Submission (#1999) Approved

Quest: Resonance - Act 3
Act Type: Study
Word Count: 1015
Adult Elnin Present: Noctis [ELN1801]
Regional Affinity: Silveil
Claiming Regional Affinity for: Aria [ELN1800]
[Noble] Rank Unlock Mini-Requirement: n/a

As Aria was examining the raven’s feather, Noctis suddenly poked his head back in through the door.

“Hey, you ok? It’s been a while.”

Hearing his voice, she jumped, hiding the feather behind her back as she spun around to look at him.

“O-oh, sorry! Guess I got a little sidetracked, aha.”

The navy blue elnin arched an eyebrow, and then grinned. 

“Wha’cha hiding? Can I see?”

Her flustered reaction was all he needed to egg him on, and despite her protest, being bigger did have its advantages.

“Ugh, fine, here!”

She shoved the feather in his face, blushing as he gave her a quizzical look. She was trying to hide a raven feather from him?

He snickered.

“If you wanted a feather, I could have just given you one, you know.”

“It’s.. it’s not the same!!”

She clutched the feather, still embarrassed over Noctis having to come in RIGHT when she picked it up. It was true that… it would hold a memory of him, but not just that. This place, this trip… it wasn’t something she’d soon forget. How she cried, and how consoling he was… it wasn’t something she often saw, this side of him. But it reminded her that despite all the teasing, deep down he cared.

“A-Anyways!! Why’d you come back? I thought you wanted to explore Silveil forest more. Don’t tell me you got bored already?”

Noctis waved his paw.

“Look, I know I have a short attention span, but give me some credit, ok? I found something pretty neat, so I wanted to show you. Didn’t think you’d be so enamored by this dusty old shack haha.”

“I-I’m trying to broaden my horizons!”

Before Noctis could tease her more, she dashed out the door, feather in her mouth.

“Wrel? Reed the wray!”

Noctis tilted his head and stared at her, making her glare back at him, and chuckled. She really was adamant on taking that feather with her, wasn’t she? He shook his head, still smiling as he followed her out.

“Ok, try to keep up, squirt.”

She made an indignant sound, and opened her mouth just as he bopped her on the head, making her drop the feather. Before she could protest, he picked it up and tucked it into his hair.

“I’ll give it back later. You don’t want to carry this in your mouth the whole way, right? You don’t even know where it’s been?”

She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it. That… was true. She was already dreading the fact that if Twinkle knew, she would definitely scold her. It was rare for Twinkle to get angry, but when she did…

Aria shuddered.

Noctis seemed to have a hunch of what was going through her mind, and grinned.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tattle~”

He winked at her, and she huffed. He said this now, but she was fairly certain this was going to come at a cost.

The two continued their light banter as they ventured back into the forest, night still dark as ever with only the stars in the sky to guide them. At this point Aria felt more familiar with the forest, starting to memorize the location of each glowing shroom and plant. Of course, this would likely be a futile effort, since the forest was just so vast, and there was still so much she’d yet to see. It was the same with Silveil city, and even Starlake. Every time she visited, there was always something new to see. And so, this forest was no different. As fireflies flitted around and critters scuttled about the forest floor, it seemed even the path they were going down was a new one. She was curious to know where he was taking her and tried to ask, but each time he’d just greet her with a smile and said she’d be able to “feel” when they got there. What… did that even mean?? She asked if he had meant “SEE”, but he only shook his head, making his response seem more cryptic than usual. At this point she was sure he was doing it on purpose to tease her.

After several more attempts of trying to pry the information out of him and being left with either no response or an answer even more nonsensical than the previous, she gave up, grumbling softly under her breath that he was being an absolute pain. With how large his ears were, she was certain he could hear her, yet he didn’t respond or only smiled, showing no signs of being irritated by her reaction.

Soon, she began to understand what he meant. The air felt… heavy. Dense. Not from the dampness of moisture, but… something else. The area around them grew brighter, and while it was in part to there being more bioluminescent flora being present, it was… different.

Eventually she saw as well, eyes widening as crystals appeared before her eyes. They were… everywhere. Jutting out of the ground, on rocks, out of tree trunks… They ranged in all shapes and sizes, and emitted a soft blue glow that seemed to put any troubles and anxiety she may have had to ease. 

She turned towards Noctis, mouth wide open, and he merely smiled, tilting his head towards the crystals. Without another word, she ventured toward them, reaching out to touch one gently with her paw. She closed her eyes, feeling the flow of mana in the air and the crystal. Pulsing. Vibrant. Full of life. She felt it attuning her own mana, and felt a soothing calming aura as she exhaled softly. Any fear and nervousness she may have had slowly washed away. She knew Silveil was known for many beautiful things, from its extravagant city nightlife to breathtaking nature features but this… this was… something on a whole different level.

If she hadn’t followed Noctis, she may have never come across something so beautiful, so wonderful, so…

She opened her eyes, wanting to tell him how thankful she was, but he merely shook his head. Words weren’t needed. He understood.