Butter Face

"So this stuff's like,safe for pets, right?"

"Ugh, *yes* Pisti, this paint is safe for powoos." 

"'Cuz I don't want him to get like, sick from all this, y'know?" 

"I *know* Pisti, no need to worry, this stuff is perfectly fine." 

"Just the last thing I wanna happen is poor Butter getting all-" 

"For the love of Mani STOP ASKING! She already told you it's safe!" 

"Yeah alright, no need to scream, Sels. That's kinda rude." 

"I don't know why I hang out with you two."

~~~~~

Clouds hung low in the sky as the sun set behind them, painted in purples and blues. Sleachi, Pisti and Sunny were painting things as well, but not as well as the sun painted the sky. Bowls of paints scattered about the ground as the three tried their best to paint Pisti's pet/moving home, Butter. But when your canvas is about 4 times the size of your tallest member, it takes a bit of time to finish. 

This was their third attempt at painting the poor powoo for the Day of the Dead festival going on in town. The first time Pisti slipped and smudged all the paint before it could be set. While the second try was almost finished, when a late day rain shower ruined their hours of hard work. Now, a few days later after a certain redhead had cooled off, the three of them were trying their luck a third time, hoping to have it finished before the parade later tomorrow morning. Sunny was running the show this time around, ordering Pisti and Selachi wherever she deemed them needed. 

They had been at it a few hours now, and they were making good progress. Starting from the top down, they had managed to get Butters' full face white before deciding to take a break. Sitting under the lanterns at the festival plaza, the three enjoyed a quick snack while chatting about things. Ever the philosopher, Pisti was always the first to start a conversation. 

 "Why is it called *Day* of the Dead when the festival's all week?" 

"Becaaaaaaause, it takes the dead all week just to get here, duh!" 

"Oh yeah, that makes sense. But then like, how do they know *where* to show up?"

"That's what the lanterns are for! So the spirits n stuff know where to go!" 

"But there's lanterns all over town, how do they know to come here?"

"That's what the face paints for! They see all these plotties and hojitas painted like 'em and think 'oh hey look, more ghost! I should go chill with them!' or something like that."

"Wooooah, that makes so much sense! Where do you learn all this Sels?" 

"It's just common sense, my dude."

"Ain't nothing common about *your* sense, Selachi."

"That cuts deep, Sun. You've hurt me greatly." 

"Good, now let's hurry up and finish this before the sun comes up." 

"Yes ma'am!"

"DON'T CALL ME MA'AM!"

~~~~~

The noises of waking birds told the trio the time. So focused on their task, they had worked through the night and not realized it. Now with the sun starting to lighten up the sky, they took a much needed break to gaze at their handiwork. Sleeping through the whole ordeal, Butter's face paint was finally finished. The intricate blacklines meshed well with the bright splashes of color filling in certain areas. An argument started over what kind of flowers they wanted to add, with the simple marigold winning. Now with only a few hours left before the start of the parade, the gang could breathe a sigh of relief knowing all the hard work was finally done. Unless...

"So hey, I got a question."

"What is it, Pisti?"

"Now that we got Butter's face all painted, how are we gunna get him down to the plaza for the parade?" 

"Well you're going to wake him up, aren't 'cha?"

"Oh I can't wake him up. Butter runs on his own schedule, he only moves when he wants to."

"What?? How are we supposda move him then?"

"That's what I was asking!" 

"Hey, Pisti?" 

"Yeah, Sunny girl?"

"You're an absolute buffon."

"Awwww, thanks!" 

"IT'S NOT A COMPLIMENT YOU IDIOT! NOW FIGURE OUT A WAY TO WAKE BUTTER UP OR I SWEAR I WILL TIE UP YOUR VINES ." 

The two high flyers spent the next few hours figuring out how to wake up the behemoth that is Butter, making it to the Parade just in time. Pisti's vines were safe for another day.