Shine Bright Like a Diamond

Lumi peered back into Acere's eyes with her own bright, bi-colored ones. It was rare that he got down on her level and so she knew it was important information. She frowned when he said that Heloise had gone to look for her brother and couldn't stop tears from welling up in her eyes. Mum wasn't just mum... Heloise was her best friend. When all of her siblings picked on her, Heloise protected her. When she grew up she wanted to be just as kind and fair.

Rules were important, but if Heloise went away then all the rules were confusing and broken. "Oh," she said, her voice soft and hurt. "But they always wander off, they're always breaking rules!" Lumi protested. Her siblings were typical rambunctious children while she remained the studious tattle-tale hall monitor. "It's not fair that mum went after him," she mumbled, placing her chin on her paws and huddling down into the snow.