A Chance Meeting

In a quiet corner of the universe rolls a planet, gentle but strong. A deep blue ocean meets a light green sky. Storms brew over the planet's vast ocean, which tumble towards the land much further away. Clouds gray and gold come and go, meeting the cities on Zoranon's shores. But only in one of these cities does lay, a sleeping Thundroth, whose mind is away. Her soul is off, dreaming in peace. And only in Hydradon the clouds do cease. When light flows through the clouds, ever moving, ever changing, a ray of light comes sneaking away. Through tall Hydradon buildings, through endless fields of flowers, through deep red forests the morning light creeps. Eventually it reaches the Thundroth who sleeps. Warm light touches bright yellow fur, and the creature awakes. Huro rises from bed, completely unshaken.

Huro has awakened again to a quiet, Hydradon day. She steps out of her room, which is filled with many strange objects. She runs her hand along the glass jars lining her work table, filled with a strange, glowing light that illuminates as she passes by. Huro is about to walk out the door when she stumbles. She looks down at her feet and picks up a large rod. It has many stickers on it, an old object of hers. She places it back on her table, next to her other glassmaking supplies. Huro quietly steps out of her house and onto her porch, and sits down on an old chair of hers. Everything she owned seemed to have a slightly used quality to it, while not dirty, they bore marks of use and wear. Nothing she owned was quite new, but Huro was okay with that. She was old herself as well, and found comfort in the objects around her. The sea breeze from the nearby ocean fills the air with a slight tinge of seaweed, and Huro looks off into the distance. From her house, the city of Hydradon is distant, but reachable. Much closer to her is the seemingly endless stretches of deep red forests, which house many mysterious critters. It is not an easy forest to navigate, but Huro knows every path that the forest creates. She seems to zone out, gently holding her huge hands together, when she hears it. Huro's ears perk up instantly, and she turns her head towards the sound. Unmistakable in nature, and instantly exciting, it's…it's…

Huro leaps out of her seat and begins dashing towards the noise. She runs through the forest, careful not to step on any of the weaker saplings. A smile cannot escape the Thundroth's face, and she has a skip in her step. When she finally escapes the amber trees, she begins following a pavement path. Blue and yellow lamps begin lining the streets, which gradually morph into a neighborhood. Huro passes by house after house, and is completely unaware of the odd looks other Hydradonians are giving her. But Huro has just one thing on her mind, and it's a delicious, icy treat. But Huro is stopped in her tracks, completely still. Huro looks at the end of the line, and sees someone beautiful. "A Snow Bounney!" she thinks. The Bounney has solid white fur, and two floppy ears. She has long, fluffy, gray hair that is tied into a ponytail. She's wearing a sleeveless dress that has a pleated bottom, with triangles lining the tips of each fold. Her legs end in sharp points, with dark diamond shaped socks that are pulled up just over her knees. Huro blushes slightly at the sight of this creature, admiring how graceful she is! She shyly walks to the end of the line, and stands behind the Bounney, slightly flustered. The line scoots forward, while Huro's head is in the clouds. So much so that she almost doesn't notice when the ice cream vendor calls out to her.

Huro steps forward and politely asks for a scoop of chocolate ice cream, trying to be present while paying the vendor. However, her eyes keep turning to look towards the Bounney. Her figure seems to glide effortlessly along the path, like a leaf floating in a freshly made puddle. Huro snaps back to reality, and thanks the vendor for the ice cream, and happily begins to walk away. She finds herself walking in the same direction as the Bounney, and walks in a daze towards her. Before she even realizes it, she's on the floor, her foot caught on a Groundroot tree root peeking through the pavement. She broke her fall with her hands, but horrified, looks up and faces the bitter truth. Her ice cream is on the ground! The soft sweetness met a dirt patch, and now contains forbidden sprinkles. A twig is sticking out of the side of it, almost taunting Huro. As the ice cream begins to melt on the warm cement, Huro's spirit melts with it. She begins to sob on the floor, drawing the attention of a few Hydradonians around her. The one day she finally decided to leave her house, she is met with this!

A figure's shadow appears over her, covering her own. Huro looks up to see the Bounney, holding her hand out. Huro is taken away by this gesture, and smiles as she holds the creature's hand. After being pulled up, Huro thanks the Bounney, who picks up her dirty ice cream. "My name is Papri, nice to meet you! You've made quite a first impression, hehe." The Bounney smiles at Huro, and giggles slightly at the Thundroth. Huro's ears droop in embarrassment, but she introduces herself as well. "I'm Huro, how's it going? I'm a Thundroth, and uh, I haven't really talked to anyone new in a bit! S-sorry if I'm a bit awkward right now. But thank you for helping me out there." Huro then looks at the ice cream, as it melts slightly onto Papri's hand. Huro smirks, "Though, I don't suppose you're unfamiliar with the five second rule hmm? I just need to run this under some water to get the crust off of it, and then blam! Good as new." Papri looks at Huro inquisitively, but promptly perks up and offers to go clean her ice cream with her. After all, Papri's hands are covered in sugar as well.

They walk to a nearby park and find a water fountain. Huro steps on a pedal that allows the water to gush out from an odd statue. Papri rinses her hands in the stream. "So Huro, could you tell me, why did you just cry over spilled ice cream?" Papri tries her best to ask this without sounding snarky, she finds Huro to be a genuinely interesting person after all." Huro smiles, but hesitates for just a moment. Papri notices this and watches Huro closely. "Well, you see I'm - I'm actually - There's ahh," Huro tries her best to come up with a humorous answer to this question, but she cannot find it in herself to do so. It is very real to the Thundroth how much her own inability stings her, and to have it brought up only makes her want to withdraw. But for some reason, Huro does not feel like she should hide in this moment.

"You know how in the winter, the endless rays of flowers wither into dust? They drop their seeds deep into the soil with the hope that they might grow again. Like magic, they all seem to feel when the time is right to begin to grow, and always return as beautiful as they were…" Huro trails off for a moment, watching the greenery in the distance. She sees a barren patch of soil, and looks forlornly at it. "…I wait every year to bloom again but find myself incapable of doing so…" Huro sighs. Her eyes trail the ground and her face feels warm with embarrassment. Huro begins to say, "Hey, ah…I'm sorry, I didn't want to kill the mood or anything, I can just go if you want-" Papri stops her in her tracks, holding Huro's large hands in her own. Huro is stunned, but watches Papri carefully. "You're quite amazing for saying that to me, Huro, I hope you know that. I might not be able to help you with these feelings, but at the very least I can be your friend." Papri reassures Huro, who looks at her with a shine in her eyes. This feeling is not unfamiliar to the Bounney, who has lived long enough to run into this twisting sadness multiple times. Huro can't stop her next action, it felt just like instinct. She reaches out to Papri and gives her a hug, holding her small body close to hers. She smells like origami paper and fancy dip pen ink. Papri returns the hug, running her hand along the mane of Huro. So soft! How gentle a soul this Thundroth is! So much so her sweetness manifests in her physical form. Huro lets go first, and smiles, "Can't thank you enough, Papri. Though! If we're going to be friends, I'm going to need to know a bit more about you than just your name." She winks, and leads her to a swing set close to the water fountain.

They spent hours talking, sitting on the park bench. They just talked and talked about things that they've seen, what they like to do. Huro was elated by Papri's presence, her heart feeling much lighter as she watched the Bounney laugh. Papri enjoyed the company of Huro as well, almost forgetting how nice it is to make a new friend. Before they both knew it, the sun began setting, and the shadows creeped up from the nearby trees as the light got low. Huro, still as excited as when they first started talking, asked Papri, "It's dark already! Wow, how impressive. I haven't had a day pass by that quickly in forever. You think that means anything special, then?" Papri chuckled, "We'll have to see about that, Huro. I'm sorry to say though, I have to get going, I'd rather not be out in a park at night." Huro jumps up, "But wait! I swear, Hydradon's a pretty safe city, it's well lit, and there's no REAL reason for anyone to want to steal anyways. The city council provides…WAIT anyways! The point is, I'm trying to say, how can I find you again Papri? I'd love to talk to you again! I could show you some cool places around here you might like, there's a really good authentic CouryCurry place ne-" Huro's sentence stops dead in its tracks, as she sees something creep out of the shadows. Its paperlike body seems to unfold itself into a contorted shape, leaving a glittery umbra in its wake. A glowing light comes from the creature's eyes, and it slowly turns towards the two of them. "H-hey Papri! Why don't we turn and walk over here, huh? I know a scenic route back to the city, it would lead you straight to your hotel!" Papri is unsure what to make of Huro's sudden change in attitude, but accepts her offer to lead her through the forest. As they walk through, the nighttime sky of planet Zoranon lights up their path. Starlight trickles down from the heavens, illuminating the faint outline of bushes and bramble in the forest floor. Illuminant Fyarow buzz around, leaving a green streak of light and powder in their path. Huro would normally appreciate this beautiful nighttime sight, but she is exceptionally worried about keeping Papri safe.

"Huro? Are you okay? You're holding my hand pretty tight. Is something wrong?" Papri asks, in awe of the beauty of the dark, but simultaneously wary of what lurks beyond the glimmering bugs. Huro is hesitant to explain. To tell Papri why they're running would be to tell her what she saw in the forest. And to tell her what she saw would be revealing Huro's biggest secret. She just wanted her and Papri to be close, and to not have anything else get in the way of that. She was scared that telling her what she really is would scare her away. So Huro didn't explain. Huro whispered, "I'd hate to admit it, but I'm actually a bit scared of the dark! I sometimes feel like I see things moving in the shadows, and it makes me a bit scared. I wanted to take this route because the Fyarow light up the path better than any Hydradon lights." Papri appears to buy her excuse, and follows her quietly. Huro turns to check and see how close the creature is every now and then, and it appears to grow more distant as they walk through the trees. This relieves Huro, as she continues to guide Papri through the forest. She's never known Nightmares to just disappear however, and as she reaches a clearing in the forest, the two are suddenly ambushed. Huro flinches at the sight of the Nightmare jumping, but tries to keep Papri's eyes away from what she's looking at. Though she shouldn't be able to see it, it would be incredibly confusing to see me reacting to something that doesn't show up for her. "HEY PAPRI! UHH look over here! I saw a rare white colored Fyarow that you have to see!" Huro yells, unintentionally. Papri is confused, "But Huro, aren't you scared right now, I think we should focus on making you as comfortable as possi-" Papri's ears raise up, a chill runs down her spine. Huro is panicking because the Nightmare appears to be right next to Papri.

The following moments were a blur. Papri appears to summon a shield out of thin air, a white sheen with diamond shaped markings. She leaps to Huro, raising the shield up to face the Nightmare. Huro is almost about to faint, her mind can't process it all. She can barely stand as she tries to focus on Papri's figure. Impossible! Impossible! It can't be! She can't be! Papri turns to Huro and catches her before she falls over. "HURO!! Please don't fall asleep! We can't let you be hurt by that fiend! Huro!"

In that moment the two of them knew a secret about the other.