Pink Flurry [Kipo Oak] (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts)

14 // Ratland

I AM SP E E D 

PUBLISHING THIS GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK WASN'T SURE IF I SHOULD HAVE PUBLISHED IT AND I'M SO SORRY THAT MY WRITING IS GETTING WORSE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH DEAR READER???

in case you haven't noticed (which you probably should have), you're around the same age as kipo.

also hehehehehehehehehehehhehehehehehehehehehehehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh this episode hehehehehehheheheheehehheheheh i have plans

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You grunted, climbing up the ladder. During the whole climb, you'd been telling yourself to not look down. Did you listen? Not really. Your stomach flipped like a pancake when you saw how high up you were.

"Three-point-two-six-two," Benson said. Dave was strapped on his back. Weakling. "If your father was gonna leave a message, couldn't it have been something more simple?" Oh, right. How did Mr. Oak even get that up there? "Like an arrow?"

You were climbing up to a billboard, graffiti splashed over it, reading '3.262'. It's what Kipo had spotted from the Newton Wolves' telescope.

"Then anybody could follow it." Kipo said. She had a point. You felt very smug being the only one knowing that 3.262 was related to her birthday. March 26th. AND NO ONE ELSE KNEW. HAHAHAH. "No, this is perfect."

You bit your lip as you climbed onto the platform surrounding the billboard, laying down on the ground, panting. You wiped sweat from your forehead as you stared at the sky. It was quite pretty. Tonight would be a nice night for stargazing. The new moon was about to come, so you could probably get a good view.

"It's big enough so he knew I would see it, but only I would know it was a message." Kipo placed a finger on her chin, her attitude turning defeated. "Except.. I have no clue what the message is." Eh, she'd figure it out. She was a great problem solver. And plus, she wasn't alone.

"But it must mean something to you," Wolf said. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be here." You got up from your spot on the platform, and stood next to Wolf. You'd been near her since the Newton Wolves incident, and you wouldn't let her out of your sight.

"In lightyears, 3.262 is the length of a parsec." NERD. 

"A what-sec?" Asked Wolf.

"A parsec," you replied. Granted, due to Kipo's constant nagging with random facts and studying with you back in the burrow, you were 120% smarter than you'd been before. "It's an astronomical unit. And Kipo, aren't you forgetting something?" You nudged her elbow. She looked at you, confused, before her face lit up.

"YES! My birthday. March 26th at 2:00 AM." Aw man, the secret was out. She grinned at you. "How'd you know?" You pursed your lips, and she shrugged. "Anyways, that's why it's my dad's favorite number. And guess what today is????"

"Laundry day!" Dave yelled. No. Not the dreaded laundry day.

"Whoa, Kipo! Is today your b-day?" Asked Benson.

"If you mean, did my dad and I decorate this date in my calendar back home with balloon stickers? Yes!" You'd always liked that part. Being a child, stickers were freaking godly. So of course, you smacked them everywhere. Even on your forehead. Somehow you'd gotten a few on the ceiling. Yeah.. Mr. Oak was surprisingly chill about that.

"Kipo's first birthday topside! Don't know why, but it sounds big." Dave said. It only then occurred to you that you'd lost track of time. You didn't even remember how long it'd been since you'd arrived on the surface. A small sigh escaped your lips as you traced your finger on the railing of the fence surrounding the billboard. It was dusty, allowing you to make little drawings on it. You stopped counting the days after a while, it was just meaningless.