DISCLAIMER: All bold lines and their related detailing in both 'AVALOR' sections are obtained from the episode "Model Sister" of the Elena of Avalor series, as are the characters appearing on that show, and are owned by the Walt Disney Company.

A new day dawns upon the jaquins but not everyone can enjoy a calm wake-up.

Sienté opens her eyes slowly. Lying on a much warmer Palace floor now in comparison to last night, she releases a sigh of relaxation. The cold spell has passed over them. No longer will it expose her or other jaquins to dangerous or cold weather circumstances. The beige-and-yellow jaquin notices how the calm morning sun is setting the Palace in gold. It's not too early and not yet time for Verago's morning ritual. Together with the light and warmth that the sun casts into the Palace, it's a perfect moment to wake up to.

Sienté starts noticing how her head is resting on top of Veje's still. She finds it both cute and funny that he'd allowed this throughout the night. It's as if time stood still… This makes her chuckle softly, but it makes her curious also. Despite her wanting to know how he feels about sleeping like this, Sienté doesn't want to wake up her "pillow" just yet. Lying like this is comfy as his sideburn feathers are soft. She could definitely linger in this tranquil moment a tad longer…

While he's not moving, Veje is very much awake. Like Sienté, he too enjoyed sleeping together. His head feels warm while hers feels cosy. Lying in between his brother and the beige-and-yellow jaquin he admires, Veje's body feels tranquil. Sienté's soft chuckle, however, has him realise she's awake. Despite all the laziness and cosiness, he decides to rob himself of this peaceful moment by lifting his head from underneath hers. He looks back at her and locks eyes with her, while still emanating calmness.

Sienté looks back at him. A smile finds its way across her face. His sleepy yet curious gaze has her interest in him remain growing, in which she wonders what's going on inside of his mind. "Hi, sleepy… You know, like last time when I saw you wake up, you seem very much tranquil. I envy this. What makes you so?"

Veje releases a sigh of relaxation also. "Good morning, preciosa… Well, that would be due to my mother. She always had the ability to find happiness in the smallest of things. She could turn a sad moment into a happy one in a mere blink of an eye. Each moment of having her around made me feel tender. It is because of her that I have become this laid-back jaquin I am today. That and waking and sleeping are, of course, favourite activities of mine."

"Hihi. Well, I like it. The way you are, you sound like the perfect friend to spend some time with whenever I fee–' Sienté says but becomes distracted by Dióntan waking up yawning and continues a tad later after a memory relapse, 'So, if you ever want to go someplace special, do let me know. I want to go there with you, hmm."

"But that is easy, Sienté. I am already at a special place: here, with you."

"Aww, those are such cute words to say! Thank you…' Sienté says heartily and alternates her gaze between Veje and Dióntan before adding, 'Come on! Let us have breakfast. I am craving some after a cold night."

Not far from them, Migs lifts his head. It's basically the only body part he can move without constraint. Once again, he and Dulce have limbs and tails entwined upon waking, their bodies fully connecting. When Migs realises this, he gazes around quickly. His eyes emanate certain anxiety, one of shame. He deems the entwined sleeping position with his pink-and-blue mate awkward for others to see. He'd be perfectly fine with it in his nest but not here in public. When he looks at her, he notices her watching him. Dulce has woken up to his motions. Instead of also fretting about their sleeping position, she displays a coy expression while maintaining eye contact. Then, without prior notice, she gives him a lick on his snout and says calmly: "You are thinking too much, Migsy…"

"Huh? You can – tell?"

"Of course. When you do there is this distinct look in your eyes, hihi. It is a mannerism I have come to like about you."

He starts smiling at her amiably. She knows him so well. That which she says, what she does, and how she looks; these things combined mesmerise the yellow-and-orange jaquin. He easily forgets whatever is happening around him when she's near. His desire for her makes him bunt his head with hers, showing their passion and deep-rooted love for one another…

About now, Skylar wakes up, too. He quickly has his eyes go around the royal cave home. As is usual for the blue-and-yellow jaquin, he's already feeling perked as always and notices his father and Nico are waking up too. A sly smirk appears on his face as he wants to get up before they do. To Skylar, nearly everything is about competition and making fun if it involves Nico.

However, just as he tries to get up, the yellow-and-blue jaquin feels something firmly lying against him. He'd forgotten about Avira. She had been spending the night with him. Where they lay next to each other when falling asleep, the orange-and-lemon jaquin now had snuggled up against him during the cold night, her body lying completely against his. This new sleeping position pleases her greatly. Skylar can tell because now that he's frozen in place watching her, he can hear her purring softly.

Suddenly, a voice startles both Skylar and Avira, having the latter wake up startled. "Bro! Good thing you are awake. We have to do some training for the speed race this afternoon.' Nico says with clear enthusiasm and teasingly adds, 'You know, to loosen the muscles and for me to show you that I am the fastest."

Avira watches them intriguingly. *This competitive behaviour of them is what really makes them brothers. I guess this will never change.* she thinks with a certain amusement.

She decides to get to her feet. However, she immediately cringes. Pain runs down her wing, spreading to her back like a wrinkle does in water. The orange-and-lemon jaquin sits down. The pain is more bearable this way but it remains very much unpleasant. Verago, woken up to Nico talking, notices her cringing. He looks at her, a worried expression forming on his face. "I see you are in pain, Avira. I feel dreaded seeing you like this. Take it slow. You may ask for anything you need. I am sure my son will see to it. And if I am not mistaken, I believe he must have made you something, as that bowl outside of the nest was not there when I went to sleep."

Nico, curious about the bowl he brought with him last night, directs himself to Avira: "Actually. Sienté prepared it. Some sort of medicine, she said. When she could not find you, she asked me to bring it. But when I came here, you were already asleep."

Avira smiles at him heartily. She decides to take a bite from the bowl's contents. A wry face is an immediate result. "Eee-eww! This is disgusting…"

"It cannot be that bad, right?' Skylar asks trying to lift her spirits as he takes a little from the bowl and puts it in his mouth, 'I take it back. It is disgusting. Blegh… Good luck with that, Avira. I will get breakfast to get rid of that rancid taste."

He quickly prepares to fly out of the royal bedchamber but is called back by Verago. "Skylar. Can I have a word with you?"

"But, dad. I was only trying to help." Skylar comments in his defence.

"It is not about that. I have a royal duty for you."

"Oh. Eh, can Nico do that in my stead? I want breakfast."

Verago grows annoyed with this insubordinate behaviour of his eldest son, which he knows also led to Avira's accident. Yet, he retains his cool and says solemnly: "Skylar. This is important. I suggest you listen. After that, you can eat your breakfast. I need you to go into Avalor and pick up chief Zephyr and others who wish to participate in the speed race. It will be as you did during Solyestra."

"Okay. But first breakfast, otherwise Nico gets the best food…" Skylar says as if this activity is yet another competition with Nico and he quickly flies after his little brother.

Verago follows his son up with stern-looking eyes, while thinking: *Heedless boy. I wish the day will come soon in which you take serious your responsibilities toward our kingdom.*

AVALOR

With morning having set in, Cruz lands in the gardens of the Avalor palace grounds. Amidst the lush vegetation of small trees, shrubs, hedges, and colourful flowers, he's trying to find Mateo, the boy draped in a Bordeaux red robe that should stand out within this green environment. After all, the boy wizard promised to be here; he's to give Cruz something helpful. Something that'll help the lilac-and-plum jaquin win the speed race this afternoon.

"¡Buenos dias!"

Cruz startles from this sudden joyful sound coming from behind him. He turns around. Mateo is standing there, dressed in the same robe he wore yesterday. As is usual, the posture of this young human again seems to radiate insecurity, even though a wide smile had found its way onto his face.

"Good morning! Which it certainly is, wiz–' Cruz starts off but reminds himself not to address the boy as 'wizard' anymore, 'Eh… Uhm… Friend! Sorry, there was something stuck in my throat. I think it was – a fly."

Cruz adds some faked coughs, while softly pounding his chest. All in favour of coming across as truthful. Mateo finds his behaviour quite odd. He tilts his head sideways for a moment. Yet, he disregards the comment since it's not why he came here for. "Uhm, okay. Well, eh… Cruz was it, right? So, I got you something. You know, as I promised you yesterday."

"Reason why I am here…" Cruz replies rather coldly.

Mateo releases a nervous chuckle. He gets the impression not to have started off this conversation in a proper way. "Yeah, true… But that is great! Because now I can hand you this ring I brought with me. Or I can "paw" you this… Haha, get it?" Mateo says with a grand smile but notices his joke doesn't land with Cruz.

Cruz frowns. That joke isn't funny. Besides, the lilac-and-plum jaquin feels indignant over receiving an item he isn't familiar with instead of being infused with magic as he himself proposed yesterday. "What ring? I need to fly fast this afternoon. How is this thing going to help me achieve this?"

"Well, instead of casting a spell on you, which could work out different from intended, you can use this magical ring instead to quickly find your way around. However, it – ehm… It comes with a manual."

Cruz bears an expression of frustration on his face. He becomes more aggrieved by the minute as Mateo says things that aren't aiding the plum-and-purple jaquin's cause. Through gritted teeth, he states in silent anger: "Stop foiling my plan… Give me what I came here for."

While Mateo starts explaining about the ring, Skylar enters Avalor not far from them. Upon his exit from the cave the portal is located in, he goes to hover in front of it and lets his gaze alternate between Mooncliff and Avalor city. *Okay, time to pick up Zephyr and the others. Ooh! But I can go and see Elena first and tell her everything about the speed race.* he thinks in elation and decides to take a little detour.

When flying over the city and toward Avalor palace, Skylar spots a royal coach speeding toward the palace, pulled by two horses galloping in an elegant yet hastily manner. It's in clear pursuit of another coach, one that's decorated extravagantly and also holds four banners depicting the emblem of a nation foreign to Avalor. Skylar watches the first coach and recognises its two passengers. One of them he knows very well. He swoops down and manoeuvres beside it. "Race you to the palace, princessa!" he calls out perkily.

The passenger closest to him startles most by the sudden yellow-and-blue jaquin's presence. She gasps upon seeing him. Her eyes emanate a sense of relief and she immediately cries out: "Skylar! Yes."

Elena quickly thinks her options through now that her flying companion has entered the scene. "I have a better idea. How about you give me a lift,' she says while lifting a finger to point out her idea and then points to the coach before them, 'and we race that coach?"

Skylar locks his gaze on the coach in front of them and squints his eyes. It seems like a fun idea to race that coach and it will act as a warming-up for the speed race, too. "You got it. There is no time to stop. On the count of three, jump." he opts with determination.

Apparently, both his mind and hers think alike. While he's speaking of jumping on, Elena has already gotten up to make the said jump. With little preparation required, Elena leaps off the carriage while hearing Skylar say: "One…"

Though taken by surprise, Skylar manages to hold Elena and make but a minor lifting correction. With the princess now on his back, who's solely focused on the coach ahead of them, Skylar says: "Whoho-ho. I said on three."

"I don't have time for two and three. Let's go!"

"Hold on!" Skylar utters with alacrity and propels himself forward.

The yellow-and-blue jaquin speeds towards the palace. As he draws closer to the coach in front of Elena's, he notices two Asian-looking people sitting inside of it. Elena does too and glances at them, hoping fiercely to reach the palace before they do. However, she doesn't have to worry; Skylar easily overtakes emperor Toshi's coach and takes Elena high over the yellow palace walls. Just as the emperor arrives at the palace, Skylar lands on the princess's balcony. Elena jumps off the yellow-and-blue jaquin's back swiftly, being watched curiously by him as she hastens into her bedchamber. She does so with incredible speed as if metaphorically being whipped.

At this point, Skylar has completely forgotten about the speed race. Instead, he peers inside from the balcony, his eyes following each of Elena's movements. Being intrigued by this odd behaviour of his close friend, he's trying to ascertain the reason for her hurrying but can think of none. While trying, Skylar also observes Elena going through some sort of bag she pulls an item from he'd never seen before, after which she takes a gown from a wardrobe and runs into a hallway. From this moment on, Elena vanishes out of Skylar's sight, leaving him pondering still. Without further ado, he decides to lie down on the sun-warmed balcony tiles and repose after the 'racing exercise' a moment ago.

VALLESTRELLA

Meanwhile, Migs is coordinating the food supply from everyone's quota inside the Palace. To his surprise, Tudor arrives early from his gathering and is carrying quite some food. "Well, Tudor. I must compliment you. Your contribution to the food supply today is remarkable. You can be proud of yourself. Will you take that into the third food chamber?" Migs asks the green-and-red jaquin.

"No. I will put it in the first chamber because it is heavy.' Tudor replies and rolls his eyes as he adds, 'As if it matters…"

"It does to me. I know how to coordinate a supply, while you know how to coordinate poor jokes and that is not getting us anywhere."

Migs feels confident about himself. His stance in this matter is one of responsibility and kinship, something he feels Tudor is lacking too much. And someone else agrees with this wholeheartedly. "Oh, Migsy! That is such disciplined talking of you. I so much like how you speak that way!" Dulce outs joyfully and squints her eyes as a sign of loving affection.

The pink-and-blue jaquin had been standing nearby and listening to the quarrel taking place. Every time Migs acts as a leader or shows responsible behaviour, she experiences a flirtatious swoon toward her yellow-and-orange mate. Tudor, though, rolls his eyes of indignancy towards this rubbish, or so he feels. He and Shaniqua are mates, too, but they don't indulge themselves in such lovey-dovey. However, this look of rejection changes to a gaze of fright in a mere second. "Oh, okay. If you say so… I will take this food into the third chamber." Tudor says reluctantly through an uneasy smile.

Migs gives Tudor a questioning look as he watches him store the food. He cannot explain this sudden change of heart within the green-and-red jaquin. It does, however, make him feel utterly assured in somehow having convinced Tudor so easily. *Splendid! I was able to talk sense into him without too much effort. On top of that, he did not even try to joke his way out of it! He must have realised upholding such ill behaviour is to no avail. That is if he can retain this change for the better…*

Just as he turns to Dulce with a smirk of self-complacency, Migs notices someone standing right behind him. Verago heard a dispute taking place and came to see what it was about. "Ah, I know well your confidence in your decisions. Tudor would do well to heed your words… With, of course, a little push through my presence from time to time." Verago states with a sly grin.

AVALOR

In the meantime, Skylar looks up all of a sudden. He had been relaxing for half an hour but now he's alerted at what appears to be the sound of quick footing coming from the hallway on the other end of the bedchamber. Suddenly, Elena runs through the bedchamber and out onto the balcony. In response to seeing her, Skylar starts wagging his tail with excitement. "Skylar, let's go!" Elena shouts at her jaquin friend.

"¡Vamos!" Skylar repeats zestfully and starts running beside her toward the balcony edge.

Once again, their minds seem to think alike. Even though the two have been separated for the last 41 years, it seems but one year to both of them. Skylar may have changed significantly, having met Elena when he was but a cub while being a juvenile today, while Elena hasn't changed at all in the course of that same time period. Still, they cooperate with the same finesse as they did before their nearly semicentennial-long separation. As such, without providing any cue to each other, both Elena and Skylar jump onto the balcony's ledge and leap forward. The yellow-and-blue jaquin needs to make but a minor adjustment to catch her on his back, while the princess says: "Quick. Take me to the Inventor's Fair!"

Skylar swoops down to gain momentum. "Fair what?" Skylar asks in confusion over something he hasn't heard of before.

"It's the huge building with the glass roof. There, in the city.' Elena comments and points past Skylar's head for him to spot the structure, 'Isabel is there. Hurry!"

Skylar immediately heads for Avalor city. "Is your sister again in danger?" he asks worryingly.

"No. But she really needs my help as quick as possible…"

"Be there in a flash!" Skylar says confidently and makes more powerful strokes with his wings to speed up even more.

A tad later, the yellow-and-blue jaquin manoeuvres around the top of the Inventor's Fair. He gently lands in front of the main entrance, after which Elena jumps off elegantly. She runs inside, while Skylar remains outside waiting for her return.

In the meantime and back in the gardens of Avalor palace, Mateo manages to put the magical ring around one of Cruz's fingers after some excessive explanation. Once again, the boy wizard became overly excited about all things magical. On a whim, he had shared so much information with Cruz on this ring that most of it went over the lilac-and-plum jaquin's head, leaving him utterly clueless. "So, got all that?" Mateo asks zestfully with a grand smile that would spell naive.

"Uhm – no.' Cruz replies sulkily of feeling stupid and thinks that time is putting pressure on his chances of success, 'Just tell me what I need to know. And this time, no elaborate talking. Just plain and simple: how do I use this – thing?"

The grand smile on Mateo's face slowly fades away until a neutral expression remains. The boy wizard's eyes start emanating the usual nervousness as he relapses on what might've gone wrong. Perhaps jaquins, being magical creatures according to lore, just aren't fond of human-crafted magical items. "Oh… Okay. Well, uhm. This ring allows you to instantly move from one location to another. And it works by thought but some texts contradict each other on this, so I have some reading to do still."

"Sure… But I can use it, right? Just thinking about where I want to go… Tell me what I have to do – friend."

"You just need to close your eyes and focus on the location you wish to teleport to. Uhm. This is at least how it is supposed to work. Heh. I haven't been able to try it out myself. You know, maybe it causes nausea or it doesn't get me where I want to go–"

"Yeah, yeah. Just imagine the destination. Got it… That is all I need to know. Thanks, wiz–kid friend!" Cruz says with a smirk.

The lilac-and-plum jaquin immediately takes to the skies, leaving behind a pondering Mateo about how to use the ring.

On the other side of the palace, Skylar arrives at high velocity. He'd been speeding toward the palace to get Elena there in time for her to attend Esteban's surprise performance for emperor Toshi. It seems as if he's going to impact the ground, yet he hits the speed brakes just in time and manages to prevent a hard landing. The moment he allows Elena off his back, he feels his body having become exhausted. He starts wheezing with his tongue hanging from his mouth. "Be right back!" Elena yells with slight concern in her voice.

To Skylar, this won't be necessary. She may spend whatever time she wants in there, as long as it allows him to recuperate just a little from being worn down physically by princess Elena going back-and-forth between the palace and the Inventor's Fair. Still able to lift a paw, an excessively tired Skylar says: "Take your time."