GATHERING EXPEDITION (3/50)
It was a peaceful evening in the Selune Woods, and the stars shimmered ever so softly against a gentle blue sky.
Pantalaimon laid at the edge of a pool with their Puffle nestling in their soft chest feathers, staring at their own reflection in it's crystal clear water. Their eyes laid half-lidded in contemplation, and their faerie halo flitted just above the surface of the pond to skim it's mirror-like surface with its wings. The faerie's ripples upon the surface cascaded into numerous rings that warped Pantalaimon's reflection. But they didn't stop staring into it, as if they were trying to see something that wasn't really there.
"You know," they said to their Puffle, "Do you think that it's truly worth the trouble to be a honest, hardworking xyn? I've spent an entire lifetime swindling others for all they're worth, since, after all, that's the only thing others have ever done to me..."
Their Puffle made no sound, and snuggled in deeper into Pantalaimon's chest.
"Mm." Pantalaimon cast their eyes away from their reflection, to glance at the forest. For one of the few times in their life, their expression was unreadable; their eyes had a faraway look to them. "Well, you are a Puffle- you were born to live a hardworking life because you're used to find valuables. It's impossible for you to be capable of trickery and deceit." They looked back down at their Puffle. "Maybe you're not the right companion to ask such questions to."
Pantalaimon stood up, much to the silent protests of their Puffle, to shake themself off, and survey their surroundings.
They had come to the Selune Woods to harvest medical supplies for the Lullay Knights back in Moonreach. Now that it was approaching autumn, during the end of the Meteorwind Reception and the beginning of the Leafdusk Fete, the leaves in the forest were beginning to change color from a once-lush green to shades of gold and fiery red; and so, too, did the local flora change along with them; the old growth of summer slowly began to die out to make way for the plants of autumn. They liked the fading scent of the warm summer breeze, as it faded to cooler autumn winds and the smell of mulch and gradually falling leaves.
Pantalaimon had an excellent nose for sniffing out medicinal herbs and mushrooms at this time of year, but their Puffle was especially useful here to dig through all the nooks and crannies that they couldn't. Pantalaimon inhaled sharply, and blew their wind breath at a pile of leaves scattered around the base of a Pumpikorn tree. All of the leaves scattered about in the air to reveal fallen Pumpikorn nuts that had been buried underneath; and in response their Puffle began to make subtle sounds, scurrying over to the nuts to pick them up one-by-one and drop them in Pantalaimon's gathering basket.
Pantalaimon smiled, also picking up a few nuts in their mouth and chucking each one into their basket.
In between picking up nuts, they'd speak to their Puffle, softly. "I truly love nothing more than to waste my day playing with other xyns, but I have to admit," they said to their Puffle- or rather, more to themself, or no-one at all; for they were certain that nobody else was there with them in this part of Selune- "That spending all of your time putting up a front to lie and butter everyone up around you is exhausting after so long, isn't it?"
The both of them had finished picking most up the scattered Pumpikorn nuts. Pantalaimon overturned a leaf with their nose to reveal one last Pumpikorn; they nudged it over to their puffle, and the companion sprang over to nibble on it's shelled exterior.
Pantalaimon smiled, ruefully. "You're just a puffle, though. You wouldn't quite ever understand what living this kind of life is like."
It must have been nice living in the ignorance and bliss of a companion, they thought to themself.
