Adderon

"Oh, of course! I would be happy to!"

“Hey, do you think we could lie down on the clouds?”

Uzelai stared at the grinning Imperial beside her. She sighed and shook her head. “Adderon, I fly on a regular basis to deliver things, and believe me when I say that I go right through them.”

Adderon’s impish grin grew wider, eyes sparkling with a naive, childlike glee. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t sit on them!”

“I think you should just focus on your work, sweetheart,” murmured Uzelai defeatedly, watching Adderon shave off a jagged edge of the scavenged crystal with a deft claw.

Adderon pouted childishly. “I bet they’re so fluffy and fun to play in and--”

Uzelai just flicked them on the forehead, jabbing at their jewel. “You were planning to make that into a necklace, weren’t you?”

Adderon blinked at the swerve in topic, but then their easy smile clicked into place again. They bent to their work, cutting off another spiked part. Clicking their tongue, they straightened up, holding the jewel to the sun and angling it this way and that. “It’s very weird in some places because it was thrown around in the dump a lot before I found it.”

“Weird?” Uzelai snickered at the Imperial’s word choice. “What does that mean?”

Adderon cocked their head, eyes bright and attentive, examining every part of the stone carefully. “It’s very rough,” they said slowly, almost with a childlike observance. “And very scratched in certain parts.”

“And how much are you charging for this necklace?” Uzelai couldn’t contain the worry in her voice. It was a wonder Adderon hadn’t gotten scammed yet, with their carefree attitude and immature personality.

Adderon looked over at her, and then looked down again at the shiny crystal in his claws. “Me and the buyer haven’t worked it out yet,” they told her. “He wants me to bind it with an enchantment as well.”

Uzelai couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “Then you better be charging a higher amount.”

“I know,” Adderon grinned, setting the jewel down between their claws. “We’ll work something out.”

Stretching her wings, Uzelai yawned and rested her head on the ground, lazily looking at Adderon smoothen out the crystal by filing it on a nearby rock.

She couldn’t help but smile to herself as she watched Adderon yelp as he nearly broke the crystal in half by dropping it straight onto the ground, but catching it just in time. “Careful,” Uzelai warned.

“I will be,” Adderon replied, brows knitting as they held up his handiwork against the sun to inspect it. “I think it’s finished. Now I need to bind it with the charm and string it onto a piece of twine.” They rose to their feet, walking away. “Be right back!” they called.

Uzelai waved at the retreating Imperial. Exhaling, she plopped down onto the soft patch of grass, rolling around to make herself comfortable. She was exhausted, to say the least, after making countless rounds of deliveries and transportations. Finally, she had time to rest--

“Um, Uzelai?” came Adderon’s plaintive voice, echoing out the cave. “I may or may not have run out of twine.”

“Are you serious?” Uzelai sighed, getting up again. As much as her legs ached, she knew she had a soft spot for Adderon. She’d go get them more twine, and then she would rest.

Adderon emerged, their head lowered in embarrassment. “Actually, I managed to drop the jewel and crack it in half as well.”

Uzelai peered at them, not impressed. “So, do you need twine or not?”

“Nope,” Adderon said, popping the ‘p’ sound. They gazed up at the sky, face seeming to shimmer with his curiosity. “If I had been up on the clouds, dropping the jewel wouldn’t have ruined it. Maybe it would have bounced instead.”

“You have to be joking. I already said--”