Knox

Story

The town was a-buzz with activity, just the way Knox liked it. The muddled melody of overlapping conversation was music to his fluffy green ears. The jingle of shop bells and sounds of paw, hooves, feet, and wheels on the cobblestone road held promise of a full day. He paused only briefly at the market entrance, taking in the hustle and bustle with a wide grin and bright eyes, then dove into the action.

The market was central to the small town. Along the city center was a ring of small shops, many with the shopkeeper keeping residence in an apartment above. Twice a season the town center filled with stands and carts overflowing with all sorts of goods – homemade, home grown, and even brought in from distant lands. It was a tradesman’s (or tradespherret’s I suppose) heaven. And for Knox - a master tradesman, brilliant gardener, and lover of life - the addition of puppet shows, jugglers, skits, music, and art displays made the event off-the-charts splendid. It was practically a personally-designed dream for him, one of his very favorite of their stops along the Peka River, and one he made sure to never miss.

While he would always understand that he and his best friend – the intelligent, moody, and generous montre named Thorn – were just poured from very different (but equally “correct” and wonderful) molds, part of his brain still could never quite wrap around the concept of preferring the quiet houseboat to the vibrant and living marketplace. The activity was like an electric current to Knox, recharging his battery. It was an overflowing spout, filling his cup again and again in a single day. He was his most alive at the center of it all.

While he would have been more than happy to spend the day just poking about every shop and stand, chatting with anyone and everyone, and marveling at the displays of talent and creativity, he had work to do. This was his busiest season. His garden – shockingly lush and productive despite taking up only a quarter of their houseboat – was overflowing with a wide variety of colorful, juicy fruits and healthy vegetables and he had an overflow of orders to match it. At this stop alone he had seventeen parcels to deliver, some being directly exchanged for other goods and others simply sold, the coins pocketed for later need.

While generous in spirit, Knox was also a smart tradesman. He didn’t shortchange himself when it came to acknowledging the labor he put into producing such delicious and hearty foods, and he didn’t minimize the importance of his and Thorn’s wellbeing. It was just as important as the wellbeing of the wonderful individuals he met and traded with all up and down the Peka River. Not that he didn’t give when and how he could, he was always happy to help others and took joy in doing so. But he could also hold his head high and walk away from an unfair trade, even if it meant making someone mad. He knew that making a habit of shortchanging himself only meant bad things for everyone in the long run, and so he prided himself on being kind and fair and bringing as much joy to others through his garden as he could.

His first several stops were all shops in the market’s ring, and he danced and bopped his way across the busy hub towards them. Considering the deliveries were literally door-to-next-door one may think it would take mere minutes to complete them. But that one clearly didn’t know Knox.

His first stop, Mrs. Dursten, would be putting the kettle on before he made it all the way into the apartment. He was eager to hear what the latest letter said about her niece’s new job, and she would want to know all the details of his experience at the lavender fields that she had recommended to him during his last visit. His second stop – Marty and June – would be a rapid-fire download of all the newest information they had gathered regarding fertilizers and soils. The two rivaled Knox in enthusiasm, and were brilliant up-and-coming hydroponics experts. They loved to trade knowledge with Knox and were helping him plan an addition to his garden using their best techniques. Edgar, his third stop, would be more than happy to chit-chat with Knox while Cache (Knox’s “minion” Jorge) and Mellow (Edgar’s “minion” Dawnfluff) roughhoused and chased playfully over and under the furniture. And his fourth stop, the Minfold’s home, would inevitably end with Deliliah (their youngest) leading him by the hand back out to the market to show off her flowers at her cousin’s stand.

And so, the day would go. In and out of shops and homes, time spent at every stand and cart and booth he could manage, chatting and storytelling with full investment and passion. It would be a day of marveling, and Knox loved to marvel, at the magic that was a world full of others.

To his utter delight, there was one stop left to make on the way out of town. The mouth-watering aroma of the food truck caught his attention first, causing him to turn left instead of the usual right at the last street before the cobbles turned to the packed dirt that would lead him to the river. He couldn’t believe his luck – Wok This Way – Thorn’s favorite meal on wheels, was parked with flat tops steaming and sizzling away. Oh he couldn’t wait to see Thorn’s face when he returned home with such a special surprise. He placed, then picked up, his order and made haste home, eager to arrive while the food was still steaming.

As it often went, Knox left town that day with not just a full pack and full arms, but a full heart. He loved his life along the Peka River – days of travel spent between tending his garden and playing cards with his dear friend Thorn blended with days of adventuring into quaint towns and booming cities and vast lone properties and even the occasional truly-wild wilderness. Yes indeed, it was a full life. It was a good life. And it was a life he was always grateful for.

Credits

Profile Code by: Ringo
Extra Code by: Bug
Edited by: Chrysariel
Story by Faune
Recolor Overlay by: dalice
Background by: Terranaut Pixabay
Branch by: Clker-Free-Vector-Images Pixabay
Vines by: clipartmax Pixabay
Name Art by: Chrysariel