A grin split the marmoset’s mouth as the spell worked this time and he hummed happily. There were now two red flowers side by side in the dirt. He wanted to do three more, but he’d have to see how he felt after each one to determine if that was a good idea or not. Maybe just one or two more instead. He didn’t want to tire himself out too much and even resting in between spells could end up exhausting him if he wasn’t careful enough. He could always come back to this spot later to finish his work. For now, he took a bit of a breather.

As the marmoset dug another tiny hole in the ground for another seed, he decided he’d pick a different color this time. Maybe yellow. Yellow was nice and bright and cheery, too, and maybe the bright colors would attract the attention of more Gembounds. He realized how silly he was being with his tiny garden in the dark, in a random location of Eridanus, but it made him happy, and not much really did that lately. Since losing Garmer, he’d become much more mellow and he really needed to do something that lifted his spirits. Plants did that for him, especially now that he was so gifted with Magic. He poked another seed into the earth, covered it in dirt, patted it down a bit, and prepared another spell.

His Magic did not fail him, and for that, Tuck was grateful — since it often failed him in situations when he actually needed it. He sighed, thinking of all the times his Magic could have saved him had it not been for a failed spell. He cringed as he thought back to the Magicka Competition that felt like it had taken place a hundred years ago. He had been much younger then.

A little green sprout shot out of the ground and he smiled down at it. Just one more Blossom spell and he could rest. He was entirely exhausted at this point.

Well… this little yellow flower seemed not to listen to his Magic as much, but it still grew a few petals, so Tuck was happy with it. At this point, he lay back in the grass and closed his eyes, letting the ball of light fade away so that he was plunged into almost complete darkness again. Sleep desperately wanted to overtake his mind, so he ended up somewhere between asleep and awake for time, half-dreaming of Garmer and flowers and light and dark so that his mind was a jumble of confused half-memories and things made up entirely in his imagination…

He awoke suddenly, with the strangest feeling that he had been watched in his sleep by someone… or something… that felt familiar to him. He looked around, too sleepy to remember to cast a Light spell, wondering why all the fur on his body was standing on end, but his senses could pick up nothing. He rubbed an arm with the back of his paw, feeling strange, and hopped away immediately, feeling rather unsafe for some reason, like whatever had been watching him was still doing so, even if he couldn’t see them or smell them. He found shelter under a bush somewhere, ignoring the irritated squawking of the birds roosting there, and curled up to go back to sleep.

[Exit]