[Gift] pick your friends like you pick your apples

“Hey, thanks for agreeing to come with me, Hallow!”

Merribelle’s voice was alight with excitement. Hallow didn’t think she’d ever seen the other so thrilled. She didn’t fully understand why the taller was so worked up over a simple outing, not that the reason really mattered.

“Of course, silly. You know I’m always down for a good time.” Hallow laughed, rolling her eyes. “You don’t have to ask me twice. Anything to beat boredom.” While Hallow hadn’t originally intended on leaving the house today, she was more than content with an excursion to the orchard with Merribelle. Boredom was a bitch that Hallow was all too familiar with. She always felt better moving out and about, searching for that next little snippet of curiosity that kept her guessing.

“I know, I know. I just felt a bit bad that it was on such short notice.” Merribelle mumbled, a bit sheepish. She liked to keep things transparent with her best friend. She felt a bit foolish for giving the smaller such little time to make a choice. It was unlike her. She felt a bit guilty if she were being honest, as if she’d forced Hallow to accompany her to the orchard.

As if she could make Hallow do anything. That woman listened to nothing and no one. 

“Why are we heading to the orchard this late in the year anyway?” Hallow’s voice snapped Merri out of the swirl of her thoughts. Oh, right. She had forgotten to mention the actual purpose of this little excursion of theirs.

“It’s this year’s last harvest.” Merribelle spoke, her voice a little soft. “I wanted to get one last basket of apples to bake us a few pies. Freeze them for winter, you know?” Merribelle loved to bake, especially for herself and Hallow. She adored the satisfaction she gleaned from creating something yummy. Found herself falling in love with the hobby a little bit more every time she took to the kitchen. Pies were one of her favorite things to bake; they kept well, froze flawlessly, and always made her feel better when she was having a crummy day.

“Last apple haul of the year, huh?” Hallow mused, noting the downtrodden attitude of her friend. “Let’s make it count. I’ll fill up my pouch with apples, too. We’ll carry as much as we can manage. No apple left behind!” She gently nudged the taller, a small smile on her face. Merribelle could get a little melancholy sometimes. It was best to keep her full of her signature holiday cheer that never dissipated no matter the month.

Luckily, Hallow’s attempt at a distraction seemed to work. Merribelle brightened and laughed, reaching out to grab Hallow by the paw and tug her through the gates of the apple orchard. “You’re right. Let’s split up, but don’t wander too far, okay? I don’t want you getting into any trouble on my watch.”

Hallow rolled her eyes. She wasn’t a toddler- she didn’t need to babysat. She’d oblige for Merribelle, though. Always for her. “Fine, fine. I won’t mosey any farther than one row over. I’m only listening because I like you, though, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Merribelle smiled, her heterochromia eyes sparkling with delight. “First one to fill up their pouches wins the best spot on the couch when we get home.” A teasing challenge that wouldn’t remain unanswered. “You’re on!” Hallow grinned, taking off for a nearby tree with a laugh and determination ripe in the flutter of her wings.

Time passed quickly.

The two of them raced about the orchard, a mad dash of friendship and laughter lost to the autumn air. Curses, giggles, half-screams of surprise when they tripped over themselves to try and pick the best apples the fastest. A ripe apple here, a crisp one there; a dash around fallen leaves and a weave of competition between the embered trees of fall. “Done!” Hollow yelled, her voice loud and echoing in the brisk air. She pumped a fist in the air at the sound of her friend’s defeated groan, reveling in her triumph. “I’m the best! Unbeatable! Take that, Merri. I’m the ultimate apple collector.”

“Not fair!” Merri huffed, pouting a bit as she emerged from two rows over. “I can’t climb trees like a feral beast, unlike someone I know.” Her pointed gaze made it very, very, obvious that Hallow was the beast she was referring to. 

“You’re just jealous of my mad skills.” Hallow retorted smugly. Mildly infuriating and confident as ever. Merribelle huffed and shook her head, her ears twitching with an amusement she couldn’t mask. Not from Hallow.

“You’re impossible, you know that?” She smiled, fondness glimmering in her expression. “Impossibly cool.” Hallow corrected, though a smile soon tugged at her mouth too. “You’re pretty cool too. Don’t worry.”

Merribelle pulled Hallow into a sudden hug, smelling of nutmeg and pine needles as she always did. Hallow was momentarily surprised before she returned the act with equal fervor, picking Merri off the ground to spin her in an embrace. It sparked another round of soft laughter, the two of them twirling in the falling leaves of descent of fall.

“Okay, okay! Too dizzy!” Merribelle yelped, a giddy smile on her face as her smaller friend set her back on the ground. It took her a moment to even herself out again. “Ough, I always forget how strong you are, Halls.”

Hallow merely grinned, placing her hands on her hips with a sassy snark in her voice. “You’re just easy to pick up, Merribelle. I think all your holiday spirit lightens you up physically.”

Merribelle rolled her eyes with a snort of laughter. “Maybe you’re right. I can’t help it.” She reached out to gently grab ahold of Hallow’s hand, tugging her smaller friend into moving alongside her. “It’s fun to be picked up by you anyway.” The two of them headed back through the orchard. The sun was beginning to sink low in the sky; it painted the surroundings in a lovely glow, the surreal rays of golden hour shining softly down upon them. Eternia was always so pretty, especially at sunsets.

The two of them didn’t say anything for a while. They didn’t have to; Hallow and Merribelle were close. They knew what the other was thinking without needing any sort of verbal confirmation. They simply let themselves get lost in the dwindling glimmer of sunshine.

“Y’know, I think a sight this pretty calls for an apple.” Hallow finally spoke, reaching into her pouch to produce a fruit from their earlier labor. “Don’t you think?” She gently tugged Merribelle down with her as she plopped herself onto the grassy hillside. The sunset was impossible to ignore. Amber twinkles of dusk wove through the cloud covers, twilight peeking through to merge hand-in-hand with the last dying embers of daylight.

“Yeah. I think you’re right.” Merribelle hummed, pulling out an apple of her own to bump it gently against Hallow’s. “Apple cheers!” The larger exclaimed, happy when Hallow bumped her apple in return. Hallow rolled her eyes at her friend’s childish antics. Merri could be so odd.

“You’re kind of a nutcase.” Hallow muttered, biting into her apple with a satisfying crunch. Last-season apples were always the best. “I am not!” Merri huffed, pouting as she munched on a fruit of her own. “I’m a wonderful joy to be around.” That drew an eye-roll from her darker friend. Even if Merribelle was telling the truth, Hallow didn’t want to admit it. “Fine. You’re a joy to be around- happy?” Merribelle’s happy little nod was answer enough.

Silence soon fell over them again. A gentle sound of quiet that settled on the hill. A peaceful pocket of the world just for them, paws and blankets overlapping softly as Merribelle and Hallow watched the sun fall into the tranquil sleep of night.

Today had been a good day for apple picking.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Word count: 1,322
Characters: Hallow & Merribelle
Prompt: Gift for Cali <3/p