Username:
The Best at Space
Name:
I have chosen the name Picket for this Puffball. Tiger stripes always remind me of picket fences, so it instantly made me think that it's the perfect name for this little fella.
Gender:
He is indeed a male. I can't really see him any other way, but I guess it makes since how others can.
Story:
It was bright out, not a cloud in the sky to block the sun's rays. As Picket entered the great outdoors, this became blatantly apparent to him as the bright light shone down onto his grey eyes. Quickly flinching, Picket opened his eyes a few seconds later to let them adjust to the light outside. 'That's what I get for staying inside so long,' he said, glancing down at the paint buckets near his paws; red paint, blue paint, orange paint, and grey paint. Earlier this week, Picket had seen an old brick fence near where he lived. It wasn't owned by anybody, so he decided it would be a good place to paint, sort of like a mural. So yesterday, he went out to gather some buckets of paint, and planned what he was going to paint on the wall; his favorite animal, the Amur tiger. He had always been fascinated by tigers, and loved them very much. He felt so happy every time he saw his pelt, simply because it resembles the beautiful cats. He planned to make a big picture of a tall Amur tiger with bright blue eyes and grey stripes on the wall.
With a happy squeal, Picket spun his pinwheel and began to float off to where he knew the fence was. While he floated, Picket held one paint bucket in each of his front paws, two in his tail, and the paintbrush in his jaws. He stared down at the landscape below as he flew past it; trees, lakes, streams, and a few birds here and there. He found it a pretty sight, and couldn't help but smile at it as he flew by. Up ahead, he saw the fence begin to come into view. It was tall compared to Picket, which made it the absolute perfect place to paint a big picture. As he approached the wall, he began to grow excited, and smiled wider, eyes glistening with excitement. Picket had never gotten to paint anywhere, except on the large white sheets of paper, specifically designed for the acrylic paints he always used. He had practiced often, and thus gotten very good at detail, anatomy, and all that good stuff an artist needs to become good at what they do.
Picket landed gently in the plush, green grass below. It felt as soft on his paws as a freshly-puffed pillow before bed. Picket set down all four paint cans, and sat down to open them up. Popping off one of the lids, Picket wrinkled up his nose at the smell, just like he always did when he opened a new can or tube of paint. He opened the orange paint first, it being the main color for the tiger, and thus the most important. He dipped the paintbrush into the paint and lifted it, letting any excess and unneeded liquid drip back into the can. After that, he lifted the brush to the wall and began to paint. He used gentle brush strokes along the bricks, careful not to linger in one spit too long so not to have too much paint there. If he did that, it would drip and ruin the picture. After he was done with the basic shape, he put a little extra in certain areas to add emphasis in the form of shading to certain spots, making it seem that the tiger really had fur all around it. Picket then wiped the paint off of the brush back into the bucket, and reached for the next.
Lifting the grey bucket toward him, Picket set the brush down in the grass. He set the grey pain can down and popped open the lid, just like the last, and reached for the brush again to dip it in the paint. It was a dark grey, which made the perfect color for the stripes. Looking back at the red, Picket wasn't sure why he brought it. Maybe he could add a reddish tint to the tiger's grey stripes when he was done. Picket ignored the thoughts and dipped the brush into the grey paint, letting the excess drip, just like he did the orange. After that was done again, he lifted the brush and began to paint the stripes, beautiful arrays of vertical lines going down the tiger's orange pelt. He stood back, examine in where he needed to add shading on the stripes. After getting a basic idea, he quickly repeated the brush-wetting action and repeated what he had done originally with the tiger's fur to add emphasis. It was looking good! Just one more thing was needed to make it complete.
After cleaning the brush of the grey paint, Picket dipped it into the blue paint. It was a pretty blue, the kind of baby blue you see in the sky at midday, Picket's favorite shade of blue. He floated up to where the tiger's eyes would be located. Since the animal was facing its side, Picket only had to draw one eye. He made an almond-sort of shape and stood back. It looked great. Now it just needed a pupil. Not wanting to dry off the brush, Picket simply flew to the dark grey paint and dipped his paw in. He fluttered back and poked the tiger's eye with his toe, giving it a perfectly round pupil. Then he also added emphasis to the eye, though not much was needed. Simply a little darker spot was added.
Picket flew back and sat in the grass, staring up at his art. It was amazing! Picket had never felt better about himself in his life. As he sat back, staring at it, he noticed the sun had gotten a bit lower in the sky. 'I guess I've been here longer than I thought,' he wondered in his mind. The young Puffball stood and went over to his paint cans to close them. He set them all next to each other and set the paintbrush on top of them. He wanted to wait and watch the sunset, even if it was hours away. He walked back to where he was previously sitting and laid down in the plush, warm grass. What better way to pass the hours than a nap? Picket curled up and wrapped his fuzzy tail around his nose as he formed himself into what resembled a ball. He soon dozed off into a calm, silent sleep in the warm grass.
Picket woke up with a yawn at an unknown time later. He had slept just the right amount of time, he realized, as he opened his eyes to see the sun sinking low into the horizon. The light was bent and began to change colors slightly, not quite to the point where they looked the most beautiful. Picket quickly stumbled to sit up as he stared out at the horizon. To get a better view, he decided to wit at the top of his mural. Floating over, Picket made a gentle landing at the top of the stone wall, his tail dangling behind him. He took a deep breath and released it in one, long sigh as he waited patiently for the sun to set. He didn't distract himself the entire time to pass the time; he just sat there and stared forward.
Then it was happening; the sun was so low that the usually blue light was bent into a vibrant arrangement of hot pinks and purples, all dancing across the sky like ballet dancers on the horizon's stage. Picket hadn't seen many sunsets, but he knew they were all pretty and amazing. He had loved the few he had seen, and constantly longed to see more, but didn't get around to going outside as often as he would have liked. With a sigh, Picket silently watched the sun set with a smile across his face. Soon, the sun was gone, and the moon hung heavy in the sky, surrounded by stars like they were a group of friends at a party. Picket hopped off his fence and scrambled over to his paints.
Picking the buckets up in his paws and tail, and the brush in his mouth, Picket began to float up into the sky. The night made him feel good, having felt accomplished in his art and having seen something as beautiful as that sunset. As he floated off, he began to think of other ways he could find something like this experience to do again.
Thanks for reading, and good luck to all!