Bonds and Connections

[CosmicChaos21]

SO! For this playthrough I had a really neat little idea, instead of rolling for all three traits for the nichelings immediately I will instead only do one per life stage. By that I mean each nicheling will only have one personality trait as a baby and child, an additional one as a teen (or two in total), and a third will be rolled when they become an adult!

The point of this is because while dangerous events and stuff will be thrown in for ~Spice~ I want this playthrough to be more focused on how the nichelings personalities and bonds develop over their lives, which is why this playthrough it titled as such :3 Hope this won’t be too boring for those of you more used to my more intense playthroughs lol.

-

Shine, a bright green nicheling with beige spots, quickly leaned over the edge of the shore to grab onto Show, a yellow nicheling with light brown spots, seeing as he had almost slipped into the water as he was more focused on excitedly rambling his thoughts about finding a decent island to settle on instead of paying attention to where he put his paws.

“Sorry about that Shine” Show said a bit bashfully as he looked over at Shine after she had pulled him over to the shore. Shine didn’t seem any more irritated than usual as she stood onto her paws once more.

“It’s fine” Shine waved off his apology with a dismissive tone as she turned her gaze from the sheepish nicheling before her over to the other teens that were reaching the shore themselves now. Unlike Show who had lived up to his name the other nichelings had made it across without any issues, though one of them had been trying to show off a little.

“Did you see how fast I was going across those stones? I could probably go even faster if they didn’t just crumble like that” Sway, a yellow nicheling with black spots and an odd snout, said with a pout as she looked back at the stones, which were now sinking into the sea and confirming that weren’t going back that way.

“Don’t get too cocky, you’d probably fall if you tried again” Quaint, a very fluffy brown nicheling with lighter brown spots, spoke as she sat down while sending a glance towards Shine and Show before returning her attention to the most adventurous of the four. Sway scoffed at Quaint’s words as if it was a great offense to her personally.

“I’m not as bad as Show, I pay attention!” Sway said causing the mentioned nicheling to suddenly sit up with an offended ‘Hey!’ but that went ignored as Quaint rolled her eyes at the other nicheling’s claim.

“Maybe not but the more you try to show off the higher the chance you’ll fall on your face and embarrass yourself” Quaint said, but the slight twitch at the edges of her mouth showed her amusement with the other nicheling’s offense.

“I’ll just have to prove it to you when I get the chance than!” Sway said, deciding to take it as a challenge rather than a warning. Quaint just shook her head before deciding that she probably wasn’t winning this particular battle.

“Well anyways we should probably actually try to find a place to rest and see if this island is worth sticking around” Quaint spoke up as she turned her attention towards the other two nichelings, making them look over at her.The two looked at each other in an unspoken conversation before answering her.

“I don’t see a problem with that” Shine spoke first with a shrug, not really caring whether they stay or leave the current island.

“Sounds good to me!” Show said with a grin while taking a step towards Quaint, curious as to what the island ahead had to offer, any potential tiredness he may have had before diminishing in an instant.

Noticing that everyone seemed on board with the idea, Quaint decided to start leading the group into the unknown grasses ahead.

It had been a few days of traveling now as the group wandered aimlessly through the tall grasses, only having their noses to guide them through the unknown area.

“How do we even know if we’re going anywhere? We could be going in circles for all we know” Sway complained as she idly batted at a few strands of grass while they continued their journey.

“We’d smell our own scents if we were going in circles” Quaint simply answered as she continued her path forward, more focused on getting somewhere than conversing with the other nichelings at the moment. Sway huffed at the answer but remained silent, though her posture was clearly showing her displeasure at the situation.

“What’s that?” Shine suddenly spoke after being almost entirely silent for the journey, catching the other nicheling’s attention quite quickly.

“What do you mean?” Show asked with a tilt of his head with the other nichelings turning towards the green nicheling as well. Instead of answering Shine put her nose in the air and took in the scent that was flowing in on the breeze before following it.

“Huh, it’s quite a sweet scent” Quaint noted, having now noticed what caught the other nicheling’s attention as she turned to follow the scent herself. The other two nichelings looked at each other for an explanation but noticed they were both as confused as each other and simply followed Quaint and Shine.

“Oh! That smells good!” Sway said as she started to smell it too, pushing her way through the other nichelings to reach the scent, almost as if it was a competition. Show was lost as he couldn’t smell whatever the other nichelings seemed to be able to. He just shrugged it off and continued to follow.

Soon enough they reached the scent, a berry bush!

“YES, FOOD!” Sway yelled out excitedly as she reached the berry bush first due to her racing ahead of the others. Her yell caught the attention of Show who quickly trotted over to see she was right.

“That’s a relief, I was worried we’d starve” Quaint said as she approached the berry bush to join Sway and Show, with Shine not far behind her. The green nicheling took in the situation in front of her before slowly walking over as well.

Sway grinned as she took three berries and shoved them into her mouth without a moment of hesitation after the other nichelings arrived. Quaint’s lip slightly twitched in irritation before she just shook her head, used to Sway’s antics by now. Show noticed something else though and bounded toward it, catching the attention of Shine and Quaint.

“LOOK!” Show shouted almost making Sway choke on her berries before turning towards the source of the sound with alarm, along with getting the other two nichelings attention. He was situated in front of a large plant with odd yellow fruits hanging from it.

“What are those? They smell unpleasant” Quaint said as her nose scrunched up at the scent wafting off of the fruits. Shine nodded to show her agreement as she shook her head, as if that would make the scent magically disappear from her nose.

“They’re called smelly fruits, but they taste better than they smell!” Show said excitedly as he took one of the fruits and munched on it easily. Sway grinned and rushed over at the thought of trying new food.

“The name definitely fits, count me out” Shine said with an amused snort as she watched Show and Sway eat the fruits, not wanting to eat something that smells like that.

“Yeah, I’ll stick with berries” Quaint agreed with her nose still scrunched as she plucked some berries and split them between herself and Shine, which the other nicheling nodded a thanks towards her for.

“More for us!” Sway said before going back to devouring the smelly fruits, while Show was eating at a more advisable pace.

“We could rest here for a bit at least” Shine suggested as she chewed on some berries, making Quaint lift her gaze to look at the green nicheling with a nod.

“Sounds good to me” Quaint agreed after swallowing the berries she was eating.

[CosmicChaos21]

The group had stayed at that same spot for a few more days before getting a surprise.

“WOAH! I’ve got my third gem!” Was what woke up Quaint one morning. Blearily blinking sleep from her eyes, Quaint slowly lifted her head from its resting position to look and noticed the third gem that was now resting on Sway’s chest, but she noticed some other things as well.

“You’re not the only one” Show spoke Quaint’s thoughts for her as everyone noted that they all had their third gems now, a sign that they’d truly become adults now instead of just late teens. Shine glanced around to see what had happened and let out a thoughtful hum as she noticed what had seemed to appear overnight but didn’t comment verbally.

“Guess we’re all mature adults now!” Sway said with a grin as she posed with what Shine would consider far too much energy for having just woken up. Show seemed to be energized by Sway’s words as he hopped up to his paws and posed as well.

“Yeah! Though it’s not as if anyone was really watching what we do when we came here anyways” Show said as he slightly tilted his head, voicing his idle thoughts. That statement made Quaint think, it had been oddly peaceful and calm since they’d arrived here, not a single hostile nor friend had shown their face. That thought made her get onto her paws, making the other nichelings turn towards her curiously.

“We haven’t seen much of anything living since we’ve gotten here, I’m going to patrol the area to make sure there’s nothing trying to catch us by surprise” Quaint explained as she noticed the attention she had garnered simply by standing up, finding it mildly amusing to watch. Sway immediately walked closer to Quaint, practically buzzing with energy.

“I wanna come with!” Sway said as she shifted from paw to paw excitedly, like a pup.

“Sure, more paws would be helpful anyways” Quaint agreed before looking at the other two nichelings in an unspoken question. Show shook his head, wanting to get some extra sleep if he had the chance, having lost the energy he had only a second ago.

“Nah, I’ll stay here and watch over the food” Shine waved Quaint off as she grabbed a berry and started chewing it idly. Quaint nodded before turning around and walking into the grasses, making Sway stumble in her attempt to follow.

“So…what are we looking for?” Sway asked as she followed Quaint, trying to make conversation with the focused nicheling. Quaint didn’t respond at first, seeing as she is the type to rather focus than chit chat.

“Potential threats, but if we find something useful it’d be good to note” Quaint simply replied as she knew Sway enough to know she wouldn’t be beyond pestering her to try and get her to talk. Sway hummed to show she heard before looking back and forth for anything more interesting.

“…This is more boring than I thought it would be” Sway spoke again after a little bit causing Quaint to roll her eyes in response at her complaining.

“That’s good, that means there’s no threats around” Quaint said as she started to turn back in the direction that they came from, appeased by their patrol for now. Sway huffed and shook her pelt.

“But that also means there’s nothing fun” Sway said as she took on a more sulky posture while walking before noticing something poking out of the grasses. Feeling curious she gently moved the grass to the side.

“Oh there’s a nest here!” Sway’s words caused Quaint’s ears to turn in her direction before her body did. Quaint turned around and walked over to see that there was indeed a nest. Quaint inspected it with a hum while Sway poked at it, as if it’d move or bite her.

“That’s good to know, in case someone has pups” Quaint spoke as she started to clear some grass around it so they wouldn’t lose it. Sway snorted before helping clear grass as well.

“Pups? No one is anywhere near ready for that” Sway spoke with an amused tone and a few snickers as she stole a glance at Quaint.

“Maybe not yet but someday I’m sure one of us will have some” Quaint said as she finished clearing enough grass in her opinion. Sway stopped as well with a shake of her head.

“That’s a wild thought” Sway simply said as she tried to imagine any of them being parents, it felt weird to her honestly.

“Now it is, but later it might not be, and being prepared is good” Quaint said before turning around and going back the way they came.

~Meanwhile~

Shine simply stared at Show, who had passed out practically the second the other two left. She wondered if this island would be good, the others they’d seen were…unpleasant to say the least. One had swarms of biting bugs that made them feel exhausted and the other had been so cold that most of them were freezing their paws off, except for Quaint oddly enough, she had practically been the only reason they survived as she was quite warm.

Shine took another berry and popped it into her jaw as she continued to let her thoughts wander away from her body and far away. She wondered what her life would’ve been like if her parents didn’t agree to let her travel with these three, it would’ve been safer and more secure of course but…it would have been a horrific, mundane cycle that repeated itself the same way every day. Wake up, eat from the plentiful food, patrol even though nothing ever happened, sleep, repeat, day in and day out. She knows she would’ve hated living like that for the rest of her life, no even living a second longer like that.

She prefers the adventure and unknown that this life brings, even if it was more dangerous. And she feels closer to these three than she ever had with her own pack, though her chances of admitting that out loud weren’t exactly high.

“What’s wrong?” Shine jolted as Show suddenly spoke, having woken up from his nap and making her realize she’d been zoning out longer than she thought. Shine tilted her head towards him, noting his worried expression.

“ ‘M fine, just thinking” Shine answered to try and ease his worries, but he only seemed more concerned by that answer.

“What about?” Show asked, wondering why Shine had looked so…lost while thinking about what she had been thinking about.

“About my old life, that’s all” Shine tried to wave away his concern but Show wasn’t gonna have it this time.

“You can tell me anything, you know that right?” Show asked, making Shine slightly flinch at how easily he said those words before tearing her gaze away and looking at the berry bush instead.

“It’s nothing important” Shine said, feeling as if it wasn’t anything important or tragic. Show slowly stood to his paws.

“Even if it doesn’t feel like it, it can be really important….So tell me please?” Show pleaded as he stepped in front of Shine and the berry bush. Shine stared at him blankly for a few seconds before sighing.

“Just wondering how life would’ve been if I stayed with my pack” Shine slightly elaborated as she offered him a berry. Show quietly accepted the berry and tilted his head to ask if there was anything else before speaking.

“And?” Show pressed as he started to eat the offered berry, wondering if she had regretted her choice to come with the small group. Shine noticed his expression and cleared her throat.

“It’d be boring, this life is more interesting” Shine clarified as she idly plucked a leaf from the berry bush and watched it flutter towards the ground. Show’s posture slightly sagged in relief at her words.

“You’re probably right on that, it’s definitely been real interesting” Show agreed with a small smile as he finished eating his berry. He idly wiped his paw against the ground to remove any remaining berry juice as he thought of something else to say.

“Well-” But before he could even finish that sentence Quaint and Sway suddenly appeared from the grasses, having finished their patrol. Shine and Show turned their attention towards the returning nichelings with curiosity showing on their faces.

“Nothing hostile, but we did find a nest pretty close to here so that’s good news” Quaint announced as she noticed the attention that was on her now.

“Oh cool” Show simply said as he gave them a grin as he turned completely towards the arriving nichelings.

“I’m going to rest for a little bit” Quaint said before walking over to the spot she slept in before and curling up.

The other nichelings just did their own activities for the rest of the day, it was a nice and relaxed day.

[CosmicChaos21]

The group was enjoying a peaceful day when a flapping of wings caught the group’s attention. Shine immediately started looking around, causing the other nichelings to become concerned.

“What is it?” Quaint asked as Shine’s actions had put her on edge, prepared for any potential danger that could befall their small group. Shine didn’t answer at first, too busy looking around.

“Sorry, it’s habit” Shine said as she stopped looking around. “At my home island there were blue birds that took pups, but I suppose that wouldn’t really be a concern for us” Shine continued as she tried to relax again, but old habits die hard and it was hard to resist the instinct to scan the skies again.

“Yeah, we had those too…” Show said, getting lost in past memories of those huge birds before shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts of heavy feelings. Shine tried to give a sympathetic look towards Show before gazing at the sky once more.

“That sounds terrifying” Sway simply said, never having seen a bird on her own home island, though maybe it had been too hot for them to survive there. Quaint had similar thoughts, she’d never seen one either. Quaint strained her ears to listen and heard the wing beats growing a bit louder, causing her posture to tense just in case.

Suddenly something landed in front of the berry bush the group ate from, causing the group to all stand to their paws, having been at least a bit startled by the appearance. When the creature, which they all noticed was a nicheling, started eating some berries Sway quickly bolted over.

“HEY! Those aren’t yours!” Sway exclaimed as she suddenly stood in front of the unknown nicheling, causing said nicheling to let out a startled yelp and drop the berries that they were holding. After recovering from being spooked the nicheling finally spoke.

“Sorry! I didn’t know these were someone else’s” The nicheling said as they put a wing up in a surrendering motion, not wanting to get into an unnecessary fight if it wasn’t needed. Sway was slightly appeased at how easily the nicheling gave up.

“Who are you?” Quaint’s voice suddenly questioned causing the new nicheling to flinch before turning and noticing the rest of the group, who were follow Quaint to see the new nicheling.

“I’m Soar, who are you all?” The new nicheling, Soar, asked as he glanced around at the group of nichelings with a somewhat tense posture.

“I’m Quaint, the one you saw first is Sway, this” Quaint gestured towards Show “is Show, and that” She next gestured towards Shine “is Shine” She finished the introductions before assessing Soar to try and figure out if he would be a threat to them. Soar listened attentively before taking his turn to speak.

“It’s nice to meet you all” Soar first said before deciding to take a risk and ask a favor. “Would it be alright if I took some of your berries? In return I could perhaps help with any tasks you would need help with” Soar questioned, having barely been able to keep himself from starving and hoping to get something in his stomach.

Quaint hummed in thought, carefully thinking over the nicheling’s offer. It could be a trick but Soar didn’t seem to be lying and all they would be giving was some berries, they could eat the smelly fruit if need be.

“If you could help with patrolling the area and clearing grass then I don’t see a problem with it” Quaint eventually answered with a somewhat formal tone seeing as this was as exchange of sorts. Soar perked up at her acceptance of his idea.

“Great! With my wings I’ll be able to see a bunch of stuff” Soar spoke with a relieved smile, having been slightly worried that the idea would’ve been shot down immediately upon suggesting it. Shine had just been watching the exchange with a disinterested expression, but noted that this nicheling wasn’t a threat, at least at the moment. Sway meanwhile was torn, on one paw the nicheling would be taking some of the group’s food, but a new nicheling to talk to would be interesting.

“It’s nice to meet someone new” Show voiced his thoughts as he took a small step towards Soar, who tilted his head as he just noticed the venomous fangs that Show had. Soar hoped he would never be on the receiving end of those fangs, the thought made him a bit nervous but he didn’t let it show.

“Agreed, I’ve never seen you four before, are you by chance new?” Soar asked as he once again looked over the four nichelings. Quaint simply nodded at first.

“Yes, we’ve been traveling to find a good island to settle on, this one shows promise so far” Quaint clarified as she decided that wouldn’t be bad information to share with this new nicheling. Soar nodded to show he heard the words, he was curious but wouldn’t push his luck by prying as he had already gotten lucky to have struck this deal.

Soar took a few berries though his movements were slow and careful as he watched the other nichelings to see their reactions, when they didn’t react he relaxed somewhat and started eating.

“When exactly would you like to start patrolling and clearing grass?” Quaint asked after Soar had finished eating his fill, making him perk up and turn his attention towards the fluffy nicheling with a straightened posture.

“I could start right now if you’d wish” Soar said making Quaint’s mouth curl up into an appeased smile at how quickly this had all been put in motion.

“I would love that, if you find anything of interest I’d love to hear of it” Quaint said with a polite nod as she looked over at Soar, who listened to every word before giving a nod and taking off into the sky to begin his patrol of the area.

“…What if he just takes off and doesn’t return?” Shine finally spoke after some silence making Quaint answer easily, having been mentally preparing for the scenario herself.

“Then we chase him off any time we see him” Quaint replied as she turned her attention from the skies to the green nicheling. That seemed to placate Shine as she gave a nod of acknowledgement before turning her attention to the berry bush instead, drifting off into her own thoughts once more.

Now all that was left was to wait and see what happened.

After some time the bat-winged nicheling had returned to Shine’s surprise as she was convinced he took the berries and ran. Soar landed upon the green grass with a slight thump before straightening up and reporting what he’d seen on his patrol.

“Nothing interesting really, no threats or other nichelings” Soar said, having not seen anything of interest from the sky. Quaint was happy with that assessment, as that meant there were no threats to prepare for.

“Thank you, though I do have a proposal for you” Quaint said, having thought over an idea while Soar had been patrolling.

“Oh?” Soar simply said, being interested about what offer Quaint had for him.

“If you wouldn’t mind perhaps we could make this a regular occurrence, we give you food and in return you patrol around our home from the sky to make sure nothing sneaks up on us” Quaint offered as she looked the bat-winged nicheling in the eyes. Soar blinked in slight shock, having expected to be sent away and never interacting with this group of nichelings again.

“If you would be fine giving up some food occasionally I wouldn’t deny that deal” Soar eventually answered after pondering it for a little while, deciding a steady source of food would be a great way to ensure his survival without a group of his own to rely on.

“Great, so how often would you want to do this?” Quaint asked, wanting to get the details sorted out to ensure everyone was on the same page and to avoid any confusion that could occur.

“How often would you want me to?” Soar asked, not having any particular preference of his own and not minding extra food that he could perhaps store away if needed.

“Would once every seven days work for you?” Quaint suggested though the end of the sentence lifted up into a question to see what Soar thought of it.

“That works for me” Soar agreed easily, it wasn’t that often yet enough to ensure a steady supply of food for himself. Quaint gave a nod, pleased that this went off without a hitch to speak of.

“Well than it’s settled, every seven days you will get berries in exchange for patrolling around our home to help ensure our safety” Quaint spoke to settle the agreement with an air of formality. Soar nodded his agreement as he watched the other nichelings reactions to this revelation. Sway was happy to be able to potentially talk more but a bit pouty about having less food, Show was ecstatic at the chance to talk to a nicheling he’d never met before, and Shine didn’t care either way but was definitely going to keep an eye on him as a precaution.

“Well I’ll see you all soon than” Soar said before taking off into the sky once more and disappearing from view.

The rest of the day was uneventful and filled with idle conversation.

[CosmicChaos21]

Shine quietly hummed to herself as she idly explored around the group’s home, aimlessly wandering without an actual destination in mind when she noticed something. Show was walking along the shore with an oddly serious look on his face as he walked, grabbing Shine’s attention immediately and making her paws move before her brain could make anything of it.

She was quickly stepping side by side with Show, who didn’t even seem to notice a thing as his gaze continued to be trained on nothing as he continued walking along the shore and sending some sand scattering with every paw-step. Gathering her thoughts, Shine spoke.

“What are you thinking about?” Shine’s words seemed to snap Show out of his stupor as he flinched and scrabbled to make sure he didn’t slip and slam his snout into the sand they were walking on.

“Don’t worry about it” Show said in an attempt to brush it off, but that just concerned Shine more as he wasn’t the type to really do that.

“As your friend I will, you’re not usually this out of it” Shine said with a determined tone, not willing to let Show brush off whatever it is he was thinking about. Show sighed, knowing this was probably some form of karma for when he pressed Shine about her thoughts before.

“…My little brother, I did just kind of abandon him to come on this journey” After minutes of pressing silence Show broke and confessed what had captured his attention so strongly. Shine’s face relaxed into a softer one as she listened to his words, having heard him mention his little brother a few times before, quite the quiet pup apparently.

“Oh” Was all Shine could really say though, comforting words aren’t exactly her strong point. Show understood that and continued to explain the exact thoughts.

“He wasn’t that old when I left, he was almost ready to get his second gem” Show said with a slightly bitter chuckle as he recalled how his brother excitedly told everyone he was going to get it soon. “He was devastated when I told him what I was doing, he wouldn’t leave my side at all the last day before I left, and when I had to go he wouldn’t stop crying, begging me to not leave him” Show said as his face contorted to an expression of agony as he recalled the memory in crystal clear detail that made his heart painfully squeeze in his chest.

Shine felt her heart slightly hurt just hearing it, she had an older sister but she never had younger siblings, but it sounded painful. Seeing as words aren’t her thing Shine just leaned against Show to try and show some support. Show gave a shaky smile at the attempt of comfort.

“Do you regret it?” Shine asked, not wanting to press but wanting his honest thoughts. Show looked at her with an unreadable expression as he sorted through his thoughts, deciding whether to be honest or not.

“I…I’m happy to have you all of- of course! But…I miss him. Spotlight was the light of my life, and my greatest joy. Not having him around feels like a forever bleeding gash has been put onto my heart” Show decided that being honest would be best in the long-run, though it may hurt now. Shine pushed away the part of her that was hurt, knowing that Show was hurting enough and didn’t need anything to make him feel even worse than he already did.

“That’s understandable, family is important and it must hurt to be away from them” Shine tried to offer some words of comfort as she pressed closer to Show to try and reassure him. Show’s shaky smile became a bit more genuine and soft as he accepted the comfort Shine was trying to give him.

The two sat in silence and watched the waves of the sea rush in before retreating once more, creating a steady motion that helped calm the thoughts of the two. Before they knew it the sky had turned from a vibrant blue into a soft orange that cast the world in a warm glow.

“…We should probably get back before the others think we died or something” Show eventually spoke, his tears having dried at the point as he continued to watch the waves. Shine was snapped out of the trance she had fallen into staring at the shore at Show’s words.

“Yeah” Shine simply murmured as she pulled away from Show’s side, ignoring the slight disappointment that internally rose from that action, before turning to walk back home with Show in tow.

As expected, the other two nichelings of the group were quite concerned about the other two being gone for some time.

“Just, warn us next time you decide to go off for a while” Quaint said sounding a bit exasperated as she had almost run herself ragged trying to find Shine and Show. Show ducked his head with a sheepish grin as he listened to Quaint’s words, having meant for it to be a quick walk to clear his head.

“Sorry” Show said with a nervous shrug. Shine meanwhile just nodded to show she would, feeling a bit bad she’d worried the other two but not feeling extremely guilty about the whole situation. That seemed to be enough for Quaint as she straightened up with a nod before walking a bit away and sitting down to rest.

Sway was concerned at first but her concern had melted into a teasing expression as she looked between Show and Shine, which made Shine give a questioning tilt of the head. Sway gestured for Shine to come over to her which she complied with.

“What is it?” Shine simply asked as Sway had moved the two to a quiet part of the clearing away from the other two nichelings. Sway’s grin grew at the question.

“You and Show seem pretty close, that’s all” Sway said with a hum as she lived up to her name, swaying back and forth with excited energy. Shine narrowed her eyes at Sway’s words, a bit confused.

“Yeah? He’s my friend” Shine replied as she tried to figure out what the teasing expression was for, not quite connecting the dots at the moment. Sway noticed her confusion and decided to elaborate a little bit.

“Juuust your friend? Nothing else? Or is he someone you like more than a friend?” Sway said with an excited and teasing tone, making Shine’s eyes widen as she realized what she was implying.

“W-what makes you say that?” Shine asked in a defensive tone as she tried to ignore the fact her fur felt warmer than before. Sway snickered at the reaction she got from the usually more collected nicheling.

“No reason, byeeee~” Sway chirped in an extremely pleased tone before walking off to the berry bush, leaving Shine to process everything that just happened.

Shine just forcefully shoved any thoughts that Sway’s teasing may have produced away and flopped onto the ground to try and sleep away that entire conversation.

[CosmicChaos21]

Sway had noticed something…odd recently. Sway is a bit of a restless sleeper at times so she can have issues staying asleep and therefore is awake at odd times of the night. This means that she’s noticed Quaint’s odd nightly behavior. Sway noticed that when Quaint must think everyone is asleep she sneaks off into the tall grasses at the edge of the group’s home.

It’d be fine if Sway hadn’t noticed that she was doing this either every night or every other night recently, so it was weird, Quaint wasn’t known for being secretive. It was making Sway extremely curious, what could she not want anyone to know? Sway had to find out herself or she would be plagued by the thought forever.

When Quaint snuck away that night instead of just trying to go back to sleep Sway carefully rose from her ‘nest’, a small patch of the ground decorated with grass and other various soft objects, and cautiously followed Quaint’s scent.

Sway was careful of her every movement, just one wrong pawstep could alert Quaint of her presence and that’d be awkward to explain, and it would get her no answers to satisfy her curiosity.

It didn’t take long for Quaint to stop moving before looking around, causing Sway to dart onto the shore and crouch down to avoid being spotted. After holding her breathe for what seemed like an eternity Quaint seemed to relax.

“Alright, no one is around” Quaint said, confusing Sway before she heard pawsteps which made her ears perk up further to try and figure out what that was. Instead of anything dangerous a smooth voice spoke, the type of tone that projected confidence and calmness.

“If no one has followed you yet I don’t see the need for such concern” The voice spoke, and Sway fought the urge to poke her head out and see who was talking.

“It’s good to be cautious” Quaint spoke in a tone that suggested she wasn’t exactly thrilled with this other one’s calmness.

“So have you told the rest of your group about the news?” The voice asked making Sway’s face scrunch up in confusion, not having heard any news or anything extremely important from Quaint recently.

“No, not yet. I will when the time comes” Quaint said making Sway even more lost, and slightly on edge for what this news is, was it dangerous? And who was she talking to? Questions swirled in Sway’s mind, almost making her miss their continued conversation.

“The pup might be hurt if you’re not careful though, and that’d be unfortunate” The voice’s words made Sway’s eyes practically shoot open as she heard, her mind racing as she tried to figure out if she heard that right. Quaint is gonna have a pup?! Sway couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t tell the group, it could be unsafe for her to push herself if she’s pregnant!

Then she realized they were quite absorbed in their conversation and carefully poked her head out from its hiding spot and tried to get a peek at the nicheling Quaint was speaking to. She was relieved to see they were chatting too much to notice her presence, or perhaps it was due to the darkness of night.

The nicheling seemed to be yellow with orange stripes, they also had antlers sitting on their head along with razor sharp claws on their right paw. Sway quickly put her head back into hiding as she processed everything.

She decided now would be a good time to leave, the longer she stayed the more she risked getting caught. She carefully made her way back the way she came, making sure her paws were perfectly placed to ensure a quiet getaway.

After getting back she curled up on her nest and looked at the stars above, pondering on what to do now. Should she tell the other group members? Or would that make Quaint hate her for telling something that was obviously a secret? Deciding it was too late to think about such big choices Sway laid her head down and tried to drift off again.

Sway’s mind stayed stuck on what she’d found out a few days ago, it felt like a weight had been placed on her shoulders by learning about it and it was started to take a toll on her. The other group nichelings had been quite busy recently, Quaint said they should try to expand their home so they’d have more room, which Sway couldn’t help but wonder if it was actually because of the pup that was secretly on the way.

“What’re you thinking about?” A voice startled Sway out of her thoughts and caused her to whip her head towards the sound. She was a bit startled as she noticed it was Soar, she forgot that was today. By now Soar had been helping the group for a bit now, nothing extremely eventful had come from his patrols but it was helpful nonetheless.

Sway looked at him silently, contemplating on whether to tell him or not. If she told him she wouldn’t be telling the group, but would Quaint hate the fact she told someone outside the group even more? Soar didn’t push, he simply watched her think as he didn’t want to pry.

“Can we go on a patrol together? A walking one” Sway specified as she didn’t want to talk about it in the middle of the group’s home, even if no one else was around at the moment. Soar slightly squinted his eyes in a confused manner but eventually gave Sway a decisive nod.

“Sure, lead the way” Soar spoke, wondering what exactly this was about and why she didn’t want to speak about it here.

Sway exhaled with relief before leading him away from the heart of the group’s territory and into the grasses.

“So…” Soar simply stated after they had stopped in a small clearing away from the group’s home. Sway was silent for a few minutes as she gathered her thoughts enough to form some decent sentences.

“I found out something a few days ago and wanted to talk to someone about it” Sway started as she shifted from paw to paw in a nervous manner, trying to breach the subject of what she’d found.

“Oh, why not talk to a member of your group about it?” Soar asked, confused as to why she’d talk to an outsider, as he considered himself, about what she had found. Sway let out a slightly frusterated groan as she swayed back and forth on her paws a bit faster as a way to air out her annoyance with this whole situation.

“I can’t! Or well maybe I could but I don’t know if that’d be worse or better or even if keeping quiet is a bad idea or a good one” Sway’s voice had a slightly harsh edge to it but it wasn’t directed at Soar, it was at herself for being unable to decide what the best course of action was. Her curiosity was satiated but at what cost?

Soar’s face turned into one of concern as he listened to Sway, wonder what exactly could cause such a reaction from Sway, who had been nothing but excitable and sweet until this point. He reached one of his wings up and awkwardly settled it on one of her shoulders as an attempt to soothe her worried a little bit.

“Bottling things up isn’t a good idea but I don’t know what you’re talking about so do what you feel is right” Soar tried to give some comforting words but they were a bit unsure as he was still missing many of the puzzle pieces himself. Sway firmly planted her paws on the ground, stopping her swaying motions, and took a deep breathe.

“Well I found out that Quaint is going to have a pup and she was talking to this unknown nicheling” Sway forced the words out, wanting to not overthink her choice any longer. Soar blinked a few times, shocked, before taking his wing back and settling it on the ground to digest the information he’d just been given.

“I’m guessing the pup’s other parent?” Soar asked as he sat down while looking at Sway, who sighed before giving a shrug.

“I don’t know, I left quickly after learning about the future pup because they didn’t know I was there” Sway said making Soar slightly tilt his head.

“Were you eavesdropping on them?” Soar asked to clarify, wondering why she would be eavesdropping in the first place. Sway winced at the phrasing but couldn’t exactly deny the accusation.

“I suppose I was, but it was because Quaint had been sneaking away at night and I was concerned that she was keeping this a secret from the rest of the group” Sway quickly tried to explain, wondering if Soar would tell Quaint about this whole thing and the fact she’d secretly been listening to her and that other nicheling’s conversation.

“I guess that would be pretty concerning, don’t worry I’m not gonna tell Quaint” Soar said making Sway relieved, and wonder how he’d known what she was thinking. Sway’s shoulders slumped with relief at his words, not knowing how she’d try to explain away that one.

The rest of the patrol was uneventful and filled with more pleasant chatter. Sway felt she had grown closer to Soar from that conversation at least.

After that patrol, and his usual air patrol, Soar was strolling along the shore to relax for a little bit before flying back to his home.

As he strolled along he noticed a familiar yellow nicheling sitting at the edge of the shore.

“Hello Show” Soar greeted, making Show’s attention turn from the waves in front of him over to the bat-winged nicheling instead. Show gave Soar a grin as he waved a paw in greeting before speaking his own.

“Heya Soar, how was the patrol today?” Show asked as Soar approached him by his spot on the sand. Soar didn’t have to think about his answer much as he took a seat a comfortable distance from the fanged nicheling.

“Same as usual, nothing exciting or threatening” Soar replied as he felt the sand slightly sink under his paws and wings. Show gave a friendly nod at the bat-winged nicheling’s reply.

“That’s good right? That means no aggressive creatures are coming to try and kill us” Show idly said as his attention was once again caught by the tide as a wave came close enough to almost touch his paws. Soar simply gave him a polite nod and turned towards the sea himself, not expecting there to be anymore conversation.

…

“Do you have a group yourself?” Show’s question slightly startled Soar but he answered quickly and without hesitation.

“Nope, just me myself and I” Soar said as he kept his gaze towards the waves, not exactly enjoying that conversation topic but not wanting to come off as rude. Show noticed his slight tone of discomfort and spared him of answering any further.

“Alright” Show simply spoke as he didn’t want to make Soar uncomfortable, turning his attention back towards the sea as well, pushing away any curiosity that may have tried to get his attention.

The two nichelings spent some time watching the shore until Soar decided to make his way back home after exchanging some goodbyes.

[CosmicChaos21]

Quaint may have been pretty good at hiding it but she couldn’t hide the fact she was pregnant forever and eventually the whole group had noticed.

“Why didn’t you tell us?! You could have gotten hurt from pushing yourself” Shine said, her voice raising somewhat due to her concern for the fluffy nicheling. Quaint just narrowed her eyes as she slightly shifted to look at the green nicheling.

“I’m not stupid, I wouldn’t push myself to that extent, I know my limits” Quaint tried to brush off Shine’s concern, not really wanting to talk about it and wishing she could’ve continued to hide it. Shine scoffed, not amused with that answer in the slightest.

“Even so if you’d started having the pup and we weren’t prepared we wouldn’t even have time to make a nest or anything to help” Shine continued as she stood to her full height, which Quaint just watched with an unconcerned expression on her face.

Show was watching everything with a concerned expression as he didn’t exactly know what to do or if he should interfere at all with this whole argument or if it’d be best to stay silent while they worked it out.

Sway was almost queasy with stress, wondering if this could have been prevented if she had told everyone or if it would’ve made things even worse. But she didn’t really have any choice as it had been made for her by the passage of time.

“Fine! If you wanna not trust your own group than go right ahead” Shine eventually scoffed before turning around and stalking off, leaving a deathly silence in her wake.

“…I’m gonna go check on her” Show eventually spoke before all but scurrying off in the direction Shine had headed.

Sway opened her mouth before shutting it and turning around, wanting to be away from other nichelings for the moment after that whole ordeal. Quaint didn’t react simply curling up and staring into the distance as she digested Shine’s parting words.

(Forgot like 2 screenshots whoops-)

-

 

 

Show followed the direction Shine went in until he ended up on the sandy shore, noticing some paw prints left in the sand. He quickly followed the trail until he saw the green nicheling sitting near the waves with an angry expression etched onto her face.

He hesitated for a moment before approaching Shine and sitting next to her. Shine lifted her head to give Show a glance of acknowledgement before returning her gaze to the waves ahead of them. Show idly wiped a paw across the sand beneath him as he tried to gather his words to form a decent sentence that wouldn’t make Shine’s mood any worse.

“So uh, yeah?” Show’s attempt of a sentence didn’t work in his favor even though he’d tried to think about his words first. Shine simply shook her head with a frustrated sigh as she recalled the events that’d just occurred minutes before.

“Quaint always tries to think of the rest of the group and tries to help but now that she would need help she hypocritically refuses to accept it” Shine tried to explain her frustrations to Show as she knew he was surely concerned considering the way she had walked off. Show’s expression turned to one of understanding as he realized why Shine seemed so mad about the whole thing, it wasn’t because Quaint had a pup with an unknown nicheling but because she wouldn’t let anyone else help her with anything. But he didn’t dare interupt in case she had more worries to air.

“It never changes! Ever since we’ve been a group she’s always been ‘the leader’ and wants everyone to lean on her without relying on anyone herself, I just…” Shine trailed off with a sigh but continued what she was saying “I just wish she’d let us help, I wish she’d let me help so she knows she doesn’t have to deal with everything herself. She deserves a break for once” Shine finished her thoughts as she raised a paw to wipe at her face as if she could just wipe away her problems as easily as a few grains of sand.

Show waited a few beats to ensure there wasn’t more, not wanting to interrupt her thought process, before deciding to try and think of a way to soothe Shine’s worries. But he couldn’t exactly disagree with her statements, Quaint does have quite the problem of being a bit too independent when it came to her own issues and problems, preferring to solve it quickly and by herself rather than leaning on those who love her and care for her well-being.

“She is pretty stubborn, but maybe we could try to subtly help her with the stuff she needs help with?” Show’s sentence started boldly but lifted more into a question at the end as he didn’t have a specific plan but more of a general idea to try and get Quaint to accept some help. Shine seemed to mull over his words as she squinted towards the ocean.

“We could try I suppose” Shine eventually said with a shrug, not believing this would work but hoping there was a chance nonetheless. Show perked up as he heard her response.

“We’ll help her how we can” Show said his agreement, in better spirits now that there was an idea of what to do instead of a cloud, unknown future with uncertainty.

-

 

 

Turns out Quaint would be having the pup much sooner than anyone had thought. The day the pup was had everyone had gathered with intense curiosity, Soar had been around when it happened, which he was pleased about seeing the pup.

The pup was given the name Strike, a name Quaint gave no explanation for. She has light brown fur with darker brown markings, basically an inverse of her mom, but her markings were quite different and she had a paw with sharp claws. Quaint was definitely not the only one who’d gotten instantly attached as all the gathered nichelings seemed to share a softness with the presence of the newest addition to the group.

“Who’s the other parent of this pup?” Show spoke the words that had at least crossed the mind of the nichelings gathered, well except for one who’d known the answer already, making the attention turn from little Strike over to her mother instead.

Quaint let out a small sigh, having expected the question but being a bit stunned to have it posed so suddenly. She took a few moments to gather her words and thoughts to arrange them carefully.

“The father is a nicheling outside of the group, but he won’t be helping raise the pup as he has no interest in being part of a group nor fatherhood” Quaint explained in a more formal, detached tone that implied that she held no strong emotional ties to the other nicheling who’d helped bring forth Strike’s existence. Sway let out a small scoff at hearing that, feeling it was quite rude but ultimately decided to stay out of it. The way it was handled was Quaint’s choice and Sway may have eavesdropped on a conversation but she didn’t know her dynamic with the other nicheling in its entirety.

“Well the pup will surely be raised well in a group like this” Soar spoke up as he lifted his gaze to glance around the nichelings gathered.

“You say that like you’re not a piece of it” Show said with a slight snort, but the words shocked Soar. Soar looked at Show with bewilderment, as if he couldn’t believe the words he was saying. Sway, noticing his expression, decided to chime in with her own words.

“You are, the only reason you haven’t ‘officially’ been invited is because Quaint hasn’t found a perfectly formal and professional way to do so” Sway’s words caused the fluffy nicheling’s head to snap up and look at her with a mildly offended look at the way she worded it, yet she didn’t speak up to deny the claim which spoke volumes.

Soar looked around with shock, trying to find if there was a nicheling who seemed doubtful of those words. But when he found none he realized it was true, they’d accepted him as part of the group even without a formal invitation or a special way of showing it.

“Well I wouldn’t put it like that” Quaint said as she shot Sway a look, which Sway merely grinned at, before turning back towards Soar to continue speaking “but I do agree you’ve helped with a lot and interacted quite well with the group so I’d like to give you an official invitation to join the group and stay here, if you wish” Quaint may have tried to keep it formal anyways but a slight note of genuine earnestness had slipped into her tone despite her best efforts.

Soar finally stopped being frozen in place and took a breathe.

“If you truly don’t mind, I’d love to take you up on that offer” Soar tried to keep a completely relaxed and casual tone but he was slightly tearing up and his voice gave a small wobble as he spoke the words. The rest of the nichelings seemed happy, in their own ways.

“WHOO! Finally” Sway said in an excited cheer as if she’d been waiting for this her entire life. Show beamed at Soar with an excited nod of agreement. And Shine simply gave him a nod of approval, not a huge gesture but fitting for Shine.

The rest of the day was filled with cheer at both the new life and the new member of the group.

[Stranger]

Let me just say I really like this playthrough and it's characters! You write very well, I love how descriptive it is! 

[CosmicChaos21]

On 6/17/2023 at 4:12 PM, YourLocalStranger said:

Let me just say I really like this playthrough and it's characters! You write very well, I love how descriptive it is! 

Thank you! I'm happy you're enjoying it, I made it so descriptive to see if I could write that type of thing well and it's nice to know I've succeeded in that regard! :3 Also I agree I'm quite attached to these particular nichelings as well-