Kaleidoscope: The Fox And The Butterfly

38- Snuggles

  Beside a little pond, hidden underneath a weeping willow that blooms its glowing magenta flowers, Azayaka sit on the grassy dirt, surrounded by the chirps of crickets and the blinks of fireflies. The cold moonlight enters the pond, reflecting from it towards the purple grasses, trees, and bushes, each blossoming their flowers in spectrums of blue, violet, and pink.

  "Aza? What are you doing here?" Ren says as he walks towards her from a sandy and bushy, narrow entrance, the rest of the festival sparkling from behind him.

  "You're here," She answers, without glancing back at him, "It's nothing, just trying to find some peace and quiet," In her hand is a little notebook, while held by her other is a simple pen that keeps on scribbling against the paper, "How's the haunted house? Did any of you piss yourselves while at it?" She asks while still focused in her own little world.

  "Eh, it's nothing special," Ren gulps as he scratches the back of his head, as he averts his eyes.

  "Really, huh?" Azayaka glances with a playful smirk, patting on the empty patch of grass beside her, directing Ren to sit.

  Ren sighs, before he does as she wished, "Well, to be honest..." Before continuing, he makes sure to huff and rolls his eyes, "Yuu carried that one."

  "Oh? Well, I'll let him know that he'll be my chair for tonight."

  At that, Ren immediately widens his eyes.

  "That was a joke! Not my fault you both took it so seriously," She keeps her smirk as Ren pouts like a child, "Where is he, by the way?"

  "We split up to look for you. I'm sure he's fine on his own, though."

  Azayaka hums for a second, before answering, "Yeah, I'm sure too," She looks back to the lake, then to the sketch she's currently scribbling, "He's always been the one to take the hit after all..." She pauses with a hum, before huffing out, "He's always been such a dumbass..."

  "You're definitely right on that one," He nods as he presses his lips together, "But... He cares about you, y'know? Maybe a lot more than you've thought."

  "I know," Her answer comes out simple, "But still, his bird brain would often misjudge... I've known him for so long now... Yet, he's more bratty than ever."

  "Heh, that's true," Ren cackles playfully, he presses his lips firmer then raising one of their corners. Like her, he looks at the pond, how its crystal clear water reflects the surrounding bioluminescence. How the glowing willow's hanging flowers cover the pond's edge, like curtains to a royal's bed. The sight is something you'll see out of that blue-people movie with the insane CGI. It's too beautiful not to memorize, or in this case, for her to draw.

  "You're still big on drawing, huh?" He looks at her sketch, it's still rough and without any colors, yet the way she sketch it mirrors the reference impressively enough.

  "Uhuh. It's one of the only things that kept me sane when... Him happened," She answers with nonchalance, as she keeps on scribbling.

  Ren's ears perk when she mentioned... Him. Thus, Ren frowns, the words of that Archangel echoing back in his mind, "Yuu said that... You were both forced to go through some horrendous stuff when you were just kids..." He looks at his own reflection in the water, before sighing, "Sorry... I can't imagine what it's like for you."

  And sorry... For not being there for you.

  Azayaka keeps her eyes locked to her notebook, her expression unchanging, cold as ice, "You're thinking that it's somehow your fault, right?" She says, before she smirks, "Ren, I know you've always been kinda dumb... Like when you ate that mushroom. But still, I wouldn't imagine that it made your brain go wack till this day."