[ DO NOT REPOST, ALL ART & CONCEPTS WERE MADE BY ME]
Illustration Time: 7hrs 38min
The Seaside Salesman . . .
He had finally landed. His beautiful vessel jostled and scraped the moment it's bottom hit the sandy shore. Redd was quick to jump out, immediately anchoring his trawler to a young coconut tree, dragging and heaving at the line so it would sit higher on the shore. Once he was satisfied he ducked under the rope joining the railing, acting as a barrier between him and the ocean whenever he sailed. The object of his desires was quick to find and he snatched it up the moment he came near.
The fox hummed to himself as he secured everything, dropping the trusty wood plank over the side to allow a proper walkway while also making sure that his only transportation wouldn't float away. When he stepped back to marvel at his work, making sure to pat his own back for the effort, Redd was greeted with a sweet smelling air of oranges and sea salt.
"Well . . . you don't see that every day." His tongue clicked eyes roaming over the sight before him. The night before, when he had first set off, he hadn't quite been expecting an island brimmed with life such as this one.
The trees stood tall on the massive hillsides, vibrant and green with chattering critters dancing about within their branches. The grass beneath his feet was short as if it had just been mowed, only growing long around the base of each hill side. His feet carried him along the small forest path which appeared to have been recently cleared. It was a warm day with plenty of clouds to keep the sun's heat at bay. He let out a whistle plucking a thin reed from the ground , setting it between his teeth as his hands made it into his pockets.
His shoulders fell as he lifted his face to the sky, breathing in the fresh air that his lungs had been begging for since he first set out. An investment needed to be made within the inner workings of his boat's engine, a bitter and old thing that spouted out black smoke every time he fired it up. Even after all these years he still hadn't gotten used to it. Redd whistled a merry little tune as he explored, temptingly searching for any passerby that just so happened to reside on the island. But it wasn't until he cleared the path itself the he stopped dead in his tracks altogether.
"Nook you sly dog." He mumbled stroking his chin as he peered around. Now he had only heard that Nook was up to something new the last year or so, but it wasn't until he saw the massive blue tent (along with what seemed to be an entire village of smaller tents all around it) bearing Tom Nook's signature on the front that he actually believed it. "Guess I'll be staying a little longer." He chuckled, "M'sure ol' Nook won't mind be peaking around his place for a bit."
Not many folks seemed to be out and about at the moment, except for a few he had spotted on the opposite shore, despite the beautiful weather. For the most part there wasn't much to see all he could really find were oranges, which appeared to be in full season at this point as the entire island was filled with them. It wasn't until he had wadded through a more shallow part of the river, traveling to the other side, that he actually found something that peaked his interest.
It was . . . small. That was definitely his first impression. It seemed to be busing itself, hopping about and crouching in the oddest of places. Redd looked around himself as he drew nearer. At first he kept back, observing from afar. But as time drew on he found himself getting closer.
He wasn't sure what it was, but it was definitely on a mission. The little creature was dressed oddly, adding to its already difficult to describe appearance. It was too big to be a squirrel or a hamster, and definitely too small to be much of anything else. It definitely wasn't an animal, and didn't appear to be any type of insect or walking fish.
It wasn't until Redd finally approached it that he got a gauge as to what it could actually be. The creature he found seemed to be some kind of human, although that was too easy of a description to give as it had the ears of some kind of goat with a long lizard like tail. But he ran with it anyways, after all it had been some years since he actually came across one, maybe the species had begun to evolve? He wasn't one to judge.
She didn't seemed to paying too much attention, her interest peaking as she observed a lone butterfly which was dancing at the edge of the beach. The little thing had a battered shovel in her hands, one that was clearly in need of repair but too well loved to let go. As she traveled along the shoreline she seemed to collect anything she could get her hands on, shoving it straight into the pouch of her satchel.
That's when Redd decided to make himself known, kicking up sand as he walked so she could hear his advances. She was slow to react, her feet growing sluggish as she approached a decently sized hole in the ground. Her ear twitched, tail swiping at the ground as she pinpointed the sound. Then she turned nearly facing him. Redd's lips tugged into a toothy grin once he realized that he had her attention. The fox then squatted down to her level propping his hands on his thighs as he tilted his head.
"Hello little cousin!" She didn't reply, instead staring blankly his way, so he continued his shpeal, "I don't suppose you're a lover of the fine arts, are you?"
Hi! Helloooo!!! I really bad at posting . . . hope you enjoyed the ACNH content . . . Anyways have a good day!
Note: Decided to draw Fae (aka my art sona) wearing my preferred island wardrobe. These are all found in the game and I took a lot of inspiration from the community on Redd’s appearance.
I feel like out of all of the designs I found online, this was by far the most pleasing color scheme I could give him. I also added my own flare of what I believed a “sea-side salesman”, such as himself, would wear if he were traveling on such a charming vessel. Definitely took inspo from the Japanese side of this franchise.
If the mini story sounded off it's because it's very late and I almost fell asleep writing it . . . oops 🤷🏻♀️ (I'll fix it later)
Clothing Referenced . . .
[ This is an Animal Crossing: New Horizons AU -- All content is sourced & inspired by the original gameplay with several creative twists. ]