Maybe This is Enough 𓇚 The Onceler x Jon Arbuckle 𓇚

Six

.𓇗.

𓋇 ONCE'S POV 𓋇

                                                     [Special thanks to my bbg /p Fee for helping me brainstorm this 😘]

The next week of our travels, as expected, brought no luck in the material department. I was beginning to wonder whether or not the perfect material for my thneed even existed. I was beginning to question whether or not this quest was worth it...or whether or not I should lower my standards. But if I didn't find the perfect material....would my thneed even be a thneed..? Would I travel all the way back home and face the scrutiny of my family..? All the taunts and the jabs and the 'I told you so' 's? I wouldn't even be able to stand the look that my mother would give to me. Just thinking about it sent a painful shiver down my spine.

    I was still pretty bummed from the previous week's failure, too, even though I refused to show it on the surface. I really thought that a town as wonderfully creative and unapologetic as Whoville would have something for me.. but I was wrong. Then again, my trip to Whoville hadn't been a complete waste; I had managed to get my very first employee!

    I really hadn't realized how lonely I was throughout the entire journey. Now that I had some company outside of me just talking to Melvin, I noticed that I felt a lot happier. Jon was actually quite the pleasant person to be around, and his dog was the sweetest thing on earth. Garfield was the only part of this arrangement that I had a problem with. He was always running his mouth and had an eldritch type hunger that could never be satiated. He was honestly getting on my nerves quite a lot, even his voice was enough to dampen my mood. But...I put up with it for Jon's sake.

    I took in a deep breath of fresh spring air, reminding myself not to give up. I had a lot to be grateful for, and a lot of reasons to keep going. For example, the weather had been relatively nice compared to that massive storm the prior week. Today the skies were California blue with not a single cloud in sight. The temperature was warm...but not too warm. A gentle late-spring breeze was blowing on my face. It was a beautiful day to travel.

I looked over my shoulder to see what Jon was doing. He was leaning back against the fabric of the wagon, sketching something on paper. Papers were scattered all around him. Some blank, some with doodles, and some completely balled up as if he had crushed them in his fist out of frustration.

"Hey Jon," I said after a moment, "how's the design coming?"

   Jon looked up, his face registering slight surprise. After a moment he gave a small smile, and then moved over to sit near me on the edge of the wagon.

   "I'd say that I'm making some good progress," he said, showing me the paper that he was working on.

   The sketch included what appeared to be an extremely long piece of fabric with little tassels adorning the ends. I gingerly took the paper from him and looked it over.

   "It's very long," I noted, letting my interest seep into my voice.

   "That's so it can be easily folded," Jon explained, "you can fold it and layer it into whatever you want. A hat, a scarf, a towel, anything really."

   I nodded slowly as I continued to look over the piece.

   "I like it, Jon! However...it does look a bit too much like a simple scarf...it needs to have a bit more flair if y'know what I mean. Something that makes it stand out from other things...something that screams 'this is a thneed!'"