Aurora's Advent

Striped Sweets

Stanley yawned as he slowly puffed out of his berth, the cold air instantly waking him up. The bustling sound of Vicarstown waking made him smile as he watched Rosie, Hiro, and Molly puff out of the sheds.

"Good morning, everyone!"

Stanley looked over and smiled upon seeing his niece. "Good morning, Aurora!"

"It's so good to see you this morning!" Rosie greeted her happily.

"It is indeed, Watashi no taiyō." Hiro smiled warmly, gently kissing her head when she jumped onto his footplate.

"Kenja no yō ni, Hiro." Aurora purred, kissing his cheek before jumping into Molly's footplate.

"What brings you here so early, Oreo?" Molly asked, happily nuzzling her.

"I met Spencer at Knapford and I asked him if he could give me a lift here before he took the Duke and Duchess to England." Aurora hummed softly before kissing her cheek. "Oh! Hiro! Spencer told me to tell you that he's sorry he couldn't get the chance to see you this morning."

"Did he now?" Stanley smirked while watching her jump onto his footplate.

"Yep~" Aurora purred before kissing his cheek. "He said, and I quote 'Tell Hiro that we would have to change our morning meet-up. The Duke and Duchess can't be kept waiting.'" She imitated in a snooty voice, causing the others to laugh.

"That does sound about right with him." Hiro said wistfully

"He may have sounded impatient and snobby, but his eyes were full of sadness." Aurora said softly as she leaned against Stanley's boiler.

"I'm glad to see you arrive here safely, Aurora." Isamu Satō, Hiro's driver, smiled as he and the other crew members walked over to their engines. They were holding mugs of hot tea or coffee, and the smell of eggs and bacon wafted out of Rosie's cab, where Tina Baker, Rosie's firewoman, was cooking breakfast.

"Here you go." Samantha Wood, Molly's firewoman, smiled before handing her a travel mug. "Freshly made hot chocolate made from hot milk and topped with marshmallows."

"Ohhh...." Aurora smiled happily as she took it. "Arigato." She thanked her before bowing.

"Who will you be traveling with today, Aura?" Lee Dobson, Rosie's driver, asked while inspecting Rosie over. "God's sake, T-Rex, you're making us hungry." He moaned good-naturedly.

"You're always hungry, Lee!" Laughed Samantha. "No rush, Tina," she added.

"I'm nearly done anyway!" A muffled voice called back. "Who wanted what?"

There was a clamor of voices reminding Tina who wanted eggs, who wanted bacon, or both. Satō took out a small collection of sauces and some salt and pepper so everyone could help themselves.

"With Stanley." Aurora hummed to Lee as she lowered her mug, a chocolate mustache on her upper lip. "He's going to Great Waterton today and I haven't been there lately."

"You will love it!" Rosie giggled. "Especially this time of the year."

"The entire town is fully decorated with lights, wreaths, tinsel... you name it!" Molly smiled brightly.

"Isn't that done all over Sodor though?" Aurora asked, tilting her head, wondering why Great Waterton would be different.

"Great Waterton has a Christmas light show that is part of the festival." Stanley smiled as he puffed out of his berth. "Just wait till Saturday."

"Why Saturday?" Aurora asked, jumping onto his footplate with her hot chocolate cradled in hand.

"That is when the festival starts, Taiyō." Hiro smiled as he looked at her.