Tsukimio

Zasper's "search" may have ended when he found Abernathy, but right now he stares into the bottom of a scraped-out but still-sticky barrel, forlorn. "Where has the mochi gone?" He looks up at Sapfoot expectantly. "The mochi we made this morning."

Her diaphanous wings buzz. If not for the wry grin on her face, Zasper would think she was angry. "Where do you think?"

He follows her gaze across the glade to where the clan's most mischevous coatl Tsukimio is chomping away at dango, his tail curling with delight at his familiar zooms around him in circles.

"I guess having been a hatchling in the Plaguebringer's realm means no mochi," Sapfoot trills, almost laughing.

Zasper sighs. "Or mechanical toys, apparently," he grouches as the gearspring pocketmouse squeaks-squeaks-squeaks.

"Blame Larimar for making that introduction," Sapfoot declares, picking at the tiny smudges of overlooked mochi with her equally tiny claws. "The pocketmouse -- it's haunted."

"Of course it is. With what?" Zasper asks with some alarm.

Sapfoot throws up her paws in defeat. "Something that's willing to help him steal mochi?"

"Great," Zasper huffs.

The mochi-munching coatl hums a catchy tune and, between springy bites of chewy rice paste, gargles something that sounds like "Dango! Dango! Dango san kyodai!"

The pocketmouse (incidentally named Dangosankyodai) thinks its dragon is serenading it and zooms even faster (despite that fact that once wound up it should only be able to slow down).

"If I had dango, I'd be that happy, too," Zasper says and Sapfoot laughs.

"No you wouldn't!"

"I'd be happy on the inside." He gives her a sharp look. "Which still counts."

"You bet it does!"

They both watch Tsukimio and the possessed pocketmouse. Sapfoot beams at their antics and Zasper finds himself smiling, too... on the inside, of course.

{{The song Tsukimio is singing is "Dango San Kyoudai (The Three Brothers Dango)" by Mr. Kintaro Hayami & Ms. Ayumi Shigemori. There are translations of the lyrics available on the Internet if you're interested. And the song is QUITE catchy. You've been warned.}}