Submission (#2896) Approved

Word count: 1,149
AP: Belmoril
Elnin AP is for: Gwynceirw (https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN1777)
Other elnin: Icarus (https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN871), Caerus (https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN2415), and Aisling (https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN706)

     "I'm sorry Gwyn, I know I'm the one who usually takes care of the drop-off but I need to find out any information we can about Foxglove. We can't go taking her out of Bellmoril just because she says she needs to go to Salva. At the very least I have to track down her parents." Aisling looked towards the caravan where eight pairs of eyes watched her solemnly. Since her discovery, Foxglove had been a delight for all the kittoms in the crèche and to her amusement, even Gwyn seemed to have developed a soft spot. "It's just the one, I can handle the twins after." She scooped up the small kittom hitchhiker and with another apologetic glance, whisked away to find the elders that kept the regional roster in hopes of gaining more information leaving Gwyn with the Caravan and the rest of the kittoms.

     Keeping an eye on his guardianships, Gwyn regarded the town just outside of Il'durahn with an experienced eye. This is where he was from, though he spent most of his apprenticeship in Silveil and Kyendi. He recognized some of his old haunts, the small bar he was frequently kicked out of for being too young, the pie shop around the corner which had the best berry tarts in town, the grand spreading maple tree in the center of town that had vines and mosses so thick that it looked like it was green all over even in the miasma months. Legend said it was an offshoot of the Eldertree that rose above the Bellmoril skyline, it was a place you could hang in the branches of and hear the golden leaves whispering bright secrets when the wind blew through them, a place where people congregate to sell their wares in the morning, and then take naps under when the afternoon heat got a little too much. Gwyn knew where he was headed, over to where the buildings were a little closer together, the spaced used as tight as possible so that the fields of vegetables and grains could spread out as far as the eye could see. He glanced towards the papers to double check the address before gathering the kittoms together. "Quick trip in and if you are good, I'll buy you some treats for the ride out."

     Making sure the pony was hitched properly, Gwyn pulled the long golden rope out of the back of the caravan before locking it up. The golden rope had a loop on one end and many small, colourful ribbons hanging from the larger twists. He gave a ribbon to each kittom, keeping the twins at the front where he could keep a close eye on them. "Remember, if you let go of the ribbon I'll tie you to it." He narrowed his eyes with the looming threat over their heads before leading them in a small train behind him, the golden rope joining them all together.

     Watching out for any suspicious people as they traveled through the town outskirts, Gwyn took the small crèche of kittoms towards their destination. He herded them over bridges that spanned small streams, passed by large fields filled with fragrant flowers or swaying wheat, helped them cross the more busier inner streets, and into the footpaths where the building overhang blocked out the sun. In the shady passageways he found the address he was looking for. “Just a few minutes more,” he announced to the gaggle of kittoms behind him. “Caerus! Come forward.” he added after glancing at the paper once more.

     The small purple kittom came out of his place on the line and took a few steps forward. “Yes… sir?” he uttered quickly, not sure which would be the correct response. The little soul was halfway excited, halfway nervous being the first of the group to be delivered.

     “Ahh yes, thank you.” Gwynceirw, nodded a quick acknowledgement before turning to the door and rapping on it sharply with his knuckles. He waited a few minutes while he heard movement coming from the inside of the home before seeing the door open a crack at first. Clearing his throat, the lanky dark elnin made a quick nod in greeting before launching into the speech he always heard from Aisling. “Welcome, we are Shepard’s Crook, traveling kitten crèche. Today we bring Caerus who has been requested to be delivered to you to learn and grow in experience. Do we have the pleasure of speaking to Icarus?” Gwyn looked up from the paper and peered at the crack in the door, half expecting it to be closed in his face. “Caerus you say?” The door opened the rest of the way, revealing a short, plump faenin with a curious expression. “I was expecting my grandchild in a few days. You are early, Boy.” The odd-eyed elder looked Gwyn up and down with slight approval before turning his gaze down to the kittom, “and larger than I expected. Well, come in, come in, don’t let the warm air in.” The shorter faenin nodded once again and gestured to the kittom to head inside. “Yes, I am Icarus, your delivery is complete. What do I owe you for the travels?”

     Gwyn shook his head, “Delivery fees were settled with Aisling. We make sure all of those things are taken care of before the route is started.” He could sense the other kittoms were getting a little restless after piling on their hugs of goodbye around Caerus. A small cloud of farewells peppered the purple kittom’s walk into his new home and he waved a return goodbye as he peeked around the door one final time. “We have a little more business in this town and may swing around before we set back off in case anything was forgotten or needs to be sent to the original party.”

     Icarus nodded twice after checking to see if Caerus was safely inside. “Good, good, I shall look forward to meeting this Aisling. I heard about her in the letter from Katya. Pass on my thanks.” The faenin waved a hand in the air to dismiss Gwyn and then ambled back to his home. “I appreciate there is good folks in these lands that make a honest living unlike some others…” the rest of his sentence was lose in the shadows of his home as he closed the door behind him.

     Left to their own devices in the shady passageway, Gwyn eyed each kittom, taking note of which were behaving and which had almost run off. After sternly hooking up the twins to the rope with a swift knot, he started leading them back out into the brighter sun-lit parts of the city. “Next up, we have the twins and then we have…” he looked down at the paper to check, “Neriya. Let's see if we can find that bakery before we tackle the next address.” Delivery wasn’t as difficult as it had first seemed as long as all the interactions were as simple as the last. Gwyn decided to take care of the next few before he would meet up with Aisling and find out what was going to happen with their new stowaway.