ＯＵＴ ＯＦ ＬＵＸ discussion

Venus's Log





Ideas
- Sera's birth
- 7th birthday
- Cogworks years
- Cogworks graduation
- Working at the tailor shop
- Mother-daughter moment
- Becoming councilor
- Meeting the other councilors
- First trip to Asterath

Sera's Birth

Ellsworth house

Age 5


Venus sat on the edge of her bed, anxiously fidgeting with her hands. She was excited to become a big sister. Though another part of her couldn't help but feel nervous. She was worried that she wouldn't be a good enough sister. What do I do if she asks for me advice? What if I accidentally hurt her? These questions and more raced through her mind as she grew more anxious with each passing minute.

She had to do something to keep herself occupied while she waited. She sighed, standing up and looked over in the direction of her desk. It was made of smooth, polished birchwood and painted white with small trinkets on top. The most obvious object though was a small scrapbook that her parents had given her containing pictures from her birth and a few years ago. She sat down in the chair, opening the scrapbook and looked through the photos.

As she skimmed through the scrapbook, Venus heard a light knock on her bedroom door. "Venus? Are you in there?" It was the voice of her father, Oliver. A strict but kind man whom she admired much like she did her mother. She closed the scrapbook before responding. "Yes" she replied. "May I come in?" her father asked. "Yes Papa" Venus said in a kind and polite tone.

The door slowly creaked open, and Venus's father entered her room, a warm smile on his face. "How are you feeling, sweetie?" Venus hesitated for a moment. "I'm fine" she said. "I guess I'm just a little nervous and excited. But mostly excited." She smiled, reassuring her father that she was okay.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Her father sat down on her bed, padding his hand on the bed and gesturing for her to sit down. Venus did as she was instructed, walking towards her father and sat down next to him. "Tell me, what's really going through your head right now?"

Venus gathered her thoughts before speaking, sighing. "I'm just afraid of what will happen. What if I hurt her? What I if I don't know what do when she needs help? What if I -"

Her voice trailed off as Oliver gently shushed her, stroking her hair and tucking a strand behind her ear. "Venus, it's okay. You don't need to worry about that. You're going to be a great big sister. I know it" her father said in a reassuring tone.

Venus looked up at her father, giving a small smile. "You really think so?' she asked.

"Of course." Oliver hugged Venus, gently kissing her forehead. "Now let's go downstairs to see your mother and sister."

Venus's smiled widened. "Thank you, Papa." She stood up, walking towards the door.

Oliver followed, grabbing Venus's hand as he closed the door to her room and made their way downstairs.

When they walked down the last step and into her parents' bedroom, she saw her mother Jewel laying the bed, holding a small newborn baby in her arms. She looked over at Venus and her father, smiling at both of them. "Hi Venus. Would you like to meet your sister?"

Venus nodded, making her way towards her mother and the newborn. She looked at her sister closely. She had large, brown eyes. That was the feature that stood out to her. She noticed that her sister had a small smile on her face, making Venus smile back. "She's beautiful, Mama. What's her name?" she asked with curiosity.

Jewel paused, smiling at her daughter again. "Actually, we were thinking that you could help us pick out a name" she replied.

Venus's eyes widened with excitement. "Really? You mean it?"

"Absolutely I'm sure that whatever you come up with will be beautiful" her mother said.

Venus was silent for a moment. This was a big decision. She had to think of the perfect name for her newborn sister. She couldn't mess this up. There were a lot of names that she liked, but there was one that stood out to her.

After considering her options, she spoke. "I really like the name Seraphina. We can call her Sera for short."

Her parents beamed with pride. "We love it, Venus. It's a beautiul name" her mother said.

"It's the perfect name for her" her father agreed.

Venus looked over her sister, a wide grin on her face. She leaned in closer to her, whispering. "Hi Sera. It's nice to meet you. I promise that I'll be the best big sister that I can be."

Hi! For some reason I got an image error after uploading the image of your character in the middle square, can you resend it? And give me the two colors you want for the lines? So sorry that it's doing that.

Venus's Birthday

Ellsworth house

Age 7

Venus was dressed in the nicest outfit that she could find: a white lace dress that went down to her knees with a black cardigan over it and some brown leather sandals. Her long, dark brown hair was straightened and put up in a bun with the help of her mother. She was wearing only one piece of jewelry: a simple silver necklace with a small rhinestone pendant. She looked in the mirror, seeing if she was happy with her look.

Once she was satisfied, Venis headed downstairs into the kitchen, where her parents and little sister Sera were gathered around the table. When her parents saw her, they gave a warm smile. "Good morning, Venus. Happy birthday" her mother said.

"Happy birthday, princess" her father chimed in, a cheerful tone in his voice.

Venus flashed a grin. "Thank you, Mama and Papa" she said enthusiastically. She looked over at the table, noticing a breakfast that was specially made for her: French toast with syrup and some freshly picked fruit from the garden, including blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, and grapes. She sat down in the chair, examining the food closer.

"Thank you for the breakfast, Mama."

"Of course, sweetie" her mother said.

Venus took a bite of the French toast, savoring the taste in her mouth. The sweet notes of cinnamon with the syrup blended smoothly, creating a delicious combination of flavors. She then had some of the fruit. The freshness made them taste better than they already were. Once she finished her breakfast, Venus flashed a grin. "That was delicious, Mama"

Her mother smiled. "Thank you, Venus. I'm glad that you enjoyed it" she said cheerfully.

"We also have some presents for you" her father said in a gentle voice.

"Really?" Venus said, excitement rising in her voice.

Her father nodded his head, walking to the counter to grab a small, neatly wrapped box and a medium-sized bag with tissue paper covered inside. "Here you go, Princess."

Venus grabbed the box, removing the wrapping paper as carefully as possible. Once she tore off the wrapping paper, she opened the box, revealing a rose gold-colored bracelet with golden sun charm on it. "It's beautiful! Thank you so much, Mama and Papa."

"You're welcome, Venus" her mother said with a smile.

Venus looked at the bag next, taking out the tissue paper from it. She glanced inside, noticing a white teddy bear with her name stitched on the front. "A teddy bear? This is adorable!"

"I made it myself. I'm glad that you like it" her mother said, her smiling widening with pride.

Venus was amazed. Her mother made it for her? I'm so lucky to have such a thoughtful mother. "Thank you, Mama."

"Of course, sweetie. No problem" her mother said.

Her father smiled as well. "There's one more present for you, Venus. It's upstairs though, so I'll go get it real quick and be right back." He stood up from his chair, walking up the stairs to the second floor of their house. A few minutes later, he came downstairs, holding a labrador retriever puppy with yellow fur. Venus eyed the puppy, shock and excitement on her face.

"You got a puppy? A real life puppy?"

"We did" her father said, smiling again. "Do you want to hold him?"

"Of course!" Venus exclaimed with excitement.

"Alright, just be very careful with him."

"I promise I will." Her father handed the puppy to Venus, carefully taking him and him in her arms. She looked at the puppy, eyes widened with joy. She gently stroked his head, "Thank very much, Mama and Papa!"

"You're very welcome, Venus. Happy birthday" her parents said in unison

This was the best birthday Venus had. And she would never forget it.

A Day With Sera
Cogworks Academy - Cogbucks Cafe
Age 16

“Come on, Venus!” her little sister Sera said, clearly eager about something. School had ended for the day and the sisters had decided to go to Cogbucks Cafe to spend time together. Sera had never been to the cafe before, so Venus had agreed to take her there. Plus, it was a good excuse for them to bond more. Sera sprinted down the hallway towards the direction of the cafe with a grin on her face.

Venus laughed as she followed her sister. “Hold on, Sera! Wait for me!” She ran faster trying to catch up. “You don’t want to go too fast and hurt yourself.” Sera was very excited, an obvious fact that Venus noticed. It always made her happy to see her sister in a good mood. She had been to the cafe before, but this was the first time going with Sera. Which made her equally as excited.

Sera slowed down, chuckling as she heard Venus’s remarks. “That is such a motherly and sisterly thing to say. You sound just like Mom” she joked, a smirk spreading across her face. She couldn’t resist teasing her older sister. All in good fun. And Venus knew that as well.

As Venus caught up with Sera, she gave a slight grin. “I sound like Mom, do I? Well, I take that as a compliment, so thank you.” She admired her mother, and so did her sister. Venus and Sera were well-known at Cogworks since their mother was a councilor for the city. And, being the daughters of a councilor, it was natural for them to be recognized by the other students. If she was being honest with herself, Venus felt a little weird being recognized at school. But she was proud of her mother. And she didn’t let it change that fact.

“Well, of course it was a compliment. I would never mean it as an insult” Sera said with a smile. “That would be an insult to not only you, but Mom as well. I would feel horrible if you ever felt that way.” She continued walking towards the cafe, excitement welling within her.

Venus could hear the click of her heels as she walked down the hallway, evident by the lack of students and teachers present. She wasn’t sure why, but it felt weird that the hallway was so quiet, even though it shouldn’t have been surprising since it was after school. Most of the students were probably home by now. She ignored the thought though, walking alongside Sera.

The two sisters entered the cafe, where there were a few other students chatting with each other. They walked up to the front counter, where they were greeted by the barista with a smile. “Hello, girls. What can I get for you today?”

Sera glanced at the menu before making her decision. “I’ll have a slice of earl gray cake and lemonade, please.”

“Of course.” The barista glanced over at Venus. “And what would you like?”

“I’ll have a croissant and latte, if that’s all right” Venus replied.

“No problem. Coming right up.”

The sisters searched for an empty table to sit at. Once they found a table to their liking, they sat down on the chairs, placing their bags on the floor next to them. Sera looked around the cafe, smiling to herself. “It’s really nice here. Quite cozy.”

Venus nodded her head in agreement. “It is, isn’t it? It has a nice vibe to it.” One reason that she liked coming here. It was a great place to be when she wanted to relax. Plus, it was popular among the Voxthain students and wasn’t filled to the brim with the wild and free-spirited Asterath students. But she appreciated how Cogworks catered to students from both cities. Honestly, it would be quite boring if they didn’t.

Not long after, their orders were ready and Venus went to grab them, thanking the barista before she went back, placing the food and drinks on the table and sitting back down. “Here you go.”

“Thank you, Venus.” Sera took a bite of her cake, the sweet flavors immediately hitting her tongue. “This is delicious.”

Venus grinned. “I’m glad you like it.” She reached for her croissant and took a bite from it. The fluffy texture was immaculate, with a bit of sweetness from the chocolate filling. “This is good too. Would you like a piece?”

Sera nodded. “Sure.”

Venus broke off a piece of the croissant, giving it to her sister. “Here.”

Sera grabbed the piece of croissant and ate it. “I like this too. I can’t believe how good Cogbuck’s pastries are.”

Venus chuckled lightly. “Well, they are famous for their pastries, so it’s no surprise.”

Sera laughed back. “That’s true. So, how were your classes today?” She decided to change the subject to keep the conversation going.

“Classes were good. The usual, I suppose. How about you? How were your classes?” Venus said, asking the same question back.

“They were good.” Sera took a sip of her lemonade before speaking again. “What’s your favorite class?”

Venus paused for a moment, thinking about her answer to the question. “Probably history. What’s your favorite class?”

Sera smiled. “That’s easy. Art. I love painting and drawing, so it’s fun for me.”

Venus smiled back. “I could’ve guessed that.”

Sera took another bite of her cake, staying silent for a moment before continuing. “Oh by the way, Venus, thank you. For agreeing to take me here, I mean.”

Venus took a sip of her latte. “Of course, Seraphina. It’s no problem at all.”

“You know, we should come here more often. Together. It would be nice if we could. Maybe once a week?”

Venus’s smile widened at her sister’s suggestion. “I agree. That’s a great idea, Sera. I would love to come here more often with you.” She had to admit, she never thought to do that before for some reason. It could be a sisterly tradition, in her mind.

After spending thirty minutes at the cafe, the sisters decided to leave and go back home. As they exited the cafe, Venus stopped briefly. “So, what did you think of the cafe?”

“It was nice. Thank you again, Venus.”

“You’re welcome, Sera.”

Venus had always enjoyed the cafe, but it was even more fun with her sister. We really should do this more often. As they walked back home, she thought about the day that she had with Sera. A simple but fun day together.