Glowing Up Gunce

What are you two up to over here?

Miss Velette caught a cold...

Poor thing was sneezin' all night long...

I'm sorry to hear that. Shall I prepare some medicine for her?

That'd be helpful, yeah. But are you really sure she's sick, Gunce?

When I went to check on her earlier she didn't have a fever and she wasn't sneezing either.

Oi! I wouldn't lie about somethin' like that! She was a mess last night!

I tried my best to keep her warm, but nothin' I did seemed to help.

...What did you do exactly?

Gave her the biggest bear hug I could muster, of course! She's always usin' me as a pillow anyhow.

Just a moment, please.

Did you touch any of the flowers in the village yesterday afternoon?

The flowers? Yeah. Me an' Feinne were out makin' garlands in the garden...

(How the heck can Gunce even do such delicate work with those hands...)

Well, doesn't that sound like a beautiful sight to behold...

But that also means you may have gotten some pollen on you from the ore blossoms. Maybe Velette's allergic to it.

You mean I'M the one who gave her a cold?!

Strictly speaking it wasn't a cold, but yes.

Think we can get it off by giving Gunce a bath or something?

Hmm, it might be a little difficult. Ore blossom pollen is covered in tiny spikes that allow it to firmly grasp onto animal fur.

Does that mean...me an' the Miss can't be together anymore?

Of course not. It's just going to require a little extra effort, that's all. We can use the seeds from a plant that grows in the Folkian Wildlands to make an oil to clean it off.

Shall I take you there?

Are ya sure? I thought ya had important stuff to do today, Miss Jillfunny.

It's totally fine. As it would turn out, I was planning to give Pyggie a bath today, too.

Pyggie?

A friend of mine.

My name is NOT Pyggie. It is Pygmaliōn Madredeus XIII.

That's a pretty long name, Pyggie. I'm Gunce.

I'm Aldo. Pleased to meet you, Pygamli...um...

Oh, just call him Pyggie.

He helped watch over me and gathered information for me while I was in hiding.

There wasn't much I could do to show him my appreciation at the time...

...Which is why I'd like to reward him with a nice, relaxing bath today.

I think I'd rather pass...

Why do you want to wash him?

Because he's a gentleman who cares deeply about his personal hygiene. I'll be able to help him wash places he can't usually reach, like his back.

I don't remember ever asking for your help with that.

We can give Gunce a bath at the same time.

Let's head over to the Folkian Wildlands and see if we can find some seed oil.

This is the flower we're looking for. The seeds only have a little bit of oil each, so we'll need to gather a lot of them.

Leave it to me! I'll do whatever it takes for the Miss's sake!

Washing Gunce is one thing, but it's gonna take a whole cartload of seeds to wash someone as big as Pyggie...

Luckily you won't have to. I know better than to run through the flower fields, so there's no pollen to clean off.

Right. We only need to gather enough to wash Gunce.

Once you've found the seeds, give them to Pyggie. He's very talented at extracting their oil.

I think we've gathered about all the seeds we're gonna find in this area.

Hey, Pyggie. I've got more seeds for...

Wait a second... I could swear I brought you more than this...

You think so? Looks like all of them to me...

Pyggie! Did you eat our seeds?

...Nope.

Don't lie to me. I can still see the oil around your lips!

...Well, how did you expect me to control myself when you kept bringing me seeds that were so oily and delicious?

We needed those to clean off Gunce! They're not your snacks!

It's okay, Miss Jillfunny. Please don't get angry at Pyggie.

It's my fault everyone got dragged out here in the first place.

There's no harm in him eatin' a few, right?

I'll just work twice as hard to gather some extra!

...How dignified.

Good work, everyone. That should be enough for the oil, so now we just need some water.

Can't we just use the bath at the inn?

No, there's no way Pyggie would even fit in the tub.

I know of a water source we can use around here. Follow me.

Something wrong, Pyggie?

No, just noting the rather diverse selection of monster tracks in the area.

Well, watering holes are surprisingly rare out here in the Folkian Wildlands. All the local fauna probably frequent it.

Then we'd better get this show on the road before any thirsty visitors show up.

Okay, first we'll brush their fur to get out as much pollen as we can. For Gunce, we'll need to apply the oil as well.

How is it, Gunce? Not brushing too hard, am I?

Nope, it's perfect. You're pretty good at this, Aldo.

You think so? Varuo hates it when I brush his fur... Anyhow, I'm glad you like it.

That should be enough of that. Now what?

Next add this magic supplement to the water and use the suds to wash Gunce.

What is this stuff? It smells really nice.

It's a little something to care for her fur. You won't believe how beautiful and fluffy she'll be by the end.

Once you finish scrubbing just give her a good rinse and you're all done.

Phew... All finished. I guess it's easier than dealing with Varuo, but it still comes with its own challenges.

Do you always wash Pyggie like this?

I figured you'd just use some kind of magic to get him clean in seconds flat.

There is actually a spell like that, but...

...There's something to be said for doing it yourself.

Check it out, Aldo!

My fur is so shiny now that it's dry! I can't wait for the Miss to see!

Yeah, I think she's gonna love it.

Pyggiiiiiieee!

Siiigh... So soft! So fluffy! I love you, Pyggie! You're the best!

Hands to yourself, please. I just finished styling it.

Just a little longer... Fluffy-wuffy...

Uhh... Jillfunny?

Yes?

N-Nevermind.

Do you like soft stuff, Miss Jillfunny?

Yes! I mean... J-Just a little bit. ...Gunce?

Can I...touch your fur juuust a teensy-weensy bit?

Of course! Go for it!

...I see. Your fur is short, but it's thick and has a completely different texture from Pyggie's...

...Sniffety-sniff.

M-Miss Jillfunny?! D-Did you just s-s-sniff me?!

Get it together, Jillfunny. We've got places to be.

...And there's the cue for our thirsty guests. Figures.

Hey! You better not expect any mercy from me!

Stand back, Gunce. I'd hate for you to get dirty again after all the trouble we just went through. You've still gotta show off your fur to Velette.

Pyggie?! Are you trying to protect me?!

Let us handle this. You ready, Jillfunny?

Yes. I will protect the sanctity of Gunce's fabulous fluff at all costs!

Are you okay, Gunce?

I'm fine thanks to you guys.

Glad to hear it. Looks like you're still nice and clean, too.

Let's head back to Emur before any more monsters show up.

Hey! Check me out, Miss! My fur is sparklin' clean today!

Oi! Who d'ya think ya are runnin' off without tellin' me first?!

S-Sorry, Miss... You were still snorin' away when I left. I'll leave ya a note next time.

Don't be like that, Velette. Gunce was with us.

Oh? All that sneezin' was on account of this little bugger?

That explains why I slept so well after ya finally left.

Well, Gunce is all clean now so you shouldn't have any more trouble tonight.

Lemme test ya out...

Ain't I soft, Miss?

Yea, and I'm not sneezin' anymore either.

I'd say you lot did a pretty good job of it. If ya want I'll put ya in charge of Gunce launderin' duty permanently.

Gettin' first dibs on fluffin' up that beautiful fur is payment enough, don't ya think?

...As tempting as that offer sounds, I'll have to decline.

I'm sure Gunce would be a lot happier if you did the washing yourself, Velette. You owe her that much considering how hard she works for you, don't you agree?

Hmph... I guess I can handle it every now and then.

You can?! Yay!

Good for you, Gunce!