Submission (#2489) Approved

Il'durahn was bustling with activity, despite the gray clouds above. There wasn’t much risk of rain, but the clouds hid away the sun from the Elnin coming and going below in the city. Not every day could be sunny and bright, and many Elnin spent a good chunk of time planning the festival, so on the festival went!

Bellmoril flowers looked just as beautiful under clouds or under sun. While Bellmoril were nothing like the flowers in Faerindell, that’s what made them unique. Faerindell flowers were an assortment of colors, though they were on the more pastel side of the color spectrum with pinks, blues, purples and greens. Meanwhile, Bellmoril flowers matched the foliage of the region with vibrant reds, yellows, oranges, and browns. Those unfamiliar with Bellmoril flowers might think they’re withered or dying, but a second look over would show that their flower petals were healthy and velvety, and the stems were strong and showed no signs of dropping or breaking. The residents of Bellmoril were proud of their flowers just as the residents of Faerindell were, so similarly to them they held their own floral festivals celebrating their region’s beauty.

Marco and his brother Mason had traveled from their small home to visit the city of Il'durahn for the floral festival. The two had to travel a good distance to reach the city, descending from one of the many mountains in Bellmoril. On their way the elnin and kittom made their way through more trees than they could count. All the trees were the same colors as the flowers and foliage the region was known for. Red, yellow, and orange leaves rustled in the trees above them as they walked down the dirt path, surrounded by yellow grass. Every so often they would spot a tree with green leaves on their journey, but the sight of them was rare at best.

As the two made their way towards the city, Mason explained what went on at the festival. He explained that they would see many flowers and many elnin around, so it’d be wise to stay close to Mason when they got there. Mason teased that since Marco’s fur and scales were golden, he might get mistaken for a flower! Marco rolled his eyes and asked Mason to go on about the festival. He learned that not only was the festival in general was to celebrate their region’s floral riches, there would even be Elnin there who could preserve flowers. Flowers normally wilted and fell apart when picked, but the wizards and magic users of Bellmoril volunteered their magic at these festivals to preserve flowers so they would stay lush and lively for years to come.

The mention of the Bellmoril wizards caught Marco’s attention. He had always been fascinated by the magic users, so being able to see them up close and even talk to them would be amazing! There weren’t any flowers that the kittom wanted on hand to preserve, but he could quickly change that.

During one of their breaks from walking, Mason settled down on a tree stump and watched his little brother look around for flowers. Marco didn’t know much about flowers in general, so he decided to look for the flowers he thought were pretty. Mason knew there were no poisonous flowers or ones with thorns so he allowed Marco to roam around freely and explore. After some time Marco returned to Mason and the tree stump with a variety of flowers, ranging from small ones that were the size of Marco’s paw pad to some that were big as Marco’s head! Now that he had all these flowers, he wasn’t sure what to do with them. Mason reached over and gently sorted the flowers into separate piles, thinking up suggestions he could give his little brother. Eventually he gave the idea of something he could wear, like a necklace or crown. If Marco planned on having the flowers enchanted might as well make them into something he could use, right? 

Marco was delighted by the idea of making a flower crown! Problem was, he didnt have any idea how to make one. Mason pulled himself off from his tree stump and sat down next to Marco. Since the kittom had collected more than enough flowers to make multiple crowns out of, he decided he would make one as well and show Marco how theyre made. It was easy enough finding two thin branches that had fallen to make the base of the crown, so he showed Marco how to wrap and secure the flower stems around the branch. By the end, Mason had a flower crown mostly made of red and orange flowers ( which were flowers that Marco hadn’t pulled into his pile. He was fine with using the left over flowers ). It took Marco longer to make his flower crown, trying to figure out how to secure the sunflower he found into the crown. In the end he had to give up, and made a crown out of yellow and light orange flowers. Despite not being able to use the flower he was content with his creation.

When the two brothers reached the festival, Marco was surprised by all the elnin around, despite Mason’s warning before. He made sure to stay by Mason’s side as they roamed around and checked out the various floral-related vendors. There were some candied flowers that looked appetizing, but Marco was too focused on seeing the wizards to think about eating. Mason eventually caught on and brought them into the line for the wizards. 

The queue went by surprisingly quick and before long Marco was standing in front of two older elnin sitting at a table, which had an older pomu sitting on the edge chewing on a cookie that one of the festival attendees had brought the two elnin wizards. Mason patted Marco’s back to get his attention and pull him out of his stupor. The kittom finally snapped to reality and shyly presented the flower crown to the two elnin, asking them if they could enchant it for him please! The older elnin smiled at him and the one of the left reached out to carefully hold the flower crown. The other one murmured some words unfamiliar to the kittom, which caused the flower crown to glow a light blue color for several seconds before fading away. The older elnin handed the flower crown back and said that the crown would stay this way for a very long time now. The other wizard piped up and said she liked the flowers Marco had picked out for it. Marco’s cheeks tinged pink and he said thank you before taking the flower crown and placing it on his head. Success! He got to talk to the Bellmoril wizards and got a cool crown out of it!