(IC date: 7/19/2020)

Sparrow's seventeenth birthday party had gone exactly as planned and Siobhan couldn't have been happier to have helped make her little brother's big day as special as it was. It was hard for her to believe that her baby brother was only one year shy of becoming a legal adult. He'd soon be capable of making the biggest decisions by himself, like buying his own car, starting a business, and choosing how he wanted to leave his mark on the world. It seemed like only yesterday he and she were fighting over toys and getting into each other's hair, now he was such a young man... She was brimming with pride.

Her parents had long since gone off to bed and given their warning to Sparrow about staying up too late with his friends, so she knew that it was more than okay for her to take her time while she continued to clean up from the party. The laughter of the birthday boy and his guests upstairs echoed out from underneath his bedroom door, but it wasn't at the point yet where she felt she had to tell them off. No, she'd let them have their fun until at least midnight, then she'd make sure they settled down for the night. She scraped another plate of discarded pizza crust off into the trash and sighed.

It wasn't that long ago that she was the one having birthday parties like this. So many fond memories of inviting all her friends from Crystal Academy over for slumber parties after trick or treating to watch movies, eat junk food until they got sick, and tell each other scary stories well into the early morning hours. Her mother would come in at least once to shush them and Sparrow and Harlow would try their best to break in and join the fun. She wiped a glass as she reminisced over all of the terrible hair dos and make up they'd put each other in over the years, as well as all the games they'd played, and closed her eyes. She could almost smell the candy and feel the gentle tug of a brush going through the back of her hair.

Then, the distinct feeling of a pair of hands pressing down on her shoulders sent her eyes right back open, and the kitchen around her had completely changed. She was now in front of a vanity, her hair easily ten-times longer than it should be, and much younger. The source of the hands was smiling back at her, a girl with equally long blonde curls and beautiful dark skin, but the rest of her face was obscured by a bright white light. Siobhan tried to move, but found herself forced to watch what was going on in the reflection presented before her, and followed along as the blonde haired girl placed an ornate comb down on the vanity.

"---nice?" Said the girl, part of her sentence seemingly cut off. Was she asking about the way she'd brushed her hair?

Siobhan tried to answer, but the reflection moved without her prompting. A broad smile grew on her reflection's features and her hands moved to touch her hair. Her body didn't seem to belong to her anymore. She could feel everything, see everything on the vanity, but it was as though she were watching a home movie where she could react but not interact. She desperately tried to wiggle and force any kind of reaction of her own. Where were they? What was this place? Why didn't that girl have the rest of her face?

Suddenly, a door visible in the back of the room opened with a clatter and the girl turned to look at who it was. Siobhan could now see that the girl was wearing an elaborate lace dress, one clearly fit for a princess, and was shouting at someone that was giggling not too far behind them. It sounded like a child had burst into the room, a child that the other girl obviously knew, but Siobhan couldn't see them. She fought vigorously to turn her head, but she still couldn't budge.

"Sio?"

Another hand laid itself on her shoulder and the vision of the vanity and the girl had suddenly faded away. She was back in the kitchen again, still holding the towel and glass in the same way as before, and finally turned to see Sparrow standing behind her. She blinked twice and slowly allowed herself the time to come back to her body. God, had he always been this tall?

"What's up, kiddo? Need more snacks?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah, just like, chips or something?" Sparrow replied, before arching a brow at his older sister. "You alright though? You were kinda zoned out for a bit there."

"O-oh," Siobhan laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "Guess I'm tired. It's been a pretty busy week you know? I'll finish up here and head up to bed."

"Alright, if you're sure." Sparrow said, wandering across the room to the cabinets. "I'll tell the guys to keep it down for you. Oh, and uh, thanks for the pie? Mom said you went to a lot of trouble getting it."

"She's just exaggerating." Siobhan said, rolling her eyes. "But thanks. You guys have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do, okay?"

"No prob. Sleep well, Sio."

Siobhan waited until after Sparrow had safely gone up the stairs and closed his door to toss the drying towel aside and sit herself down. That... Strange vision. Was it really her tired mind playing tricks on her, or was it something more? She had been more active as a senshi lately and trying her best to get herself out there... Did it have something to do with that? It was so powerful, so strong, so real, almost like an actual memory. And that girl... She shook her head, stood up, and took herself straight to her room.

No more cleaning and no more thinking. If anything like that ever happened again, then she'd consider asking questions. For tonight, though, It was time to rest.

Word count: 1010