Chapter 14 Crystal Flake Galaxy

"Woah!" Solar exclaimed. He smiled as a brisk breeze caused him to shiver. "Icy turned into a cool place!"

The snow on this particular planet looked more like miniature crystal shards. The light refracted off of it, which in turn caused a rainbow glow to surround the ground. A frozen lake rested about a mile away, smooth like glass and just as reflective. The smell on the air was minty; it tickled the inside of Solar's nose. Combined with the misty morning sunrise, it was a true winter wonderland. The lumas squealed as they dived into the luminous snow.

"Children, be careful!" Rose called out.

Solar himself was entranced by this sight. While he was familiar with snow (he had been to Freezy Flake and Freezeflame before), he had never seen it look like this. He leaned down from the Observatory's edge and poked his finger in the snow, creating a little hole. It felt just like regular snow. Solar giggled and cannonballed.

"Solar!" Rosalina called out as he resurfaced, shaking the crystal flakes out of his hair.

Polari chuckled and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. Kids will be kids."

Solar grinned and did a backstroke through the snow, sailing through it as if it were melted. The lumas giggled at the sight of him.

"Hey Solar!" one luma shouted. Solar didn't even have the time to respond before the luma pelted him with a snowball. An explosion of rainbow colors and blindingly cold whiteness took over Solar's field of vision.

For a minute, he wiped the snow out of his eyes as the lumas laughed. When he had gotten rid of all of it, he laughed and bounced out of the snow to his feet. "You're so gonna pay!" He scooped up some snow, forming and molding it into a snowball the size of his head. He let out a battle cry right before the luma got hit. The ball was so heavy and the luma so light that it didn't explode upon impact. Instead, it sent the creature careening toward the ground.

"OWWWW!"

Solar giggled. "That's what you get!"

The luma didn't respond; just cried as it wriggled its little legs. Solar became concerned.

"Uh oh." He trudged over to his luma friend and pulled the snowball off. This left a very frozen face exposed to the air. Solar gasped. "Oh no!" He looked over toward the other lumas, his teeth chattering. "I THINK HE'S DEAD!"

"HA!" The luma bounced out of the snow and slapped Solar across the face, all while dealing with a giggle fit. "And that is what you get!"

Solar held his hand to his burning cheek, glaring at the luma. He grit his teeth before pouncing. The luma dodged and bolted off into the wild blue yonder.

"We're playing tag!" He called to his siblings. "Solar's it!"

The lumas scattered. Solar bounded after them, laughing despite his previous anger. Unfortunately, running proved to be difficult in the snow. It hugged Solar's knees, acting almost like a new form of gravity. He had to lift his legs extra high, which naturally brought exhaustion down on him fast. He stopped to catch a breath.

"Slowpoke!" a purple luma called out.

Solar shook his head. Slowpoke, huh? Well, that sounded more like a challenge than anything else. Solar would prove to them that he could catch up to them, even with the unplowed snow.

Wait, plowed! That's it!

"Mama!" Solar called out. "Can you create a path for me!"

Rosalina smiled and waved her wand. Multiple branching paths opened up, each one leading to the lumas.

"Thanks, Mama!" Solar ran down the paths, grinning like the joker. The lumas shrieked and tried to bound away from him, but Solar proved to be too fast for them. He tagged all of them within ten minutes.

Well, almost all of them. The one that he had hit with the snowball turned out to be extra fast. Solar ran with every last fiber of his being. He reached out his hand, about to touch the luma on the backside. Before he could, the luma caught a glimpse of him from behind…

...and flew up into the air.

Solar stopped in his tracks, tilting his neck to look up at the luma. He growled. "No fair!"

"Is too! Have you forgotten you can fly!"

Solar's heartbeat froze to a standstill. He looked up at the luma, his red eyes wide. The other lumas gathered around him.

"Yeah, Solar! Go ahead, fly!"

"We want you to fly!"

"Fly! Fly! Fly!"

Solar's cheeks grew warmer and warmer. He looked at the lumas, egging him on. Did they even know? Did they even understand?

"Guys…."

"FLY! FLY! FLY!"

"NOOOO!"

That shut the lumas right up. They stared at the red faced Solar, whose breathing was becoming too quick for comfort.

"No fly?" a particularly young luma asked.

"No. No fly." Solar looked over at his Papa, still floating right on the edge of the Observatory. He couldn't read his expression. It looked approving, but somehow...disappointed? He also noticed that his Mama was absent. This only caused another heart shattering pang.

Solar cleared his throat. "Let's go back to the Observatory."

The lumas eyelids drooped. They all let out a collective "AWW!" as the floated away.

"I wanted to see Solar fly!"

"He hasn't flown in so long!"

"Is he just scared!"

Solar shook his head. No. They clearly didn't understand.

When they got back to the Observatory, Polari handed each of them a pair of mittens and a scarf. Solar hadn't even realized it before, but his fingers were numb from the cold. So, the winter wear was a welcome gift. Just as he was finished putting it on, Rosalina came back out. To Solar's surprise, she was smiling.

"I made hot cocoa in the kitchen! Who wants some!"

"ME!" The lumas cried out. They stampeded toward the kitchen dome, leaving just Polari, Solar, and Rosalina present.

"Well?" asked Polari. "Aren't you…"

Solar sighed. "Yeah. I just...need a minute."

Rosalina's brow furrowed. "Solar, what's wrong?"

Her tone was fearful. Sure, she was trying to hide it, but there was no denying the emotion was present. This caused Solar's stomach to squirm.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

Rosalina slowly nodded. "Well..okay." The smile returned to her face. "I left some marshmallows in your cup."

Solar perked up. "Thanks!" He bounded over to the kitchen. He was almost tempted to fly to it. Almost.

The sight that meant him when he got to the kitchen was a throng. Lumas filled the dome to overflowing, sipping on their hot cocoa like it was their lifeblood. Solar weaved his way around them and found his mug (the one with his name on it) nestled on top his usual place setting. He took the mug and allowed the hot and spicy sweetness to coat his throat. All while the lumas continued to be total chatterboxes. They were completely ignorant of him, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At least they weren't encouraging him to do anything reckless anymore.

Once Solar finished his cup, he knew he had to get out. Not only was the room claustrophobic and loud, but it was also uncomfortable. With one luma brushing up against his arm and another brushing up against his butt, it was not exactly the place where he wanted to be. So, he went out of the dome…

...only to come face to face with his Mama.

"Hello, Honey," Rosalina said.

Solar's insides felt like they were being squeezed. "Hey Mama," he squeaked.

Rosalina's brow furrowed again, this time even deeper than it had before. "Are you…" She cleared her throat. "Do you want to come talk to me?"

Solar hesitated. "Umm...I guess?"

Rosalina smiled. "Perfect! Follow me to the bedroom!"

Solar obeyed. When they got to the purple velvet covered room, Solar took a seat beside his Mama on the bed. She smiled down at him.

"Did you enjoy playing in the snow?"

Solar nodded. "Yes." He didn't want to tell her what had happened with the lumas. She wasn't present, so there was no need to worry her.

Rosalina nodded. "I remember when I took you to Freezy Flake for the first time. You were about three. You played with the Li'l Brrs a lot."

Solar nodded. "I don't...remember that."

"I know. But it's still nice to think about." Her eyes twinkled. "Maybe I should take you back to Freezy Flake sometime?"

Solar shrugged. "Yeah. Maybe."

There was a silence, an uncomfortable silence. Rosalina pushed her hair over her ear before biting her lip.

"I like how you are getting along with the lumas."

Solar internally snickered. "Really?"

"Yeah. They need kind hearts in order to form into big galaxies, and you playing with them helped them get kind hearts." She smiled. "It teaches them compassion."

"Compassion?" They didn't seem very compassionate in the snow.

"Yes. Of course, they're still learning, but…" Rosalina shook her head. "I'm just saying you're a big help."

"Thanks," Solar whispered. He directed his gaze down toward his lap. Before another uncomfortable silence could take over though, he thought of another question. "Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you...miss the lumas when they become galaxies?"

"Oh, of course," Rosalina said without a moment's hesitation. "That's why I wanted you."

Solar blinked. "You…"

Suddenly, a scream occurred from outside. Both of them turned toward the door, up and alert.

"Stay here," Rosalina said. "The lumas could be in trouble."