//WHEEZES THIS ENDED UP BEING LONGER THAN I MEANT I'M SORRY IN ADVANCE YOU CAN JUST PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR CHARACTER'S PARAGRAPH

upon seeing connor's presence, the girl would give a bright grin. she was still so happy connor returned. goldie glanced to the crate before he made it all the way over, looking to where she placed his basket and pointing at it so lynn would retrieve it for her. afterward, she sat down, looking to connor as he began to speak. lynn cawed as he picked up the basket and set it next to her, landing on her head. she winced and lowered her head at that, though would allow him to do it. it was better than her back, at least.

at his question she twitched her ear, sniffling slightly before nodding. "yea! i'm basically all better now," she'd say in a reassuring tone. no need to worry about her! she's doing fine! she could get back to work and this would be a great start, she felt. she was about to push the basket towards connor, but was interrupted by the sight of paper. she quickly stood up with lynn still on her head and pointed towards paper's basket, letting the harpy eagle fetch it before she sat back down.

goldie glanced to the crate as he questioned her before turning her tired green eyes towards him. "oh, it took a little bit. there's a lot in it and it's pretty big, but i'm tough so it's alright!" she explained, her voice becoming a bit confident towards the end. she meant it in a mostly light-hearted manner, though also wanted to assure him that she was fine doing it on her own. she'd much rather do it that way. she glanced over as lucifer approached. the girl quickly jumped up to point to his basket for lynn.

she glanced as someone she didn't know arrived, but she figured that just meant she was one of the newer crewmates she hadn't gotten to meet yet. "hiya! what's your name? i'm sure i've got somethin' for ya!" she called over in a friendly voice. she quite surely meant literally everyone - she had been sure to ask around for any new crewmates so that way she could make sure they weren't left out. nobody would be left out! hopefully, anyway. she worked hard to hopefully make sure they wouldn't be, at least.

goldie turned her head as cleo arrived, flashing a warm grin to her half-sister and then having her harpy eagle fetch her basket. "'course!" she'd say happily, getting ready to push it towards the female before getting interrupted by her papa. her ears twitched as he said she should rest, to which she'd respond with a shake of her head. "i'm feelin' better, papa, i promise! papa, i've got somethin' nice for ya!" she assured, returning the small bump with a soft purr. she was about to get up and have lynn fetch his present before spotting rosemary. she jumped up quickly and pointed to both her papa's and rosemary's baskets.

she turned her head as caesar arrived, her tired eyes sort of turning into a glare. "yea, actually i do!" she answered, turning back to the crate to have lynn grab his basket. it was a bit emptier than the others, but he was lucky to be getting anything at all, really. as vandal arrived, she would give a small grin and a nod to her words before getting her presents and turning to everybody. "but, anyway, here's all of your presents! if you guys don't like them, that's okay - you can tell me and i'll make something better. i won't be offended if you want something else." and with that, the girl pushed the baskets towards everyone she knew so far - making sure to push cleo's basket towards her first.

in cleo's basket, one would find a a golden crown design with snakes in the front. she was quite proud of this one, actually. it wasn't easy to put together. with all of that, was a little doodle of cleo and a note. "dear cleo, i thought you would like this. i worked pretty hard on it! i think you and your snake are very cool. i know a bit about reptiles, but i know more about fishes myself. i'm really excited to talk to you more! i've never had another sister but now i have a bunch! that's really cool, i think. i hope you have an awesome day! - goldie"

in connor's basket, one would find a golden coin. she had found some during the tsunami and picked them up, wanting to keep a few for herself. but, she figured connor might like one too. she also placed a little bracelet with a moon charm on it. it glowed in the dark. with all of that, was a little doodle of connor and a note. "dear connor, i think you're real swell! you're a very nice guy and i'm so glad you've come back to the typhoon! i thought you'd like these presents - i think they're neat, anyway. the moon glows in the dark! and now you can really call yourself a pirate 'cause you've got a golden coin. i hope you have a nice day!! - goldie"

in paper's basket, one would find a golden heart necklace. inside of the locket, was a tiny note that said "thank you". there was also an origami figure of what one could assume was him. with all of that, was a little doodle of paper and a note. "dear paper, hi! heheh, your name's paper and i made an origami thing of you. i've wanted to make you a present since you helped me and the typhoon so much. when i was all hurt on the beach, you were the first to find me and i appreciate you taking the time to help! when my papa bonked his head, you acted quick. i think you're pretty level-headed and know what to do in a lot of situations and i admire that! have a swell day! - goldie"

in lucifer's basket, one would find a yellow flower crown that glowed in the dark. lucifer was so dark all the time, she thought he could use a bit of light. not that she thought it was bad - she just thought it'd be nice. it was big enough to fit the large male's head, too. with all of that, was a little doodle of lucifer and a note. "dear lucifer, sorry for not drawing you very well! i've never drawn a dragon before so it didn't turn out very good. i'm not really an artist, anyway, i just think it's fun every now and then. i think you're a pretty interesting guy! you're so big, you must be SUPER tough!! i didn't really know what to get you, to be honest, but i thought a flower crown would be nice. i like them. it glows in the dark! have a nice day! - goldie"

she was quite happy with this basket - she worked very hard on it. in pincher's basket, one would find a necklace with a crescent moon and compass on it. there was also a jaguar origami figure. she had originally learned origami solely because he said he liked to do it. she had practiced it a lot since he told her that. along with those things, there was a custom map of the typhoon she had created. it was actually a treasure map with an x in the submarine. with all of that, was a little doodle of pincher and a note. "dear papa, i hope you like your presents. you give so much to me and i just want to give you it all back and more. you mean so much to me and i hope you know how important you are. you're a good papa, even if you're not perfect. you try your best and work so hard. i'll always be here to help you, papa. i wanna work hard for you and make you proud. i wanna be the best daughter i can possibly be for you. i'm sorry for worrying you so much, i really don't mean to. please don't worry too much about me anymore - i'm okay. i could say a lot more but i didn't want to make this too long. i love you, papa! i hope you have a wonderful day! - goldie"

next was rosemary. in rosemary's basket, one would find a necklace with a pouch as well as a seashell bracelet. with all of that, was a little doodle of rosemary and a note. "dear rosemary, i'm sorry for needing help so often. i don't mean to get hurt or sick all the time, but i'm glad you're here to help me. thank you for that! i'm gonna try not to get hurt or sick so often anymore. i made you a little necklace with a pouch because i thought it might be helpful - you could carry herbs or something in there. i made the bracelet just 'cause i like seashells and thought it looked nice. i hope you like them! have a fantastic day! - goldie"

caesar's basket, as mentioned before, was emptier than all the others. inside, it contained a simple, small black crown. not that she thought he was anywhere near royalty, but he sure as hell seemed to think he was. maybe it'd make him less grumpy. there was no doodle of him, because she didn't want to go through all that work for him, and his note was very short. "here you go, i guess. - goldie"

finally, was vandal's basket. her's held a necklace with several different charms. this one also glowed in the dark. she had worked pretty hard to put it together and liked how it turned out. with everything else, there was a doodle of vandal and a note. "dear vandal, hiya! you're super cool!! you got big wings and talons! you don't baby me like everybody else, either, which i appreciate. i'm sorry i've been hurt and sick the whole time you've been here so we haven't talked much. i'll change that, though, just you wait! i love my family a lot and i can't wait to hang out more! i thought the necklace sorta fit your vibes when i put it together so i hope you like it. have a swell day! - goldie"

and, with that, she would throw a squirrel she'd caught to lynn for all his hard work so far.

The past few days had proven taxing for the child, sleep elusive to a point she seemed unable to function, blurry eyes barely taking in the scene before her. While the words registered it was Goldie which drew Aita closer, a soft murmured sound rising as she made to move closer, touched with a gentle warmth, yet her steps slowed as she looked upon the number of those present. Deciding better of trying to get close to the other bengal it was by Rosemary the child came to set herself, merely watching, head dipping low til her chin hit her chest.

[woke up not too long ago so bad post]

the tyhpoon — minnow — tags

the girl prepared herself for reactions from others, a bit nervous. while she really wouldn't mind making something new and better if someone didn't like their present, she was still afraid of disappointing them. she tried to work hard on each one, after all. as she got herself ready for whatever response others may have, she caught sight of her half-sister, aita, arrive and quickly jumped up to have lynn fetch her basket.

at deldrach's arrival, she would do the same, only twitching her ear at the suggestion of rest for now. there was no time for her to rest! she needed to catch up! and this was a great way to start, in her opinion. and then lilyspoise arrived as well, so the girl would point again. jumping up and down so much was starting to make her feel a bit dizzy, honestly. she looked brightly over to lilyspoise as she spoke, happy to hear she thought it was nice, too. "aw, you don' need to pay me back! this is already me tryna' give back to everybody for workin' so hard."

finally, though, she was able to watch as other's opened her gifts, caesar being the first. she was mildly happy with herself as she saw his satisfied look. she had been half-expecting him to request something better, though she figured it'd make sense he liked the crown. hopefully he didn't read into it too much. "of course, 'm glad you like it, caesar." wow, an actual pleasant interaction with him, what a surprise.

paper would be the next and she watched as he looked through his items, feeling particularly proud of the origami figure. "mhmm, it's no problem!" she did seem to grow even more happy with herself as others began to approve of her creations so far, allowing a bit of pride enter her. vandal was the next to react and she watched as the female put on the necklace, her tail twitching back and forth eagerly.

she giggled slightly in joy at vandal's words, nodding. "i'm happy ya like 'em! i'm no artist, but i think it's fun to doodle sometimes. i love you too, vandal!" the girl would say, clearly filled with glee now. it'd been a while since she'd felt so happy. she felt like a little kid again all of a sudden. her eyes shone as she looked over to mister dad, especially excited to give him his presents. "everybody's super good to me, so i wanted to say thanks somehow!" she'd reply as she jumped up once more to fetch his basket.

in aita's basket, was red flower crown as well as an ocarina shaped and painted like a whale shark. the ocarina was an interesting choice, she thought. she knew the girl liked music, so she thought maybe giving her an instrument would be nice. she had happened to find it, although the colors were dull and it was messy, so she cleaned it up and painted it again. with all of that, was a little doodle of aita and a note. "dear aita, hi! i thought the flower crown would look nice for you, and they aren't too hard to make, so i made you one. you don't have to wear it if you don't want! the whale shark is an ocarina! it's a pretty instrument you blow into. did you know whale sharks are my favorite fish? they're the largest fish! i befriended a whale shark and her name's belle! she comes to visit and can do some tricks. but anyway, i hope you like them! i love you!! have an awesome day! - goldie"

within deldrach's basket, was a golden necklace with a sun charm. she thought it fit deldrach for some reason, and she liked it a lot personally. with everything else was a little doodle of deldrach and a note. "dear deldrach, hello! i'm sorry we haven't gotten to hang out much. i think you're real cool! i'm glad you're close to vandal, too. i hope you like the necklace! i thought it looked nice and would look nice on you, but you definitely don't need to wear it if you don't want. we should hang out more, if you'd like! i hope you have a great day!! - goldie"

lilyspoise's basket contained a silver necklace with a lily charm. perhaps not the most creative, but to be fair, the female had just returned before she was ready to hand out gifts. not that she really liked excuses. nonetheless, with everything else was a little doodle of lilyspoise and a note. "dear lilyspoise, i'm glad you've come back! welcome back! you seemed very nice from what i remember. do you remember my mama, guru? was she nice? i always hear different stories about her. a lot's changed since you've been gone! i got struck by lightning and got electric powers now! i hope we can talk some more soon and that you like your gift. have a lovely day!! - goldie"

jacob's - or as she calls him, mister dad's basket carries two items that the male and anyone who knew him would be very familiar with, except these were personalized - she had made them for him. a pale blue sweater that said "#1 MR DAD" on it in black letters and a roll of bandages that were decorated like a sunny day. they were incredibly soft at the touch. with all of that, was a little doodle of jacob and a note. "dear mister dad, i had to practice a lot to make your presents! i didn't know a whole lot about sewing but i learned so i could make you a nice sweater. i collected a bunch of bird feathers and used them to make the bandages so they're nice and soft - and waterproof! you could swim in them if you wanted. i hope you like them. you're so nice and i just wanna thank you for everything you've done for me and my family. you've taught me a whole lot i don't think i'd have known without you, and you're always here for me. thank you, mister dad. i love you! i hope you have an amazing day!! - goldie"

This wasn't her first rodeo where it came to gift giving, the sweater and stuffed polar bear she kept hidden in her room in the Capricorn made such clear, yet this felt different.

The surprise was not hidden, rather it was written across her features in the form of widened eyes and lips parting with a soft sound, a cross between whimper and sigh, her ears flattening against her head. Peeking towards Goldie it took sometime for her to reach for the basket, toying with the idea of simply leaving with it, waiting until she was in privacy to look inside. Pushing the though aside she reached in, the ghost of a smile dancing about her lips.

It was the ocarina she drew first, small paw running across the freshly painted surface. Her heart ached looking upon it, a soft sense of love and warmth filling her as she turned that slight smile towards her sister – she had no care to deem her half for she was family, nothing half about that – words of gratitude lingering upon the edge of her tongue. She badly wanted to speak them yet something forced her to bite them back, gently placing the instrument aside before she looked through the rest, a soft giggle escaping her at the doodle. It was cute and she knew where to find a frame to put it in, a paw running over the flower crown, gentle as she caressed the petals.

“Thank you.” Aita spoke softly, not quite looking up for her gaze was set upon the note, left for now for she was struggling to hold back tears, the exhaustion and this wonderful surprise enough to push her over the edge.

the tyhpoon — minnow — tags