GATHERING: frosty friends

-frosty friends-

Snowflakes danced in front of Chor’s eyes, obstructing their view of the mountains ahead. The tall vexyn huffed, brows furrowed in annoyance. Leaving the church grounds was not something they did lightly, but even Chor could not ignore the necessity for certain materials, especially when it came to repairing the church windows. Their expression softened, the mere memory of hundreds of mornings spent observing the way light illuminates stained glass easing their nerves.

As their wings carried Chor towards the night sky, in the far distance, a sliver of Quietphase lake came into view. Glittering in the moonlight, the surface was a mesmerizing mix of silver and blue.

„Looks just like you…“ The vexyn mumbled, their breaths forming white clouds, a rare sentiment, lost in the privacy of the mountaintops.

But of course, it was not in Chor’s nature to stall for long, and soon enough, their gaze fell upon multiple other glimmering spots in the snow close by. They weighed their options, wings flapping idly in the air for a while before descending into a clearing between some pine trees. The faint light that promised resources, upon closer inspection, turned out to be more of a blue tinted aura. To Chor’s surprise, the aura appeared to be moving towards them.

The fur on their neck rose as the Vexyn bristled, their tail thumping on the snow covered ground in agitation. Lips pulled back into a menacing sneer, revealing sharp fangs when they spoke.

„Show yourself! There is no point in hiding, I can smell you, stranger!“

Their growl broke the quiet, claws flexing with anticipation. They watched with narrowed eyes while the source of the glow revealed itself to be…A Cumulion! A peculiar sight, out here in the snow all on its own. Chor knew those friendly critters to be pets and companions mostly, having seen them a few times during his visits in Valorise. But here it was, floating through the air just above the snow, illuminated by tiny motes of blue light dancing around its legs and tail.

‚Perhaps it fell from its owners back during a travel from Valorise and Moonreach?‘ Chor wondered to themselves, their head tilting to the side in an uncharacteristically unguarded manner. 

Chor exhaled deeply, their shoulders visibly relaxing as the intimidated creature inched toward them, its gaze downcast.

„Hey, its alright…I did not mean to-“ 

Chor shook their head, abandoning the explanations and offering the sleepy acquaintance a comfy spot in their gathering pouch instead. As the blue shimmering creature curled up in the bag, seemingly put at ease, Chor’s gaze wandered back to where their new friend had emerged from. Trotting over to the rock formation, they soon identified an abundance of the sturdy vines they had been looking for. The vexyn grunted, pleased with their findings.

„I know someone back home who is going to be quite thrilled to meet you.“ they grumbled to the Cumulion while ripping out some of the vines. The creature gave a curious roar in return, glancing up at Chor with navy blue button eyes. Chor’s eyes widened, huffing again as they stifled a laugh, For a creature that was this tiny, it sure had a rather impressive tone. Struggling to keep their stern composure, Chor shrugged and focused on uprooting the vines. „Oh, these things? I need them to stabilize the glass when repairing windows. It is rather tedious to assemble them high up on the towers of the church all on your own, you know.“ They explained before snapping a particularly stubborn root with their fangs.

The Cumulion let out a series of confused sounds, its tiny paws pushing itself around in the gathering bag to find the most comfortable position.

„H-Huh? N-No…they can’t, you see, they-“ Chor dismissed the creatures question, wincing as the other asked if the Xyn he talked about earlier was not able to help with the glass. Chor had to shake their head again, their mind struggling to formulate a fitting end for that sentence.

Thankfully, they did not need to, because when they looked down again, the Cumulion was already fast asleep.