12 Years Ago

“Dear, are you sure you don’t need anything before I leave?” Cumulus Stream asked his wife for the twelfth time this morning.

Posey gave him a patient smile, she couldn’t blame for her husband being so nervous it was new territory for her too. After six years of marriage, they decided to bring a little one into the world. In eight months they would be parents and bring home a bright and bouncing baby boy. With modern magic and technology, Posey couldn’t help but want to learn her baby’s gender.

“Honey please,” she giggled “I’m not that far along yet. I don’t need you to wait on me hand and foot.”

“But...” Cumulus started

“I don’t want you waste all your vacation days now, and not be here for the later trimesters” Posey interjected (which was easy because her husband spoke just as softly as she did).

Cumulus begrudgingly agreed with his wife, he would never forgave himself if his job made him miss an ultrasound or the first time his son starting kicking. His worried cyan eyes met her ever-calm cerise ones, she really did have a way of reassuring others and keeping her composure. Both his wife’s words and her demeanor sent waves of soothing assurance through him. With a deep sigh Cumulus grabbed his bagged lunch and hard hat.

“Okay, but I’ll be a phone call away. Say the word and I’ll fly home in a heart beat.” Cumulus added while to their front door.

Posey bit her lip to hide her growing amusement, neither her nor husband were exactly Wonderbolt material when it came flying despite their Skyling heritage. Then again she had seen what aderaline and a desire to protect did her husband when she nearly fell in her garden last week.

“I’ll give you a call, if anything happens. Now please go to work before you’re late, I don’t think Bow will want to cover for you again.” Posey lightly pushed her husband further towards the door, hoping he would catch the hint on the ever closing window of time to be on-time.

Cumulus lightly chuckled and pulled his wife in for a kiss. ”Goodbye, my little flower. I’ll see you later tonight.”

With that final goodbye, Cumulus Stream left his wife alone. Posey idled by the door for a moment before moving on with picking up a few things around her warm, cozy little cottage in the clouds. She brushed her shoulder length curly, light raspberry hair behind her ear. Posey normally keep it up in tight bun in order to keep it out her way while she worked in her garden however, lately she felt like keeping it free. She couldn’t put her finger on it but she craved a little spontaneity in her rountine. Her friends chalked it up to her being pregnant but Posey was always like this. Posey prided herself in being a little random like when she changed the frames of her glasses from black to navy blue or when she dyed a strip of her hair blue, variety was the spice of life as they say. Even her cutie mark was a minor case of rebellion, she was a Skyling as evident by her warm yellow wings tucked on her against her deep rose turtleneck. Posey’s home was with the clouds and her talent should be with weather, but here she was with three light colored flowers decorating her shoulders.

Her garden was her small rebellion against the status quo and she would be darned if she would get rid of it. Speaking of my garden, Posey interrupted her self-imposed crusade against society’s norms to remember to tend to her garden. Luckily, she was still small enough that her talent would not have too much of a strain on her body. Despite the ever closer time she would be able to hold her baby in her arms, Posey was not looking forward to her restriction in being able to tend to her floral babies. Now’s not the time she chastised herself, grabbing the gloves and watering can I should make sure my flowers can survive the day.

Posey’s garden was her pride and joy, she loved to share it to neighbors and friends. It wasn’t much to unassuming eye but she was the talk of the town as she was one of the few gardeners that was not assisted by a Gaian or their magic. The simple fact any flowers could survive this high was a marvel of tenacity and a lot of patience on Posey’s part. She couldn’t help but envy Gaians not only did they have amazing strength and endurance but they had an awe-inspiring connection to all of nature. Posey had seen this strength firsthand when she and her husband visited a maternity store on the ground. A tan skinned pregnant Gaian lifted up a twin stroller from the top shelf much to dismay and fear of her Mage partner. She giggled at the memory as she pulled a stubborn weed that grew near her lilies.

A loud crash of shattering glass startled Posey out of her memories. In her shock, she knocked her watering can and it went tumbling through the clouds. She was too preoccupied with calming her breathing and slowing her racing heart to notice or care.

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA WAS THAT!” Posey shrieked (barely getting louder than a polite conversation).

After the crash was a series of small whimpers, of which did not go unnoticed as being a soft spoken woman and marrying a very demure man her ears were trained to pick up on sounds that would have gone unheard by most. Posey placed a hand over her chest in a vain attempt to calm herself down, she reached down into her garden and armed with the fierce and dangerous trowel she left there last week. Finally, after what felt like an eternity Posey managed to raise herself to her feet. In an attempt to stop herself from shaking like a small dog after drinking a cappuccino, Posey began to reason with herself. The noise couldn’t have been an animal as very few and fly up high enough to reach her let alone even walk on clouds. It was no small feat for Mage to be able to replicate cloud walking magic and no Gaian can cast spells like a Mage. Despite her self-assurance, each step she took was like a tortoise walking through molasses.

Eventually after forever and a half, Posey reached the shed door. Mustering all the little bravery she possessed, her hand inched towards the handle and turned it. Hoping to catch whatever it was off guard, she quickly pulled the door open. Gaining a little more bravery Posey opened one of her eyes and was greeting with a sight that made her drop her pseudo-weapon in shock. The source of all that noise was not a teenage hooligan or a burly burglar wearing all black clothes but was a thin, shivering toddler. The girl was thin, even for a toddler, she had long, straight pale rose hair that when all the way down to her waist. Behind long bangs was a pair of cyan eyes that held Posey’s, wet with tears of the girl’s evident fear and pain. The girl’s feet were caked with dirt showing she was formerly a resident of the ground. Her skin was pale almost like she had rarely been touched by sunlight and was littered with knicks, some more recently as they dropped with a silver fluid that seemed be blood for her. None these features were what shocked Posey and held her attention that honor to the girl’s wings. Her wings were not feathered like Posey’s or all Skylings, they were not that different from a butterfly’s. Her wings looked like they were made of stained glass, they were primarily a transparent orchid color and were accented with light cerulean ovals in upper portion and pale lemon yellow near where her wings connected to her back.

Posey and girl sat in stunned silence for almost half a minute before the shock had finally gone away. Posey was the one to break the both were under by taking a step closer. The girl visibly shrunk, Posey was so sure had she not been blocking the only exit, the girl would have long bolted.

“Wait!” Posey spoke softly to spook the already terrified girl, “Don’t worry I won’t hurt you.”

The girl didn’t look so sure but didn’t try to run or fly away.

“Can you understand me?” Posey asked, more to herself not really expecting an answer.

The girl nodded, surprising Posey as the girl didn’t look more than three years old.

“Can you speak?” The girl shook her head.

“How old are you.” She held two fingers.

“Are you lost?” No response.

“Where are your parents?” Again no response.

“Are you hungry?” Posey wanted to raise the girl’s spirits, hoping to get more of response later.

The girl nodded vigorously and began to visibly salivate. Posey tried not to cry as it pained her to someone so thin for her age even with her height.

“Well, come with me.” Posey reached her hand towards the girl to grab causing her to recoil in fear.

“Don’t worry, I promise I won’t hurt I just want to look at cuts and get you some food.” She reassured as sweetly as she could.

“F-food?” The girl managed out with evident difficulty as she stood she confirmed Posey’s theory that she had no clothes on whatsoever.

“Yes,” Posey still held her hand out “Food.”

The girl hesitated staring Posey’s hand for a moment before taking it. She met Posey’s smile with one of her own and began to follow her back home. Okay that’s step one Posey thought, carefully leading the girl over the glass. The next five are explaining this to the police and Cumulus. Posey bit her lip while she thought for moment.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have a birth certificate with you. Would you?”

The girl blinked, staring at Posey like she asked if the moon raised in the day.

“Yeah I thought so.” This was going to be a long morning.

Author's Note

I’m so nervous this technically my first chapter, I hope you liked it because I forgot to save the changes twice and I had to start over after two hours of work. Seriously it was like 1,020 words to 475 words I was so close to snapping . Let me know there was any mistakes or things need clarification, thanks again