With the fall festival impending, Gigi was grateful to have another set of willing hands that weren’t her sisters. Even if they were weak human hands.

“Drake, how are we doing loading up the deliveries?” Gigi called out.

In her arms was another great load of pastries. With the weather changing, they always had an increase in orders going into the holidays. She supposed she should feel some pride that her family’s efforts were a holiday tradition to so many families. However, it did not. To her, it represented a yearly hurdle that robbed her of doing what she actually wanted to. Which was practically anything else. She had hardly written in her journal lately, but maybe she could get some writing in on the deliveries.

“Who’s a good boy! Who’s a good boy!”

Gigi’s ears twitched. What in the realms was that man doing? She set the packages down on the cart, then noticed Glorp and Drake were suspiciously missing. She followed the sound of joyful laughter and squelching to the stables to find Glorp and Drake playing. The man was on his knees in front of the massive slug, furiously rubbing its slimy belly.

“You like that spot right there don’t you, boy?”

Glorp wiggled in approval.

“Ahem.”

Gigi stood at the front of the stable with a small smile. Most of the folks in Poppy hated greenworms. They thought they were disgusting creatures. Their slime trails didn’t make them the most popular pets for sure. However, Drake had taken to Glorp like fire to a barn. He was a never-ending pit of surprises. She still wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing yet.

“She’s a girl, just so you know.”

“Oh, who’s a good girl!” he said, continuing to rub Glorp’s belly.

“Okay, you two, we have actual work to do.”

Gigi couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. Around him, though, she felt a need to be strong. To be more responsible than she really felt. Gigi wasn’t sure why, but she needed to protect him. It seemed absurd, he wasn’t a child, and he had amazing powers, yet the feeling remained.

“Okay, let’s get going, Gigi. We don’t want to keep people waiting,” Drake grinned.

“Uh, yeah, exactly.”

Whenever he said her name, she could feel her heart flutter just a little. Drake led Glorp to the platform and treads, guiding the greenworm onto the machine, where she would turn the treads with her mighty tubular body. Gigi climbed into the driver’s space, patting the space next to her for Drake to join.

Normally it was her sister’s job to do the deliveries. However, Drake couldn’t be trusted in the kitchen. Not after the fires. Instead, they would tackle the route together, as a team. Drake grunted and climbed next to Gigi.

“So where are we off to now?”

Gigi handed the reins to Drake. “Forward!”

Drake snapped the reins, Glorp squelching, and was off. The sun was just beginning to rise as they left. The chill of autumn was becoming more pronounced, and the warm rays felt good on Gigi’s cheeks. She loved the fall, when the village and nature itself came alive with color and life in the passing to deathly winter. There was a sense of poetry and wonder that spoke to her soul.

“I love the fall,” said Drake.

“Me too!” Gigi exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically. “I mean, me too. Why is it your favorite? Because of the Gifts of the Gods?”

Drake looked puzzled. “What’s that?”

“You’ve never been through the Gifts?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Drake began to turn red from embarrassment. “Tell me about it?”

Gigi frowned, suddenly feeling very sorry for the man sitting beside her. A blanket of memories from holidays past enveloped her. The gifts, the food, the decorations all swirled in her head. Had Drake truly never experienced any of it, never even heard of it? How poor of a life did her soldier have?

“Well, it’s like a big party at the start of winter. Everyone feasts, drinks, and plays games for seven days straight. At the end of it, you exchange presents with the people that you love.”

Drake nodded and seemed to listen to her words thoughtfully.

“Can I come?” he asked finally.

“Of course! Everyone deserves Gifts from the Gods!” Drake grinned and sat up a little straighter. “Wait, so if you’ve never been through the Gifts, why is this your favorite season?” Gigi asked curiously.

“Oh,” Drake looked sheepishly at her, “because it means the campaign season is coming to an end. I would always pray it was too cold for the men to march. That was the only time I could spend for me, I guess.”

Gigi went quiet for a moment. She felt a pang of remorse for wanting to join the army so badly only a couple short weeks ago. Drake had told her nothing about the wars he fought in or the men he had slain. However, whatever glory she had imagined in battle seemed hollow when she heard the soldier speak. Perhaps she needed to rethink what kind of adventure and glory she really wanted. Her mind went to her journal in her satchel. Filled with thoughts, desires, poems, and the occasional unflattering doodle of a family member. Maybe that was where her passion really was.

She was pulled brusquely from her thoughts when she caught sight of the Wyzens’ home. Daydreaming would have to wait, they had deliveries to make. Besides, she wanted to rub it in a few faces that she was in fact not alone. Sure, they weren’t actually a couple, but the old gossips didn’t need to know that. Gigi hopped down from the cart and Drake followed more cautiously.

“Get the goods, I’ll let them know we’re here.”

Drake nodded and set to work. Gigi gave the Wyzens’ front door three thunderous knocks. Her partner loaded up the packages and waited beside her.

“DELIVERY!” she called out.

A few moments later, the bolt of the door unlocked. The heavy wooden door swung open, revealing the wolfwoman Mrs. Wyzen in a pastel house dress.

“Oh, Gigi, you’re early.” Mrs. Wyzen’s gaze turned to Drake, her wolfish eyes taking in the human. “Who do we have here?” She said, as a hungry grin spread on her face.

“My name is Drake, it’s nice to meet you,” he said beaming as he handed over the baked goods.

Eyes starving for gossip looked the man up and down. Gigi felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. If Mrs. Wyzen thought they were together, then the news would spread like a disease. Gigi felt slightly bad about the ruse, but if it meant people would stop trying to hook her up with their cousin’s friend’s brother, who was also a pigman, then she could bear it. Drake just smiled and made small talk with the older woman, seemingly having no idea of the scrutiny he was under.

“How do you like working at the bakery?” the wolfwoman asked slyly.

“It’s great. Well, I haven’t gotten to actually bake much yet, after the fire, but I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with Gigi.”

The wolfwoman tilted her head. “They don’t let you bake?”

“He’s still a trainee!” Gigi hopped up. She wanted to end that line of conversation before Drake divulged too much.

“So how did you two meet?”

“We...” Gigi started.

“Gigi saved me from drowning,” Drake offered with a shy smile.

“Yes... Yes I did,” she said, turning red.

Mrs. Wyzen took the couple in for a moment and, after some consideration, laughed. “You two are too cute. Oh, Gigi, I’m so happy for you.” The wolfwoman gave her a surprise hug. “It’s good to be smarter than your husband too,” she whispered as she withdrew.

“Uh, yeah,” Gigi nodded, mortified by the whole interaction. “Well, we better be going, lots more deliveries to make!” She grabbed Drake by the hand, pulling him back toward the cart.

“It was nice to meet you,” he called back. Drake waved as they left.

“Bye, nice meeting you too, sweetie.”

“She seems nice,” he said, getting back into the cart.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Gigi muttered.

With that, they were back on the road. She couldn’t say it had gone perfectly, but she thought the mission had been accomplished. Mrs. Wyzen certainly thought they were together and relief flooded her. She hoped that meant no more pitying stares or remarks. Gigi resented that she needed to use Drake as if he were some kind of shield, but he also didn’t seem to mind. It was on to the next customer.