Submission (#1342) Approved

Act Three - Aspirations
Quest: Resonance - Act #3
Act Type: Character
Adult Elnin Present: [ELN172]
Regional Affinity: Faerindell
Claiming Regional Affinity for: [ELN799]

Word Count: 1024

I made the adjustments for them to be reading about magic instead of preforming any kind of magic, hope that's okay.

Lamb gawked at the vast grasslands, the pink trees off in the distant glowing with the pale rising sun. It was gorgeous! Unlike anything she's ever seen before! The little village was small and quant, soft smoke billowing from chimneys of early morning bakeries getting ready their pastries for the morning rush. The delicate and soft smell of bread and flowers wafted through the air as the carriage rolled to a stop.

The headmaster of the orphanage Lamb lived with stood up and started helping the orphans from the cart. Today was a field trip to a warmer region to see around and for Kitttoms to maybe find a passion in farming. Lamb has zero interest in farming, but the headmaster still wanted her to come see anyways. The headmaster was a gentle purple Elnin named Starling, she was sweet and Lamb liked her but was not very partial to how overbearing she was, constantly dotting on the other Kittoms.

Quickly sliding out to avoid Starling, Lamb glanced around to study the village some more. Her twin, Rabbit, smiled as she let herself be helped down by Starling and went over to see what her sister was looking at. Lamb was studying a red nin with green hair carrying firewood inside a hut where the smell of fresh bread wafted from, her round tail bouncing behind her. Lamb ran after her to see what she was up to, ditching her sister behind.

Walking into the bakery, Lamb quickly spotted the nin she saw before. The nin quickly handed the wood over to another nin, who appeared to be her father, kissed him on the cheek, then ran back out past Lamb through the front door. 'I can test my tracking skills!' Lamb thought, deciding to stalk the other nin.

Lamb had a difficult time keeping up with the she-nin, it seemed as if she was trying to go out where no one could find her. The red nin walked down a small path that led out of the village, passing by tons of gorgeous fields of farmlands, and went straight into the forest of sakura trees just past. Lamb was getting exhausted, trying to make her little legs move as fast as the red nin in front of her. Luckily, at least, the nin hasn't noticed Lamb following her yet, as she leads her further into the forest. They keep going until they reach a small clearing, where the red nin suddenly seems to disappear.

Walking into the center of the clearing in confusion, Lamb looked around, being unable to find any trace of the nin she was following.

"why are you following me?" Lamb whipped around as a voice spoke in her ear, the she-nin was right behind her!

"Oh, uh!" Lamb fell back on her rear, fumbling with words, trying to say what she wanted. "You're really pretty!" Lamb grimaced, that's not what she wanted to say at all.

The she-nin turned even redder, if that was possible, "O-oh, I thought you were going to rat me out to the villagers." the nin rubbed her hair in embarrassment. "I have a secret reading spot up here, but don't tell anyone! You should go back to the village."

Only now did Lamb see the book clutched in her hands, and she gasped "Are you going to read about magic!"

The she-nin grimaced and hid the book behind her back. "N-no! I don't know what you are talking about"

"The book! It has a magic crest on the front of it!" Lamb boasted of her knowledge, she was one of the view kittoms in her orphanage to know of such things, as it was her dream to one day become a Pathfinder.

"How do you even know about such things? Nevermind, yes, I'm reading about magic, but you can't tell anyone!" The nin stared hard at Lamb, enticing a nod of confirmation from her. "This will never leave my lips!"

The nin sat down next to Lamb, patting her head "You're a good kid, what's your name?"

"My name is Lamb! My orphanage is visiting here from Strynhalde!" Lamb proclaimed proudly.

"Oh wow, you're a long way from home! My name is Quetzal, but you can call me Quetz!" Quetz settled the book in front of her, opening it and looking at Lamb "Now are you ready to see what I've been reading about? I can maybe teach you a thing or too! These books can be pretty confusing to read."

:Lamb nodded excitedly, ready to see what Quetz was going to show her.

...

Hours upon hours passed and soon Quetz and Lamb needed to return to the village, as it was going to get very dark soon. Lamb loved reading with the older nin, she was kind and sweet and was very patient when Lamb had trouble reading some words..

Not only did she learn a few things, she got to eat some tasty snacks too! Quetz had brought some fresh baked bread from her fathers bakery and some cheese to munch on while studying, and shared some with Lamb. It was crunchy yet soft and had a fragrant, floral like, aroma.

The pathway back felt much more tiresome than getting out to the middle of nowhere, but by the time they reached the village, it was dusk.

"Oh my gosh! Lamb! We've been looking for you everywhere!!" Starling sprinted up to the small kittom, scooping her up in her arms. "Don't run off like that again!!"

"It's fine! I was with Quetz!" Lamb pointed to the nin behind her but she was gone. Lamb looked back at Starling "or at least, I was with her! She showed me a pretty place out in the woods that grew really pretty flowers!"

Starling frowned, shaking her head. "It's fine now, I'm just glad you are back, you left all of us terrified, including your sister."

It's weird, as soon as the words left her mouth, an explosion ripped through and tore the whole village apart. Luckily Lamb and Starling were far enough away that it didn't hurt them, but... What about the other children?