"Geno?" she said, speaking quietly so as not to wake her companions, "I've got the first watch tonight. You can get some rest if you'd like."
The stargazer turned his attention to her, offering a small, grateful smile. "Thank you Princess, but I don't sleep much. Maybe an hour or so, on most nights. I spend a lot of time chatting with whoever else is on watch."
"Oh, good. I was hoping for someone to talk to!" Toadstool beamed, taking a seat next to Geno on the fallen log that served as a bench. Her statement was true, if a bit of an understatement. The young royal had found herself drawn to her doll-like ally since joining Mario's team. She didn't know whether it was the lively glitter she almost swore she could see in his painted eyes, like flecks of mineral iridescence in a dull stone. Or the soothing and captivating quality of his voice, a straightforward tone mellowed by wisdom and patience. But Toadstool was curious to learn more about the spectre contained within the doll.
Geno again looked to the heavens. "I can't help but wonder...what's going on up there...." he uttered, almost sadly. The twinkling stars looked no different than usual to Toadstool, and she supposed that her spirit comrade was seeing something she could not.
"What's the Star Road like?" she queried softly, glancing over at him. His gaze remained on the sky, and his stoic doll's eyes seemed to grow a little misty.
"Oh, it's beautiful, Princess..." he murmured, "Shining gold as far as you can imagine, all spread out across the sky and glowing with energy...It's like all the joy of granted wishes is in the Star Road and you can see it...Well, that's how it used to be, anyway."
Toadstool looked quizzically at the stars above, trying to comprehend the place Geno spoke of. The Star Road sounded like a sort of paradise, and she wondered if the being beside her was anything like an angel. She liked that comparison.
As though picking up on her train of thought, Geno continued, still wistfully watching the sky. "Spirits like me don't really have a physical form...I guess you'd see me as a little ball of light. So when spirits come to earth, we have to choose a form to borrow."
"So you picked the doll?" finished the young woman.
Nodding in agreement, the spirit looked over at her and grinned, "I thought he looked cool. He just needed a bit of tweaking, like changing his size. I could have picked anything, or even made a natural creature for a form, but inhabiting an object is an easier form to hold."
That answered another of the questions on Toadstool's mind. Upon first meeting Geno, she had been a little unnerved by the marionette without strings. It seemed normal now to be talking to the spirit, but she now knew why he chose to look such a way. His earthly body was every bit like a child's toy, right down to the ball joints of his limbs and the smooth wood grain covering his form. Only some facial animation had been added, as well as a pair of heavy Work Pants, as armour for his fragile frame.
Geno dropped his gaze. "I have wondered what it's like to be human...You feel things differently than I would." His confession was timid, and Toadstool couldn't help feeling sympathetic. She couldn't imagine missing out on every sensation life had to offer, it seemed almost cruel. Then, a thought came to the royal.
"I guess feeling is something you have to try for yourself." she suggested. The spirit looked up to see her smile, supportive and even slightly hopeful. And from the way Geno took in her expression, Toadstool felt that he was seeing right through to her statement's meaning, the meaning she barely dared to confess to herself. Her pulse quickened a little with nervousness as those tranquil doll's eyes lingered on her, and after a long moment he again cast his attention shyly downwards. On anyone else, Toadstool would have expected a trace of a blush.
"I'll see what I can do, Princess...?" he quietly offered.
With that, Geno's body began giving off a golden glow. Although faint at first, the radiance grew brighter and brighter until Toadstool had to shield her eyes from his white-hot form. When the celestial light died down, she hesitantly removed her hand from her field of vision, and gasped quietly at the being before her. Still clad in his Work Pants and distinctive blue cape, Geno was now rendered in pale human flesh, washed with colour by the flickering firelight. Spiky auburn hair poked out from under his cap like sprouting ivy, creeping around his ears and down the back of his neck.
"Oh, Geno...!" Toadstool breathed, amazed that she could get any words out at all.
His lushly lash-framed eyes fluttered open, and meeting his gaze made the young woman's heart catch in her throat. She had once heard that the eyes were the window to the soul; if this was true, the spirit's sepia orbs were a faithful window indeed. The glitter Toadstool had glimpsed in them before was now unleashed, sparkling like moonlight on clear pools of emotion.
"It's definately...different to be in a human body." Geno said slowly, taking her willowy hand contemplatively into both of his own. "Emotions feel stronger." He paused, to watch his thumb caress the top of her hand in fond, pensive strokes. "And I'd like to thank you for giving me the idea."
Edging over on the makeshift bench, Geno leaned in to tenderly brush his lips against hers. The touch was electric and amorous, and Toadstool responded by deepening the contact into a kiss. Above the earthbound pair, the stars' light was mystic, perhaps even enchanting.