A Fruit Basket | Goddess Cybele's Gift Basket

“Carnyx? Carynx! Where is that Moo? I swear one moment he is here and then… oh there he is!” Dolly was searching for her on again, off again lover. He was stoic and quiet a majority of the time, but was intune with her needs and those around him. While she was appreciative of when she needed to vent her frustration or let out pent up emotion to him, he always knew what to say or how to help her. The very definition of a gentle giant and one with nature by his horns, hooves, and the vine that has wrapped around his left arm had to say anything about it.

“Ah, there is my magnolia.” He said quietly, a low tone in his voice as he put down a pair of pruning shears down to go greet her. His cloak he normally wore around his shoulders was folded on a bench with his hair tied back to keep it falling in his face. He was taller than Dolly as he stooped down and gave her a kiss on her cheek on greeting. “It is a pleasure to see you in my gardens once more. But I sense you are needing something.” He got on one knee, offering his thigh for her to sit on.

She sighed and rearranged her skirts to sit on the offered place. “You know how you tend to Cybele’s Garden from time to time? Well… I found out that there is more to her than what was originally thought of, I talked to Rune and he offered some insight about meeting her.” Carnyx stiffened slightly, his passion for Cybele was due to the beauty of her garden that he tended when it was needed. “Are you going to meet Cybele with Rune?” He questioned her, if she hadn’t known him as well as she did, she would have missed the hurt in his voice.

Dolly took his face and cradled it within her hands, offering him a gentle smile. “I was hoping to ask if you were interested in going as well.” She pecked his cheek, enjoying the earthy scent of oak moss from him, and pulled away from his face. Sighing, she continued, “Rune said something along the words of an offering for her. And I don’t mean like what we did on Spring's Eve!” Carnyx offered a mischievous smile, “it took me a few days to recover after our display in Cybele’s Garden!” Dolly’s face turned pink. “What I, I mean we, need is a welcome basket for her.”

“The town would have a much larger option to gather the necessity, I don’t understand why you traveled out here to gather the supplies for a welcome basket for her. You mean an offering.” Finally catching on to what she meant, “you wanted my opinion on what should be in the basket for when we meet her.” Dolly was hoping he would take her to a little patch of land where he grew his own produce from time to time. He nodded as he nudged her off his lap. “I’ll take you to my garden, my magnolia. I think I know what kind of offering she would like.” He wrapped his cloak around his shoulders and offered his arm to her, guiding her to the rural area of Bovine Buffs.

-&-

Carnyx’s place looked exactly like how she imagined a fantasy world’s house and garden would be. A small garden patch with a few fig bushes and trees with fruits on it. He grabbed a basket that he used exclusively as he walked Dolly through his small plot. “Since Cybele is the fertility goddess, she would appreciate things that were grown and symbolize what she focuses on. I have four items I grow that would be perfect.” He walked over to the strawberries, carefully pulling a cover back to prevent birds from eating them. “Strawberries represent perfection.” He showed her a large, juicy looking strawberry. “A double one brings love.”

Dolly helped him pick some that filled the bottom part of the basket, he helped her as they walked over to the fig bushes. “Figs to represent sexual desire, could be you or for your partner. But I believe you always turn figs into preserves?” He asked her, showing her one as she placed it into the basket, nodding to his question. “I do, they taste good before turning into those.” Four figs joined the strawberries while Carnyx gathered apples from the trees that were next to the bushes. “Here. Apples were considered aphrodisiacs at one point in history. Women would sleep with one under her arm and try to convince her love interest to eat it.”

“And the love interest would fall in love.” Carnyx nodded, reaching above her to pick the apples from the trees. “How do you know all of this?” He shrugged his shoulders, using the moment of silence between them as he walked towards the last of what he knew would be perfect for Cybele. Gently guiding her to the pomegranate bush near his house, he checked a few to see which ones would be perfect. “Last piece of fruit grown would be a pomegranate. They were a symbol for marriage or fertility or maybe both. I can’t remember.” He picked four and placed three into the basket, offering the last one to Dolly.

“Here, take one to eat on the way back to town. You just chew on the fruit and spit the seeds out. Just don’t eat the waxy interior of it.” Palming it in her hands, he arranged the basket to his liking, wanting to make sure it looked perfect to present it to Cybele when they got to meet them. “Just a warning my little magnolia, if this is one of Rune’s pranks…” He left it hanging in the air as he showed her the fruit basket. “He seemed genuine this time around, thank you for the lovely basket. Hopefully she’ll like this.”

“I think she will love it, especially the thought put behind every piece of beautiful fruits you put in there.” Dolly reassured him as he once again led her out of his home plot to avoid her from going any closer to his house. “Let’s head to the Greedy Cauldron and see what Rune and Vanessa think.”