Heart of Gold

The gift-giving tradition of Saturnalia was one of her favorites. She loved getting (nice) gifts, of course, but she also loved shopping for her loved ones. It wasn’t without its hangups, though. Coco. So difficult to shop for! Whitlea had pondered over what to get her the entire walk to the shops. Now that she was there, she wasn’t much closer to an answer.

The only thing left to do? Browse. Shop around for something that said Cosette to her.

Cosette, though, had a wide variety of things. Always on the move, that Cosette. Whitlea wasn’t sure she’d ever met a cossetling with as much of a passion for travel and exploration - which was saying a lot on a planet full of explorers.

With all that traveling, though, came Cosette’s... collection. It was almost impossible to know what she had at any given moment with all of her souvenirs. All the same, Whitlea wasn’t one to give up easily. She’d figure out the perfect gift for Coco!

It just might take a while.

She browsed the wares of several stores. Her frustration rose slightly with every store she left empty handed. There were a lot of nice things! Finding something nice wasn’t hard at all, but it was hard to pinpoint any one thing to catch Cosette’s attention. So many things reminded her of the far off places Cosette sometimes told her about, but that led to the trouble of potentially being too similar to something she already owned.

Maybe a new suitcase? A bigger one? She wasn’t completely sure if Coco could carry a bigger suitcase full of all the things she’d fit in there. A risky move.

Eventually, she’d been out long enough she could feel her stomach protest. With a resigned sigh, she trudged over to a nearby cafe. A nice warm cup of coffee on a winter day did sound pretty good, it’d lift her spirits.

She bought a coffee and an apple strudel, then sat herself in a corner to lounge and rest her hooves. She felt her body relax with the first sip of the hot drink and sighed her appreciation. After a few sips, she took a bite of the apple strudel and- oh.

An ear flicked involuntarily as she chewed the pastry. It wasn’t bad, it just...

Things are always best from home, she reflected.

Home.

An epiphany hit her so hard she almost swallowed the strudel wrong. She forced herself to lean back again, to relax and not rush through the snack, but her tail betrayed the restlessness she felt.

She didn’t need to find a gift based on Cosette’s travel. The best gift would be something to remind her dear Coco of home. How did she not think of that?

After the eternity she felt it took her to be ready to leave, she bolted out of the cafe and bee-lined for a very specific store.

She was always a fan of this jeweler. A fun little splurge for when she wanted to treat herself. It never took her long to find a piece she loved, and this time was no different.

It didn’t take her long to find a golden locket with an etching of a basket containing the Watcher’s symbol. Her tail swirled with admiration - she only hoped Cosette would like it too. It was a bit small, but she figured its understated nature might better suit Cosette.

She exchanged her golden leaves for the locket, and hurried home to wrap the little box as beautifully as she could. It didn’t deserve anything less.

Cozy but pretty, it’s perfect for Coco, she thought, humming pleasantly to herself as she fastened the final ribbon. Just wait ‘till I see her next.