Submission (#1549) Approved

Keahi looked around nervously, exhaling a quick breath to flip his pink bangs out of his face before shifting slightly. He was waiting for Auntie Himawari to meet him here at the city gates for a day outside. The warm golden-red of the tree foliage he could spy from his vantage point, just barely outside the city limits was vibrant and mesmerizing. He tried to distract himself from the slight terror he had of being on his own, instead watching as leaves fell and twisted in the cool breeze.

He was alone. He hated being alone. Keahi looked around again, stepping closer to the city gates, the crunch of leaves caught underneath his paws coming to his ears. He could do this. He was brave.

But still, where was Auntie Himawari?

Keahi shifted off the stone path onto the grass as a caravan passed by on their way out of the city. Trailing behind the caravan, a brown and blue Elnin comes into view, and Keahi almost sags in relief, before catching himself, forcing an upright posture and shouting cheerfully to greet the newcomer.

“Auntie! Are you ready to go?!”

The elnin looks at him far too knowingly, and he tries to puff himself up even more. He wasn’t scared. Himawari grins wickedly at him, a hint of mischief flashing across her face.

“Are you, brat?”

“O-of course I am! I almost left without you!”

Himawari laughs and reaches out a paw to ruffle the fluff of his hair, “Sure, sure you were.”

Keahi ducks away, muttering “ I was! I’m not scared or anything.”

Himawari flicks her head, tossing her blonde braids about, before nudging Keahi back onto the path. He obediently starts to trot beside her as they start to head out into the forest, the cobblestone path of the town giving way quickly to a beaten dirt path. 

Himawari looks down at him. 

“So, kid, what are we doing out here?”

Keahi shakes the last of his nerves away and grins excitedly up at her. He shrugs his shoulders, bringing her attention to the bag strapped to his back. She raises an eyebrow at him. It looks heavy.

Keahi chatters “Last time I was out with mom, we were looking for some herbs for a recipe she was making, and Kaia, Koa, and Kau’i got distracted and left me behind, I was fine,” his voice squeaks a little, but he clears his throat and continues on quickly.  “but I got a little lost but I found this little valley.”

He grins at her, eyes wide. “There were so many birds there! I found this really cool feather! I wanted to go back and feed them, see if I could get any more feathers. I got these seeds to feed them!”

Himawari laughs and nudges him slightly. “You and your feathers.”

As they walk the forest grows denser, the sunlight struggling to filter down between bright bunches of gold and red. The path splits ahead, and Keahi leads them down the smaller one, stepping over a root that had grown out into the path. He grins a little and pounces in a small pile of leaves, before catching himself and looking to see if Himwari has noticed. She had, snickering at him. 

Keahi draws himself up and gingerly shakes off a bright orange leaf which had come to rest upon his head. He backtracks and tries to resume the conversation, hopping out of the leaf pile with as much dignity a tiny fluff ball like him could manage.

“I like feathers! They are so pretty, and birds are so cool!”

Keahi sighs dreamily. “I’d love to be able to fly like them.”

Himawari’s voice comes to him, breaking him from his daydreaming. “Watch out, Keahi!”

Keahi trips over another root. The path is winding up higher and higher, becoming more overgrown as they go. Footing is treacherous at times, roots snaking out onto the path. It’s one of these that catches the young kittom by surprise. 

Himwari comes over to him. “Are you okay kid?”

Keahi would blush if he could. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

Himwari checks him over, and Keahi avoids her gaze studiously, holding still as he can.

She steps back. “You look okay. Less daydreaming alright?” Himawari looks around, taking in the cluster of trees that seem to thin out a bit in the distance, a riot of warm hues. “How much farther is it?”

Keahi jerks. “What?”

Himawari looks back at him, her poofy tail almost hitting him in the face. “Your bird valley?”

“O-oh. Not far I think? There’s a clearing up ahead, and then it was on the other side of the creek at the end.”

Himwari nods, and twists to look at her welkin tail, and all the loose fire hued foliage sticking in it. She sighs, and mutters “This is going to take forever to get out.” before starting back down the path, leaving Keahi to scramble after her.

They quickly make their way up the winding path, breaking through the trees to a small clearing.  The path skirts around the edge, but a small creek burbles down the rocky mountain side at the far side from the path. Keahi leads Himawari to a section that is narrow and rocky, and they nimbly hop across the creek. Keahi stops for a moment to watch the auburn leaves that float down the creek like tiny little boats.

“This way!”

He scampers off into the brush, leaving Himawari to shove her way through a bush. They fight their way through the undergrowth for a few minutes before the ground suddenly dips.

“Keahi wait!”

“We’re here, we’re here!” Keahi’s voice is hushed but clearly excited. Himawari takes a cue from him, and quietly comes to his side. Keahi listens. He can hear the wind rustling the leaves of the trees, insects buzzing, and birdsong. So much birdsong, all kinds call to one another. Anticipation wells within him, and he slowly makes his way to a small area where the golden afternoon light breaks through and illuminates the dry grass that covers the forest floor. He turns and eases the bag off his back, taking the side in his mouth and shaking his head to spread the seeds around.

The bird calls seem to pause for a moment, and Keahi freezes for a second before he slinks back into the brush, Himawari watching with amusement. “Now what?” she whispers to him.

He shushes her, eyes trained on the small clearing. “Wait.” He breathes, voice barely a whisper.

Himawari shakes in silent laughter, but obliges. After a few minutes the first bird lands and starts pecking at the seeds. It's a bright red, feathers standing in a crest on its head. It hops around a bit and trills, and not long after more birds start to land. They come in all colors and sizes, and Keahi watches them, wide eyed and absolutely entranced. He doesn’t know how long he just watches, Colorful feathers amongst colorful leaves, their songs lulling him into a trance. He’s done this. Him. Keahi who never really fits in, who makes trouble, clumsy silly Keahi. It’s because of him that these beautiful creatures are here, enjoying this treat. He grins to himself, a little giddy. He wishes he could be like the birds. Free, an afraid to just take off and fly anywhere they wanted. Maybe one day he would.

Himawari staggers, stepping on a branch with a resounding crack, sending the amassed birds fluttering off in a rush. 

“Sorry!”  She hisses. “I uh, might have started to fall asleep.”

Keahi sighs, but shoots her a small smile. The light has changed, shadows between the trees growing, and they needed to leave soon if they were going to get back before dark anyways.

“It’s okay.”

Keahi trots out into the clearing, examining the ground. He stops, and then practically wiggles with excitement, snatching a red feather up off the ground. He tucks it carefully into the strap that holds his now empty bag, and returns to scanning the ground. He quickly locates a handful of more brightly colored plumage, tucking each one just as carefully.

Himawari giggles, stepping out into the clearing, glancing around at the red and golden leaves that rest on the trees that surround them, trying to see if she can spy any of the birds she had accidentally scared away. Spotting none, she returns her gaze to the tiny kittom in front of her. 

“I still don’t get why you like those feathers so much. Did you find some good ones?”

Keahi nods, sneezing as a red maple leaf drifts down and lands upon his nose. 

“Yeah! We should probably head home now though.”

He turns and looks at Himawari briefly, before glancing away, looking anywhere but at her as he mutters, “Thanks for taking me Auntie Himawari.”

The larger elnin grins softly at him. “Hey, no problem. So-” She stops and looks around. “I hope you know how to get back, because I have no idea where we are.”

Keahi laughs. “This way!”

And he leaps back into the bushes, leaving Himawari to scramble after him.

This had been a good day. He had done something really good, had seen something really beautiful, and it had all been something he had done.