Tumbling into New Friends

A small Cinnabunny in a hooded cloak stepped into a festival with beautiful flowers everywhere. She admired the décor, the stalls, the colors, even the different foods decorated with sugar flowers and teas brewed with real ones. Her little wings beat, making a little hum as she beamed from under her hood. She had managed to sneak off on her own to see this, and even if she was likely to get in trouble later, she knew it was worth it. She flitted from stall to stall, pausing along the way to gawk at the decorations. A flower bush in particular caught her attention, she approached it, closed her eyes, and inhaled. She recognized the scent, this was a lilac bush. It was a comforting scent that usually adorned her room. Seeing how small and cute the flowers were warmed her heart. She felt like these flowers, small and fragile. She couldn't help but pluck out a small sprig of the flowers. Once freed from the bush, she tucked them into her hood, decorating it with a bright pop of a light purple. This was just the start as well! she knew she was going to have a wonderful rest of her day here! She figured she should probably head out just after lunch, then they won't be too upset she snuck out- right? Shaking the thought from her head she continued her perusing. At some point she had been handed a basket that she could put flowers into, she had a little money she had brought with, mostly to buy herself some treats, but she couldn't resist a few of the really pretty flowers. It didn't take long before the basket was full of many different varieties of flowers. It filled her with a lot of joy to see. She couldn't help but skip through the festival, a wide smile on her face.

The day was going incredibly well, she clutched her basket of flowers close to her and admired all the colors and smells. So distracted by them, she bumped into a another Cinna. The two of them falling to the ground with an oomph.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I should have been watching where I was going!"

"Y-you're good! I w-wasn't e-either. L-let me help you u-up." The other Cinna quickly moved in and grabbed her unoccupied paw, gently helping her to her feet. They dusted her off and gave a small, timid smile. "I don't n-normally go to big o-outings like this." They stammered, their ears back as they looked at their feet. "S-so I wasn't p-paying attention to wh-where I was going."

The Cinnabunny offered a warm smile, "I guess that makes two of us then! We're both a couple of silly billies."

The other Cinna gave a small laugh, "I g-guess it does..." She grew quiet and shifted awkwardly, the Cinnabunny could tell she wasn't very used to being social.

"I'm Buttercup!" She offered a paw. The other Cinna looked at it for a moment in surprise before timidly offering her own.

"S-Sweetie." came the meek reply.

"So- do you like flowers? What's your favorite?"

Sweetie was quiet for a moment, a bit overwhelmed it seemed. Eventually she quietly answered. "I- Really like c-citrus flowers." Her ears perked forward a bit as she started slowly started explaining how fruit flower and why they make fruit. Buttercup happily listened and in turn, gave several facts about bees, honey, nectar, and pollen. The two eventually had a nice, shaded place to sit as they talked about their shared interest.

"Whew! We chatted the whole morning away! Would you like to maybe walk with me to grab lunch so we can chat some more before I have to go?" Sweetie nodded, her eyes bright and a lot of that shyness having melted away from their conversation.

She almost didn't have enough to buy lunch and was rather disappointed with herself that she hadn't been more careful with her funds, but Sweetie covered what she was missing so she could afford a nectar dango stick. The bottom dango green like a stem, the center yellow like nectar and pollen, and the very top was blue with a little white sugar flower adorning the top.

"Thank you so much Sweetie! I wish I could stay and eat with you as we talked more about flowers and fruits but-" She looked wistfully at the sky, "I really should start heading home."

"Th-that's alright! We'll see each o-other again something. R-right?"

"Right!" Buttercup beamed. "Why don't we share addresses so we can write each other?" Sweetie excitedly nodded as they exchanged information.

"I look forward to the next time I can see you!" She sprinted for the festival entrance, waving as she left. "Bye Sweetie!"

"B-bye bye Buttercup!"

Buttercup admired it for a bit as she walked home, almost feeling it was a shame to eat such a cute treat. She felt the sprig of flowers on her cloak shift and she jumped. Quickly looking down she caught sight of a little- Oozebud? She didn't know Cinnapet species that well, but the little creature climbed up onto her shoulder and started to move down her short arm towards the treat. At first she considered brushing it off, but realized she had taken the little guy from their home.

"You can have some! I'm sorry I sort of kidnapped you. I didn't know you were there..." The little creature responded with a joyful squeak as it finally reached its destination and munched happily on the little sugar flower adorning the top. Buttercup thought for a moment, maybe- Maybe she could keep them as a pet? Surely no one would mind? "Do you want to come with me?" She asked. A muffled little squeak was all she could hear, but the Cinnapet looked quite pleased, whether it was the suggestion or the food, Buttercup took it as a yes.

"I think then... I'll name you Tumble. Because you tumbled right into my life." She smiled, also thinking about the new friend she had tumbled right into herself.