It was the dawn of a new day. Nary a mouse stirred to interrupt the calming atmosphere of the new sunrise as it rose from the east.

Emma stood before the concrete, rock-lined dock wall that jutted out into the sea. A steaming cup of rosemary tea—her drink of choice, as always—was gripped tightly between her hands as she gazed far into the vast oceanic blue. Sometimes, she wondered, what it would be like to be a fish swimming out there. Did they worry as much as she did? Or were such things trivial and inconsequential to something that experienced the freedom of the sea?

"They always seem to swim upstream," Emma uttered. Sipping her tea, she sighed. "If only I could grow gills and a pair of fins."

Turning her back on the ocean she so dearly beloved, Emma walked up a series of steps and back into the Starlight Aquarium. Her heart hung heavy at newfound signs of age Emma spotted as she scurried the halls; more damage that she hadn't the money to afford repair or replacement. Still, she had to soldier on. Within the very halls she walked so many times in the past were living creatures—precious life that depended on her for their survival.

But had it have to be her? Were the animals at the Starlight Aquarium truly living their best lives?

Opening the door the aquarium's offices, Emma sat the teacup down on an empty desk. A piece of her wanted to give in, Emma knew, as she looked over towards the other desks. All of them were empty, just as hers was. No longer were they filled with the hustle-and-bustle of fellow caretakers and people she could call friend. She was alone, left to brood over the burden now placed on her shoulders.

A burden that was now compounded by the upcoming Starlight Festival; the Cove's annual event to announce the arrival of Spring. What Emma planned to do for it, however, was still up in the air.

Taking a seat in her worn, faux leather chair, Emma turned on her laptop in the pursuit of research. She desperately needed to make this year a success. Even if she was alone, and only the worse seemed to come, Emma still had to give it her all. She couldn't let the reality of the situation crush her treasured dreams.

Of course, they were bound to be crushed anyway. But if she did what she could, then that was all that mattered to Emma.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP--

With a muffled groan, the pile of blue and purple colors on the bed shifted, and a slender arm emerged, feeling around the nightstand until it found the alarm clock and sending a cupful of pencils tumbling to the hardwood floor with a loud clatter. Some more shifting, some rustling, and then the covers peeled back to reveal Miriam, bags under her eyes, wearing a thin black tanktop rumpled by sleep. She raised her arm at the sun shining in through the window by her bed, and heaved a colossal yawn. "Yeah, yeah..." she grumbled.

Given that she didn't have a proper job with a schedule she had to keep, she didn't need to rise with the sun at 6:30 AM. But there was something about it that just felt right to her. Even in the winter, the fresh, clean morning air, the dew on the grasses...though she didn't need to, and though the ten minutes just after waking up were misery, she still tried to go for a walk every morning, before Starlight Cove had truly awoken. Maybe not a long walk, especially in the winter or early spring, when the early mornings could get pretty chilly and she'd just take a brief stroll around the town streets instead diving into the woods and fields like in the summer; a walk nonetheless. But that could wait for the moment. Before any of it, she required three things. First, shower. Second, breakfast.

Third, tea.

She tried not to take very long warm showers, especially when she was sleepy, or she was liable to fall asleep; so she was in and out in five minutes, then hair combed in fifteen, and dressed in twenty, throwing a violet cardigan over her long sleeves. A few minutes later, she was downstairs, frying a pair of eggs as the kettle heated over the stove. Another few minutes: she tucked in, munching on her eggs over toast as she gratefully sipped at her Khongea Assam. It'd be a bit before her parents were up, and another hour or so after that before her brother and sister followed suit, so for now she had the kitchen all to herself. Nice and quiet, a perfect way to prepare for the day.

With a second mug of tea downed and her plate and frying pan washed and dried, she headed to the door, opening it on a brand new day.

She shivered as she wound her way down the hill, tucking her hands into her cardigan pockets. It wasn't cold enough to be truly uncomfortable, certainly, more like brisk; but having just gotten climbed of a warm bed, taken a warm shower, and eaten a warm breakfast, March was absolutely going to feel cold for a minute or two. Still, just coming out of winter as they were, it felt positively balmy. By the time she'd made it to the town proper her shoes were flecked with dew, she'd warmed up considerably and didn't much feel the chill anymore (though she rather wished she'd brought her scarf), and she was well and truly awake. The fresh glow of the newly-risen sun flickered and flashed off the water to her right through the gaps between buildings as she walked down the sleepy streets, and laughing lightly, she gave it a gentle wave hello.

"Morning!"