Talisman in various pens

Today's rather silly doodle was brought on by the Illustration Friday prompt talisman. The original of this fellow (which is a plain, brown, crudely carved wooden... erm... thing?) lives in my purse, and has done for years.

It was given to me by an elementary school friend who was moving away. I'm not sure why she gave me that particular little gem -- it really is homely, and I don't think it had much meaning to either of us -- but for some reason it's stuck with me. It's gone from purse to purse over the years. Every time I switch to a different one, the wooden thing (should I think of it as a talisman from now on?) follows right along.

Is it good luck? No, not really. Would bad things happen if the talisman got lost somehow? Only in the sense that it would probably mean my purse is lost, too. Do I care whether I have it around or not? Not especially. I think at this point it's had a good run, is all, and there's no harm in the run continuing. Is there?

As you can see, I had a little help with today's weirdness. Max, who has spring in his brain and thinks he should be outside, killed some time by watching me doodle on the bed. He's... no help at all, really. He likes to chew on the pen caps, though, so I suppose that he at least gets some entertainment out of the process.

Oh, and in case anyone's wondering... the flamey whatsits on the doodle were done a la five-year-old entirely on purpose. Why? I don't know.

Same reason I have the talisman around, I guess.