Submission (#1151) Approved

I made the mistake of writing a drabble and then it was too short and anyway here we are.......... I'm so sorry

The word count is literally 601 please forgive me

The kittom depicted here is Haku! https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN642

Every kittom ought to have a dream of their own; this is what you believe. And every Elnin ought to have their own freedom to become whoever they wish.

The landscape of Kyendi is one that stretches both high and low. Forests so dense one may scarcely breathe between the steadfast trunks and fanning leaves. Rivers winding to the left, then then right -- an occasional faefolk, wading through the current. Steep mountains rising through the canopies, decorated beyond the tree line by bright shrubbery and dotted with flowers that dare to grow from the crevices of the cliff sides. As a kittom, they tell you never to get so close as to see these little details. You will fall, they insist, concern in their eyes. It is dangerous so high above the earth. You mustn’t venture any closer.

It is when they say these things that they do not know you.

These stoic summits that seem so far, so forbidden, they are where you feel at home. You stand at the top of the cliffs with the cool wind against your long coat, and you let yourself dream. Of touching the clouds. Of nothing but open sky beneath your paws. Surely you do not need wings to attain these things. There are stories of dragons that you've listened to so many times they're impossible for you to forget Magnificent creatures so long and sleek and featherless, dancing across the azure expanse. It is this that you aspire to become. Wild. Unhindered. Free.

The view is breathtaking. A blanket of lush green unfurls far below you, humming with songbirds and rustling softly against the wind. But beyond this, you can make out hints of something more. Homes, towns, farmland. Within them, there is life: kittoms playing hide and seek between the brambles that line well-worn paths. Neighbors bartering for the freshest fruit at market stalls. Foreign adventurers preparing for the next expedition for another lost treasure. And even beyond those is a magnificent deep blue bay, where a handful of decorated ships from far-off lands rock gently against the ocean waves. Eyre is vast, larger than even the mountains can allow for, and it only stirs the imagination further. 

But from here, you imagine that you can watch over them. Dragons guard treasures, as the stories go, but there is more worth protecting than gems and gold. There is more in this endless jungle than trees and treasure chests. There is that which you hold most precious; your friends, your family, your community. Your kin. And this peak upon which you stand, this grand throne, it is where you draw the inspiration to watch over them.

(Unfortunately, you must always leave this sacred place. You are not afraid of the wind and sky, but those who task themselves to look after you very much think you should be; they will grow suspicious of your absence, set out to find you, and certainly make a point to scold you for your recklessness. For all of your aspirations, you are still just a kittom. And it is always with a sense of reluctance that you set to descend the hills and return home.) 

You are still growing, of course, it is something you feel in your very bones. It is is here, where you can nearly touch the sky, that you can feel that you are becoming something greater. They do not know you, not yet -- but you know that, soon, they will.

It will be as it is in the stories that you've held dear and never forgotten: you will be a dragon.