Lonely Peanut
Birds chirped, welcoming the overcast morning with an eerie song. The air was humid, but comfortably cool, as fog was settling in on the land, while soft dew littered surfaces, making fresh spiderwebs sparkle like crystal ornaments in the greyed lighting. To many, this would be a peaceful start to their day, while others would rather sleep in on a quiet morning as such. Within the remnants of an old junk yard, a blue jester Scarfox with plush tears all over his body, followed by withered patches, was already awake. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night prior, and was just lain in his scrappy old bed in a small rundown shack that didn't even have glass in the window, and could only fit the small bed, and a single weathered child's nightstand that had paint peeling from the surface. Peanut was watching in silence as his makeshift curtain of scrap fabric flowed in the gentle breeze coming from the rectangular hole that once had glass in it decades before, completely lost in his own thoughts, a frown on his face. He was so still aside from his breathing that the morning dew had formed a thin layer on his body, but he didn't mind.
The Scarfox sighed, allowing his brain to come to reality, his lip quivering as a single tear streamed down his cheek. The still silence was broken by him softly speaking to himself, just barely above a whisper. "Today's the day of the Wind Festival celebration.... Betcha Chester and Corny will be going... Again.... They did last year...." He raised his big hand, letting the makeshift curtain just graze over his fingertips lightly as it flowed peacefully in the breeze, unbothered by the events of a Scarfox's life, nothing to fill its non-existing mind, just wind and a gentle motion. "I wish I had a friendship like they do.... They probably don't even know I exist outside of us sharing a job.... I know Chester and Corny are boyfriends.... They have every right to be entitled to spending their time with one another, especially for a festival like this... I just... Wish I could even hang out with one, or both, of them one day... They're the only ones I can trust to call friends.... Everyone else thinks I'm weird for living in this old place... I just... Want them to be close enough to me too to even visit sometimes..." He finally shifted, rolling onto his side as a squirrel ran through under the hole at the bottom of his weathered door, up and across Peanut's body and out the window hole right into a tree, not even second guessing its path.
Feeling rejected by even the squirrel, Peanut decided it was time he might as well as get out of bed and get to work in scavenging the junkyard again to see what he could find. He made his way out the door that was surprising to even have in one piece still, not even bothering to close it, leaving it open for any animals that wished to enter, stretching once he was outside and had enough space for his entire body to fit, his body popping in various spots from having laid wrong all morning. He grunted some in response to his cracks, rubbing his eyes finally and glancing around the foggy junkyard, trying to assess what area to look in today, trying to plan out either an area he hadn't been to yet, or it had been a while since he last looked there. The junkyard was long since abandoned, however every once in a while, people would randomly leave things behind still, always giving Peanut something new to wonder about. "Alright... I went left yesterday, so I'll go right today and check over by the pile of tires. Things are always surprising over there." Peanut nodded to himself, letting out another yawn before making his way over to the area.
*****
Some time into his searching, Peanut was bent into the pile of tires, looking at all the new things he had never seen in there before, carefully moving a spider so she would be safe, when a voice caught his attention. "Peanut! Hey Pea!" Peanut was caught off guard, looking at the spider with many metaphorical question marks above his head, not quite wrapping his morning mind around the situation. "Since when did spiders start talking?...." His confused thought process was cut off when he felt someone tap on his back, giving him a rather big start, that made him trip and fall into the tires more, a sound of surprise escaping him in the process, looking at what was trying to get his attention, obviously panicked from the event.
"Ah shoot I am so sorry Peanut, I thought you heard me...." Before him was his co-worker, Chester, offering his own large hand as aid to help him out of the tires. "Are you alright?"
Peanut nodded once he regained himself, still confused by Chester's presence. "Yea I'm fine, you just startled me is all. I half thought you were a spider talking to me for a minute." He chuckled some awkwardly as rubbing the back of his head. "What brings you here though? Today's the Wind Festival.... Aren't you and Corny going to that? The circus is closed today so I figured you two would be going."
"Actually, that's exactly why I'm here. We were on our way out, but since we were going past, we wanted to see if you want to come along with us? If you're not too busy that is of course."
The patchwork Scarf looked at Chester in disbelief some, stammering as he realized this was true. "Oh uh... You wouldn't mind? I've always wanted to go but never had anyone to go with... I'm not too busy today, so I wouldn't mind tagging along. You sure you're both alright with me coming with you? I wouldn't want to intrude if you were going to make this a date..."
Chester raised his hand whilst shaking his head. "Nah you're absolutely fine. This is a day for fun, and Corny and I get dates any other time. You're our friend and we would love to have you with us!"
Peanut looked like he was about to cry from the joy that was overcoming him, taking Chester in a tight hug to show his appreciation. "Thank you Chess... I'm ready to go whenever, no need to wait up for me to do anything!"
The stripy blue Scarfox smiled, hugging the overjoyed Scarf back. "Perfect. I left Corny to play with your bucket of rusty nails at the entrance, so we just need to collect him and we should be good to go. That fox is nuts when it comes to anything sharp, but he's thankfully cautious enough to never get hurt by them. Goes to show how different the night show he does is from our day performance. Uh- don't be surprised if he steals the nails by the way. It is Corny we're talking about anyways, the same fox who just broke into my house and decided he lived there when I was sitting right on the couch."
Peanut chuckled, wiping his tears, nodding. "He's more than welcome to take them. I don't mind. It warms my heart when scarfs see scraps as the treasures they really are." He excitedly took Chester by the hand, dragging him along to meet back up with Corny and be on their way.
*****
Arriving at the Wind Valley, Peanut looked around excitedly, soaking in all the beautiful sights that weren't his normal sight of junkyards or circus fairgrounds. The rolling vibrant green hills seemed to almost dance in the soothing breeze from the tall grass going on as far as the eye could see, while the colorful pink sakura trees added a splash of color to the sights, adding a sweet aroma to the air that would calm anyone's soul. There were various beautifully crafted pagodas, carefully placed amongst the land pulled right from a mythical painting. Bamboo stalks chimed and whistled in the wind, tying together the entire scene to make it seem all the more magical. It was overwhelming, but in a good way, the patchy Scarfox not even knowing where to begin.
Without hesitation while Peanut was still soaking in the sights, the cream colored fox wearing his green jester costume as always, took off running at full speed, jumping in the air before rolling down the hill at the fullest speed possible, laughing with pure joy as he tumbled about. Chester laughed some seeing either of the other two foxes reactions to the valley, finally speaking to Peanut. "Wanna just go for a walk first? get a layout of the place? It will give you time to think about what you want to do first. Corny will mostly be doing that all day, plus it gives us some time to finally catch up off-the-clock. I've been meaning to but haven't had the time to pop in to the junkyard."
Peanut nodded, attentive to Chester. "That sounds nice. It's absolutely stunning here, I never expected it to be this beautiful!" Upon Peanut agreeing, Chester notioned for him to follow, heading off in a direction with him, not trying to rush, but instead enjoy the peaceful day.
~~~
Several topics into their walk, Chester sat on a bench of one of the pagodas, leaving room for Peanut to sit beside him, looking around the surroundings as he did. "Last year Corny and I were on this very bench when I attempted to confess my feelings to him. It wasn't exactly successful given he mother-zoned me. Not really sure how that one works where I'm a guy, but it was sweet. Sucked overall that I spilled my emotions only for him to not pick up on what I meant, but eventually with patience we got there when he figured it out. It's funny to think back on nowadays honestly, but even though I was soft rejected originally, I still like to think of this as the place mine and his relationship began. One of my best memories."
Peanut smiled, watching as Chester recollected the memory, feeling happy for his friend. "That's honestly a really cute memory to have. Leave it to Corny to not pick up on emotional signs like that." He teased, continuing. "You two have come a long ways, and I don't think any of the other couples in the circus are as well off as you two. It's really sweet to watch honestly. I hope one day I can find a love like you guys have. I'm not overly hopeful, but it's nice to think about."
"Thank you Pea. I'm sure you will find that love one day. I have hope in that, everyone deserves a good lover." Chester smiled at the ground some at the thought. "You're not just my co-star for the shows, but you're my best friend and I genuinely care about you, so your happiness is priority to me. If I had a way to contact you on days off I would. I know you don't always have as many ups in life as you like to let on. I want to be there for you, it's just hard sometimes given how far away my house is from your scrapyard. I want you to know though, any days the fairgrounds are closed, you're free to come up to the house if you need someone. Day or night, I promise you won't be an intrusion. I leave the door unlocked un case Corny has one of his episodes where he decides to go for a walk in the middle of the night. I genuinely don't mind."
Peanut hugged Chester tightly, smiling from his heart being touched, thankful for Chester knowing exactly what to say. He chuckled some when a thought ran through his head, unable to contain himself. "You know, reasons like this are probably why Corny thought you were being motherly to him. Guy or not, you can be really parental to foxes in need. Maybe he saw your advancements just as you trying to adopt him." He couldn't hold back his snickers when Chester rolled his eyes, unable to contain his own laugh."
"Oh quiet you. Don't you go mother-zoning me now." Chester couldn't help but be amused at the thought.
"You know, now that just makes it all the more tempting. We should probably go find Corny and start going through the events before we loose too much daylight."
"Agreed."
