Submission (#6591) Approved

Mercury hummed, contemplating the anima shards in front of them. Their glitter was both beautiful and terrifying. It reminded him of his home in the forest of Silveil. He wished more than anything that he was safe in his bed right now, and not on this simple delivery job turned nightmare.

"I think I know, but I have to remember. I've only heard about this before, I haven't actually seen a Daeva track." He laid down away from the trail, thinking back to all of the stories he had heard harrowed nin tell in the taverns. They always said that touching them was not a good idea. They said you would see things you could never forget. Mercury shuddered at the thought. Just experiencing the strange veil had been enough to give him nightmares. No, the way they said to do it was with your pomu, but that your pomu would be turned to stone! He frowned at that. He loved his little buddy Caduceus. He didn't want to do anything that would hurt him.

His train of thought was interrupted by Caduceus popping out of his shadow and tilting his head inquisitively. Mercury smiled as his little friend.

"Hey buddy, you worried?"

Caduceaus chirrped, hopping away from his kittom and towards Holst. The bean laughed and flitted towards the pomu, ruffling his feather coat." What does this little fellow have to worry about?"

Mercury frowned and tilted his head. "Well, there is a little something. You see, the way I know to transport these shards would probably be pretty bad for him. But the other way to do it would be really bad for me, and I couldn't see while I do it." Holst frowned, their wings beating a little slower.

"And if you can't see, you can't navigate." Mercury nodded.

"Yep. And I have to navigate us to the shrine. That's where we can purify these shards so no one gets hurt." Holst nodded, looking at Caduceus, who glanced between them before chirping and sitting on the ground.

"How would it hurt your little shadow friend?" Mercury sighed, giving Caduceus' head a little lick to put his feathers back in place.

"Well, I think it's gonna turn him into a rock. And I don't know how that feels. I don't wanna get him hurt."

"Turn him into a rock?! That is certainly not desirable." Holst mused for a moment. "Maybe I-"

Mercury shook his head vigorously.

"Oh no you don't! We don't know what that could do to you! At least we know for sure what it's gonna do to me and Caduceus." Holst sighed, and after a moment of thought nodded.

"Yes, of course." As the two spoke, Mercury had not been paying attention to his pomu. He bolted up and whipped around in a circle.

"Wait where did he- Caduceus!!" He gasped as he looked towards the trail and saw his faithful friend scooping up all of the shards. He let out a little satisfied chirp, turned around with great pride, and was slowly waddling back to them while he turned gray and began to stop. Mercury and Holst zipped over, getting there just in time to catch the little pomu as he tipped over midstep. Holst shook his head, smiling.

"Seems he's just as headstrong as you, scooping up all of these without a second thought about the consequences!" Mercury sighed, and then laughed as he scooped up his buddy. With Holst's help, he secured him on his back.

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, that settles that. Let's get these to the shrine!"
Mercury and Holst carefully carried Caduceus to the shrine, and placed him gently on the altar. Holst added their cookie for good measure, and Mercury his cool rock. They sat together til the light of the day started to fade, then set up camp beside the shrine. They foraged a little dinner, each taking turns watching over the little stone Pomu. They kept the campfire crackling through the night, once again taking turns as the shrine did its work.

The next day seemed to take an eternity to Mercury. He barely left the shrine at all, instead choosing to tell Caduceus little stories. He wasn't sure if his pomu could hear him, but he really hoped he could. He really hoped Caduceus did not feel lonely and scared.

Holst foraged their lunch, and brought out a hidden supply of cookies just for the occasion. The two agreed to leave one for the brave, rahs little pomu that was so eager to help. As the day passed and Holst wrote about their adventures so far in an impossible small journal with an impossible small quill, Mercury noticed that the crystal looked lighter and lighter, and Caduceus seemed to gain more and more of his color back.

As he impatiently watched the shadows change, a thought occurred to him. He had got a special treat for his little friend a while back. It had cost him a pretty penny, but what better time to give it to him?  He dug through his rucksack, and pulled out a pretty little length of string that he had found at a somewhat seedy market. The shop had been full of glittering bits of string and ribbon, meant just for pomu to see and beg for. He laid it over top of his friend and kept waiting.

Just as the light began to fade from the day, he heard a familiar little chirp. Holst dropped his journal and flitted over to join the now too alert kittom. Caduceus let out another little chirp and sat up. He looked at the now perfectly clear crystal and tucked it under his arm. He then looked down at the string and cookies and started chirping with great delight, getting up and trying to scoop them all up at once.

Holst and Mercury couldn't help but laugh. Mercury nudged his little pomu, and shook his head.

"Well, his priorities haven't changed! Thank you Caduceus!"