Helping Hand

Wintergreen wasn’t the biggest fan of space travel. It was an advancement that had come far too fast for her to adjust to, really. It had seemed like practically overnight, infrastructure was being built to accommodate ships landing and public transportation to space ports far above.

She wasn’t against it, of course. Connecting with people from far off planets was a fascinating prospect, and she could see the benefits of it. It was just that she was a simple girl, who preferred a simple life. And a simple life, to her, meant keeping her paws firmly on the ground. She didn’t often venture beyond even her hometown, really.

She’d had to adjust to it pretty damn quickly after a bunch of meteorites fell on her house and demolished everything she’d ever known, though. She still didn’t enjoy living in space, but she wasn’t going to complain when Port Borealis had saved her life and offered her refuge. She quite literally owed them her life.

Them, and Port Chrysanthemum. Although she herself had not made a stay there, being an adult, she understood that they had taken in all of the freshly displaced and orphaned Sodakittens and Guppywogs without a moment’s hesitation. And while she didn’t personally know any of those kids, it brought her comfort to know that they were being cared for. 

After all they had done for her community, it was only right that she gave something back to them. As soon as she saw the flyers for their fundraiser event, she was brainstorming ways in which she could help. 

She didn’t have much to her name, so she could donate only a small sum. But at the bottom of the flyers was a number for volunteers to get in touch.

Which, in the end, brought her on her way to Port Chrysanthemum. Wintergreen didn’t dare look out of the window as the small ship she was on shot through space. The thought was making her a little queasy, so she kept her eyes firmly on the cardboard box in her lap.

It was full of confectionery, home made by Wintergreen’s own paws. She didn’t have the means to set up a whole stall by herself, but she’d arranged for her candies to be put to sale alongside someone else’s. And, since she was arriving early, she figured she could help put up decorations or tables or something.

When the ship finally docked at Chrysanthemum, Wintergreen hurried to get off of it, box in paws. She was soon greeted and directed to where she needed to go. A lot of volunteers were already present, chatting amongst themselves as they worked. It was… a little overwhelming, if she was honest with herself. She found herself wandering, looking a little lost, before she was flagged down.

“Wintergreen! Over here!” A familiar Cirrocanius called out to her - Heidi, a volunteer who had assisted her during Soda Planet’s evacuation and remained a friend ever since. “You can put your box down on this table.”

“Oh, thank you!” Wintergreen sighed in relief, dropping her box on the table. The stall was set up mostly for knitted crafts, but off to the side was a little sign with prices for the confectionary. “Goodness, I almost didn’t see you in this crowd.”

“It is busy, isn’t it?” Heidi immediately got to work unpacking for her, leaving Wintergreen at a loss of what to do with her paws. “It’s nice to see so many people come together for the cause. It warms my heart.”

“...It is nice, yeah.” Wintergreen agreed. “Is there anything else I can do? I was planning on helping out a bit more, but it kind of looks like everything’s covered…”

“You’re free to kick back and relax until the event starts, but if you don’t mind I could use some assistance. I promised to go help another group with something else soon, if you want to mind my stall and get everything in order?”

“I can do that.”

“Great. See you soon!” 

Wintergreen always forgot that Cirrocanius could fly until she saw them in action, but there Heidi went, soaring over the heads of everyone else. It must be awfully convenient, she thought.

But whatever. The stall. She got to work where Heidi left off, working on unpacking jars and boxes of candies and arranging them nicely on the table. She got into quite the rhythm, writing out little price tags and ensuring everything was visible from all angles. In the end, she was a little proud of the display!