Treat Gathering

The warm sun bathed over Shira's face as they stood at the front door of their hovel. A scarf adorned their neck as the cold still kissed the breeze. Bags rested upon their back, empty and waiting for work. The mantibab exhaled, watching their breath swirl off into the cold morning light. A groan rumbled at their side, making them glance down at the small babling, eyes closed with exhaustion.

"Why are we going so early...?" Sif mumbled, opening one eye to look up at the red mantibab.

"So we can get to town early," Shira replied, nodding their head toward the path before moving forward. Sif sighed and followed along, whining as the cold nipped his nose.

"We'll warm up quick," Shira said, glancing back at the babling who bumbled along their side. "We have a long trek to the meadows. That's where some good treats grow."

The two continued on, winding through the path until noon. The meadow was in sight, the air sweet and crisp. Sif bounced around, excited they had finally reached their destination. He ran forward, tossing around in the grass with exhilaration. Shira chuckled as they approached the babling and sat.

"Think you can find something to accompany our lunch?" Shira nodded to the small back on Sif's back.

"Yeah!" he yelled enthusiastically, prancing off to find something of worth. Shira sat down in a clearing, shuffling off the bags for comfort. They pulled the scarf from their neck, sighing in relif with the cold air pooling around the heat.

Sif came running back, long brown sticks popping from his mouth. He sat them down in front of Shira, wagging his tail in delight. He quickly removed the bag, spilling out their lunch in the damp grass. Shira tenderly placed everything between them, carefully unwrapping their food. Both seemed in a better mood after they filled their stomachs. Shira cleaned their mess and stuffed it back in a small pocket in Sif's bag.

"Let's gather as much as we can carry, then head back," they said, standing and shouldering their own bags. Sif nodded in agreement and trotted off toward a circle of trees. A few crystal treats caught his eye earlier.

Shira sauntered over to a ring of mushrooms, a soft treat easy to fill the bags with. They tried not to bend them too much to preserve their shapes for the market. Once they gathered enough, they moved to the slender brown treats. There was an abundance of them, enough to fill the rest of their bags. Once they were done packing what they needed, Shira called for the babling. Sif came bumbling out of the woods, lots of crystal treats stuffed into his backpack, sticking out of the flaps.

"I got a lot!" he exclaimed, tail wagging.

"I see... good job," Shira ruffled Sif's head before turning back to the trail back to Lere. "Let's go home."

The travel was long but jovial. Sif was happy when they finally arrived back. Lere was lively and thick with residents. Shira tried to keep up with the babling as they made their way to the market so they could drop off their stash of treats.

"Could we keep some?" Sif asked, hope glinting in his eyes. Shira smiled.

"Yeah, we can keep some."