"I a-guess, then, all's a-well ends-a well…" Luigi tipped back in his seat, the bottle of Junglestream Island maple syrup clenched tightly in his gloved hand as he posed one hand on Yoshi's snout. The rideable dinosaur nodded and took a bite of the strawberry-kiwi fruit pocket in his hand before answering.
"Yeah, exactly. Rainbow gets to live with Tara and Beran now, but something tells me that isn't the end of it." He gave a mischievous grin.
"We just have to wait, Luigi." Alber cocked his head to the side; beside him, Gabe downed the contents of his silver chalice in a single swig, though as for what was in there, nobody save him knew.
"Alber's right," the blue one agreed , nodding cleverly as he corked the flagon with a leaf-bound stopper that had been lying near his plate at the table. "We'll watch and wait and listen. That's what we've gotta do."
"When are we a-going back, I wonder?" Mario glanced at Luigi curiously. "It's-a been a while."
Instantly, the plumber turned on his brother with an agonised groaning. "Already? What are you-a saying, bro?"
"No, I was-a wondering what-a it's like when Yoshis adopt." Mario glanced at the circle of Yoshis sitting around them. "Anyone know? Any, you-a know, parties or anything?"
"No, not parties. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, Lila usually gives a welcome speech and the Yoshi goes down to sit with their new parents," Canberra replied easily, running one hand through her rusty-orange scales. "Then we applaud. It's not too common around here because most of the time the Myth -- well, Rainbow saved us from the floods and things. But some Yoshis did die, and their children lived with others. So, in the end, it all evens out." No one noticed then, but she suddenly flushed a deep shade of crimson.
"That makes sense," Peach muttered to herself, but she was frowning. "But I wonder what happened to Rainbow's real parents…"
"Well, he's Yoshi, right? Not like a god or anything?" Daisy asked everyone sensibly, and they all nodded. "Then, chances are, they either died or something happened to 'em. We could ask."
"No, that wouldn't be a good idea," Peach said slowly, mulling the problem over. "He might feel hurt or something. I suggest we let him tell us when he feels like it – and if he doesn't ever, that's all right, too."
Daisy looked slightly dismayed at this, but she allayed the loud groan just bubbling in her throat and shrugged her shoulders, tossing her tiara with one hand as she did so. The cut-gold circlet flew up into the air with a wind-chime type sound before falling back into the princess's open palm. "Yubba," she muttered. (It was a secret word she'd made up that meant 'yes.' Nubba, oddly enough, meant 'no.')
At this point, multiple groans resonated in the main room of the tribe settlement, ruffling the princess' hair, lifting the caps from the plumbers' heads, and rippling the Yoshis' scales, like an unwanted October breeze. Daisy, however, grinned (evilly).
"What?" she asked, to the additional groaning of everyone else in the room, "Is there anything wrong with intruding in Rain's life?"
"Stop-a that, Dai," Luigi moaned, holding his face in his hands. "Just because I-a like you doesn't a-mean--" He broke off, looking up at the shocked expressions on everyone's faces.
Finally, one single person broke out of astonishment and into reality.
It was Mario.
He slapped his younger brother's shoulder with a gigantic grin hidden under his black mustache. "Finally, you-a like somebody!"
Luigi carefully noted the redness spreading across Mario's cheeks. "Do… Do you-a like someone too?" he asked, oblivious to the eyes that were following his receding figure as it passed speedily through the doorway, grabbing the red-clad plumber as he did so.
Once Mario was in tow, Luigi dragged him past the open doorway and carefully observed his face for any sign of embarrassment (Actually, what he failed to notice was that his own cheeks had flush, giving him an unwonted appearance to an overripe tomato). "So, do you-a like someone?"
"Of course," was the answer, and though Mario's tone was more serious and knowledgeable, his cheeks were still glowing faintly in the faint sunlight pouring into the hallway where they stood. "Guess-a who."
"Peach?" His expression was one half of amusement, half of shock.
"Well, duh," replied Mario, and his brother fake-gagged into the doorway.
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Cloudfluff was thinking.
"Methinks there exists some way to help that young, besotted Yoshi," the sky-blue Yoshi declared archaically, gesturing to pine-green Nicky and periwinkle Lauranna as he did so. "A way to bring him together with his dear Canberra."
"Fluff, could you stop talking like that already?" Lauranna interrupted Cloudfluff's monologue; the young Yoshi turned to her confusedly. "Yeah, all right – so we know Rain likes Berra, but that's no reason for you to try and set 'em up." She paused for breath. "By the way, the word is 'playing matchmaker.'"
"That's two words," Nicky pointed out with a playful wink to Cloudfluff. "Anyway, can't you just see the cogs turning around in her head? You can tell, it's her who wants to be the matchmaker." He giggled lightly, and Lauranna whirled on him; he shrunk back in veritable terror.
"Don't you dare say that," she exclaimed, her eyes flashing as she rounded on him. "It's not nice, especially since--"
"Yeah, yeah, we all know you two like each other."
Instantly, they both turned to Cloudfluff – it was his utterance, after all. The Yoshi observed them critically, tipping his head to once side as he did. "Well, it was obvious, no?"
The red from Lauranna's cheeks hadn't disappeared, though now it was more from embarrassment than anger. That done, she groaned loudly and disappeared into the trees, a fast blue blot in the distance. Nicky stared after her for a moment; then, he too, disappeared into the distance.
Cloudfluff stared after them, a smile flickering on the edges of his lips. "Well, they're running," he figured aloud as he gazed at the two silhouettes, rapidly receding into the distance. "So, that must mean my hunch was right." He shook his head, grinning, as he turned around, to head toward the tribe settlement. "Hah, I guess everyone has their own true love."