Making the trip to the river became part of the routine, the older brothers could see why Phoenix loved to play his violin there. Shadow would sit quietly, Koma in his lap as he strung a cat's cradle through his fingers. Zappary sat with Neko, carving figures into thick tree branches. For once, Phoenix liked the quiet.

  Then he stopped, and he looked in the direction of the forest. The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention.

  "What is wrong?" asked Shadow as the string snapped. "Aw."

  "...Nothing," said Phoenix. "I just thought I heard rustling."

  "Look, I made it say FIREBALL." said Zappary, holding up his tree branch.

  "Neat," said Phoenix. "It's about lunchtime, you guys hungry?"

  "I could eat," said Shadow, noticing Zappary did not look up.

  Phoenix threw a tiny pebble at Zappary's leg.

  "What?" asked the middle triplet.

  "You hungry?" enunciated Phoenix.

  "Yeah, a little bit," said Zappary.

  "We will head back then," said Shadow.

  So they walk down, but Phoenix cannot get the rustling noise out of his head. It was too heavy to be a squirrel, and too light to be a deer.

  "Aw man, you guys go ahead," said Phoenix. "I left my satchel behind."

  Phoenix ran back up to the river, but stopped dead in his tracks. Someone was there, a girl, a human girl holding a stick in one hand and eating something from the other. She seemed to be drawing something in the sand with the stick, and she scanned the place every few seconds. Phoenix did not disturb her.

  An hour later, she got up and left. Phoenix waited a few moments before walking into the open. In the sand was a small drawing of a flower, a dandelion identical to the real one right beside it. Phoenix shrugged it off and grabbed his satchel.

  As she made her way down, the sounds of the village grew louder. The hustle and bustle of the market as everyone tried to sell their wares cluttered her ears again.

  When arriving at her family's shop, she was met with the third degree from her older brother. "Sunny, where have you been?" said Chao as he restocked the shelves with handcrafted clocks. "I was getting worried!"

  "You're always worried," said Sunny.

  "You're always missing!"

  "I was just out for a walk," she hugged him.

  "Again?"

  "I found this beautiful river, I couldn't help but stare at it for hours, waiting." She blushed a bit.

  "Waiting for what?"

  "What?"

  "You said you were waiting. What were you waiting for?"

  "No one!" Sunny got even redder.

  "No one! That means there's someone! Who are you waiting for?"

  "No one! I mean it!"

  Chao crossed his arms, "Sunnyyyyyy..."

  Sunny bit her lip, but felt her brother's eyes pierce into her soul. "Okay, fine there is someone!"

  "Who is it?"

  "It's a boy."

  "Oh!" Chao paced around her. "...And what does this boy look like?"

  "He has black hair, I know he likes the color red because he always has a red shirt, and he has these eyes... I just can't get them out of my head."

  "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, is this that same kid that comes down from the forest every week for groceries?"

  "Every week?"

  "Yeah, Sunny, it's the only thing everyone talks about when he passes through. He tries to look inconspicuous, but that's kinda hard when you wear a black cloak in a village where everyone wears white. Some rumors say he's an orphan, some say he's a wizard, I think I heard one guy say he's a thirty-year old midget."

  "I'm pretty sure we're the same age, and whenever he goes to the river he always does something different. Sometimes he reads, or he draws."

  "So what's his name?"

  "I haven't even talked to him yet, but he is amazing! Today he played the violin so beautifully, and it gave the forest this... life. I can't even explain it!"

  "What exactly?"

  "I dunno, but it feels... familiar."

  "Why not introduce yourself to him if you're so invested?"

  "I didn't even think he was real at first. I thought he was a mountain spirit or a figure of my imagination. Then I saw his face... those eyes are just... so hypnotizing. One eye as red as a sunset, and one eye as blue as the sea. I can actually picture it."

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Chao grinned mischievously and sang, "Someone's got a cruuuuuush!"

  "No I don't!" Sunny covered her face.

  "And it's gonna stop."

  "Wait, what?"

  "I'm not gonna let you fall for some random stranger! Besides what if he ends up being... magic?"

  "And what's so bad about that?"

  "Magic is dangerous, Sunny, and I won't have you around it. Nothing about this kid sounds normal, and I don't trust it even if he is your age."

  "I doubt a thug can play the violin."

  "Oh yeah, he can play the violin, so let's invite him into our home where he can pick us clean!"

  "Okay, you know what?"

  "No, you know what? You're not going back up there anymore."

  "Ugh, I hate you!" Sunny ran out of the store.

  "Sunny!"

  She opened the door, "You know I don't hate you, but I'm still really mad!"

  She slammed it again. Sunny stomped all the way home and went straight to her room. She growled and dumped herself face-first into her pillow.

  "Maybe I should introduce myself to him." thought Sunny. "Ugh, what would I even say? I guess anything! Even if it's just as simple as hi."

  "Hi," said Sunny, internally sweating bullets.

  Phoenix stood with his violin in hand, mid-note, biting both lips. The cubs growled, baring their little fangs at Sunny. She was so close that he could finally get a look at her face.

  "Hey, hey, it's okay," said Phoenix, brushing his hands through their fur.

  "I'm Sunny," she said while extending her hand.

  Phoenix hesitated for a moment, but slowly reached out. Before he could shake her hand, Neko and Koma started licking her fingers. She laughed.

  "What's your name?" she asked.

  "Ph-Phoenix," he replied, his voice shaking.

  Sunny seemed to sense his nervousness, "It's nice to meet you, Phoenix." Koma jumped down from the rock and started pawing at her legs. "And who is this?"

  "That's Koma," he said, picking up the lion cub. "This is Neko."

  "They're so cute, what are they?"

  Phoenix raised an eyebrow, "A fotia lion and a pagos wolf."

  "I've never seen one before," She drew closer and sat down on the rock, Koma jumping onto her lap.

  Phoenix plopped himself right next to her, and he noticed the distinct smell of something sweet with a pungent aroma around her that he could not place.

  "I'm... sorry I startled you," said Sunny. "I saw you playing yesterday and I just... had to come say hello."

  Phoenix was taken aback, but he smiled back at her.

  Sunny took a step closer to him and looked at his violin. "You're really talented. Do you play often?"

  Phoenix nodded.

  Sunny looked intrigued. "I've been watching you for a while now."

  Phoenix raised an eyebrow again.

  "It's such a nice place, I see why you like it."

  Phoenix smiled, but looked away. "W-why are you here?"

  Sunny swirled her feet around in the water, her cheeks tinged with a soft rose hue. "I like hearing you play."

  "Y-you... like it?"

  Sunny nodded. "Yeah, I love it. My brother and I used to sing and play instruments together when we were younger."

  Phoenix's interest is piqued. "What k-kind?"

  Sunny smiled. "I like to sing and play piano, my brother plays the guitar."

  Phoenix nodded, "M-my brothers p-play the piano and the d-drums."

  Sunny's eyes lit up. "Are they as good as you?"

  Phoenix gave a slight grin, "Yeah, i-it's always fun to play together."

  She unwrapped a small cloth, inside were two pastries. "Brownie?"

  "I've never tried one."

  "It's chocolate."

  "Although, I do like chocolate."

  They continued to talk for a while longer, getting to know each other better. It was easy to relax, the cubs certainly did as they fell asleep in her lap. Talking until sunset was easy, but time passes when you are having fun.

  "It was good to meet you, Phoenix," said Sunny, setting the cubs on the rock.

  "I-it was nice to meet you too, Sunny," said Phoenix as she disappeared into the trees.

  When he got home, he bypassed the usual evening routine and headed straight to his room with the cubs. He closed the door softly behind him, leaning against it for a moment as he let out a breath he did not know he was holding. He got back up, crossed the room, and plopped down onto his bed as the cubs settled on his belly.

  Shadow knocked on the door, "Phoenix are you okay?"

  "What's up, are you gonna eat?" asked Zappary. "We fried like three whole chickens! Legs! Wings! Breasts! Thighs! All that good stuff!"

  "No thanks, I'm not hungry!" said Phoenix.

  "But you're always hungry around... whatever time this is!" said Zappary. "I should fix that clock in the living room."

  "Not today!" said Phoenix.

  The elder triplets looked at each other, but shrugged it off. Phoenix stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind a canvas painted with images of Sunny, her smile, her laugh, her eyes. It was impossible to remember the last time he could remember a face so vividly. A strange warmth spread throughout his chest, and his heart beat faster than ever before. Hours slipped by, but Phoenix was wide awake. By the time the first hints of dawn lightened the sky, Phoenix realized he had not slept a wink. Koma and Neko did not even have to wake him up. After breakfast, Phoenix grabbed his satchel and threw the cubs to his brothers.

  "I'm going out, you guys feed the cubs, don't know when I'll be back!

  Phoenix felt his pulse quickening with every step he took toward the river, but he ignored it. He could not shake off the feeling that he was doing something wrong by interacting with a human, but it only added to the rush. When he arrived at the river, Sunny was sitting on the same rock as the day before, eating a muffin. She looked up, smiled, and offered Phoenix a muffin. He smiled back, took the muffin, and took a seat on the grass.

  "Hi," greeted Phoenix as he pulled something out of his satchel.

  "Hi," responded Sunny. "What's that?"

  "It's m-my sketchbook."

  "Oooh! Can I see?"

  "Of course."

  Phoenix turned through the pages of the book, surfing through pictures of flowers and animals. Sunny caught a glimpse of two people sleeping on a couch.

  "Who are they?" asked Sunny.

  "My b-brothers," said Phoenix.

  "They look just like you."

  "We're triplets, but I'm the handsome one."

  "You got that right."

  "What?"

  "What?"

  "What?"

  "What's this flower?"

  "Oh, i-it's an ausiria rose, I've only seen a few. They're roses th-that are red on the outside, and g-gold on the inside."

  "It's beautiful. I can't imagine myself making something this good."

  "They're my favorite f-flower."

  "Why?"

  "Th-they were my Mama's favorite, she said th-they showed that there's always two sides to things. Something that l-looks bad on the outside can always be b-beautiful on the inside. Although, I don't know how a rose could ever look bad."

  "She sounds smart."

  "She was."

  "Oh... I'm sorry, is she–?"

  "Yeah."

  "I'm sorry."

  "C-could I draw you?"

  "What?"

  "S-sorry, that's a dumb question, i-it's just... m-my eyes don't work too good, and I-I-I sketch so I can remember what things look like, and I–"

  "Of course, I'd love that!"

  "Really?"

  Sunny adjusted her position, smiling as she adjusted her dress and placed her hands over her knees. Phoenix took out his pencil and sketched after setting himself up on the ground. Phoenix carefully studied Sunny's features as he sketched, capturing every detail from the curve of her cheek to the way her hair fell around her face. After what felt like hours, he was pleased with what he had created.

  He looked up at her, "Th-thank you for letting me d-do this. You're really pretty." Phoenix covered his mouth quickly.

  "Can I see?" asked Sunny.

  "Yeah." he handed the book over to her.

  Sunny looked at the drawing, her smile fell.

  "You hate it."

  "No, not at all." Her voice quivered. "I've just... never been able to picture myself through someone's eyes." Her eyes began to water.

  "Hey, hey, hey, I didn't mean to make you cry."

  "I'm not." She smacked her face. "I'm not crying!" she sniffled. "Thank you. You're very talented."

  Phoenix could feel himself blushing again as he stammered out a thank you. "W-would you like to keep the drawing?"

  "What about you? Don't you need this because of your eyes?"

  "I don't think I need this one."

  "Why?"

  "I do these to remember, and I don't think I'll ever forget you."

  Sunny's face turned as red as a tomato. "Really?"

  "So do you want the drawing?"

  Sunny rubs her eyes, "I would love it."