Destiny Village ~ Sundae Park

[Cresselia92]

Petram tilted his head, puzzled. “You… couldn’t see? I dunno much about humans’ bodies, so… do you humans use antennae or look around the world with your smell, then?”

The spectral Vulpix placed the pecha cupcake on the tray and hovered in front of Cuicatl, holding out the little pastry and wagging his tails.

“Anyway, here’s your cupcake! …Huh.” He glanced at the two small heads, then at the main head. “Which… head should I serve?”

 

[Persephone]

So. Adorable. The tail wagging almost made her break down and start petting the fox while blabbering baby talk. Cuicatl restrained herself. Barely.

"Hmm. Put it in one of the smaller ones." She held one out and did her best to keep it from snapping at the vulpix. "Most can see. I couldn't. Relied on hearing as a human, scent as a deino."

 

[Cresselia92]

“Oh! That’s… kinda sad but also cool!”

Petram slipped the cupcake into the jaws of one of the smaller head, before hovering upward and tilting his head.

“Then I bet you’ve had quite the shocking experience in seeing the world with actual eyes, hm?” He paused and rubbed his chin with a tails, then clapped his forepaws. “Oh! Whatcha think if I show you around, then? There are so many pretty things you could see, and I could show you how to better fly, too, if you want!”

He grinned and his eyes glowed like amethysts. “So! Are you up for that?”

 

[Persephone]

"That would be lovely. But... show me how to fly? You, um, you know how to fly?"

She was pretty sure that vulpix did not ordinarily fly.

 

[Cresselia92]

“Well… maybe not fly-fly, but I can at least go up and down and all that stuff.”

To prove his point, Petram waved his paws and ascended further, propelled by his phantom matter. Then, he lowered his paws and descended once more, back to Cuicatl’s eye level.

“One of the fun things about being a shade, I guess. Because, well, I know that Daddy can’t fly. He can only fall from great heights.” He chuckled. “And… that’s not fun, nope.”

 

[Persephone]

"..."

Shade magic was bullshit.

"Of course. Let me just finish my cupcake." Being a hydreigon, finishing a cupcake was really a matter of putting it in her mouth, closing her mouth, and swallowing. She tried to prolong it but she could only eat something so small for so long. It tasted good, though. "I liked it. Do you bake often?"

 

[Cresselia92]

“Oh, I’ve started recently. I’ve been considering making it an actual part-time job, however. As in, something to do whenever I’m not busy risking my stone to kick legendary butts, that’s it.” Petram grinned. “I’m glad you like it, however! You’re my first client, y’know? Peeps have been… busy, I guess.”

Right. Busy mourning the dead and looking for a way to bring them back. He wouldn’t BW surprised if they found some random necromancy books or whatever and they slapped the souls into random bodies and make them live!

…Well, didn’t that sound creepy?

“Anyway, I’d say we can tour around, yeah. Just gimme the time to store my cupcakes in the back and we can go, yeah?”

 

[Persephone]

“Nice! I used to bake before coming here. Not many sweets, though. Sugar was expensive.” And the calories. Dear gods, the calories. “Happy to help you as much as I can with mouths for hands”

She trailed after the fox as he went to put things away.

 

[Cresselia92]

“Huh! Huh! I’d love that!” squealed Petram, clapping with his stubby paws. “I bet we could be a great team of confections!” He paused and rubbed his chin. “Confetti? Confederates? Con… con… oh, gosh! What was that name again?”

The spectral Vulpix hummed as he pondered about the missing name. It was a pity he had no mind to fetch the information from.

“I… hope you get what I mean, anyway. The two peeps who bake stuff, yeah.”

And in no time, every single cupcake had been stored into the bag. Petram grinned and hovered again toward Cuicatl.

“So, let’s get started! Maybe we can start by gazing at some flowers, yeah? They smell nice, but they also look really nice!”

 

[Persephone]

"Something to do with confections, I think. Sorry. English isn't my first language." A pang went through Cuicatl's heart. Yes, flowers smelled good. And the one she had a useless crush on was dead. Would lesser flowers make her feel better or worse? "Maybe not flowers? I've already seen some."

 

[Cresselia92]

Petram tilted his head. “Hmm… Well, makes sense. It’s one of the first things that someone would be interested to see, so… something else, okay.”

The Vulpix paced back and forth, wondering what else they could look at. Then, he wagged his tails and yapped in realization.

“Why, of course! I know what else we could look at: gemstones!” He turned to Cuicatl and grinned. “Those have no scent, but they are still pretty to look at! And they’re so colorful and all of that!”

 

[Persephone]

Gemstones. She had no particular investment in gemstones, but if they're pretty she'd give it a shot.

"Okay. Do you know where to find some?"

 

[Cresselia92]

“Yup! I know this plaza like the back of my paw!” responded Petram, before beckoning to follow. “C’mon! I’ll show you around!”

And so, the small Vulpix led Cuicatl through the multi-colored paths of the plaza. He made sure to walk by the most colorful corners, showing all kinds of sight — including the distant Destiny Tower.

“—and I had this mini Pop, Cola, look from inside of me. It was fun! And then—”

After many minutes of wandering, they reached the shopping area, where there were merchants selling products of all kinds. Petram showed a few funny knickknacks, including some small statuettes depicting legends and myths, and then they reached the stand with the gemstones.

“So, I’ve heard that they have some crystals from Crystal Cave and a Lapis whatever,” explained Petram, before reaching out for some gems. “And then, there are these!”

He pulled out some diamonds from the pile and showed the gems to Cuicatl. The silver sheen, the bright surface, the reflective properties… and then, Petram placed them over his eyes.

“Look at me! I’m a Sableye now~!”

 

[Persephone]

Cuicatl giggled. It didn't have the right sound coming from a giant dragon, but at least she tried. Not that she really understood the joke, either, since she'd never seen a sableye. The little guy was trying so hard that it was a little infectious. The diamonds were sparkly. She could appreciate that. Her eyes still wandered over the pile looking for something in particular. She approached the shopkeeper.

"Excuse me. Do you have any jade or obsidian?"

 

[Cresselia92]

Petram was so focused marveling at the various gemstones and looking for the prettiest ones that he didn’t see the moment in which the shopkeeper extended the two stones to Cuicatl, but he managed to see the two stone by themselves: a bright jade, with a lovely shade of green resembling fresh grass, and a pitch black obsidian, with some purple and red veins that made it look like a shadow in physical form. The Vulpix was particularly attracted by the latter and held it in his paw.

“Oh, this is so cute! If it could talk and move I would adopt it in a heartbeat!” he chirped, earning a puzzled look from the shopkeeper. He ignored that stare, however, and focused on Cuicatl. “So, whatcha think about gems? They’re pretty, yes?”

 

[Persephone]

"Yes." She really wasn't sure if she could spare the money to buy it. Not a total loss. She'd wanted to see them for other reasons. She gestured towards the jade. "I'm told that my hair was that color before. And I had a dagger made of obsidian... I wanted to see what they looked like. And they are pretty, yes. The obsidian does look a little like you."

 

[Cresselia92]

“Ooh, jade hair! That sounds like a lovely color!” chirped Petram, wagging his tails and grinning. “And yeah, obsidian is so cool! If I were to be reborn as a stone, I would be an obsidian, yeah!”

He turned once more to the gems and dug out a few of them to show while talking about them: rubies, sapphires, pearls, amethysts, emeralds… until there were no more gems to show.

“So! That’s been very instructive, yeah?” he asked, while his eyes gleamed under the sun. “You know… I like you. Wanna do something else to pass the time? Maybe go get some snacks or drinks?”

 

[Persephone]

"I wouldn't mind. We could go back to get some more of your cupcakes if you wanted. Maybe talk about recipes there." Not that Cuicatl would have a whole lot to contribute, but she would learn and the adorable black fox would be happy in spite of... everything.

 

[Cresselia92]

At hearing that, Petram’s eyes sparkled even more brightly. “I… I’d love that! And I know a good and relaxing place to do that! Just follow me, friend!”

And with those last words, a small fox and a big dragon ran through the plaza, letting the wind caress their phantom plasma and scales, respectively.

There was still some sadness and pain in the world, but Petram knew that he could enjoy that little moment of light with his new friend for the time being.

<><><><>​

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Soul practiced running through the park, working on adjusting to their new, longer legs.

Upon, seeing Cynthian, they stopped. No need to risk embarrassing themself doing something wrong. Instead, they approached for a conversation. They wanted to talk to Cynthian at some point anyways.

"Hello, Cynthian! How are you today?"