Skade's Adventures: Muddy Pumpkins and Traditional Turnips

Growloween Prompt: Muddy Pumpkin Patch

Word Count: 1128

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Skade was tucking away his last item into his backpack when his three friends came barrelling into his den. Already they formed a cacophony of yelling and begging for him to come along with them. But for once, Skade didn’t need the extra encouragement. With a smile, he swung his bag over his shoulder.

“Ready to go” Skade cheerily sang.

“Wait- that’s it?” Thora, an obsidian colored woldren with a white underbelly and white tipped toes asked, her head tilted in mild surprise.

“Of course I’m coming along. I’ve been looking forward to carving a pumpkin since like- forever!” the peach woldren threw his extra pair of arms skywards and outwards, earning a disgruntled snort from the adult woldren he nearly hit. 

“Well I’m not gonna question it.” the wine colored woldren named Garth shrugged and turned on his heels. He gestured for the group to follow him, “C’mon. We don’t want all of the good pumpkins picked over!”

Garth and Thora bolted out of Skade’s den, leaving Brenna to chase after them on her stumpy legs. The toddler was the youngest of the group and Garth’s younger half-sister. While Garth complained little about having to bring Brenna along, he would often get excited and forget she wasn’t nearly as fast as he was.

With a roll of his eyes and a smile, Skade scooped the blood orange toddler onto his back where she death gripped his neck to stay sturdy as he ran after the older kids. Brenna whooped as she was bounced on Skade’s back and as the wind blew through her ears. 

“I think you forgot someone, Garth.”

“Oh, shoot. Thanks, Skade. Come here, Brenna.” Garth reached to pull his sister off of Skade’s back, but she chomped her jaws at his toes when he got too close. Thora found herself in laughing fits during the failed toddler transaction. “Brenna! Stop being bitey and get off of his back.”

“I don’t mind. Besides, she’ll get tired if she walks.” Skade didn’t want to add that she’d definitely slow them down and hurt Brenna’s feelings. On the other hand, he had no issue looking at his friend who was rolling on the floor with a clutched belly and tears streaming down her eyes. “Are you done, Gigglefits?”

“Yeah.” Thora said after a big exhale and wiping the tears out of her eyes. “That was just so funny.”

“Harr harr.” Garth rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion.

 

With no further incident and with Brenna being passed between the kids to give their necks and throats a break, they made it to the pumpkin patch within the hour. They took on the top of a hill which gently sloped into the flat farmland used to grow the festive gourds. Even from so far away, they could easily see the field littered with plump orange pumpkins ripe for jack-o-lantern making.

Garth ran down the hill first, almost gliding down as he kicked his feet out as soon as they touched the ground. Thora would follow, but her recent growth spurt made her unaccustomed to her new proportions. She would quickly get a paw stuck under a leg and a foot kicked her other leg, sending Thora tumbling down the hill. She caught Garth on the way and the two less-than-gracefully made it to the bottom.

“Watch me, Skade!” Brenna demanded, tugging at his neck fur to get his attention. She rolled down the hill, wee-ing as she tumbled. When she reached the bottom, she cupped her hands over her muzzle, muffling her voice rather than amplifying it, “Did you see?”

“I did! Very cool!” Skade encouraged as he trotted down, keeping his balance and opting for the safe trip rather than the express trip.

“Eeeew!” Thora complained, withdrawing her latest step. Her paw was caked in mud and there was a thick impression of her print on the ground.

“That’s some bad luck.” Skade snickered. In return, Thora flicked some mud in his direction and he flinched as it sprinkled his coat.

“Oh.” Garth’s disappointment was palpable as he looked out into the field. “The whole thing’s covered in mud. Look, you can see the pumpkins sunk into it. I didn’t think last night’s rain was going to affect it this bad.”

“Wee!” Brenna made a running charge to belly flop into the mud. Just barely, Garth managed to catch her before she landed, resulting in a disappointing “aaaw” from the toddler.

“Our moms would be so mad at me if I brought you back covered in mud.” Garth said as he wraggled the squirming and chompy Brenna. Eventually the smallest woldren got the point she wasn’t going to get her way and huffed, dramatically crossing her arms.

“What are we going to do now?” Thora asked, her brows pulled up. “We won’t be able to come back until next week and all of the pumpkins will definitely be picked over by then.”

Skade became rather aware of himself as the three other woldren children turned their heads to him. He always came prepared for everything. Skade always had something in his backpack that could help. Surely he had something now?

Skade’s ears drooped and looked at the ground between his paws. “Sorry guys. I don’t have anything. I can’t even think of what we could do.”

“Maybe you could wade through?”

“What? And get all muddy? My mom would be so mad.” Skade shook his head. “You do it.”

“Ew, no way. It’ll dry and cake my fur together.”

“I’ll go!” Brenna volunteered to a collective “No!” from the older kids.

“I was looking forward to making jack-o-lanterns the most.” Skade sighed as the disappointment hit his heart. 

“Maybe we can carve something else?” Garth suggested.

“Then it wouldn’t be a jack-o-lantern, silly.” Thora rejected.

“Wait-” Skade’s ears perked as he remembered something the older dragons were talking about. “He’s onto something.”

“I am? I mean- of course I am.” Garth smiled with fake confidence.

“Follow me!” Skade excitedly scampered back up the hill, leaving his friends scrambling to catch up. He led them to a new field, one higher up where the rain wouldn’t have drained and given the land time to dry. A kind turnip farmer lived here who waved at the children as they came onto his property.

“What are you kids doing here?” she asked, “Shouldn’t you be out picking pumpkins?”

“Yeah, what are we doing here?” Garth parroted.

“Can we have some of your turnips, miss?” Skade hiked himself on two legs, using his forearms to support himself against the farmer’s fence.

“Well, I’m sure I can spare a few. But what do you want turnips for?”

“We’re going to carve traditional jack-o-lanterns!” Skade answered, his eyes bright and his grin wide.