Mushroom Hunting

Ghoul sighed. “I don’t know why I agreed to do this, I can’t believe Vex talked me into this.” She huffed as she cautiously wormed her way through the depths of the forest. “Not to mention….you.” Ghoul paused, glancing down at Marrow who had tagged along.

Marrow patted along on all fours, sniffing the ground and licking random patches of fur and mushrooms before being quickly scooped up by Ghoul. “Hey! Careful, you don’t know where that's been.” She sighed, feeling really uneasy due to the fact Marrow was so young and literally feral. “Remember, we’re here to collect mushrooms. Don't eat them, okay?” She placed her down and continued the path.

Marrow, with a slight head tilt, shrugged, and continued walking behind Ghoul. It wasn’t long before Marrow started sniffing the ground again, pausing and rushing and swerving back and forth, rushing to anything that catches her attention. 

“Make sure to stay on my left, I can’t see out of my right eye.” The goopy Xero informed.
Marrow continued her antisks but slowly moved in Ghoul’s line of sight. Hm. So you can listen.

The odd pairing continued to match their way into the forest before finally arriving at the mushroom picking grounds. The trees surrounded them, the sounds of the critters echoing off of them making it difficult to know where it’s coming from. It felt cold and eerie. “This place is so creepy…” Ghoul crossed her arms, holding onto herself as she eyes the environment searching for the mushrooms

Marrow, sensing her uneasiness, pressed her body against Ghoul’s legs and stood protectively in front of her. Ghoul exhaled with a large smile. “Thanks small one. Alright. Let’s find those mushrooms.”

The two split up to cover more ground. It didn’t take long for Ghoul to find some mushrooms growing from the trunk of a tree. “Hey! Marrow! Over here girl!” The sounds of rustling bushes crept closer until out popped Marrow. “There you are - look!” Ghoul reached up and plucked an Affocato shroom from the tree and plopped it in front of Marrow. Marrow gave it a big sniff and sneezed, causing all the spores to fly around.

Ghoul waved her paw in her face, brushing the spores away. “Don’t get too close. It’s not dangerous but I think the spores cause catnip behaviors.”

Marrow’s eyes widened as a low soft buzzing escaped her. Almost like purring but not quite. Marrow flipped onto her back and began rolling around. “Well, you’re no help now.” Ghoul chuckled and left Marrow to herself as she began plucking more mushrooms.

 “I think we’re supposed to like, mash them? Into a ball?” She questioned herself. After collecting quite a few, Ghoul plopped herself down to Marrow and started crushing up the shrooms. She used her claws to help shred them but her goop started sticking to the ball,  making it unusable. She groaned in frustration and threw the ball deep down the forest. This caught Marrow’s attention as she suddenly locked in and chased after the ball. “Marrow!” Ghoul called out. She stood there, trying to register what happened. The silence was broken by Marrow running back, the bait ball in her mouth while a timber coated Koronok chased her down. Marrow sobbed as soon as she locked onto Ghoul, leaping into her arms and curling up under her chin. The Koronok stopped at Ghoul’s feet and started yipping. She took the bait ball from Marrow’s jaws and crouched down to give it to the Koronok.

Marrow watched through squinted eyes the Koronok happily devouring the bait. “See? It’s not gonna hurt you.” Ghoul comforted. “I’m guessing these were the things Vex wanted to capture  later.” She cupped Marrow and set her down beside her. “Want to help me finish the bait balls?”

Marrow sniffed, side eyeing the Koronok. “I promise it won’t hurt you.” Ghoul chirped. Marrow puffed her nose and scooped up some berries in a pile before crushing them under her paws repeatedly. Ghoul beamed. “You’re doing great!” Marrow’s tail wagged, stomping even harder causing some bait goop to go flying. Ghoul and Marrow stared at each other before bursting out laughing though Marrow’s laugh sounded more like a bunch of heavy chirps. “You’re alright kid.”

As Ghoul sat there, observing Marrow and the eating Koronok she realized the forest wasn’t as creepy as she originally thought. Some mushrooms made it blow, the flowers were bright and 

beautiful. The thick trees covered the sky only allowing small sun spots to shine through. She rolled onto her back, taking in the dewey grass and fresh air, finally feeling at peace.