Submission (#5031) Approved

Pride month. One of Velvette’s top 12 favorite months of the year. It was a good chance to celebrate her friends and who they were. She certainly loved any excuse to celebrate anything, and she especially loved her friends. Pride month was a good chance to show them just how much she loved them, no matter who they are or what pride flag represents them.

Of course, Velvette’s definition of a celebration was making various sweets and watching her friends enjoy them. Today, she decided, it would be day one of a baking marathon. Just to be safe and make sure everyone was included, she’d do her very best to make as much as she could before the time came to hand them out based on her friends' identities. Her idea, Velvette felt, was ingenious. She would make cupcakes, each iced carefully to match the colors of various pride flags. It would be tough to fill the icing bags in a way that kept all the colors from blurring together, but Velvette had plenty of experience doing this before. She was confident. Not to mention the fact that she’d already completed two dozen, each of a different flag, and it wasn’t even noon yet. She had this. One of the two batches was her own flag for practice, the acearo flag. Six colors, one cupcake. Very complex.

Velvette’s bustling would halt and come to a slow stop when she caught a glimpse of something outside.

Another terralien glowered at her through the window, menacing upon its slow climb up the trunk. As Velvette watched, the terralien settled, digging its claws in to rest comfortably along the top of the tree. She looked up at it for a few moments longer before she recognized the sleek white fur and shining owl feathers inside the visor.

Oh, oh! She knew him! Icarus! He was Tobias’ friend, and Velvette was Tobias’ friend, which meant that she was Icarus’ friend! She wouldn’t dare leave a friend out of pride, no no, and she needed a taste tester pronto if her pride celebrations were to go according to plan.

Though, she didn’t know much about Icarus and she hadn’t made many of the flags yet. Would he be hurt if she brought him the wrong one? Well. It was just taste testing, right? She’d bring him the right one later!

Moments later she had made up her mind and grabbed a cupcake, not really paying attention to which flag it was themed after, slamming into the door hard with her shoulder to fling it open and take off down the little path outside her home. She was headed for the tree so fast that when she stopped, she slid in the dirt and nearly toppled head first into the woods. Taking a second to balance herself, and then another to calm herself after nearly dropping her gift, she panted and merely held the little treat up high above her head.

Velvette didn’t know much about Icarus, but she did know that he wasn’t much for talking, just like her! She understood him, so instead, she’d coax him down by letting the breeze carry the sugary scent up to him.

For a long time, he sat there and stared at her. So long that her arms started to get tired and shake, but she wouldn’t give up on him. Icarus would come down when he was ready.

There was a certain anger in the stiffness of his limbs; not that Velvette would ever notice. Then he suddenly looked down at her, tail lashing wildly. She bounced on her heels a little, silently encouraging him. Slowly, quietly and carefully, Icarus began to stalk down the trunk towards her with all of the grace of a white bengal tiger. It was an eternity before he made it down, Velvette’s arms now trembling violently, begging for relief. When he did, he hung somewhat upside down on the trunk, bringing his head up to look at her. Finally, she let her arms down to push the cupcake towards him. Only when she lowered her arms did she actually notice which flag she’d chosen. A beautiful, vibrant green, purple and black swirl of icing atop a soft sponge; the perfect token of friendship and pride and trust. Her own flag. They stared at each other. It seemed like he wouldn’t do anything when he suddenly snatched the cupcake from her with one paw, so strongly she rocked a little from the force. As soon as he had it, Icarus spun around and scurried back up the tree with frightening speed. Seconds later, he had disappeared into a copse of other trees deeper into the woods.

Yes! Yes, yes!! She didn’t see him eat it and it sort of defeated the purpose of coming out here to look for a taste tester, but she didn’t care. She had made a friend happy and that was all that mattered to her. With that little mission accomplished, Velvette spun on her heel and headed back into the cabin to continue her work, confident now that her other friends would love her pride month gift for upcoming festivals. Furthermore, she hoped Icarus had a good pride just as well as she did, excitedly preparing for the events and celebrations with far more vigor than before.

Unbeknownst to her, she had given Icarus exactly the right flag.