Submission (#2703) Approved

The Starfall Festival has come to an end. With the closing and wrap up of the festival, that meant one thing - summer was drawing to a close, making way for autumn. With autumn came the cool, then cold miasma months. For now the elnin across most of eyre were spared from the cold but it was only a matter of time before it came. To prepare for the colder months, it was time to harvest all the fruits and vegetables to store away. Elnin in all regions were scrambling to harvest everything they could before the impending frost claimed anything that was left.

After the Starfall Festival ended, Dawn found herself sticking around Ealei. She had no reason to go home yet, and it seemed that neither did her friend Marco and Marco’s brother. She had originally come to Ealei to celebrate the festival by herself but was pleasantly surprised when she saw her friend there as well. Dawn and Marco played and spent time together during both the festival and after the festival. The amount of tourists dwindled quickly from the city they were staying in.

When she saw Marco’s brother, Mason, approach her that morning she expected to hear that he and Marco were departing to head back to Bellmoril. However, Dawn’s ears perked up and the surprise was noticeable on her face when Mason asked her if she wanted to help him and Marco make a delivery. Unknownst to her, Mason was asking as a favor for Marco so he could spend more time with her. For all Dawn knew the two merely needed an extra set of paws. Mason explained that they’d be traveling through Silveil to head to Faerindell to deliver manaberries. Since Dawn was from silveil, perhaps she could help lead the way through the region, as it was on the darker side and their night vision wasn't as good as Dawn’s. Dawn happily agreed to help them out, and by the end of the day the three of them were on a boat with boxes of manaberries heading away from Ealei towards Silveil, cutting between the Palu’au Islands.

The journey back to silveil was pleasant, having much better company than before. When they reached Silveil the two kittoms picked up their small crates of manaberries while the older elnin carried three times as much manaberries than the young pens were carrying. Dawn had to take a few moments to think of the best route to take before motioning for the boys to follow her as she headed into Silveil.

Despite it being bright and sunny when they were on the boat, darkness as thick as night had enveloped the three elnin and everything around them. The sun was but a forgotten memory as they walked down the trail. When they were at the harbor they could rely on the lights from buildings and lamp lights on the streets. Instead of sunlight and lights bleeding in through building windows, their way was lit up by the measly light their lamps gave off and the soft glows of the plant life that grew in Silveil. Plants that grew on the side of the packed down trails used on a daily basis glowed in bright shades of blue, green, and purples. The fireflies that lived in the area were far from stationary but emitted yellow light, drifting and floating in no set destination other than away from Dawn when she approached them. Every now and then there would be a glowing mushroom sitting some several feet away from the path they were on, sometimes obscured by the trees and brush while others were easy to see. Dawn knew that these mushrooms couldnt be trusted for more than being an additional light source, or else she’d go over and pick them to put in her harvest crate. Instead she left them be and kept walking.

Mason seemed to know to leave the mushrooms alone, but seeing as this was Marco’s first time in Silveil he didnt know any better. Dawn watched curiously as the other kitten rushed out in front of her to examine a large mushroom that was growing a few feet away from a sign that marked the trail they were on. At first she was going to leave him to his curiosity, but when she saw he set down the crate and began reaching a paw out to the mushroom she practically dropped her crate of manaberries and rushed over to stop him. She never imagined herself scolding her friend, and before she found herself lecturing the other kitten she took a deep breath and explained that those mushrooms were not edible. As well, leaving the trail could be dangerous, especially for someone who wasnt used to seeing in the dark. The things that could be lurking in the forest around them could only be left up to one’s imagination, but whatever was out there wasn’t friendly. Marco was quite embarrassed, and he quietly nodded at her explanation. Dawn, Marco, and Mason then spent some time picking up the manaberries that Dawn dropped in her rush to get over to Marco. Thankfully none of the manaberries were harmed and they were able to continue on their way soon enough.

The three elnin managed to trek through Silveil without any other issues. When they reached the border between Silvel and the waters that separated it from Faerindell, Mason suggested that he could carry the rest of the manaberries to Faerindell. Dawn had begun to grow tired of the journey and wasnt built for so much walking like Marco and Mason were. She handed over the manaberries so Mason could turn them in for storage, and gave Marco a big hug. She waved them goodbye as they headed onto the boat headed to Faerindell, and watched as the boat slowly made its way into the darkness of the sea that surrounded Silveil and faded out of sight. Dawn wanted to help more with the harvest, and perhaps she would visit Faerindell soon to help, but for now she was content with staying in Silveil. Who knew- perhaps she’d run into more elnins who would need her help trekking through the dark region!