12 Friends are Nopon now!
a/n: Lin, Elma, and Mia are getting a rare honor bestowed on them. Eventually.
All the good things belong to Monolith Soft.
Lin shifted uneasily in the cramped space. Sacks of all kinds dangled overhead, ranging from the size of watermelons to ones that could only hold half a sugar cube, crafted from oily leather or glossy woven leaves or rusty metal mesh. If she moved wrong, she was liable to get a face full of something sharp or sticky or, worst of all, malodorous.
Their hosts had tried to make this caravan tent more comfortable but their ideas of interior decor were different than Lin's. She wasn't thrilled to settle into a pile of leaves, no matter how freshly picked they were. Something small was rustling underneath them, she was sure. That left sitting on the hard-packed dirt. They'd been given extra pillows, but all of those smelled like warm Nopon.
"Do you guys think these are stuffed with Tatsu's siblings?" she whispered to the others.
"I doubt it," Elma said with the ghost of a smile. "I don't hear any snoring."
Lin squirmed a little more, trying to get semi-comfortable. "I wish it weren't taking so long. Everything smells weird." The tent itself was leather, heavily embellished with chunky ferns and feathers cut from locally produced felt.
"Buck up, Lin!" Mia was the third participant, sprawled happily on a sack of squeaking something. "It could be way worse. We could be waiting inside one of their travel shelters."
"You mean inside an actual nopopotomus, right?"
"Yup. I tried it once. Man, the smell on the outside is nothing compared to the smell on the inside. Great for your skin through. Super moisturizing."
Lin took a moment to examine her companions. The caravan had given them outfits that resembled local attire. Accommodations had been made, since they lacked broad wingarms and none were shaped like beach balls. Lin thought the outfit chosen for her was extra girly, with layers of ruffles on the skirt and what probably was a kind of apron made stiff with layers of embroidery, but the vest was okay. She kind of liked the whirl of a broach at the center. She hoped they'd let her keep it when all this was over.
Through the sides of the tent Lin could hear the caravan doing a mass recital of what felt like all of Nopon history. At first Lin had tried to pay attention, but the story jumped around ridiculously. Right after they had cheered about ancient boats dropping from the back of a god and then traveling across the ocean that went on and on and on, they started describing a caravan leader's first contact with the Telethia (it ended badly), then followed by a list of tasty foods (with prices and suggested cooking methods). She'd perked up when Elma poked her. The Nopon were chanting about the arrival of a falling blue city, which must have meant the Habitat Unit that became NLA. She hoped they were getting close to the end, but she was disappointed when they started listing not-so-tasty foods, the first of which was Nopon.
"I'm probably to blame for that part, huh?"
Elma patted her gently, but Mia was enthusiastic. "Cheer up. You're part of Nopon liturgy."
There was a rustling at the door flap of the tent. "Friends ready?" Tatsu whispered loudly.
Lin scrambled to her knees and was crawling for the exit when Elma stopped her. "Your tuft is lopsided, Lin." The older woman carefully tightened the stunted ponytail at the top of Lin's head, pinning the decorative blossom more firmly in place. Mia was doing a similar touch-up to her own honey brown pseudo-tuft. Elma had manged to keep her luxurious and icy tuft in pristine condition.
Thus restored, the three of them emerged carefully through the low entrance. They found themselves surrounded by the entire caravan, plus additional guest from other regions. The whole Nopon community was smiling up at them, like a pool of serene fuzzy Easter eggs. Koko, the leader of the Noctilum caravan and Tatsu's mom, stated proudly, "Dodonga welcomes scary new friends as full members of caravan." The crowd fluttered and bounced in a loud ovation.
Tatsu joined them now that the induction ceremony was complete. He slapped wingarms with every guest that came to congratulate the three BLADEs. "From the way you're acting, you'd think you were the one to become an honorary Nopon," Lin teased him.
"Not honorary. Friends are Nopon now. Linly not have to marry Tatsu to get benefits," he added with exaggerated sadness.
"Ew, no way. I'm not sure what's the bonus for being a caravan member, but that was never gonna happen."
"Very good to be Nopon," Tatsu argued. "Extra good thing."
"We do appreciate the ability to trade on behalf of BLADE," Elma soothed him.
"And the whole mutual aid thing is key," said Mia. "Any time we need to take a break, we can crash at a caravan. That's gonna be so great. Now I don't have to pack a tent every time I go on a mission."
"You're supposed to get home in time to sleep," Lin pointed out.
"You'd think so, but you'd be surprised how often that doesn't happen."
"Anyway, I'm sure it's all great." Lin considered a moment. "Hey, I think I do feel like a real Nopon. Tatsu, where's the food?"
a/n: That was fun! Last Inktober I actually turned Lin into a Nopon (and Vandham, and Irina...) for a similar prompt.
Next up: Collectopedia. Should I return to Wolf and Duna, or should I take a longer break?