the idea to wander off out of the yard, Chime was too busy bossing her sisters around- especially Lumos- and the twins were both influencing each other by being entranced with Chime. What one twin did, the other usually followed close behind and copied, so sometimes it was difficult to get them both out of that loop while feeding off of each others actions.

     Chime's pomu then decided to make its entrance and peer out from behind Chime's legs. The younger twin sisters had a bad habit of lunging for and grabbing at Chime's little pomu- so it was understandably a bit apprehensive about showing up around either of them, but it seemed as if today Chime was the boss so her pomu took the risk. Lumos stood up upon seeing it and started to hobble forward before Chime put up her hand,

     "No ma'am! You better wait till you get your own pomu before you start messing with mine- you're mean to my pomu and I don't want you touching it!" Her tone may have been a bit harsh, but Chime meant serious business! Lumos pouted and her mind started to wander when she blurted out in broken english,

     "When will I get my pomwu? What about Whisper?" Lumos had a slight lisp- she had learned how to talk really early on though her twin sister never did. Chime and her mothers were usually very easy-going with Whisper and gentle with her. Something about her just made them all extra soft, and they thought she was pretty delicate because she couldn't speak. Whisper had never uttered a word or sound- it wasn't that she was a toddler refusing or being incapable of putting words together, she just could not make any sounds at all. It was almost like Lumos sped up her speaking ability to make up for Whisper's lack, and to speak for both of them. She almost always included Whisper in what she had to say- neither sister ever did anything without the other and they were always including each other and considering each other in every aspect of their daily lives.

     "Well, I dunno! But when you do, you'll be able to do all sorts of things with them! They're a best friend who never leaves your side- but I guess you two are already kind of like that, since you're always together and always playing together and stuff." Chime began to look inquisitive; the cogs in her child brain moving a mile a minute and going down who knows how many rabbit holes.

     "Here I'll show you! You can climb trees with your pomu, hunt for treasure, run around and play bird- anything you want! I bet you can't wait to get your pomus, they're pretty cool aren't they?" The older sister said, proud of the fact that her pomu had since appeared to her a long time ago and feeling very cool and big sister-ish that she was able to tell her younger sisters about her own experiences and let them know how it would be for them in the future too.

     Lumos looked over at Whisper with big golden eyes, her oversized ears flicking with thought as she met Whisper's turquiose-blue gaze. Both twin sisters understood that now they wanted to get their pomus to reveal themselves; it ran through both of their heads that they wanted to have a lot of fun with their pomus and go on all sorts of adventures together. Afterall, Chime was right that Whisper and Lumos never left each others' sides and knew they would be friends forever- they didn't really have some feeling that they needed somebody else, but having more friends to join them in their games that would work better with four people rather than two sounded like so much fun that their brains flooded with questions and ideas.

      Chime on the otherhand, was a bit frustrated that suddenly her baby sisters weren't looking at her anymore or paying her much mind- they were instead staring at each other and speaking in what sign language the both of them knew as they planned what they would do to get their pomus to manifest to them. They both grinned and got very excited, which made Chime stamp her foot and gripe at them for not listening to her, "Hey! Mom said you have to listen to me remember? She put me in charge!" She whined.

     "She also said to be nice to your sisters!" Arcadia had peeked her head through the door again, gesturing from her own eyes behind her glasses to Chime with a wave of her hand as she quoted herself, indicating that she was watching and that Chime not bully her sisters around.