Submission (#3935) Approved

Word count: 1,999
Region: Faerindell
Elnin resonance is for: Zinnia
Other elnin: Peikko (Nolatari and Donaar)
Mini requirement: N/A

Zinnia took a lot of care in making flower crowns for themself and all their siblings. However, upon seeing another kittom who has lost their own flower crown, Zinnia decides to help them out.

     "Mama! Mama! Do you think my crown is the prettiest?!" Zinna skipped up to Nolatari with a proud aura about them. Atop their head was a woven circlet of purple and blue flowers, little peeks of babies' breath filling out the spaces between. A few trails of wisteria hung down from the back in place of a ribbon. Overall the effect gave them a princess aura that matched Saoirse's vibe who was skipping along with them.

     Nolatari chuckled softly, "I think you look bright and full of cheer my little one. Are you enjoying the festival so far?" On their way home, Nolatari and the quartet had decided to stop through Faerindell for the monthly flower festival. She had heard it was an experience not to be missed. Nol was happy to see Zinnia so inspired as they had already designed floral crowns for all of their siblings and even gotten the druids to preserve them all so the whole family would be able to keep them fresh during the trip home to Silveil. The motherly blue nin smiled as she observed the quartet chat amongst themselves as they walked through the lanes and streets lines with a riot of colour and fragrances. Compared to the golden brightness of Bellmoril, the pinks, purples and yellows were a nice change of scenery though she enjoyed both for different reasons.

     The sun was already past its zenith so Nol looked around for a good place to stop and eat. As she did so, she called out to the kittoms, corralling them in one place so they were easier to watch. Spotting a small café at the corner of a cobblestone courtyard, she sat them all down and then went to find the owner to order some lunch. Donaar was left to watch the others as she vanished inside, who took charge in making sure they all sat down and behave while they were waiting.

     Zinnia sat cross-legged on their chair, shifting slightly from side to side as they waited for their mother to return. As they looked out over the crowd busying past them through the courtyard they noticed one kittom who wasn't not walking around with a purpose. Instead they were moving morosely in a weaving pattern, almost bumping into others as they kept getting in the way of traffic. Pale fur was swirled with pinks, purples and blues and a pair of glasses sat upon their face, the aimlessness of their path and droop of their ears called to Zinnia and the young kittom slid off the chair to investigate.

     "Oi, you can't leave. We all need to stay together." Donaar called out to his sibling as he saw them wander away from the table they were all sitting at. "Come back right now!"

     With a quick look back, Zinnia waved in the general direction she was headed and called back, "I need to check something really quick! I'll be right back, I promise!" With that they vanished into the crowd in pursuit of the kittom who obviously had a problem that needed solving.

     It didn't take long before they discovered where the other kittom had gone. The pale one was now sitting on a bench near the middle of the courtyard, a tall weeping willow covered in blossoms, shading the benches from the afternoon sun. Zinnia walked up with a warm smile and bent down until she could face the other who was gloomily looking at their feet. "Hello, you look like your day needs brightening up. Is there anything I can do to help? My name is Zinnia by the way, it is great to meet you!"

     "Peikko..." The pale kittom sighed a little and attempted to give a weak smile, blinking through misted glasses. "I'm sorry, usually I'm more upbeat." Peikko rubbed the back of her hand across both cheeks as she sniffed. "Thank you for asking but I don't think you can do much." She didn't want to burden the dark blue kittom with her woes.

     Zinnia sat next the the sorrowful kittom and kicked her legs a few times in the air. "Ok, if I can't actually help, maybe I can at least lend a willing ear. That may help you feel a little bit better yes?" They nudged the other kittom lightly with their shoulder.

     With a small nod, Peikko took a deep breath and started her small tale. "I was here with Sheppard's Crook and wanted to buy a flower crown from the market place. We were given a small allowance see, and I'm supposed to be meeting them soon by the Flowerfalls Bridge." She sighed again as a sob caught in her throat. "I found the perfect crown but while I was looking for a few gifts, it blew off and now I can't find it. Not only do I not have enough to buy another, I don't have time because we are leaving in the early morning tomorrow before the market opens." Peikko's shoulders dropped even lower as she talked and she placed her chin in her hands when she finished. "I had hoped to find it if I looked around but I fear someone else picked it up from where the wind carried it. I hope it at least makes them happy..."

     "Oh, dear... I'm so sorry to hear that." Zinnia reached a paw up to finger one of the wisteria strands of her own crown. "Do you think if we looked together we might have better luck in finding it?" As they spoke they realized that wasn't really an option as already some time had passed and they needed to get back before their mother realized they had wandered off. Zinnia did not want to get Donaar into trouble. Already the pale bell flowers were starting to open in the lowering sunlight; heralding the nightfall. Still, they had already offered and would stick to it if it would help. Maybe the whole family could help Peikko out if they asked!

     The pale kittom shook her head, "I don't have enough time. It's late afternoon already and I'm supposed to meet up with the rest of the caravan before the sun sets." Peikko took a deep breath and straightened her shoulder, attempting another weak smile. "Thank you for listening though. You were right, I do feel a bit better." She patted Zinnia's paw lightly in appreciation.

     Zinnia looked down at her paw and pursed her lips, thinking hard. They remembered spending quite a while picking out the flowers from the market stall, making sure each was perfect before arranging them carefully into the woven band. They thought about the fairy shrouds that had inspired them to use wisteria instead of ribbon for the back, and the babies’ breath they used to fill out the spots where it seemed bare. They had had a lot of fun weaving it all together and then had tracked down the druids all by themselves to get all of the flower crowns preserved. They fingered the flowers once more before pulling the crown off their head. "Here, you can have mine if you want."

     "Wha?!" Peikko looked stunned for a moment, "You can't do that, that wouldn't be fair on you. Why would you want...?" She stammered a few times as Zinnia slipped the flower crown over her curly hair and let the wisteria drape artfully over one ear.

     "I can make another one tomorrow, we are here for another few days. It's ok, I would be honored if you took my first flower crown." Zinnia looked Peikko up and down a few times with a bright smile. "It's almost as if I made it for you without even realizing it." As she uttered those words she realized it was true. The wisteria matched the purples in Peikko's coat, the pinks and blues of the main crown highlighting the pale pinks and sky blues of the other swirls. "It looks beautiful on you!"

     Peikko was at a loss for words still at the generosity of a complete stranger. "Than-thank you so much! I can't leave you empty handed though... Here." She rummaged around a little in her pouch on her belt and pulled out a small floral pin, the flowers woven together into the pattern of a circle, resembling the festival's flower crowns. "I had picked this up for a friend of mine but I can find something in the next village." Peikko rubbed at her face one more time and smiled again; this time much brighter than before.

     They took the pin with a small flourish and attached it to their cowl carefully. "Oh this is so beautiful! I had seen the pins but had chosen to get flower crowns with the rest of my siblings. This is delightful!" Standing up with a bounce, Zinnia realized how much time had passed and pulled Peikko up with her. "You should get going but maybe we can be penpals if you wanted!" They wrote down their address on a scrap of paper they pulled from a notebook and handed it over with a tight hug.

     "Thank you again, I really appreciate this gift." Peikko smiled and touched the flower crown reverently. "I will most definitely write to you while I am traveling. Aisling often sends mail to Silveil so I am sure she would be willing to deliver mine too." She was still a little amazed on how the day had gone from good to terrible and then back to good again... better than good because now she had a new friend. She waved and turned towards the further side of the courtyard where the birch trees lead out into the river bank area. "I really must find the Caravan but I am so happy to have met you."

     With a grin Zinnia yelled, "Me too!" as they turned and ran back to the café as quick as they could. Scooting close they could already see their mother towering over Donaar who was waving his arms around as he spoke. Deciding to cause an entrance to take the heat off their sibling they careened into their chair with a thud and exclaimed, "I am back! Sorry it was a little longer than I planned but I just -had- to take care of someone. I promise nothing bad happened at all!"

     Nolatari turned to her child with a frown. "I asked you to stay put little one, you did not do this. What possessed you so strongly that you had to wander off and not stay with your siblings?" The worried elnin paused as she noticed the missing flowers. "And what happened to your crown? Did you loose it?"

     "Not lost! It was needed to brighten someone's day." Zinnia took a deep breath and words tumbled out followed with gestures and long winded descriptions. If there was one thing they knew best, Zinnia could tell a good story. By the time they were wrapping up the last scene, the food had arrived. "So you see, while I no longer have my crown I do have this beautiful pin... AND a penpal!" The small, fluffy kittom added with a flourish of a pancake-filled fork. "Probably one of the best trades ever made."

     Shaking her head a little in wonder, Nolatari could hardly be mad at the turn of events. "Well, thank you for staying in the courtyard and I am happy you chose to help someone else. However, please let someone know a little more information about your adventure before you go running off. Does that sound fair?" She had already planned on seeing if another flower crown could be crafted to replace the one given away but Nolatari was pretty sure that Zinnia wouldn't mind if they were the only sibling who didn't have one. She watched as the small kittom patted the gilded pin softly to make sure it was still in place and nodded to herself. Yes, I think they will be just fine.