username;; leopardspots142
name;; Aureola (halo in Spanish)
pronouns;; she/her
origin;;
Aureola comes from a family of flamenco dancers, in Spain. She is one of three children, and the youngest. She loves watching dancers, but she doesn’t want to be one herself, however it’s the family's tradition. All the women in her family have been dancers, her mother and father don't want her to be the one to stop tradition.
I needed some time to myself. All the preparations and practices were getting to my head, I needed to take a break. Running out of our house, I quickly made my way around to where we hung clothes to dry. I had discovered a path a while ago which my family didn't know about. I looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then leapt over the short gap onto the house next to ours. We were higher than their roof, so it was easy to land on top of the house. I had found out that if I was careful, I could land without alerting our neighbours that I was there.
I padded across the house and lowered myself off the side. There was a tree there which was strong enough to hold my weight. I felt my paws hit a thick branch and tested my weight before dropping my other paws, careful to make sure my tail didn't swing past a window. I climbed down the trunk and dropped into an alley. I weaved between the houses and headed down to the water. We were a seaside village, and there was a beach hideout only I knew.
I heard the waves before I saw them, and followed the smell of salt down the path. I turned left when the sand started, and followed the dunes down the beach. Most people walked right, because not long after going left the beach stopped in a rocky mound in front of a cliff. If you knew what to do, though, you could go further.
I reached the rocks and tested if the first one would wobble. Most of them were stable, but the occasional boulder would roll and trip you if you weren't careful. The rock held steady, so I pulled myself up and tested the next. Eventually, I made it to a rockpool surrounded by tall pieces of sandstone. I hopped up onto some granite, it went between the sandstone and hung over the shallow water. If I tried to enter over the sandstone, it might crumble and I could fall. I walked to the edge of the granite and lay down with my head and front paws over the edge, skimming the water with my claws. Watching my reflection, I noticed how the flowers on my body were all withered. They only grew when I was fine, and glowed when I was happy. The sight made me want to leave. Walking around the sandstone I came across the cliff face. Most people couldn’t get past this point, but if you looked closely, there was a gap in the cliff face.
Emerging into the cave system, I blocked the sunlight with my body and saw light coming from the left, confirming that the only other person who knew about this was here. Rounding the corner, I saw him sitting on a pillow, reading under a lantern we had hung from the ceiling.
"Hey," I called. The figure didn't react. "Kieran!" I said more forcefully, picking up a pillow sitting on a chair next to me and throwing it. It hit his head with an indignant "Hey!" as he over. Standing up, he glared at me. "What was that for?" He said angrily, picking up his book and inspecting the cover. "You weren't responding," I replied, walking over.
"What business do you have here, at this time of day?" I wondered out loud, sitting down in a chair by the wall.
"I could ask you the same question," he shot back.
"I'm here because my family is driving me crazy. "Aureola, go do this, Aureola, go do that." Just the usual, they want me to be prepared for the competition, they won't leave me alone so I left." I used a high pitched voice when imitating my parents, making Kieran chuckle.
"What about you?"
"Basically the same," he replied. "My parents won't let me quit the competition."
We had both been forced to register for the competition by our parents, they wanted us to uphold our family names but we both didn't want to dance for the rest of our lives.
We sat in silence for a while, but eventually Kieran said, "What if we just left? Left the town, traveled around Spain, maybe even the rest of Europe?"
It was something I had been thinking about, too. We both loved our families, but we were old enough to go our own way. Two best friends, traveling, with no limits or restraints. It sounded nice, and we agreed to meet the week before the competition.
It was time to leave. My bag was packed, and I had left a note on my bed, telling my parents not to worry, that I was traveling and would visit. I snuck out the same way I had when I had made the plans with Kieran, and walked down to the rockpool where I was to meet him. He wasn't there yet, so I sat by the pool, noticing how the full moon's reflection made the water look silver. A strange sort of contentment washed over me, I felt calmer and happier than I had in ages.
I heard Kieran arrive, and turned around to meet him. He was looking at me in shock. "A-Areola!" When I shot him a look of confusion, he pointed at the pool. "Look at your reflection."
I turned, and gasped. My halo had returned, and my flowers were in bloom, and glowing. It had been years since this had happened last. I let out a surprised laugh, spun to face Kieran and said, "Let's get out of here."
Word count: 1000/1000
To do:Draw one more picture
Original post Speedpaint ~ Whoever wins is free to use this art! Just make sure to credit me; DA, TH and here is all leopardspots142.
