[Gift] Autumn Reflection

In Magic Progression ・ By Oboe

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“Ah, there!”

Acorn stood back proudly, admiring his handiwork. A large, crinkly pile of dried leaves lay before him, twisting slightly to and fro in the light autumn breeze.

The dark green rake hung heavy in his hands, but there was still more work to be done! After all, Kiana didn’t invite any slackers to her leaf gathering “party!”

He didn’t know the gentle plant-based Paralogos well, but he did know she held a deep fondness for this park — one he shared, too. It was one of the only REAL parks in all of Sermos, and it was part of their duties to ensure that it stayed clean and healthy, even in the frigid winter months.

Edafón, Rot, And Suree were also helping in various ways — Rot pulled stubborn leaves from the tired branches, Edafón buried some of the leaves for ground-living bacteria to break down into nutrients (or… something like that, at least), and Kiana decorated Suree’s crest with the prettiest of the fallen leaves.

Acorn had thought there was another Para, called Fall, around but he wasn’t—

“WOOOPEEEE!”

A giant shout started Acorn, who gripped the rake tighter, and he turned out just in time to see the orange-and-brown Paralogos, decked out in a blue hoodie, leap tail-first into his carefully raked pile of leaves. They scattered everywhere, ruining what felt like hours of work in a single instant.

Acorn began shaking, but instead of yelling at the abashed Fall, he began a deep belly laugh, handing over the rake.

“Looks like you came in with a ‘bang,’ just in time for these last few leaves!”

——

Finally, after much raking and gathering, Acorn began to stroll to his favorite spot in the park, shelled tail making a light rattling sound as he walked along. Each light segment on his body had a small sprout protruding from the entrance — an outward indicator that he had a wonderful day, even if he had no one in particular to tell that to now.

He was pleased with his hard work with Kiana, but also overjoyed at the sights and smells and sounds of his favorite place in all of Sermos. This was a REAL park, filled with tall oak trees, covered with a blanket of the softest grass, and with lazy walking paths winding their way here and there. Benches dotted the edges of these paths, so that tired wanderers could rest, or so that old and new friends could catch a quick (or lengthy) chat about nothing in particular.

It was on one of these paths that he spotted it.

A lone acorn lay abandoned in the middle of his path, a few yards ahead of his walking trail. It was gently backlit by the setting sun, its dark surface shining instead like a mini orange sun. As he approached it, Acorn could see no one else around — the acorn had clearly been lying here by itself for a few minutes at least, after falling from the tree.

And that’s when he noticed the giant crack running down one of the acorn’s thick sides. It had been stepped on and left carelessly in the middle of the trail.

Acorn felt sick, looking at the poor broken capsule. It had come from a real tree, not one of the imitation trees that some Linguans loved and others loathed, and represented the grand history of their planet. Yet someone had taken one simple step, crushing the hardy-but-delicate seed capsule, and went on their way.

He stayed paused next to the acorn for some minutes, before finally stooping slightly to pick it up and hold it in gently cupped hands. He gently ran his left thumb across the seed capsule, as though trying to soothe the broken plant within. Acorn sat, ruminating, with the seed held in his hands. He wished oh so hard that he could save it, but—

A flash of green, the same shade as his lights, suddenly glowed brightly from the acorn held in his hands, tight to his chest.

He gasped in surprise but did not jump, cradling the seed carefully in his dinosaurian grip. Instead, he gently enveloped the acorn entirely in his grip, closing his eyes and concentrating.

Acorn knew what this meant!

Finally, behind his closed eyelids, he could see that the outside world had returned from his soft green glow to its own oranges and reds. Acorn opened his eyes, and looked down.

The acorn was healed! The crack was gone, and it seemed fresh with new life within.

Acorn crowed with delight. Yes, he had discovered a new magical ability — but he had also saved one of the last delicate links to nature on his beautiful planet.

Carefully, he picked the perfect spot in the grass — not too far from other trees, but with plenty of space and exposure to sunlight — and carefully parted the grass to dig a small hole in the dirt. The hole wasn’t too deep, so that the acorn’s sprout wouldn’t have too far to grow before puncturing the thick soil above it, but deep enough that the roots could spread low and far.

The acorn was gently placed, not dropped, into this hole once he was done digging. Once it was covered, he stepped back to admire his handiwork, as well as note the spot. He would have to come back with a little bit of water soon, to start the seed’s long journey.

As he walked away, back up the path towards his favored spot in the park, he began to whistle to himself. He might just have a new area to visit everyday now!