Submission (#3371) Approved

It was not the first time Linn's pomu had gone into hibernation. Not by a long shot, and though she was old enough to know that her small companion would be back soon enough, after it had rested up, it was still vaguely upsetting to look around and not see it jumping around, or otherwise feel it 'awake' and aware. It was hard to explain to anyone that wasn't elnin; she'd, in fact, once tried to explain the process of what it felt for her pomu to go to sleep to Kala, the kyunru, and she'd failed miserably at the attempt. In fact, it became quite clear the draconic kyunru came out of the conversation rather more confused than she'd entered it!

Still, she'd worked hard this year, and her lantern hung beside her as she looked out over the water at the edge of the orange tinted forest. She'd left the capital some time ago, and though her mentor remain there, she was considered old and wise enough to venture out in the Autumnal forests alone; specially since she was trying to find herself, both mentally and physically, and a little adventure never hurt anyone when done within certain parameters. She would have liked to be adventuring with her pomu, yes, but beggars could not be choosers, and she could not simply remain stationary for several months just because she wished for her pomu's company!

The sun was missing, and though the light was sparse, it still reflected brightly off of the water. Not enough to allow for the trees around her to show off their usual, daylight orange tinge, but enough to hint at it anyways. This allowed her lantern to glow, an internal light that bathed her and her small surroundings in the pale golden glow of her anima. Still, she missed her pomu, and though she had adorned the lantern with paraphernalia she was sure she small friend would enjoy, it was still strange to poke at the place where she usually was awake, and notice her silent, napping away.

It wasn't even that Bellmoril was particularly lonely, or that she felt lonely as she travelled the golden woods by day and camped at night. It was just that... well, no, she did in fact feel lonely, now that she thought about it, and as she pawed at the string that kept her lantern tied to her tail, she almost considered look back away from the lake and turning back to make her way towards Il'durahn. Maybe not in the darkness, but perhaps tomorrow?

So focused on her inner musings was she, that she completely missed the way the water rippled nearby, or the way small, purple eyes watched her from the relative darkness of the water. At least not until a small voice called out in greeting, "Hello!" from the darkness of the barely illuminated water. So surprised was she, that she nearly stumbled over the cord around her tail, and almost managed to land herself in the water of the lake.

As it was, Linn only managed to remain mostly upright by grabbing onto the closest thing; one of the thin, usually orange leaved trees, squeaking a bit as her eyes scanned the darkness. They finally settled on another kittom, whom was currently swimming in the water, watching her with avid, purple eyes and a small, near mischievous look upon their maw. Their own lantern strung to their tail, though it floated underwater, the glow of it barely visible due to the purple coloration and the fact the kittom kept it submerged, "Hello!" the other kittom chirruped again, "You looked like you were... sad. Troubled by melancholy, and while I was just passing by on the way to the cave further down the shore, I figured, hey! Maybe you'd want company for the night? It's tiny, but we could fit! I like having a wall to rest against when I sleep; always feels safer, right?"

Linn finally managed to extract her grip from around the thin tree, and well, yes. He wasn't entirely wrong; specially given the fact her pomu was in that lantern, the idea of sleeping against a wall, no matter how small the cave was, seemed like a good idea to her, "I... yes," she didn't specify what she was answering, out of all his claims, and the way the other kittom seemed to tilts his head to one side indicated he was well aware her non-answer was strange, but he didn't push it, "I would not say no to company tonight... I'm feeling a bit lonely," she glance at the golden glow basking the tree gently to the side, and the kittom that was still in the water seemed to understand instantly.

"Ah, yeah. I see what you mean. Been a while since they started to nap, huh? They'll be back soon enough! No reason to get sad!" he finally came fully out of the water and shook himself off, ridding himself of the excess water with practiced ease that came from habitual swimming. It was only now that he'd stepped into the faint glow of both their lanterns fully, that she noticed his tail. She'd never seen one like that, and her eyes zeroed in on the spikey fin like bits of it; suddenly, the swimming made all the more sense, and when she finally turned her gaze to meet his eyes, he seemed suddenly shy, "Yeah, s'always been like that," he told her, though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes for some reason.

He guided her to the cave.

Or, well, less a cave, and more just an odd arrangement of large rocks, placed in such a specific way that allowed for an entrance, and a small shelter, but it did provide a wall behind her back, and did also allow for a neat place for their lanterns to shine their faint light.

Linn slept that night, still wishing her pomu was there, adventuring with her, but at least, no longer feeling quite so lonely.