Hanna's Vastrals Extras

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Monthly Prompt

Month: February 2025

Prompt: “How does your Vastral usually spend their day? Do they hang out with friends, forage, swim or something else?”
Word count: 1,350 words
Characters: Sakura, Briar Rose, Blu Raspberry, Hotaru

Sakura wakes with a languid stretch, her soft pink fur matted with sleep. She heads over to her dressing table to brush everything out with her thick bristled brush. She is meeting up with her friends today, so she wants to look nice. With care and precision, she dons her favorite kimono. A beautiful dusty pink covered in sakura blooms. She brushes a paw down the front, the left crossing over the right. With deft paws, she grabs the dark pink obi and arranges it across her middle, tying the bow with practiced perfection. She slips her geta onto her paws, rocking on the wooden slats for fun. At her dresser, she carefully clips her sakura accessories onto her antennae so they sit perfectly and slips her headband on. The attached kanzashi twinkle and make the tiniest little clinking sounds as she moves.

Satisfied with her appearance, she grabs her paper parasol with her dexterous tail and heads out of her door. Her small house is round and set on the top of a large hill. Over the years, she had established a daily routine, only broken today by her visit with friends. Normally, she’d step outside and evaluate. To the left of her front door was a large koi pond that she cared for with an abundance of love and careful knowledge. Her koi are her babies, and she would never want to hurt them by not maintaining their pond well enough. She’d check the water levels first and adjust things as needed. Then she’d feed them their gourmet koi food. It was always a treat to stand at the edge and shake the bag so she could watch the intelligent fish gather and jump for their breakfast.

Since she was meeting with friends today, Sakura put off her water tests. Because of her diligent care, the water was almost always perfect and could be put off for a few hours. She does grab the food and feed the fishies though. They swarm her, jumping and churning the water. She lets out a little laugh as she tosses them their food.

Next, she’d normally do a little tour of the grounds. The top of her hill is her sanctuary, and she’s made it appear as beautiful and otherworldly as she could. Large willow tree dot the landscape and as many Sakura trees as possible have been planted. She also planted flowers that promoted pollinators to come. She’d care for her gardens, weeding and watering and fertilizing as needed. The flowers would be okay today.

She carefully makes her way down her hill to collect her first friend of the day. They all lived close to each other, but as their de facto leader, Sakura usually gathered them up in order from closest to farthest from her house. It worked for them. She made her way down the sparkling, enchanted path towards Briar Rose’s forest.

Briar Rose woke up slowly, her long lashes blinking against her soft face. She quietly unfolded her legs and stood up, doing a long languorous stretch. With a little shiver, she fluffs out her white wings, stretching each one independently. It felt amazing, so she did it one more time, flicking the tips at the end just for fun. She wanders over to her perfectly still pond in the corner of her sleep meadow. With a turn left and right, she inspects herself for any leafy debris left over from sleeping, but she’s clear. Her purple and pink fur is untainted by any detritus. With a satisfied nod she wanders out of her magic meadow, ready to meet up with Sakura whenever she arrived. A pristine apple sags from the end of a branch right into her face, so she chomps down, happy to have breakfast.

As the guardian of the forest, her magic buzzes under her skin, ready to aid any who need her. She casts out a magic net, feeling around for any distrubance, but finds none. The forest is well—for now. She pushes some nature magic into the soil to boost the plants that grow there. She pushes love and nutrients deep into the compacted dirt, urging it to fill up the roots of all the plants who grow there. She magically scans again for a moment, before nodding, satisified with her progress to the forest today.
She spies Sakura coming down the path and grins. She prances over to her friend and rubs their cheeks together in greeting. They chat as they head towards the lake to find their third friend.

Blu Raspberry has been awake since the sun hit the water. It’s impossible to sleep when sunlight floods your space and reflects off the very water you live in. Unlike the others, Blu doesn’t stretch or clean himself with a brush. No. Blu is a shrimp and with that comes a more a shrimpy way of getting ready. He rubs up against a rock, scratching any loose scales off. Ahh, better, he thinks. He heads over to his kitchen garden, nibbling on the greenery until he’s full. He doesn’t like being hungry if he can avoid it and snacks often to avoid it. He loves caring for his garden and exploring around his hut for new and exciting plants and animals. But today, he was too busy for that.

Satisfied and ready, he exits his pond at the shallow end and shakes himself out so he won’t be wet. His hard exoskeleton sheds the water easily, and he wanders over to a nearby rock to wait out his friends’ arrival. He spots them over the horizon, Sakura looking as put together as always and Briar Rose looking as magical and unicorny as ever. He waves and heads their way as they all say their greetings. The trio turn around and head back towards Sakura’s place. The walk takes them around half an hour, but it’s a nice day out and they have plenty to chat about. They scale Sakura’s hill, pass her house and go to the back where the cloud staircase awaits them.

The climb is arduous, but they keep at a slow and steady pace, eventually making their way to Hotaru’s kingdom. They’re so high up it’s dizzying, so they avoid looking off the edge as they approach Hotaru’s place.

Hotaru woke up as sunlight streamed into her bedroom. Her castle had many large windows that were lovely during the day, but killer in the mornings. The sun seemed to almost pierce through them. Hotaru’s lady’s maid came in shortly after she awoke and helped ready her. Being a moon Goddess was hard work and Hotaru had many other vastrals employed to help assist her. Her wild mane was brushed, her sacred moon mark cleaned, and her tail moisturized before she knew it. She wandered to the dining hall and had her breakfast that her chef prepared. It was lovely and scrumptious. Then she went and waited in the drawing room for her guests to arrive.

The trio headed into Hotaru’s castle and followed the butler to the drawing room, where they knew Hotaru would be waiting. And she was. They had refreshments and a bite to eat before heading off to explore the moon castle’s grounds. The fluffy cloud had many magical inhabitants, and the crew loved discovering them. They always had such fun playing with new friends.
After hours of playing outside and hanging inside, the group would split up once again, making their own ways home. Hotaru would watch as they descended the stairs. Sakura would stay behind at her house as Briar Rose and Blu headed towards the forest together. At that point, Blu would split off and head home alone, enjoying the solitude and nature. They couldn’t hang out every day but they tried to meet up as often as their busy schedules allowed. They all ate dinner at their respective homes, looking out their windows, wondering what the others were doing. They were sad they had to part, but that just meant they got to be happy when they met up again.

[Hanna]

Monthly Prompt

Month: March 2025

Prompt: "Your Vastral visits Marlin Gulf, a small fishing town, what do they do there?"

Word count: 1,053 words
Characters: Blu Raspberry, Sakura, Briar Rose, Hotaru

Blu Raspberry had heard about an amazing small fishing town down on the coast. It was called Marlin Gulf, and it was famous for its amazing fish market. As a shrimp, Blu always looked for markets designed with a fish consumer in mind. He told his friends all about it and they decided they were going to go for a visit! It took some planning because they didn’t live near the coast. They created a three-day plan to get there. The group didn’t mind camping one bit, and it left them with plenty of cash to spend in town. The weather this time of year was just fine, and the stars were so bright at night. It took a lot of walking, a lot of rests, and a few strategic stops near rivers to wash, but they finally reached the famed town!

Blu was so excited he started running for the market and his friends tried their best to keep up. He was in awe of all the amazing places. A booth just for brushes he could use on his exoskeleton! No more dirty scales! So many sizes and types! He buzzed over to the next booth that sold specialty foods for every ocean creature! The mantis shrimp food smelled divine and Blu started drooling. Sakura noticed and bought him a huge plate! Everyone else grabbed whatever sounded yummy (even though they were not fish!) and all ate around the coast, enjoying the view of the water. Sakura was really happy such a simple gift made Blu so happy.

Blu was the moon! The food was so good. He’d never had a meal so good before. His little pond back home was nice, but it wasn’t where he was from. He’d moved from the ocean where his family was deep inland because he was looking for adventure. And he found it! He loved his local area, and he loved his friends. But he missed the open sea sometimes, too. He missed the food and the people and the current of the ocean, scooting him along. All his favorite rock hiding places.

Speaking of! Blu finds a booth selling the most amazing hiding rocks. They’re really large though, and he’s sad he won’t be able to bring it home. Hotaru notices and alerts her guards. Her magic allows her to communicate over great lands. They agree to help bring the rocks home and she tells Blu. Blu jumps up and down and hugs her tightly, so very happy and excited by this amazing gift. He picks out the best hiding rocks and they’re put safely to the side. Hotaru usually used her magic to protect her kingdom from harm, so it was really nice to use it for a good and kind cause instead. It made her heart glow with happiness.

Briar Rose wants to get Blu a gift too, but she’s not sure what. She sneaks away from the group and finds the perfect stall. It’s decorations for one’s sleep den! She knows Blu has a little nook he’s fixed up for himself, but she’s never seen it as she can’t breathe underwater. But it seemed lovely from Blu’s description. She liked knowing that she could add a touch of beauty to this special hidden place. She buys several shiny, shimmery shells and beads of pearls for Blu to decorate with. She spots a cute little red shell earring and grabs that too. She figures Blu might like to dress up sometimes! Then she finds the group and shyly passes the new gifts to Blu, who beams at her. Briar Rose can be a little shy, but she is a kind unicorn, through and though.

Sakura, Hotaru, and Briar Rose all shared looks as Blu grew more and more excited and flustered over the fish market goods. They had more fun watching him enjoy himself than they did experiencing the market. They had fun doing both, though, and by the end of the day, they were all worn out. Blu was like a limp noodle by the time they go to sleep in the half-land, half-water hotel they were staying in. Blu didn’t have to stay in water, but he preferred sleeping in it and this was a treat! Everyone conked out hard and woke up refreshed and ready for the day.

They all enjoyed a very oceany meal at a local restaurant. Lots of seaweed and mussels and clams to enjoy. It was new food for Sakura, Briar Rose, and Hotaru, who had never had such fancy seafood before. They had tried a few things from their local waterways, but nothing like this ocean fare! Blu couldn’t stop smiling at the sounds and expressions of his friends as they tried his childhood favorites. It was really special, and he was so happy to be sharing this experience with them. It made him miss home a bit again, but he was glad that this was a place he could visit again!

They stayed for a few days, exploring the coast, enjoying the food, and visiting the market again. All of Blu’s gifts and things were transported home by Hotaru’s guards who arrived on their second day. That way, they were able to relax and not worry about bringing things along while camping on their way home. It was a relief, because they bought a lot of stuff!

When they got home, Blu went to work right away. He took his new rocks and carefully arranged them so his current hideaway was expanded and perfect. It took some time and a lot of nudging, but eventually he was happy with it. He piled sand up around the edges to make it nice and warm and cozy. He grabbed his new decorations from Briar Rose and started arranging them, testing locations. He strung the pearls up around the entrance so when the sun shone in they glittered. The pretty shells he put out near his sleeping nest so he could admire them when he woke up. He still had a few snacks left over from the trip, but most were eaten during the camping trip back. He sat in his den and enjoyed his new decoration and his new hidey hole eating the last of his snacks and being so grateful for his amazing friends!

[Hanna]

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