Submission (#2544) Approved

Faerindell was beautiful this time of year.

As the young blue ‘nin sat patiently in a small clearing beneath Faerindell’s elder tree, gazing up at the characteristic pink foliage and watching absently as the breeze made off with the occasional leaf or two, he had to be honest with himself - Faerindell was beautiful at all times of the year. There was just something about the summer months, however, that really made the region really come alive.

All around Meltem, the countryside was awash with the bright colors and floral scents that he’d long since come to associate with this particular corner of Eyre. No other region was quite as vibrant - at least none he’d been to yet. That said, even he had to admit that Faerindell in summer was truly a sight to behold. This was a fact that he attributed to the overgrowth of faerie shrouds, which seemed to flourish in the warmer months. These unique plants formed thick curtains of flowers that draped from just about any ledge their roots could get a hold on, cloying the air with their thick, sweet scents.

Before, Meltem would have reveled in the experience. Now it just made him feel sick. The dazzling hues and uplifting aromas failed to reach the part of him that would have once delighted in experiencing something so fleeting.

One thing in the air did catch his attention though. Subtle, but it was definitely there. The smell of the ocean on the breeze. It was a comforting, nostalgic fragrance that brought memories of carefree days in Palu’au unbidden to his mind. At one point, he would have looked back on those memories fondly. Now though… now he wasn’t sure how he felt anymore. So much had happened since then; so much had changed...

Crunch

Meltem was snapped out of his absent reverie by the sound of footsteps approaching from behind. He didn’t need to look to know that it was Pixis returning with the food and supplies for the picnic she had all but demanded that they have. While he would never begrudge the pale ‘nin for her peculiar impulses, he couldn’t help but crinkle his nose in slight distaste as his friend made a show of setting up a proper picnic arrangement for the two of them. Again, at one point, he knew he would have enjoyed this. But at this particular moment, there were just so many other ways he’d rather be spending his time.

“Why are we doing this again?” he questioned plainly.

Pixis didn’t even spare him a glance when she responded. “Traditions, Meltem,” was her equally plain reply. “Traditions.”

It was a struggle for the blue nin to suppress an exasperated sigh. “Is it really a tradition if we only ever did this once? It’s not like we come here every year. It wasn’t even summer last time.”

Pixis snapped her head sharply in his direction and he knew at once he had said the wrong thing. In spite of the annoyance and pouty way she had puffed out her cheeks, Meltem could see the sadness in her eyes - the sadness of someone trying to hold onto something that was slipping steadily beyond their grasp. And beyond their control.

Meltem turned away. Pixis needn’t have said anything. Her expression said enough.

He kept silent from that point forward, occasionally stealing glances at the pale elnin out of the corner of his eye as she fussed over the minute details of the setting. He didn’t bother to help; she wouldn’t have accepted anyway (“you just don’t have the right eye for this kind of thing.”) and he didn’t really feel like it either. It was cooler at the base of the gnarled trunk of the elder tree, in the shade of it’s pink canopy, but the heat was making him lazy. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open when the notion of a nap lay so tantalizingly just beyond his reach.

“Ta-dah!” Pixis announced at last, admiring her handiwork with an approving sparkle in her eye.

The arrangement was immaculate, to say the least. But what could you expect from someone like Pixis? Meltem wouldn’t have been surprised if she had this planned for months, and from the way she had everything laid out, she very well might have. He was overwhelmed just looking at it and that nap was looking better and better with each passing moment.

When at last Meltem’s eyes fell on the treat laid out before him, he couldn’t exactly say he was surprised. Fairy wing par-faye. Pixis had tried it during her very first visit to Faerindell and she hadn’t shut up about it since. She made it a point to go out of her way to get one during each subsequent visit and had somehow roped Meltem into the activity. If he was being entirely honest though, he didn’t even like it that much. Even when he was younger, the flavor had been far too sweet and fruity for his tastes. Besides… it reminded him too much of---

The combination of annoyance and disinterest must have been very plain on the blue Elnin’s face because Pixis’s proud expression morphed into a scowl faster than Meltem’s hazy mind could process. She sniffed bitterly as she took an uncharacteristically large bite of her par-faye and wouldn’t even look at him with her next words.

“If you don’t like it you don’t have to eat it.”

“N-no!” he stammered quickly. “You know how much I like these kinds of things.” Or… how much I used to.

Meltem was just about to take a mouthful of his dessert when he chanced another glance at his foster sister and froze mid-bite. She wasn’t eating anymore, but rather staring strangely at her half-eaten treat. Her expression was that of someone caught between annoyance and frustration while simultaneously fighting off the urge to cry - a fight that she was clearly already failing as her eyes slowly began to well with unbidden tears.

Quickly rising to his feet, Meltem padded across the picnic setup to settle at Pixis’s side, pressing himself up against her smaller frame. She immediately turned to bury her face into the fur around his collar, the fluff muffling the sounds of her intermittent sobs. He said nothing as he gazed up at the flecks of light filtering through the canopy above, silently fighting his own urge to give in to the pain and frustration that had slowly been building up inside of him for the past year.

Faerindell really was beautiful this time of year… It was a shame he couldn’t enjoy it.