Winter wandered the streets of Pearlescent, a beautiful October afternoon that happened to be the 25th. Everyone she passed gave her a smile and nod of the head, their recognition of her status. She had taken a while to get used to everyone knowing who she was, but now she barely noticed. Her mouth hurt from smiling at them each in turn.

It was almost Autumn’s birthday and she had yet to find the present she meant to get for her. She had already got some practical things for her, but there was one thing yet to be bought. She knew exactly what Autumn would want, too... Autumn had mentioned it on different occasions when they still lived together.

Theodore and Melinda both knew what Winter was planning as well, via Winter and her parents’ own mail correspondence.

Winter’s feet had gotten tough from all of the walking in the leather boots over the year, but her legs were getting achy with each step across the cobblestones.

From the corner of her eye she saw the store she was looking for across the street. She rushed into it, dodging various carts and animals, and she burst through the door with a tinkle of silver bells that were tied to the handle.

Inside, there were many different kinds of what she was looking for, and what she wasn’t. One resonated with her, though. She picked him out of his cage, and, struggling at first, he settled into the crook of her neck.

She went up to the cute cashier, and smiled endearingly. He blushed, saying “H-hello, Winter. Do you want anything else with that?”

She tilted her head sweetly and asked, eyes bright, “Do you have any dark, kind of blue-green bows...?” He ducked under the counter and came up holding a frilly little bow, the kind you would put on a box. He grinned and told her the total, to which she dug out the remnants of October’s allowance.

With little one in hand, she marched out of the store, a satisfied look on her face. The boy stared dreamily after her.



Autumn sat drearily on the floor of her room. Rain made a pattering, tinging sound on the tin roof of the porch outside and roof overhead. The window, streaked with rain, looked like a fiery stained glass, autumn colors pushing through each droplet. But the grey sky dimmed their mirth, and it was impossible to tell the time.

She was still upset and a little concerned over the fact that her birthday was coming up, but Winter hadn’t sent her a present yet.  Last birthday, when she had turned 12, Winter had sent her a pack full of photo paper, the last of which was used today. She had also recieved a bat-shaped pillow and some feathers from the weird birds that lived near Pearlesecent. But this year, she hadn’t gotten anything yet...

She filled the room with her thoughtful presence, and the occasional sound of a page turning. She was looking through the photo album of her and her friends and family. She skipped past a picture of a young Winter and Michelle, hugging each other and bearing grins pocked with missing spaces. There was a picture of Gwendolyn. It was a little blurry, and Gwendolyn was frozen in mid-laugh, pointing off the edge at something that Autumn couldn’t remember anymore.

She closed the book with a light thump and the tacky sound of photo-on-photo. She walked across the room to dig through an old, scratched wooden drawer. She withdrew some glue and returned across the room, sliding the photos that she had taken that day across and off of the bed. She would need to buy new photo-paper from Grandmother Hazel, soon.

She slathered some glue across the back of each, arranging them artfully across the some of the last blank pages of her album. She scribbled the date across the top of each.

There were only a couple of pages left, now... Just enough for her birthday and Halloween celebrations...

She became aware that there had been a slight commotion downstairs, and slid the album under her bed and into her keepsake box with the one other photo album of her early childhood and her and Winter as babies, and other special trinkets, such as her feather collection. Footsteps came up the stairs, and she could hear them passing the second floor with the now-guest room and her parents’ room, and coming up towards where she and the study/library were, in the attic. She wondered if it was just her father headed up to the study to work on his book, or if it might be someone else.

She reached back under the bed to see if she could find the bat pillow, which she must have knocked off in her sleep.

The door behind her creaked open, and a familiar voice called her name as she pulled the slightly dusty bat from the depths of the crawl space. “Autumn?”

Autumn turned around, puzzled, then surprised, then happy. “Winter! You’re here?! For my birthday?” She dashed across the room, and embraced her sister. An unhappy squeak came from inside Winter’s coat, and she jumped back. She pressed her hand against the squirming figure of her much-taller and much-changed sister, who laughed.

“That would be your present... He may be a little traumatized from the flight here.” From inside her coat she produced a small coppery figure, a tiny fluffy and dazed-looking kitten with a white tummy. He mewled sleepily. He found his attacker, Autumn, with his blue green eyes and batted at her outstretched hand clumsily. He mewled again, and squirmed searching for some way to get back to his warm perch.

Winter grinned evilly, and unceremoniously produced the package ribbon. She stuck it onto the kitten’s neck at a slightly tipped angle. “Voila!” She said triumphantly. “Your birthday present is complete, but for a name.”

Autumn scooped him up to her , and he pushed himself against her sweater. Her eyes were a tad watery, with all of the happy surprises that had knocked down her grim mood. “Pumpkin!” She said decidedly. She had thought about this before... she had dreamed of getting a cat as her familiar. If she had been a witch.

“For now he’s just a bit greedy, but I am sure he’ll become your adoring minion within the week.” Winter placed her arm around Autumn and grinned.

Autumn hugged Winter, Pumpkin having climbed up out of the way to perch atop the shoulder and nuzzled against her neck, blending into Autumn’s hair.

Winter then marched Autumn downstairs, to take her place in helping prepare dinner. ‘I guess some things never change,’ Autumn thought wryly. ‘And I still can’t say no to her.’ Winter smiled endearingly at her. “Thaaanks, Autumn...” Their parents continued bustling about the kitchen, glancing at the two sisters amusedly.



Autumn’s birthday passed quietly but still celebrated. They had a delicious breakfast and spent the morning opening family presents. Grandmother Hazel included, naturally.

Autumn received a new pack of photo paper, several bags of herbal teas, and some decorative candles from Grandmother Hazel. She got a set of new sheets, pillow cases, and a quilt, all with the same bat adorning them. Apparently it was a very popular icon of kids in Pearlescent. “I got some stationary with Batty© the Mascot Familiar for myself,” Winter grinned sheepishly.

From her mother, a pair of new boots, which were sorely needed. Autumn’s old ones were too small and the soles were falling off. She also got some fun shoelaces, though, which were white with oranges and the word all along them. Her father had gotten her a hematite charm bracelet, and smiled sheepishly as the all looked at him knowingly. It already had cat, orange, and leaf charms attached, all different-colored amber inlayed into silver. “What, you got tired of hematite?” said Winter, jokingly.

“Oh, they didn’t have any,” He said thoughtfully. He looked disappointed. “Sorry.”

Autumn thanked each of the gift-givers, and took pictures with the picture paper, as Winter continued to stare at her father amused and with mock-concern. He stared back, mildly puzzled.

Autumn and Winter then left the house. Autumn was off to hang out with her friends for lunch, and Winter was going with Michelle, who also came back to visit her family and accompany her sister, so that they could meet up with their old friends. Michelle gave Autumn some cat-items, such as a bag of treats and some catnip mice. “My cat loves this kind of treat”, she explained pleasantly, pointing to the chicken-flavored biscuits.



“Maaaan...”, Belle pouted. ”Do you guys fully recognize what a pain in the ass it is to have your three friends birthdays spread out over just two days?” As she handed a package to Gwendolyn, Autumn, and Ron. They grinned.

“At least that means that your birthday we have enough money to spend on just you!” Gwen shot back. She always had an instant comeback.

By the end, Autumn had gotten a pack of stationary from Gwen, a couple of different owl feathers from Belle, and an emerald and bronze broom charm from Ron. She felt guilty that it was such an expensive gift. She had gotten a pack of stationary, a pretty gold-and-eagle feather quill with the identification symbol that Grandmother Hazel had chosen for her engraved into it, and some dark gold-colored ink for Gwendolyn. But for Ron, she had just gotten him a new leather wallet.

“Argh... I’m sorry Ron, I couldn’t figure out what to give you...” She looked down at her feet and bit her lip, scolding herself inside. “But you got me such a nice present...”

He laughed lightly. “Jeez, Autumn, it’s okay... I got it from a pawn shop, it probably cost me less then the wallet you got me. And I needed a wallet, too. Thank you.” He squeezed her shoulder. But she decided to herself that she would go figure out something else to get him later.

“Hey... can I give the wallet to you tomorrow...?”



After dinner, and the birthday cake that her mom had made with orange-flavored icing (oranges were expensive), Autumn rushed upstairs to her room. She sat down and began to sketch out some pictures on a piece of paper.

An hour later, she had picked one of the designs out and began to etch it into the wallet. Finally, she blew out the candles and hopped into her bed, now adorned with the new bedclothes. Pumpkin already waited for her, yawning, and crawled under the covers to snuggle up to her already slowly-breathing figure.