Submission (#310) Approved

It was the peak of summer in Eyre and small paws could be heard skittering through the halls of a moderately large sized manor on a hillside. The residence sat just off the coast of one of the Paupao islands and was more or less a vacation home purchased in conjunction by a few noble elnin who traveled frequently and at times needed a space to rest their paws between their travels. The small pawsteps belonged to no noble, though far too light to be a grown elnin.

“One...two...three...four...” Counting could be heard from a side room in an orderly way where a small black leopard spotted kittom sat with his eyes shut. Bazil was sharp for a kittom and unlike a sibling or two of his felt a need to show he could count without skipping numbers. He could not say the same for his younger brother Kite but that was what looking out for younger siblings was for. “...seventeen...eighteen...nineteen...TWENTY.” He finished counting extra loudly although one could guess that any elnin nearby had mostly tuned out the telepathy.

Wandering out of the room he glanced down the hall at his father’s study. It seems even nobles worked during the summer months at times, Kormir being no exception to this as a book clattered from within the study. Ashe, Bazil’s other parent was far away helping with some job, which had left the sibling kittoms at the vacation home. Both nobles owned a part of it alongside a few other elnin but presently it was just Kormir and three somewhat boisterous kittoms in the residence.

After a bit of a noise upset earlier in the day and an awkward scolding that made the kittoms feel more guilty for their parent’s social skills than they did the noise the three siblings had agreed to a quieter game. Kormir had suggested it, a game called hide and seek, and taken the time to explain the rules to them. Bazil had the honor of going first, of course, as the most proficient counter and eldest of the three. His sister Anko came in a close second age wise, having been born a few seconds after him, but she was a bit more scattered or whimsical.

Casually sauntering down the hall Bazil took to the task of finding his siblings. The manor was big to their advantage since Kormir had warned them not to stray outside. It was a particularly hard rule to follow given the weather here was so nice. Much to Kormir’s relief Bazil who tended to be the ringleader when the siblings gathered was fairly rule abiding so long as the rules set were explained. That said there were always the occasional discussions between his parents about a certain parent’s actions suggesting otherwise. This had lead to a few vigilante kittom problems in the past when Bazil was not at least informed about the details of rules. Kormir would say he fancied making his own elaborate meanings behind certain rules regarding what was acceptable if it was not clear from the beginning.

Kite had a bit of a wild streak in him but usually listened to his brother and both of the kittoms seemed well aware to keep an eye on their sister without having to be told. It was enough for Kormir at least to leave them to their own devices within the manor so long as they weren’t out somewhere riskier. A few daycare visits had also lead to problems with stories of kittoms venturing off for treasures and some nonsense. For this reason Kormir had no qualms about watching the trio even while he had work to be done. The wild ideas were enough let alone the awkward pauses trying to explain to the daycare elnin what sort of trouble the siblings could get into if left with the wrong company.

For a while the black spotted kittom wandered, peering through many a room as he methodically searched the house. He was definitely the more careful sort of kittom, contented to take his time and observe things than rush and make a mistake. It was only a matter of time after all. How well could they have hidden?

His ears twitched ever so slightly as Bazil heard a small scratching noise not far off. “Hmm…” He mused softly to himself before trotting towards the noise it had gone quiet though. He found himself in an expansive living room, at least it seemed large to someone so small. “I could have sworn I heard something from here.” He walked forward a bit further into the room. Passing a covered side table, a sharp squeak of complaint followed with a thump, as he felt something soft squish beneath his paw. “Ouch!” Came an indignant response from beneath a piece of cloth covering the side table. Bazil took one look at his paw and realized what he had stepped on, one of four fluffy small tails bundled together and sticking a bit awkwardly out from under the cloth.

An unlit candlestick atop the small side table was unsettled as it shook, tipping over to almost roll off the side in the process. Bazil caught it with a paw, carefully standing on his hind legs to straighten it. A sigh of relief was breathed. That had been a close one. A soft rustling from the cloth below brought his attention back to his sibling as he settled back down to sit and watch the cloth being shifted.

“I found you!” Bazil announced, whiskers twitching just a little proudly. Kite’s head peered out from under the cloth, half of his face and one ear covered as he turned to his sibling. His expression had soured a little from being stepped on but he couldn’t very well complain. “Is your tail ok?” Bazil asked his head starting to cool a bit from the victory of finding one of the two. Kite wriggled out from under the cloth entirely to inspect his four fluffy tails. He wiggled them a bit each seeming to have a mind of their own if he didn’t know better.

“I think so.” Kite said his confidence coming back despite having been found. He always had been quick to bounce back though when it came to loss. Disappointing their parents or his siblings usually came as a far greater hit. For that reason he had been careful not to make too much noise while hiding. Scolding was difficult for him to get past and he took it to heart a little more than his half brother. Kite peered behind Bazil wondering if he had already found their sibling. “Where’s Anko?” He asked and was met with a shrug.

“This is as far as I got. There’s still the main hall though. That’s the last place to check.” Bazil nodded. She had to be there. He had already checked upstairs and down the other halls. They worked their way to the main hall but something seemed a little off. It was a breeze. Both kittoms looked at each other, nervous. Their eyes caught sight of the front door being open and Kite just about thought his heart had stopped. They weren’t supposed to go outside and worse their sister was alone. She always had a tendency to wander that unfortunately this wasn’t a first. Bazil seemed pretty calm though. He had been born in the same litter as her, enough to have gotten use to her wandering. Even he was a bit nervous though about breaking the rules but Kite wouldn’t go along with him if he let it show and he didn’t want to go outside alone. “We have to find her.” He said stiffly, trying to sound more confident than he felt. Kite met him with wide eyes. “You could get your dad.” He suggested, wearily but Bazil just shook his head.

“Do you want him to be disappointed with us? What was the last thing Ashe said to us before leaving us with my dad?” Bazil responded. “Look after Anko.” Kite said in unison with his sibling. “It was the first rule made since we got here. So we have to look for her.” Bazil said with genuine confidence this time. “O-ok. But we come right back in once we find her. I’ll go first.” Kite said, braving the threshold. Outside the two of them were met with a crist fresh air. The sun was setting already and sand melded with small grassy areas. The beach wasn’t far off but Bazil turned a different direction. They didn’t have to go far, Bazil had at least a hunch if she was hiding she wouldn’t have strayed too far.

With the sunset looming over the horizon the dim lighting was to their advantage. Bazil’s eyes spotted something glowly softly in a small patch of flowers just around the corner. He crept closer, not wanting to yell in case there were other things out here. Soon though he was standing over his sibling curled up amongst the flowers. He must have taken too long because she had nodded off, her markings glowing dimly as a firefly landed on her. Around them the little glowing bugs had started to come out but the sun wasn’t fully down yet.

“We should go back inside...” Kite piped up, still a bit nervous about breaking a rule that had been set. The view of the sun though left him speechless. Bazil had settled in to loaf next to their sister, his tail flicking slightly to suggest Kite sit too. “Soon. Let's just let her sleep a minute or two more.” He said, eyeing his sister thoughtfully.” After a bit though he gently nudged her. “Anko we found you. Let's go back inside before dad gets worried.” Bazil said thoughtfully. She blinked at him, bewildered in a state of half sleep for a moment before groggily nodding and off inside they went. Kormir later came out of his study seemingly none the wiser though he spotted a blade of grass nestled in Anko’s fur and a firefly that was still stuck to her.

He scowled for a moment but sighed. There was no point in scaring them, after all the Paupao islands were fairly safe in this spot and normally other elnin were not far off on the beach. For now he played along not wanting to scare them from telling him in the future when they wanted to go outside. “Next time we can play outside, just let me know.” He said reassuringly and settled in to a nice evening with the kittoms. Kormir always looked a bit grumpy but times like this his expression softened a bit, his brows not having to furrow with worry he might say something wrong. There was something very comforting about having the company, though he would be cautious to admit it to Ashe and risk having the three kittoms together more frequently than he could manage. The occasional visits were pleasant though.