Princess Gem of Dawn loved the sun. It was what she told everyone, anyway. She made it blatantly obvious, what with her empire's name being Dawn, and her church to worship the sun. And she was crazy about sleeping as soon as possible and waking up as early as possible; like she wanted to spend all her waking hours soaking in daylight.
Gem rode around Dawn on her steed, Apollo. He was a large, hulking brown bear with a permanent frown and a constant grimace that showed off his sharp teeth. One sight of him usually turned people off as soon as they saw him. It was a pity people judged books by their covers, though, especially when the book was a living creature. Once you got to know Apollo, he was the sweetest teddy bear you could ever meet.
Most of the time, his giant carpet paws, which many assumed would be used to clobber unfortunate trespassers, would be stuck in beehives as he tried to indulge his massive stomach with his favorite snack: honey. That meant Gem had to shoo her lovable old bear away from her honey farm a lot.
She didn't mind, much. She had a sweet tooth for honey as well, so the princess wasn't one to talk. But Apollo had just consumed three hive-fulls of honey, three hive-fulls that Gem could have used to increase Dawn's economical status, so she was now riding her mount all over the place to work off his lazy belly.
Apollo grumbled the whole way, making snuffy bear noises that made it sound like he had a cold. "You just ate three hive-fulls of honey," Gem reminded him from atop her sunrise-red saddle." So don't complain; you brought this on yourself." Apollo continued to moan and groan, however, and Gem just gave up trying to talk sense into him. Bears, by default, were usually very stubborn. Apollo was case in point.
Gem was unsaddling him and leashing him to his favorite back-scratching tree when Sausage flew in with mossy wings. He nearly crashed into Apollo, who looked completely unconcerned with the arrival of a flying Sausage.
"Sausage, what are you doing here?" Gem asked, trying to sound stern, but she was inwardly smiling at the sight of her friend. "Oh, hi, Gem!" Sausage said. Then he glanced at Apollo. "And hello to you too. What's your name?" Apollo growled, a low, strangled sound that made people think he wanted to eat them. Sausage looked pretty unworried, however.
"Oh, Apollo's a nice name! I'm Mythical J. Sausage, the 'j' is silent." Gem blinked. She hadn't told Sausage about Apollo yet, let alone his name. "How did you..." Gem trailed off. When you were friends with the emperor of Sanctuary, you had to get used to the odd things he did on a regular basis. "Oh, I forgot to mention I can talk to animals," Sausage clarified, giggling. Gem was proud to admit that what he had just said didn't surprise her anymore.
"Aw, come on! It's way more fun when I constantly shock everybody," Sausage groaned. Gem laughed." Okay, then, Sausage, but if being weird is normal for you, then people will be expecting it. You can't just act weird all the time and not expect them to get used to it."
"Ah, maybe you're right," Sausage sighed." Okay, from now on, I vow to be normal for at least ten seconds everyday. And Apollo, you're a witness." Apollo wasn't even paying attention; he was gratefully scratching his back on the tree, looking like contentment personified.
"Hey, look at that! He dances! Hey, Gem, I've got a few dancing panda bears at Sanctuary, do you think we can introduce them?" Sausage waved his hand at Apollo, who looked just like he was dancing as he rubbed himself up and down against the rough bark of the tree. "Sausage," Gem just sighed, not knowing what to say. Thankfully, the wacky emperor changed the subject by himself.
"Oh, Gem, I forgot why I came here to show you!" Sausage turned around and showed off his new elytra. Gem looked at it curiously. It didn't look like normal custom elytras that she had seen. Its frame was made of curving wood, not wood that looked like it had been chopped from a tree, but wood that looked like it was still growing. A soft carpet of moss ran down the top of the frame, leading to the soft blue leather of elytra membrane. Gem stroked it like she would a cat, and was startled at how it felt so... alive.
"Sausage," Gem asked, "Where did you get this elytra?" "The Sanctuary magic gave it to me!" Sausage said, happy to share. "Remember how the tree gave you butterfly wings? I got jealous, so I asked the magic for wings of my own, and it gave it to me!" Gem craned her neck to look at the Monarch butterfly wings she wore. They fluttered lightly. Gem remembered how Sausage's magic tree had given them to her. She remembered it quite well.
She and Sausage had grown to be fast friends, so of course he welcomed her eagerly the day she'd boated to Sanctuary. Boated, because she was grounded. She didn't have wings. Not like she used to. Sausage was just as talkative and excited then as he ever was, explaining to her about the magic that Sanctuary had, nature magic that would give you what it thought you needed.
"That's so exciting!" Gem had said. "I don't have any magic in my lands." It wasn't a lie, exactly, but it wasn't the whole truth either. "What?!" Sausage replied in disbelief, looking comically shocked. "You have to have magic, Gem! You're part of your lands, and you're magical." Gem felt her heart jump into her throat in shock before she realized Sausage was just complimenting her. It was scary, though, when he had called her 'magical'. She thought that he knew her secret. But he didn't. No one knew but her.
And then she'd spotted the flash of orange and black atop the magic tree Sausage was showing her. Feeling drawn to it, she had scaffolded up to it, and Sausage, concerned for her safety, went with her. Gem found the orange thing she had spotted, and found out it was a pair of monarch butterfly wings. Wings she wanted to keep as soon as she saw it.
Shimmery orange wings tinged black at the edges, like someone had dipped it it ink. White scales speckled the black patches like stars in a night sky. The wings were large, as if for a large butterfly, and Gem couldn't help but think they were her size. As she held it, she marvelled as how light it was. Unlike heavy elytra leather, these wings felt as light as a feather, and just as delicate. When it caught the light, it gleamed like pure gold, and to Gem, it was just as precious. So she was happy when Sausage gave it to her.
Gem tried to fly with them as soon as possible. As they caught the wind and she soared above the mountains, she marvelled at how much she could see. The view from above was incredible. Landscapes moved beneath her like a great painting, and Gem felt as happy as she would have if she'd painted the marvel herself. Gem felt a rush of pure euphoria like she hadn't had in a long time. She missed her old wings, and this butterfly elytra felt and flew differently, but the sensation of flying again was worth it.
Sausage disturbed her thoughts by asking her what she thought about his new wings. He did a little twirl and bent in certain ways to show off his mossy elytra. "They suit you, Sausage," Gem said, smiling. "Just as much as your butterfly wings suit you?" Sausage asked hopefully. Yes," She laughed. Sausage cheered.
---
Jimena yawned and stretched as she awoke. As she looked at unfamiliar surroundings, for few seconds she wondered how she got there. Then she remembered her errand at Tumble Town. Oh, right. I spent the night at the saloon because it got dark. Jimena was just about to get out if bed when she felt something small, warm, and purring lying on her lap. Being careful not to wake it up, she scooted over just a fraction to glance at it.
It was an adorable white kitten with gray dapples on its ears and a derpy expression on its face. The cat yawned and woke up. After glancing at Jimena for a moment, it jumped off of her and padded downstairs. Jimena followed. She wasn't about to let a cat leave her sight without petting it at least once. "Flick?" Jimmy's voice called from downstairs. "Flick, where are- oh, there you are! You were sleeping in the guest beds again, weren't you?"
There was an answering meow just as Jimena went into the room. "Morning, Jimena! Did Flick bother you?" Jimmy asked, kneeling on the floor and petting his cats. "No, I like cats," Jimena answered. She bent down to pet the kitty and he let her scratch him behind the ears. "So this is Flick?"
"Yeah," Jimmy said, watching the kitten with such an adorable look on his face. "I'm not quite sure what kind of cat he is; found him alone in a box one day and he became Norman's little brother." " That's sweet," Jimena said. Jimmy shrugged." Eh, I like cats. They're the best li'l creatures in the world."
Jimena glanced at the watch on her wrist. False had given it to her after there had been some issues telling time because of the broken clocktower, even if it was telling the correct time twice a day. Jimena liked the watch.
The face was made of shiny waxed copper, with the hour hand fully oxidized, the minute hand only slightly oxidized, and the second hand just as fresh as if it had just been mined. The watch was built in a way that you could see the gears that ran it constantly turning. Jimena found it a surprisingly entertaining way to pass the time; sitting still and watching the clockwork turn.
"I have to go," Jimena told the sheriff. He looked slightly disappointed. "Already? Shouldn't you stay for breakfast?" "I overslept." Again, Jimena silently added. "False will be worried. I should get to Cogsmeade as soon as possible." Jimmy thought for a second and ran into another room. He came out wrapping up a sandwich in plastic.
"Cactus sandwich," Jimmy said. "For the trip, if you get hungry. It's really healthy and tastes better than you expect!" He added in response to the look on Jimena's face. Not wanting to disappoint him, she took it. "Thanks," She said, and petted both Norman and Flick one last time before she flew off.
As she soared to Cogsmeade, Jimena's curiosity got the better of her and she examined the sandwich. The bread looked dry and stale, but she couldn't expect much from mesa food. The actual cactus flesh sticking out of the sides looked sickly and unappealing. Still, when Jimena sniffed it, she smelled a nice lemony scent that reminded her that she should have at least gotten a drink of water before leaving. Well, what have I got to lose? Jimena thought, and she unwrapped the plastic and bit.
Her tastebuds were assaulted with tastes that she compared to asparagus and green peppers. The texture of the cactus was soft and slightly crunchy and sticky, making it fun to chew. As she bit down again, cactus juice squirted out and relieved her slightly parched throat.
The rest of the mucilage was absorbed by the bread. Jimena was surprised. She hadn't expected a sandwich made from a cactus of all things to be edible, let alone taste so well. She even liked it. Well, guess this is a reminder to not judge a book by its cover. Or a sandwich by its filling.