2025-02-04 - Ferris Wheel, Fireworks, and Snuggle Bunnies

It's not time for the fireworks show just yet. The sky is painted coral and gold, with light dancing off billowing purple pillows as the day slowly fades into a quieter night. The park isn't closed for the evening (as much as it's ever closed) and the lights of the midway glow along with circular rise of the Ferris Wheel.

"One more ride, Arte?" The operator asks the blonde as she sits curled in one of the carriages. Fluff is curled up on the seat, munching on some cut strawberries as Artemisia sits with a sketchbook and a small palette of paints. There's a smudge of pink on her cheek, her blonde hair pushed back with hairpins and curling around her cheeks as she smiles. "One more," she agrees. The bunny on the seat twitches an ear.

Everyone who knows Auggie knows that Auggie is in love with all kinds of different animals and that the cuddlier they are, the better, as far as he is concerned. So it was that when he encountered a lonely-looking snuggle bunny moping on the dock on his way to work this morning, Auggie immediately fell in love and made it his life's work...nay, crusade! to help him find his missing boyf, or girlf, or theyf.

Thus, Auggie finds himself patrolling along the midway on a quest of lurve. He's wearing a peach-colour zip-up hoodie over a white graphic t-shirt with pastel candy heart graphics all over it, complete with cheesy slogans like bee mine and 2 cyoot in the centres, paired with well-worn, comfy-looking blue jeans. Atop his head sits his captain's hat and it is here that candyfloss (for so has he named the bun according to its appearance) rides about atop Auggie's head, scampering this way and that as he trills his little song and keeps an eye out for his long lost bbz.

It's coming up to the Ferris wheel that causes Auggie to look up at the toweringly tall structure, peering at it thoughtfully over the top of his aviators. "Dude!" he talks to CF like the little guy can understand every word. "We totally gotta get you on that thing, right? Maximum view distance! We'll totally spot your babydoll from up there, man!" Auggie affirms with a cheerful smile. Luckily, the queue for the Ferris wheel isn't super long on such a quiet night, and Auggie and Candyfloss can walk more or less right up to the ticket booth. "Two please!" Auggie indicates, pointing to himself and then CF atop his head.

The vendor smiles at Auggie. "Just one then. I'm letting Arte ride with hers," they say with a nod towards the currently open carriage. "Mind doubling up? Don't want to disturb the clientele." Artemisia looks up from where she's painting at Auggie with a curious lift of her brows, dark eyes showing pink for a moment before fading softly.

"Hello."

"Thanks dude!" Auggie beams at the person operating the Ferris wheel today, lifting a hand for an emphatic high five. It's met enthusiastically, with a slap loud enough to slightly concern the lil' bun riding on Auggie's hat, though soon enough, cash is forked over, and Auggie is slipping into the carriage currently waiting at the platform. "Sweet!" Auggie chatters away to CF as they step through the door. "We'll be able to see the whole island from up here and you can sing your lil' heart out to find your boo, boo!" Auggie assures, settling into the seat across from Artemisia. "Hey!" Auggie beams, when she looks up at him, teeth flashing in a brilliant smile. Up close, its easy to see that Auggie has a curious gold shimmer to his skin on top of anything else. "How's it going?!" he asks, leaning across the carriage a little to offer Artemisia a fistbump of greeting.

"Yours sings too?" Artemisia asks with a gentle smile, nodding at Fluff on the seat next to her. Her eyes slip over Auggie's skin with interest, widening at the sight of him against the gold of sky as the door is shut and slowly they rise. Fluff looks up and lets out a four-note trill, staring intently at Auggie's rabbit on to of his hat.

"Good." She returns that fist bump with a giggle. There's a flash of pink in Arte's eyes. "I'm Artemisia. Well, Arte."

"Hey Arte!" Auggie greets happily. He's got the unusual quality of just being incredibly friendly with anyone he meets, and most of the time it works. He does have a super disarming smile, after all! "I'm Auggie!" he introduces himself, sitting back from the fistbump. Auggie's eyes go wide when he spots that Artemisia also has a Snuggle Bunny sitting beside her on her seat. Of course, the person operating the ride had mentioned it, but that seemed to have gone right over his head until he set eyes upon it.

"Oh my GOSH!" Auggie exclaims, leaning forward from the waist to peer at Arte's lil' buddy. "You got one too!" he looks up at Arte and flashes his toothiest of grins, lifting a hand for her to give him a jubilant high five if she likes. Auggie gestures up towards Candyfloss, who is still riding atop Auggie's hat. "This is Candyfloss, and you better believe he sings!" Auggie laughs and, right on cue, Candyfloss tarts singing his little tune Woo-wee-a-doo-doo... he trills, only for the song to trail off into silence.

"I do!" Artemisia beams at Auggie's effervescent charm, cheeks turning slightly pink. "This is Fluff and-"

She pauses, breaking off as Fluff answers Candyfloss's song with a wiggle of its tail. "Woo-wee-a-doo-doo." It's startlingly exact causing Artemisia's eyes to go wide. "Is that your song, buddy?" She asks the cuddlebunny gently. Fluff hops impatiently, into Arte's arms and then in a powerful leap across the seats to August.

Auggie sits forward a bit when Arte starts to respond, only for his eyes to flash excitedly upwards when Candyfloss, still nestled on top of Auggie's head bursts into a trilling rendition of his short, but actually somewhat catch little song. "See?!" Auggie crows triumphantly about the song, but before he has chance to ay much more, Fluff has cut them both on as she sings the same combination of notes right back towards Candyfloss! Auggie is quiet for a moment, only to let out a sudden "...whoa!" when Fluff hops across the carriage, and straight into his arms! Candyfloss, meanwhile, scampers across to peeeeeer down over the brim of Auggie's hat, only to give a delightful little chirrup upon spotting it's soulbuddy!

Chirp-chirp! Fluff wiggles its tail as it looks up at its soulbuddy, crooning their catchy little song. Artemisia is watching the whole thing with wide eyes and her phone camera in hand. "Holy shit this is cute."

Auggie freezes, barely daring to move now that he has one-half of the snuggle bunny pair perched on his head and the other on his lap as they sing their little song back and forth at each other. Candyfloss peers down at his soulbuddy for several more seconds before suddenly and quite unexpectedly leaping from the brim of Auggie's hat and down onto his lap, where he excitedly chirrups and sniggles up against Fluff. "Oh frick, I think I'm gonna die this is the cutest thing..." Auggie squees in delight, agreeing with Arte.

"Oh don't worry. I'm recording this. Because holy snaps," Artemisia admits with a delighted giggle, her dark eyes alight with pink.

Auggie glances up when Arte explains she's already getting this all on camera for posterity - it's home movie magic! and reaches across the carriage to give her surreptitious fistbump without disrupting what's going on in his lap. Currently, this is the two newly reunited snuggle bunnies curled up against one another and swaying in unison as they croon their adorable little song at one another! The entire carriage is filled with a gentle, repeating "Woo-wee-a-doo-doo." as the lil' lovebugs sing their hearts out.

Artemisia almost manages the fistbump but can't quite reach (short arms!) so she awkwardly pats Auggie's knuckles with her fingertips. There there. It's... almost cute. She sighs, stopping the video as the bunnies sing. "I think this may be the most romantic thing I've ever seen. How sweet." She clutches her phone to her chest.

Auggie kind of peers at Arte as his fistbump is returned by a...friendly pat? He looks a little confused for a moment and then just shrugs it off with an easy grin, flashing teeth and dimples at Arte from across the carriage. The progress of the ferris wheel is relatively slow, but it is perfectly timed so that, just as they're almost at the zenith, the first of the fireworks scream into the sky and explode over the lake, bathing the carriage, Auggie, Artemisia and the two snuggle bunnies in shades of blue and green light as the embers rain down. "Whoa!" exclaims Auggie. "It really is magic, huh?"

"Oh." Artemisia gasps as the fireworks explode with a brilliant rain of embers. "It really is." She smiles at Auggie, dark eyes bright and flecked with pink. "If this was a date, I'd say your timing was perfection."

"I mean, I guess it kind of is, right? Just not for us." Auggie points out in response, still smiling widely as the pair of snuggle bunnies cuddle and sing and canoodle and just generally love all up on each other on his lap. It's pretty adorable. Behind the carriage, a second and then a third round of fireworks start to go off as speakers all around the island (and in the carriage) start to play an accompanying musical mashup.

Artemisia's gaze falls on the cuddling bunnies, smile soft and eyes dark. "I suppose not." Then, she giggles. "We're the third wheels on the big wheel."

Arte's joke gets a snort of laughter from Auggie, who manages to look up at the fireworks for the first time, so delighted by the snuggling snuggle bunnies he has been. It is a fully coordinated light show, fireworks, and musical extravaganza! A very fitting backdrop for the reunion of the soulbuddies for sure!