THE ARRIVAL

It started just as any day in Lazy Town, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and all the kids could be found playing soccer in the playing field with the resident hero Sportacus. Currently, Sportacus was in goal, Stephanie,Stingy, Trixie and Ziggy were taking penalty shots against him while Pixel was keeping score on his Master Score'O'Meter 3000. That changed when Trixie suddenly shouted,

'Hey Pinkie! who's that next to your uncle?' everybody turned as one, Stephanie screamed and bolted through the gates towards her uncles house, the kids rushing after her and Sportacus doing his usual flips and jumps to catch up.

He just managed to glimpse sparkling brown eyes before Stephanie launched herself at the newcomer and hung on for dear life. Startled, Sportacus realised she was crying. Her friends were shocked, they had no idea what was going on, her Uncle,Milford Meanswell and the Mayor of Lazy Town, stood slightly behind with a small smile, eyes twinkling, watching the scene in front of him.

Sportacus could here hurried whispering from the the stranger and heard her say

' Shh Pickle, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere.' She was stroking Stephanie's hair and wiping her tears away. She looked straight up at Sportacus and he was blown away by how stunning her eyes really were, baby blue stared into chocolate brown and to him it felt as if everything had stopped. He wondered who she was, she couldn't be Stephanie's mother, she looked to be in her early twenties and Stephanie was already 12, Maybe a cousin or something?

Stephanie eventually stood up, but didn't let go of the womans hand and turned to her friends, smiling bigger than they had ever seen before.

'Sorry guys, I'd like to introduce my sister, Sophie Meanswell,Sissi, this is Ziggy, Stingy,Pixel, Trixie and Sportacus.' She rushed out, pointing to each person.

'It's a pleasure to meet you, I hope I didn't Interrupt and important game' Sophie smiled at them all. The children mumbled a hello, all of them wondering why they had never known that Pinkie had a sister! Ziggy hid behind Pixel, at 8 years old and the youngest of the group, he was still very timid meeting new people. Sophie noticed, and knelt to the ground in front of him, her gaze softened and she took in what he was wearing.

'I like your Cape, are you a superhero? that's really brave.' Ziggy looked out and mumbled

'I'm not brave like Sportacus, he's the real superhero.' Sportacus was about to reassure Ziggy that he is brave when Sophie spoke again.

'that's okay, you don't have to be brave all the time' She reached into her pocket and pulled out a leather bracelet. she gently placed it round Ziggys wrist and said,

'Here, this bracelet will remind you it's okay if you don't feel brave, just be brave one step at a time and you'll be a world class superhero' the children gathered round to admire it, Stingy could be heard mumbling

'I want one, that's MINE!' Sophie chuckled,

'Don't worry, I can make one for all of you if you like, just give me a couple of days to get settled and I can get started. Pickle, why don't you and your friends go back to playing while I get sorted and talk to Uncle Milford.' Stephanie looked unsure but after a few moments she grinned, kissed her sister on the cheek and walked off with her friends. The adults listened to them walking away, they could hear Stephanie being questioned left right and centre but the loudest of all came from Trixie saying,

'RIGHT PINKIE, you have some explaining to so missy! but first of call why the hell does your sister call you Pickle?!'

Sportacus turned back to Sophie and finally took in what she was wearing. She had tight black ripped jeans that made her curvy figure stand out, a small white tank top and a lightweight cardigan over the top, he could just see a hint of cleavage from his viewpoint as she was still kneeling on the ground. He blushed and looked away quickly, hoping nobody had noticed him staring. She got up and went to pick up her suitcases that she had dropped when Stephanie launched at her. Sportacus was quicker, he lifted them easily and said

'let me help you with that, it's great to meet you,' holding out his free hand for her to shake. She gently placed her hand in his and he couldn't help but notice how small her hands were and how perfect they fit in his.

Cut it out, you just met her for Christ sake he scolded himself. She grinned up at him and said,

'Nice to meet you too Mr superhero.'