A commission for Nik Clarkson! which is vaguely within my Mana Tear nonsense.
I am very proud of the art work of this one.

---

They were a good Pool Toy.

The sun swung through the sky, sending dazzling rays of light through the trees.

But loneliness persisted even in the wake of the welcoming sun and the flowing water.

Rarely at the edges of awareness people wandered nearby, they heard the calls to play and companionship. The first couple that answered and neared, but fled upon seeing them.

It had to be something wrong, they were not a good Pool Toy. Must be better.

So focused on being better, under the rapidly shifting sun, the Pool Toy grew. The once small pool toy gradually filled out the intermediary pool, their size had nearly tripled. Surely now they were a good Pool Toy.

Once more many suns later a new person entered their awareness. They called out and the person responded with strange certainty. It must be how good of a Pool Toy they were now!

The figure stood over the pool with hooked pole in hand.

---

"Not even a fortnight since report and you grew didn't you?" the figure reached down with the pole plucking the oversized Pool Toy from the water and dragged it to a dry clearing, "I am sure you can't even worry right now, but I'll get you back to normal."

---

They were the best Pool Toy, someone had come to take them home! But companionship was traded for the warm sun and the flowing water. They called out to their new friend that it would be best to make home in the water and ever welcoming sun. But their friend didn't listen and soon the Pool Toy's voice faded.

---

"I was in there for TWO MONTHS?!" yelled the recently restored Red Panda-Taur.

"Word to the wise, you seem prone to this, don't zone out somewhere without stimulus again as an inflatable." the recovery agent replied before returning to work.

"I guess?" Huffed the inflatable with a hint of a squeak, "thanks?" and they left the office with a bit of an awkward bounce between all four legs.