Submission (#4075) Approved

The boat ride between Ealei and Kyendi has been surprisingly calm. Knowing his luck, Lixue braced himself for a bumpy, unpleasant ride between the two regions. The kittom had found a corner on the ship to call his own and curled up on his belongings, waiting for the waves to jostle the boat. Using a small bag of manaberries he had picked for himself for provisions as a pillow, Lixue rested his head and closed his eyes. Without anything to jolt him to attention, the kittom fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes, the ship had arrived at Kyendi. Lixue could see some of the floating islands hovering above the land, many of them glistening orange and yellow from the sunshard crystals that held the islands high in the air. Blinking back the lingering sleep in his eyes, Lixue moved to his feet, collected all of his belongings, and headed off the ship before it could set sail with him still on it.

It felt nice to step on solid ground again. Unlike Ealei, Kyendi had plenty of ground to walk on. Even from the shore he could see large, round-top mountains in the distance with gushing waterfalls running along the sides of them, water disappearing out of sight. He’d be able to see more mountains if it wasn’t for all the mist and fog shrouding them in mystery, but the fog couldn’t cover all the mountains in the region. He wondered how long it would take to reach those mountains, or how long it would take him to secure passage on an airship that would take him to the Sunshard Isles.

He was getting ahead of himself. Lixue should be enjoying his time on solid ground and getting acquainted with the area before making plans to leave the ground so soon. The kittom trudged through the town and found an inn to stay at. As he was paying for a room for the night, the overheard two elnin whispering to each other. “I saw the ghost again!” “You old fool, there is no ghost.” “I saw it! Clear as day, a bright white ghost with haunting blue eyes. Sent a shiver up my spine!” Lixue tried not to pay the two much mind, as he had other things to worry about. He made his way upstairs and began unpacking his things in his temporary room when he mindlessly glanced out the window and saw something. At the edge of town stood several older buildings that didn’t seem to be in use anymore. There were cracks in the foundation and the column holding up roofs with shingles threatening to fall off. It was surprising that the buildings were still standing, but what surprised him even more was the figure he saw standing in the doorway of one of the buildings. It was a bright white elnin with piercing blue eyes. Before Lixue could get a real good look at the elnin they disappeared into the building. The elnin couldn’t have been a ghost… right? Despite his better judgment Lixue grabbed his bag, filled it with a few supplies, then headed out of the inn towards the (mostly) abandoned abodes.

With the sun setting, there was more mist and fog out than there had been before. Getting to the long forgotten buildings was easy enough, but getting back to town would prove a little more difficult. Until then, he’d focus on the task at hand. The kittom climbed up the steps towards one of the buildings and cautiously looked inside. There were remains of what was once a lived in home - a dusty vase with dead flowers dropping from the top, an aged and dusty picture frame with a painting of the misty mountains Lixue had seen before, a rug on the floor that was beginning to unravel around the edges. No signs of any elnin, though.

Lixue began to turn, ready to go check the other house that had been long forgotten like this one, when the floor gave way from underneath him. One of the wooden floorboards that had rotted from the inside out snapped under the kittoms weight. Lixue’s heart stopped in his chest, and he waited to fall and hit whatever ground was waiting for him underneath the floorboards. Instead, something reached out and grabbed his arms. The kittom looked up and saw a ghostly figure. He studied the elnin in front of them as the older one pulled him out and set him back on solid ground. The elnin had white, floating hair and mostly white fur. The mist in the area only added to their ghostly appearance. The blue of their iris surrounded by jet black made their gaze intense, though Lixue could see they were looking down at him with concern. One thing was for sure - despite their appearance, the elnin was not a ghost.

Once Lixue was ready to talk, he looked at the elnin and asked what they were doing here. The elnin paused, looked over towards the buildings, and only muttered the word “Looking.” Didn’t seem like they were from town or around here.
“Are you looking for anything specific?”
The elnin shook their head in reply.
“Perhaps we could look around later when there’s more light, in the daytime? The townsfolk think you’re a ghost.”
At that the smallest smirk appeared on the elnin’s face, but nothing more than that. Instead they made their way down the steps before looking back at Lixue.
“Dinner?”
The one word sentences were a little hard for Lixue to follow. Before he could formulate a reply his stomach let out a small growl. He’d be happy to have a proper meal. When he nodded his head to accept the other’s invitation, the elnin extended her hand and offered it to him.
“Anna. Your name?”
“Lixue.”
The kittom placed his hand in hers. Going with a stranger wasn’t the smartest decision he’s ever made, but she seemed harmless enough. Perhaps she wanted a companion, or just someone to share dinner with. IF things went south he’d high tail it out of there. For now though, he followed Anna as they headed into the dense forest of trees and ferns he had never seen before. Every moment in Kyendi seemed to bring a new discovery. He wondered what else he would discover during his time here in Kyendi.