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It was a cloudy day in the Gemberry woods, and a lilac colored coyote was near the brick red castle surrounded by a moat, hiding behind the tree closest to the drawbridge.
She was waiting patiently for the undisputed king of the forest to wake up, so she could see if he was going to come out.
Every day, Anna would go into the gemberry woods and hide behind that very same tree, hoping to catch a glimpse of her crush, the one and only Simon Smokes.
The two had never formally met, but she knew his name because she’d heard some of the other critters mention him during lunch and social gatherings.
And she had scribbled his name in her favorite notebook over and over, surrounded by hearts and little doodles of him, some even of him and her together.
She even wrote “A.B. + S.S.” in little hearts.
Of course, she never had the courage to approach him, cause she knew he was WAY out of her league.
He deserved someone prettier, someone more confident, someone who was way better than her at art.
She sighs sadly.
“Someone that’s not me…”
She whispers.
Suddenly, the drawbridge lowers, getting Anna’s attention.
Her eyes sparkle as her beloved dragon king walks out, swishing his shiny red hair.
His scales were the perfect shade of crimson red, and his hair looked so soft and fluffy… his fangs were so sharp and shiny, and his horns and wings glimmered in the low sunlight.
Anna sighs softly, swooning.
She wished she’d brought her new camera…
Unfortunately, this gets Simon’s attention.
“Is someone there?”
He says, looking around.
‘Crap.’
Anna thinks, going cold.
She hides behind a tree, staying completely still.
But just then, Simon noticed a faint scent of daffodil in the air.
“Who's there?”
He says, glancing around.
Anna tries to quietly sneak tiptoe away, remaining hidden.
After getting no answer, Simon shrugs.
“Guess it was nothing.”
He says.
He then takes off, flying away.
Anna reaches a hand out as Simon flies off into the cloudy blue sky.
“Oh my handsome king…”
She says, softly.
“If only I had the courage to approach you…”
~Later that day~
Anna was in the park, looking for things to take reference photographs of with her camera.
So far, she’d taken a few photographs of trees, pretty flowers, and a couple of her friends who happened to pass by.
But then, she hears a low voice, interrupting her.
“And so then, I told him if he doesn’t stop bugging me, I was gonna eat him like a vulture.”
Anna glances up, then blushes.
There was Simon, walking alongside Poe.
She panics, going to hide behind a nearby tree.
While spying on the two, Anna noticed Poe was holding a parasol.
She didn’t know why, the sun wasn’t even out because of all the clouds.
“He didn’t believe me….”
Poe continues, sighing.
Simon’s rugged laugh makes Anna go weak in the knees.
“Yeah, Dogday’s like that.”
He says to Poe. “It’s not a raven-eat-dog world here.”
Poe grumbles.
“Well I just wish he’d leave me alone…”
Simon then notices a familiar scent, sniffing the air.
“Hey, do you smell daffodils?”
He asks Poe.
Anna goes cold, hiding behind the tree.
Poe grunts.
“I’m a raven. I CAN’T smell.”
They reply. “Besides, it’s March, daffodils are everywhere.”
Simon shrugs.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
He says.
The two continue walking, idly chatting as they do so.
Once they were far enough away, Anna sighs in relief.
“Dude, just talk to him already.”
A soft voice says.
Anna looked around, but there was nobody there.
“Who said that…?”
“Up here.”
The voice says from above.
The coyote looked up to see her purple cat friend was nestled in one of the tree branches.
“Oh, hi Catnap!”
She says with a smile. “What are you doing?”
The purple kitty stretches.
‘Well I was having a nap…’
He signs. ‘But then those two woke me up when they passed by.’
Anna giggles.
“I see.”
Catnap smirks.
‘And then I noticed you were gawking at Simon like you always do.’
He signs.
Anna sighs dreamily.
“I mean, can you blame me?” She says.
“He looks absolutely perfect…”
‘So?’ Catnap signs. ‘You should go talk to him.’
Anna was nervous.
“I-I can’t just approach him!”
She says. “I get too nervous! What if I mess up and say something weird? Or get so nervous that I run away? Or I faint?!”
She covers her face. “Then he’ll hate me forever!”
She says, stressed.
Catnap slides down from the tree.
“Hey…”
He says softly, gently taking her hands and moving them away from her face.
“Everything will be okay.”
Catnap whispers, looking into Anna’s eyes.
Anna was still nervous.
“Y-you really think so…?”
Catnap nods reassuringly.
‘I know so.’
Anna smiles a bit.
“Maybe… maybe I can do it…”
Catnap smiles.
‘Attagirl.’
~The next day~
Anna was waiting outside Simon’s house again, just like she did every day.
But today would be different, because she was going to at least TRY to approach him.
Of course she couldn’t just knock on the drawbridge, that’d be rude. Plus there was a moat.
He did have an intercom box, but she was too afraid to use it.
She was also preparing what she wanted to say in her head, like she had been for the past 5 hours.
‘Hi, my name is Anna! I noticed that you look very good today, so would you mind if I took some pictures of you?’
She shakes her head. “No, that sounds too forward…”
But she didn’t have any more time to think, because right then, the drawbridge lowered once again, making her jump.
And there he was.
Once again, the handsome red dragon steps out of his castle, swishing his shiny red hair around.
Anna tried to keep from panicking, taking a few deep breaths.
Then, she slowly steps out from behind the tree.
“Uhh… Hi!”
She says quietly, getting Simon’s attention.
He turns towards her.
“Hello madam.”
He says with a little head bow. “What are you doing here?”
Anna immediately gets nervous.
“U-um, the thing is, I-I just wanted to, um…”
Simon then remembers something.
“Hey, I know you.”
He says, smiling.
Anna blushes a bit. “Y-you do?”
Simon nods. “Rae has told me about you.”
He says. “You’re Anna Bandana, photographer extraordinaire.”
Anna blushes more. “Extraordinaire…?”
Simon giggles. “Yes.”
He says. “I’ve seen the photographs you take, they’re amazing.”
Anna’s eyes sparkle. “Really?”
Simon nods. “Of course.”
He says.
Anna smiles and blushes a bit. “T-thank you…”
She says softly.
Simon fluffs his hair.
“I was just about to take a stroll around the park.”
He says.
He steps closer.
“I don’t suppose you’d like to walk with me?”
Anna’s eyes widened.
“R-really?”
Simon nods.
“Sure.” He says. “I didn’t have anyone else to walk with today anyway.”
Anna smiles. “O-okay…”
And so the two start off through the woods, side by side.
As they made idle chit chat, Anna found herself getting a little less nervous.
Eventually, she found enough confidence to ask what was on her mind.
“Hey Simon…?”
The dragon looks at her. “Hmmm?”
Anna blushes a bit, but remains composed, clearing her throat.
“I was looking for new subjects to photograph, and you’re the most attractive critter of them all.”
Simon blushes a bit.
“You think so?”
Anna goes cold.
“Wait did I say that out loud-?”
She whispers.
Simon laughs. “I mean, it’s true.” He says. “I AM the most attractive critter of all.”
He says, fluffing his shiny hair a bit.
Anna sighs a bit. “Yes indeed…”
But she quickly snaps out of it, shaking her head.
“But anyway, I wanted to ask if you would let me photograph you?”
She asks, nervous.
Simon smiles and nods. “Of course you can.”
He says. “The more pictures of me, the better.”
Anna’s eyes sparkle. “Really?”
Simon nods. “That way, more people will get to see my beauty.”
He says, fluffing his hair again.
Anna sighs a bit. “That’s true…”
When they reach the park, Anna takes out her camera.
“Alright, any specific pose you want me in?”
Simon asks, standing a full-body photo distance away.
Anna shrugs.
“Just do what comes naturally.”
She says.
Simon nods. “Okay.”
(I don’t know how to describe poses- he does the one he does in his nightmare critters introduction.)
Anna smiles. “Perfect!”
She gets her camera ready.
“Alright, one, two, three!”
She takes a few photos, getting a couple different angles.
“Alright! Awesome!”
She says, giving him a thumbs up.
Simon stops posing.
“Finally, my arms were about to fall off.”
He says, smirking.
Anna walks over, smiling. “Wanna see?”
Simon nods.
Anna flicks through the photos, showing them to Simon, who looks impressed.
“Wow.” he says. “You really know how to take good photos.”
Anna giggles. “Well it helps that I have such an appealing subject to photograph.”
She says, blushing a bit.
Simon smirks, humming a bit. “Indeed.”
Anna smiles.
“Say, we have lots of scenery here.”
She gestures all around her. “Wanna take some more?”
Simon nods. “Of course.” He says. “The more photographs of me, the better.”
And so, the two spent the rest of the day together, Anna taking loads of pictures of Simon who just couldn’t get enough camera love, and it made Anna the happiest she’d been in a very long while.
She highly doubted he’d ever be dumb enough to fall in love with her, but just being his friend, and making him happy, made her happy