I sat on a branch, gazing upon the forest. The sun hung low in the sky, offering a smidgeon of heat against the brisk air. Below the canopy line, I could see the shimmer of falling droplets. They plummeted from the trees like raining jewels, only to vanish into the shadows. Exhaling a white puff of breath, I descended to the nest to see if anyone had woken yet.

Several days had passed since we left the Phantom's Lair, and much had changed while we were gone. The weather, while still cold, had lost its bitter edge. What had formerly been a continuous blanket of snow was now a hodgepodge of white and brown—with a few hints of green. The Sparkers that once dominated the forest had decreased in number, and for the first time in a while, we could forage without constantly being impeded.

Despite these developments, we were still in a precarious position. Food remained scarce, and while we had managed to find some early grass patches, they were few and far between. It would probably be days before the food supply even began to be sustainable again, so what were we supposed to do in the meantime?

I entered the nest and saw that everyone was still asleep. As I had suspected, our time in the Phantom's Lair had thrown off our sleep schedule, so we were all waking up later than usual. The only reason I woke up early that day was due to a dream—or perhaps a nightmare. I was starving in the heart of the woods, but from somewhere far away, I could hear the song of Nectar Spirits. The sound drove me so wild with desire that it roused me from slumber, wings flicking and stem twitching. Once I realized that I hadn't actually heard anything, I wanted to scream.

Gazing upon the sleeping pikmin, I decided to wake them up myself. I had grown tired of waiting, and we would have to get back on track sooner or later anyway. Several exhausted glares and agitated grumblings later, we were gathered outside the nest.

The blue didn't have much in regards to a plan, nor did anyone else for that matter. All we could really do was spread out and hope to find something. It wasn't an ideal situation (even by our usual standards), but there must've been something in the woods we could fall back on. The deserters had already devised ways to live off Beetles, Mites, and even a giant beast. If they could come up with all that, then I could come up with something too. I just had to think, because now my life depended on it.

As I flew through the forest, I tried to observe my surroundings as carefully as possible. However, I wasn't looking for fruits and nectars exclusively; I also had my eye out for anything that didn't seem edible. The blue had showed me a while ago that a certain kind of pebble contained nectar, and while I had yet to encounter any pebbles since, it made me wonder if there were other nectar sources hiding in plain sight. I also thought of the time we drank nectar directly from flowers; perhaps we could use a similar technique with other kinds of plants?

Glancing aside, I spotted five Pellet Flowers in a glade. Two had just sprouted, another was halfway grown, and the remaining two had already bloomed. I had harvested many a Pellet Flower since the day I was plucked, so if they harbored nectar in any capacity, I definitely would've known. And yet I felt compelled to investigate them anyway. Hovering closer, I gazed into their circular cores. One was a beautiful shade of ruby; the other a delightful hue of sapphire. It might've just been my empty stomach, but the more I stared at them, the more appetizing they became. However, no matter how much I wanted to eat them, there was simply no way to do so.

Or maybe there was? What if there was a way, and I just hadn't conceived it yet?

I perched atop the ruby one and thought to myself. Theoretically I could've blown them to bits with a bomb-rock, but I had no idea where to find one. There was also a distinct possibility that the blast would render them scorched and inedible. Not a risk I wanted to take just yet.

My next consideration was to feed one to a Snow Sparker and harvest the crumbs, but this too was a dubious plan. For it to be worthwhile, the crumbs would have to be small enough to fit in our mouths and abundant enough to satisfy us. The chances of both those conditions being met weren't great, especially when the creature in question had slicing teeth.

Ugh, teeth. If only I had some of those.

Sighing, I looked up at a nearby tree. Sparkles dripped from its branches as frost became water; the last dance of the Season of Snow. If only a pellet could melt the same way ice did…

…

…

I narrowed my eyes. For whatever reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had witnessed a similar scenario before. Not with pellets, but with something else. Something equally unconventional.

As I struggled to revive the memory, I started to imagine what a liquified pellet would even look like. Would it be runny like water? Or would it be viscous like nectar? The prospect of a red-colored nectar seemed tantalizing.

Wait… Red nectar…

My eyes widened as my stem went stiff. The image of a red mist flashed in my head. "…Holy smokes."

I flew across the forest with the red pellet in tow. The journey took a while because of the extra weight, but after much lugging, my destination finally came into view. The berry plants stood as proudly as ever despite the cold, and my arrival quickly provoked a wave of chatter. As I descended into the Spice Grove, the trapmin surged forward and gathered before me.

"Pink!" Foxtail exclaimed. "To what do we owe this visit?"

"I was hoping you could help me with something," I answered. "See, my friends and I have been having a hard time of it lately."

"Are they alright?"

"They are, at least for now. The problem is that we've been struggling to feed ourselves. I may have found a solution, though." I pointed at the pellet. "I know those traps of yours can break down berries. Can they do the same with pellets?"

Foxtail scratched his head. "I… don't know. Nobody's ever tried that before. We could take a crack at it, but that pellet has to come apart first."

Ah, crap. Why hadn't I thought about that? As if a pellet could fit inside a trapmin's maw! "Oh, well, that might be tricky. I don't suppose those traps are good for biting?"

"Sadly, no. But there might be some other way to-"

"Ooh, ooh! I know a way!" said another trapmin. "Somebody grab that pellet and follow me!"

The trapmin scurried off while two others transported the pellet. Foxtail glanced at me and shrugged before following as well, along with the rest of his tribe. This should be interesting, I thought.

The leading trapmin brought us to the other end of the Spice Grove, where the berry plants were less dense and other types of flora were still present. One such plant was a considerably large vine, erupting from the snow like a Dirt Dragon. Just like the berry plants, it maintained a verdant coloration, and was armored from top to bottom with painful-looking spikes. In spite of all its might, the narrow tip of its body hung limp, as if it longed for something to rest upon.

"This should do the trick!" said the leading trapmin. "Seedpuff? Hollyberry? If you'd be so kind?"

The transporting trapmin hoisted the pellet and hurled it against the vine. With a solid impact, it became impaled on a thorn. "Yeah, there we go! Now for the moment of truth!"

The leading trapmin grabbed the pellet and, with an effort, yanked it off the vine. After it tumbled to the ground, I could see that a small chunk had remained attached to the thorn. "And there you have it! That's how you break a pellet!"

I smiled. "Thanks, um…?"

"Rosebud," she smiled back. "Now who wants to try eating it?"

"I'll do it," said Foxtail. He stepped forward, pried the chunk off, and snapped it up with his jaws. We all watched intently for a minute or so until he opened his trap and spewed the contents. "Oh, my!"

Foxtail stared blankly at the slurry piled at his feet. The substance was mostly gel, with a few solid bits and some runny excess staining the snow. "Will that do, Pink? It's not perfect, but…"

Equal parts reluctant and curious, I leaned forward and took a sip. The thick fluid filled my mouth with an alien flavor, and when I swallowed, it filled my stomach with an indescribable sensation. This was nothing like nectar, yolk, or pod juice.

It was so much better.

"Pink?" Foxtail asked.

I looked up at him, and his eyes widened when he saw the grin on my face. "This will do nicely," I said.

"This is incredible!" said the male yellow. "How did you think to do this, Pink?"

"I just sat around and daydreamed, really," I said with a shrug. I had rallied the other pikmin and brought them to the Spice Grove, and to my immense satisfaction, they had enjoyed the pellet juice as much as I did. Some pikmin were happy, others were just relieved, but the male yellow in particular was downright enthusiastic. "I can't believe they can liquify things other than berries! Who would've thought?"

"I would've. And I did. That's kinda why we're here."

"I've wondered before what a pellet tastes like, but I had always assumed that only an Onion could process one. But no! Trapmin wield that power too, and thanks to them, we're the first of our kind to eat pellets! I swear, they never cease to amaze me!"

I rubbed the back of my head and stared worriedly at him. I'd never seen the male yellow so ecstatic about anything, and while I wanted to be happy for him, I found his excitement more discomforting than anything. "Right, well, I guess now we have a new backup plan, huh?"

The yellow chuckled to himself and uttered, "I wish I could be more like them."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, raising my brow. Before I could get a response, the blue noisily cleared his throat. "Foxtail? I'd like to apologize on behalf of the group for any inconvenience this might cause. As leader, I consider it my responsibility to solve my own problems, and I'm sorry that we once again have to rely on you for-"

"Now, now, Blue, there's no need to be so hard on yourself," Foxtail interrupted. "No one can figure everything out all the time. That's what teamwork is for. Besides, if it hadn't been for you, the Spice Grove wouldn't even exist. You had our backs, so it's only fair that we have yours, right?"

"Right. Of course."

I narrowed my eyes at the blue. He clearly resented the fact that the trapmin had come to our rescue, but I couldn't understand why. Was it a matter of pride? Or was something else going on here?

Thankfully, the blue and the male yellow were the only ones being weird about this. Everyone else's response could be summed up as either, "Pink, you've done it again!" or "Oh, thank heavens!" White even filled me in on a possible strategy for the next cold season: When the leaves start to turn, we bury heaps of pellets in the Spice Grove, and when conditions turn nasty, we dig them up. Presumably, the Season of Snow would never again be the nightmare it used to be.

For the next string of days, we survived off a system where we harvested pellets, delivered them to the Spice Grove, and had the trapmin convert them to food. It was a successful if not somewhat tedious arrangement (I had to do most of the transports to avoid interference from hungry beasts), and with each sunrise, the snow shrank further and further. Trees and bushes sprouted little nubs that would soon become leaves, and nectar grass began to resurface little by little. The Season of Flowers was imminent.

One morning, I awoke to a sound that was faint and yet for some reason demanded my attention. There was hardly any light out yet, but I could hear an ethereal chanting from somewhere not far away. Could it be?

Tip-toeing towards the entrance, I peered out at the surrounding forest. Everything was dim and shadowy, but three opulent forms stood out against everything else. I watched as they drifted carelessly through the air, swinging their fins and singing praises to the dawn.

The Nectar Spirits had returned.