THE FLAME DRAGON'S BRIDE 🌸炎竜の花嫁🌸

Chapter One: The Kamado Family

For as long as she could remember, Suzu Kamado has always been called a daydreamer. Since childhood, Suzu danced amidst wonder and meaning in everything her life had to offer,  rarely yielding to boredom's grasp. From the sun's tender caress upon the earth to the gentle weave of fabric sewn by her nimble fingers, the young woman was fascinated and appreciated all that surrounded her. On rare moments she did experience boredom, her mind unfurled like petals, weaving tales spun from pure imagination which she would draw on scraps of paper and share these stories with her younger siblings. Her emotions and forms of expression were even more odd in the eyes of the world, the young woman was what you would call highly sensitive, meaning her emotions were magnified. A soul where sadness plunged into abyssal depths, joy soared to celestial heights, caring knew no bounds, and compassion overflowed limitlessly.

Her perception of life and sensitivity were Suzu's greatest strength and also her greatest weakness.

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"Suzu-Nee, look out!"

A child's voice rang out in attempted warning as a fluffy snowball hurled towards the engawa. Unfortunately, the warning fell on deaf ears as the rouge snowball smacked its unintended target in her face. Suzu, the victim of the snowball attack, yelped in shock at the frost-biting sensation that seeped into her skin. The young woman quickly wiped away the snow with her haori sleeve, her nose tickled with chill from the frost and eyes now wide awake from any sleepiness that still lingered, the last thing she wants is to be sick and bring more worries to her family. They have had enough of those already.

Suzu turned her attention to the perpetrators of the rouge snowball to find her little sister and brother, Hanako and Shigeru, frozen mid-battle with snowballs in their hands. They frowned apologetically, feeling guilty for what they had done to their older sister, there was a heartbeat or two of silence before their elder sister took a step to the edge of the engawa. She gazed out at the world before her, sapphire eyes sparkling with wonder over how much the world had changed in over a single night. The abies veitchii trees' evergreen branches were decorated with fresh powdered snow which also blanketed the forest floor, stretching as far as the eye can see. Icicles hung from the edge of the roof like jewels sparkling under the gentle light of the hidden sun. A chilly breeze swayed her silk ebony black hair to a gentle dance in the wind, coaxing her to gather her strands of hair before they flew out of control. Breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, slightly marveling at the water vapor seeping past her lips, she smiled gleefully at the sight before jumping off the wooden platform and landing face-first into the pure white snow with a soft 'pomf'. Her cheery laughter was muffled by the powdery snow.  
  
The young woman landed between her little brother and sister, inadvertently knocking them onto the snow in a tight embrace. Hanako and Shigeru were stunned by their older sister's actions for a moment before laughing with her. They didn't mind the warm hug she was giving them. At least they knew she wasn't angry at them, but when is she ever angry at anyone over something as petty as a snowball to the face? Their older sister pushed herself off the cold ground still giggling at her silliness. Now she was really cold, but the young girl didn't mind. It was so beautiful outside, how could she not indulge in this beautiful winter wonderland?

"Sorry, you two," she said, brushing snow from their heads. "I hope I didn't hurt you."

"We're fine, Suzu-Nee," Hanako reassured her with a gentle smile. "Sorry about the snowball."

"Yeah, we're sorry!" Shigeru added, his eyes shining with a mix of apology and excitement. "If Hanako hadn't ducked, I wouldn't have hit you."

"Hey! That snowball was headed straight for me. Why wouldn't I duck?"

The siblings huffed and crossed their arms, turning away from each other. Suzu couldn't help but giggle at their argument. They were so cute!