Fox's birthday

Fox walked to the goddess pond on a wet, rainy day. Winter was coming soon, and that would mean snow.
Fox hadn't seen her fellow residents of Forget-Me-Not-Valley for awhile. She supposed it was the rain that kept them all inside their house.
She walked on bare footed, her feet splashing in the rain. She hardly paid any attention as the rain drops splashed on her cheeks and got tangled in her eyelashes. Her hair was also very wet from the rain.
As she drew nearer to the pond, a rabbit bounced out of nowhere and looked at her with dark brown eyes, scrunching it's nose like an old man. Wondering what a rabbit would be doing outside during this weather, she giggled as it hopped away.
When Fox got to the water, she saw a mama duck leading a trail of baby ducks. They seemed alarmed when Fox appeared, and swam away quickly.
Not wanting to disturb the Harvest Goddess, she leaned carefully over the water that was being splashed by the rain to see her reflection. She was dissapointed at what she saw, because she didn't look any older or taller than before- but today was her birthday.

The winter rain was cold as ice. Well, no duh. What should Kitty expect? Afterall it was winter. The weather here wasn't as bad as other places atleast. On Waffle Island there had already been countless blizards often locking Kitty in her house or forge for the whole day. It was nice to get out for a bit and get some fresh air here though, if it was back home Kitty would probably not have thought about going outside at all.

The trail to the pond was somewhat muddy in some parts and Kitty couldn't help but notice foot prints here and there. As she approached the pond she saw someone with long blue hair, Kitty knew she met someone like this before, but what was her name. Then it came to her, Fox. "Hey," she said casually walking up to Fox. "Long time no see. I can tell cause you seem taller to me."

"Huh? I -er- oh, hi Kitty!"
Fox spun around and waved.

"Taller? Are you sure?" She stared down at herself, looking and feeling no different.

"So, what're you doing outside in this weather? It's horrible," she added with a shiver.

By the looks of it Fox didn't expect anyone to suddenly show up here or all places. The girl did seem energetic to Kitty, but something didn't seem right. Maybe Fox had difficulties believing what she had said? Fox did seem taller though because it had been months since they last met. If she had seen Fox regually she probably would have noticed nothing at all. "Yeah," she replied, "you look about three inches taller than before, or I just shrunk."

"I could ask you the same thing," Kitty said. The weather was pretty bad, but atleast it wasn't as bad as Waffle Island. "It's nicer here than where I live at the moment, so I came here. Nothing special about this visit at all," Kitty then noticed that Fox had no shoes on. "Are you wanting to get frostbite on your feet? Why are you barefoot?"

"Oh, my feet? I never wear shoes. I've sewn socks for myself once before, but it didn't end up well," she said, looking up thoughtfully at the falling rain.

"And-and I'm here because I have no mirror at home," Fox said simply with a shrug.

She looked down at herself once more and said," I don't feel taller. Maybe it's just me. I dunno."

Fox simply brushed of the shoe topic as if she really didn't want to talk about it. Maybe it was best for Kitty not to mention it anymore. It was hard for her to believe that Fox didn't think she grew at all. "You know," she stated, "since you are always around yourself, you must not notice height changes that much." The reason for Fox coming here was unusual too, yeah a person could see themselves in the water, yet water distorts images easily. "A mirrior, huh?" Kitty said pondering the thought. Kitty did own a smithery so she probably create a mirrior for Fox for her birthday. It might be hard working with that much glass though, but she probably could find a way to do it. She smiled brightly with the idea and thought it would be a great gift. "Hey Fox, when's your birthday?"

"I- around myself? What do you mean?" Fox asked, hoping it didn't mean something bad.
So maybe I did grow somewhat today! Fox though happily.
"My- birthday?" she suddenly asked quietly. "That would be..umm.." Fox pretended to count on her fingers, "that would be today," she said, even quieter.

"Well, basically you grew and didn't notice it," Kitty pointed out. "Often people don't notice that their pets grow, because they are always around them so much. It's really hard for them to spot the change themselves when they are around their pets, so it must be the same with yourself." Hopefully Fox would get her point now, cause she didn't know how to explain it anymore.

"Wha?" Kitty said shocked. "To-Today?" She spaced out with a blank look on her face frozen. If she knew she would have gotten her friend something. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know or forgot it was today! I owe you one birthday present Fox!"

Fox gaped at Kitty for a moment and then finally said, "Yes, I s'pose so. I'd better measure myself when I get home," with a nod. She wasn't sure if she had a measuring tape or fancy gadgets, but she remembered marking a line on the wall where the tip of her head was on the wall.


"Don't worry, Kitty, there's no need for a birthday present. I don't think I've ever told anyone when my birthday was, so you're actually the first," Fox said with a smile. "I just wished I knew how old I was...." she added sadly.