Submission (#3246) Approved
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Prompt
Submitted
3 March 2022, 12:30:25 PST (2 years ago)
Processed
28 March 2022, 15:51:19 PDT (2 years ago) by Sharky
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Content
When the boat gently wedged itself in the sand, Citron's body was almost pulled forward by the force of gravity, having to take a few steps to right his posture. Fortunately, Basil had his eyes up ahead and completely missed out on the almost face-plant of the century. The elnin's eyes shone with adoration for the lovely atmosphere surrounding the two of them, and Citron couldn't help but roll his eyes. Every tourist here had the near exact reaction to Palu'au, but he supposes he can simply ignore the farmer for now...
Fate had been against him that day.
With the sight of something new and unexplored, Basil perked up and turned to the kittom for explanation, which would have been fine had they not been stopped every couple of seconds by a bubbling question. Everything was carefully dissected and discussed in a way that hadn't overwhelmed the elder, but enough to satiate his curious mind. Eventually, Citron had grown accustomed to giving automated responses so much that it took him by surprise when a question directed at him had gone over his head, and Basil quirked a brow with a knowing smile. For a charismatic individual that he took him as (if only for a second), Citron was growing rather flustered by how childish this adult behaved around him. Was it just for fun, or was this truly how the man's mental capacity peaked? Clearing his throat, and looking to the sky in order to behave as if he only misheard, the orange kittom speaks up, "Repeat that again please, I didn't hear the first time." Willingly releasing his hold on any teasing, Basil hums before opening his mouth once more, "So... What's your favorite thing about this place? Do you have any fond memories?"
Prolonged silence from himself, but the local fauna found a way to take care of that. Various chirps and insect hums, along with the ebb and flow of the water really made Palu'au Islands such a treat. Numerous memories flashed through Citron's head, recalling his fondest memories with his family. One in particular stood out, and he continued to autopilot and walk forward, instinctively heading in the same direction as his home.
It was with his younger sister, Jelany, when the two of them snuck out in the dark night to watch the moonlight jellies drift from Silveil and into an underwater cavern with rocks dotting the insides. Both dove into the luke-warm waters and swam around the wildlife, gasping in awe at the illuminating effects they had. Citron touched the jelly surface of one, and it quaked beneath his pressure. Jelany on the other hand was mystified by the long tendrils hanging beneath them. For a family who made jellies for a living, neither kit knew how to behave when it came to real-life ones. The wave pushed one of the creatures onto the pink kittom, and she yelped at the sudden shock on her paw. Citron gently pushed his own away and swam towards his kin, pulling her back towards shore. He bit back a chuckle, and Jelany huffed and puffed her annoyance. 'Come, I'll take you to get an ice cream, but we never speak of this to Mom an' Dad, okay?'
Realizing that he never gave the adult an answer, Citron shrugged his shoulders, "I saw some jellyfish with my sister when we were much younger. It was kind of neat, but then she got zapped by one... And yunno, as the older brother I obviously had to do something so, I took her to get ice cream and we never spoke of it to our parents, heh." Time had passed in the blink of an eye, and both stood in front of a wooden door with a hand-carved wooden wreath hung in the center. Steeling his nerves, a knock is given to alert his family of a presence at the door.
The sheer excitement on his sister's face was seen for a split second, and just like that it was already gone when she knocked him to the ground and exclaimed loudly to their parents. "Citron's back, he's back and he brought a friend with him -- !" Jelany scoots off of the orange kittom to circle the newcomer, finally sitting in front of him with pearly whites flashing in a quirky smile, "Thank you so much for bringing my brother home, what's your name sir?" Soon, more and more of his siblings came flooding in, each prancing around the eldest except for Yuzu... She was far too embarrassed to behave like this in front of a stranger. Basil watched fondly as Citron's family essentially broke out into cheers, and it had only been a day since he was away. His parents walk in tandem with each other, bowing their heads just the slightest to thank the other for returning their son. The father of all in the house speaks gently, asking his children to head outside while the adults talked... Fortunately, they happily obliged -- including Citron himself.
Before Basil could open his mouth, they were already talking. Despite the upbeat tone, there was a sad look in their eye, only something he noticed as a father himself. "We know we can't stop our little naranja from growing up, but it's so hard when the rest of our kids love him so much they can barely stand a minute without him. We want him to explore the world, to have fun at this age... We just don't want him to get hurt." That concern, the Strynhali frowns at their dilemma, he's been in this position before so he can only speak of his own experiences, "I understand you both, I really do, but when I was Citron's age... I knew I just needed to go for it, I needed to get out there and see the world. I always mailed postcards back home and kept in touch with my mother, I lost my brother so my main journey was to find him. I can't say it's the same for your kid, but he's got a lot of spirit in him... If you're worried, maybe I could take him along and show him the ropes, at least until he's more confident to traverse alone? I have a daughter around his age too, she's skilled at bandaging and caring for any wounds. I wouldn't mind for her to tag along as well, I'm sure there are plenty of others across our lands that'll take your son in and keep him safe."
The parents sniffle, but they nod in understanding. Their baby boy was ready to leave the nest, they shouldn't clip his wings before he got the chance to fly. As for their other children? Perhaps explaining up front what was going to happen, and allowing them to spend some more moments with Citron is what was needed.
Rewards
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Characters
MYO-ELN111: Basil
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ELN1517: Jelany
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ELN1518: Citron
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| AP (Strynhalde) (Currencies) | 1 |
Add-Ons
These items have been removed from the submitter's inventory and will be refunded if the request is rejected or consumed if it is approved.
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bisflorescentia's Bank
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