She had really settled in, even despite her caretaker's rules.

But hey, she was given a warm place to stay, and good food...

Not to mention the social benefit of having someone to depend on.

...

She just wished she could communicate with him.

~~~

Fries couldn't believe that he had already been caring for Puffball for nearly a year. It felt like just yesterday that he stumbled across that stranded little puffling in the park. She was now a far cry from that saddened state- her yearling coat was almost completely filled in, and her eyes were now visible, only a thin curtain of fur protecting them from the outside world.

God- her eyes...

They were beautiful.

They were like polished obsidian stones, the rich black of her pupils contrasting against her pale pink fur, sparkling in the light.

Sometimes, Fries swore he saw rainbows swirling in them, like spilled oil on black pavement.

And her luscious coat? As horrible as it sounds, Fries kinda understood why objects used to hunt puffballs for their pelt.

Her fur was softer than anything Fries had ever touched before, even softer than the cloud object he went to highschool with. Each strand of her beautiful coat was as fine as silk, yet strangely wooly when combined- like a cross between a chinchilla and a sheep.

And it wasn't just her physical characteristics that had blossomed with time, but her mind and personality, as well as their bond...

It was almost parental at this point.

Every morning, Puffball would greet Fries from her drawer bed, squeaking happily and smiling at him, her eyes shining with joy as her lifted her and nuzzled her forehead. She would float in circles around his feet as he prepared her breakfast, rubbing against his legs affectionately as she awaited her meal.

Hell- she had even started to squeak out what Fries believed to be rudimentary words.

"Faa!" That was her version of asking for food. "Cuweee!" She wanted to be held. "Ayuuraa..." Tiredness.

She truly was a brilliant little puffling.

And that gave Fries an idea.

~

Having done a little research, the potato box actually found out that on rare occasions, puffballs can be raised as objects, learning to speak, going to school, and eventually, joining the working world. There was even an article about a puffball who was currently in his 3rd year of medical college, training to become a surgeon!

He had also found some tips online for schooling wild puffballs- although it was extremely rare for wild-born pufflings to integrate into society. Most "civilized" puffballs were born from domesticated parents, always living with objects, after years of the wild genes being filtered from their blood. 

But he was sure as hell gonna try and get little Puffball up to speed.

~

"Ok- so you see me? I'm Fries! See? Fries!" He was holding Puffball, trying to teach her his name, as she had only addressed him by an odd squeak, and depending on her mood, sometimes a long, high-pitched screech.

"Fiiieee..." She squeaked out, her voice melodic and shifting its pitch, as she was trying to adjust her vocal cords to the new word.

"Yes- that's pretty close! Fries! Fri-es!" The potato snack encouraged her, gently patting her fur back.

"F...Fri...Frieeeaa!" Puffball shook her head, fluffing herself up, and getting ready to try it again.

With a deep breath, Puffball opened her mouth and belted out...

"Fwies!"

She looked extremely confident, cracking a big (surprisingly toothy) smile at Fries.

He, on the other hand, was melting for her. That was just too adorable.

"Yes! Yes! 'Fwies'! Good job Puffball!" The salted object held her close, squeezing her tightly as she chanted her new word into his paper box. 

"Fwies! Fwies! Fwies!" She only stopped chanting when Fries offered her one of her favorite treats: sliced moonfruit from her native Galaxy Forest.

And then? It was back to learning.

~~~

Within a few short weeks, Puffball had the basis of speech down pat, as she now had semi-accurate names for things, rather than just noises. "Faa" was replaced by "Hungoo", "Cuwee" was replaced by "Holdee", and Fries was no longer just a weird sounding squeak. She had words for almost everything, and was rapidly growing her limited vocabulary.

And Fries couldn't be more proud.

~~~Author's Notes~~~

ok so basically

she bapis

Kinda a short chapter again, but I didn't really have much of an idea in mind for this one.

Not much to say here, other than Fries' canon name is now Fwies, Michael told me.

Anyway, see y'all next time.

-Fire

P.S. oh shit July 11th- I fucking called it lol