[Freezair]

Surprisingly, it had been a slow day in the shop.

Springtime was usually one of Kasey's most profitable seasons. The weather was just perfect for strolling down the boulevard, weaving in and out of cute little shops... like the one she happened to own. And something about the new leaves and blossoms just got people in the mood for Kasey's old lace, perfumes, and mid-century knickknacks. Maybe it reminded everyone of the floral plates they grandmothers had displayed above the mantle. Either way, she usually had a steady stream of people, and the weather today was just perfect for browsing.

And yet...

[Freezair]

The streets outside were nearly deserted, both scraps of trash and leaves skittering past on the spring wind. She did see a few people walking by, but very few of them stepped into the shop, and most seemed in a hurry to be elsewhere.

What on Evelon is going on? Is it some kind of event? I don't remember reading about an event. Did I miss a bunch of flyers up everywhere? ...Is this the apocalypse? Goodness, did I sleep through the end of the world?

[Freezair]

Mildly panicked, Kasey stared off into space, wondering what could have brought the world to a screeching halt. Is it the bomb? Is it those, whatchamacallits, those zombie things? Is it King Kong? I bet it's King Kong...

Her reveries were interrupted by her shop bell tinkling.

"A surviv--customer! I mean customer." Her ears twitched as she looked up. "Hello! Welcome to Golly Gosh Bouti--"

A neon-blue head grinned back at her.

"Hey-heeeey! Big sis! WHAT is UP, my ladyman?!"

[Freezair]

Kasey exhaled. Violently.

"Hello... Tyler."

He dashed up to the shop, his wingblades perilously close to some of the more fragile tchotchkes on her shelves.

"'Sup to the MAX, my most excellent sis-bro!" Tyler said. He held out his paw for her to high-four. With a sigh, she gave it a half-hearted slap. "I figured you'd, like, be totally lonely here today, so you might want some company!"

"So you know where everyone went, then?" she replied. "Because I admit, I'm plum out of ideas! Aside from ol' King Kong running roughshod over us."

[Freezair]

"What? No way, man! Don't you know what day it is?"

"...Nnno," Kasey admitted. There must have been an event! But what was it? I don't remember seeing any advertisements...

"Duh! Today is the XTREME BOWL, maaan!"

...Oh. No wonder. I don't watch too much TV, she thought. And the biggest sporting event of Evelon's year would have a tendency to drive people inside.

"You know, I just plum forgot," Kasey admitted. "It has been pretty slow today."

[Freezair]

"I know! We should totally do something!" Tyler said. "You should close up the shop and we should go out! You know, have some totally radical sibling bonding ADVENTURES! Yeeeauh!"

Kasey inhaled. Also violently.

An early memory flashed into her mind.

"Now, Kasey," he mother had said. "You're a big sister now. And that means big changes. You have responsibilities now. Do you know what those responsibilities are?"

"No, Mama," little Kasey had replied.

"You have to look after Tyler," her mother had said. "You need to play with him. When he's feeling sad, you need to hug him and tell him it'll be alright. You need to make sure he knows you love him. Can you do that for me, sweetie?"

"Of course, Mama," little Kasey had replied.

[Freezair]

Kasey closed her eyes and opened them slowly.

"I... suppose... we could do that. We could... go out... and do something... together... today."

"MOST EXCELLENT!" Tyler shouted. His wingblades bristled and a few shelves wobbled. Kasey winced. "And I know exactly where we're going to go! In fact, I already booked us a Tuber!"

"...Where's that?" she said, trying to keep her tails from twitching.

"We're gonna go to the most righteous, most gorgeous, most EXCELLENT Idalani Faaaalls!"

Kasey blinked.

"...Really? That sounds... actually nice." She was unable to keep the genuine surprise out of her voice.

"I know, right?!"

[Freezair]

So it was that Kasey found herself in back of a Tuber ride with her overly-talkative younger brother, on the way to Idalani Falls.

Where did he get this idea? she wondered. Getting out into nature like this, seeing a beautiful landscape... it seems so... unlike him. I'd expect him to want to go to a theme park full of rollercoasters, or a skate park, or one of those water parks with a wave pool... Well, actually, that one doesn't sound so bad. The weather was nice and warm, and a good soak in a pool sounded good. Oooh, especially if it was a saltwater pool.

Still. I wonder what put this idea in his head?

[Freezair]

Maybe somewhere in all his incessant chatter, Tyler would tell her.

"...these new shoes are totally EXTREME!" Despite walking on all fours like most Lucain in their natural forms, Tyler only wore sneakers on his hind legs. "Check out what they can do!"

He squeezed the tongue of one of his shoes. Kasey saw nothing change.

"...Uh?" she prompted.

"It totally pumped up my soles! Now I've got an AIR CUSHION beneath my feet, for MAXIMUM ATHLETIC SUPPORT!"

"That's... real nice, Tyler," Kasey said. She had no idea what filling one's shoes with air had to do with athletics, but she supposed it made sense to Tyler. And as their mother would say, that was what was important, right? That it made him happy.

[Freezair]

The Tuber driver seemed to have decided their conversation was private. No matter how many haunted looks Kasey shot into the rear-view mirror, she stayed silent.

All the way to Idalani.

"...I can almost pull off this TOTALLY RADICAL skateboard trick now! Like, I haven't actually done it yet, as you can see from the totally NOT radical scratches on my chin and paws!"

He shoved his scabbed jawline right into her face.

We're almost there. We're almost there. We're almost there...

[Freezair]

Finally, finally, their car pulled to a stop. Their Tuber driver looked over the back of her seat at them.

"Alright. We've arrived. You arranged for just one-way transportation, right?"

"Totally! And thank you TO THE MAX!" Tyler replied. He threw open the door at a speed that seemed impolite for a vehicle that wasn't his own and dashed out. Kasey made a scene of slowly and politely opening the door, and she made certain not to scratch the upholstery with her claws.

"Thank you very much," she told the driver. "...From both of us."

[Freezair]

The smell hit her nostrils almost immediately.

The air was crisp, damp, and unmistakeably green. She smelled water and life all around them--the blooming of tropical flowers, the wet moss on the rocks, and the mineral scent of soaked rocks. She felt parts of her waking up that she didn't know had been asleep. Her tails twitched, and she felt like running off just to feel the cool wind on her face.

But she wanted to take in the sounds, as well. The glistening cascade of water. The excited springtime twittering of birds. And...

...something...

...that sounded like a distant base guitar warming up.

[Freezair]

Kasey crumpled.

"Tyler. Is there a... a concert going on here today?"

"You know it, sis!" Tyler cheered. "My favorite post-punk-grunge-alternative act is playing here today!"

"So... we're not here to go on a picnic, or sightseeing, or hiking?"

"I didn't say that!" Tyler replied. "I wanna go see these guys perform! But you don't have to sit with me! I, like, got you a ticket if you wanted to. And I think it'd be fun." He stared at the ground, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "But you can do whatever! And just rock it!"

[Freezair]

Even by herself, Kasey wasn't sure how much she'd be able to relax and enjoy herself with that music thumping in the background. Though it was nice of Tyler to spend his money on tickets that she might not even want to use. She had to admit, that, at least, was courteous of him.

But she and Tyler had never exactly shared music tastes.

"Plus, drinks and snacks are comped in the ticket price!" Tyler added. "They have iced tea!"

Kasey exhaled. She always was a sucker for iced tea.

[Freezair]

"...Plus, it's a benefit concert," Tyler added, as though that would sweeten the deal. "We're, like, helping the environment and stuff! We're saving adorable little magical critters! EXTREME!"

And even more than she was a sucker for iced tea, Kasey was a sucker for cute animals. Half the surfaces in her home were covered in porcelain birds, and the other half was covered in porcelain farm animals.

And judging from the size of his eyes and the unsubtle pout of his lower lip, it would make Tyler really happy.

Which would make Mom happy when she called her that weekend.