Submission (#4591) Approved

Elnin Used: ELN2875 [Cain]
Regional Affinity: Bellmoril
Word Count: 391

A rose-like flower with thick petals similar to lambs ear! The vines of thorns look dead, but they're definitely blooming.

The ferry ride from Ahza wasn't really what he expected. Cain found himself in a pickle as the only tickets available when he arrived were either to Bellmoril or Ealei, neither of which was his intended destination. So, he found himself bound to Bellmoril, a land of perpetual autumn with red and orange leaves painting the landscape with bark as stark as snow. Cain did plan to eventually visit this place, but he didn't realize it would be so soon.

For a few days, he wandered around the region, surprisingly captivated by the beauty. The air was so much more breathable than Ahza's stifling heat, the cool atmosphere allowing him to relax and take in everything. The stark contrasts between Strynhalde and Ahza really sent him through an exhaustion sickness, but now he could relax in the confines of Bellmoril.

As he walked down the path of thin grass, Cain figured he'd sit down and take a small snack break. Conveniently, a long sat just out of the way, close to the path as if it were used as a natural bench. The kittom sat down, setting his bag next to his feet, and rummaged through to pull out a sack of stale bread and cheese. As he sat back up, he felt something tug at his shirt.

He didn't notice, but a twig of thorns stuck out long from the forest, at an angle to poke him square in the back. Eyes followed the vine to the bush that was gnarled in larger branches of thorns, seemingly spotted in flowers. His brow furrowed as he thought it odd that flowers would grow from dry branches that almost looked dead. The blooms almost resembled roses, thick in petals and as orange as the birch leaves, maybe brighter. If he didn't know any better, he would think them painted.

Cain stood up a moment, dropping the bread and cheese back into his bag to inspect closer, careful of the thorny roots. He reached to touch a bloom, the petals soft as velvet. If he didn't know any better, he would think these were lambs ear by how they felt and how thick the petals were. After he was done observing, he shrugged and went back to the log to finish his snack, careful of the snagging branch.

The world was so odd.