Submission (#3116) Approved

The strong winds high in the branches of Yggdrasil made the small pink, purple, and white kittom dig their tiny claws into the bark below them to steady their feet. Momo sat back on his haunches and allowed his dual tone gaze to drift up the trunk of the tree growing skyward from the place it was grafted to the massive tree supporting the orchard as a whole. From a distance they had seemed fairly small but now the young elnin was beginning to rethink his agreement to help the owner of the orchard collect the brightly colored fruits he had to squint to see from his seated position. Getting to keep a third of what he collected as free fruit to start his journey out of Ealei to the mainland was still too tempting to pass up. 

Momo grit his teeth and started the climb up to the tree’s upper branches with a basket strapped to his back. After minutes of climbing and not making much progress he slumped, flower print on his back flush to the trunk behind him. Maybe this was a ruse? How was he meant to climb to such heights without at least a ladder? Or worse, without asking for…help? The idea pained him as the young nin HATED relying on others. 

Lost in his dilemma, Momo startled when a soft voice called out to him. “Young one, you seem to be having a difficult time. Is something amiss?” His eyes shot over to what he thought at first was another kittom, but turned out to be the tiniest adult elnin he had ever seen. Even more bizarre they seemed to be…floating mid air on fae wings of light more luminous than his own markings. “I didn’t mean to surprise you. My name is Saipha. I’m here in Ealei on business for my employer, but came up to the orchard here to see about taking home some fruit as a souvenir for my children. You look to be around their age so I couldn’t help but be reminded of them.” 

She seemed nice enough, a pleasant smile and a pleasant voice, but Momo wasn’t one to take charity from others. “I’m fine on my own ma’am. I can take care of myself.” To make his point he turned around and started back up the tree, one white and pink paw at a time. 

From the corner of his eye he watched her push her blue braid past her fluffy black mane and over a shoulder before taking flight. As soundless as the motion was compared to the noise of his struggled climb he thought she had fluttered off. “You know young one, and if I might have your name to address you as such moving forward, if you don’t wish to have help maybe we could strike a bargain instead? Flying up to gather fruit is easy enough for me, but as someone who is not a local I’m not quite sure which would be the best to take home to my family. Possibly you would be willing to impart information on which you think are the best in flavor and help me pick out which are of a ripeness that would travel well for a few days until I get home?”

Momo settled all four paws back on the ground, or well Yggdrasil being the closest thing to ground up here, and thought for a moment. This arrangement would certainly benefit him but he couldn’t seem too easy to bargain with, not if he wanted to run his own business one day. With a smug smirk he held his basket out to the other elnin. “If you will gather two full baskets of fruit from this tree I’ll take you up on that deal.” A beat later. “And my name is Momo, pleasure doing business with you.” 

A slender striped tail curled around the handle he was holding and lifted the woven basket into the air. The kit shielded his eyes from the mottled beams of sunlight filtering down from the treetops with a small paw. He watched red embers dance between the colorful dots where fruits once hung, shouting up instructions and direction, and in less than half a bell two brimming baskets of manaberries and other assorted items. The two set about sorting the sweet haul, Momo pointing out which of the sweet treats were his favorites and which were still just a day or two from peak ripeness. 

“I wish you well on your upcoming adventure Momo, I’m sure everyone at home will surely enjoy your suggestions I imagine.” Parting ways the young nin watched the fiery faenin flutter out of sight then set to work dragging his baskets to a very shocked business owner who had been expecting the small child to come back with a handful of berries not enough to fill out two orders for the bakeries in town. Keeping to his deal, Momo left with not only half a basket of fruit, but a small satchel to carry his prizes with. Now all he needed to do is dry the fruits for storage and locate himself a boat to be able to set off on his own. From this high in Yggdrasil he could see the outline of the mainland on the horizon in the distance and could not wait to finally set foot someplace new and exciting.