Sorry that I'm hardly updating… school is giving me truckloads of homework every night. Good news is that a play that has been taking up a lot of my time has finished. Expect more entries over spring break!
-WretchedWords

5. Of Rain and Pizza

The sound of wind rustling past leaves and grass reached the ears of a sleeping Carebear cousin. Gentle Heart groaned aloud, rolling over on to her side and feeling soft grass beneath her. Her eyes flicked open. Why wasn't she in bed? The lamb suddenly sat upright, looking around quickly. Then her mind suddenly remembered falling asleep at the bonfire. Only now it was a pile of ash, embers still slightly glowing and soft wisps of smoke rising from it. She inhaled the clear Forest of Feelings air and fell back down into the soft, lush spring grass. There was a light blue blanket spread over her, indicating that someone must hadput it over her. Apparently, what started as a birthday party evolved into a camping trip. Despite the fact that she slept without a pillow or on a mattress, Gentle Heart felt very refreshed. There were snores all around her, and then she heard a yawn. Staring up at the sky, she could hear someone also sitting up.

"Morning, Gentle Heart," she heard a familiar voice say soft enough to not wake the others.

She rolled over to face Friend Bear, who was beginning to stretch. Careful not to wake anyone, she also said her 'good mornings' to the peach colored bear. Friend Bear stood and began stepping over all of the sleeping family members to get to the snack table. Gentle Heart once again closed her eyes though she wasn't very tired at all. Soon Friend Bear returned with a plate consisting of different chips and pretzels. She bit into one loudly. "Want some?"

"No thanks," Gentle Heart, "Salt in the morning makes me sick."

"Weird," Friend Bear shrugged, digging in. "You were out like a log last night. First to fall asleep."

"Oh," Gentle Heart heard answered in a soft tone, "Who gave me this blanket?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. They were all made with our tummy symbols. But it took a lot of effort getting you off of Playful Heart without waking you. It was like taking apart a bomb."

The lamb began tracing circles in the grass with her free paw. "Playful Heart?"

"Yup," Friend answered, biting loudly into another chip. "You were so tired you fell right on him. He didn't get you off though, saying that you were acting tired for the past few days."

There was a shuffle to the side, and Friend Bear stopped chewing, not moving. They both looked over to see a figure in the only gray blanket in the crowd stir. An aggravated sigh came from the figure. "Friend Bear, that's got to be you. Only you chew that loud."

Friend Bear grinned, swallowing. "Aww, Grumpy. It's nice to know that you can tell!"

The blue bear sat up, cracking his neck very loudly. He gave her a sour look. "You can learn a few things from Gentle Heart. She knows how to be quiet, unlike some people."

The lamb grinned as Friend Bear nudged her. "Crabby-in-the-morning-syndrome."

The blue bear looked over to his side, to read the watch that Bright Heart never seemed to take off. He rubbed his eyes once, and then inspected the time. "Wow. It's seven. I need some coffee."

"Gross!" Friend Bear shuddered, finishing her plate of junk food, "I need to take a shower. I'll be back though."

Gentle Heart nodded as the two bears left her. She was fine just where she was. Birds were also awakening, filling the forest with the sounds of their chirps and humming insect wings. She tried to recall what had happened last night, feeling the effects of waking up early when staying awake late the previous night. She mainly remembered True Heart opening her presents, and bits and pieces of when the shadows came. She was probably too distracted to really take note of what was happening around her at the time. The lamb closed her eyes as a light zephyr blew past her. She couldn't possibly go back to No Heart after last night. He did keep his promise by not hurting her, but instead attempted to do so to her family. Now all she had to do was find a way to return the book without getting caught, despite how she was intrigued by what was inside. She would just have to learn how to live without whatever magic he was going to teach her… and she somehow felt herself grow sad at this realization.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Harmony Bear waking up, screaming. She sat up along with anyone else once asleep to find that Lotsa-Heart had rolled unto her guitar and the neck was completely broken off. The elephant cousin spewed apologies out faster than Swift Heart could run, and this was the wake-up call for the family. Soon everyone was up and running, now ready to conquer the day ahead of them.

"Gentle Heart, can you come here?"
The lamb stood in the Hall of Hearts waiting for a caring mission she hadn't had in over a week when Noble Heart horse called her. She jumped out of the chair with her tummy symbol on the back to indicate at was her official spot at the heart table. Noble Heart sat at a desk on the rooms before a gigantic map of earth alongside Tender Heart with a stack of papers. He handed her a paper.

"Here's your mission for now… I've been told you have experience with this girl," Noble Heart said, eyes not leaving the papers.

Gentle Heart took her paper, looking at what her caring mission was as she walked from table to get a cloud car from the hangars. The first thing stated on the paper was what the caring mission was. A girl was being mean to her family, little brother especially. Gentle Heart finally reached the hangar where a cloud car was already waiting for the next one to go on a mission. She isn't very familiar with anyone who was especially mean to their family. She looked down on the paper, running her finger to find the name. Finally, she saw it and almost groaned. Cassidy. Her mind went back to her last encounter with the girl in the woods and how she had been told she was hated. Gentle Heart hopped into her cloud car, shut the door and sighed, grabbing the steering wheel. She wasn't very up to the job, but she was assigned it. If she didn't do it, no one else would be able to.

Secret Bear was up ahead with a flag in each paw, waving them to signal she and anyone else planning to leave the runway that it was open. He only waved the right flag, which meant she was clear to go. Gentle Heart folded the paper and tucked it beneath her leg, moving forward. Soon, she was in the air and flying farther from Care-A lot. The sun was hidden behind thick gray clouds, indicating that the annual spring rains were on the way. She once again pulled out the paper when she was closer to earth, finding where the girl was. It would only take ten or more minutes to get there from where she was.

Soon enough, she passed by the bright forest where she met Cassidy first and also where the picnic was held. It seemed darker covered by the shadow of the heavy clouds, and she soon learned that only a moment after flying above the forest, it ended and was soon replaced by a typical suburbia. It was a very nice one, too… almost all houses had either two floors, an occasional third one, and the yards were very well kept. She finally saw where her caring mission was to take place and cautiously began to descend. She parked the cloud car in a small thicket of pine trees that separated streets, and hopped out, stepping back to see if it was visible. Confirming that the shadows hid it, she looked at the house where Cassidy lived. It was a two-story brick house surrounded by an iron fence that boxed it and the yard in. Then she finally spotted Cassidy, sitting on the swing set in the backyard, arms folded across her chest, fuming. The lamb looked right and left, then hurriedly cross the street. She squeezed between the fence and stood in the yard. Cassidy didn't even notice her. She cleared her throat.

Cassidy looked over at the lamb, blinked, then put her face in her hands. "Just what I need…"

Gentle Heart slowly walked forward. "Maybe."

She took a seat on a swing next to Cassidy, thinking of what to say that might help her. After careful consideration, she finally decided to be straight forward. "Maybe you should apologize to your brother."

"What?" Cassidy looked up. "How do you know that I was… ah, forget it."

"I can't forget," Gentle Heart answered, "It's wrong to hurt others feelings. Nothing can be solved by trying to leave things like this."

Cassidy stood, folded her arms once again and began walking away. "It's not my fault."

Gentle Heart slid off the swing, the chains dangling as she did so. She thought a moment. It was pretty common in caring missions that the child or person they were helping would be the cause of their own sadness, or it's them who make others become angered so they will hurt feelings, too. She thought so far that Cassidy might be one of these types. She walked by Cassidy's side, hoping that she wouldn't make the girl say something hurtful again. "Maybe you could come to Care-A lot. There will be lots of friends you can talk to and rely on there."

Cassidy paused. "Friends? I don't need them. They don't want me, so I don't want them."

Gentle Heart carefully chose her words. "Don't you have any friends to talk to?"

She rolled her eyes. "What do you think?"

"I can help," Gentle Heart offered, "I know how hard it can be finding the right friends to trust."

Cassidy seemed to be contemplating the answer. Gentle Heart could see her debating, therefore proving that all she really did want was friends. If she had friends, it may also mean that she wouldn't be so negative and also make her family feel the same way or help her stop looking at herself and talents so negatively. It's amazing what friends could bring to you. Finally the girl seemed to decide. "Sure. I'll give you one chance, and if that doesn't work, will you stop bothering me?"

Gentle Heart slowly nodded, pretty sure that she could help the girl get friends. "Promise."

"Fine," Cassidy said. "Everyone else we be at the park by now. You can TRY to get me friends there."

The lamb agreed, and then the girl went inside to tell her mother and father that she was leaving. Gentle Heart shifted her weight from foot to foot as she waited, thinking of what advice to give to the girl. She felt a single raindrop fell on her nose, and she looked up to the sky to see more falling. Looking back to where her cloud car was parked beneath the trees, she hoped that the pine trees would block at least some of the rain from getting inside. Cassidy soon came outside, luckily carrying an umbrella in one hand. A jacket wasn't needed, for it was humid and warm enough for the rain to not be very cold. Cassidy opened it. "Come on. Before everyone leaves."

Gentle Heart stood beneath the bright orange umbrella as they began walking hurriedly. She cleared her throat. "Remember, when you are trying to make friends, you don't have to try to impress anyone."

"Why not?" Cassidy asked with a tone that seemed to suggesting that the Carebear cousins was stupid.

"Because," Gentle Heart said, "They should like you for who you are. First impressions last with friends."

Soon, they arrived at the park. Despite the rain, there were several kids around her age. The park was fairly large, the name being 'Sycamore Park,' appropriately named after all of the wide sycamore trees scattered throughout it. There was a fairly large jungle gym painted with the color scheme of yellow and black, two swing sets that seated eight people each, see saws and sidewalks that twisted and curved throughout the parks. Both Cassidy and Gentle Heart looked around, and then Cassidy pointed. "Their in my class."

Gentle Heart looked to see three kids around her age rollerblading on the sidewalks despite the rain. There were two boys and one girl, all ignoring the rain. "Do you want to talk to them?"

Cassidy sighed. "Fine. What are you gonna say?"

"Um. I shouldn't be there," Gentle Heart said, and before Cassidy could answers, she added, "It's best for friends to meet by each other and not by other people. If you're just open and friendly, they should like you."

"Fine," Cassidy shoved the umbrella into Gentle Heart's paws, who stood in the rain, watching Cassidy walk to a bench next to the sidewalk before she herself walked with the umbrella to a sycamore tree. She slumped against it, sliding down on to the grass that hadn't been touch by rain yet. She looked on as Cassidy took a seat in bench, folded her arms and hunched as though she didn't want to be doing this.

Gentle Heart sighed, talking as though Cassidy should be able to hear her. "They'll think that you won't want to talk to them looking like that…"

Instead, she watched as the three rollerblading kids approached, and then skidded to a halt one by one without even falling. She couldn't hear completely what was being said over the rain, but heard something along the faint lines of 'are you okay?' from the only girl of the three kids. Cassidy responded, sitting up, leaving the grumpy appearing position from earlier. In only minutes, Cassidy soon got up and headed her way. Gentle Heart stood. "What happened?"

"They're getting extra rollerblades from the car," Cassidy explained.

Gentle Heart smiled. "That's really good! Aren't you happy?"

"Yes," Cassidy seemed to snap, "Once you give me back my umbrella."

That somehow seemed to feel about as worse as what the girl had said on the first caring mission. Gentle Heart blinked, looked down at the bright yellow umbrella still in her paws, and then held it out. The girl took it, opened it and simply walked away. The lamb stood for a moment underneath the sycamore tree. Another Carebear should have gotten this mission instead. Despite her sensitive emotions, she didn't cry this time but simply began to head back through the park to her cloud car. Walking through the warm rain, she placed her paws behind her back as she thought. Why was it that once someone thought that everything was gradually growing better, the smallest things could bring it all back down? After some time she finally reached her destination, her cloud car, and hopped in. The pine trees around it had blocked the majority of the rain, and even if there was any inside, they were only small drops.

The lamb paused for a moment in her cloud car. She didn't feel like going back to Care-A lot. It was only a bit past noon and much more time in the day to waste… and it felt as though it shouldn't be back in Care-A lot. The lamb drummed her fingers on the dashboard. She might as well spend some time on earth while she was still here. But it wasn't any fun alone… plus, it felt as though she would need all the cheering up possible with the help of a friend. But who would that be? Her closest friends in all the Kingdom of Caring would have to be Proud Heart cat and Harmony Bear. But she also knew them both very well… Proud Heart usually talked too much and tended to complain about things and grow distracted easily, and Harmony Bear listened too hard and never said much. It was hard talking with Harmony when she herself isn't much of a talker to begin with. Thinking of all she could, Gentle Heart thought of her options, trying to remember who was free for the day and who might be on caring missions. Finally she decided on who could lift her spirits and also was pretty fun to be around.

She lifted up the radio in the cloud car and held down the 'talk' button. "Is anyone there?"
"Yep," came the reply, "This is Friend and Secret Bear."

"Do you know if Playful Heart is free?" she asked.

She could hear a slight giggle and decided not to question them about it, but soon Friend Bear answered. "Try other channels."

"Okay, thanks," Gentle Heart replied and began using other channels on the radio. All were empty aside from one that was occupied by Grumpy Bear, and then finally heard Playful Heart answer her on the last channel.

"I'm here. Just coming back from a caring mission," Playful Heart replied to her, voice muffled from the static of the radio. "Where are you?"
"A bit away from the woods were we helped Cassidy and where we had the picnic," Gentle Heart explained.

Soon, it was decided that the two would spend their time before going back to the Kingdom of Caring on getting pizza. Something that Playful Heart seemed to think as tradition whenever it rained on caring missions. After a moment of deciding on where she was exactly located, she finally sat back in her seat with a sigh, looking up at the gray clouds above. She couldn't tell whether she wanted to go with Playful Heart or truly just go home and sleep for the next month. In the back of her mind, something was telling her that she had made a mistake not too long ago… but also like recently, her thoughts were scrambled and it wasn't easy to see which ones were which. With another sigh, she closed her eyes, glad the trees were sheltering her from the rain.

"BOO!"

Gentle Heart lamb sat up abruptly, grabbing the side of her cloud car so tightly her knuckles nearly cracked. Looking around wildly, she saw tree trunks, hardly remembering how she got here. Then she heard laughter and looked to her side to see no other than Playful Heart monkey, laughing near hysterically, grabbing the other side of the cloud car for support. Her memory finally seemed to catch up with her, and Gentle Heart exhaled a shuddering breath. Rain still softly fell from the skies as Playful Heart finally seemed to stop enough to make eye contact with her. "S-Sorry," he managed to say through giggles, "I couldn't help it!"

There was a hint of a headache in the back of her head from the scare, and she put a paw to it as if it would help. "It's… okay."

Playful Heart hopped into the passenger seat of the cloud car. "So, shall we leave?"

"Do you have any money?" Gentle Heart asked. Not many Care Bears carried any unless they really planned to go to a restaurant or anything alike it, since they didn't have jobs. The only Care Bear that ever even attempted one was Champ Bear, working at a fast food place. He was finally fired because he supposedly made the others working with him uncomfortable and he constantly spent more time dealing with sad kids that went inside than actually working. It wasn't every day that someone worked with a Care Bear that only reached your knees in height.

Playful Heart nodded, opening his palm to reveal ten dollars. "Champ gave it to me from his last job."

"But wasn't that months ago?" Gentle Heart asked, turning the cloud car on and rising into the air.

"Yep," Playful Heart answered, "But it was well worth it! I had to eat a pinecone."

The lamb wrinkled her nose, amazed at what desperate things someone could do for money. Playful Heart sniffed, wiping his
nose. "It tasted like toothpaste."

Days can either pass by very quickly or much too slowly in the Kingdom of Caring. Through the eyes of a quiet lamb, everything seemed to be moving by much more quickly than it normally would have, though she would have though other wise with her last mission. Also weeks could be uneventful or the craziest one could have. And this was an uneventful one. There weren't even any shadow attacks, and it seemed as though No Heart had decided to give up on defeating the Carebears. Not even Beastly came to disturb anything, and it had been proven that Shrieky finally left weeks ago and wouldn't return for a long while.

Gentle Heart lamb yawned, putting her paw to her mouth as she wandered down the hallway of her home. It was Sunday, the week going to be reborn in less that 12 hours. She ran over what had happened. On Monday, she was granted the caring mission that began as fairly good until it came crashing down in the very end of it. Pizza was Playful Heart was much more awkward than she thought… all of the people inside of the store just seemed to stare and ignore what was on her plates. Most of the cousins all met in the Forest of Feelings to help plant trees in Proud Heart's garden. Aside from these things, nothing was eventful in the least bit. The lamb entered her bathroom to brush her teeth, and then soon went into her room with pale violet walls. Yawning once again, she picked up a hairbrush and tiredly began to brush her wool, not wanting it to get tangled in her sleep.

Eyes nearly closed and about to fall asleep on the spot, the lamb seemed to feel a temperature change around her. Looking to her right, she saw that her windows were both closed, white draperies not stirring from even the slightest hint of a breeze. It seemed as though a perfect horror movie scene, and she forced herself to look at the mirror above her dresser again. Only to drop her brush in surprise.

Stumbling backwards, she grabbed her bed post to keep from falling. "No Heart?"

The image of the sorcerer in her mirror had a hint of amusement in her red eyes. "You've been avoiding me."