A family outing had not been the plan for today. The plan had been for Rosalie and Charlie to go to a nice cafe for lunch while Victor, Koko, and Holmes stayed at the house. However, things never went according to the plan in the Wreath (or Riddle) family.

Victor had been itching to get out of the house - or rather manor - and he needed some groceries, so he invited Koko and Holmes to go with him. Of course Koko wanted to go outside, and Holmes despised being left home alone, so they followed Victor to the store in a very odd Muggle artefact called a 'car.' It amazed Holmes and Koko that their father had a car, and it was revealed to them that the car was kept a secret from Rosalie. Koko had always wondered why they had a garage, but now she knew.

The girl wore Muggle clothes - ripped up jeans, a white blouse, and red coloured Converse. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into two pigtails, and her eyes glittered with excitement. Holmes, on the other hand, was all decked out in khaki pants, a red and white striped shirt, loafers, and a big green jacket. His brown-grey hair was flying all over the place, which made Koko laugh.

She was quite short for her age of nine and a half years old - and yes, the half was important. Holmes was only six years old. It made Koko feel very old. They piled into Victor's car and he seemingly forgot the way to the nearest store, because he instead drove them to a Muggle restaurant. Koko couldn't help but wonder what Rosalie would think of this. She was always a huge purist, having been a Death Eater.

After eating lunch and leaving the restaurant, the three magicfolk didn't go back to the car. Instead, they took a sharp left and started heading down a sidewalk. Koko frowned as a strong wind slapped her in the face. She hadn't been expecting this. Again, what would Rosalie think? But maybe, maybe just this once, Koko wouldn't give a damn about what her adoptive mother thought. Maybe she'd just go along with whatever Victor had in mind.

Whatever Victor had in mind was certainly interesting. He led the children to a bakery, where Koko bought multiple brownies. Why? Brownies were heavenly. They were the most amazing thing in the world. Koko bit into one as Holmes ordered a box of macarons. The chocolatey taste melted upon her tongue, and the little girl savoured the celestial goodness of the baked chocolate treat. It was spongey, kind of like cake. Oh, was cake delicious. Of course, these brownies were much better than any cake.

Koko's golden eyes flitted over to Holmes as he bit into a pink coloured macaron. It looked really good... Koko reached over and plucked a chocolate macaron out of the box, but only after offering her adoptive brother a brownie which he accepted happily. Koko wondered for a moment if she shouldn't have done it, but then she was proving correct to be speculating when he spat it out with quite a loud, "EEW!"

"Holmes!" Koko shouted at him. "I can't believe you! Disgracing chocolate like this!" Koko glared at her brother before taking another slow bite of brownie. It was so good, she thought, that she just wanted to hit her brother. She was glaring at him, fire shining in her eyes, which looked like molten gold at the time. Victor gave her a warning glance, but he looked awkwardly at Holmes as well. "Holmes, do be polite." Holmes grumbled in response, and Koko mumbled something unintelligible through a mouthful of brownie. She had little crumbs in the corner of her mouth, but was she going to stop eating the carbs? No! Sugar was such an amazing thing to the nine and a half year old that she just couldn't stop. She kept munching on these wonderfully baked brownies until Victor told the two children that they had to leave.

Koko packed her fifteen remaining brownies into a small bag and followed her father once again. They began to walk, but Koko kept surveying the pedestrians. They were all very... Muggle. They had odd appliances that Victor called 'cell phones', and he had told Koko that he would buy her one when she turned thirteen years old. Still, her thirteenth birthday was a very long way away...

The blonde pulled another brownie out of her bag when Victor wasn't looking. Ha. She had scored! She began to munch on it, somewhat guilty, as the trio made their way to what appeared to be a grocery store. Victor handed Koko a shopping list and some pounds. Koko nodded and took Holmes with her while Victor went to talk to one of his friends about 'adult stuff.' Koko wondered what they could be talking about, but it was obviously too boring and useless for a kid like Koko to bother listening to. She would have to make do... And maybe buy a few things that weren't on the shopping list, like brownies, chocolate, and chocolate milk.

Going through the aisles was very fun. Holmes sat in the little seat that was built into the shopping cart, and Koko pushed it. Holmes kept messing with her hat, which made her bap him, but other than that, he was very well behaved. Koko reached for the last thing that Victor had requested her to buy, but then another person took it off the shelf. What!?

Koko glared at the doofus. "Uh, excuse me, but my mum needs me to buy that. So, you know, please move." She may have used wonderful manners, but her tone suggested that she was quite annoyed with the fact that he dared to take the grocery that she, the all-powerful nine-year-old Koko, needed! The girl glared at the man.

To her surprise, he gave the item to her, appearing to be in a trance. Little did the child know that she had just used magic, not Wizarding magic, but the magic of a Veela. Still, the nine-year-old was oblivious to the fact, and she and Holmes skipped down to the checkout and paid for their goods. Koko was in the process of putting them in bags when she realised that she couldn't see Victor. Where had he gone!?!

Holmes was swivelling his head as well. "D'you reckon that Daddy left us here?" the boy asked, his grey eyes wide with horror at the prospect. What if Victor had left them there? Koko shook her head no, however, because Victor wasn't the type to do that. True to her belief, he was found at the front of the store, holding a grocery bag of his own. Koko placed her hands on her hips after getting Holmes down from his seat in the cart, and she gave Victor the best 'sassy teenager' look that she could muster. "What were you thinking, hiding from us!?" Victor shook his head with a harsh laugh, pinching the bridge of his nose. His dark hair was all over the place, and his glasses appeared as if they were about to fall off his face.

He quickly ushered his children out of the store, even though they were still asking questions, and then he told them that they had a few more errands to do, and then he would take them to a park. It would be a special park, he told them. A park for Wizardkind.

The kids immediately were satiated, no longer asking him where the heck he had gone, so the trio continued to the car, which was parked maybe ten metres away. Koko bounded over to it happily, Holmes right behind her, and they drove to the nearest Starbucks for Victor's midday coffee, which he would enjoy in the coming hours. Koko received yet another brownie, which she sunk her teeth into greedily, and Holmes received a cookie. Cookies were all and well, Koko decided, but brownies were so much better.

Koko and Holmes had to wait for Victor to grab his newspaper, and then they were on their way once more. Their next stop was the library, and while it was a Muggle library, Koko couldn't help but fall in love with the smell. Mmmmm... It smelled almost as good as brownies. She smiled, closing her eyes, and she basked in the scent. Holmes looked at her awkwardly, nudged her, and proceeded to yank her to the children's section despite her endless protests. She wanted to go to the teenage section - after all, she was almost a teenager! She was so old, that at nine years old she had already decided that she would be the next Minister of Magic. Now this was something that Koko had not acted upon yet, but she was sure that once she attended Hogwarts, she could take the classes required to excel in her future role in the Ministry.

Yes, this girl was very determined. So much so that she had already started trying to control her very underdeveloped magic. She pointed her finger at the book in front of her, resting on a table, and said, "Rise!" under her breath. It lifted, barely a single centimetre, but then she put it down immediately. She had already been lectured plenty of times about not revealing her power to the Muggles around her. But it was so hard... If only she could give them a taste of what she could do... Get them to stop bullying her... Show her mother what she could do, so that she might be loved instead of treated like she was a disease.

The girl sighed and dust flew off of the book, straight into Holmes' face. He sneezed quite loudly, and that was the end of their library adventure.

Next, they went on their way to a pet shop. This was for Victor to buy a new collar for the family's beagle, who was sixteen years old, but Koko still wanted to ask if they could buy a cat. Obviously, he would say no, but it didn't hurt to ask. Koko admired the little kittens, which seemed to like her, but she was not allowed to buy any. A sigh escaped her lips. Maybe one day she would have enough money to buy one of her own.

Victor next guided them to the park. It was a beautiful place, really, with many trees that the kids could climb on. There were also a few picnic tables, so Koko sat down at one and opened her bag of brownies up again. She plopped one in her mouth and began chewing, analysing the children running and playing. Koko was tempted to... But she had these brownies that she needed to finish. The blonde-haired girl took another bite of her delicious treat, and she licked her lips after swallowing. She could still feel the cakey sponginess, full of chocolate, dancing in her mouth. Oh, how she loved the taste of brownies... It was amazing.

The clouds parted to reveal the sun, but it was still a cold winter day, which made Koko glad that she had a cardigan on over her white blouse. That way, she didn't burn up, but she also didn't freeze. You see, this was an extremely smart girl who seemed to be able to tell what the weather would be like... Or maybe she just liked to be prepared. No one knew. She would still be known as a person with weird powers even in a school with immature witches and wizards, with powers that weren't usual for a witch or wizard to have. These powers came from her paternal grandmother, but did our little protagonist know this? No. Not at all.

Koko finished her final brownie, letting the sweet taste wash over her taste buds, and then she pushed herself up from the bench she sat up and she began to run. Converse were good for running, right? She handed her hat to Victor, saying, "Take good care of it," and then she danced along with the windblown leaves, her pigtails flying in the wind. The average onlooker would say that she was an adorable child, but if one looked closer, one would realise that her skin was a little too flawless, even for such a young child.

Even though Koko was usually somewhat introverted, this was due to her not usually being allowed to interact with children her age, so she really wanted a playmate at this park. Koko climbed up the stairs to a slide, and she bunched up her legs in order to slide down more easily. It was a really pretty park, she noticed. The girl was absolutely amazed. A big grin took over her face as she sprinted around the playground, her and Holmes climbing upon one of those playground carousel things and having Victor spin them. Holmes also looked like he was having fun. Koko wondered, for a moment, what type of fun Charlie might have been having, but then she decided that she didn't care at all. This was too amazing, getting to be herself out here, getting to interact with people, and she didn't ever want to give this up.

Holding on to the rail of the carousel with her left hand, she waved her left hand at Victor, who had stepped back and watched the playing children while another parent spun them around. He seemed pleased to see his children so happy, especially when Koko was hardly ever this joyful about something. It just made his day.

Koko then leapt off of the carousel when it was spinning at full speed. Her feet hit the ground, kicking up dust as she ran, seemingly playing tag with a small group of kids. She was having... So. Much. Fun.

"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" The little girl with lavender hair turned around and chuckled. Then, she suddenly made a serious face, "Wait." She started tapping her finger on the tree near her, just like how she saw her amazing brother Alex always did when he was thinking about something important. "I should have been sadder. I also shouldn't laugh when I said those back then..." After all, the end of this book was so sad.

Luna could still remember the day she read it with some dictionaries. Yup yup, even when she was a genius, she still needed some help with reading some difficult books. She spent one hour crying because of how sad it made her felt, and Olly had to give her a cup of chocolate milk so that she could stop crying! What a good brother.

Romeo and Juliet was the first romance book she read. Why? Because someone left it on her table! Not her fault, hehe. As far as she knew, the book belonged to papa's friend. She already gave it back to her after reading it. The luckiest part was that her big brother, the Amazinggg Alexander, did not care where she took it and if she could read it, he just did what she asked for. Almost best brother of this world. Why almost? Because when she was trying to give him a flying kiss, he just stopped calling her from the mirror. Meanie. Though, he should be happy that he had the best sister in the world who still loved him after all that.

Lying down on the ground, Luna used her hands to cover her face and started rolling around. "O Romeo, Romeo, waaaaaaaaaaa... Wherefore art thou, R-Romeo?" Luna stopped, sitting up and mumbled. "Wait hmmm," Luna looked at her light blue shirt, now had a bit of dirt on it. Mummy would be so mad if she saw this. Luna sat quietly and thought of a way to solve this. She would be honest about this, papa said lying was not good. Though, she shouldn't be too sad about this. Mummy said you couldn't change the past, so instead of lying down and cry, she should think of a way to solve this. Because Luna was sure she couldn't hide this anyway, she decided to... not care about it anymore and enjoy this day!

Also, she realized something pretty important. Making a serious face, the girl lied down and started rolling, like how a hamster enjoying its life. "This is... SO LOVELYYYYYYYYYY" Luna kept rolling and rolling and rolling until the little girl saw a little flower on her way. Would the girl crush it? No way, that's what a cold blood person did and Luna was not doing it. She could not believe anyone could do something as horrible as that, that was so cruel!

Standing up, the girl ran and sat next to the little flower. "Hiii Miss or Mister Flower! It's nice to meet you hehe. I'm super duper surprised that you are still blooming although it's winter!" it looked just so pretty. Maybe, just maybe, this little flower was kind of like a bear, sleeping through the winter and wait until the dayspring came. If it was like that, didn't that mean she accidentally wakens the pretty flower up?! "Oh my god, did I interrupt you while you were sleeping? I'm sorry little beauty, I will build a wall of stick around you to protect you as my apology!" She was sure the pretty flower would love it. Not to mention, the wall would also gain people's attention so that they wouldn't crush the pretty flower by accident. Such a perfect plan.

After saying that, the girl started looking around for sticks. She didn't want to hurt Misses and Misters Trees, so her decision was going around and picking the sticks that were lying on the ground. One stick, two sticks, three sticks, four and... no more. She tried, looking around this place, but they were all nowhere to be found. Luna sat down sadly, tried to think of a way to solve this. She didn't want Miss or Mister Flower to be sad, so she had to try harder!

Filled with determination, the girl started climbing on a tree near that place. Would the girl take some sticks from this tree by breaking it? No way, how could she do that? What she was aiming for was being able to find a place where there were a lottttt of trees. A lot of trees meant a lot of sticks. Think about it, if she wasn't wrong, Oliver told her that there was a lot of trees around the playground for people her ages. Perfect.

Climbing down the tree as quick as she could, the girl started running to the playground. Because she didn't want the little flower to wait for too long, she ran as fast as she could. And therefore, Luna arrived at that place within ten minutes. She was sure she would be able to arrive here in less than five minutes, but she didn't know this place. She was pretty lucky that people here still used maps, although they were all wizards.

This place looked super duper fun! She was going to join the kids and play with them at first, but then, the picture of the pretty flower being sad crossed her mind. She had to focus on helping the pretty flower!

Once again, filled with determination, the girl climbed up on a tree near her. She loved climbing, the girl almost did it every day. Although her mummy didn't seem like she liked that, her papa agreed on it so, she was safe and sound. Then, something made she felt... really good. The air, the sky, they were just so beautiful. Luna couldn't help but stare at them and enjoyed the air up there.

But then, she felt weird. She knew what was going to come, but she couldn't stop it. "Ah-choo!" Right after she sneezed, the girl slipped her hand. And, based on the fact the lavendered hair girl was on a tree, she fell immediately. The only thought she could think of before falling was "I'm such a dummy.."

It didn't hurt. It didn't hurt at all if she didn't mention how nice it felt. It made her feel like... lying on the big big sofa in the living room. But, the sofa didn't have pretty blond hair like this... Wait, why were there blond hair in the first place?! Looking down, Luna shockingly realized that she was lying on a pretty pretty girl. She didn't want to crush the pretty flower, but that didn't mean she wanted to crush a pretty girl!

But this girl was just so pretty that made her stopped doing anything until realizing that she might accidentally broke this girl's bone. Luna quickly sat next to the girl, tried her best not to cry. She sniffed her nose, tried to apologize, "Oh my gash... I'm so sorry Miss Pretty Girl! I didn't realize you were down there, or I wouldn't fall on you!" Luna bit her lips so that she could stop herself from crying out loud.

What if the pretty girl was mad at her?! Actually, that was alright to her, as long as the pretty girl didn't break her bones or hurt anywhere... Mama said she was not fat at all, but who knew?! She was just so scared. The lavendered hair forgot about the pretty flower. The only thing she could think of right now was that she should have bought a potion. A healing potion, so that she could help the pretty girl if she was hurt anywhere. But now she didn't have it, which made her feel so sad. And she was, for sure, about to cry...

Thud. That was the noise of a nine-year-old girl hitting the ground. Ouch. There was... Someone... On top of her... And she couldn't breathe... Koko's lungs fought to expand - though they didn't seem to want to - and a wheezing breath came out of her lips as her golden eyes widened in shock. What the heck!? she thought wildly, one of her arms grasping at the ground beneath her. This hurt.

And to make things worse, a sudden weight pushed down on the blonde's back as the other kid seemed to get off of her. A shaky exhaling of breath escaped her lips. Koko lifted her chin off of the ground. Her face had paled a lot, and her cheeks were red. Red from what, she didn't know, but they were red. She felt as if she had run a marathon and then tripped - and face planted. The girl lay there, gritting her teeth, and for a moment just enjoyed the feel of air rushing through her lungs. She saw a lock of blonde hair resting on the bridge of her nose, and it came to her attention that her pigtails were beginning to come undone. She would fix that when she got home.

She finally gazed up at the child who had tried to kill her. The other girl seemed... Upset, was it? Tears were welling up in her eyes. Koko suddenly had a very serious decision to make. Was she going to guilt-trip the violet-haired girl, or would she just forgive her? Well... That was a hard decision as well as a serious one! It could affect the rest of the blonde's day if she didn't say the right thing. Koko wasn't going to push herself up from the ground yet; she was tired, hurt, and she also wanted to be able to yell at the other girl just in case she needed to. Her chest was still trying to heave with the intake of breath - though her position on the ground did not help with that. In fact, it made it worse, and her cheeks would slowly become more flushed.

Koko tilted her head upwards and let her gaze travel over the other girl. She was... Small in stature, though her weight had hurt like a mother trucker. And her shirt had dirt on that. That was a trivial detail in finding out who this person was. She had fallen from a tree, which meant that either an idiot had left her up there or she was the idiot and had climbed it. Koko wasn't the best at analysis, but she knew that she could tell whether or not this girl was genuine. As her father always said: 'They might be very good actors. If they are, they will exaggerate everything. Everything. Don't listen to them if they do.' So, naturally, Koko would begin to look at the violet eyes of the other child, trying to see what was in them. If seeing others' emotions was her only defence, it wasn't a bad one.

The smaller kid looked scared, yes, but was that just a front? Was she really ready to jump on Koko again? She didn't seem as if she could. She seemed petrified with fear. "That's obvious," Koko finally said, eyeing the other girl with suspicion. Her voice was sharp with annoyance, and the British accent could be heard clearly beneath her words. She was irritated.

Koko wasn't necessarily being rude, or at least not in her eyes. It wasn't as if she was a bad person - she had just been fallen on, for Merlin's sake! She was only doing what any sane person would do if a jumpy kid leapt out of a tree and landed. On. Their. Back.

Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the ground beneath her, a pop sounding as she tried to move. Her thoughts moved from her careful analysis to going to a chiropractor, and she soon decided that they would need to go there after they left. The usually flawless skin on the backs of her hands was cracked slightly and bleeding a little, if only from her hard fall. "Any sane person wouldn't fall on a person unless they saw them first. It makes sense." That was what she would be judging the other girl on. She would be judging her on both her appearance and her words.

Yes, she looked like a normal fun-loving child, and it seemed that she acted like one, too. Her story hadn't been exaggerated at all, which told Koko that it wouldn't kill her to just listen for a moment and see what happened. She didn't seem that ready to kill, so Koko would assume that she wasn't carrying a knife and leave it at that. Koko's knee - which was bare because of the hole in her jeans - scraped the ground as she lifted it to try and get up. Ouch. She opened her fists and did a sort of push-up in order to rise to a standing position. She was taller than the other kid, too. Interesting. "I suppose you think you're telling the truth. That's enough for me to believe it, too." She spoke oddly now, carefully measuring her words as if they were ingredients for a cake because she didn't trust this girl. Not one bit. She didn't think that the smaller girl could do anything to her, but she also didn't want to tell her anything that could come back and slap her in the face later.

She heard the screams of joy that playing children gave as they spun around and around, quite obviously enjoying themselves. Koko, still trying to catch her breath, let out a small wheeze as she gazed around the small area. "Why were you in the tree? It's not usually a place for girls to be. Especially if you fall, as you did. What if I'm not always there to catch you?" Koko forced a small smile across her lips, trying to make sure that this other kid didn't cry. While she didn't particularly care for the violet-haired girl, she didn't want to be the cause of her disappointment either. That would make her feel terrible, and then she would want to make friends with the other girl, which was a bad thing seeing as she hardly knew her.

A breeze slapped Koko in the face, making her already red cheeks even redder. Her darkish eyes were full of a wild emotion, but she didn't know what it was. It could have been wild fear, but she doubted it. It could have been severe anger, which was actually a plausible explanation, but she didn't think so. Maybe she was just... Worried about what this day would entail.

Luna wasn't going to lie, she almost slipped and fell when she heard the Pretty Girl's voice. It reminded her of ice and roses, not only because of the sharpness and danger of those two. It was also because of the beauty that ice and roses. Beautiful, but dangerous.

She could understand the Pretty Girl's thought. No one could feel happy after someone felt on them when they were trying to relax! Luna seriously felt sad for her. It must be harsh, not to cry and get mad. And the Pretty Girl did it! Not to mention, she was even able to keep her face straight instead of breaking down and cry, which was just incredible.

Then, as soon as she heard the "pop" sound from Koko's leg, Luna finally realized, she had broken Koko's leg. No matter if she did it on purpose or not, this was unacceptable, and she deserved punishment.

The lavendered hair girl fell into silence. She didn't know how she was feeling right now. Guilt mixed with sadness, and there was also something else, something that she could never think she would be able to feel. Despair. Despair, from the bottom of her heart.

The happiness when she found the pretty flower, or when she found the pretty girl were both gone. It was replaced with this terrifying feeling. For the first time, she realized that she was useless. She couldn't help the pretty girl with anything, now Luna wished that she had more knowledge about healing. This empty feeling tortured her.

She couldn't cry nor saying anything. There was something which was stuck in her neck, which kept her from using her voice. She was scared. She was scared of hurting people, and she was scared of reality. The reality of unable to do anything. The reality of being useless.

Something, the Pretty Girl was saying something to her. She could understand all the words, but then, she couldn't understand anything. Luna stared at the Pretty Girl blankly, even she didn't know what was going on in her mind.

Then, to make Luna shocked, the Pretty Girl suddenly stood up on her own without using any magic or help. Despite the fact the two looked like they were the same age, the Pretty Girl had to have more experiences more than her. Luna remembered her mother mentioned the ability to cast a spell without using wands nor words to do it. The Pretty Girl had to be able to master this skill. Fixing a broken bone was not an easy thing to do. She believed that even Hogwarts student would need a lot of training to be able to use a spell that fixed bones.

Merlin, this girl had to be an angel. An angel who used the mask of a witch so that she could easily survive the human's world. Luna wondered why she came down here, to watch over someone? Or maybe, the angel was here to watch witches' and wizards' daily lives so that she could tell stories once she came back to her world. That would make a lot of sense, she had to tell Alex and Olly about this! Today had to be her lucky day, meeting someone as amazing as this!

Giving the angel a big smile, Luna kept nodding her head when the blond hair said that she believed in her. She had already expected this, the girl was an angel, after all. "Thank you for believing in me! That's super-duper nice of you!" To be fair, she already knew that the girl would believe in her, no matter if she was an angel or not. The reason was simple, everyone had trust in them, no matter if it was for a stranger or a person in their family. Luna, for example, she wouldn't hesitate to trust and help a stranger when they needed! It didn't matter if you were a human or an angel, the matter was how nice you were. Because that was how people were!

"Girls up there aren't able to be on trees?" She opened her eyes widely at the blond hair. Being an angel had to be harsh, having a rule like that. She would never be able to stop climbing, Luna knew herself.

She wondered how things worked up there, it didn't seem like everyone could do what they wanted. That was sad, but the lavender haired girl still wanted to visit heaven, one day. Maybe when she died, or maybe when she had wings! She should try searching to find a spell or a potion that created wings and note it down. She would do it in the future, finding heaven!

"The reason why I was on the tree?" Luna mumbled and suddenly realized how scary the Pretty Flower's situation was. "OH! OH RIGHT! I'm just finding materials to make a small house for a flower over there." Pointing her finger at her right, Luna showed a big smile on her face. "Lily of the Valley, do you know what type of flower it is? It can survive winter, but still, I'm kind of, worried you know..." Although she would like to talk more about it, she knew that not everyone had interested in flowers. Then, it had to be alright with only a bit of information about flowers. Lily of the Valley was one of the types of flowers that she loved.

"And about what you just said... Don't worry about it! Even if you aren't there to catch me, I know that I won't be injured much!" Turning around, the lavender haired girl continued, "After all, I'm already used to that kind of stuff! Papa has always said you have to experiment with things so that you can have more knowledge about it."

"Then, I'm sorry that I interrupted you! It was my fault, so do you need me to help with anything?" Looking at the red cheeks of the Angel, Luna mumbled, "Are you cold? How about we go to a bake shop and buy you a warmmmmm bread? Lucky you, there is a bakeshop nearby!"

Then, The Pretty Flower flashed through the little girl's mind. Although she seriously wanted to bring the Angel to the bakeshop, this was still a priority, since the Pretty Flower's spirit might be in danger! "Do you mind waiting for me for a little bit? I will try to finish the house for the flower and come back to you!"

Ugh. Could this day get any worse? Koko's new clothes now had dirt on them. She hated getting dirt on anything, be it her hands, shoes, or clothing (why did she go to the park?). Besides, her shirt was white! The dirt was really noticeable on it! She would have been fine with getting a little dust on her jeans, but her shirt? Her mother would be angry.

She took a few more moments to gaze at the child who stood in front of her. Violet hair, violet eyes, pale skin. She was... certainly different than usual. Did she wear those things called contacts? Had she used a spell to change her hair's colour? Koko didn't know, but she was curious. They said that curiosity killed the cat, but that wasn't the entirety of the phrase. "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back". Satisfaction. Was that the entire point of curiosity?

Even though Koko's clothing was now dirty, she couldn't bring herself to stay mad at this child. She was probably the same age as Koko herself, anyway, and all children made mistakes. Neither of them were adults; they couldn't have known any better! And this mysterious girl was smiling. It was already a gesture that Koko wasn't used to, but to see a smile so huge, so genuine... It was magical. And she was happy that Koko had believed her! Had Koko caused her to be happy? A feeling surged up in the blonde-haired girl's chest, something warm and fuzzy that she wished to feel for the rest of her days. What was it? Was it what Victor had warned against... Pride?

Koko didn't care if it was pride or if it wasn't; it felt great. Smiling a simper of her own, Koko bent down and began patting as much dirt as she could off of her clothes, wincing when she touched her leg. It would have to be bruised; she had felt it pop. To be honest, popping a joint could feel nice, but not when that portion of her leg was touching a rock. She wasn't bleeding, but it had definitely hurt, nearly as much as being near-crushed by the weight of another child. Koko wasn't angry, though. She wasn't like that, she decided, she wouldn't ever be like that. Things were called accidents because they were done by accident. They were not on purpose. There was no use in crying over spilled milk.

Her brow furrowed at the smaller girl's question. Can't be on trees? Koko shifted in her stance, folding her hands together and glancing at the ground. "I... Well, my mum would be quite miffed if I climbed on a tree. It's not proper or ladylike to her." The girl shrugged, a chuckle escaping her lips. It was a dry laugh, though; a bitter one. It shouldn't have been bitter. It should have been light and full of joy, but it wasn't. It was almost like a sarcastic laugh, if that was a thing. Koko didn't know. "So, no, I don't believe I can be on trees. Wouldn't want to get hurt, anyway."

Koko recognised the name of the flower that the violet-haired girl mentioned. Lily of the Valley. Weren't those poisonous? Rosalie had quite a few gardens and greenhouses at the Leblanc estates in France, and Koko had seen them during a visit. The Lilies had been a type of flower that little Koko had been warned not to touch at all costs. It wasn't worth the risk. Koko didn't know under what circumstances the flower would be poisonous, though: did it matter if it was ingested, or could it be a bad plant even if you touched it? "Lilies of the Valley," the girl said softly, "aren't they poisonous?" She raised an eyebrow, lifting her nervous gaze back to the other child.

The purple girl was so talkative that it was almost funny. In contrast to Koko's moderate shyness, she found the extroversion of the new girl very refreshing. A bread? That sounded really yummy, but Koko had already eaten. She hated to turn down the girl's invitation, but she would much rather spend time with her and try to mend their terrible first impression than eat too much and end up with a stomachache. "Actually," Koko said, twining her fingers around each other and then unclasping her hands and repeating the fidgeting, "d'you mind if I help you with the flower house instead of getting bread? I, uh, I can make sure that you don't get hurt while making the flower house! It's a very important job!" Koko's shy simper turned into a wider grin - although it was still shy. And then, she said one word that she hoped resulted in a 'yes' from the other girl: "Please?"

Reducio

Whooooops, I'm sorry about the... Four-Month wait...