A Day in Garein
Spruce

September 18th, Friday
I yawn, stretch, get out of bed, and change out of my pajamas to my typical blue sweater and sweatpants. I didn’t sleep great, but I felt rested enough for today’s work. After brushing my teeth and grooming my hair, I got to work on breakfast. Smoothie for me, substitute jerky for Fjorzek.
Most predators born or hatched in Garein have little trouble eating substitute meats, but for people like Fjorzek, who arrived through a dimensional rift, the change of diet was still somewhat a challenge. Sometimes I’d have to treat him like a toddler to get him to eat the stuff. He still loves it though, he just needs a first bite to get going.
Fjorzek enters the kitchen, wearing only his underwear and goes straight for the cabinet where I keep the air pump. I block his path, giving him a stare as I place my glass on the table. “Meat first, pump later.”
He scowls at me before heading to the table, pouting like a child. “How much longer do we need to keep this up.”
“Until you can eat meat on your own without me having to force you.”
“But the air pump is filling enough.”
“It’s still not healthy for you as your only source of nutrition. You may be a shapeshifter, but you still need to eat on a healthy diet for your natural state. Surviving off of air alone in an inflatable form isn’t going to last you long.”
He grumbles angrily as I sigh. “Look, once your body has returned to proper health, then we can do some other stuff too. But for now, eat up. I need to set up my stall at the outdoor market before it opens up today, so I don’t have time for this.”
I hastily chug down my smoothie and prepare my bag for the market. I didn’t have to force-feed Fjorzek this time around, so that was a relief. Once I was fully prepared, I grabbed my bag and headed out.
“Take care.” Fjorzek calls.
“You too.”

Ever since I installed the pocket dimension in my bag, carrying my stuff was much easier. Taking it all out could be a bit of a hassle at times however.
The outdoor market’s location this month was a bit of a long walk away, so I decided to wait for a Transport over at the nearest stop. Soon enough, a giant feral pooltoy husky with two small cubicles, meant to fill two people each, implanted on his sides trotted up through the macro lane. On his chest, there was a large banner saying “Transport Toy.”
He knelt down and I paid the fee to open up a cubicle. Once inside, he got up and prepared to head out with me.
“Thank you for choosing the Transport Toys service. I’m Percy and I’ll be your Transport today. Where are you heading?”
“West RubberElm Road. There should be an outdoor market going on today.”
“Sounds good, shouldn’t take too long then.”
He trotted along the macro lane at a steady pace. Being such a large toy, traveling was faster and much less tiresome for him.
I relaxed inside the cubicle, the seating was quite comfortable, the space was roomy, it even came with cupholders. He was definitely a pretty advanced model. Though seeing how he lacked a permagrin, he didn’t seem to be manufactured.
“So, are you planning to buy or sell at the market?” Percy asks, trying to start some small talk.
“Sell. I knit scarves, sweaters, that kind of stuff. They’re infinitely stretchy too, fit for inflation enthusiasts. I designed the material myself.”
“Sounds rather interesting. Maybe I could see if my brother would like to get something from you.”
“Oh, that’d be nice. I can give you my business card if you’d like.”
“That’d probably work. Thanks!”
After a few minutes, we arrived. I gave him a fair tip, putting my business card in as well with it.
“Thanks for choosing the Transport Toys service! It was lovely carrying you!” He barks happily as I depart from my cubicle, giving his leg a pat before he trots off.

Once I found my reserved location, I set up my stall and prepared my goods for selling. Taking out the tent out of my bag was proving to be a challenge once again. “Maybe I should’ve brought its original bag after all.” I grumble to myself as I manage to pull everything out after 5 or so minutes. Took me a bit longer than usual to set up my stall, but I still managed to do it in time. Soon enough I had everything I was selling laid out, not long before the crowds started entering the market.
Autumn was usually the best time to sell my stuff, with the cold weather and all. But I usually got quite a few pooltoys and balloonies buying my products too so they didn’t have to take off their clothes to avoid ripping them to enjoy a good inflation session. The juice-proof yarn was still a work in progress however, so I’d yet to sell that many sweaters to berry citizens.
A few hours passed before I was able to take a short break to enjoy some lunch. I also felt it’d be nice to look around at the other stalls while I had the chance. I wandered around the market, glancing over at the many ways some stalls tried to grab attention, one even had a living lawn ornament Gryphon inflated to the max with “Huff and Puff’s Air Pump Emporium” painted on his belly. There was a hefty crowd of inflatables at the stall, a few people chatting with the Gryphon placed on the side, the tip jar next to him nearly halfway full. “Man... I should check that place out with Fjorzek sometime.”
I mutter to myself before arriving at a western cuisine food truck.
I finished my meal, I returned to caring for my stall, making a mediocre amount of sales. Soon enough, it was time for me to close up shop. I looked through the amount of money I had earned. “Hm, not bad.” I mutter to myself as I pack everything back into my bag. Though I still had some errands I needed to do before I head back. So once I finished packing everything up, I headed out the arts-and-crafts store.

I needed some new dyes to make a scarf for Fjorzek’s new friend, Sanguine. More challenging was making sure it would be goo-proof, as Sanguine was a goo dragon.
Fjorzek always had to bring more friends to our place… I swear the population of people from dimensional rifts is going up because of him and him alone. It was still nice meeting all these new people and showing them around before they eventually got a place of their own, or just returned to their homeworld.
Upon arriving at the dyes section of the store, I took a moment to ponder something.
“How many friends have I made by myself…” I mutter softly. All the friends I made were friends of Fjorzek who just happened to know me too.
I suppose I wasn’t the most open when it came to meeting new people, I just liked being a good host. I haven’t really taken a moment to see how few people I knew well enough to call an actual friend. It made me a little sad now.
I couldn’t hide my saddened face as I went to checkout, the cashier didn’t seem to mind that much however. I paid for my stuff and headed out to a stop to get Transport home. Soon enough, I was greeted by a familiar face.

“Oh hey! Spruce!” A tan-colored Transport Toy husky with dark blue streaks cheered, kneeling down to let me in a cubicle.
“Percy! I wasn’t expecting to see you again.” I said, feeling a bit more at ease to see someone I knew, even if I first met him earlier today.
“Neither was I with you! How’d things go at the market?” He says, his tail wagging squeakily as I paid to open up the cubicle.
“Pretty well actually.” I climb in and relax, patting the seat next to me within the cubicle, wondering if he could feel it.
“That’s good to hear. I imagine we’ll be heading back to North PaperHawk Street?” He seemed really excited to see me again.
“Yeah. You’ve got a pretty good memory.” I remark as he gets up and trots down the road.
“Thanks. It’s an important trait to have as a Transport Toy. I’ve been one my whole life actually.”
“Oh really? I haven’t seen many people who were born as Transport Toys before.”
“Yeah, I’m one of the only ones in the city from my knowledge. Pretty cool if I do say so myself.”
“Yeah, it is. Say, what do you like to do on your offtime?”
“Oh? Usually I just stay in my brother’s yard and nap. Since most Transport Toys are manufactured, it’s kinda awkward when I’m seen off the job.”
“I suppose that makes sense. Maybe… would you like to hang out sometime?”
“Really? That’d be great! I don't have that many friends, so I’d love to!” He barks happily, trotting a bit faster as his tail wags in excitement.
“Yeah. I haven’t made many friends myself either, and you seem like a pretty cool guy.” I pat the seat some more as he nearly misses our stop.
I give his leg a hug this time as I exit. “When would you be available to hang out?”
“Hm… Well I get Mondays off, so maybe Monday afternoon at the park?”
“Sounds good to me! Thank you, Percy.”
“Thank you, Spruce!” He barks before licking me with a giant rubber tongue, covering me in rubbery saliva. “Oh, sorry. Couldn’t help myself there.”
I simply burst out laughing, it was a surprisingly nice experience. I end with a relaxed sigh. “I’ll catch you later, Percy.”
“See ya!” He cheers before trotting off again.
I wave himbgoodbye before realizing something. “Crap, I forgot to tip him.”

I arrive back home to see Fjorzek chilling on the couch, playing on his phone.
“Oh hey Spruce, how’d it go?”
“It went pretty good.” I go over to sit by him, seeing a healthy shine to his scales that only came with a good diet.
I took a moment to think before letting out a smile. “Say… you wanna go get a new air pump?”
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Got a new potential series coming on here all about my characters enjoying a normal day in a not-so-normal world. To start the series off, who better than the part-balloon deer himself, Spruce Beck Helmswood. Enjoy!
The story is a casual slice-of-life episode with some pooltoy characters involved as well. So no tfs, inflation, or fun stuff like that. Just a typical day at the market with a dash of fetishy characters.