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Name: My Pearl
Brief Character Bio:

A proud perfectionist, Pearl is always striving to be better and is thus never really satisfied with how she is right now. Her determination to be more has led to her to excel in many different activities, including dancing and rocket ship building engineering. Because of this is can easily be perceived as a bragger or slightly arrogant but beneath it all is a mountain of insecurity.

She warms slowly to others and will go so far as reject interaction with anyone not already in her friendship circle. But those that she cares for have her unconditional devotion, especially those who she perceives to have more worth than she does.

Though Flutter’s are the most delicate breed in Phonyland, Pearl’s willpower and love has turned her into a skilled fighter. She’s a warrior. A knight. Devoted to her one and only, Rose. Pearl would follow her into death and beyond without a second thought and she’s the only person allowed to speak Pearl’s full name. Unfortunately, Pearl is also beset by a growing resentment for Rose’s singing paramour and doesn’t understand what Rose sees in him at all.

Reply:

"I'm Ametrine and pleased to make your acquaintance," the bow she attempts is a little bit wonky but it's clearly sincere. "Look, I'm not saying I'm the best at finding gifts, but I'm pretty darn good at it. There was this one time that- woah, hang on, I'll tell you about that later. We've gotta get started."



Round 2: Right Foot Left Foot
Round 3: Balance is the Key
Round 4: And you would do it again

01. A RAY OF SUNSHINE: SUCCESS

The first one is the hardest. I suggest that she find something that represents what her One meant to her.

"How does someone capture the sun?" she replies, borderline sardonic. "How can I catch the stars?"

We make our way to their favorite place to brunch: the clouds are high and thin, pieces of the sun casting down in bright rays. "Here," I say, the notion of it not lost on me.

Pearl looks at me, bemused and waiting for me to continue.

"This is where you can give her your gift!" I'm excited, grinning ear to ear.

It takes a moment as she looks around, perhaps not seeing the majesty immediately, but it slowly dawns on her delicate face. She see's it. She understands. "We do need a stage for the display, don't we?" The question is rhetorical, and I simply watch as she flutters about to determine the best angle.

02. A POET WHO DIDN'T KNOW IT: FAILURE

"A beam of light wont do," she says after a moment, "sweet as the notion may be." Sometimes, she speaks to me like I'm a child. I let it go, but I find it interesting that she addresses myself and anyone else lower than her One. Then again, she obviously weighed everyone she met against Her. "It doesn't say enough."

"Just say what's on your heart!" I try to encourage her, hands over my own heart.

"I'm no poet," she responds with a flighty laugh.

"You could be a poet who doesn't know it," I chime back, trying to make light of the situation.

Pearl pauses, seeming to take my words seriously. "How would you know if I was, if I don't know if I am?"

We fall into silence. Touche, Pearl. Touche.

03. HEART OF THE MOUNTAIN: FAILURE

"Romance needs to be...bigger than words!" She swings her slender but powerful leg around, wings spread. "It has to be a gesture, something bigger than yourself! That's where the poetry is!"

I'm easily caught in her passion, the wild determination in her eye. "What's bigger than you, then?" I'm aghast. I don't want to infer that she's diminutive. "A mountain?"

Her eyes sparkle, her chest swelling with the words she's ready to proclaim. "Yes, a mountain," her words are said intensely, lacking the punch of volume but still carrying its intent, "the very heart of a mountain!"

And we travel. It's not hard to reach the mountain, but when we get there, she puts a hoof on the side of it and goes still. I start to ask her what was wrong, but she hushes me with a flick of her wing. After a moment, she withdraws and shakes her head, going back the way we came.

"What happened?" I ask, baffled.

"The heart of the mountain was not it's own to give," she replies without looking back, a sort of gravity in her tone, "because it belongs to another."

We return in silence.

04. A FORGOTTEN MEMORY: FAILURE

After an hour of silence, I have a random idea. "What about something to symbolize an important memory?"

Pearl looks at me, her eyes still far off in her own thoughts. "How could I possibly pick one? They're all special." That manner of speaking to me like a child again. It tickles.

"A forgotten one, maybe? Or one she doesn't know about, like one that's really important to you but perhaps she hadn't thought of at the time."

The Flutter gives pause then, and for a moment, her eyes brighten. I can see the light in her features as she searches her own memory, of something they've perhaps forgotten. She then flinches as if struck, drawing in a wavering breath. "No...perhaps not that." Her eyes turn away, lost in the memory she's found. "Some things are best left forgotten."

05. A PEARL NECKLACE: SUCCESS

I'm a bit worried now. Everything I've tried with symbolism seems to bring pain or confusion. "What about something more direct?" I ask, tentative.

Her head turns towards me, but her eyes are still in days passed. "What do you have in mind?"

"You're her pearl." I shrug. "A pearl necklace might be nice."

Her brows furrow, and turning to look at me in earnest, she almost looks...offended. "Why would I give her an excess of my namesake?"

It's my turn to look at her as though she's missing the obvious. "Because you're the special one. Pearls are precious but none such as you." I pause, adding quietly, "Right?"

Pearl's wings flicker in thought, fast when agitated, still when mulling it over. After a moment, she smiles to herself and nods. I couldn't say for sure, but it seems as though she likes the idea of such an extravagant gift not being near the worth of herself.

"You'll help, wont you?" she asks in a manner that isn't really asking. She makes her way to the nearest jewelry store like a bee to honey.

I'm surprised. "--you just want to buy her one?"

"Of course," she says in a distracted tone over her shoulder as she starts to enter the facility, "she's worth it, all the lavished goods I can afford."

"And you," I add, trying not to sound as confused as I feel. "The point of it -- is to remind her of you."

"She never forgets me," she responds, a flicker of her eyes visible before she disappears behind the door.

We don't see eye to eye, but...this gift is probably half for herself as much as it is for her One.

06. A CRYSTAL ROSE: FAILURE?

As we peruse the options in the store, I hear Pearl gasp softly to my side. Shuffling over to her, I look at the display that's caught her eye: crystals molded into given forms, like unicorns and hummingbirds. Naturally, the one that has her attention is a simple but attractive rose.

"Do you want -- "

"No," she immediately cuts me off, even as she motions to the rose to be pulled out of the display. "Not for her."

I smile a little to myself.

07. A PHONYLAND PASS: SUCCESS

With the bag in hand, we leave the store. Pearl seems a bit more upbeat, but I can already see that sort of gnawing need for more in her eyes, the feeling of not being enough. It was no fault of her One, of course, but a short coming she sees in herself. The defect well at work. "There has to be something else." The words are simple, exploratory, but unsure. It's not a good sound on her.

"How about including her family?"

Pearl looks at me sharply like I've lost my mind. Maybe I have.

"Look, you know she loves her family, so if you show you're thinking of them too..." I lift my brows. C'mon Pearl, finish the sentence.

The Flutter searches the ground in front of her for the answer, slowly piecing it together. "Something for them to do together, as a family. Like a game, or a year pass to my shows." I start to say something and stop, thinking it's not my place to speak just then. She seems to figure it out for herself. "Why just pick one when I can have both?"

She looks at me, excited, before darting back towards the Phonyland grounds. Her voice carries as I chase after her: "A lifetime pass to the park! All the secret clubs and rides and dinners paid for -- oh, we'll have so much fun!"

I sigh. I tried.

08. AN OLD FASHIONED LOVE SONG: SUCCESS

The pass is slipped into the bag I'm holding, pride writ on the Flutter's features. "I'd like to see him try to top that."

I laugh a little. "He's not really the type to buy her crazy things."

Pearl turns her cunning eyes to me again, her smile intact but strange. "And what would he get her, then?"

"Well, uh..." I scratch my cheek, "I imagine he'd make her something."

A scoff answers me. "Make her what? Lunch?"

"Well, mm, you know, he's...he's musical, isn't he?" Her smile freezes at my words. I don't need to finish, but I do. "He'd probably write her a song."

With that same frozen smile, Pearl looks away, eyes darting around in thought. That's probably going to come back to me.

09. A NEW POMMEL: FAILURE?

"She's special and she deserves it," I hear Pearl muttering under her breath, gaze still searching the nothing on the ground in front of her for an answer to questions I can't even fathom. "Songs, poetry, jewels, gifts...how can I stand out from that...?"

I sit on a bench, one she begins to circle in her thoughts. "Something unique to her, then."

I'm rewarded with a distracted glance, brief and not exactly friendly. "She is unique, I--"

"She's a special type of Phony, isn't she? One of the rarest in the land, the most decorated." Though Pearl looks irate that I actually had the gall to cut her off, she doesn't speak, staring at me in annoyed expectancy. "She's a carousel. Get her something that highlights that."

The frustration leaks in her voice, raising the pitch and drag of it. "Like what, a fancy pole to stick through her back?"

I flinch. Ouch. "I dunno, I was just thinking like...like a pommel, or something. You know. For her saddle."

Pearl's face goes from tight and ready to snap to wide and shocked. She puts a hoof to her head, seemingly stunned. "Why didn't I think of that? I know just where to look -- "

And she was gone.

I sat on that bench and waited, kicking my feet, and within a few hours, she came back. I knew the defeated look on her face by now to recognize it from a distance. I gave her the most sympathetic look I can as she drops a pendant into my hand. It's far too small to fit on a saddle, beautiful as it is - a rose quartz princess cut gem in a filigree setting. I shine it on my shirt before handing it back. "That's not the right pommel, but I still think it's a good gift."

Pearl doesn't take the gem, looking at me in a sort of petulant manner. "Right pommel?" Her gaze flickers to the gem, considering, and after a moment, she seems to follow my train of thought. "It wont fit her saddle, but...it would fit my sword."

And it did.

10. A BLISTER PACK: FAILURE

Fixing the new pommel into her sword (and trying not to feel uncomfortable that this dainty sweet creature knew how to use it), I ask, "Anything else?"

"I'd give her my blisterpack if I could," she replies with a light sigh.

I glance up in surprise. It's not a bad idea. "Why wouldn't you?"

Sitting next to me on the bench and tucking her sword away, Pearl looks at me and smiles. It is perhaps the first genuine expression I've seen from her. "Because she has a family, and though I'm a part of it, I can't give her...what he can. Not like he can."

There's a somber sort of sadness to her words. We reflect over it for a moment before she nods, lightly patting my knee with her hoof. "You did an astounding job, Moldavite. There's just one last thing to do."

"Do you want me to help?" I ask, seeing if my services were still needed.

Pearl nodded, not even hesitating. "Just make sure she gets there. I'll do the rest." She took the bag between her teeth, turning to go.

"Good luck, Pearl."

"I don't need luck," she replies, but it's said with warmth. It's probably as much of a 'thank you' as I'd get.

"Merry Christmas, then."

As she flew away, I could hear her smile. "Merry Christmas to you too."

02. A Poet Who Didn't Know It: FAILURE

04. A Forgotten Memory: FAILURE

06. A Crystal Rose: FAILURE

08. An Old Fashioned Love Song: SUCCESS

10. A Blister Pack: FAILURE

1. A Snowflake That Never Melts: SUCCESS

The snow is knee-deep and blinding, with enough force to drive you to your knees. I'm not even sure why she thinks this is a good idea but she's standing as still as stone, unbowed by the elements.

"This one," she finally cries and somehow traps a single snowflake in a glass jar.

It doesn't look too special to me but when we take it back home it doesn't melt and remains perfect.

2. A Faultlessly Decorated Christmas Tree : SUCCESS

It's my job to cut down the tree and place it in the stand. After that it's hands off. No touching.

Pearl spends all day circling the tree, placing an ornament and then taking it off. She 'hmms' softly and refuses to eat. Everything has to be just right.

"It's done," she announces and smiles with proud delight.

The tree stands tall and proud, each ornament placed just so, the tinsel perfect and the lights twinkling merrily. It truly is faultless.

3. A Sword That Will Never Go Dull: SUCCESS

It's gleaming and perfect with a pink rose pommel.

"How?" I venture.

She looks delighted to explain as she swings the sword in a wide arc. "It's new technology. Of course, steel wasn't going to cut it. It's amazing what new discoveries are being made, it was just a matter of research and of course it was rather expensive to acquire, but it's worth it for my darling Rose."

I'm wondering how many of her organs she had to sell just to get it.

4. A One of a Kind Handmade Woollen Coat: SUCCESS

Pearl teaches herself how to knit. She visits a farm and learns how to shear a sheep (not as easy as she's expected). Put it all together and you have one large handmade coat, pink (of course) with a rose hem.

She looks tired but proud.

5. A Song Sung By The Ocean: SUCCESS

Surprisingly this one is harder and after three days of struggle, I'm the one who is forced to ask a certain musically inclined fellow about the correct equipment to use.

"Did you get it all?" She asks stiffly, looking over what I've bought her. "You didn't mention my name, did you?"

We spend the next few days out on the ocean, recording every sound, every splash, every distant whale call, until she's satisfied.

6. A Ride To The Stars: FAILURE

"Woah, hey-"

"Get out of my way!"

"It's not going to-"

"I said MOVE you oaf!"

"NO. It won't fly and you know it!"

There's a brief stalemate and then she turns and flees. I'm sure I see tears in her eyes.

7. A Magical Christmas Dinner: SUCCESS

Turns out I'm not a bad cook and I'm given the important task of stirring the gravy while Pearl does the rest.

Is that a Turducken? Oh, yum, that giant ham looks good. Mmm, yes, five kinds of pudding. All those roast veggies look so crispy! Fresh baked bread and oh man, mince tarts, I'll take ten!

"It's not for you," she swats my wandering hand.

Later on, once the feast is done, she offers me a full plate. "Thank you... for all your help."

8. The Head Of A Fearsome Beast: FAILURE

It's fearsome indeed.

We fight for hours but in the end it's too much. I attempt to call a retreat but she won't have it. She'll keep fighting to the death if necessary.

"Sorry!" It takes a hit from behind to knock her out and I whisk her away to safety.

She refuses to talk to me afterwards.

I wonder if she'll still let me help her.

9. A Promise Of Eternal Devotion: SUCCESS

Eventually she seeks me out and she looks... embarrassed? Yes, there's a definite blush and frown.

"I don't... know what else to get her..."

"Well, how about you tell her how you feel?" Because this is definitely bigger than just friendship. "Write it down."

She does and the letter she writes makes me cry.

"Is it bad?" She asked.

"Nah," I laugh. "It's perfect."

10. The Perfect Pearl: SUCCESS

"Well, this one is easy at least," I tell her.

"How so?" She asks with an unconvinced arch of an eyebrow. She's already in the middle of planning an intricate expedition to the bottom of the ocean.

"Well, you just have to give her yourself."

"Don't be ridiculous," she responds but she's clearly blushing. "I'm hardly perfect. She already has me anyway."

"And you're the gift that keeps on giving. We'll slap some extra bows on you and voila!"

She agrees.