📚Border of life

Athena takes Coco on a date outside the desert – but the seasons are changing, and the two may not expect what they’re in for.

For Dainties March 2023 prompt: Spring has sprung

Characters: Athena/Coco, Frank

Warnings: N/A

Wordcount: 1,732

Vibe: gay people and yaaaaaaay pretty nature

BIG IF TRUE: ZIN WRITES AGAIN NOT CLICKBAIT

trying to get over my godawful writer’s block slowly but surely orz. here’s athena and coco on a date

man i miss torrential spring rainstorms. unfortunately it is still below freezing here LOL

note to event mods: frank is a nondainty/noncs/he’s athena’s weird barbie movie companion creature

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“Geez, ya leavin’ me all on my own to run this joint?”

“There are other advisors for smaller things, Frank. Just make sure the palace doesn’t explode.”

“Right, right… have fun holding hands with Coco, or whatever mushy-gushy romantic stuff you-”

Frank was abruptly cut off, as he made a mad dash to the side to attempt to dodge a pillow being thrown at him by Athena.

“That includes not making everyone else in the palace so fed up with you that they usurp you.” Athena groaned, as she buttoned up a light blue bolero sweater and fluffed her hair once last time.

Frank got back to his feet and shook himself off, but before he could get a word in, his attention was caught by the sound of hoofsteps down the hallway.

“Thena…?” a meek voice spoke from the hallway.

Athena abruptly turned around, a smile on her face.

“Coco! There you are! I was just about to head over to grab you, actually.”

“You… were taking a bit of time to get ready, so I wanted to make sure everything was alright.”

“Nah, it’s all good! I just got a bit distracted because someone doesn’t seem to want to ever shut up.” Athena replied, motioning towards a disgruntled Frank.

“Oh, I… see. Are we ready to go, then?”

“Yep! I’ll lead the way!”

With a gentle grab and tug of Coco’s hand, Athena and Coco made the start of their walk out of the palace.

…Though, it didn’t take long before the clicking of claws on the marble floors caught Athena’s attention.

She tried to ignore it at first, but as Coco kept looking back at the source with a concerned face, Athena grew frustrated.

“Do you have like… a reason to be following us?” Athena said, stopping and turning towards Frank – who had indeed followed the two out of Athena’s room.

“Just wanted to see ya off is all! What, is saying goodbye to a friend illegal now?”

“I know you’re still worried.”

“Pah? Worried about what?! If anything, I’m worried about your girl Coco! I don’t think someone in her state of health should cross the desert, you know how that turned out for you-”

Frank caught himself as he realized what he’d just said, but Athena had already heard enough.

“I knew it! Frank, I’ve got this under control, so you can chillax! Can you just let us have this?”

“Fine, fine. Have fun, or whatever.” Frank huffed, before turning back around and scampering off somewhere else.

Athena sighed, and Coco placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I… don’t want to egg this on, but Frank did bring up a bit of a good point. You didn’t mention how we were going to get there, and I doubt I could make the walk…”

“Oh, of course not! Some of the rabbitfolk from the Craters were kind enough to introduce some of their working beasts as thanks. It was around the time you got sick, so it’s not surprising you never noticed.” Athena explained.

“Oh!” Coco exclaimed, ears perking up.

“How kind of them! And I imagine they’d be fit to do work on the terrain here too if they’re from the Craters.”

“Exactly! Though the caravans they donated with them don’t quite match the aesthetic I’m going for… whatever.” Athena said with a huff, eliciting a small chuckle from Coco.

The two finally arrived at the palace’s transportation hub – which, admittedly, was still partially being built. There had been no need for one previously due to the kingdom’s former closed-off nature, but ever since things opened up, even a makeshift hub made things easier.

As Athena has requested it prior, one of the large alien creatures she’d mentioned had been bridled and attached to a caravan… which was actually just a modified roofless hovercar upon closer inspection.

Athena gave the creature a scratch behind the ears, to which it purred affectionately in return – before hopping into the caravan with Coco and grabbing the reins.

“Have… you actually guided one of these before, Thena?”

“Nope! But like, how hard could it… BEEEEEEEE!!”

The creature must’ve read one of Athena’s arm gestures as she spoke as a command, because it began to run off into the desert at full speed – toppling Athena over.

Coco was able to quickly catch herself in her seat, and laughed as Athena got up – trying her best to control the large beast.

It took a moment, but Athena was able to get a level of control she was comfortable with – finally releasing her visibly tense posture.

“Bravo!” Coco said, accompanied by soft clapping.

“You seem to know where we’re headed pretty well – you never mentioned it, where are we going?”

“To the border!” Athena exclaimed.

“…Which border?”

“The southern one, the Jungle!”

“Ah… isn’t it… all humid and a bit stuffy there…? I’m not sure if it’d be best to go there in my state…”

“Not exactly! It’s springtime after all!”

“Thena… I have no idea what that means. I’ve never left the Desert, it’s the same all year there.”

“You’ll see! Just trust me!” Athena said, the excitement in her voice easing Coco a bit.

Soon enough, sandstone and embedded crystal mixed with undergrowth below the caravan. Coco stuck her head out the side, and while the feeling of the wind blowing her hair and ears was nice, the air was still notably very dry.

By the time Athena commanded the leading creature to heel, she looked… vastly disappointed.

It wasn’t humid like coco had worried – but it was completely and utterly dry. There was an overall tinge of brown amongst the plant life, and the undergrowth crunched as Athena hopped out of the caravan to take a look around.

“What… the hell?” Athena mumbled to herself.

She gently touched the leaf of a nearby plant, only for it to feel completely delicate and dry.

“This… this can’t be another incident, can it?” Coco said, worried.

“Just as everything has finished recovering from the last time the environment went out on a whack…”

“No, no… but…” Athena said, pausing.

“It just doesn’t make sense. It’s supposed to be the end of winter and all green and stuff! These plants look like they haven’t even seen their first rain yet.”

“Maybe we came here too early?” Coco asked, hopping out of the caravan to join Athena’s side.

“Maybe, but…”

Athena’s words were cut off by a deep, loud rumble from the sky. The noise startled the caravan’s leading beast, who abruptly reared up and began running back towards the way it came.

Athena yelled and tried to chase after it, but it was too fast. With an expletive-laden yell and a grumble, Athena threw her arms in the air in defeat.

“Maybe this was a stupid date idea.”

“Don’t say that, Thena!” Coco replied, putting her arms around Athena’s shoulders.

“The main city here must be close, we can spend time there.”

“I know, but…” Athena said, sighing.

“It would’ve been really special if I could’ve shown you…”

Athena paused unexpectedly.

“Did you feel that, Coco?”

“Feel what?” Coco responded, before the cold drop on one of her antennae perked her up.

“Oh! Oh! I feel it! This must be…”

And without further warning, the spaced out drops transformed into a complete downpour.

Rain.

Athena yelped by the surprise of the deluge, and covered herself with her arms as best she could while quickly searching for shelter – which she found in the cavity of a large tree.

She called for Coco to take cover with her, but Coco seemed to be in a trance, standing in the clear and getting drenched.

It didn’t rain much in the Desert – Coco was lucky if she could even recall two times in her life she’d seen it. So this much rain… it was definitely something that put her in awe.

But when her attention turned to the plants, she was fixated.

It was almost before her eyes that the once dreary foliage slowly regained their pigment – with withered leaves becoming firm and multicolored buds bursting out – looking as though they could bloom at any moment.

It was beautiful, as if the parched rainforest was finally alive again.

“Coco! You’re gonna get sick if you stand out there!”

Coco’s trance was broken by Athena’s voice. Athena went to try and grab Coco’s hand, but her focus being broken startled her so much that she jumped – and lost her balance due to how muddy the ground had gotten without her noticing.

Athena has already grabbed on to Coco’s hand though, so both of them went crashing down together.

As they fell, the impromptu storm petered out, allowing the two to gather their senses without additional pouring rain.

Athena wanted to be upset. This was the exact type of small inconvenience that would ruin her day in most other cases.

But…

As the storm clouds cleared and the sun came through, Athena nor Coco had any words.

The dewdrops on the foliage glittered like gemstones in the sunlight, highlighting the varied yet vibrant shades of green all around them. The sounds and songs of the wildlife began to chime up in the canopies above, and almost like magic, the colorful rainforest flowers burst open one by one.

Despite being drenched and covered in mud, Coco shakily reached over to a nearby flowering plant and plucked a blossom from it – the sweet smell of the flower intensified by the fresh rain smell.

Then, turning to Athena, Coco carefully placed the bloom in her hair and smiled.

Athena’s smile grew wide in return, and the two mutually started laughing in joy.

Athena helped Coco up out of the mud, and pointed to a gap in the canopy where the sky could be seen – where, clear as day, a rainbow signaling the first rain of spring sprawled across the sky.

“I see what you meant now, Thena.” Coco said, before giving Athena a quick peck on the cheek.

“The jungle after the season’s first rain… it’s magical. Sure, it might not do much for my recovery physically, but… I feel like after being stuck inside for so long, this is exactly what I needed.”

“I’m so happy you think so!” Athena smiled.

“No matter the time of year, as long as I can find ways to make you smile like this… I think everything will be ok.”