Submission (#3408) Approved

Elnin [main]: https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN2402
Elnin [side characters]: https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN2689 https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN149
Region: Palu'au Islands
Word Count: 999

Miasma season had finally drawn to a close. Sunflower had gotten used to residing in the region of the Palu’au Islands and had even come to learn some of the names of the familiar faces she saw every day. Though she didn’t live there, the residents of the Palu’au Islands were more than happy to show her all the neat spots the region had to offer. With not as many tourists coming and going, there was more space for Sunflower to roam around in during the months of miasma season and she took note of all the interesting scenic spots. She didn’t remember them for herself - but for her mother and father.

When she caught wind that boats were beginning to come and go from the nearby port of Islasera, Sunflower began to spend every waking moment on the shore. Whenever a boat came in, she was one of the first ones on the shore to greet the newcomers. Many of them mistook her for a resident of Palu’au Island and asked for directions to the nearest lodging, and she was fine pointing folks in the right direction, but she wasn’t there to be a tour guide or a living directory. Whenever the boats were cleared of passengers and she saw that neither her mother or father had arrived, Sunflower would walk back to the sandy shore and go back to waiting patiently for their arrival.

Her patience would be rewarded soon enough. On a bright sunny day Sunflower saw a boat cutting through the clear crystalline ocean. As the boat grew closer the fur on her ears and arms stood up straight as she spotted two familiar figures standing on the deck. Sunflower quickly pulled herself away from the half-hearted attempt at a sandcastle she had been mindlessly working on all morning and headed over to the deck. She did her best to brush off the sand from her legs as the boat finally drew into port.

A booming laugh from a deep voice cracked through the crowd of chattering tourists when the gates opened. Sunflower watched as the crowd of tourists parted to the sides to let a brown elnin with dark brown fur and strange markings on his pelt through. The male elnin was accompanied by a smaller elnin with a silver pelt and her hair tied into a neat bun. It didn’t take long for the two elnin to notice Sunflower standing near the gates, and in one fell swoop the large brown elnin scooped Sunflower into his arms and gave her a great big bear hug. Her mother and father were finally here to pick her up and take her back home.

The three didn’t immediately head back to Kyendi. Sunflower didn’t mind staying on the islands for a few more days, and it’d be a shame for her parents to come all the way here just to pick her up and immediately head back to Kyendi. Despite the usual blank look that rested on her face, Sunflower was internally excited to show her mother and father around the islands. The three of them walked paw-in-paw, with Abelardo, her father, holding Sunflower’s right paw while Sky, her mother, held her left paw. The three of them spent a few hours walking along one of the many sandy beaches, soaking in the sun from the clear sky above and getting sand between their toes. Whenever the three approached a rock or a shell in the sand, Abelardo lifted Sunflower up so she could ‘hop’ over the obstacle. Her face didn’t show it, but her small tail wiggled in delight every time she hopped over something with her father’s help.

After getting tired out from walking, Sunflower and her parents decided to find a spot underneath a large palm tree and rest in the shade. Nearby in one of the tropical huts there was a vendor selling cold drinks, so Sunflower volunteered to fetch the three of them something to drink. Once Sunflower returned and the three of them were sitting in the shade, Abelardo began to tell them a story he once heard about a monstrous fish that lived off the edge of Palu’au Islands. He explained that it was so large and so long that it practically wrapped itself around the whole cluster of islands and swam around in circles! Sky chuckled to herself and closed her eyes as Sunflower stared up at her father, wondering if this was a story he had actually heard somewhere before or if this was one of the many stories he enjoyed making up on the spot.

When Abelardo was done with his story and finished it off with a hearty laugh, Sunflower cleared her throat and began telling a story of her own. Sunflower explained that she had heard some of the locals talk about wandering spirits on the island, and if they got too close to you they would merge together to create a large aquatic beastly ghost! And if you weren’t quick enough to get inside or weren’t close to one of the huts, the beast was known to chase unfortunate elnin into the sea where they could gobble them up! Sunflower kept a straight face the entire time, and by the end of her story Sky’s eyes were open, looking at her daughter curiously, while Abelardo’s eyes were wide. The kittom couldn’t help but crack a smile at her parents’ reactions to her made up story, and Abelardo’s unease melted into amusement and laughter.

The next several days were spent trying to outdo the others in tall tales. When it was finally time to head onto the boat that would carry them home. Sunflower found herself a little sad that she was finally leaving Palu’au islands, but she had enjoyed the last few days here with her parents much more than the few months on the islands by herself. It was time to head home for some well earned rest in her own bed.