Submission (#2100) Approved

In the land of Eyre, Miasma season was here. The world was in a state of rest, harvesting season and the holidays only memories from the previous year. This was a time where pomu took a more dormant form, turning into crystals to conserve their energy and get some rest. Those who had pomu were known to construct lanterns to keep their pomus safe and by the side of their elnin companions.

Marco had not met his pomu yet. He dreamed and waited patiently for the day he would meet his pomu and gain a best friend. Until then, he was happy enough to prepare himself for one. Several days ago he had constructed a lantern for the pomu he would have one day, putting much time and planning into creating the perfect lantern made out of materials found in Bellmoril, his homeland. He then travelled to Faerindell with adventure and excitement in mind, imagining all the fun things he could do with his future pomu. However, a small scare and a sprint back to town later, Marco found his lantern had been torn and broken.

That didn’t mean this was the end of his lantern. Like how kittoms and elnin grew and changed over time, his lantern would too. After Marco woke up in his rented inn room in Faerindell, he got dressed and brushed his teeth before making his way over to his lantern and assessing the damage. It wasn’t beyond repair by any means, and he already had some ideas on how to fix it.

Marco headed out of his inn room and trotted onto the cobblestone streets of the town he was at. A bright sun sat in the crystal blue sky overhead, making any surface in the town that was made of smooth stone shiny. Marco unconsciously avoided stepping on any shiny stone has he trotted down pathways and made his way across stone bridges that hung over small streams of water. He made his way into a shop to purchase dyes of different colors and scraps of cloth. There were elnin with all sorts of different kinds of lanterns floating behind them, softly glowing with the crystals of their pomu inside. He tried not to stare at the lanterns for too long as he didn’t want to accidentally take inspiration from them. He prided himself for coming up with his own designs.

After he left the store he headed back to his room in the inn and went to work on reconstructing his lantern. He still used whatever sticks he had on hand, but instead of sticking to only reds and yellows, Marco used a variety of dyes to color his lantern. By the time he was done it reminded him of both Bellmoril and Faerindell - yellows and reds on one side, then a rainbow of colors on the other side. He was amused by how many visible pawprints there were on the lantern too. As much as he was proud of the first lantern, Marco felt incredibly proud of this new lantern. Perfection took practice after all. He was sure this one would be much sturdier than the last one. Hopefully he wouldn’t need to recklessly run around with an empty lantern anymore either. Once his paws were cleaned off from dye and paint Marco took the lantern and tied the string attached to it onto his tail.

What should he do now? He didn’t want to return to Bellmoril just yet. He hadn’t been in Faerindell for a whole 24 hours. He was sure whoever was in the orchard with him hadn’t seen who he was so he was in no danger of getting into trouble for trespassing. Probably. If he looked around he was sure he could find something to do. Even if he only had an empty lantern, he could pretend he had a pomu to share an adventure with.

He had come to Faerindell with looking at the orchards and trees in mind, yet Faerindell had a lot more to offer. Why not stop and smell the flowers? Or at least take some time to look at some of them. They weren’t something that was at all common in his hometown. He wouldn’t have to go far to see some, either. With no clear destination in mind, just a general idea of what he’s like to do, Marco walked out the door and back onto the cobblestone streets to find some flowers to look at. The kittom trotted down the pathways and roads, wondering where they would lead him. Since he knew that one path led down to the orchard, he decided to take the other and see where that went.

Marco found himself in a forest of trees, pink leaves fluttering in the cool wind whenever it picked up. At first he wondered if he made a mistake and wandered into the orchard again, but these trees were different. Almost all of the branches had hanging flowers on them. He had learned these were called faerie shrouds and came in an assortment of colors and shades. Green, blue, purple, pink, orange. Even reds and yellows, too. They were like looking at living rainbows that someone could reach out and touch. Marco was tempted to reach out and touch them, but after the orchard incident he decided to keep his paws to himself for now.

Would his future pomu enjoy these flowers? Even if they weren’t native to home, he imagined they’d find interest in the flowers like Marco did. Marco liked to think that they would be a little more fearless than him and reach out to grab the faerie shrouds from the trees. Surely no one would scold a pomu! After his pomu collected lots of faerie shrouds, the two of them could sit underneath one of the trees with pink petals and craft something out of the flowers.Taking a look at the faerie shrouds, their stems were probably flexible enough to bend, so he could imagine him and his pomu making flower crowns for each other.

One daydream led to another, which led Marco to an idea. The kittom looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else around to scold him, then very carefully reached up for one of the faerie shrouds. They looked much closer than they actually were, so he was surprised when he discovered he couldn’t reach them from the ground. He carefully stepped over to a tree and made sure his lantern wasn’t caught on anything before climbing the tree, crawling onto a branch, and once again reaching out for a faerie shroud. His attempt was successful that time as he grabbed a yellow and a pink faerie shroud flower. The kittom carefully climbed down from the tree so he wouldn’t risk jumping off and landing on his lantern. Once down on the ground, he sat down next to his lantern and began weaving the faerie shrouds around the exposed part of the sticks. Once that was done he took a moment to examine his handiwork. Marco thought the flowers made a wonderful accent to his lantern, and knew that his future pomu would love them too! If they arrived before the flowers withered. If that happened, he’d return to Faerindell with his pomu so they could pick out their own flowers.

Marco was finally content heading home. A floral scent now followed him as the kittom headed back into the city to head home to Bellmoril. Even if the faerie shrouds withered and all the petals fell off, at least he had the memory and a story to tell to his future pomu. This wouldn’t be the last time he’d come here, but next time he arrived he would definitely have a pomu to share his adventure with!