Solo or RP Format
Counts as 5 RP growth Points
Solo word minimum is 750, RP post minimum is 7

Tis the season for gift giving, a sense of celebration as the year comes to an end. You get all the gifts you expect, and give some out as well. However, a strange, unmarked gift has arrived. You have no idea who sent it, or what it might be. Is it something from an admirer, or possibly a bit more sinister?

[ Your character receives an unexpected gift. Feel free to answer this prompt exploring the thoughts around such thing, the suspicion or confusion, maybe even resolving it with finding out who the gift giver was. Maybe it's someone you know, but it's a surprise. Maybe it's a mistake. The only way to find out is to open the present. ]

Uro had received a mysterious package just a few hours ago. A simple woven pouch tied tightly with no label or note. She only knew it was for her because the courier was very insistent on the matter. Perhaps she should have been more wary of an unexpected and unlabeled package, but that just was not her way! She had immediately opened the package and carefully emptied the contents onto the shop counter.

From the pouch, about five bright pink stones tumbled out. Each one had been polished smooth and attached to a thin, long cord.

Uro’s brow knit as she gently brushed her fingers over the stones. Something about them felt.. sad. Or, did she just think they felt sad because they reminded her so much of how her body’s crystals had looked before the big change of her stones and her skin. Though time had passed and she was adjusting to the changes, she still felt the occasional sting when she caught a glimpse of herself. With this, it was like having them back. Like having a bit of her precious grandmother back.

But where had they come from? Why had they been arranged like this and sent to her?

She wouldn’t get an answer until later that evening when she was closing up the shop. She had paused in wiping off the counter to hold the string of crystals up again when she heard the gentle knock at the entrance. When she looked her eyes widened with surprise. “Rodo? Are you alright?”

Standing in the doorway with a strange look on his face, Rododon nodded slowly. Uro’s father was tall and lanky, and was obviously the source of her dark brown hair. “I’m sorry to come so suddenly. Do you have a little time to spare for me?” His smile grew when he was encouraged to go in and settled at the counter. “Do you like that?” he asked, pointing to the belt.

Uro looked down at the belt and then back up to her father. The sadness she felt on the stones matched Rodo’s aura almost perfectly. “You sent this? Why did you not just give it to me yourself?”

Rodo watched his daughter for a silent moment. Then he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll admit, I was a little afraid you wouldn’t accept it if I tried to give it to you. I know.. things haven’t always been great between us. I know I’m not exactly a model father.”

Uro blinked a couple times, drawn speechless by the admission. While she had never truly seen Rodo as her father beyond his part in her creation, she had never really felt any sort of bitterness toward him for it. “I do not understand. Do you think I am angry with you about something?”

Rodo hesitated before he shook his head. “Maybe not, but perhaps you should be. There were a lot of times I should have been there for you, and I wasn’t.” He gingerly reached his hand forward to touch one of the pink crystals. “I know you were disappointed when your crystals changed colors. I hadn’t been worried about it, but then I saw you, and..” Rodo sighed heavily and rubbed at his cheeks firmly. “Seeing the traits of my mother just suddenly gone.. I didn’t realize how much it..” His eyes welled up with tears while he paused to take a few deep breaths. “I should have come when I heard about how much stress you were under. I should have been there for you.” He sighed and waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not here to try getting your forgiveness or pity. I just..” He growled a little and combed through his hair again in a frustrated gesture. Then he gave a resigned sigh and brushed the crystals again. “So, anyway, I found these for you. I figured they were close enough to your original color that maybe you’d like them.”

Uro’s head cocked slowly while her father rambled and vented his emotions. Or, at least he seemed to have tried to do that. Her gaze dropped back to the belt. Slowly, she reached out her hand to let her fingers rest over her father’s. “I appreciate this very much. It warms my heart to know you put so much thought into this gift just for me.” Her smile warmed with an affection that didn’t often come when addressing her father. It felt.. nice.

She straightened up and held up the thin belt. “They are really close to grandmother’s crystal color. And.. I am still saddened by their loss from my physical being. It will be a comfort to have the color somewhere on me again.” So she tied the belt around her hips, tight enough to not slip down but loose enough that she would feel them bounce as she moved around.

When she looked up again, the new look on her father’s face surprised her again. He seemed grateful. Pleased. While there was still a sadness to his aura, there was also a warmth that indicated he was happy. She reached out and placed her hand gently over her father’s. “Thank you.”

(( word count: 865 ))