The flyer set down in the fields of Mierh on a landing pad set up and maintained by the local tribes so that the vehicles weren't landing willy nilly all over their lands.

Sunlight, Spatter, and Marin stepped out, blinking in the light, and looked around uncertainly. Glow had described what they needed to find and what not to collect, and showed them examples. But it was still different, going from the tall mountains of Rekes to the rolling plains and grasslands where the grasses towered taller than their heads.

The sky still held onto the tones of the purple from the morning, painting it in shades of periwinkle and pale blue. Clouds were beginning to form as the ground below warmed up, floating above the almost impossibly green grasslands below.

Spatter extended their neck to sniff at at the grasses nearby, then retracted their head and sneezed.

Marin snorted at them, and Spatter stuck their tongue out in protest, while Sunlight stretched in the warmth, enjoying the sun on their fur.

"What did Glow ask us for, again?"

Sunlight blinked slowly, while Marin dug out his notepad. "Some… apples, strawberries, greenberries."

"Well, at least they're berries. We can tell them apart, unlike all the grasses and leaves that look similar…"

Spatter, meanwhile, was rearing up to get a better look over the grasses, and Marin and Sunlight watched with some envy as she effortlessly lifted half her body into the air. Despite the lack of arms, it appeared something could be said for being naught but a tube of muscle.

"See any trees around?"

Spatter nodded, then pointed in a direction that seemed like every other direction around them. "That way."

They made their way through the grasses, and sure enough, the grasses faded into a copse, shrinking as the canopies of the trees ate up the sun. Birds sang and flitted between the trees, and the leaves rustled in the wind, seeming almost to whisper.

The trio set about gathering some of the apples from the trees, Spatter climbing one and knocking them down for Marin to catch, while Sunlight reached up to pluck them as best they could. It was repetitive work but pleasant, and they had sunk into a routine until Spatter broke the silence.

"Something's coming!"

"How do you know?"

"The grass!"

Marin and Sunlight looked to where Spatter was indicating, and watched tensely as the grass shovered, waved, and then parted to reveal a draconic with a basket in their mouth. They all blinked at each other for a moment, then the draconic put the basket down and spoke hesitantly.

"I can leave…?"

"Oh! No need," Marin spoke up.

"There's plenty around here for all of us," Sunlight agreed, while Spatter nodded from the tree.

"I'm Spatter, this is Marin and that's Sunlight."

"I'm Floofer, this is Siris."

"Nice to meet you both!"

Pleasantries taken care of, they went back to picking apples. Noticing how Floofer and Siris were eyeing Spatter and Marin's workflow with some interest, Sunlight volunteered to do the same for them.

"Oh! You don't have to -"

Siris nudged Floofer. "They offered, it's polite to accept."

Floofer tried to protest, but Sunlight could see the gleam of interest in their eyes, and soon they agreed that they would split the haul at the end to be fair. They all settled into a comfortable routine, and soon their baskets were full. Siris, their taste being more that of strawberries, said they knew where a good bush was and went off to pick some.

Not wanting to leave just yet, Sunlight, Marin and Spatter settled down to eat lunch in the trees, and invited Floofer and Siris to join them.

"Oh, I couldn't…"

"Yes we can!"

"You helped us! Consider it a thank you."

"Well, if you put it that way…"

They settled down to eat and chat, and Floofer and Siris told them about what it was like to live in Mireh. How it was to live in the grasslands, the hurricanes that sometimes decimated trees and grasses, and in turn Spatter, Marin and Sunlight told them about Rekes. The glowing bones erupting from the earth, the snow, the year round thunderstorms.

Full of stories and food, they bid each other goodbye and went their separate ways. Spater guided them back to the flyer, while Floofer and Siris slipped off into the grass. They packed away their full baskets, and lifted the flyer off to go home.

It had been a good day.