While there were Animalians getting ready for the Harvest Games or for the Halloween events, there was one group who had their sights set on something closer. The Five Elements were rather excited to be getting to visit the Asian Animalian colony next weekend, even if it wasn’t complete yet. They felt a bit more drawn to that than the other festivities going on in Lyre.
The Chinese had a different harvesting time than countries in the west. In fact, the Mid-Autumn Festival had already passed. And the closest equivalent to Halloween was the Hungry Ghost Festival, which was in mid-July and Halloween itself was more celebrated in Japan than China. So for the Five Elements, October mostly meant to them that autumn was really beginning.
“I think I like the autumns here,” said Jinxing, “The way the leaves are turning colors is fascinating and the temperature is finally dropping.”
“Yeah, you would be happy,” said Muxing in an annoyed tone.
“You’re not cold-blooded, you know,” said Jinxing.
“Do I look like I enjoy the cold?” asked Muxing.
“Not to mention autumn is Metal’s season and as far from Wood’s season as possible,” said Tuxing offhandedly.
"Oh, right," said Jinxing counting on her fingers, "Spring is Wood, Summer is Fire, Autumn is Metal, Winter is Water..." She paused and stares with puzzlement at her fifth finger. "Wait season is Earth?"
"It's a transitional period between seasons," said Tuxing with a shrug.
"That's stupid," said Muxing.
"What can I say? Not everything divides neatly into five, including the calendar," said Tuxing.
Just then, Huoxing walked into the room, holding two separate pairs of bikinis. "Which one should I bring for when I go to the island?" she asked, "I like the flame one, but I wonder if it's too loud. And the black one seems kinda blase."
"Huoxing, you do know this isn't a tropical island," said Tuxing, "It's going to feel like autumn there too."
"It still has a hot spring," said Huoxing, "I mean, I guess we can skinny-dip since it's just going to be us Animalian going."
"We're not bringing anyone else?" asked Shuixing, poking her head in.
Her sisters gave Shuixing a befuddled look. "Who else would be going?" asked Tuxing.
"Well..." said Shuixing, probably blushing if her fur wasn't so dark, "I was just thinking of...someone..."
"No way, you've got a guy interested in you?" asked Huoxing excitedly, "Who is he? Give us all the details."
"It's...uh...it's Nate Bowman," said Shuixing, looking very small and shy for a water buffalo.
"The dairy farmer?" asked Muxing, "The wannabe martial artist you met?"
"Well, his dad is the real dairy farmer," said Shuixing, "He just works on his farm. But he's interested in martial arts and really wants to learn. We've been chatting online since he left. And, well, he's pretty sweet."
The other four Elements exchanged surprised looks. Of the five of them, they wouldn't have expected Shuixing to be the first to find a boyfriend. True, there were plenty of tigers and snow leopards, but Tuxing and Jinxing weren't feeling particularly compelled to find a mate. Bubbly and energetic Huoxing seemed more likely. Though Muxing was probably least likely, considering she still had issues with men.
"Shuixing, he does like you for you, right?" asked Jinxing with concern, "He doesn't just like you because you're a kung-fu cow, right?" While the others weren't as leery as men, they knew that people tend to only focus on the surface and they didn't want their sister being hurt.
"I'm pretty sure he likes me," said Shuixing, "He's trying to find out my interests and what kind of movies we could see together. I'm not planning on converting him on this trip."
"We'll see what we can arrange," said Tuxing, "His schedule might not allow him to come. He does live in Wisconsin, you know."
"Right," said Shuixing, nodding her horned head.
"So...I guess I should bring a bikini," said Huoxing.
"The red one," said Shuixing.
"Ok," said Huoxing, going back to her room.