“Can you believe we actually get to go to the L.E.A.F. concert tonight, girl?!” Hoshi exclaimed as Jiji, her Menyace companion helped her slip into her favorite black tee with the holographic rainbow print of the moon on it.
“Mrowww!” Jiji chirped, tugging the edge of the tee down to the base of Hoshi’s tail.
Mango chuckled, eyeing Keiki and Peat, the pair’s Mimic and Soilcube pets, as they happily chased each other around the room while Jiji sighed and dropped the tail of Hoshi’s tee to nip the rowdy pair into behaving. “It’s been a long time coming for sure, hasn’t it?” She smiled softly. “I’ve been saving my leaflets for years to make this happen for us, and there’s no other paca in the world that I would rather go see them with.”
Hoshi blushed a dazzling shade of vermilion as she inspected her hourglass tail for any marks. “A-anyway,” she redirected, motioning for Jiji to help clean up a tiny smudge on the surface of the glass, to which the Menyace happily obliged and wiped away. “We’ve somehow managed to never talk about our favorite members, only our favorite songs!”
“Easy! Yu!” Mango interjected, tugging some blacklight reactive bracelets onto her tail feelers with Peat’s help. “There. But yeah, Yu! Their dreamy pink color and silky smooth voice get to be every single time.” Her eyes lit up, twinkling almost like diamonds in the bright light of the pair’s dressing room. “But I seriously ship Q and Bel. You can’t tell me you’ve never noticed their chemistry on stage. It’s almost magical.”
“FOR REAL!” Hoshi agreed, her momentary shyness slipping away as her excitement once again took hold. “There is no doubting that. It’s meant to be, hehehe. As for my L.E.A.F. crush, though… I can’t decide! I’ve been stuck between Ramu and Ezo ever since I first saw one of their music videos and learned what they look like. Ezo’s got that kinda ‘bad boy’ vibe going on, but I just cannot with Ramu’s aqueous beauty, you know? What do you think, Keiki?” she jokingly asked the Mimic.
Keiki hopped up and down excitedly, confetti flying from her wrapping and landing in a pleasant pattern across Mango’s pink sequined dress, who nodded approvingly at the newly sprinkled addition. “Oh Mango… you’re so cute when you talk about the things you’re passionate about,” Hoshi remarked quietly, more to herself, as she gazed lovingly at the distracted paca.
—
The two pacaipllars snuggled up in their giant fuzzy blanket as they waited for the show to start. All around them, snekkets and pacapillars alike were chattering, singing, and giddily taking photos and videos of the neon lit venue as they awaited the main event. Hoshi sipped at the extra large brown sugar milk tea they’d gotten to share. “Only five more minutes until the show is supposed to start!” she said, peering toward Mango to see her love eyeing a Yu keychain on another paca’s bag. “Tell ya what, baby,” she said softly. We wait til intermission when the crowd around the merch stand dies down, and I’ll get you one of those keychains.”
“You really mean it?” the younger paca trilled eagerly as her eyes darted back to her partner’s.
“Absolutely!”
Suddenly, the ambient lighting around them died down as the neon lights on the stage blazed to life.The crowd went dead silent before erupting into the most uproarious of cheers as a trio of synthesizers began to serenade them all with the hauntingly beautiful opening notes of L.E.A.F.’s latest album. They were enveloped in a gorgeous oscillation of varying sine, square, and sawtooth waves, carrying on their backs a gentle tune in D dorian that somehow simultaneously evoked imagery of a medieval festival and a retrofuturistic cyberpunk dreamscape. A large spotlight spun from the backdrop toward the main floor of the stage, illuminating the five members of the group in all of their beautiful, neon glory. The cheers continued to grow in intensity as Yu crawled forward, taking center stage. The synths took a hard left to a bVI, bVII, I cadence as Yu began to belt out a striking anime-inspired melody. Ramu, Q, Ezo, and Bel joined him in a delicious five-part harmony as the backing track slowly faded, allowing the a capella bridge of the song to cascade over the crowd of screaming pacas like warm honey. As the synths picked back up for the final chorus of the song, the band pulled their vocals back, encouraging the crowd to finish up in their stead.
“Wherever you may go,
“No matter where you are,
“Your heart will always be a part of me..
“When all the world’s in shreds,
“You’re living in my head,
“You see, your love has set me free~”
—
“I think that was the best show I have EVER been to! Thank you for the tickets, MayMay,” Hoshi cried as the two marched off from the merch stand, Mango placing her Yu charm on her own backpack.
“Thank YOU for the charm, Hoshi,” she said, smiling at her love. “But we’re not done, yet! I’ve got one final surprise for you.”
Hoshi’s expression shifted from excitement to curiosity at Mango’s words. “Another surprise?” she questioned. “What else could there be that could top off a night as amazing as this has been?” As soon as the question left her mouth, however, she knew. She looked up, realizing she hadn’t been paying attention to where Mango had been leading her since leaving the merch stand, and saw the huge banner hanging over their heads. “No way. No way. There is no way you had enough leaflets for something like this, MayMay!”
Mango smiled deviously at her partner and let out a small chuckle. “You think I haven’t been getting paid for all my time at the farm this summer? Think again, cutie! I told you this would be the best night of our lives!”
Hoshi took one more incredulous look at the banner before proceeding through the door: “VIP Access Only - Meet & Greet.”
To be continued…