The day started like most days usually did. Ginger woke the twins up and helped them get dressed. Then they were ushered into the kitchen where they would consume the delicious meal she had prepared for them without getting crumbs and spilling milk all over their rooms. Once breakfast was consumed, lessons were held with Nelanna. She taught them proper etiquette, how to read and write, and even arithmetic. Everything any noble should know, they learned. Once lessons were done, they would have lunch and then be free the remainder of the day.

Trevan usually found himself in the study they had spent all morning in. He read anything he could get his hands on, but his particular favorite was a book of various arcane spells he had found. As Trevan was reading about the technique of adapting his body temperature to his surroundings, a sick dreadful feeling washed over him. Aurora was gleeful. Which meant only one thing for Trevan… She was planning something… And it usually meant dragging him into it. The younger twin tucked his buck under his arm and darted to his room where he hid in his closet.

It was not long before she found him, however. She could always find him. Like a vicious predator, she yanked him from the closet, threw the book on the bed and began to pull a dress over his head. ”’Ora stop! Come on!” Amara’s toddler giggles were heard as she clapped her hands, carefully staying just out of harm’s way.

The moment she was awoken, she knew what her mission was. Her mother had bought her a new dress the day before—a pretty little white thing with the full package of ruffles and ribbons and lace. But when they’d returned home it was too late for her to do what she had planned with it. When Ginger started the day with breakfast, and her mother gave their lessons for the day, Aurora went through the motions eagerly. And then, playtime came.

Amara followed her with a beaming smile, her tiny legs struggling to keep up while Aurora speed-walked down the halls. She was searching for her brother.

The two had a special bond—a magical bond. They could feel each other’s thoughts and emotions. When she felt him suddenly become uneasy, she knew. And she grinned. “Eva!” She called, beckoning with sinister intentions. Knowing him, he fled to his bedroom, allowing himself the false sense of safety from her. She opened his door and looked around. He was too smart to remain exposed. He would hide. Her eyes fell on his closet. Hiding the dress behind her back with one hand, she approached the door and opened it.

As soon as he came into view, she swiftly thrusted the dress over his head and forced it down onto his body. “Stop squirming. It will go faster if you’d be still,” she said. Amara, too young to completely understand what was happening, found amusement in the smallest things the twins did. She giggled and clapped from the bedroom doorway. “Put this on,” Aurora told Trevan. “No one will know it’s you!” She relished in having an identical twin brother. He looked so much like her that, if dressed the same, no one could tell the difference between them. And she’d already managed to fool most in Mamlak that she had a sister instead of a brother.

It was just after lunchtime and Kiyoshi's mother, Miyuki, had just teleported his brothers, Zurui and Yoru, and him to their Aunty and Uncle's house for a playdate with their "cousins". Cecil had come out to greet them, kissing his mother on the cheek, which made him cringe slightly, then turning to the three boys to ruffle their hair. He'd told them that Aurora had gone to find Trevan, and they were both most likely in his room. The redhead led the way inside, following the sounds of struggling and protesting that reverberated out from Trevan's room. His sister was most likely messing with him again, and Kiyoshi's red eyes looked almost as if they were glowing in the sunlight filtering in through the bedroom window when he poked his head around the doorway. "Hey there, whatcha guys up to?"

"But I don't want to!" Trevan grumbled as the fabric finally slipped past his shoulders despite his best efforts. To his abject horror, a male voice came through the door. He turned around and saw the three kitsune triplets gazing at them. His cheeks turned crimson. "Nothing good," the half-fae mumbled as he pulled his arms through the dress. Then came the brush from out of nowhere, making neat the fuzziness caused by the dress.

"'Ora, that hurts!" He turned and went to swipe the brush from her. "Gimmie that!" In the process, the twins fell into a heap and began rolling around the room as she kept the brush out of their reach. "Zurui, Kiyoshi! Help me!" The twins were a rolling mass of white, from their hair to the ruffled dress she forced upon him. Underneath, he had worn a navy blue top and black jeans, but this dress hid all of his masculinity, what little of it he had. Why couldn't he have a peaceful afternoon just reading his spell book?

“Come now, you look pretty!” Aurora argued as she gazed over Trevan. It was like looking in the mirror. Literally. “Think of all the pranks we can pull!” She had a mischievous glint in her eyes, and a wicked, wicked smile. Already she was imagining parading around town, pretending to be in two places at once with her identical twin. It’d be the perfect trick on those who assumed she was an only child.

When a familiar male voice rose from the doorway, she looked over her shoulder. “Hi!” She greeted with a wave and a big smile. But while Trevan was frozen with horror, she took up her pretty little brush and began to work at his hair. He fought of course, causing them to tumble about on the bedroom floor. She laughed as she raised the brush, keeping it just out of his reach. Amara’s attention went elsewhere as soon as the triplets presented themselves. Her large blue eyes were locked on their tall ears and fluffy tails.

Finally, Trevan managed to grasp the brush and pull it from his sister’s hands. Aurora panted as he stood, then she followed suit with a pout. “You’re no fun.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

The redhead took a small step forward at the cry for help, but the tussle was over almost as quickly as it had started, leaving Trevan with the small brush clutched tightly in his fist. "Well, it looked like you were doing well enough of your own, Trev." Kiyoshi smirked slightly, fluffy red ears tipped in black flicking slightly.

His tail swished back and forth under the gaze of Aurora, as if it knew she was watching and wanted to show itself off a little. The black tip brushed the ground, curling around his leg a little. "I'm sure we can find something more fun to do, don't you?"

Trevan stood triumphant and yanked the dress straight, adjusting it to sit upon his frame properly. With brush in hand, he began to brush his own wayward hair until it was smooth. "Living with 'Ora is impossible, Kiyoshi. You should try it," the fae boy giggled. "It's no fun having my hair pulled, 'Ora," he said as he tossed the brush back to Aurora. There was only one way to get this dress off, so they might as well get it over with.

Deep down, Trevan kind of actually enjoyed the dressing up, not that he would actually ever admit it to himself. The only evidence to this was the fact that his closet had a pair of white slippers that Ginger helped keep pristine for Aurora's little pranks. Trevan pulled out the slippers and put them on, rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Let's go." Just as he was about to head toward the door, Ginger herself appeared in the open doorway to pull Amara away.

Zurui, a white-haired kitsune with one red and one blue eye, shrugged his shoulders as mother and daughter exited the room. Like a gaggle of children, the triplets and Aurora hurried outside. "Mom! Dad! Going to town for some treats!" -And tricks- he thought to himself.

Aurora crosses her arms and rolled her eyes at Eva’s complaints. But she took the brush anyway. With the triplets there, she assumed that her fun had come to an end. Especially with Kiyoshi trying to defend her brother by requesting another form of fun. Yoru, however, had the same mischievous glint in his eyes that’d been in her very own. He never objected to Aurora dressing her own brother like herself, simply because he shared her desire for pranks. Perhaps he’d back her up on this one.

But, before he uttered a word, Trevan did the unexpected. He straightened the dress instead of trying to tear it off. And then he proceeded to put on slippers that matched it perfectly. She watched with amazement, Yoru as well. Amara was still giggling, having turned her attention away from Kiyoshi’s fluffy tail and back upon the twins. “Pretty boy! Pretty boy!” She giggled with cheery claps.

“Amara.”

Aurora spun on her heel to look past the triplets in the doorway. The baby girl stopped her clapping as she looked up at her mother’s confused face, who was looking over the questionable scene before her. They all froze for a moment while Ginger attempted to make sense of what they were doing, but then she returned to her daughter. “Amara, you aren’t well enough to be up and about yet.” Lovingly, she ushered her frowning child away. Aurora didn’t quite understand what was wrong with Amara, only that excitement often left her in coughing fits as she struggled to breathe. Momma and papa tried to explain it to them once, but she still couldn’t quite comprehend it.

Finally, she led the others to commit to pranks. They called to let their parents know where they were heading off to, but hurried outside before either of them could protest. She giggled as she ran towards the town of Mamlak. “Where should we go first?” She asked, stopping to turn on the others. To succeed, they’d need to plan as a group.

Kiyoshi's red eyes watched the twins, surprise filling his gaze when Trevan pulled the dress straight and got matching shoes from his closet. He hadn't been expecting that to happen at all, but the redhead went with it. His ears twitched at twitched backwards at the arrival of Ginger, and he turned slightly to glance up at her as she led the smallest of them away again. He wondered what it was about Amara that sometimes made it hard for her to breathe, but as the twins didn't know either, he didn't question it. Kiyoshi only hoped she'd get better eventually.

Aurora led them back outside towards town, ignoring the calls from their parents, stopping to turn and look at the triplets. Kiyoshi's tail swished back and forth behind him as he thought, wrapping around his leg when he finally had an idea. It mainly stemmed from the knowledge he had of Trevan's love of sweets. "We could stop by the candy shop first."

Trevan smirked at Kiyoshi. "Candy shop first! And then… To draw as much attention as possible for 'Ora, a magic show by the fountain." When he was just learning to speak, Aurora was a hard name for him to say. Naturally, his first pronunciation was merely a single syllable of her name, and thus became his nickname for her that would probably last for eternity.

To sell the whole twin sister vibe, Trevan took Aurora's hand in his as they made their way to the town. By now, the shop owner had grown accustomed to the twin's visitations. He was a kind old man with a bushy white mustache and thinning hair that he kept neatly groomed. His pale eyes twinkled as the five children popped into his shop. "Good afternoon Aurora, Eva, and friends. What can I provide you with today? Some honeyed treats, perhaps?" Trevan shook his head. "Star candy, please."

The candy man gave him a small sack the size of Trevan's palm of colored little sugar balls with bumps that looked like stars. Zurui asked for caramel. Once everyone got their requests, Trevan handed over a couple of coins, waved goodbye to the old man, and began to enjoy his candy on their way to the fountain.