Submission (#4520) Approved

Nono was equal parts excited and scared. It was a weird combination of feelings, something he wasn't really used to. They had travelled with their aunt to Silveil, she wanted to visit the Starlake. Nono hadn't really understand her reasoning, her eyes had become a bit sad and distant and she said it was a promise to an old friend to keep visiting. He could see her eyes glazing over, getting lost in memories. Thankfully he was quick enough to slap his paw over Kikis mouth before she could ask an insensitive question. Kiki... His sister was excited about the adventure and visiting Silveil but now she was nowhere to be seen. While they had let their aunt get her space and visit the Starlake the two siblings were planning on playing around on some big glowing mushrooms, imagining that they were floating on flying clouds. That had been the plan at least. Now Nono couldn't see her anymore. He just hoped she was still somewhere near and didn't actually want to go gambling like she had joked about during their journey here. Their aunt had actually looked furious at that and told Kiki in no ucertain terms that they would stay away from the city and bustling streets and just visit the Starlake and go back. Nono was actually surprised that they were allowed to go with her. It was a rare opportunity to explore a different region and it was nice to get out of the swamp.
And while Silveil was fascinating and wonderful, right now Nono wanted nothing more than to get home. He was sitting on a pink glowing mushroom and stared into the direction that Kiki had disappeared in.
"Kiki, that's enough now, come back! I'm not gonna fall for it!"
Kiki was probably trying to prank him. She was probably waiting for him behind a tree just so she could jump on him when he walked past. She always said it was so Nono would sharpen his senses more and be more aware of his surroundings but... he knew that his sister just liked to see him scared - when she was the cause for it anyway. Nono turned around on his big mushroom and almost tripped.
"Wha-?"
Nono looked down and saw a snail shell between his paws. Just an empty shell, no snail inside. That hadn't been here before right? Nono had climbed up on this mushroom, made himself comfortable and stretched out, he could definitely remember that. There had not been a snail here - or rather a snail shell. Nono would have seen that! A normal snail could have gone up here after he did and surprise him that wouldn't be that strange, but just an empty shell? He looked around to maybe find the snail going down the mushroom but there wasn't anything. Was this Kikis doing? Had she somehow managed to run away that fast and then sneak around to prank him?
"Kiki?", he called out but there was no response. The ever lasting night in Silveil didn't make it any easier to look around and see if she was hiding somewhere. Nono clenched his eyes together a bit so he could see better over the glow of the big mushrooms. He decided to jump down from his own and see if Kiki was maybe hiding under one of the big mushroom caps. He landed on the soft earth and let his eyes roam over the place. The glowing plants i various sizes were quite distracting, especially when soft flowers were moving with a slight breeze. The movement always caught his eyes and Nono thought he found Kiki but no - just a pretty flower. Well, just sounded mean. He was entranced by the beauty of this place but he also didn't feel comfortable being here alone.
"Kiki, come on, I'm not in the mood for playing around!"
He called out again, hoping his sister would show mercy. Playing around at home or at his aunts place was one thing but being here in this unknown region in the darkness when their aunt hat told them to stay close... Nono really wasn't amused by that. His heart was beating fast.
And then something touched him.
"Ahh!", he let out an embarassing shriek and jumped away. Nono was ready to face whatever touched him but behind was just - nothing. What?
"This isn't funny!"
He felt as if he was about to cry. He just wanted to enjoy the pretty glowing flora with his sister!
"Pomu!"
Nono stopped moving and looked back. Behind him, on his tail, sat his Pomu and laughed. It held a pretty seashell in his little hands, almost as if holding out a plate and waiting for dinner. Nono blinked a few times while his terrified brain tried to understand what had just happened. There was a slight shadow on the ground, not super dark and solid, but the glowing mushrooms shed enough light to cast it. His Pomu must have sneaked out and decided now was a good time to play.
"Pomu, you laid the snail shell there?"
"Pomu!"
His Pomu smiled friendly, excited to share his treasures - and the Nono saw why. The shells were glowing a bit, small spots that got illuminated from the Silveil flora around them. He didn't know where his Pomu had collected them from, but maybe they were connected to this place. Could the shell even be from the Starlake?
"Ohh, you are right, that is super pretty."
Nonos heart calmed down a bit and he rubbed his cheek against his Pomu. It giggled and pulled out another shell.
"At least I'm not alone anymore. We can just enjoy the sight here until Kiki comes back. But please no more surprise visits while I'm already scared!"