Jahn and Gyousei Paired Entry 01
A Lesson In Friendship
It had been a few months since he'd taken in the strange little pan of dust that he'd called Gyousei, a name that meant morning star. Well, he hadn't so much named the little thing as it had named itself. It had a number in his research books and on his documents, but he'd been rather forcefully inclined once it could make noise that a number was not something it wanted to be called. So he'd tailored his research a bit more to match its rather boisterous self.
Things had progressed from there, really. As Gyousei grew out of his dustpan, the research began to look a lot less research of Jahn learning about Gyousei, and more like research of Gyousei learning about Jahn. The dustling had stuck close to his human companion, successfully tripping him up a couple of times with his own enthusiasm. His first trip outside of the labs towards the town of Stardust almost had Jahn trampled, yelled at, stepped on, drowned, and hung in a matter of hours.
Yet... through it all, the little creature who was growing larger by the day had grown on him. Sure, he couldn't exactly understand what the creature was saying more than half the time (and sometimes he wasn't sure that Gyousei even understood this), but just being there was something that Jahn hadn't expected from a pile of dust.
It never really hit Jahn that this thing he had so termed an animal earlier on in his research was growing into so much more of a friend than he'd had before, at least not until one evening.
Jahn had left the facilities late one afternoon, heading towards Serpent's Lake to sit on the bankside to think about things as he had often done before Gyousei came along. The young dustling had been left in his office, tucked down in a pile of blankets alongside his desk asleep. It had been a bit of a rough week, what with an overwhelming number of reports to be completed to a satisfactory level and not enough research done to finish anything.
He'd actually neglected to take care of his responsibilities regarding the dustling a few times. Gyousei had stormed in one night, well after the designated feeding time of six o' clock, demanding to be fed his fresh fish. Although he felt a little bad about forgetting about the little creature, his work should always come first, right? I mean, Gyousei was as much a part of his research as anything else was, and thereby could be laid aside at any time to prioritize for something else.
Right?
That thought didn't sit well with him, even if it was the easiest thing to believe. He'd never been one for pets, or siblings, or, well... much of anything living that required care. He'd even managed to kill off the few plants he'd been allowed to touch. So, I suppose Gyousei was a definitely something to learn from. And it was probably a good thing that the dustling wasn't shy about making demands either.
These reasons, among others, were why he was surprised to see a dustling - no, his dustling - paddling through the water from one of the Lab exits to greet him. Gyousei stepped onto the bank, feather-fur dripping wet, and shook himself off as best as he could. The little dustling almost toppled back over from his own enthusiasm in drying off, then bounded up the slight slope to where Jahn was sitting.
"Wh-What are you doing out here?" How could this creature have figured out how to get out of the Labs, let alone find him when they'd only been out together a handful of times? And why, when he could have wandered off any where he wanted to, would it come here, to find him?
Gyousei didn't seem to mind his companion's confusion, simply plopped down in the grass beside him and rested his head in his lap. Jahn sighed, smiling lightly, and reached out to run his hand through the damp feather-fur of Gyousei's neck.
"You're a little trouble-maker." The dustling closed his eyes and trilled slightly in response.
The pair remained on the ground for a few more hours until it was well after dinner.
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