Submission (#426) Approved

Her nap hadn’t been long, as she was soon awoken by someone rapidly jostling her sides.

“Hey, hey, Aria, wake up!”

She woke up with a start, letting out a squeak as she scrambled backwards, eyes wide and fearful at who the assailant was. A pair of purple eyes stared back at her in the dark, an unsettling white grin greeting her.

“N-Noctis?!”

“Geez, you look like you’ve seen a ghost, ahahah.”

The navy blue kittom plopped down in front of her, stretching out his wings as he scratched at his cheek.

“Twi and Lum not back yet?”

“N-no… I’m guessing their job is keeping them busy…”

“Yah, probs fending off their hoards of admirers~”

While Noctis laughed at the thought of the two literally fending off crazed fans (particularly in the case of Twinkle), Aria surveyed her surroundings. It seemed the light shower was still continuing, the ground lighting up in brilliant displays of light before quickly fading into the darkness.

She turned her head towards the sky, the stars ever unchanging. While she could still see the stars elsewhere, it felt as if they were brighter and clearer here in Silveil, especially near the lake where the lights of the city didn’t blot them out. The cool crisp night air still felt good against her fur, all the more refreshing due to the breeze carried over the lake. From where she was, she could see a silhouette of Silveil’s eldertree, a curious comparison to the others as this one grew upside down, branches seeming to reach into the depths of the lakes. Rather than bright foliage, a canopy of “stars” decorated the branches of the tree, which were really just bioluminescent jellyfish from what Aria had been told. At least, it made sense when they seemed to flee from the falling motes of light, only to reconvene once the light dissipated.

“So, was this trip what you had expected?”

Noctis’ voice broke her out of her reverie, and she turned to look at him. She looked down at the pomu still cradled in her arms, stroking it softly before she spoke.

“Yah… it wasn’t entirely what I had expected, and yet it also was. It’s kind of strange, but I’m glad we came.”

Her brother tilted his head, not quite sure what to make of the pomu totem, but decided not to ask.

“How about you? How was the, um, city?”

At this, he broke into a wide grin.

“Man, it was amazing! So many nin as far as the eye could see! Never a dull moment. And you should see the casinos! The amount of coin there… you could totally big there, with a little bit of luck~”

To prove his point, he pulled out several coins. As to where he had been hiding them, who knew.

“You… you stole them??!”

Noctis merely shrugged.

“Hey, it’s just a few. No one’s gonna miss it. Think of it as a souvenir. But that’s not important. I’m sure you’ve already seen our impromptu light show?”

Aria nodded as another stray light fell between them, dying the ground a momentary pink. She pawed at the place where the light hit, not finding it hot nor cold, and turned to look at Noctis.

“Do you know what’s causing this?”

Noctis shrugged again.

“Heck if I know. I ain’t no detective. Wouldn’t surprise me if it started raining chocolate milk. Now wouldn’t THAT be fun.”

Aria stifled a giggle.

“To you, maybe. Lumia would be so mad. She’d say it’s never coming out of her fur.”

The two laughed, and looked up at the sky once more. Strange as it was, it was still beautiful, and Aria knew this was a trip she wouldn’t forget.