Submission (#1345) Approved

Did this make her selfish?

That was the question that nagged at her most as the caravan plodded on. Occasionally she peeked her head up over the side of the cart--or as best she could, anyway--to take in the view. Lush green farms slowly gave way to rolling hills and mountains. The trees of Faerindell, overstuffed with fruit and other produce, were replaced by trees thick with orange and red leaves.

“They always look like fire…” Velia mused to herself, her violet eyes looking from one tree to the next as if somehow she could make out every difference between them. Naturally as a tourist she couldn’t, but having come this way a couple of times on her trips to visit Oliver Velia felt as though she were somehow an expert on which leaves were new and which leaves were old. 

Most of her travelling companions were older Elnin from Faerindell, or some of the elders she recognized from Enmir, but all of them had grown tired of her energetic landscape observations. Though they humored her at first, they simply gave quiet nods when she theorized that the warm-colored leaves around them actually generated heat somehow.

Velia was not a kittom of science. 

Eventually, she gave up and resumed her watching, thinking once more of her question.

Did this--this trip--make her selfish?

Probably.

Slowly she looked over her shoulder toward the crates stacked in the cart with her, knowing full well that she volunteered to escort this food to Enmir with ulterior motives. Everyone was stressing that it was an important shipment. With the miasma months coming, every effort to stock up was needed. Every paw needed to be lending a helping hand. For survival. For everyone to survive together…

“But it’s been forever since I visited Oliver,” she whined to no one. One of the elnin beside her gave a bewildered huff, but Velia paid them no mind. 

Instead she wondered just how much weight this cart could carry. As the others took to shifting the cart onto a boat, Velia watched with even greater interest. How many carts could the boat carry? A billion, she decided.

Velia was not a kittom of science.

Soon there wasn’t much land to gawk at. There was just the familiar swamp of Enmir, the slow currents that seemed to always tickle her massive ears. The fireflies always made the view interesting, though there was a lot less for her to focus on. Even if she wanted to claim that the moss and trees were different here, she’d have a hard time believing it. Her squinting didn’t help either, as she tried to make out the different shapes in the dark. Whether it was night time or the canopy making it so dim out, she couldn’t tell. For all she knew, there was a massive elnin standing over them blotting out the sun. But she was pretty sure she would have seen legs or feet at some point. Or Oliver would have told her that he lived beneath a giant elnin. It seemed like something one would tell their friends. Even if to most it wouldn’t make sense.

Velia was NOT a kittom of science.

Compared to the road, traveling by boat was almost unbearable. The soft clicking and clacking of the cart and shifting of pebbles in the road was a heavenly soundtrack compared to the gentle ‘spoosh-woosh-sloosh’ of the boat navigating the swamp. And though she loved the glowing lights and the fireflies, she absolutely detested the humidity. It was like a thick heavy blanket that wanted to press her flat to the floor of the cart. Slowly she closed her eyes, knowing she was close to being done with the trip, but also knowing that with the slow pace they were going it was bound to be forever before--

THUD!

As small as she was, the impact very easily sent her spiralling across the cart, smack into one of its walls face-first. Before she could even figure out what happened a few more bodies tumbled into her. 

“Gmmf!” she managed, grateful her thick ears protected her from harm but also cursing them as they prevented her from squirming out of the pile of elnin around her. 

“What did we hit?” Someone squeaked.

“Is everyone alright?” Another asked.

As Velia broke free of fur and wiggling limbs she opened her mouth to respond, only to take in a sharp breath. 

The pile of crates--the one that had been stacked neatly and secured to the cart--was leaning. Leaning. Velia stared in disbelief. Thankfully, it didn’t look like the crates were in danger of falling on the passengers. Instead it looked like the tower of produce wanted to fall--

“OVERBOARD!” Velia shrieked, pulling herself to her feet and hopping across several backs (despite their protests) to the floor. Her little feet carried her to the side of the cart, where she leapt and lodged herself between the sidewall and one of the crates, pushing with all the strength she could muster. She didn’t know just how she expected to push the leaning tower of food back to its proper place, but she knew she had to try.

Velia was not a kittom of science. She was hoping for some herculean miracle.

“Nnnnn,” was the only word she could utter, straining as she sought angle after angle to keep pushing from. She could hear the wood creaking around her, and feel her knees buckling on all fronts. Her little pawpads kept slipping every time she thought she found purchase, and he ears strained to keep tabs on the crates and the fruit within. Velia could hear the food shifting, unintentionally making her job harder the more they piled in her direction. “... He...lp…”

Wrenching her eyes shut, she wondered if she’d just be thrown overboard with the crates, or squished into a kittom-pancake. What would Oliver say?

“Keep pushing!” 

Her eyes shot open to see a familiar brown kittom beside her, front paws against the crates and hind paws pressed onto the sidewall. “Ol….ver…” she wheezed, barely noticing the other Elnin snaking their way into position to help. 

Though she couldn’t see them, she could hear others on the opposite side of the pile. Hear ropes being tightened and pulled. “I want you all to pull as hard as you can! Get it secure!” Someone bellowed.

In a matter of moments the crates were upright again, and thoroughly exhausted, Velia plopped to the ground all at once. Oliver stood beside her, panting and talking to some of the adults that hovered over them both. The ringing in her ears spared her whatever lecture they were trying to give them both, but she figured it was probably something about children and not jumping in the way of dangerous things or something.

It didn’t save her from Oliver, though.

“What are you? Crazy?” Oliver barked at her, his normally sleek fur fluffed from overexertion and anger. “You coulda been squished, you satellite-eared knuckle-head!”

Velia frowned, looking up at the crates that once more towered above her. “I mean, I guess. I just didn’t want  them to fall overboard.”

“You could have let them you know… they probably would have floated just fine.” Oliver sighed, nudging her a couple of times to get her to her feet.

Velia hadn’t thought about it, but she figured Oliver was right. Even then, wouldn’t they have had to spend time fishing the crates out? Making sure the food didn’t get all mossy? Who wanted to eat mossy berries and swampy veggies? Certainly not her. Not that she was planning on eating up Enmir’s food supply. She was sure they had her own back home. 

Shakily she padded her way over to the edge of the cart, eager to put this whole trip behind her. A couple of mothering elnin tried to groom her on her way past, and like a truly ungrateful waif she squirmed past them, plopping down onto the boat and then the muddy shore. Grumpilly she plodded past the unconscious captain and the swarm of concerned elnin and people around them. She could hear Oliver running after her, but she didn’t see the need to stop.

When she finally reached land that gave her feet enough purchase to stand and not feel gross she sat. 

“Are you OK, Velia?” Oliver caught up and squinted at her, throwing one last concerned glance back toward the captain before sitting next to her. “You seem pretty upset.”

Velia rolled her eyes, batting away a firefly and ignoring Oliver’s offended huff. “I’m fine. I just was hoping that I could surprise you by visiting and here you are right as I get here. My surprise is ruined.”

Oliver stared, mouth agape. “Velia… I came running when everyone was shouting about a ship that crashed. I wanted to help and make sure everyone was OK…”

“Yeah, well you could have waited. Then I could have surprised you!”

“You did surprise me!” Oliver barked. Velia blinked and squinted at him. With a sigh Oliver went on, “I didn’t expect to see you struggling to hold up a pile of boxes. Color me surprised!”

It took her a moment, but Velia couldn’t help but let a smile creep onto her face. “I guess it was a pretty cool entrance.”

“Cool? Uh… sure. More like dangerous, but whatever, you’re here now and you’re safe. That’s what counts.” Oliver shrugged, forcing a small laugh. That was his ‘girl you crazy’ laugh--Velia knew it well… Taiki at least never gave her that laugh. He always loved the chance for adventure. 

Velia wasn’t a kittom of science, but she could see herself being one of adventure. Maybe even a helpful one, one day.