Yay, I am glad you have joined, @Rue! Looking forward to more of Echo's adventures. This is very timely; I wrote a couple entries with my new pets while I have some spare moments for New Years. :)

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Alasdair's Journal, Part 1: The First Hoards (These events take place on December 21, 2018)

When I hatched on the afternoon of the Winter Solstice, Schnecco told me I was perfect. I was just like a pet she had had before, and she gave me his name. This made me uneasy somehow, like she thought I was someone I am not. My color group is black, and the other Alasdair’s was white, but Schnecco said she was actually hoping I would be black this time. I was glad she was happy, and drank up her affection, but hoped I would be able to fulfill the expectations she already seemed to have.



We were in a small room lit by a large window that took up almost an entire wall, and I was surrounded by cushy plushies. Schnecco picked one up. “This one is a Feliphene, just like you,” she told me. I caught my reflection in the window, and thought I looked a bit sleeker than the plushie. Slowly, I tilted my head and waved my tail, enjoying the way the light played off my gems. Schnecco laughed and petted me.



“Here, I have a present for you,” she said, handing me a flask containing dark red liquid with a pink line through it. “It’s a plant pot potion for your first hoard.” She placed some food pellets down as well, and I felt myself drooling at their enticing scent, which I would come to learn was pumpkin. “Eat and drink up, and then it’s time to go!”

I wolfed down my first meal without hesitation, and washed it down with the potion. I could never have imagined anything so sweet and delightful, and it made me a little giddy. Later, I learned that this was probably because the potion was made with honey and catnip leaves. I still dream of it and wish I could have another one, but I have a feeling that starter potion will be the purest one I ever have.

Out in the backyard, an orange orb floated above a nest. “That’s a Noo-Long egg,” Schnecco informed me. “Once it hatches, you will have a new friend.” I stared for a few moments, fascinated by the levitating egg. “It’s going to take a few days, though,” said Schnecco, nudging me on. A simple brown plant pot sat next to the garden patch, and I walked over, drawn to it. The soil in the plant pot and the garden patch were freshly turned up and watered.



“Yep, that’s a plant pot,” said Schnecco. “Now go find us another one!” I realized the potion was probably heightening my interest in the pot. I gave it a sniff, then opened the gate in the fence and strolled out. Several other small huts and yards, all just like mine, surrounded me. Other PixPets, real-life versions of my plushies, were also stepping out of their houses and heading toward the woods at the edge of the neighborhood. Some were already returning, excitedly hauling capsules and what looked like other eggs. I smiled warily at the PixPets I passed, and most smiled back, but we mainly just went about our own ways.

I sniffed at the air, filled with a sense of purpose that I could only assume came from the potion, since I otherwise did not really know what I was doing. Passing rows upon rows of huts, I came to the edge of the woods, and my nose led me to a grassy patch of earth, where I began to dig. A short while later, my paws hit something solid, and I dragged a moderately-sized black capsule out of the earth. I had no idea how it had gotten there, but I was excited to have found it. There was still much to learn about this new world of mine. Sensing my hoard was complete, I wandered back to my little house, glad that I was somehow able to recognize it among the rest. Along the way, I found four golden PixCoins on the ground, and wondered if someone had dropped them. Well, they were mine now.



I carried my small haul through the front door and collapsed among my plushies. Just that short excursion had tired me out. It took a few minutes for Schnecco to realize I was back, but she gave me a hug when she saw me, and opened the capsule. Sure enough, out popped a black designer pot.



“All right, good job!” She set it in the corner of the small room. “Now we just need some high grade seeds to plant in it.” She took three more flasks from our inventory shelves: a brown-colored Seed Potion, an indigo Fertilizer Potion, and a green Decorative Item Potion. “Might as well pick up some fertilizer while you’re getting seeds, and we have three of these item potions, so why not.”

It only took a few minutes before I felt up to going out again. After finding the coins and pot on my first hoard, I was now at level 7, so I could explore for three and a half hours now instead of a mere half hour. I ate some pumpkin food pellets, and saved the rest in a satchel to take with me in case I got hungry along the way, now that I would be gone longer. Then I downed the earthy Seed Potion, the slightly sour Fertilizer Potion, and the nutty Decorative Item Potion, and went on my way.

This time, I was able to walk much farther into the woods. There was a chill in the air, but my fur kept me warm. Once, I was startled by a Troffinch flying overhead, but the woods were vast and dim, and surprisingly I didn’t come across too many other PixPets. Footprints in the dirt told me that others had been this way, however, and I followed some to a large clearing with a farm. There, other PixPets were looting a mound of bags of fertilizer. Inside an open barn were several seed packets.

“Are you sure it’s all right to just take these?” I asked another Feliphene dragging several bags of fertilizer.

“I assume that’s what these are here for,” she replied. “Besides, no one is stopping us.”

At that, I grabbed 13 different bags of fertilizer, some in bunches that made them easier to carry. I wondered if I would have been able to find this place without the potions.



Next, I nabbed nine seed packets from the barn. Several other PixPets were there, pawing or clawing through them, so I just grabbed the first ones I could, without really looking at what they were.



It was becoming a lot to carry, so I began to leave the farm, but the farmhouse caught my attention, so I went over to check it out. Leaving my pile of fertilizer and seed packets outside, I went through the unlocked front door, through the small mud room, and into the simple but cozy living area, where I noticed a black capsule sitting on a desk. I snatched it up and went back out to my fertilizer and seeds, which were thankfully still sitting untouched. Now began the task of dragging all of these back home. I stopped at one point to finish the rest of my pumpkin pellets to give me some strength to lug my loot the rest of the way. Somewhere along my route, I found four more dropped PixCoins. It was pretty amazing how fast those three and a half hours went by, and this time I needed a nap when I got back. After all that, I was level 17 now.

Schnecco nodded approvingly at the fertilizers, though she placed the Plant Slow Growth one in our shop for one PixCoin. “Plants grow slowly enough already,” she told me. Her mouth was a thin line as she scrutinized the seeds. “I guess I should have saved the Seed Potion for when you are a higher level,” she sighed, crumpling up the packets of Giant Clover seeds. “These are useless.”

My shoulders slumped. She perked up at the Dragonfruit seeds, however. “At least you got enough of these to combine into one Grade 100 packet. Looks like these are the best we have for now.” I watched her combine the seeds, fertilize our new plant pot with one of the Plant Quadruple Harvest Fertilizers, and plant the dragonfruit seed. Then she opened up the capsule, which contained a black sewing machine. She placed it in front of me. “There, now you can sew your own plushies!” I was relieved when I realized she was joking, because I had no idea how to sew anything, or even where to begin to learn.

I closed my eyes again. Now with the ability to leave for eight and a half hours on my next hoard, I had to rest in preparation for being gone all night.