Submission (#2421) Approved

Lilia sat at the edge of the water of Ealei- far from the hustle and bustle of the Tree-Towns she had spent a lot of time in. She was getting frustrated with all of the noisy people, all bumping into her and one another as they went from place to place. No other region that she had visited was quite as busy as Ealei and she was tired of the various species that lived there all cramming into the wooden walkways that scaled over the waters that bathed Yggdrasil. She was feeling very dramatic about her introversion and absolutely detested and social interaction on this day in particular- so the young white and purple kittom ventured out to find a quiet spot where she could recharge.

The roots below her paws dipped into the slightly murky water- the water didn't run as quickly here because of all of the tree trunks, roots and knees all huddled close together blocking the flow of water from streams- so it tended to get a little bit cloudy with algae before the fish and other creatures cleaned it all up. However, the calm stillness of the water meant that not a lot of silt or dirt got kicked up by movement so it was easy to gaze into the pools of water and see what dwelled in underneath the cool surface

Sitting down so that her hind legs could dangle over the water, Lilia rolled up the ankles of her pants to reveal her little white hindpaws and dipped them into the cool water. She still felt that it was very strange that one couldn't see any land or sand under the water's surface- but instead everywhere one looked there were more branches and just.... trees! She had seen wooded areas where trees grew out of the silty, slate-filled water produced by rapid streams and rivers- and the knobbly knees of gnarled roots that jutted upwards towards the sky and broke the surface of the darker fresh water- but it didn't even look that much like this.

Lilia thought about her sister, Alina- and how she would probably enjoy a place like this. Thoughts of her sister- coat as white as show with the lightest pastel purple markings you could picture flooded her mind, and the young kittom suddenly missed her sister who had stayed back in the Tree-Town to enjoy the festivities (it seemed there was always a festicval or party happening, what with there being so many people to entertain each other.)  Alina was kind and sweet, as well as patient and understanding- the complete opposite of Lilia; who was hot-headed, bad-mannered, and had a very very short fuse with a bad mouth to back it up. Still, despite their differences it was places like this that Lilia knew the sisters could come to spend time in one anothers' company because they both enjoyed the calm and quiet.

A sudden flash of bright orange gold pulled Lilia out of her reverie, however, as she spotted what appeared to be the flash and glimmer of fish scales in the water below. Inclining her head with curiosity, Lilia didn't move much otherwise- for fear of scaring the fish off with her shadow moving over the water's edge. She wanted to see wht it was that distracted her- because the color was such a brilliant hue that it was plain as day and easy as a red fox in snow to spot.

'Odd...' Lilia thought.

She thought it was weird that such an aquatic creature could survive in an environment where its natural coloration was so starkly different from the world around it. Its color stood out so dramatically from the surrounding landscape- which was mostly toned grays and natural browns. Must have been that it was so fast was her guess- all she could catch a glimpse of was its koi-like fins which seemed to sway in the water like silk blowing in the wind, and a pair of loonnnngggg white whiskers that trailed behind it.