Submission (#4701) Approved

[RQ-B-1] Lost Kittom Rescue

Quest: Resonance - Act 2
Act Type: Exploration
Word Count: 1299 words
Adult Elnin Present: Artemis [MYO-ELN327]
Regional Affinity: Ealei
Claiming Regional Affinity for: Apollo [ELN2695]
[Adventurer] Rank Unlock Mini-Requirement: Exploration + Adventuring Outfit

After their morning kerfuffle, Pollux had left to run some errands with mom, and so he sat patiently, waiting for his dad. Turning his gaze out towards the sea once more, his eyes drifted over the wide expanse, mind wandering. He wasn’t quite sure why he had announced to his brother about his ambitions to be a knight. It wasn’t exactly a secret, and he was sure he had told Pollux a number of times in the past as well, but this time, he felt compelled. He knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task, and wasn’t even sure what it took to even become a knight, but he wanted to. He wasn’t anywhere as smart as Pollux, and though his twin brother didn’t have any grand declarations for him, he was sure his brother could do whatever it was he put his mind to. Perhaps he’d be a scholar, or librarian… something that needed a lot of smarts.

Apollo on the other hand… Well, he wouldn’t call himself dumb persay, but compared to Pollux, he suppose he kinda was. It was probably a good thing Pollux lacked his mischievous streak, or else he’d be a real headache for mom and dad. Apollo admittedly wasn’t the most model child at first, often causing mischief or trying to pull pranks. Despite the trouble he often caused his family, Pollux never got mad at him, only exasperated, and even his parents never scolded him, as long as his pranks were harmless and never put others in danger. If it did though, his mother was often the most stern, despite her meek nature, but would often apologize after, which probably didn’t help in driving home the severity of any situation. And yet, he supposed it was due to his family’s love and affection that he had soon grown out of his rebellious phase, seeing how they often treated others with kindness. 

He hadn’t understood at first, about what was so great about helping others for nothing in return, but when he had unintentionally assisted another kittom in locating a lost item, their heartfelt thanks had touched him. All he did was manage to find their missing ball, but apparently it was something that meant a lot to them, and seeing the kittom tear up with gratitude made Apollo wonder that perhaps there was something to all this.

“Apollo!”

The golden kittom lifted his head and turned. He recognized the voice as his father’s, but something about it made him a little uneasy. There was a sense of urgency, and he watched as his father raced towards him, stumbling over the mangrove roots a little in his rush. Apollo himself had trouble navigating around these ginormous roots, considering his size and just how massive Ealei’s mangrove trees were, even more so as they got closer to Yggdrasil, but his father wasn’t often one that gave off the impression of being clumsy.

Artemis finally reached Apollo, seemingly out of breath.

“Ah, there you are, I was looking everywhere for you.”

“Huh? What do you mean, I thought we agreed to meet here?”

Apollo tilted his head as he gave his father a quizzical look. It wasn’t like his father to be so forgetful either.

“Ah, did we? Sorry, it’s been a hectic morning…”

Apollo waited for his dad to catch his breath, wondering just what it was to make him look so frazzled. After a few moments, Artemis seemed to be able to collect himself.

“It’s just… one of the kittoms from town went missing. Apparently they didn’t come home the night before, so we’ve been searching everywhere in town. One of the Ieldi said they thought they saw that kittom head towards Yggdrasil yesterday evening, but weren't sure since it was getting dark. I figured it’d be our best bet checking it out, so I came to get you.”

While Apollo was happy to be relied on, he began to wonder if he’d make much of a difference, considering the whole town wasn’t able to find them. It seemed Artemis was able to see Apollo’s confusion, and clarified.

“The kittom that went missing…  was the one that you helped several months ago. The one that lost their ball?”

Apollo’s eyes widened.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go look!!”

Before Artemis could stop him, Apollo ran off, stumbling over the roots in his haste. How ironic that he had just been thinking about them, and now they were missing? What if they got hurt, and couldn’t make their way back? What if they got trapped in the mangrove roots, hungry and cold? What if-

“Stop!”

Apollo felt himself being grabbed by the scruff of the neck and hoisted into the air. He could feel his father’s ragged breathing, and felt himself let down gently.

“Sorry, I knew you’d worry, but if you rush off without any plan, you’re just gonna get lost too. At least take these.”

He was handed a pouch, and when he looked inside, it was filled with a bunch of gear. Rope, band-aids, a water bottle, a pair of gloves…

He felt something warm, and looked up to see his father wrapping a cloak around him. He was handed a pair of goggles, as well as a pair of boots.

“The goggles are to protect your eyes, in case of stray branches or if you need to look underwater. Hopefully not, but better safe than sorry. The boots are to protect your feet. The pouch should be self-explanatory, and the cloak will keep you warm, though you may need it for that kittom, considering they’ve been out all night.”

Apollo nodded, and after putting on the gloves, boots and goggles and making sure the pouch was snug against him, he broke into a run again.

Leaping over more mangrove roots, he slowed as he came closer to Yggdrasil. He nudged a fallen manaberry away from his foot, and looked around. If he were lost or scared, where would he be? He called out as he climbed over more roots. His boots splashed in the water around the tree and he looked around for any crevices big enough for a kittom to crawl into. When he heard sniveling coming from a fairly large hole from Yggdrasil’s roots, he poked his head in, eyes widening.

The kittom they were looking for was curled up, clutching something close to their chest as they sniffled. When Apollo called out to them, they flinched, a fearful look on their face as they turned towards the voice, which quickly became one of relief when they saw who it was.

It seemed the kittom had injured their foot, and after Apollo had bandaged it up, he wrapped his cloak around them and helped them out of the hole, hearing his father call as the two slowly made their way down from Yggdrasil.

After returning to town, the kittom and their parents had a tearful reunion, and they thanked Artetmis and Apollo profusely. It seemed the kittom had ventured to Yggdrasil to gather manaberries, hoping that the mana from them would help their younger sibling recover from their cold, and had tripped and injured themselves on their way back, tumbling into a hole within Yggdrasil’s roots.

Artemis ruffled Apollo’s head with a proud grin.

“I’m glad I got your help. It’s thanks to you we were able to find them.”

Apollo stayed silent for a bit, seeming to muse over something.

“Dad… if I become a knight, do you think I’d be able to help more people?”

Artemis blinked, and then smiled.

“Apollo, you don’t need to become a knight to help someone. I won’t stop you from pursuing this path if you wish, but just know that what you did today was already plenty heroic.”