Wanda bent to retrieve a ripened acorn and add it to the jar in her hand; it was only a matter of seconds before another, perfectly-formed nut caught her eye, and this one still had the cap on it! She reached for that one as well and plunked it in her jar when the sound of laughter startled her from her task.
Straightening, she turned to face her chuckling husband, who was leaning against an oak tree, arms crossed loosely and tail twitching languidly. "What's so funny?" She asked, hands on her hips.
"I had no idea you were part squirrel." He grinned. "I think this is something you should have told me before I married you."
"Well," she looked around at the brightly colored leaves on the ground, intermixed with the acorns she was looking for. "I'm not, but if these things are good enough for the squirrels, they're good enough for me."
"Oh?" One eyebrow lifted as he shifted his weight off of the tree and made his way over to her. "Shall I assume, then, that we will be having acorn stew for dinner tonight?"
"I've yet to find a good recipe," she joked with a grin, "but you know, with the economy and all…"
"Oh, yes." Kurt moved from behind to wrap his arms around her, his tail following suit and tightening itself protectively around her waist. He planted a kiss on her cheek. "Well, I think we shall survive. We have each other, ja?"
She giggled at his little bit of romantics, happy, safe, and warm in his strong embrace.
"So why were you collecting acorns in the first place?" He asked, breaking from the romantic and joking tone they had been practicing earlier.
"I saw the cutest thing on Pinterest." She answered honestly. "You take a Mason jar, put a votive candle inside, and spread acorns all around the candle, then tie a little bow around the lip of the jar."
"Pinterest, oh, I see." His tone was a little more on the joking side again. "It seems every woman I know is obsessed with Pinterest. Still, I am sure your acorn Mason jar candle will look magnificent."
"Thank you. You're really going to like it once I get our home all decorated for fall." She smiled, looking up at him before breaking his embrace. "But, I have to get back to acorn-gathering so I can get our home ready for fall. You can help if you want."
He looked insulted, one three-fingered hand at his heart. "Ach, I am an elf, not a squirrel! Elves do not gather nuts."
Playfully, she grabbed hold of one of his elfin ears with strong fingers and pulled him to a good spot, ripe for the picking. "This elf does. Now, only look for good ones. They have to be whole, no holes or cracks. We don't want them to be rotten or have bugs in them. Also, look for whole caps. I'm going to hot glue them onto the acorns that have none."
Yellow eyes stared at her incredulously. "You're going to hot glue acorns?"
"Yes. They look better that way. Now get to gathering." She was already bent over, scouring the earth for the perfect nuts.
He gave a short, barked laugh. "All right, then." And he too, bent to find only the best acorns for his wife.