Submission (#2097) Approved

People who were exposed to new cultures often lacked understanding of certain social norms and activities people in the culture participated in. While Persephone couldn’t be entirely sure, she was fairly certain that this lack of understanding was exponentially worse when the new people were from another planet, not just another culture. This was the only thought on her mind as she skeptically eyed the two aliens in front of her. They had both been left with her due to the coming fireworks and the uncertainty of their reaction to it. While there had been a few attempts made to explain, neither of them seemed to understand or at least take it seriously. It hardly seemed they took anything seriously.
Gigglethorpe was currently actively making noises at Stevie, which Persephone had earlier mistakenly thought was a language, only to find out it was only noises. Quite literally just alien sounds. Gigglethorpe seemed to default to simply making sounds at people more than they spoke normally, as one of their favorite things to do was mimic cats meowing.
Clearing her throat to gently get their attention, the doe took a step toward the two alien friends, as they both turned their visors to her inquisitively. Noises subsided, temporarily.
“So, as you both know,” she started carefully, “tonight there will be fireworks. It is going to be a bit loud and I just want to make sure you’re both okay with that. They’re harmless, really, they are only color and s--”
“Boom!” Gigglethorpe offered helpfully, making an explosion gesture with one hand. The little aliens in their visor made odd movements to match. “They go boom.”
Well. At least they seemed to know about that part of the event. That was a bit relieving. If they expected the sound then a majority of her concerns were erased, as most of them had only been centered around them reacting to the sound. Some people simply didn’t like the loud explosions of color, and she didn’t particularly blame them. Having someone who didn’t know what to expect experienced it was a concerning notion.
“What is the point?” Stevie asked after a moment of silence rested between the three. “Are you trying to scare something away with explosions in the sky?”
“Well--” Persephone started.
“The point is they go BOOM!” Gigglethorpe explained to their friend.
“They’re pretty to look at, too,” Persephone explained, feeling that Gigglethorpe’s limited explanation didn’t quite cover it. “They’re a symbol of celebration for us, and we chime them off to celebrate events throughout the year. Everyone enjoys the colors. Some people don’t enjoy the sound,” she paused as Gigglethorpe perked up, bemusedly adding, “or, well, the boom of it. I just wanted to make sure you two were alright before we join Yuletide.”
“Boom, boom, boom,” Gigglethorpe responded, moving past her carefully and toward the back of the home. Seems that was their sign they were ready.
Stevie mulled over Persephone’s explanation, measuring each word and what they thought of it, before they gave a slow nod. A celebration. That sounded rather nice. There was so much to celebrate alongside yearly customs. They had a new friend, as silly as their new friend might be, and Persephone and Yuletide seemed as good as prospects as any for friend two and three. While they didn’t fully fathom the fireworks, they appreciated the colors and the sentiment, and seeing Gigglethorpe excited was enough to raise their spirits.
“I’m alright,” they said, as Persephone gave a supportive nod.
Without another word, she led Stevie through the house after Gigglethorpe and onto the back patio, where Yuletide had been waiting for the three to join him before the show. He was seated on the edge of the patio, his feet hanging off the side of it slightly. Gigglethorpe had been quick to join him by his side, dangling their feet off the side and kicking them through the air. Seems the little alien couldn’t stop moving. Persephone found it amusing in an affectionate light, rather fond of the two aliens, even if some of their behaviors were a little silly to her. She moved to sit down at Yuletide’s side, one of her hands promptly going to rest over his, as Stevie sat on the other side of Gigglethorpe.
“Are they going to be alright?” Yuletide prompted, angling his visor toward Persephone curiously. He held the same concerns.
“Oh, I think we’re all going to be just fine.”
High spirits and a newfound sense of companionship rested over the unlikely four as the first explosion of light sounded off in the sky, followed by excited cooing about the colors and little enthusiastic ‘booms’ from a certain alien.