[Helping Hand] Forever and ever!

Ophiuchus stared at the large pile of items that Cygnus laid out before him. Old clothes, things they’d collected from the planets they’d visited, and various other items that had been stored away with time.

“All of it?” He asked, giving her a quizzical look.

She nodded, placing a paw on the side of the pile with a heavy breath. “We were due for a spring cleaning, anyways ‘Phiu.” She hummed. “This is all stuff we’re never going to need again—like…” She held up a button-down flower print shirt they’d bought years ago on a planet comprised mostly of beaches. “You never wear this.”

“Right…” He laughed awkwardly. “That is true, but—even your collectibles collection? Really?”

The little set of plush collectibles, still protected in their boxes in a neat line seemed to stare up at him. Various figures of note from TV shows, but he knew they were good trade if anything else.

“I don’t need these anymore, they were originally going to a swap before that merchant ship ran off without a word…” She rolled her eyes. “The port can auction the collection to someone that actually wants them, still.” She held up one of the collectibles, examining it with narrowed eyes. “Besides, we don’t need all this extra weight on the ship. Next expedition is going to be a big one, we’ll need the extra storage space.”

Ophiuchus slowly approached the pile, parsing through the items with his own hum. “I guess… I mean, if I really end up missing something I can always get another—wait.” He paused. “Is this my model ship?!”

“Come on, hon. You don’t even like that model.”

“But—it’s…” His brows furrowed. “Well, no I don’t like this model do I…”

She smiled at him. “If you really want it we can keep it, but its going to a good cause.” She gestured again. “Most of this is my stuff anyways but come on—the port is always one of our required stops. We never skip out on staying now and again, I don’t think it would be very fair to ignore them when we can help out.”

After a small amount of deliberation, he nodded. “Why don’t we donate some copies of our recent books too, to fundraise?” He thought. “They can put them in the little port stores or something.”

Her nods became bigger. “What a great idea! I’m sure any travelling scholars could find that interesting.”

The two began to load the items into the boxes, going through them one last time as they sorted them. Occasionally, Ophiuchus would find something he looked to Cygnus with surprise with, a handful of items making their way out of the donation pile and back into their ship… but after careful sorting, their cart of items was ready.

Their ship, The Lexicon had been docked at the port for a few days now. When news of the fundraising had reached them, Cygnus knew what she had to do. They pushed the large cart of items down the long bay halls, guiding it to the main hall where the fundraiser volunteers were accepting items and answering questions. They entered the line… moving towards the desks, before feeding off to the donations section to plant the cart down.

With the help of some port staff, the two managed to unload all their things into the donation bay to be sorted. They looked over the large room, piles being sorted into items, clothes, and housewares… it surprised Ophiuchus to see how the community had already begun to band together.

“Thanks so much!” Cygnus beamed, taking Ophiuchus by the arm to lead him back down the way. “See, honey? That was really nice.” She then breathed out. “Now we have a bunch of extra space too! Not to mention, I bet our fuel usage is going to be really nice now that we’ve gotten a fair bit out.”

He laughed. “Right? I guess that’s always a plus. Now you have more space to fill the storage bay back up with new things.”

“Orrr… I could be better about enjoying what I have.” She pointed, a somewhat amused and teasing look on her face. “Right?”

He shook his head, a wide smile across his face. “But you love getting memorabilia from all the places we’ve visited, you aren’t gonna stop now.”

“Then I guess we’ll have lots more to donate in the future, right?” She giggled back, hopping up onto the small bay of their ship. “Forever a cycle of new and old, forever and everrrr….”

He laughed too as he climbed into the ship, following her up to the living space. “Exactly.” He smiled softly. “Maybe you’ll even find some new fun things at the auction later?”

“What a great idea!” She gasped. “Now, we even have the space for it!”