Submission (#327) Approved

Saga was busy rummaging around her temporary room in Bellmoril. The air was getting clearer outside and yet an unsettling feeling fell upon her. She and Tetra had spent the winter months together here but now as they dwindled she knew Tetra would soon have to head back to Ealei. Saga yearned to return with her but there were things Saga had to do yet in Bellmoril so she could not return quite yet. Her temporary residence was a room of a small stone cottage at the outskirts of a larger rural town in Bellmoril. Her temporary guardian was a traveling storyteller with a lax parenting style that gave Saga a bit of freedom at least but the kittom was sure she would spend some lonely days in her thoughts much like they crept upon her now. Tetra was getting in some last minute fishing so she would return a bit later.

Left alone in the stone cottage Saga channeled her blues into cleaning. Most of the tasks didn’t take much skill but she did do quite a bit of shuffling around on her hind legs. Using her fore-paws she gathered up a bundle of dusty sheets from the closet and tossed them in a basket for washing. Next came wiping down the small desk in the room and pushing it closer to the window. She could faintly see the lake Tetra was fishing at out the window panes but it was mostly obscured by the autumnal hued forest.

It was a pretty enough scene and Saga had been getting used to it but it just wouldn’t be the same without Tetra. Distracted by the passing thought Saga dropped a book on her foot and quickly after air came hissing out between her teeth as the pain sunk in. There was no use moping about it now after she had already resolved herself to spend more time here. Not to mention the great city of Il'durahn was only a short journey away and there was a lot she could learn there that she wouldn’t have the opportunity to in Ealei. Saga wasn’t the most keen on books but she didn’t want to grow ignorant either. As if proof of this, a pleasant stack of books accumulated on her desk after she dusted them off.

Furiously setting herself to cleaning the floors her determined nature showed. Colorful leaves that decorated the trees outside also had been dragged in but while walking around holding a broom Saga swept them together in a neat pile and ushered them out into the front yard. Returning inside briefly she took a good look at the open space that had once been littered with blankets and clothes and picked up the basket now filled with those same articles.

Outside in the yard she scrubbed the clothes in a wash basin and admired the vines that climbed up the building. The town was quite tame and quaint compared to Il’durahn and the trees seemed like they were closer and easier to get to but she recalled the towers in the city that appeared so large the vines that grew up them probably would have taken magic to clear off if desired. She made quick work of tidying the laundry before hanging it up to dry when she heard the crunching of leaves beneath paws. Tetra had come back with a few drawings of fish she had caught. Since she was due to leave in the coming days and they really had no need for the extra catches she hadn’t kept any.

“You’ve been busy.” She commented, her paws on her hips as she whistled at the laundry hanging from a low line the kittoms could reach. “Someday you’ll make quite the knight too I’m sure.” She teased, aware of Saga’s ambitions. For all that Saga was reckless she was pretty diligent too and that’s what Tetra liked about her. Saga on the other hand found such chores useful for mediating on her thoughts. Cleaning was not all that different from camping and if she was to be an adventurer, or something more than that some day the life skills were valuable to have. Not to mention Saga seldom complained about a little extra dirt between her toes while taking care of them.

Heading back inside Saga enlisted Tetra’s help moving the dresser to clean under it and when the laundry was dry the two of them folded it together and sat on the bed chatting away to their heart’s content. They had gotten a lot done and it was already starting to get late. Her temporary guardian had returned and was reading bedtime stories to their kittoms. They had invited Saga and Tetra to join for a tale or two but after that the two companions retreated to Saga’s room. Tetra had cleared out most of her things earlier that day which is part of what enabled Saga to clean so much. It was bittersweet all the same though.

“You’re making such a gloomy face.” Tetra commented, seeing through a false smile Saga had cast her way. At the words from the other kittom it quickly dissolved. “Am I that easy to see through?” She asked miserably. Tetra smiled weakly “Terribly so.” She confessed. What could she say, after all. Her brows furrowed in thought for a moment. They had lit a few lamps but Tetra after digging through her belongings produced the fish lantern Saga had gotten her earlier in recent months. Lighting it she hung it up in a gap near Saga’s desk and smiled but Saga’s expression was mortified. “You’re leaving it?” She asked, somewhat frantically as her heart sank.

It had been a gift to the other that Saga worried that Tetra maybe was really losing faith in Saga’s reasons for staying. A snort came from Tetra though. “Yes, but don’t misunderstand. I’m just lending it to you. This means you have to bring it back when you return to Ealei, alright?” She chided. Saga blinked back in return as the instructions sunk in and then nodded furiously.

“Now that I know you won’t forget about me while studying, you should help me with these too.” Tetra said, laying out some paper fishes she had cut out and affixed to strings like little banners. They were very like her and based on the colors and craftsmanship Saga could guess that Tetra had started preparing these a while ago. Together the two of them decorated the empty space and to add some warm colors they mixed in some of the leaves from the surrounding forest alongside the paper fishes. Saga felt at peace. “I would never forget about you anywhere. Thank you for the reminders though.” The kittom confessed sweetly, burying her face in her arms.

She had done a lot of cleaning today but nothing was quite as fulfilling as the decorating the two of them had done together in the evening. They agreed to write letters to one another and Tetra was sure as Saga spent time here this room would change quite a bit. This was just day one of redecorating the room that Tetra was going to leave an empty space in. Luckily she had teased Saga enough to get her to agree to draw pictures of it as things were added. Drawings were not Saga’s forte, and so she surely would not make the best field guide in her lifetime but Tetra would help her practice like this, at least until they could be together again. Saga too felt like the time would pass quicker this way too. Then she would leave Bellmoril and travel more after a trip home to Ealei.