Citizen 403 Akako

Twilight had begun to cast a warm glow through the veil of willow branches as the sky slowly started to darken. Akako stepped carefully into the forest earlier that morning, both to collect bark and anything she figured could be turned into dye. By the time the day began to end she promised herself to head home, unfortunately, there was still much to discover.

Emerald leaves shimmered under the last rays of sun as the softest breeze pushed them into a sway. It wasn’t the last time the rexal would find herself there, nor the last. Leatherworking had always been a passion of hers, but only recently had she discovered how to use bark to tan her leather. Fortunately for her, under the Dome little couldn’t be found.

As the sun dipped lower, Akako ducked under a particularly low branch. Moss underneath her paws cushioned her steps, making her feel lighter despite the exhaustion creeping up closer and closer the more she stayed out.

It wasn’t long before fireflies began to flicker around, scattered underneath the trees, bumping accidentally against Akako had she been careful enough to avoid them. The sky was dark by then, and finally—finally—Akako stopped.

With a low hum, she approached yet another willow tree. The lack of light didn’t help much, especially given how careful Akako knew she had to be. Only certain branches were good enough to be taken away and tucked safely into the woven basket she had brought with her just for the occasion.

Green magic was lighting her way—the halo—it helped, but not nearly enough. Using a small knife, Akako didn’t hesitate much before making a small incision along the branch she had picked. Peeling the bark, she added it to what she had previously collected. Finally calling it a day felt like an option, or that was at least, until something else caught Akako’s eyes.

Mushrooms, but not any kind of mushrooms. Truth be told, Akako wasn’t sure what she found herself in front of. Some were a pale blue, almost silvery—they reminded her of the moon. Others were green, and a few even seemed to be tinged with soft shades of red or lilac. They emidded a gentle light, drawing the rexal closer and closer, until she was standing right in front of them.

Would they have made good dye? Would they have been okay to eat? To touch? Akako wasn’t sure, but she knew a few rexals back home who would’ve loved to see them. It wasn’t every day that she pushed so far into the forest, and even less so that she allowed night to fall around her without heading home. It would’ve been a waste not to pick a few.

Normally Akako wasn’t one to experiment, but what could a rexal do when being forced to face such choices. The mushrooms could’ve been the key to learning more about her craft and she had picked more than enough bark to be able to take a break from it.

Akako knelt down, brushing a mushroom lightly with a finger only to see it dim for just a moment. Carefully, she picked one, watching it lose color before it could reach her basket. With a frown she placed it in it anyway, looking back to the other still-glowing mushrooms again before coming up with a better plan.

Scooping up some of the moss underneath, Akako didn’t touch the mushrooms as she lifted them from the ground and carefully let them down in her basket. When they continued to glow she picked a couple more, watching as their light went as far as to intensify once they were put next to one another.

Basket filled, Akako finally stood up. Her eyes finally left the mushrooms and found the path she had been following instead, allowing fireflies to surround her—likely attracted by the light. It wasn’t long before she found her way home, and even less before she was getting to work again.

Leather didn’t tan itself, after all. And with her new finds she was sure she would have figured out some sort of dye. Something that glowed in the dark and shimmered softly under the sun. Just the thought of it was enough to stop Akako from getting much sleep—it was time to get to work… again!

written by: FeralYEEHAW