Imagine

~~Hikari~~

Imagine. 

You are all alone. 

And it's Valentine's Day.

Funny enough...the dull pink and purple orin did not have to imagine. It was her reality. And it had been for years. You would think... after spending a millennium away from society... they might welcome you back with open arms. That was far from the truth and Hikari was all too aware of that. It was funny to her how she could never walk the streets without someone asking for an autograph yet somehow no one ever had the guts to ask her to be their valentine. The fairy sighed to herself, mildly annoyed and depressed at this holiday's outcome. When she was younger she always imagined herself finding a nice mate who would actually get her. Someone to confide in. Someone that had her values. Instead.... what did she have? An empty mansion all to herself. A sister that seemed afraid to even talk to her. A boss that was rather uncaring and often tossed her needs aside. Funny how life worked out. You could spend all of it caring for others. Spend it ensuring the world was happy. Spreading smiles and hope. You could help others fulfill their dreams. And still, end up empty handed in the end. Bright blue eyes roamed the empty halls as she walked in darkness, struggling to find something to do. She had considered going to the lantern festival but it would be her first year going alone. Then again it would also be her first year going in a long time. 

Hikari paused in front of a mirror in the hall, looking over her long blue hair. She could see how much she had changed. Wings were dirty, hair frayed. Her eyes begged for something that she could not even fulfill anymore. She sighed softly closing them for a moment. Taking time to appreciate what life used to be. Life.... before all the mess. Before the chaos of the dream guard. Back when she had her family. Had a place where she belonged...

~~~Twenty Five Years Earlier~~~

The screams of the crowd filled her ear. It was Valentine's Day! The best day of the year! The bright pink and purple orin was up on the stage singing an upbeat pop song. Something about love and dreams. It was one of her hit singles at the time. Her dress was sparkly with hearts of all sorts embedded in it. The stage was filled with false white and pink clouds and dusty pink and blue lights highlighted her features. Her pink and blue hair had been done up in a long ponytail that swung around as she danced. Sparkly makeup and shiny boots to top it all off. A look that would surely be marketed out to the public after this.  The crowd was filled with the beat of the music, orins that glowed beating to the music. Hikari had been invited to the biggest Valentine's Festival of the year. Tickets were sold out within hours of her confirmed her presence. Of course, she was kind enough to help sneak in a few teens that wanted to see her performance. This was it. This was her life. Filling crowds with song, hope, dreams. Everything that she wished to have. To her...this was the dream. She could not ask for more in life. Just seeing others happy... it made her day. The song ended with a soft note and the lights dimmed momentarily. 

Hikari took a silent breath, stage orins rushing about to change the scenery and quickly helping her to change into her next outfit. A soft blue and pink dress with white flowers on the edges. The next song was a bit slower. One that she made to sing to her little sister. Yue. Yue was the light of her life. If she could, she would drop everything just to spend time with her. Her sweet baby girl. Hikari did not have kids. And honestly, she doubted she ever would. Her life revolved around a song. She worked alone and part of her knew that was all she would ever know. 

The song started with a slow hum, other dancers coming to the stage as she settled in the middle. She poured her heart into every song. And she hoped that her audience could feel that too. Her baby blue eyes roamed the crowd looking for the familiar faces. Her eyes finally landed on her little sister and her friends after what felt like years of searching. Yue's bright blue eyes watched her with such wonder. Her little friend, Eris, was right up next to her singing along. His older sister, |̢̯̱̽̀͂|̜̹͊̓|͕̙͓͉̏̔̈́͋|̤͎̔̒|̼̬͗̽̅͟|͖̣̓́͘͢|̹͊|̡̘̮͊͝͠͝ͅ|͕̻̻͔̂͛̓͛|͂͜|̗̰̖̩͋̈́̎̐|̦̩̩͗̎̕|̞͆|̢̩̺̒̈̀ , ensuring that the kids were kept out of trouble. Ah... What would Hikari do without her? She felt a light blush dusting the tips of her ears. |̢̯̱̽̀͂|̜̹͊̓|͕̙͓͉̏̔̈́͋|̤͎̔̒|̼̬͗̽̅͟|͖̣̓́͘͢|̹͊|̡̘̮͊͝͠͝ͅ|͕̻̻͔̂͛̓͛|͂͜|̗̰̖̩͋̈́̎̐|̦̩̩͗̎̕|̞͆|̢̩̺̒̈̀ had been her best friends since they were kids! They spent their childhood together and she was there for her when things went south. Heck, she was one of the few people that could even get Alatus to smile! If that was not a reason to give her a reward of sorts, Hikari was not sure what could be. Without Her... Hikari would not be who she was today. A bright smile painted her face. |̢̯̱̽̀͂|̜̹͊̓|͕̙͓͉̏̔̈́͋|̤͎̔̒|̼̬͗̽̅͟|͖̣̓́͘͢|̹͊|̡̘̮͊͝͠͝ͅ|͕̻̻͔̂͛̓͛|͂͜|̗̰̖̩͋̈́̎̐|̦̩̩͗̎̕|̞͆|̢̩̺̒̈̀ really was the reason that Hikari had childhood dreams. Eris caught Hikari's eye and jumped up and down to wave, causing both of the kids to start jumping to get her attention. Hikari did her best not to ruin her composure but waved back. Absolutely Adorable. If only she was able to share that moment. She supposed in a way she was that moment. Or at least the cause of that moment. A bit of happiness sprinkled in her dark world. She hoped that this inspired them to create their own dreams and achieve whatever they wanted. Hikari internally laughed as she reached the final chorus. It was fitting that this song was called Childhood Dreams

~~Indarias~~

Imagine.

You are the most hated orin in town.

You work hard to protect everyone. 

But what about your own mental health?

The captain of the dream guard. When he walked the streets, orins parted for him. He held an air of confidence and struck fear in others. Despite having such high standing in society, most orins tried to steer clear of him. Apparently, he had a bad temper and a bad reputation of tossing smaller orins out of his way if they tried to even talk to him. To say it was a problem was an understatement. The bright blue and red orin walked slowly through the middle of the town, feeling the eyes and hearing the whispers about him. It seemed every time he went through here orins got quieter and quieter. He was not surprised. No. In fact, he started to expect it. Few would dare talk to him and her could do his work without having to worry about fulfilling any silly requests. No. He was not lonely. He convinced himself that this was his life. That he would work hard to protect others even if it meant no one would even care to protect him. 

Indarias paused in front of a shop window, seeing a bee shaped pillow that said 'Bee Mine!'. Despite being the most hated orin in town... he had his own life. One that few even knew about. He did not hesitate to purchase the pillow, ensuring it was properly gift wrapped before heading on his way. 

Indarias, captain of the dream guard, had a secret. He had what one would call a family of sorts. Despite seeming scary and seemingly hating anyone that even tried talking to him he had a bit of a soft side. About ten years ago, something terrible happened. He still partially blames himself for it to this day. But that is a story for another time. Anyways. He ended up with a kid out of it. A little orin with wide eyes. Seer was special to him. Weirdly enough his presence made him feel that maybe he could do something write. Sadly often, Indarias felt he was not doing enough for him, especially early on, when he did not have time to care for Seer and struggled to even find the proper way to explain that your mother is gone and she is not coming back. He internally sighed at that thought wishing her a good rest mentally before continuing on. Nevertheless, Here he was. Playing some weird form of parent and trying his best to exist in the world. Seer... seemed to appreciate him trying and that was enough for Indarias. The slight appreciation for his existence. Indarias found some weird smile trying to cross his face. Like he would let that happened. The dual-horned guard took a deep breath and went into a trot to get home as fast as possible. He did not exactly have the day off... He rarely did. He could definitely use a break but duty called! Duty... always called. He paused outside his own house, suddenly anxious to go in. When was the last time he didn't have work? When he didn't have to care about others. When Nightmares were not a problem and everyone kinda just existed together...

~~~Twenty Five Years Earlier~~~

"Yuri! I'm going out to get the cake! Do you need anything?"

Yuri slowly stirred from sleep, all of her mate's blankets had been tossed over her blocking out the morning sun. Hm? What day was it? Cake? She stretched out yawning as she did, before grabbing her scarf and trotting into the living room. Aether was putting his own scarf on, smiling and looking up as Yuri entered the room.

"Good morning Snow Angel! Glad to see you are joining us today." Aether chimed, a soft lyrical tone to his voice. Yuri sighed softly walking up and leaning on him, still half asleep. Aether giggled and returned the gesture, "Happy Valentine's Day. I tried getting tickets to the concert but it was all sold out." The blue and red orin hummed in thought, her fan shifted slightly before she raised her head, the bells on her scarf jingling as she did. Concert? Valentine's Day? That was today?! Oh, gods help her. She completely forgot about that holiday! She had been too busy working with her friend on the starts of a neighborhood dream protector squad. The name was a uh... work in progress. Yuri seemed much more awake now. She raised her head and made a soft nervous sound. One that someone makes when they realize they have forgotten something important. 

"Yeah. Happy Valentine's Day." Yuri said quickly, nudging her mate's hoof. Aether's expression softened and he sighed a bit. It was easy to tell that he knew that she forgot. But he was far from mad. He could care less if she had gotten a gift or anything for him. He was happy to just spend time with her. 

"No need to fret over things. I prepared everything for us this year! Starting with picking up that cake and then spending the Valentine's Day festival together! It's a shame that the new year didn't land at the same time huh? I would have loved to decorate lanterns with you." Aether said thoughtfully, holding one of her hooves.

Yuri rolled her eyes but smiled, "You literally say that every year. I have a feeling you just liked watching me struggle with the lanterns."

"I did not! hehe... Okay, maybe just a little bit! But I really liked the food too! It was all so tasty! I can't wait to open my own food store someday." Aether said dreamily thinking to himself. Yuri nudged him out of it and opened the door. 

"And I for one can not wait to go buy your goods. Now to the bakery right, my dear?" Yuri said sweetly. Aether walked out the door and nodded. 

"Off to the bakery! I will tell you about all of the plans I made on the way there!" Aether said excitedly. He paused and turned back waiting for Yuri to catch up, "Oh! And before I forget-"

"Happy Birthday too!"

~~~Present Day~~~

The white and black orin faded from his memory. Indarias was not that orin anymore. Bonded or not. It meant nothing when Aether didn't even remember him. Indarias sighed. He had no clue where that orin even went off to. He had disappeared a few years back and he hadn't heard anything from him since. Not even his twin knew where he had gone. Of course, Indarias was worried but there was nothing he could do about that. All he could do was continue with his daily life and hope that maybe his love might come home...

No matter. He had bigger, present, things to attend to. 

Indarias opened the door to the house with ease. It was quiet other than soft music coming from the living room. He took a step hearing a light crunch under hoof. He winced and looked down, expecting to see some broken toy. But instead, he saw a few pink flower petals. He hummed softly out of curiosity before continuing on, following the trail all the way into the dark living room.

"SURPRISE!!"

Seer, Yolanda, Soraka, Primi, Alatus, Pidge, and a few others from the dream guard were in his living room. He paused, sitting the gift he had gotten for his son down and slowly walking in. There was a chorus of happy birthdays as he came in getting a slightly nervous laugh out of him. 

"Happy birthday...?" Indarias asked tilting his head in confusion. Everyone looked to Seer as if waiting for an explanation. Seer pulled out a calendar and showed it to his father. Indarias slowly looked over it. Sure enough. February 14th. How could he have forgotten that? He supposed the stress of work and being a single parent made him completely forget his birthday even existed. How old was he now? Actually, scratch that he didn't want to know. Pidge smiled a bit, as best as one could through flowers, and came up behind the taller to push him towards the group.

"We set all this up for you! The least you can do is enjoy it!" Pidge chirped. Indarias normally would have protested but everyone chimed in to try and get him to stay. He sighed thinking about all the work he had to do before Primi and Alatus came forward. Primi had a card in his mouth. It had a very... very bad scribble on it.

'This hereby decrees that Indarias, Captain of the Dream Force, gets the week off to spend with his family and friends. And if he is caught working, Primi has every right to Indarias's cider supply. - signed The Coolest Captain Ever' 

Indarias squinted as he read over that, fan twitching slightly, "Primi did you forge that."

Primi spat it out and giggled, "I can't even read you think I wrote that? Alatus convinced her to give you the week off." Alatus nodded in confirmation. Indarias sighed realizing it was unlikely he would be able to get out of this. But... then again maybe he was just a tad happy he had a week off. There were plenty of festivities going on this week. And he would love to spend them with the few friends he had. Pidge especially. After all what kind of partner would he be if he didn't spend Valentine's day with his partner! Indarias nodded and gave in. The next thing he knew there was a birthday hat balanced on both of his horns and he was being tossed into socializing with others. Despite the world seeing him as mean and terrible... it seemed like some people still cared about him...

~~Lumine~~

Imagine

You lost someone close

You spend every waking moment to try and make the world a better place

But what about you? 

Who remembers you?

The festival was finally set up! And just in time too as the first party goers started to show up. Colorful streamers hung overhead. Whites, Pinks, Reds. You name it the color was there. Not to mention the constant snow of glitter that came from above. Perhaps letting Pim operate the glitter part of the set up wasn't the best idea. It was too late now... Plus Lumine honestly liked what she did with the place! The black and white orin slowly untied the final few lanterns to float about the festival before yawning and looking about their hard work. They did such a good job this year! It was the perfect combination of New Years Festivities and Valentine's Day. Lumine tilted her head slightly finding herself looking for one small orin in particular. How does one lose a loud bouncing sparkly orin? Lumine grumbled to herself trotting about the venue. It was steadily getting more and more crowded and the sun was slowly starting to set. Yet there was no Pim to be found. Lumine's bauble slowly shook every time she thought she caught sight of her beloved only to be disappointed as she got closer.

Eventually, Lumine paused in the middle of the crowd, orins passing her left and right. Her mind was blank, a bit panicked as lanterns started to glow up above. How did she lose her little sunshine? Tears started to well up as panic started to overcome her. Her eyes shut tightly and she ducked down, feeling rather out of place all of sudden. Lumine had high self-esteem issues, especially since her height made her stand out so much in a crowd. She curled up on the spot, waiting for her sunshine to come and find her instead. She wasn't used to being alone for too long anymore. It had been years since she was last alone. Years that she would never want to live again...

~~~Fifty Years Earlier~~~ 

"Lumine!"

Bright blue eyes opened to an empty tent. The sound of her siblings talking outside had awoken her. She stretched and carefully left the tent, being sure to duck low enough to not get her horn caught in the fabric... again. Her triplets were looking over their map. A map that they had been creating as they went place to place, dream to dream, world to world. Adventure was their calling and Lumine could not think of a better crew to ask for. Lumine yawned and slowly walked up to them. Aether nodded back to her as she leaned up against him. 

"Hey sis! |̢̯̱̽̀͂|̜̹͊̓|͕̙͓͉̏̔̈́͋|̤͎̔̒|̼̬͗̽̅͟|͖̣̓́͘͢|̹͊|̡̘̮͊͝͠͝ͅ|͕̻̻͔̂͛̓͛|͂͜|̗̰̖̩͋̈́̎̐|̦̩̩͗̎̕|̞͆|̢̩̺̒̈̀  and I mapped this entire area while you were dead to the world! We tried finding a village but this place seems pretty empty. So no chocolate treats for you to hoard this year!" 

"Darn... my favorite holiday too." She scoffed, knowing that was a lie. Valentine's Day didn't really mean much to the triplets. Lumine yawned again and glanced around. A large blue lake laid out in front of them, "You mapped... the lake?" She asked softly tilting her head. She didn't seem disappointed, just amused. |̢̯̱̽̀͂|̜̹͊̓|͕̙͓͉̏̔̈́͋|̤͎̔̒|̼̬͗̽̅͟|͖̣̓́͘͢|̹͊|̡̘̮͊͝͠͝ͅ|͕̻̻͔̂͛̓͛|͂͜|̗̰̖̩͋̈́̎̐|̦̩̩͗̎̕|̞͆|̢̩̺̒̈̀  laughed and pawed the ground. That was exactly what they just did. And they spent several hours ensuring it was done all the way to the last rock. Lumine snorted and rolled her eyes. She was not surprised one bit. It was rather fitting for her siblings to do something dumb like that. They were young after all. None of them remembered their parents. All they knew growing up was each other and what they stood for. 

Freedom.

Happiness. 

Love.

Nothing more, Nothing less. 

They were family and they cared about each other. It was just them against the world!... Right? 

That's what it felt like. Traveling city to city, village to village, place to place. Not every place was as welcoming. But the triplets managed! Lumine stretched and patted the two on the back, "Hey! Well, congrats! Now I know where to go pick lime grass!" 

"That's a lemon-" Aether mumbled trying to fix his hair as Lumine messed it up, "Well sleepyhead! If you were up earlier you could have had fun with us!" Aether huffed dropping and crossing his arms. Lumine smiled gently before fixing his hair up for him, slowly starting to rebraid it. Lumine was the motherly sort of the group. She cared a lot about her siblings and they cared about her too. |̢̯̱̽̀͂|̜̹͊̓|͕̙͓͉̏̔̈́͋|̤͎̔̒|̼̬͗̽̅͟|͖̣̓́͘͢|̹͊|̡̘̮͊͝͠͝ͅ|͕̻̻͔̂͛̓͛|͂͜|̗̰̖̩͋̈́̎̐|̦̩̩͗̎̕|̞͆|̢̩̺̒̈̀  was more of the guardian of the group. He understood stranger danger the most out of all of them. Aether, however... was the baby of the group. And He Hated That. Lumine knew that but she and |̢̯̱̽̀͂|̜̹͊̓|͕̙͓͉̏̔̈́͋|̤͎̔̒|̼̬͗̽̅͟|͖̣̓́͘͢|̹͊|̡̘̮͊͝͠͝ͅ|͕̻̻͔̂͛̓͛|͂͜|̗̰̖̩͋̈́̎̐|̦̩̩͗̎̕|̞͆|̢̩̺̒̈̀  wanted to ensure that their little moon stayed safe and sound. 

Aether had been rambling to |̢̯̱̽̀͂|̜̹͊̓|͕̙͓͉̏̔̈́͋|̤͎̔̒|̼̬͗̽̅͟|͖̣̓́͘͢|̹͊|̡̘̮͊͝͠͝ͅ|͕̻̻͔̂͛̓͛|͂͜|̗̰̖̩͋̈́̎̐|̦̩̩͗̎̕|̞͆|̢̩̺̒̈̀  while Lumine fixed up his hair. She only tuned back in because he was starting to complain about how he was old enough to do his own hair. Lumine scoffed and gently bumped her horn against him, "If you can do your own hair now feel free to start doing it tomorrow." 

"Ah! Hey hey! I'm a big boy I can do whatever I want... but you know... I kinda like when you braid my hair every now and then-" Aether whispered tapping his hooves together.

 |̢̯̱̽̀͂|̜̹͊̓|͕̙͓͉̏̔̈́͋|̤͎̔̒|̼̬͗̽̅͟|͖̣̓́͘͢|̹͊|̡̘̮͊͝͠͝ͅ|͕̻̻͔̂͛̓͛|͂͜|̗̰̖̩͋̈́̎̐|̦̩̩͗̎̕|̞͆|̢̩̺̒̈̀  laughed, "Says the big boy!"

"Hey! I am a big boy!" 

Lumine laughed as she watched the boys went about messing with each other. This was the life. Just her. Her siblings. 

And a world of wonders to explore.

~~~Present Day~~~  

"Lulu! Where have you been?"

Pim's voice caused Lumine to dart to her feet running to Pim's side. She ducked down, hiding her head against the back of Pim, a reassuring thing for her to feel their horns close to each other. Pim laughed softly but understood that she was probably panicked since she was alone for so long. "Hey, Moomoo. It's me! You're okay." Pim said reassuringly, backing up a bit to nuzzle her. Lumine sighed softly and nodded, all of a sudden at peace again. "Before you ask where I was! I have something to show you! Come on! It's a surprise!" Pim said bouncing about before nudging her mate through the crowd. Pim bounced in front leading the way, getting others to move in the process. 

Lumine walked slowly at her mate's side as they finally got out of the crowds. She took a light breath calming herself now that it was just the two of them again. Pim was chattering about how much she enjoyed their day together, while Lumine was just happy to listen to her little sun exist in her presence. Pim got bouncier the closer they got to their destination. 

"Right up here!" Pim chirped running ahead up the hill. 

Lumine smiled a bit, ears perking up. She trotted up the hill after her, happy to see whatever Pim had been preparing. 

At the top of the hill, Pim had laid out a whole picnic. Lumine smiled, seeing a familiar black and red cloth that she used to use on adventures finding a new purpose as their blanket. Pim had made all sorts of goodies for them to snack on as well. Pim gestured to the picnic with a bright smile, glitter shaking from her bauble.

"Ta da!! I made this all for you! And for me of course. It's just you've been doing so much preparation for the festival and so have I so we haven't had a lot of time to do date nights or anything." Pim said softly pawing the ground, "I thought you would like a cute little picnic like this! A place to watch the lanterns far away from anyone else. Lumine slowly curled up next to Pim, looking up to the sky with wonder.

"So! Moo-Moo. Is my date night up to your standards." Pim said smiling as she nuzzled up against Lumine. Lumine silently looked up to the sky, eyes taking in the shining lights above them. She smiled and nodded, giving an affirming hum. Pim vibrated with joy, glitter getting all over the two of them. 

"This is the best, little Sun. You're the best-"

"I love you," They said in sync getting adorable giggles out of the both. The realm's most lovely couple was really just a cryptic moon lady and her sun...

~~Chiharu~~

Imagine

You've been outcasted from society

You live in a world where you aren't wanted

 

Yet you can't stop yourself from loving someone you don't deserve

The kitsune could not watch the festival any longer. White and pink lanterns floating to the sky... so what. It didn't mean anything to her. It sucked that her favorite holiday ended up on the same day as that one. She would have done anything to rearrange the holidays of the year. ANYTHING. That's how much she hated Valentine's Day. Chiharu sighed, glancing back one more time to the lantern lit sky. Admittedly... it was beautiful. Her golden eyes went back to the dark forest in front of her. Any normal orin would turn head and tail and run home. But Chiharu had lost all will to do that years ago. The pink and white orin forged slowly into the woods, caring less and less about what might happen to her when she ventured out alone. 

The farther she ventured into the woods the more animals that came out to play. The sound of an owl accompanied her all the way home. Probably one that she had a hoof in raising a long time ago. Small nocturnal creatures ran about the roods, not even getting the smallest reaction from Chiharu. She hummed softly to herself to fill the silence and to keep herself from thinking too hard about the festival. She always found herself thinking of him. Thinking about what he might be up to. Who he might be with. It wasn't her that was for sure. Her darling beloved. Out in the world living his life without her. It was tragic.... but what was she supposed to do about it? That's why she hated Valentine's Day. Because it made her think of him. It made her depressed and hurtful. It reminded her why she hated the world. Why she would burn that village to the ground if it wouldn't send hunters at her. She sighed silently, almost stumbling over a rock in her tired state. 

The kitsune needed a good distraction. Someone to get her mind off things. But sadly she was alone in the world. Just the woodland creatures and herself lived here. Sometimes she wished that she had a friend of sorts to talk to. Someone to confide in. To distract her from the horrors of the world. But how was she supposed to get that when everyone seemed to be afraid of her?

"Chi-Chi!" 

A familiar childish voice called out to her. Chiharu slowly turned seeing, Kei running up to her at full speed, chirping about Valentine's all the way up to her. She was amazed this kid even had energy this late at night. She supposed that it was a holiday and Kei seemed to have energy at the weirdest of times. Chiharu reluctantly stopped allowing him to approach her. Normally she was hostile to other orins, growling at them till they left her alone. Kei had been taking his time and bringing her things to keep her tolerating him. In reality, she found that she really liked his presence. He made her smile without trying hard and...honestly, she loved that. It was as if he managed to break past her exterior that she had built over the years and managed to pull out whatever tiny shriveled up piece of her heart was left. If she knew how to properly thank someone she would thank him. But this wasn't the time or the place for that. She was much more concerned with getting home so she could sulk (or maybe cry a little) in peace.

Kei bounded up, flower petals dancing along behind him. She wondered if he realized how much he was littering the forest just by walking around... He greeted the other with a quick horn bump, beaming up to her as if he had something to say. Chiharu had to do her best to hold back a smile. She simply let out a dull hum to even acknowledge his existence, patiently waiting for him to cough why he was there. 

"Chichi, I thought you would be at the festival! It is so much fun-" Kei started, bounding around the older as he spoke. Chiharu simply sighed and closed her eyes. She had told the other several million times now that she was not interested in being in those crowds. The world viewed her as some sort of curse and no one wanted her around. Kei was rambling along about how awesome this year's festival was and at this point, the elder started to tune him out. She finally had the guts to interrupt him.

"Kei... I have already told you. I'm not wanted in a place like that. Crowds were never my thing anyway. If it is so nice why don't you go back and enjoy it with your other friends?" The pink kitsune said before turning tail to go home. Kei hushed for a moment before bounding on after her.

"W-Wait up!" Kei chirped as the mist started to engulf her, the jingling of her bells being the only thing that led him back to her. Chiharu internally sighed to herself. Why was he so persistent. She closed her golden eyes a tad and glanced back seeing the smaller bounding through the soft pink mist to catch up. Why did he care so much? She tilted her head slightly, pausing at the edge of the river to let Kei catch up before crossing. She glanced down at her reflection. Mangled pink and white hair and sad yellow eyes looked back up at her. She could barely recognize herself. To think... years ago... she was different.

~~~Twenty Five Years Earlier~~~

"Do you think Pink or White looks better? Or maybe even blue...?"

Chiharu had been trying on dresses and looking over color swatches all day. Soraka had finally finished up her wedding dress plans and Chichi wanted to pick one out before she stressed too hard over it. And for once she did not want her future mate to be involved. This was going to be a secret! For her eyes only! But a bright blue pair was going to look over them as well... Primi compared the two swatches, just as stuck as she was. He finally sat them down and looked back to Chiharu. "Can I legally say both or would you hit me?" The winged orin asked getting a laugh out of the other. Chiharu's tails wagged with slight excitement.

"I would have to say that if you think that looks good on me then I'll go for it! I just want to look perfect for him." Chiharu hummed comparing the swatches to her fur color. Primi sighed softly plopping on the ground. His head hurt with all this color picking. He had so much to do that day too! Planning parties, going on a date. If only the day could slow down. Chiharu glanced at him noticing a thinking expression sitting on his face. Primi rarely thought about anything. His brain was as empty as a seashell. Chiharu slowly slid beside him and followed his eyes to the wall across him. "Is it... Do you think it's too much?"

Primi blinked and looked back at her, "Please. My twin would love you if you showed up in a trash bag. Or covered in bees. Or sand. Or uh... corruption goo." Primi said trying to think of a disgusting example. Chiharu scoffed and rolled her eyes. 

"No way would he! He has standards ya know."

"His standards must be pretty low then-"

"Hey! That's not nice!" Chiharu huffed, being covered up by Primi's giggles. The white orin shook his head.

"No. I'm serious though. He really would love you no matter what you look like." The bard replied stretching before standing back up, "But if you really want my opinion. The pink would be best on top and the white under. Do the train in white too. Somewhat see through with pink and gold sparkles" He said absentmindedly separating swatches to what he was talking about. Chiharu watched him create the dream dress for her, all smiles as he did. She nodded and tested the swatches against her fur. 

"Hey. Primi. Thanks for helping me with this. I really want things to be perfect." Chiharu said with a bright smile on her face. Primi returned her smile taking a deep breath and checking the time. Still enough for the rest of the day. He normally would have turned down a last minute meetup like this. But he understood why she was so stressed. When they first met as kids, other orins tended to bully her for her 'lack of bauble'. They just were not cool enough to realize she had three. Since then his twin and he had stuck about her, sticking up for her and just being there for her. His twin however had a much ah.. closer bond than he did. Primi was happy for him! Getting married and all. Bonded for life. He was excited to meet their kids the following spring! They had so many plans and ideas and Primi was just happy to be involved. He stretched his wings, shimmering white and blue feathers stretching out behind him. 

"Anytime Chichi! I mean what would you do without me huh! Your fashion sense sucks after all." Primi said a smug look on his face. Chiharu huffed, tails whapping the white orin's side. 

"Don't you have a party to go to?" Chiharu said thinking about taking back everything she just said.

Primi giggled and bounded toward the door, tail wagging back and forth as he did, melodic lyre music following after him. "Hehe! Hey! You have a good day now Chichi! See you at the festival later!" Primi called out, waving goodbye as he left. Chiharu sighed a bit but was still smiling as she thought about her future. She was about to have a mate, plans for children. Things were really starting to look up for her! The kitsune nodded bagging the swatches to send back to Soraka. Everything was finally starting to go her way...

~~~Present Day~~~ 

"Chi-Chi?"

Kei's little voice called her back. Chiharu sniffed and glanced down at him. Kei had that same reassuring smile that he used to have. That's who he reminded her of. Her best friend from what felt like centuries ago. She glanced up to the dark canopy above them. "You said the festival was pretty nice right?" Chiharu asked, suddenly having the urge to experience something happy again. Kei nodded eagerly hoping to get her to agree.

"Yeah yeah! And we don't even have to go to the crowded parts! Oh! Ms. Venus has a nice flower meadow! We can go see the lights from there! It will be lots of fun! Valentines! Valentines!" Kei chirped going back to his bouncing around her. Chiharu watched as he bounced around her. She laughed slightly but then shook her head. She could not believe she was about to do this! Chiharu's tails slowly shifted about her.

"Alright! Alright. I'll come to celebrate Valentine's with you. I could never pass up on the treats Ms. Venus leaves out anyway." Chiharu finally agreed, passing Kei up and starting to head back to the village, "We better hurry then. Would not want you to miss anything. And I don't want to have to travel back in the complete dark..."

Kei cheered happily and bounded back in front of Chiharu, leading the way back to the village, talking nonstop about the festivities and valentine's all the way there...

Normally Chiharu would ask him to be quiet. But for some reason, she felt she had to be nice today. Chiharu hummed quietly, eyes closed navigating purely on memory and the sound of Kei's voice, walking at a leisurely pace with him. Society wasn't her thing. And she doubted it ever would be. A golden eye opened a bit to glance over to him. But maybe there was one orin that made everything just a little better. He came all the way out here just to give her flowers and sweets... and then was kind enough to walk her down to go see the lights. Her heart fluttered a bit in thought, bells jingling as she tilted her head. No one had ever cared that much about her in a long time. 

Kei peeked over to the pink and white orin beside him as he heard the sound of an uncharacteristic sniffle. He tilted his head with concern, bauble tinkling with worry. "Chi-Chi? Are you okay?" 

The pink orin sighed, a melodious tune came from her tails as she stopped and looked to the forest floor. She smiled and wiped her tears away on her tail. Golden eyes peeked up to meet Kei's soft blue ones. 

"Never been better, love...

...Happy Valentine's Day."