Starfire Ascension

Chapter 12 - Picnic

Kimberley awoke the next morning feeling rested. The dread of yesterday had begun to pass with a good night's sleep. She watched the sun rising as she brushed her hair. She had felt out of sorts not being able to help Cyrus yesterday. Kimberley was a woman of action. And being on the precipice of disaster and not being able to do anything was more nerve-wracking than she had expected.

Poor Holly, she had still been in shock from their first warp travel. She was unprepared for that level of stress. She had just shut down. Kimberley looked at Holly as she slept. Somehow in just a short time her heart had become attached to her. She was as dear to her as a sister. She was life and joy. A personification of hope.

Seeing Holly made her think of how different most of her family was. Her father's side and her mother's side, we're blue blood. Many of them had little empathy outside of business and success, or to an even less tasteful aspect, fame, and candid reputation. It made her lips curl just thinking of the pretentious climate of her relatives boasting of their riches and successes. Not that all her relatives were like that, but it sometimes made holidays like planning for a hot extraction deep behind enemy lines.

With Holly and Cyrus's family, it was like breathing in and breathing out. There was something they had that she desperately wanted. She couldn't say exactly what it was. Peace? Loving-kindness? Compassion? Perhaps an innate ability to see others the way Holly did; through eyes of compassion rather than calculated mistrust and apathy, or a cold checklist appraisal of a person's liabilities to assets ratio. Kimberley wanted the change she just didn't know where to start.

Holly stirred her slender arms stretching. Her elbows pointed out before her hands stretched all the way forward, her mouth opening in a wide yawn. Her eyes opened and began to focus on the window. She squinted back the light that reached her eyes. She blinked a few times, then turned to see Kimberley. Her face broke into a big smile. Kimberley smiled back at her. "Goodmorning Holly," she said with warm kindness that bubbled up from her heart. Holly's eyes that were normally brown, now sparkled brown and gold with ever the faintest undertoned pixels of green revealed in the bright morning light. "I'm sorry I was watching you sleep like a creeper," Kimberley said.

Holly sitting up now placed her feet on the floor. She grinned at Kimberley. "We're like sisters now, so we're supposed to be like that!" Then she grinned mischievously her lips drawn tautly in a smirk. "Or we will be when a certain someone plucks up the courage." Kimberley then put her fingers on her chin looking up at the ceiling as if she were pondering. "I'm certain I have no idea at all what you're talking about," Kimberley said with a southern drawl, a half-mocking tone, and a wide smile on her face. They giggled for a few seconds after Holly snorted with laughter. Holly spoke, "Speaking of our intrepid captain can I please start dropping him subtle hints for you?!" Kimberley looked at Holly still smiling, but she now had one eyebrow cocked askance as she said, "Subtle...as in a bowling ball dropping or anvil from the sky subtle?" Kimberley now smirked as Holly's mouth parted wide in silent protest. "I can do subtle!" she said looking serious. Then they both lost it laughing again.

The girls headed downstairs to make coffee. They entered the kitchen to find Cyrus packing lunch, the coffee already made. He paused seeing them as he smiled. "How are my two favorite girls doing this morning?" Holly looked at Kimberly and said, "I think it's safe to say we are doing better than yesterday." Kimberly nodded in concurrence. Holly's eyes now took in the lunch her brother was preparing. "Where are we going for lunch?" she asked. Cyrus stopped and then pondered for a second before he spoke. "I am packing lunch for me and Kimberly for a picnic in the park." His face turned a little red and he went back to packing. In that window of opportunity, while he was looking down, Kimberley seized the moment and looked at Holly. A knowing look flashed between them. "It's just us today," Cyrus mumbled. Then turning her back to Cyrus so he couldn't see, Holly looked at Kimberley. She made a crazy happy face that almost looked like it hurt. Kimberley grinned back at her as she was obstructing Cyrus's view.