Sparkling Pride
Nephrite led his siblings through the crowd as he darted to and fro. Cassia sighed as she wondered why they were even there, her expression only serving to drag snickers from some of the other siblings.
It wasn't often the entire clan was together like this, and she had to admit it was kind of nice. As a warrior, she and Eamon in particular didn't mind having the siblings in one place, easier to protect them after all. Even so, for those that seemed to have picked up the longer lifespan of their father, having those around they had a connection with was something they all seemed to enjoy. Made the word a little less lonely.
Inevitably, a large-scale event like this encouraged the group to split up to check out different activities and parts of the celebration.
Cassia had made a stink about being here in the first place, the crowd and festivities reminding her of the battlefield, but in truth, she had more reason to be there than some others.
The sparkling rosette male that was the youngest of her siblings looked up at her and dragged her forward. Neph had always seemed to be able to pick up on things unspoken, and he often tossed these feelings and moods into his music, eliciting great reactions from a crowd.
"What’s eating at you?"
Not wanting to answer his question, she grunted, and turned away. He wasn't going to relent though, and stood in her line of sight. She turned her head again, but the nimble runner kept up with her movements. Knowing she wouldn't be able to shake him that way, she herself spoke.
"And you? Why are you here?"
He recognized the deflection but shrugged and ran with it.
"I have friends here. I can support them while trying to figure out myself too."
"Figures. You and Star seem much too young to know these things."
He was the one to snort. "You forget in your old age how old we really are. No one is too young to figure out who they are."
His words struck a chord within her and she flinched. Intentional or not, Neph had a way of hitting where he wanted.
"How old were you?"
"Huh?" She asked, bewildered, and glanced back and forth to make sure no one she cared about was in earshot. With true Neph fashion, they had abandoned most of their siblings, pulling far enough ahead to be unheard.
“How old were you when you learned?” He didn’t need to explain what it was she learned, he seemed to almost know without asking.
"I was but a teen." Her voice was quiet, as if she was still afraid someone else may overhear.
"Annndddd? What did you find out?"
She wanted to roll her eyes at that tone, wanted to ignore it and push on. But something about his voice, their connection had her wanting to keep speaking. Perhaps someone deserved to know her story. Her own mother never found out, as Cassia had abandoned her after everything and had long since passed.
"I cannot bear children in the same fashion as others, requiring magic to do so, due to the fact I was not born a woman."
Neph hung onto every quiet word, his eyes holding wonder but not surprise. Did he already know? She didn’t know how but perhaps she wasn’t as obscure as she thought.
"A bit of surgery, a bit of magic, and no one would know the difference. I felt wrong for many years until I realized that may be the case. I don't like people to know though. It's easier when they think this is who I am and always have been."
Neph was silent for a few moments and she turned her eyes off him for only a moment it seemed, before he was pressing something small into her fur. She looked down to see him weave something beaded into the longer fluff on her chest, and then tuck it in where no one could see it. Before it hid within her fur, she noticed something light pink, blue and white.
"Well, that's what pride is for. You don't have to let the world know, but you can be proud of yourself, and no matter what, I'll always be proud of you. That's what family is for."
Cassia felt something blossom in her chest, a feeling she wasn't sure how to describe. She wasn't great with words, and leaned down to nuzzle her shorter sibling.
With a smile, he nuzzled her back. "Come on, let's go find the others. I’m sure they’ve found me a flag by now too."
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Cassia 11637 and Nephrite 13748
777 words
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Amelia walked next to her oldest brother, his opals sparkling like a night sky, a pattern among his coat like the sky constellations themselves. He was one of the largest of the group, besides Cassia and Andromeda. Not that it mattered. She much preferred to walk beside him and avoid her sisters. They never left her hair alone and she was glad to let it fall freely today. At least for now. They’d meet up with the others again before long.
Eamon was glancing through the crowd to keep an eye out for the siblings. They weren’t too far from each other, and while the festivities were fun and exciting, he was always the protector, keeping an eye out for trouble should it arrive. Crowds were not his thing, and Amelia was surprised he had volunteered to come with. Well, not terribly so.
Her brother wasn’t always her brother after all. He was most of the time comfortable with male pronouns, but with a family of majority girls, even when he was on his own, he occasionally had other days where he didn’t feel male at all. They all ran with it, slipping into neutral or feminine words like it was natural. He didn’t often share that outside the family, after all, not everyone was accepting, but it was enough for him that the large family supported him without any hesitation.
Amelia wasn’t quite sure what flag fit him, and would have nabbed one if she could, but Eamon beat her to it, draping a pink, purple, and blue flag over her own back like a cloak. She chuckled. Just like him to be thinking of his siblings first.
Amelia herself wasn’t like him, but her preference for both boys and girls marked her as belonging to the festivities. She still wasn’t sure if she was bi or pan, but she often used the terms interchangeably. Eamon was the same, and had a similar one wrapped around his own shoulders, causing her to grin at their matching look.
“Do you think Neph got Cass to talk yet?”
Amelia’s ears perked up at her brother’s words. She smiled, glancing over at the pair a little ways away. Nephrite was just as excitable as always, while the larger female looked as awkward as ever.
“Probably not yet, but give it time.”
None of them really knew Cass’s story, but they knew there was something she wasn’t telling them. They had their suspicions, but the only one of them they trusted to get the story out of her was the rosette male, who’s optimism was as sparkling as his coat.
Eamon just grinned and led the way to another booth, nabbing a bandana to wrap around his own neck. The colors were similar to hers, but with white and black as well.
“I’ll never get these straight.”
“That’s okay, it’s not like you are straight.”
Amelia laughed at his quip, causing his smile to widen almost impossibly, his teeth brighter than his dark blue coat, accenting the white patches on his fur. Her own colors were opposite, sunny and warm, night and day. But under the flags, they were the same, just as was everyone else around here.
“Think the twins have figured themselves out yet?”
Amelia laughed at his question. “Ha, you want to rush them?”
“Nah, they already know, if we do, I’m sure they can figure it out.”
The runner frowned for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “Think they have one for a love of music?”
Eamon snorted and shook his head. “Come on, let’s go find them. I’m sure we can find some demi flags on the way.”
Amelia smiled and trotted to catch up. The twins were so alike after all, and got spoiled in the way they were raised. They loved connections with others, and both seemed mostly just interested in the romantic aspects of relationships. Neph had one asked if anyone would be sad if he never took a mate for pups, and they all had assured him their family was just fine as is, if he never wanted any of his own. He had implied he wasn’t interested in mating at all, and none of them would ever put him down for it.
She snagged a few more flags as they parted the crowd to find their siblings.
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725 words
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Andromeda was busy trying to braid yet more merch into her hair. Her claws were painted in fanciful colors, and beads and ribbons adorned her mane with lots of colors and patterns. Celestine would have called it gaudy, but in comparison to the rest of the people here enjoying the festivities, she was actually somewhat tame. Not that Celestine would ever call the people here gaudy. She just didn’t have another word for it.
Andromeda had a few patterns she was sporting. The woman held the colors of pan, the bright pink, yellow, and blue being one of the strongest and most obvious of the flags she supported. There were two others less obvious, but clear for those that knew. One was blue, red and black, a yellow rune inscribed in the middle, or occasionally hanging as a bangle in the beads. Andromeda wasn’t in a committed relationship at the moment, but she had been known to enjoy a few partners in a closed or sometimes open circuit. The idea of being poly intrigued Celestine, but she didn’t know if she could ever swallow her jealousy to do it herself. The other flag was black and blue alternating stripes, with a single white stripe through the middle. This one had a heart accessory. She had to ask about that one, and blushed furiously when her sister had no shame in describing her love for the BDSM lifestyle. Sure plenty of reos enjoyed their collars and harnesses but to enjoy them in a setting like that …. Celestine was pretty sure that wasn’t her thing.
The tobiano had gone by without sharing her own pride, mostly because Andromeda had enough for both of them. Of course, the large white patches of her fur were like a target to her sister, who didn’t take long to come up with a plan. When Celestine hadn’t been paying attention, she felt a smack firmly on her shoulder and she shrieked with surprise, much to Andromeda’s amusement.
While her midnight and jade sister laughed, the purple sparkling female glanced at her shoulder. She had expected a sticker perhaps, but instead, her sister had dipped her paw in paint in the correct pattern of her flag and had stamped her fur with the paint. The paw print dripped a little, but it was almost perfect. Black, gray, white, and purple (and she had to squint to see that there was white paint on top of her white fur), striped through the pawprint, claiming her as ace for the world to see.
She groaned and rolled her eyes, but at least here, no one would judge her for it. She enjoyed kisses, she enjoyed cuddles. She’d even do her best to enjoy intimacy if her partner wanted it, but she never desired it, and she received much backlash for it and still calling herself ace. Here though, there were probably many others like her, and she’d never receive the same treatment here. Andromeda knew that, and was part of why she had painted her shoulder like she had.
When her giggles subsided, Andromeda’s eyes met her sister’s, two sets of pupiless eyes staring into each other. Long ears twitched with the noise around them, and they spoke silently, supporting each other no matter what. A smile finally dotted Celestine’s face, and she nuzzled her sister.
Suddenly, something seemed to occur to them both simultaneously.
“Uhh, where did Star go?”
“Shit, weren’t we in charge of Star?”
It was true, when they split into smaller groups, Star had broke off to hang out with her older sisters. She usually stuck by Neph’s side, but when everyone was hoping Neph would get through to Cass, even she had known her twin would have better luck on his own. She had trotted off to her more fashionable sisters, and they had gone off to find hair ribbons almost immediately. Looking around though, their little sister was nowhere to be found.
“Maybe she went ahead to find a spot for the parade?” Andromeda grimaced, and Celestine got the feeling that probably wasn’t the case.
“Maybe? I can stay here, you want to go ahead and find the others? More eyes to help?”
“Good idea.”
Andromeda jumped into the crowd to gather up her siblings, while Celestine chewed her lip, hoping Star hadn’t gone far. At least at a place like a pride celebration, she had the feeling they’d find the people here more than helpful, and she felt a little more at ease. They’d be okay.
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Andromeda 13536 and Celestine 14189
755 words
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Star Dust found herself separated from the others. She had been standing by Celestine, her purple and white standing out best in the crowd, and had looked away for only a moment to glance at yet another table of handmade merchandise. When she looked back, not a single sparkling coat greeted her, and when she headed in the direction she thought her sisters may have gone, she only found herself more lost.
A flash of sparkling color caught her eye, and Star ducked through the crowd to follow it. Instead of finding a familiar face, she was met with a male decked in the colors of the night sky, blues and purples, pinks and tans, sparkling throughout his entire pelt. She had only known of one reosean that held that sort of full fur sparkle, but from what she remembered and had been told, he was entirely pink, so this couldn’t be him. Still, the stories she had heard of that male caused her to shake a little, which might have been just enough to draw his attention to her.
Amour looked down at the smaller female, bigger than he had last seen her, and his eyes sparkled with recognition. Still, drawing away her opal markings for even more lifespan added to his wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do here. None of his spawn knew of his change, and he wasn’t going to announce his presence to them here now. No, he only came to this place to drain color from the crowd, knowing the flags and festivities would hide his own nefarious deeds.
He needed to get away from the younger opal, and went to move away, only to find her dogging in his shadow. He growled softly. “What do you want?”
“Umm, well, I’m looking for my siblings. And they’re opals too. And I thought you were one of them but I was wrong but I don’t know what else to do.” Her voice was soft, but it grew sing song at the end, her voice punching him in the gut. A reminder of the beauty he had created but didn’t get to enjoy.
He groaned internally. He didn’t want this family, but sometimes he had thoughts of a ‘what if’ scenario.
“And what do you want me to do about it?”
Star was silent for a while. “I mean you’re taller?”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine. Come on.”
He wouldn’t be able to shake her without causing a scene anyway, and picked a random direction to go.
“So, umm, why are you here?”
He couldn’t very well tell her the truth, so he gestured around them. “What do you think?”
She was quiet for only a moment. “Are you afraid of who you are? Or are you trying to figure it out like me?”
Ha, him afraid of who he was. As if. He reached across to grab a flag to drape across his back. The colors were accurate for the most part. Pansexual, and they mostly matched him too compared to the rest of the flags. He didn’t care who he slept with, as long as he had fun, or got paid. He wouldn’t say he loved others, but he paid no mind to their genders or pronouns. His simple gesture of grabbing a flag seemed to ease any tension they had.
It wasn’t long before he saw the familiar sparkle of yet another of his spawn, and he pointed in that direction.
“There you go.”
Star looked ahead to make sure it was one of her siblings, and saw the entire group up ahead conversing, concerned looks on their faces. She grinned and turned to the stranger to thank him, only to find him gone within the crowd. She frowned, but took the chance to rejoin her family once more.
Amour watched from a bit away as she was embraced with plenty of hugs, and her twin draped a matching flag to his own across her back. It was interesting to him to see how different they all were, all the flags and representations, yet how they had found one another across years and continents, joined together by their shared heritage, making their own family out of nothing.
He didn’t know what to make of it, and he scowled, turning away. He hadn’t expected to run across them here. He didn’t want to see them again, and he trotted off, leaving them behind, not for the first time, and likely not for the last.
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Star Dust 13729 and Amour 9847
750 words
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June: Prideful Support
To be yourself is something not many can afford to be. Luckily, in the world of Reos- to be yourself is not only accepted but encouraged. Love has no boundaries, no shape, no form, no limit. Platonic, Romantic, otherwise engaged- love is love- and is celebrated across the entire world.
This June, we will celebrate our loved ones regardless of their orientation!
Draw or write about your Reosean celebrating with another Reosean or a starter, featuring one of many LGBTQIA+ flags or other decorations/accessories!
Prompt suggested by: Kelyias