Inherently Innocent

Smiling, Knowing we Weren't the Last

It was a cold but sunny day. The winter clothes on them were mostly bagged; the sun was way too excited to see where it all led to. Liliac swiftly won the race to Juniper's house, having barely even touched the ground with her feet, leaving Thyme to gasp for air. He was much more inclined to dig his heels.

They waited for the others to catch up. Golshan and Aloe walked side by side, talking about new foods they had tried, or a very funny cloud they had once seen. Nobody could guess their lives had once crossed for survival. One would have thought, or hoped, they were always destined to be friends.

"Another win for me, remind me when we get home," Liliac brushed her hair behind her ears and pressed her lips.

"Shut up, I'm not writing it down again. You've got a whole page ahead of me with your name on it!" Thyme said.

"Need I remind you it was your idea to keep track of our races?"
"Yeah, but I was the one to win back then," Thyme bickered ironically. The motivation had worked to get her to become more athletic. And now, Liliac didn't lose her breath ever.

The green-skinned couple eventually caught up. And there they were, standing outside Juniper's house.

It could barely be called that. It was four walls and a door, sure. But the walls consisted of woven and fit-in logs and branches. Mud helped cover the holes, and it seemed only one wall had its planks treated. Other than that, the door was minimal, and the roof was short. Juniper was a tall young woman, yet Liliac could have touched the roof with no issue. It wasn't the best condition to live in for years, let alone with the winter upon them. Liliac turned to frown at Aloe, but all they could do was shrug. What were they supposed to do? Humans had evolved their shelters, and their lifestyles, to be built and lived in communally. Even if Aloe wanted to help, their guidance of insects wouldn't be of much use, and no other ishine would have wanted to help in such matters.

Thyme noticed the affliction in Lee's eyes and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We're taking them back, remember? This is over for them," he pressed tightly rhythmically twice, "We don't have time to waste. The landing could be any minute now."

Liliac nodded. She took a deep breath and walked ahead, her hands around her mouth. Her heart raced. After all those years. It had taken them there. Losing a family, losing friends, losing freedom, none of it should have happened. But it had all taken them to that deep breath, where their greatest concern was how a friend would react to seeing them. The hope of life is to make one's worries unthreatening. And there Lee was, her greatest fear was manageable.

She took a deep breath.

She called out.

"Juniper?"

It was a second later that June, out of breath and with dirt on her cheeks, slammed open the front door and landed in Liliac's arms. The impulse dragged them both back. Lee tried her best to hold Juniper up, but was about to fall. Thyme hurried to place a hand behind them both, but he could only slow down the inevitable.

Liliac held June's head while she bawled in her chest. She felt the shaking of her breath and the tangles between her hair.

Juniper couldn't help but cry. She was happy. Every nerve in her body tingled with the warmth of new arms, but her organs shivered uncontrollably with a fear of fantasy. She knew she hadn't gone mad but a quiet 'what if?' mumbled loudly enough for her rationality to hear. And she was at her weakest point.

"You're here," She said with a mouth not used to talking. "And," she chuckled, "you're wearing glasses."

"And you're here," Thyme said. "The second migration will be arriving soon. We didn't want you to miss it."