“Love Language”: A Terralien Prompt

“Love Language”: A Terralien Prompt

Featuring: TERRA-1146 (Sarsaparilla/Sass, they/them) and TERRA-1370 (Oyster/Mishu, he/she)

Word Count: 606

The morning is peaceful and calm, rays of sun reflecting off the puddles on the ground and illuminating the dew-soaked leaves on the surrounding trees. Critters scurry along the ground, burying into the dirt and climbing into the bushes, and birds fly swiftly and silently overhead. The only thing that can be heard over the soft sounds of swaying branches is the quiet footsteps of two friends making their way through the Grasslands. 

Oyster skips along next to Sarsaparilla,  swinging his arms excitedly and recounting his entire week, in much more detail than necessary. They meet up every weekend to stroll around and talk to each other, and this Sunday proved no different.

“...So instead of reading that one, I had to go back and get another book, which wasn’t hard-cover like I wanted, because those ones were all checked out. But the paper wasn’t as annoying to hold as I remember, last time it made my paws feel all gross and sticky, but maybe I just got a bad book. Anyway-”

Sass nods along as Mishu rambles and waves her arms, walking slowly and looking around at the scenery on occasion. He may have a very hard time stopping the constant flow of words, but they enjoy his company nonetheless; it’s relaxing for them to just listen sometimes. They turn back to Mishu, who’s now spun around and is walking backwards to face Sass.

“...That one character I told you about last week, and she’s in this book too! I thought because it was a new series that the old characters would all be gone, but I’m glad she stayed, because I like her a lot! She-”

Sass notices Mishu step in a puddle, but pays no attention, until she signals out in distress and is suddenly laying on her back in the wet dirt. Sass freezes for a moment, surprised, but crouches down next to her. Mishu looks down at her paws as she lifts herself up to a sitting position. She stares silently for a moment, interrupted by a soft paw on her shoulder and kind words sent through her sensors.
“Y’alright, Oyster?” 

Mishu doesn’t send anything back, just slowly shakes his head. He slouches over slightly, putting his paws down in his lap. Sass tilts their head, their concern growing at Mishu’s silence. Silence is a very rare sound around him, so this has clearly upset him greatly. Sass puts his paws under Mishu’s arms and lifts him up, pulling him out of the mud, and stares at him for a moment. His head is hanging, and he looks incredibly uncomfortable and embarrassed.

Silently, Sass starts grabbing the biggest leaves from the trees, and Mishu lifts his head slightly to watch. Sass pools all the collected dew together, and carefully pours it over Mishu, washing the mud from his fur. They repeat this a few times, until they’re holding a significant pile of leaves, and Mishu is clean again. 

Mishu, after shaking off the excess water, opens her arms and falls forward into Sass, wrapping them into a tight hug. Sass wraps an arm around her, hugging her back just as close, and  making sure to hold the leaves off to the side.

“Now are y’alright?” they ask again, dropping the leaves into the bushes and patting her head gently.

“Yeah… Thank you, Sass.” She sighs before pulling away, looking up at them for a moment before holding a hand out. “I love you.”

Sass takes her hand, and continues their walk down the secluded pathway, now making sure to keep watch of the ground, just in case. 

“Love you too, Oyst.”