She had never had quite the same adventurous spirit as her twin, but even she couldn’t stay in her misty forest home all the time. So what better way to get out and about than find another place with a whole lot of trees? She should be happy about it, but instead a scowl tugs at her pale, delicate features. Truthfully she’s ambivalent, but she’d gotten so used to frowning at her sister Ellie that a scowl seems easier than anything else.

She’s not sure why she had bothered even leaving at all if she wasn’t really going to go anywhere different, but she’d been bored. Besides, mom was so morose these days it just kind of sucked hanging out at home anyway.

The minute the thought crossed her mind, she felt instantly guilty. And angry. Not at her mom of course. It wasn’t her fault dad had been the world’s most massive idiot. She glares hard at a hapless tree in front of her before sighing loudly. She knew how badly her father felt about it but she couldn’t seem to keep herself from being angry either. Especially when mom kept sneaking off when she didn’t think anyone was looking because she didn’t want them to see her cry.

By all the gods, she hated this so much. She had always thought falling in love would be nice. After seeing how broken her parents are now though, she doesn’t. She never ever ever wanted to go through that kind of misery. It’s bad enough watching it.

Suddenly annoyed, Luminesce stomps forward, stars scattering haphazardly around her as she glares at the river, face scrunched into a fierce glower. She wanted to kick something so badly. So she does. Hard. The river rock flies through the air before clattering against a bolder. Her dark gaze shifts to the place it landed as she prepares to kick another rock the same direction.

Before she can however, she freezes. Her gaze had caught on the figure sunning itself right in the path of her furious ammunition. Had she hit him with the first one? Scowl deepening, she steps forward instead of kicking the rock as she’d intended.

“That’s a really dumb place to lay.”

She’s not actually dumb enough to believe it’s his fault she wasn’t paying attention, but her annoyance made it too easy to place the blame on him. It gave her a target, undeserved as it was. And if Lumi were in a better mood, she might have sheepishly admitted to her mistake and apologized. But she is not in a better mood, and even his affable acceptance isn’t quite enough to lift it.

If politeness had not been so studiously drummed into her by her parents, she might have done what she really wanted to do: let loose and yell. Instead her scowl deepens as a huff of breath escapes her lips. Any one of her siblings would have gladly called her out in the same way he had done, but that doesn’t make her any happier to hear it.

When he kicks the rock back at her, her eyes widen as her wings flare in surprise. Why she should be surprised, she doesn’t know. In fact, if she were at home, she would fully have expected to have rocks flung back at her. The sound that escapes her lips is a weird combination of squeak and growl as her form shimmers, the stone bouncing harmlessly through to land behind her.

When she solidifies again, her sea-green eyes are fixed on him in a fierce glare.

“I don’t need to relax,” she snaps, eyes dropping as she finds another stone to hurl back at him. Hard. Maybe she did need to relax, but she was hardly going to admit that to him. Not when he’d been looking at her with that insufferable smirk on his face.

His amusement only serves to set the frown deeper into her features. Yet, inexplicably, it also loosens something inside her chest. The tension that had been coiled there, cranking tighter and tighter with each day her parents continued to break further apart, eases slightly. Maybe it’s the physical act of kicking rocks, or maybe it’s the fact that he doesn’t seem to judge her for her foul mood. Whatever it is, it keeps her rooted in place instead of flying into a surly rage.

Her lips almost twitch into a smile when his question is interrupted by the rock smacking into his chest. Any amusement vanishes when he finally does manage to get the question out however. Or rather, the accusation. Eyes narrowing, she steps forward aggressively just as his retaliatory stone plunks into her slightly flared wing.

Yelping, Luminesce jumps back, startled. This is swiftly followed by an offended huff as her wing snaps wide, feathers ruffling as she shakes the stone loose. “Maybe you should shove your head in a mud puddle,” Lumi snaps in response. It’s not a terribly clever comeback, but she’s too annoyed to think of a better one right now. Of course, if this were any of her siblings, that might have devolved into a wrestling match as they tried to shove each other's heads into a mud puddle. Not that she would admit it.

Though his questions do not erase her antagonism, they do stay her hoof before she manages to lob the rock back at him. She glares at him for a long moment before exhaling noisily and glancing away. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she grumbles, refusing to look back at him. Of course, that was a lie. She did want to talk about it, but she wasn’t ready to share her life’s story with a stranger. So instead she glares at the river for a long moment before another gusty sigh escapes her. “I guess a swim sounds okay.”