I love this character so much, tbh. I'm really grateful that TheSparklyKitten let me play around with Ariel Rosemary, her OC in the amazing story Heroes of Flowers Phase 1: The Ferns and Nerds. I love this story so much, it updates on Saturday every week and it updated today as well.
But today is her birthday and she let me take a stab at writing Ari, who is precious. Everyone go flood her story with positivity and love, she absolutely deserves it, I know you're gonna like Ari as much as I do.
I really hope you guys enjoy my fun little Easter story for these great characters, and Sparky, I hope you have a really great birthday!
There was something quiet and nice about sitting in the closed cafe, painting hollowed out eggs with her friends. Honey Lemon had suggested that they make cascarones for the first Easter Ari remembered. After they painted them the eggs would be filled up with rainbow confetti and then they'd be able to break them over each other's heads. Mikan, Sara, and David, unfortunately, hadn't been able to make it for the decorating party, but Hiro, Fred, Honey Lemon, GoGo, Karmi, and Wasabi were all there. GoGo was coloring hers black, red, and purple, with cool skull designs. Honey Lemon was switching between intricate designs and adorable bunnies. She had also done an egg designed after every person (and cat) there. Fred was trying and struggling to replicate his favorite kaijus on the eggs. He'd broken four of them. He wasn't allowed many more chances. Hiro had painted his eggs with little Baymax faces. Wasabi was doing simple but perfect designs, neat stripes, careful plaid, etc. Karmi was designing the eggs with chibi faces of big hero 6, and Aunt Cass was doing the cafe logo. Ari noticed that Karmi being there made Hiro a little uncomfortable. Or maybe it was her Easter Eggs. Ari didn't know why Hiro did or felt anything, and he'd made it clear that Karmi was one of the topics that were off-limits. She, however, had made it clear that Karmi was one of her friends, so Karmi had gotten an invite.
Ari was painting little flowers onto her eggs, in the spirit of spring and the beautiful blossoming world outside. San Fransokyo was gorgeous this time of year, and Ari couldn't help wonder if she was seeing it for the first time. Her memories were still few and far between, and often she got a little overwhelmed by it all. Days like these, with amazing weather outside and blissful moments with her friends, helped her deal with the unknown. Whatever her past was, and she hoped she would one day know, she was happy with the memories she was making in the present.
Aunt Cass had been saving up eggshells from the cafe for them to do this, but Honey Lemon had saved some too. So everyone else got six eggs to decorate but the only professional artist got a few more. She'd offered an extra one to Fred, who only had two successful shells, but he had assured her it was fine.
"I'm gonna save half of mine to use on the Fern kids," Ari decided, "I don't want them to miss the fun just because they couldn't be here."
"Aww, that's sweet of you!" Honey said cheerfully.
"You better put them away if you don't want them smashed," she added.
"So to be clear," Wasabi asked, "we are carefully and intricately decorating these eggs just to then break them?"
"Yeah!" Honey said smiling brightly.
"Why?"
"It's fun! It's La Semana Santa tradition."
"What does Santa have to do with Easter?" Fred asked.
"La Semana Santa means The Holy Week. It's the week leading up to Easter in Spain," Honey Lemon explained patiently.
"That's really cool," Ari said, beginning to load confetti into the dried cascarón. After one was filled, you glued tissue paper over the opening and then, when it was dry, you smashed it over someone's head. Ari was very excited, although she had yet to decide how she was going to use her three cascarones. Hiro was a given, then probably Karmi, possibly Cass. She wished she could be getting confetti in Juniper's pretty blond hair. She smiled dreamily as she thought about it. Hiro noticed her far-off gaze and gave her a weird look. He would certainly be the first person she got with the cascarón.
"We're supposed to break them?" Wasabi said, looking at his pristine assortment with clear disappointment, "They're so pretty…"
"It's really fun, Wasabi. You'll like it."
"I think I might save mine…" Wasabi said, hoarding the confetti-filled eggs like they were his children.
"Suit yourself, Wasabi, but you might change your mind when you see how much fun it is," Honey Lemon said.
"You keep saying it's so fun," GoGo said, "and maybe it is, but I'm with Wasabi. I can't exactly see it." Honey Lemon smirked then, leaning close to GoGo before cracking confetti all over her hair. GoGo's eyes widened.
"Hey, you didn't warn me!" GoGo said, grabbing one of her own and smashing it in Honey's hair. Honey laughed.
"That's the fun part!" GoGo's eyes narrowed and she cracked a second of her six on Honey Lemon and looked around, picking her next target.
"That's barbaric, it gets everywhere," Wasabi said, "I'm not doing that." He backed away with his half a dozen, but Fred was faster than him and soon little round rainbow confetti sprinkled through his dreadlocks.
"Oh, you're going to pay for that!" Wasabi slammed a striped egg into Fred's head as Hiro attempted to sneak up on his Aunt. Before he could break his first egg, however, he got double-teamed by Karmi and Ari.
"Ah!" Hiro said, shaking confetti off onto the two girls and taking the egg in his hand to the side of Karmi's head.
Ari giggled and watched the two of them, as their mutual glowers changed to laughter. Ari had always known they had a lot in common. She was glad to see them getting along.
"Freddie, what are you going to do with your other egg?" Ari asked as she picked her next target. Aunt Cass, for sure.
"Uh… This." Fred reached up, took his egg, and crumbled it over his own head.
Wasabi looked at him incredulously, "Why would you do that?"
"I wanted to see how it felt."
"But you only had two eggs. You could have used it on anyone."
"Yeah. But it wasn't about that. The moment was more about doing what I may never get the chance to do again. So I did it."
"You're so weird," Wasabi chuckled before GoGo attacked him with an egg.
"Really? My oldest friend and you would betray me like this? I'm never gonna get these out of my hair," Wasabi said, returning the favor with his plaid egg.
Hiro and Ari dusted Aunt Cass with confetti, but she did the same to them. Then Ari went off to get Karmi, and Hiro crushed and sprinkled an egg over Baymax, for Tadashi.
The cafe filled with laughter and confetti and eggshells. Ari protected her remaining three but Wasabi didn't have one to spare at the end of the holy war. Every time he shook his head confetti fell out, but that was the reality for everyone there.
"We're gonna have to do this again next year," Ari said with a laugh, shaking confetti out of her sweater.
Everyone nodded and agreed, not saying what they were all thinking, that Ari might not be there next year if they found out what had happened with her memories and her family. No one wanted to think about losing their friend, even if they knew that going home was in her best interest.
"We'll definitely do this again," Honey Lemon promised, staying bright while Wasabi began to clean up the mess, "I'm really glad you guys had fun. I like sharing my traditions with you guys."
Ari nodded, "I like starting new ones." Honey Lemon couldn't help it, she pulled the younger girl into a hug.
"Happy Easter, Ariel. I hope it's everything you imagined."
"It's so much better," Ari said, looking around and feeling secure with her friends.