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Each night, accompanying the moon, countless dazzling little lights Cotton Candy came to know and love as stars lit up the sky. Tonight she sat in her yard, trying to locate all of her favorite constellations. Yet, only a finite number of stars seemed to fill the sky. Was her vision beginning to fail her? No, she was stargazing just yesterday..
Suddenly, she understood why the sky seemed so dark. On usual nights, she would walk to the outskirts of the city to stargaze without all the light pollution. Earlier, she’d been so busy writing love letters for the upcoming Valentines’ Day that she simply had no time or energy to make the walk. She sighed.
As she gazed up at the sky, now frustrated, her thoughts were interrupted by a faint squeak from nearby. Her eyes were drawn back to the ground. She found the source of the sound: a small crow, unusually adorned with a beautiful necklace of pearls.
Curiosity got the best of her, and she carefully got up and approached the bird. As she neared, it lifted its head and cawed weakly at her.
“Are you alright, little bird–oh my!” At first it was difficult to see in the low light, but the crow’s left wing was splayed out. It was hurt!
It took everything in her not to run, but instead gently come closer to it to inspect its wing so she wouldn’t scare the poor bird. It had lovely light green eyes, which glittered from the light of a distant street lamp. She hoped that it wasn’t crying. If it was, she didn’t know if she could hold back tears herself. Its purple eyeshadow complimented-
Eyeshadow..? This was a strange bird, indeed.
She crouched next to it, and was going to reach for its wing when the bird glared at her and cawed loudly and much stronger than before. She pulled her hand back. “What’s wrong, birdy? I was only trying to help..”
The crow stood up, pulling its wing back in, and Cotton Candy gave a sigh of relief. It had just chosen to sleep awkwardly, that was all.
Cotton Candy got to her feet as well, and was abruptly showered in crow feathers. She yelped as something, or some one pushed past her. As she turned to see who it was, her eyes were drawn once more to the somewhat starry sky and the person fleeing upwards into it. Since when could people shapeshift and fly!?
She was so startled by this that she stumbled backward, her heel catching on a tree root. She gasped, unable to regain her balance before she felt herself falling. At that moment, she saw the silhouette of a person on her roof. There was no time to process if it was more than her mind playing tricks on her, because it had vanished in the blink of an eye.
Before she could hit the ground (or honestly get anywhere near it), someone behind her caught her in their arms. “Careful, dear. I’d hate to see a jewel as beautiful as you get hurt!”
The stranger’s way of eloquently speaking seemed so familiar.. Where had she heard it before?
“Who.. are you?” Cotton Candy asked, dazed.
They took her hand and twirled her around gracefully to face them. They spoke no words, expecting her to guess herself.
Cotton Candy stared up at them, analyzing what she could of them in so little light (she guessed that was the challenge). They were tall . Nearly a foot taller than her. She wondered how much of that height was due to the large top hat they wore.
Who was tall, wore a top hat, and talked in such a special way?
“Phantom.. Bleu..?” she guessed hesitantly.
They could hardly hold back their laughter. “Oh, Cotton Candy! I expected you of all people to know me better than that!”
“S-sorry! I meant.. Roguefort!” she stammered. She averted her gaze in embarrassment. How could she make such a silly mistake?
They caressed her cheek, frankly making her feel even more flustered. “Don’t fret about it, my dearest. It has been some time since we last met, no?”
“It has..” Cotton Candy murmured. She looked back up at them. Their eyes were difficult to make out in the darkness, but she knew in better light they were a gorgeous turquoise. “I.. um.. I saw a little crow earlier. I thought its wing was broken, but when I tried to take a closer look, it shapeshifted into a person and flew away!”
Roguefort chuckled. “I saw! Crowberry is a friend of mine.” They paused, then added, “Or a foe. Oftentimes I struggle to tell the difference.”
Cotton Candy opened her mouth to reply when a police siren was heard in the distance. Roguefort tensed. “Ah.. That’s unfortunate,” they said. They suddenly hugged her, wrapping their cape around her, and kissed her cheek. “I love you. Perhaps I’ll see you again soon, hm?”
“I hope so..” She hugged them back, wishing they could stay that way forever.
Roguefort pulled away, gazing at her for just a moment longer, then sprinted off. Soon they were out of sight.
A minute later, Cotton Candy watched the police car drive down the street. She looked up one more time, as if the dim stars would glow brighter if she wasn’t paying attention to them for long enough, then entered her house for the night, Roguefort still on her mind.