It's a perfect day, and nothing can go wrong for Arle. When Draco comes racing her way and demanding a beauty contest, she decides to appeal to Draco's better half. What she doesn't expect is Draco taking her compliments seriously. Requested by a tumblr anon!

Appreciation For The Soft-Hearted

To say it was a perfect day wasn't an exaggeration. Arle couldn't remember the last time she had time for herself without worrying about others or something ruining it. Under a mild sun with a few clouds swirling in the sky, the breeze light and cool, Arle felt a skip in her step as she walked up a path in the Hajimari Forest.

So far, nothing was ruining her day. Satan wasn't causing any trouble. Schezo wasn't rolling out in front of her barking that he wanted her. Nohoho wasn't trying to sell her something shady behind a tree. Not even Carbuncle was running off causing mass pandemonium like enlarging the sun or speaking with the moon.

She breathed in the crisp air and tasted honeysuckle and pine. The earthy scents of the forest washed over her, cleansing her of any worries that her pleasant mood would turn south. Swinging her arms from side to side, Arle hummed and pranced along, satisfied that today was going to continue being calm and upbeat.

"Aha! There you are, Arle!"

She cracked a smile and looked over her shoulder. Draco sprinted up to her, waving as quickly as she could. Her long wings flapped behind her and propelled her forward. Arle noticed the wind caressed her shorter locks of emerald green hair, bringing out the full smile on her face.

"Hey, Draco! What's up?" she asked, tilting her head and raising a friendly hand.

Breaking into a wide smirk, Draco cracked her knuckles and punched the air between them. "You should know what's up by now! Today's gonna be the day when we have our beauty contest! Winner takes all!"

Arle sighed. She expected such a proclamation. On any other day, it would have been annoying to have Draco spring a beauty contest on her. She was normally in the middle of stopping Satan's schemes or exploring dungeons when Draco tossed an ivory wrench in her plans.

However, today was special. Nothing had gone wrong, and maybe it was the cool breeze that made Arle giddy. She stepped forward, wrapping her arms behind her back and letting an idea crawl across the surface of her brain.

Draco furrowed her brow. The change in her demeanor immediately brought forth trepidation. Arle would have spurned her with a shrug, frown, or Puyo battle. It was a setup she was so used to that seeing her friend smirk made her tail thump against the ground.

"Hey, what's going on?" she demanded as Arle pivoted to her side.

"Oh, Draco, has anyone told you how nice your hair is?" Arle asked, teasing the ends with her thumb.

"G-gao?" Draco spluttered, her eyes shooting wide open as her friend jumped in front of her.

"And you know what else? Your dress is so nice! What kind of fabric is it?"

"F-fabric? It's-" She fidgeted with her collar. "Uh, it's a sort of silk-"

"Silk! That really suits a pretty girl like you!" Arle whistled, rocking back and forth on her heels. "Man, I can really imagine you wearing a lot of silk outfits. You'd rock a silk vest and shorts, but silk is for fancy clothes, right?" She winked and cupped Draco's tense shoulder, not noticing the streak of scarlet blossoming between her cheeks. "A gorgeous model like you would nail wearing silk gowns down the runway."

Her heart soared, pounding so rapidly from the influx of compliments that she thought it would burst. She clasped her hands together, eyes shining brighter than the modest sun.

"D-do ya really mean that?" She inched forward, expectant.

"Yeah, yeah, definitely!" Arle nonchalantly waved her hand. "In fact, it's not just the runways." She bounded to Draco's side and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, tossing her free arm out towards the sky. "Your face should be plastered on fashion magazines. It's the kind of lovely face anyone would wanna see walking down store aisles."

"R-r-r-reeeally?"

Draco almost didn't want her to clarify. Such earnest words couldn't have been spoken as lies or in jest. It would have been too cruel for Arle to sneer at her in such a way, and the way she laced every sentence with compliments felt like a kiss upon her brow, each more sincere than the last.

"Of course! You definitely have the vibe of a celebrity." Arle nodded and crossed her arms. "With that perfect face, posture, and strength, you're a natural, beautiful model." Chuckling, she rolled her head back. "I even think-eh?"

Arms smothered around Arle and pressed her into Draco's shoulder. Weepy gasps echoed in her left ear. She shivered, her eyes widening as Draco spun her around, lifting her straight off the ground. Feeling the wind under her boots, she pursed her lips as Draco jumped around without a care in the world.

Draco felt like she could overpower gravity and fly beyond all the stars in the sky. Tears pricked her eyes, and she willed them not to fall to keep her mascara from smearing. She danced in place, using Arle like a ragdoll-esque partner, beaming hotter than a solar flare.

"Aaah, Arle! Thank you, thank you!" She stuffed Arle back on the ground, forcing her boots to dig into the path. She snatched her hands and shook them wildly, her vision somewhat blurred. "I'll work even harder to be the best model and celebrity and fighter that I can be just for you! Keep believing in me, and I'll show ya that I can be walk the best runway, model the best clothes, and be the prettiest girl around!"

Arle gawked, her twitching lips hitching into her cheeks. She had no idea how to respond to such a pure promise. All she could do was stiffly nod her head, and Draco released her hands, letting them fall back to her sides and shake like jelly.

"Gyahaha! I'll go right now and start practicing my walk! See ya later, Arly!" Draco shouted, dashing past the stupefied magician.

Staring blankly at the path, Arle snickered and whispered, "'Arly,' huh?"