Welcome to Gaia! ::

Dude Food had been waiting all day for this moment. He’d suffered through school with nothing else on his mind, watching the clock slowly tick along until he was convinced that one second was actually taking one minute. Now he was here, on a rock jutting out over the lagoon, the water lapping gently only a foot away. Ah, the serenity!

But it wasn’t just the location, oh no, it what was in his hoof. A hot and crispy butterscotch donut freshly cooked and still steaming. He breathed that sugary smell in deep, so divine. His mouth was already watering, his stomach was making delighted little rumbles and his eyes were alight with pure joy. Yes, he had been waiting for this moment.

Something exploded out of the water and Dude Food reacted to the surprising arrival by shouting and throwing his arms in the air.

Freed from restraints, the donut sailed into the air. It made a beautiful arc, like a shooting star, trailing steam and Dude Food watched it in slow motion. It descended out of reach towards the water and...

PLOP!

It disappeared from view.

Despair replaced delight and he made a pathetic, unhappy whine.

Dude Food couldn’t be angry at her. It wasn’t as if she had planned to ruin his day and she did look very apologetic about it but he also couldn’t just pretend her arrival had not caused him the greatest disappointment of his young life.

"It’s fine. I’m going home now," he told her. Then he got up, grabbed his bag and walked away. Maybe once he was home, he could treat himself to a something deep fried and delicious. It wouldn't be his donut though. No, it wouldn’t be the same.

Dude Food stopped in his tracks and looked back, feeling guilty for forcing the Mer onto land after him. He moved to meet her, shaking his head and giving a blunt: “No.”

It didn’t come out quite as he’d intended and he winced. “Ah, I mean, look, the shop is closed. It’s fine though. I’ll try again tomorrow. They are usually sold out by the time I get there... I was lucky because class ended earlier but you know, whatever. It’s fine. Everything is fine.”

He’d definitely said fine too many times.

“Sure, okay,” he attempted a smile, because it was really nice of her to offer, regardless of whether she came through or not. “It’s the donut van on the corner of High St, maybe I’ll see you there tomorrow.” Then he did turn and walk away because at least at home he could bury his despair in one of his dad’s spicy wasabi hotdogs.

Dude Food wasn’t actually expecting to see her there but there she was indeed- and she was holding a bag of fresh, hot donuts.

“Uh,” he said, apparently having lost the ability to speak from sheer gratitude.

“Hey,” Dude Food choked out, accepting the bag. He peeked inside, eyes closing shut as he took in a deep breathe of that sugary steam. Then he grinned, wings giving a little flutter of delight. “Well, there’s two here. I think we’d better share them.”