Submission (#2062) Approved

It wasn’t often that Oliver ventured far from his home of Enmir. The swampy waters were comforting to him, and the fireflies and glowing moss made it feel like home. So when Velia asked him to go with her to Ealei, he was reluctant to leave.

Oliver wasn’t like most of his friends--adventure-hungry, curious little fluffs that seemed to find any and every reason to go wandering miles away from home. He liked it in Enmir, where things were comfortable, and moist and damp and cozy. 

But the more that Velia pestered him about it, the more annoyed he became--at least until she finally described what Ealei was like. She vaguely (and offensively) compared it to Enmir, saying it was ‘like the swamp but clear’. After that, he had to go see it, for the pride of Enmir itself! Just because the water was a little mirky and dark didn’t mean it was somehow inferior. Of course, Velia hadn’t said that at all, but still…

So that was why when they finally took the trip together, he swallowed his nervousness and boarded the boat to Ealei, watching as familiar waters gave way to the sea.

The lack of trees or solid ground (squishy or not) made him worry; though he’d been on boats before this was different. In the big wide sea the boat could sink and if it did, where would he swim to? What shore was nearby? What trees could he use as a landmark? 

Right as he asked himself this question, Velia’s paw thrust itself into view. “Look! Look! You can see it from here! That’s Ealei’s eldertree!”

Oliver followed her direction, blinking at the astronomical size of the tree. Enmir had an eldertree, like all the regions he knew of did. But this tree seemed to want to eclipse it in size entirely. And the scary part was--they weren’t even in docking distance yet. 

“The houses there are built into the trees and there are roots literally everywhere,” Velia explained as he stared, “I’ve been there a handful of times and I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen it all. It goes so high up! And there are villages up there too! It’s also where I picked fruits with Sybella one time!” 

“That thing makes fruits?” 

“Huh? No! I mean, probably. I don’t know! We picked fruits from the lower mangroves--there are trees growing out of the eldertree, and the fruit is sooooo delicious!” Velia closed her eyes, and Oliver imagined she was already trying to relive eating the fruit from her memories.

Slowly he turned his attention back to Ealei. Though Velia kept chattering happily beside him, he couldn’t help but to feel nervous. Never had he felt so out of his element--like he was some little small-town mud-loving elnin heading to a big, clean bustling city. He didn’t even know if they liked visitors. They had barely just left and Oliver already felt homesick.

Almost in desperation, Oliver wheeled around to look back, back toward the retreating trees of Enmir. By now they were little specks on the horizon, and the Ealei eldertree had made them seem even more miniscule in comparison. It was far too late to ask the ship to turn around and take him home. And Velia would never let him live down changing his mind about embarking on his ‘first real adventure’. 

As if she could read his mind she placed a gentle paw on his shoulder, large ears and eyes tilting sympathetically into view. “Are you OK, Oliver? If you’re worried, I can show you what to do when we land. It’s really not all that scary!”

With a huff he shrugged her paw away, more than a little embarrassed, but unwilling to let it show for too long. “I just…” he scrambled to think of an excuse. “I just realized I left my pack at home. That’s all.”

Velia gave an understanding nod and turned his attention back toward the encroaching tree. “It’s OK! We can get you a new one at the market! I can help you get everything you need to start advenuring right!”

“Adventuring… right?” Oliver squinted.

“Mmhmm! I mean, Ealei is pretty close to where you live. But we can get you some gear and then we can head somewhere farther out! I know you love the water, Oliver, but maybe we can go see Strynhalde together! Or--ooh! I haven’t been to Zevija yet, maybe we can head there together--I’ve heard there’s tons of shinies.”

“No…” Oliver shook his head, “No… I don’t want to.”

“Don’t be scar--”

“I’M NOT SCARED!” Oliver blurted, causing a couple of the older elnin nearby to give him indignant how-dare-ye looks of disapproval. He tucked his ears and repeated, “I’m not scared. It’s just--I like Enmir. It’s nice there.”

“Yes, but it’s the only place you’ve ever been…” Velia sighed and turned to lean over the side of the boat, letting the wind flop her ears and hair around. 

Oliver couldn’t fight her on it--she spoke the truth. So he joined her, leaning on the rail and staring at his reflection in the water. He’d often watch his reflection back home, but here he was able to see nearly every detail of his fur, the twinkle in his eyes. Every minute movement of his tiny ears. 

His eyes widened as he saw not one, but several shapes in the water whiz past the boat. Were those fish? They looked different from the ones back home. Faster too. 

There were more little schools of fish around, and he spotted even more when he moved to the other side of the boat. The light in the water reflected off of their scales, and Oliver nearly lost his mind when he saw a large fish leap out of the water and into the air to snatch a bug, The glistening of the fish made it look as though it were hammered from some precious metal and polished until it shined. It was a living, breathing creature and Oliver still had the insatiable urge to put it in his pocket so he could keep it forever.

As thought it made a difference, followed it along the side of the boat, staring after its wobbly shape in the water as it went on its merry way. He barely noticed that the ship docked--Velia had to catch his attention. 

He stared up at the eldertree, his mouth open and his eyes wider than they had ever been. Yeah, this tree was so much larger than the one back home. What did the other trees look like? Was this the biggest?

“Woah, this thing is… Impressive!” He muttered, looking for land but seeing none aside from some rocks. Velia was right; there were roots and branches everywhere he looked.

With a grin, Velia cleared her throat and gestured to the water. “But wait, there’s more! I bet you haven’t seen water like this in a long time, huh?”

But he barely heard her question. Instead he heard the splash of water around him--the shiver that shot down his spine and through his tail as he dove.

His eyes closed and he felt just like that fish from earlier, riding in the current and shimmering--in his own way. A broad smile that made him have to come up for air way sooner than normal. He popped up and greedily took in a breath, ears flicking as he caught the tail end of Velia’s voice calling to him from the docks. 

“It’s OK!” He called back, “Go take care of what you came here to take care of. I’ll be right here!”

She called him again, but he was already plunging down below the waters again, brown paws poking at the dirt and already finding plenty of smooth stones and buried goodies. There were plenty of fish, and even beneath the waves he could see and feel the sun peeking down at him both from the open air and beams leaking through the trees.

A few more dives were all it took to tell him that, “Adventuring wouldn’t be so bad… maybe.”

Oliver finally pulled himself to shore, a smooth rock held in his mouth. A kind elnin pointed him in the direction of the market, where he hoped to not only dry off but give Velia the smoothest, prettiest stone he’d found. A token of thanks for her opening his eyes just a bit to what the world had waiting for him to explore.