Submission (#3922) Approved

Utherwan followed You down the cobblestone streets of Elnion, jumping over a puddle at the edge of someone’s freshly watered garden, the bright colors of flowers vivid against the gree of the grass, the purples providing a great complement to the pink of the trees overhead. Faerie shrouds dripped down from the branches above, their rainbow of colors shimmering under the dying light and the flicker of the street lamps. You was up to no good, Utherwan was sure, and it was up to him to keep her out of trouble. 

You hummed to herself as she slipped down an alleyway sandwiched between to great stone and wood buildings, quite beautiful buildings, if Utherwan could say so, covered in ivy, with lovely flowering window boxes perched on carved wooden shutters. As they slipped from the light of the wrought iron street lamps, You’s paint markings and anima started to glow ever brighter. Utherwan shuddered at the sight of the dark alleyway, but followed his sister dutifully. As they ducked out of sight around the corner, You slips off her backpack and fishes out several bottles of glowing paint, the last of their supply from their time in Silveil, a special paint created from the bioluminescent mushrooms that grew in the region that sat sandwiched between them in faerindell and the islands of Palu’au.

“You, what are you doing?” Utherwan hissed nervously, eyes flicking back towards the tree lined streets at the  entrance and then back to the bottles of paint, now joined by several large paint brushes.

“Graffiti! What else?” You retorts, uncorking a bottle of paint. 

“Siobhan. I don’t think this is what mom meant when she told us to go play outside.”

You, Siobhan, giggles. “This is exactly what mom expected us to do, Flaithri. She’s the one who packed the bag, silly.”

Utherwan growls at the use of his real name, which he hates. It was payback, he supposed, for using You’s real name as well.  Neither of them really liked their given names, although Utherwan wasn’t much better actually if he thought about it. Utherwan. Other one. Real creative mom. 

A wind blows through and rustles the trees overhead, sending a shower of petal-like pink leaves to the ground, floating in the wind, and causing Utherwan to sneeze as one lands on his nose. You paints a great big stripe in bright blue across the stone wall in front of her.

“Can’t we paint inside?” Utherwan whines. “Wouldn’t that be better?” 

You pauses to look at him. “The whole point of graffiti, Utherwan, is to do it outside where people can see it! It’s the perfect outdoor activity. I wanna show them my master piece”

Utherwan groans. “We’re gonna get in trouble if anyone catches us!”

You grins. “We won’t get caught, don't worry so much!”

But barely a minute later, a door further down the alley creeps open, spilling light out into the alley from the lantern the older, bigger elnin is carrying in one hand. He sweeps his gaze first one way, then towards the two kittoms where they stand frozen. 

“Hey! You kids! Quit that!” He yells, once it sinks in what they are doing. 

“Run!” You squeaks, dropping her paint brush, but nto failing to scoop up her precious paint and shove it in her bag before dashing off, leaving Utherwan to catch up  behind her. They tumble out into the cobblestone streets of the main road way. The older Elnin chases after them, footsteps loud on the stone behind them.

They run as as fast as they can to get away, but he adult is too fast, gaining on them easily until You gets a bright idea and abruptly cuts under a wooden fence, slipping through the small gap at the bottom, and dashing through someone’s lovely garden. She tramples several flowers in her haste, and Utherwan feels terrible about it, but not terrible enough to not do the same as he follows. They slip between two large flowering bushes, in too much of a hurry to clock anything other than wow, pretty colors, just for a moment, and then they’re out into another road, trying to stay out of the light of the flickering lanterns, that line the streets. 

They run and run until they spot in the inn that they were staying at, slipping up the stairs, and into their rooms as fast as possible.

You giggles after a moment of silence, panting heavily.

“Well. That was fun.”

“That was not fun!” Utherwan hisses. “Next time we go out to play I get to pick what we do. Graffiti and running from trouble are not my ideas of fun.”

“Awwwww” You coos. “It was kinda like playing tag, no?”

“Absolutely not.” Utherwan deadpans. “Who knows what the heck that guy would have done if he caught us? Never again.”

Although he knows it’ll happen again. His mom and sister wre pure trouble at all time if not properly supervised, and it was up to him to keep them in line, and he was only one, very small kittom. It was too much work for just him!

You knows this and just keeps giggling, getting up to look out the window. It’s dark now, the pink of the trees looking almost more red or purple in the shadows, the various small gardens and courtyards of the surrounding neighborhood glimmering in the moonlight. It was calm now, but Utherwan knew it wouldn’t stay that way for long, not with his family!