Such Great Heights

>Six AM in Ketchum Park. A cold Saturday morning in October.
>Some joggers were making their early rounds, but for the most part it was quiet and still outside.
>Not that it would be for long, of course.
>"So, uh, why did you want me to come out here again?" Luna asked.
>Luan had woken her up thirty minutes ago. Disheveled and drowsy, they had sneaked (snuck?) their way out of the house and down the familiar sidewalks to the park.
>"Look, I'm sorry for dragging you out here on short notice like this, but you're the only person I can trust for this kind of thing."
>Luna rubbed her eyes. "On a scale of one to ten, with ten being 'breaking the law' and-"
>"Seven."
>"Oof. How do you want me to help?"
>"Alright. You see that tree?"
>"Luan, it's the park. There are a billion trees."
>"That's why I wanted to show you the specific tree. So you wouldn't bark up the wrong one."
>Luna groaned. Still, the situation might actually be serious. Luan only told puns WITHOUT the laughs at the end when she was really nervous.
>"You see the branches up there? Up more. Yeah, there. Do you see it?"
>Luna narrowed her eyes. Yep, she could see something. An electric pink kite, tangled up in the topmost branches. Lola's.
>Shit.
>"I was out here yesterday trying to-"
>"I think I've already got a grasp on the situation, dude. You need me to climb up there and get that thing?"
>"Please! I - I can't let Lola find out about this. You know she loves that kite! If she knew that I was playing with it and that I lost it, she'd kill herself! And then me!"
>Luna wasn't much of an athlete. Crowdsurfing was her sport of choice. And the grizzled old tree didn't look climber-friendly.
>But... the stakes were pretty high. And Luan had gotten Luna out of plenty of scrapes in the past.
>She had to at least try.

>Luna wasn't even sure where to start with this one.
>Her nails were short and not good for getting traction on the bark.
>Plus, there weren't a lot of branches lower down.
>There was one that was 'kind of' close, but still tantalizingly out of reach, even if she jumped.
>Luna's growth spurt was still waiting to kick in.
>"Alright. Uh, okay. I think I've got something figured out here."
>Luna had nothing figured out here.
>What would Lynn do in this situation?
>Probably something ridiculous. Maybe she'd try to have Luan boost her up.
>Hey, now that she thinks about it, that might not be such a bad idea.
>She carries Lily on her back all the time, what's so different about this time?
>Besides the weight difference, of course.
>"Yo, Luan, I need a little help getting up here."
>"How am I supposed to help?
>"Can you, you know, let me get on your back?"
>Luan's expression suddenly turned severe.
>"I think I left my superhero lifting powers at home, Luna."
>Luna's face fell, and Luan realized the insulting implications of the joke.
>"I mean - you're a year older than I am! And I'm not a strongwoman like Lynn is. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that-"
>"Why ISN'T Lynn out here, anyway? She's the jock, not me."
>"Her room is further away than you were, and I might wake Lucy up, and, you know..."
>"I know what?"
>Luan looked away.
>"You know that I can trust you more than her."

>There was quiet.
>Nothing but the quiet whistles of the wind in the tree branches.
>The kite fluttered slightly in the wicked tree's grasp.
>"Is it wrong to... you know, have favorites?" Luan asked.
>Luna mulled it over.
>"Come on! At least say something. Don't make me sit here and stew in it. I love Lynn. She's a great sister. But you're my roomie and it's different.
>Is it wrong that I wanted to spend some time with you?"
>"It's not that," Luna said.
>"I didn't know that I meant that much to you."
>"You do! You're amazing, Luna. You're always so confident. You don't let anything get to you. Sometimes when I tell my jokes-"
>"Your jokes are funny, Luan."
>"To me and Dad and sometimes you. Sometimes when I tell my jokes it's just, 'Oh, there's Luan again with the dumb puns', and I wonder if I'm just telling them to myself."
>Luan sat down Indian-style in the grass. A jogger ran by in the distance.
>"But you're always on. You're a performer like me, but you don't care what people think, and I do."
>Luna sighed.
>"Luan, listen. You are a wonderful person. Sometimes you tell jokes and they don't land. Here's a news flash: so has every comedian in the world.
>Some days I get up on stage shredding and I just bomb. Boos, catcalls, the works. But I get back in there the next night and I do it again.
>You mean just as much to me as I do to you. If I could, maybe I'd give you my world. I can't stand seeing you beat yourself up like this.
>All I want you to know is, if you ever feel like this, just come talk to ol' Luna, and I'll set things right.
>So if you're mad, get mad, don't hold it all inside. Come on and talk to me now."
>"...hey, Luna?"
>"Yeah?"
>"You rock. ...get it?"
>Luna cracked a smile. Luan started giggling. At least that eased her mind a bit.
>"Hey, we're not done here, you know. We've still got that kite to deal with."
>They both looked up into the murky, leafy recesses of the tree. The kite still hung suspended in its clutches.

>"Just imagine the kite, Luan. That'll make it all worth it."
>"I'm not - nnf - going to leaf without it."
>Luan's legs shook as the larger girl clambered up onto her shoulders. The branch looked within reach now.
>The young comedienne tried in vain to steady herself against the trunk as Luna waved her hands in the general direction of the low-hanging branch
>"Alright, get on up, stay on the scene..." Luna muttered as she tried to get that one extra inch of reach.
>She tentatively brought her leg up onto Luan's shoulder, increasing the stress on her back.
>Luna was trying to stand up.
>"You're joking," Luan said.
>"I'm not good at jokes, bro. I prefer - STAGEDIVES!"
>Luna jumped. Her hands swung wildly at the branch as it neared, before it finally came into her reach. She grabbed on so tightly her knuckles went white.
>Luan toppled to the grass, exhausted from the unexpected strength training. Maybe she should work out more.
>"Alright!" Luna called out. "Alright, alright, alright, alright, alright."
>"Is it alright?" Luan asked.
>Luna brought one leg up and around the branch. Soon enough, she was up on top. She finally had a foothold.
>"Alright! Step one's always the hardest. Now I've just got to climb up on the other branches..."
>The kite was about a dozen feet up. Not a Herculean task, but still daunting.
>At minimum, she was going to have to get onto one other branch.
>And unlike last time, it looked like there was another one close by. She'd have to reach out for it.
>Cautiously, Luna outstretched her arms. If she fell now, she'd probably get more than a little hurt.
>Well, just don't fall then! Right?
>Luna grabbed it. With the strength of a thousand slacker musician girls, she pulled herself up onto it, gasping.
>This stuff wasn't so hard! Maybe she should climb trees more often.
>The kite was in sight. Its string hung down, just waiting to be held in Luna's hands.

>The kite!
>It was so close. So close Luna couldn't even believe it.
>But at the same time, it was out of her grasp.
>A lucky jump could snag the string, but at the same time a lucky jump could send Luna plummeting to her death.
>Decisions, decisions.
>What would Mick Swagger do in this situation?
>Well, he'd probably get one of his groupies to get it for him. Okay, that's a bad comparison.
>Whatever! She can't be thinking about what other people would do here. What would Luna Loud do?
>She'd risk her safety for Luan. That's what she would do.
>That's what she's gonna do!
>Luna crouched down and fired off like a piston, her legs pushing out and forcing her into a mighty leap.
>Her grasping hands came up, and touched against the soft fabric of the kite
>And somehow, when she touched back down on the branch again, she found it in her hands.
>"Yeah!"
>She tossed the kite back down to Luan, who gratefully snatched it up.
>"Luna one, tree zero! Woohoo!"
>The branch creaked. Luna's eyes widened.
>"Luna! Get down!"
>If it wasn't for bad luck, she'd have no luck at all.
>The branch snapped underneath her. Luna Loud fell like a stone
>and she landed on her feet.
>Her screams woke up the entire neighborhood.

>It had been two days since the accident.
>Luna Loud, age fifteen, was laid up in bed for seven weeks while her twin leg fractures healed.
>Doctor's orders.
>For what it's worth, it could be worse. She could have broken her arms. She could have broken her spine.
>All she can't do is walk around. And use the kick-pedal on her drumset. That's not so bad.
>It was still pretty bad.
>Luna sighed. The next few months were gonna be long.
>There was a knock at the door to her room.
>"Just come right in," Luna called. "Not like I'm doin' anything in here anyway..."
>The door creaked open.
>"I made you some chicken soup," Luan said. "Thought it'd help you feel SOUPer."
>Luan didn't laugh. Luna didn't either.
>She walked over to the nightstand and set the bowl down.
>"Should I just let it cool off or-"
>"Leave it."
>Luan bit her lip. "Okay, I understand. When you're feeling hungry."
>"No, wait, Luan- I'll eat it. Come bring it over here."
>Luna accepted the soup glumly and started to eat.
>"You're still mad at me, right?"
>The spoon stopped moving.
>"I - yeah. I'm sorry. I'm still mad. At everything, I guess."
>"Should it have been me up there?"
>"NO. Luan -" She grunted. "Don't even say that. Don't you dare say that at all. I'd rather break my legs than you.
>I'm not happy about this, but we've hurt each other worse before anyway."
>Actually, Luan thought, this was probably the worst Luna's ever gotten hurt.
>"I'll get over this, and my legs will heal, and before you know it we'll both look back on this and laugh.
>Just... Luan?"
>"Yeah?"
>"If you ever need someone to climb a tree for you, get Lynn to do it."