Work Text:
Today was a very special day. Goo-seppe never failed to forget about it, at least not after he had been taught about “special” days. This one in particular was a special day just for him. It marked the day Goo-seppe had been created by the Fae King and Boss Peppino. Peppino and Vigi called it his “birthday”. Every year they all celebrated with cake or bubbly drinks or taking Goos outside to spend time at Peppino and Vigi’s house. Goo-seppe didn’t like leaving the bookstore. They felt anxious at the thought and it took a fair bit of persuasion on Peppino’s part to just get them out the door. On their own, Goo-seppe couldn’t do it, he would deconstitute very quickly after leaving the magical boundary it provided. But with Boss Peppino at his side, Goos would cautiously step out, eventually enjoying themself with yummy food and relaxation.
So today, despite their initial trepidation, Goo-seppe could feel his body getting a bit tingly with excitement, awaiting Peppino and Vigi’s arrival. It was a Sunday today, so the bookstore was closed; they wouldn’t get here early like usual. Goo-seppe spent the morning hours tidying the sunroom which was up on the roof of the bookstore. It was one of his favourite places to spend time. There were big, squishy chairs (which were strong enough to hold his considerable weight), several shelves of fantasy novels to invest in, a cozy fireplace which was lit nearly every day, regardless of the temperature outside, and the best part, which was that the combined walls and ceiling were made from intricately decorated panes of stained glass. The light shining through the glass would create beautiful colour combinations on the floor, depending on where the Sun was in the sky or what the weather was like. Goo-seppe liked to come up here during rain showers and turn the radio to some calming music, curling themself into one of the armchairs and taking a nap. The soft music combined with the patter of rain on the glass was one of life’s greatest pleasures.
Today was a warm, sunny, cloudless sort of day. It was late morning, so the Sun was casting its light shadows along the floor. Goo-seppe was tracing the patterns of the decorations with his long, goopy tail upon the floor. His cleaning supplies lay forgotten near the stairs. He would have to mop all this goop up eventually, but right now they were having fun being an artist. They danced along on all fours, twirling this way and that, keeping one eye on his tail, using it like a paint brush. Goo-seppe could be very spry and was deceptively quick, despite the heft of his dense, clay body as well as his now 57 years of life. Well, maybe he couldn’t keep entirely perfect to the patterns and his tail was constantly dripping it’s black and white goop, which got smudged into their “brushstrokes” but they were having fun, and that was what mattered. Goos croaked and chirruped joyfully as he danced. Time passed quickly this way and before long, the front door could be heard, along with the heavy footsteps of Dragon Peppino. Goo-seppe heard their name being called and rushed down the stairs, long tongue hanging out of the side of their mouth. He half-hopped, half-sprinted to the front room, he was so very excited today!
“What have you been up to?” questioned Peppino. “You-a seem more excitable than usual today, and you are usually quite excitable on your birthday.”
Goo-seppe’s tail was whipping back and forth, splattering clay goop all around. He stood up, shifting excitedly from one foot to the other. Vigi couldn’t help but smile and reached over from Pep’s shoulder to pat Goos on the head.
“Ahh, let him show some enthusiasm today. Better than bein’ afraid to go outside.”
Peppino snorted, he wasn’t saying Goo-seppe wasn’t allowed to be excited... He pulled the drippy clay golem close in a one-armed hug. He carried a large box in his other hand; it was most certainly a cake and maybe something to drink as well!
“Goo-seppe was p ppaintigg,” Goos told them. His joyful smile stretched across his face, their many sharp teeth poking out over their lip. Pep and Veeg looked surprised; Goo-seppe hadn’t tried painting before. “C cgan show when cgome b back.”
“Heh, I’d like ter see it!” Vigi chuckled. Peppino turned and guided them all to the open front door.
“We will have a look once we’re back, as you said. Why don’t we head out, so we can find a place to sit and enjoy your cake!” Goo-seppe hesitated for a moment; despite his excitement, stepping outside still felt a little scary… With gentle encouragement however, he let himself be led out the door, gripping Peppino’s hand with his own.
The Sun was hanging overtop the town and Goo-seppe had to pull his “hat” further down over his eyes. They weren’t used to very bright light, even up in the sunroom the windows’ various tinted colours dimmed it enough to not be painful for them. They waited for Peppino to continue guiding them, but he was instead standing there waiting for Goos’ eyes to adjust. His wings were unfolded. Goo-seppe shrank back into himself a little, his default smile drooping a bit. Goo-seppe did not like flying. They couldn’t say exactly why, but it made them feel dizzy being so far from the ground. No fall could harm them, they would just get splattered and have to reform, so that wasn’t the cause of discomfort. Whatever the case was, Goo-seppe had assumed they would be walking to their destination, not flying there. Peppino was of course, very aware of Goos’ fear and had come prepared.
“Here,” he said, handing over a long scarf. “Tie this around your eyes, it should help a little bit if you can’t see, right?” Goo-seppe took the scarf, wrapping it around his head over his eyes. It certainly did help them feel more secure when they couldn’t see how far away the ground was. They could still feel how far away it was, but having the blindfold on at least made flying tolerable. Rather than riding on his back, Peppino held Goo-seppe in his arms, holding the box of treats in his tail. They had flown together too often now for Pep to let Goos squeeze the life out of him in fear. Goo-seppe did feel more secure this way as well. Anything to keep them comfortable.
With Vigi holding tight, Peppino spread his great wings, crouched down and launched into the air; he flapped hard to gain height and then took off in the direction of his planned picnic spot. Goo-seppe buried his face in Peppino’s shoulder, his grip tightening slightly. At least they wouldn’t be flying for very long. Just on the other side of one of the tall mountains surrounding the small town was a shady little pond full of frogs. Goo-seppe loved to sit and chat with them anytime he was brought out here.
They landed a short distance away to prevent the gusts of wind from blowing all the little froggies out of their pond. As soon as they were on solid ground again, Goo-seppe whipped off the blindfold (handing it back to Peppino) and ran down to the edge of the pond. It was all shaded here; nice and cool and not too bright for his eyes. Due to being so shaded, the ground surrounding most of the pond was carpeted in soft, squishy moss. Goo-seppe stretched themself out on it like a sleepy cat. He searched the pond for any sign of frogs; insects buzzed lazily about over the water, the flowers of lily pads creating little bursts of colour here and there. No one was out in the early sunshine quite yet. Goo-seppe was mildly disappointed, but his froggy friends would appear soon. He stood up and shook himself. The cake was waiting to be enjoyed, too!
Pep and Veeg had chosen a shaded spot a little ways from the edge of the pond to sit. They had opened the box and were already sipping the iced rose tea. Goo-seppe sniffed it; it didn’t smell very strongly, but it was nice~ He wanted to try it too! There was no caffeine in it, so Goos could enjoy it without issue. Vigi poured a small glass of the tea from the thermos, handing it over. Goo-seppe couldn’t really “sip” so he just opened his mouth and dumped the tea inside. Oh, it was so nice! It was cool and only a little bit sweet and the flavour was mild. They were reminded of being in one of the bookstore’s greenhouses, with the scent of flowers all around. They thumped their tail against the ground, pleased with this yummy drink. Next, Peppino cut some slices of cake, sharing it with Vigi and Goos. It was a simple vanilla cake with lily pads and a cute frog drawn on it in buttercreme icing.
“Happy birthday, Goo-seppe~” said Peppino, holding up his glass. Vigi refilled Goos’ and they all raised their cups, smiling.
“Happy birthday!” cheered Veeg. Goo-seppe’s smile stretched across his face. “Fifty-seven years of life and fifty-seven years of being part of the family!”
They drank from their glasses and dug into their slices of cake. Goo-seppe couldn’t absorb cake, but it was wonderful to eat with the others. They could still taste and enjoy it. He liked the icing decoration; he licked it off with his long, gooey tongue and let it sit in his mouth for a moment. The icing dissolved into the liquid goop, filling their mouth with its flavour. Goos wiggled in happiness. He shoved the rest of the cake slice into his wide, smiling mouth, making sounds of enjoyment (which is what you do when eating yummy foods!)
“It was from the little shop near the cafe,” Peppino explained. “I asked them for something simple, so we could all enjoy it.” Goo-seppe finished eating his cake and gulped down another glass of rose tea, before getting up again, ready to spend time at the pond.
“Goo-seppe wangts talkigg with ferogs,” they said. “Thanggk kfor cake!” With that, he bounded away, back down to the pond’s edge.
There was a single little frog that had woken up and sat itself upon a drifting log. Goo-seppe hailed it, croaking out a greeting. The frog greeted him back, hopping into the water and swimming over.
(Are there others out today?) croaked Goo-seppe.
(Waking up. They may chat as they feast.) it replied. The frog crawled up onto Goo-seppe’s drippy tail. The pair talked about things they had eaten recently, the warmth of the Sun and how soft the moss was today. It was a friendly frog conversation. More frogs appeared as the Sun climbed higher, snatching up the little flies which darted above the water. Many of them came to sit upon Goo-seppe after they ate their fill and everyone relaxed together. The croaking and chirping filled the air; Vigi and Peppino gave up on their own conversation as they could hardly hear each other over it. They watched Goo-seppe with the frogs, happy as could be. Neither of them understood the conversation, but they were fine just listening; the harmony of the small ribbits and chirps of the pond frogs alongside the deep, melodic croaks of Goo-seppe was pleasant to listen to.
The day wore on and Goo-seppe ended up snoozing next to the pond, curled up on the soft, cool moss. His little friends went about their day, either swimming, eating bugs, sunning themselves or sleeping on Goos’ back. Things were peaceful. It was a wonderful, special day.