Fairground Treasures

Skipper squints against the glare of the beating Jesen sun as she stands at the edge of the now nearly-empty pumpkin patch. Amongst the rustling of the nearby forest canopy and the trill of songbirds, she hears a familiar laugh. Smiling, she turns to greet the bright Orange bean and his quiet companion as they emerge from the shrub-lined path. He waves eagerly, rushing over to join her.

“Skipper! I’m glad you could make it!”

She laughs, giving the other bean a hug.

“Yeah, me too! I was starting to think the girls and I were never going to catch a break!”

Mazhar nods in agreement, motioning to Brecht.

“Yes, he’s been saying you’ve been rather busy lately. Something about a cave monster?”

Skipper groans, nodding.

“Yep. A lot of beans have been talking about it. Apparently some kind of toxic cave lizard has crawled into the ice caverns, really gave a group of beans a run for their money.”

Brecht shivers and sticks out his tongue.

“Sounds scary, and gross! I hate slimy stuff.”

Skipper laughs, nodding.

“You can say that again! Though you wouldn’t have anything to worry about! I figure you take it on your own.”

Glancing towards the ground, the slightest hint of blush rises to his cheeks.

“Nah, I’m not that strong, really.”

Snorting and smiling widely, Mazhar shakes their head.

“Did you not break your mailbox because you were too excited for your package?”

“Well, I - I was really looking forward to getting that, and it’s not like my mailbox is that sturdy or anything!”

The other two chuckle, and Skipper pats the other bean on the back.

“Of course it isn’t, bud. Now, are you two ready to start cleaning up the fairground? I’ve heard it’s a wreck between the festivities and the sentient pumpkin situation.”

Brecht nods and grins.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Just glad you didn’t sign us up for the pumpkin field! Kouki told me he came back absolutely covered in pumpkin guts!”

Skipper floats slightly ahead of him and readying her large trash bag.

“Well, at least it would blend in with your scales!”

The beans all laugh and chatter away as they glide towards the grounds at an easy pace, all enjoying the good company and good weather. The sun was just warm enough to dispel the autumn chill, and the breeze just crisp enough to bring them back to the moment. Not to mention, every gust seemed to carry the slightest scent of pumpkin. They hardly notice they’ve arrived at their destination, the only thing that alerts them being the sound of a particularly loud flowerling.

“- and once I can tame it well enough, we can teach the kids how to ride it! It’ll be great, I just know Akira’s gonna be a natural!” Takeshi tilts his head back in raucous laughter as Amara glances up at him in slight amusement, putting an empty cupcake wrapper into the bag he’s doing a poor job of holding open. “Think of it, It’ll be great for questing! We can go out and I can finally teach him to fight mounted!”

Aurora shakes her head, smiling slightly.

“Ah, I should have known it would come back to the fighting. As long as you’re not giving them a real blade yet, darling.”

“Eh? Oh, uh, of course, I wouldn’t do that!” Takeshi seems to sweat for a moment as Aurora narrows her eyes. He looks around and catches sight of the other approaching flowerlings. Sensing his escape, he waves dramatically, rushing over to them. “Heeeyyy! Haven’t seen your faces in a while! Came to help with the clean up?”

Skipper smiles, flitting over to meet the two beans.

“Takeshi, Aurora! Long time no see! Yeah, we thought it sounded like a nice way to spend the day! Wouldn’t expect you to commit to something so, uh, boring.”

Takeshi laughs brashly, gesturing around the area and nearly flinging the trash they’d collected so far out of the bag.

“HA, boring? You’re joking! This place is covered in cool stuff! You never know what a bean’s dropped after wild nights like we’ve had!”

Brecht raises an eyebrow, smirking at Takeshi.

“You lost something here while you were drunk, didn’t you.”

Takeshi balks.

“WHAT? NO!”

Aurora giggles and nods a silent yes behind her partner. Takeshi scowls, crossing his arms.

“Of course not, I would never be so careless! Although, if you happen to find a sake gourd with the Defenders insignia on it, I would really like something like that.”

Skipper chuckles, arching her eyebrows.

“Oddly specific, but ok.”

Aurora shakes her head and seems to decide to spare her partner further ribbing, quietly joining the conversation.

“Of course, dear. Thank you all for coming! We’ve been trying to take on the north corner of the grounds ourselves, and there are a few others in the east and south. Would you mind covering the west corner?”

Mazhar shakes their head. “I’m sure we would not mind, thank you for the directions.”

The other two nod in agreement, and the group parts ways, with Aurora and Takeshi staying behind. As the trio floats off, they hear a triumphant crow.

“AHA!! There it is!! I knew I dropped it somewhere around here! Oh. It’s empty.”

The three burst into laughter, smiling as they break apart to start combing the grounds.