Stories from a Wandering Tanuki Merchant: Shared Sentiments

Prompt 79 - Paperverse Item

Word Count: 516

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It was a cute pink scaly thing with six limbs- four legs and two wings. Like Kyanoko, it was on the chunkier side and looked to have a thing for collecting trinkets. It scurried along, carrying armfuls of junk that were now its treasure. Feeling bad for the thing as it constantly dropped odd bits of jewelry or gems, Kyanoko bought it a little backpack.

She’s not sure why, but the thing began to follow her around. She didn’t even notice it at first. It followed her through different portals, but would almost immediately break off from her company to go exploring and have its own adventures. But when Kyanoko would break, sitting on the fungus-hosting stump of a tree whose logs have long since been cleared out, it would visit her. It would bring her gifts- junk usually, but sometimes something of proper use and value in the Paperverse.

Someone, a paper demon, had witnessed one of these interactions when Kyanoko was traveling through a Castimerian bizarre. She had been at its stall when the fat pink flying lizard visited her, its backpack jangling with all sorts of things- and dropped an old doll into her hand. It rested on the table, preening itself for a job well done. Kyanoko had noticed that it wore a busted, but new-to-it watch on its wrist.

“Aw, you got a scaled scavenger to follow you around,” the paper demon cooed, reaching her hand out, palm down. The lizard sniffed her hand and then lowered its head under her palm, allowing her to pet it.

“Is that what it is?” Kyanoko asked, looking at the chubby thing as it was now enjoying being scratched under one of its jaw scutes. She barely had time to bond with it before it would decide it was done with her company and fly off. “It likes you.”

“They can be a little fickle. But you did something that it liked if it's sharing its hoard with you.'' The paper demon looked at the ragged doll in Kyanoko’s hand and laughed a gentle laugh. “Such as it is. Have you tried sharing some of your stuff with it?”

“I’m not sure what it likes. Most of the time it gives me these dolls, or…” Kyanoko trailed off as she finally noticed why the paper demon looked so distantly familiar to her. “Or some of your people's horns. But sometimes it’ll give me aster or these really pretty quills. And I’m not sure if it’s giving me what it thinks is junk or what it thinks is valuable.”

“Scaled scavengers usually give people what they think that they’d like.” the demon explained, pulling back her hand when the scaled scavenger had enough and took a swipe at her. It shook its body head-to-tail and spread its wings. Kyanoko stepped aside and allowed the room for it to fly away. “Just give it things that you think it would like. Even if you’re wrong, it’ll know the intent. Besides, they are incredibly sentimental. Just give it with love and it’ll love whatever you give it.”