Submission (#6409) Approved

Cotton began their journey deeper into the woods, with Chompsky riding along in his basket. The first half of the trip was delightful. The fall weather had just started to blow in and with it, the leaves turned their warm colors. A cool breeze gently rustled the branches as the Terra passed below. This section of the forest had many well beaten trails, walked by outdoorsy Terras and wild animals alike. Cotton decided to take their time and visit their favorite spots to check on the foliage. It was still early in the day, and they didn't think the trip would take longer than a few hours.

After watering a few flowers here, and pruning some vines there, Cotton made their way into the lesser known section of the forest. The trails here were thin and overgrown, and as Cotton continued, they disappeared entirely. This didn't bother them much at first, since they were used to memorizing the unique shapes of individual trees to guide them. But as they trekked further, the sunlight streaming through the canopy became thinner as the trees became thicker and taller. A bit of fog swirled along the floor, and Cotton found themselves unsure of where they were. Was the tree with the rougher bark the one they used to mark to go left, or was that the one with the unusually curly branches? They found themselves wandering for an unknown amount of time, and began to get anxious.

They decided to sit down on a fallen log and collect their thoughts. After holding their head in their hands and focusing on breathing slowly for a few minutes, something caught their attention. Just below the thick blanket of fog, something faintly glowed in the darkness. Using a paw to wave away the vapors, a peculiar broken object was revealed. It looked crystalline, cracked into many delicate violet pieces. They gently lifted each piece into their paw and started to put them back together. They became so enamored by the new puzzle, that they didn't notice the large shadow that had fallen over them.

“May I see what you have there?” A loud, large voice inquired from behind. Cotton nearly jumped out of their fur at the sound and quickly whipped around. A large Terra stood before them, blotting out the fading sunlight. “Ah! Um, pardon?” Cotton blurted. “Did you find the shards? The purple ones? They're very important to me.” The large Terra had a soft voice. “Oh! Yes!” Cotton held up the bits of crystal. The other Terra gently picked them up. “Thank you. I'm sure my presence may be a bit of a surprise. My name is Lydia. You tiny Terras have the advantage of being closer to the ground, spotting more details that I can. Do you think you could help me find a couple more things? They shouldn't be too far from here.”

Cotton just stood there in shock for a moment. Then all at once, all the new information processed. “Wow, nice to meet you! I'm Cotton. I'd love to help, what would I be looking for?” The two discussed for a while longer, and then Cotton began their hunt. An hour passed by before they found the dust filled star stuck in some brambles. Two more hours went by until they unearthed a pearl in a small crater. By the time they were done, it was well into the night. Lydia was delighted to have the items back. “Watch this!” She proclaimed with an excited tone. She placed all three in her paws and squeezed them together. Brilliant lights emanated from between her fingers, and as she lowered her hands to reveal the new object to Cotton, glowing fog swirled around them both. The smaller Terra was awestruck by the new item. “Pretty, right? It's an Astrohedron. I came here to bring these to your world. Now, it's getting late. Do you live nearby?” Cotton explained their situation to Lydia, and she happily offered to give them a ride back home.