-The Next Hibernation-
(Star Misfits AU / DRABBLE)
(Star Misfits AU / DRABBLE)
"That should just about do it."
Dragato stands back to admire his work. Several tons of imported North Novan sand has been painstakingly moved to his newly built shed. Several large boulders and foliage line each wall, and there's a dim salt lamp off to the corner. Perfect! Dragato is quite pleased with himself. /They'll/ be sure to love it! Just the thought of them couldn't help but put a smile on his face.
Gravel and Path- his adopted children. North Novan natives whose body aren't meant for the cold West Novan winters. Once the cold season hits, they go into a long hibernation that spans over several months until spring arrives. This will be the second year Gravel and Path hibernate, and Dragato wants them to be as comfortable and warm as possible. With the help of his comrades, they were able to import many North Novan plants and soil to make the pair feel at home. After many weeks of keeping it a secret from the curious pair, Dragato can finally reveal the big surprise to them!
The elder gently closes the door of the shed, and heads back inside to fetch the pair. Both are in the Kitchen. Gravel is standing on one of the kitchen chairs, eagerly gobbling down his bowl of oatmeal with his bare hands, while Path is by his side; occasionally licking the smears of oatmeal off his face. Once the door of the house opens, both children turn their heads, and greet the elder.
"So, Guess what?" Dragato asks as he takes a seat across from the pair.
"What?" Gravel looks up from his breakfast; tail slightly wagging in excitement once he hears the upbeat tone in his father’s voice.
"I know how much you’ve been wanting to see the project me and your uncles have been working on. So….” His voice is filled with anticipation for the huge moment. “Are you ready to finally see what the big surprise is?”
"It's finished?!!!" Gravel lets out a small gasp. “It’s finally finished?!!! Really?!!!”
Gravel doesn’t know EXACTLY what it is, but all he knows is his father and uncles have started the project over half a year ago. When he would ask about it, the elders just give him a reassuring grin, and say it’s surprise well worth the wait. He’s been told the same thing every time he asks, so after 6 months of wondering, and guessing, and waiting, he FINALLY gets to see what the grownups were working on.
Gravel happily jumps up and down on his chair before crawling into the elder’s arms. “Can we see it now? Can we, can we, can we?!!!”
Dragato bursts out in laughter from his son’s reaction. “After having you wait this long, it’ll be a crime not to. Let’s go.”
“Yaaaaay!!!!!” He bolts out of his grasp, and runs to the door. Path rushes to his side, and impatiently paws the door to let them out.
Dragato is by their side moments later, and leads them to the small shed at the side of their home. Both children are buzzing with excitement. What could it be? toys? Playground? A fort! His father wouldn’t give him any hint, nor sneak peeks since the project started. So, it HAS to be something REALLY amazing.
Once the door cracks open, Gravel quickly squeezes through to see what the big surprise is!
"So, what do you think?" Dragato enters the room with Path by his side. "Now you and Path can have a cozy, safe place during your hibernation. Do you like it?"
Dragato knows the topic of hibernation is a touchy one. Gravel does his best to change it anytime it's brought up. Dragato hopes his son will open up a bit more after showing him his new home away from home. He eagerly waits for a response, but after seeing Gravel’s frills and tail lower, it's clear he's upset by it. He didn't expect such a negative response from Gravel, and Dragato awkwardly clears his throat before taking several steps towards his son.
"Ah, I'm guessing this isn't the surprise you had in mind." He kneels down to tend to the child.
“You...." Gravel stumbles with his words. For over half a year, his dad and uncles have been so excited and thrilled to work on this?. But why? Is there something he doesn’t understand? Everyone but him and his friends are always so sad when his hibernation is brought up. But for the grownups? It seems like the complete opposite. Aren’t they even going to miss them?
"You...want me to hibernate? Why are you so happy about it, aren’t you even going to miss us?
Dragato could hear the sadness laced in his voice. Is...that why he doesn't like talking about it? He had always though it was because he couldn’t be with his friends and family, or celebrate squidmas....
But now.....
Dragato gently picks up the tearful child in his grasp and gives him a supportive nuzzle. "Oh, Gravel. Is that's what's been bothering you? You think we're not going to miss you? "
And the child just nuzzles back.
"Just because we're apart for several months, doesn't mean I'll ever stop thinking about you. Not a day goes by where you escape my thoughts. We all worked hard on this project not because we want you to hibernate, but because we know you have to. And since you have to, we all want to make sure you have the best and coziest hibernation possible.
Dragato stands back to admire his work. Several tons of imported North Novan sand has been painstakingly moved to his newly built shed. Several large boulders and foliage line each wall, and there's a dim salt lamp off to the corner. Perfect! Dragato is quite pleased with himself. /They'll/ be sure to love it! Just the thought of them couldn't help but put a smile on his face.
Gravel and Path- his adopted children. North Novan natives whose body aren't meant for the cold West Novan winters. Once the cold season hits, they go into a long hibernation that spans over several months until spring arrives. This will be the second year Gravel and Path hibernate, and Dragato wants them to be as comfortable and warm as possible. With the help of his comrades, they were able to import many North Novan plants and soil to make the pair feel at home. After many weeks of keeping it a secret from the curious pair, Dragato can finally reveal the big surprise to them!
The elder gently closes the door of the shed, and heads back inside to fetch the pair. Both are in the Kitchen. Gravel is standing on one of the kitchen chairs, eagerly gobbling down his bowl of oatmeal with his bare hands, while Path is by his side; occasionally licking the smears of oatmeal off his face. Once the door of the house opens, both children turn their heads, and greet the elder.
"So, Guess what?" Dragato asks as he takes a seat across from the pair.
"What?" Gravel looks up from his breakfast; tail slightly wagging in excitement once he hears the upbeat tone in his father’s voice.
"I know how much you’ve been wanting to see the project me and your uncles have been working on. So….” His voice is filled with anticipation for the huge moment. “Are you ready to finally see what the big surprise is?”
"It's finished?!!!" Gravel lets out a small gasp. “It’s finally finished?!!! Really?!!!”
Gravel doesn’t know EXACTLY what it is, but all he knows is his father and uncles have started the project over half a year ago. When he would ask about it, the elders just give him a reassuring grin, and say it’s surprise well worth the wait. He’s been told the same thing every time he asks, so after 6 months of wondering, and guessing, and waiting, he FINALLY gets to see what the grownups were working on.
Gravel happily jumps up and down on his chair before crawling into the elder’s arms. “Can we see it now? Can we, can we, can we?!!!”
Dragato bursts out in laughter from his son’s reaction. “After having you wait this long, it’ll be a crime not to. Let’s go.”
“Yaaaaay!!!!!” He bolts out of his grasp, and runs to the door. Path rushes to his side, and impatiently paws the door to let them out.
Dragato is by their side moments later, and leads them to the small shed at the side of their home. Both children are buzzing with excitement. What could it be? toys? Playground? A fort! His father wouldn’t give him any hint, nor sneak peeks since the project started. So, it HAS to be something REALLY amazing.
Once the door cracks open, Gravel quickly squeezes through to see what the big surprise is!
"So, what do you think?" Dragato enters the room with Path by his side. "Now you and Path can have a cozy, safe place during your hibernation. Do you like it?"
Dragato knows the topic of hibernation is a touchy one. Gravel does his best to change it anytime it's brought up. Dragato hopes his son will open up a bit more after showing him his new home away from home. He eagerly waits for a response, but after seeing Gravel’s frills and tail lower, it's clear he's upset by it. He didn't expect such a negative response from Gravel, and Dragato awkwardly clears his throat before taking several steps towards his son.
"Ah, I'm guessing this isn't the surprise you had in mind." He kneels down to tend to the child.
“You...." Gravel stumbles with his words. For over half a year, his dad and uncles have been so excited and thrilled to work on this?. But why? Is there something he doesn’t understand? Everyone but him and his friends are always so sad when his hibernation is brought up. But for the grownups? It seems like the complete opposite. Aren’t they even going to miss them?
"You...want me to hibernate? Why are you so happy about it, aren’t you even going to miss us?
Dragato could hear the sadness laced in his voice. Is...that why he doesn't like talking about it? He had always though it was because he couldn’t be with his friends and family, or celebrate squidmas....
But now.....
Dragato gently picks up the tearful child in his grasp and gives him a supportive nuzzle. "Oh, Gravel. Is that's what's been bothering you? You think we're not going to miss you? "
And the child just nuzzles back.
"Just because we're apart for several months, doesn't mean I'll ever stop thinking about you. Not a day goes by where you escape my thoughts. We all worked hard on this project not because we want you to hibernate, but because we know you have to. And since you have to, we all want to make sure you have the best and coziest hibernation possible.
-End Drabble-
Artist Comment:
October 6, 2025
-----------------
I had this piece completed back in January of 2023. ;;A;;; Shame on me for letting it collect so much dust. BUT it's finally posted, so now I can rest easy. >v<;;
A few things to point out~!
1. This is based off my GW AU, Star Misfits. (After I created Tali, I don't work on this AU anymore. But it's still fun to think about from time to time, maybe I'll drabble a few more stories one day...)
2. This piece is a continuation off of this piece here- where Dragato finds out that Gravel hibernates.
If this story sounds familiar, that's because it was recycled to this story where Tali first hibernates, located here. But I still wanted to share the piece from the Star Misfits AU where Gravel and Path hibernates. >v< A lot of the Gravel SM AU has been worked into Tali and Dragato's story. So that's kinda why I don't drabble much on this AU.
October 6, 2025
-----------------
I had this piece completed back in January of 2023. ;;A;;; Shame on me for letting it collect so much dust. BUT it's finally posted, so now I can rest easy. >v<;;
A few things to point out~!
1. This is based off my GW AU, Star Misfits. (After I created Tali, I don't work on this AU anymore. But it's still fun to think about from time to time, maybe I'll drabble a few more stories one day...)
2. This piece is a continuation off of this piece here- where Dragato finds out that Gravel hibernates.
If this story sounds familiar, that's because it was recycled to this story where Tali first hibernates, located here. But I still wanted to share the piece from the Star Misfits AU where Gravel and Path hibernates. >v< A lot of the Gravel SM AU has been worked into Tali and Dragato's story. So that's kinda why I don't drabble much on this AU.
Species © Nintendo/ HAL Laboratory
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
