"We're still early," sighed Pia, checking the watch in her pocket. "It's a quarter to noon now."
Saoirse and Pia stood on the walkway outside Mayra's home, a hulking airship, shaped almost like a large clothing iron with rounded windows and a silvered hull. It was winter, and snow blanketed the ground between the cleared wooden walkways, sparkling in the cold sunlight. Heaps of snow sat under the walkways, and icicles adorned the covered porch area over Mayra's front door, dripping sluggishly to the ground. Saoirse's bladder was already getting full after a morning of watching old horror movies and drinking tea with Pia, and the dripping noises weren't helping the situation.
Standing next to Saoirse, Pia wore her jeans, blue and purple striped sweater, and a thermal shirt underneath. She was already pale and apple-cheeked in the cold weather, and her waist-length green hair was braided and looped around her head. Saoirse wore Pia's thick plaid coat over her hoodie and worn khakis from the day before, and though her catlike whitish-yellow ears and her face were turning a little pink, Pia's borrowed coat kept her cozy and insulated.
"Should we knock?" asked Saoirse tentatively.
"We might uh..." Pia glanced at Mayra's front door. "Walk in on something. Want to go back and wait?"
"We only have fifteen minutes," said Saoirse. "How close is that orchard you mentioned this morning?"
Pia led Saoirse along the outer grid of walkways, descending a small set of stairs at the corner and continuing on a trail past the tree line. The snow at the bottom of the stairs was smooth and undisturbed, and their feet crunched when they walked on it.
"The orchard was here before the docking yard," explained Pia. Around them, snow melted slowly from the trees, still full of gold-colored leaves. Saoirse could hear the dripping with her keen ears and tried unsuccessfully to tune it out.
The underbrush gave way to flatter ground, and Saoirse could tell that they were entering the orchard from the evenly-spaced rows of leafless trees. The snow beneath was kind of lumpy, which Pia pointed out.
"I cleared all the underbrush in the fall, and spread some straw on the ground for insulation." Somehow, Pia didn't seem like she needed to pee despite having drunk more cups of tea than Saoirse had. Pia went on contentedly explaining her winter preparations for the orchard, while Saoirse shuffled along behind her, bursting but stubbornly holding it.
Pia stopped at the edge of the orchard, with a sweeping view of the show-covered forests down the steep hill. Saoirse stood next to her, grateful not to be walking anymore. Her bladder throbbed painfully, and she had to clench up to avoid a leak.
"Need to make some yellow snow?" Pia asked casually. Saoirse felt her face heat up, and knew she was blushing.
Saoirse gasped, "I'm fine, I just-" she had to clench up again, but this time the leak wouldn't stop. A short squirt of urine soaked into the thigh of her khakis, creating a wet spot. More appeared, and Saoirse moaned.
"Need help?" offered Pia.
