Behr's cottage

The sun was low in the Midveil sky, beating down brightly and reflecting off the shimmering snow banks along the street. The sight was beautiful, but creating another nuisance for Macy as she trudged along, her steps jerking and short as she hissed at the freezing cold pavement stinging her bare toes, an arm raised in front of her face to intercept the glaring brightness. 

“Just a few more blocks…” She grumbled, realizing now as she spotted a cluster of buildings in the distance that she was getting closer to the workshop. 

It was when she finally got to the first one that she spotted a familiar purple blur, shuffling up the street amidst the shades of white and grey… It was her friend, Francie! At least there was something good about this walk! Knowing Francie would be embarrassed by the attention shouting to her might bring, Macy decided to just jog up to her instead, and greet her from closer. 

“Francie!” She began, once she was a few feet away, “It’s so nice to s- What is that?” 

Macy slowed down, and crossed the remaining distance somewhat hesitantly, her eyes locked on the white, gelatinous creature parked at Francie’s side, it’s drippy tongue lapping at its snout as it stared back at her. It must have blended into the snow before, and she hadn’t noticed it until now!
 Francie had noticed Macy’s staring, too, and put her paw to her cheek thoughtfully before she spoke.

“My goomdrop, you’ve never seen one before?” Francie responded, following with a question.
Macy, taken aback, hesitated before she spoke. “Well, sure, but I’ve never seen one that…”

This looked nothing like the goomdrops she knew.. It had a curved beak tipping off its smooth head, which sat atop a large, heart shaped ruff of a neck, and a thick, swishing tail at the opposite end.. Most shockingly, it had limbs! All of which were dripping slowly--it’s consistency the only trait Macy would really associate with a goomdrop.. 

She decided the easiest way to sum the differences up was, “...Big.” 

“They look like this when they get older, that’s all.” Francie explained, biting back a giggle to not make her friend feel bad. “Mine is still a juvenile, though… And a little small.”

“Huh... interesting… Sorry about my reaction, I guess I don’t get out enough--never seen one!” Macy admitted, with a light laugh, bending down somewhat to get a better look. 

Francie said nothing, but tightened her hold on her goomdrop’s leash at this, knowing he’d try to lunge if he saw the large strawberry growing from Macy’s back. 

“It’s pretty cute,” Macy decided, smiling softly, “what’s its name?

“His name is Pubby!” Francie responded, eyes darting to him to make sure he was still behaving.

“Where’d you get him?” She asked next, the gears in her head already turning. 

“Well, I found mine, but you can get them a lot of places. Sometimes the pet shop, the king occasionally gives them to people… Oh, or someone else might give you one…” Francie explained, at length, getting somewhat lost in her thoughts as she tried to give Macy all her options, whose smile was growing as she heard all the seemingly simple methods. 

“I see, I see.. Thank you for telling me! One more thing, though, how big do they get?” Macy added… Can’t decide you might want something without knowing what you’re in for, after all!

“Nothing crazy, but decently big! They’re usually big enough to ride on, when they’re full grown.”
Francie explained, smiling herself now, amused. 

That’s it, Macy was sold! Something to save her all this walking was exactly what she needed!
Best foot forward, she stepped to the other’s side and lifted a paw to wave.

“That’s all I need to know!” She exclaimed, already beginning to hustle off towards the pet shop.
“Oh-- Thank you!” Macy ended up calling behind her, too excited to stop.

It was a breeze trotting to Pippa’s Pets, as Macy had forgotten about all her gripes before, since she was now just so focused on getting up to the shop, and soon, off her feet! She stopped at the entrance, wheezing, and caught her breath before letting herself in, paws coming to her knees as she panted in front of the glass door, finally heading in once she looked presentable enough to seem like a responsible pet owner. 

“Excuse me, Pip- Oh!” Macy began, before noticing the small, green blob in her place.
With a pleasant smile, she bent down to get a better look at the soft thing, and tilted her head at it. 

“Maybe I could take you home with me?” She thought aloud, as if expecting the thing to answer. It responded with a wobble… Which conveniently brought her attention to the nametag slopped onto its body. “Maybe not.” Macy followed, realizing Goob, apparently, worked here.

No matter, though, maybe they’d have others, she decided, before walking through the shop. Bunnies, chickens, a couple kinds of insects… She wandered a little further… Goats, flamingos, wishing weed… Maybe on the next aisle? Worms, slugs, bunnies, chickens… She’d come full circle. Frowning now, with knitted brows, she made a couple more loops around the shop before finally deciding they just didn’t have any right now! In retrospect, she supposed it was a bit foolish to expect they would have the exact pet she was looking for. It usually took a couple visits to catch just the right time for that.
She’d just have to come back tomorrow!
Instead of tomorrow, she ended up checking back a bit sooner than she thought--about twenty minutes later, after sacrificing half of her life savings to King Moni, with no luck. Of course, there was no change in such a short amount of time. Macy just shook her head at herself, tended to what she was actually supposed to be doing today, and headed back home. 

She spent the next two weeks following a very hectic schedule, as follows: check the pet shop, feed King Moni, pet swap, run errands, check the pet shop, scamper around in the woods for a bit, check the pet shop… All to no avail. One morning, after her first visit to the pet shop was a failure, she found she no longer had the funds to try King Moni, and slumped onto a park bench and held her head in her paws; wallet empty and heart heavy. She was out of cash, covered in scrapes and cuts from digging around in the dirt, and just plain worn out. It sounded so easy before, but maybe she was just dumb for thinking that… She’d just have to stop being so weak and keep walking places. Macy was too busy beating herself up to even notice that she wasn’t alone anymore.

“Excuse me, Macy… Are you okay?” Came a voice from behind her, causing her to pick up her drooping head, meeting the six, gentle eyes belonging to Francie. 

“Oh, hello, Francie… I guess so.” She began, voice weak, before looking down again.

 “Are you sure?” Francie continued, not wanting to be pushy, but not even slightly convinced. She’d give up after this, if it was really nothing, but Macy looked like she was about to cry. From the looks of it, her body had taken somewhat of a beating too--maybe she’d had a bad run in with someone. 

“Well, there is something, but it’s not really important.” Macie admitted, elbows on her knees as she picked her head up, forcing a smile to try and calm the other.
“I think it’s important if it’s bothering you…” Francie replied, hesitant, “You can tell me, if you’d like.”

Macy sighed, and nodded. “... Well, if you’re sure,” she began, “ever since I saw your goomdrop, I’ve been trying everything to get my own! I could really use an easier way to get around, you know, and he was just so cute, too… So I’ve been visiting the pet store three times a day… giving away every pet I find to the swap… fed everything I had to King Moni… dug around in the woods,” she explained, Francie nodding beside her, paws clasped together over her belly.

Macy swept her empty arms out in front of her, shoulders low, before continuing, “but now I’ve got nothing left, and I’m at my wits end... I think this was all hopeless… It’s not just not having a goomdrop that bothers me. Most of all, it’s that I feel really stupid for it. I don’t know why I thought it was easy to get that lucky.”

Macy finally fell silent, and Francie gave her a moment or two before speaking. 

“I understand. You’re not stupid, though. There are a lot of methods to get them, after all, it does make it seem easier than it is.” She assured, her face pinching up as she wondered how to break the news. 

“I guess you’re right.” Macy replied, simply, picking herself up a bit and smiling weakly. “Thank you for always being here for me…”

Francie just nodded, “Of course,” she began, before starting to scratch the back of her head, “but, well… There’s something I’m not really sure how to tell you.” 

The arborling tilted her head at this, eyelids raising with concern. “Well, you can tell me anything!”
She replied, voice gentle, words rushed. 

Francie’s eyes shot to the ground, lips pulling pulling back into a grimace. “I mean… It’s kind of good news, but I think you might be mad about it.”

Macy shook her head quickly, turning her body to face the other and clasping her paws in front of her chest. “No, no! If it’s good news, I’m not going to be mad! And even if I am, I’ll get over it! Please, please tell me!” 

Finally, the other gave up, and sighed with a nod.

 “Alright, I’ll tell you, but please don’t get too upset… It’s just that I’ve had another goomdrop at home this whole time, and I’m already having a hard enough time taking care of Pubby alone; if you wanted a goomdrop, you could have just told me.” 

Macy froze, immediately, locked in place. Didn’t breathe, nod, shake, or even blink.. If there was any way more colour could drain from an already white face, this was it. Francie stared back, concerned, running her claws through her hair after a few moments, remorseful. 

“God, I knew I shouldn’t have…” She muttered, before being interrupted. 

“... So I did all of that for nothing?” Macy concluded, finally, tone flat.

Francie hesitated, stammering at first.  “Well, um-- Not for nothing, I mean--,” That sounded about right, but she couldn’t just say that! That’d only make the other feel worse! “Developing a good work ethic is important, y’know, you at least did that-- it means something you would try so hard-- so--,”

Macy didn’t need to hear it. There were more important matters at hand.
“And you’ve been willing to just give me one this whole time?” 

The trickster’s jaw snapped shut, and she gave a quick, trembling nod with a simple response.
“Yes.” 

Silence fell between the two of them as one processed the irony of what had just happened, and the other wondered of the fight that may happen after. The anticipation was killing her as Francie waited for Macy to speak--just tell her how she was feeling, so if their friendship was over because she never spoke up, at least she’d know!
Yet, surprisingly, instead of speaking, Macy stood, body turning to face the other, with a wide grin stretched across her silky face. 

“Well what are we waiting around here for!? If you still want to give me one, then let’s go get it!” Then, not waiting for a response, she dashed off recklessly in the other direction. Francie remained seated, dumbfounded and open mouthed, for a few extra moments before coming to her feet.

“O-Okay!” She called, starting to head off as well. “But my house is this way, not over there!” She corrected, gesturing over her shoulder to collect her friend. 

The two of them hustled off through Midveil all the way to the shack where Francie resided. The place looked worse for wear on the outside, and the cold, thick mist clinging to the air as they drew closer certainly wasn’t helping with the atmosphere. It wasn’t the first time Macy had seen it, though, and besides, she’d go anywhere if there was a goomdrop waiting for her there.
As they crept in past the creaking door, Macy whispered over her friend’s shoulder,
 “So where is it?”

Francie continued in, clicking on a lamp, revealing Pubby curled up on the couch, asleep.
“Nestled up in my spareroom, with a few other pets.” She decided to leave out that these were the pets she didn’t have time for. “You can just wait out here, I’ll go get them!” 

Macy did just as she was told, smile tight as she teetered back and forth on her heels, rubbing her paws together in front of her chest. She glanced around the room, unsure where to look at first, before they came to rest on the deeply snoring, Pubby. If he was small for his age, how big would hers get? How big is it now? How fast would it grow up? Would she have to start taking hers on walks, too, or did that come later? Would hers be white, too? Would it like her? What should she name it?
Where was Francie?

“Here!” Francie chimed, cheerfully, padding in from the other room. 

There, cupped carefully in her paws, was a small, white pile of goop. It bobbed and swayed with her movements, and continued jiggling even after she finally came to a stop in front of Macy. 

“Oh my gosh!” She squealed, grabbing her cheeks and staring down at it, as Francie lowered her hands so she could see better. The goomdrop noticed her voice, and its eyes swished around through its gelatinous body to face her. 

“Do you like it?” Francie asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear.

“I love it! Can I hold it!? Please!?” Macy squeaked, holding out her hands. The little goomdrop was then sloshed down to fill her cupped palms. 

Nevermind riding it, she was happy enough with it as is! She could worry about all that later, now she just wanted to get her little baby whatever its little heart could desire. 

“Thank you so, so, so much, Francie!” She cheered, piling the goomdrop into one hand before pulling the trickster into a hard, chest slapping hug, squeezing her as tight as she could before bringing her attention back to her new pet, raising it up to her eyes and humming, “Hello there~!” 

“I hope running off too quick isn’t rude, but I want to start taking care of it right away! Do you know where I should go next?” She inquired, her ears perking up as she looked to Francie.
“You should go to Behr’s Cottage, it’s just a little bit into the forest beside Green Acres. She knows all about goomdrops, I’m sure she could help you out with yours, too.” Francie explained, taking a step further back into her house. “Also, it’s not rude at all! I understand you’re excited. You take care!”

Macy giggled cheerfully, and started making her way towards the front door, her goomdrop clutched safely against her chest. “Thank you so much! That’s exactly what I’ll do!” 

She lept through the noisy front door and let it fall shut behind her, galloping through the cold fog and over the dead grass for Green Acres. She’d worry about where in the woods this cottage was when she got there. At least she was on her way!