Listen, And The Stars Shall Speak

Plans, Plans, Plans.

Ander had her eyes closed as she danced around the room, singing softly. Rin sat on the floor, her eyebrows raised as she watched her sister.

"I know you, I waltzed with you once upon a dream....." Ander hummed.

"Uh....Andi?" Rin questioned, attempting to snap Ander out of her trance.

"Shhhhhhhhhh! I can't see the blue, angelic eyes over the sound of your voice."

"....Ander that makes no sense. Even for you." Ander sighed, sinking back to reality. 

"WHAT!" she shouted suddenly, causing Rin to jump. "WHAT IS OH SO IMPORTANT?"

"I just wanted to know if you were ever going to explain why you were able to wake up!" Rin insisted.

"Simple. My blue-eyed guardian angel waltzed me to the doorway home."

"......Your 'blue eyed guardian angel'."

"Yes." Rin thought for a moment.

"Does he have a name?"

"Not currently."

"Wonderful." 

*~*~*~*~*

"Hey Apple," Shore greeted his cousin. Apple was curled up on the top branch of a tree, looking warily. 

"Back!" she announced, clutching a letter tightly in her talons. "I will not let another letter fall victim to Rin!"

"What?" Shore questioned. 

"She's been stealing my letters, so I have to resort to extreme measures to protect them from her."

"Ah."

"Anyways, what's up?"

"I just thought you should be aware that there's a summer fiesta coming up." Apple raised an eyebrow.

"Yea, I know. As a princess, I knew before you did."

"Yea well, a bunch of people are inviting dragons from other tribes...." he hinted.

"So?"

"So Orange and I were thinking of asking some friends from JMA....." He drawled out.

"Shore, would you just get to the bloody point already?" 

"So I thought you might want to ask someone if they wanted to come." He explained. 

"Shore, I've never left the rainforest. Who would I possibly ask?" Shore stared at her obviously.

"I'm sure you can think of SOMEONE."  he insisted. 

"Nope."

"A SMOKY SCALED DRAGON PERHAPS?"

"Pretty sure Grandmother would have a heart attack if I invited Peril to the forest." Shore stared at her.

"I honestly can't tell if you're just messing with me now."

"And I honestly can't tell if that whole conversation was your best attempt at subtlety."

"Nice. So..... Are you gonna do it?" Apple thought for a moment.

"Depends."

"Depends on what?"

"Who else is going, who you're inviting, who the hell put you up to this..." Shore's face dropped.

"A bunch of boring important people are going, including Anaconda. Orange was gonna invite Cypress because she has some ulterior motive. I was gonna see if Dusk, Haze, Boysen, and Permafrost could come."

"And?"

".... And it was Shadow." Apple leapt up, slamming the letter down in fury.

"I KNEW IT." she announced. "I'M GONNA KILL THAT NIGHTWING."

*~*~*~*~*

Meanwhile, in the Mud Kingdom....

Anaconda sat at a desk,  writing a letter while smiling. He and Cypress had been writing all break, and he couldn't help but notice the difference between their letters alone. Cypress's notes were usually written on old, crumpled paper that had unidentified stains. Her writing was quick and sometimes short. Sometimes she would write little notes on the side, blaming the various stains on her siblings and explaining what they were. 

Anaconda's letters, on the other hand, were completely stain free. They were written on fresh parchment and crisply folded. His handwriting was neat and precise. Sure, he had annoying siblings too. But they were too dignified to snatch up one of his letters before it was mailed.

Well, he thought to himself. His sisters were too dignified for that....

"Lookie here!" his older brother called out. Anaconda glanced over and instantly regretted it. Even from across the room he could recognize Cypress's handwriting. "Annie's got another letter from his girlfriend!"

"She's NOT my girlfriend." Anaconda insisted, standing up.

"Oooooo," his younger brother, Rudda teased. "Read it Wade! Read it!" 

"Don't you dare." Anaconda warned.

"What, is little Annie gonna stop us?" Wade teased as he opened the letter. 

"Wade I MEAN it. It's not yours, and it's none of your business."

"On the contrary," Wade explained. "As the eldest brother, it is my duty to keep you two in line. You know how Mother feels about her heirs, and we wouldn't want you gallivanting around with some lowlander, now would we?" Anaconda's face grew hot.

"She is not some lowlander." he snarled. "She's just a friend who happens to live in the Sand  Kingdom."

"Mhmm. Then it won't matter if I do this, now will it." Staring his brother in the eyes, Wade ripped the letter in two. Anaconda held back a gasp as he watched the letter get torn apart.

"Awww," Rudda whined. "I wanted to know what it said!"

"Trust me little brother," Wade declared. "This is a much worse punishment for him." He threw the pieces onto the ground and crossed the room, staring down at Anaconda. "Now Annie," he began. "No more talking to lowlanders, you hear?" 

Anaconda didn't move, and Wade grinned. 

"Good."