Submission (#4744) Approved

Elnin: https://worldofeyre.com/character/MYO-ELN491
Word count: 1050
Regional Affinity: Silveil
Payout: 6 EC + 2 EC ( over 900 words ) + 1 EC ( description of pomu lantern / interaction with pomu langern ) = 9EC

Miasma season was once again upon Eyre. Elnin and kittom alike were taking refuge in their homes to avoid the miasma and bide their time until spring arrived. Only a select few were brave enough ( or even capable enough ) to venture through the miasmic tide, and even then these travels were for transporting time-sensitive goods and important letters.

Jasper did not consider himself to be a social individual. Living in the outskirts of Silveil city, all he really needed to be content was the company of his pomu, Ruby. With miasma season here, however, his pomu had entered a dormant state in an act similar to ‘hibernation’. This was the fate of all pomu around this time of year, so Jasper understood that it meant that he wasn’t being abandoned or anything like that, but he couldn’t help but feel a little lonely. The black crystal with red flecks that was his crystalized pomu hovered by his side, protected by an outer shell of red and black fabric and bells. Jasper could easily reach out and touch the lantern his pomu was held in, but he couldn’t very much have a conversation with his pomu now, or ask it to assist him with carrying things around the building.

Jasper had decided he would head into Silveil city. If asked, he would say he was merely growing bored of being cooped up in his house all day. It surely wasn’t because he wanted to be around others. What nonsense! And if he were to ever slip and announce something like that, then the purple kittom who enjoyed banging on his door and annoying him with questions would somehow catch wind of his words and he’d never hear the end of it. After packing up a bag with several days worth of supplies and a few books, Jasper bid his empty home a farewell and headed out towards the city.

The sky in Silveil had always been charming to Jasper. After visiting several other regions and eventually settling in Silveil, he had found the endless night captivating. At any moment, including now as he walked along the path, there were endless stars twinkling above him. Swirls of blue, purple, and black hung in the sky like an endless dark sea. While beautiful, the stars provided no light on his trek to the city. Thankfully, where the sky lacked in light - the flora and fauna of the region picked up the slack. Along the path he was walking were a variety of different plants emitting a soft glow of blues, greens, and purples. These plants were mostly mushrooms, though there was the occasional bush and flower that also provided light. Every once in a while, a firefly would cross Jasper’s path, glowing a soft yellow like the stars above. The fireflies would slowly drift in front of him then float away into the forest. Whenever they floated away, Jasper would look back to make sure Ruby in her black and red lantern was still by his side. He let out a sigh of relief every time he saw the lantern still by his side, and he’d turn back to continue on the path.

While the rest of Silveil was shrouded in darkness and soft lights of blues and greens, Silveil City was aglow with rich reds and yellow. At all hours of the day, when Jasper finally stepped foot into town at 3am, the streets and buildings were bustling with activity. He wondered many other elnin had decided to head into the city to wait out miasma season, or if the city had simply grown more noisy since the last time he visited. Jasper made sure that his lantern stayed close to him as he weaved through the crowd, looking for an inn, or anywhere similar that would sell him space or a room for a while. As he passed by a bulletin board, a certain ad caught his eye. The library had extra rooms available for rent for those who needed somewhere to stay until miasma season was over. He supposed that even a place full of gambling and other strange activities would have the library, being a city and all. By this point he assumed that all the rooms in the library would be taken but it wouldn’t hurt to check at least.

It wouldn’t have taken him long to reach the library in any other city. However, weaving between elnin and getting caught in several currents of walking elnin had taken a lot of time to get through, and by the time he had reached the large stone steps Jasper found himself exhausted physically and mentally. He opened the door and was greeted by walls of books. Standing behind a counter was an older looking elnin who greeted Jasper with a warm smile. After he inquired about a room, the older elnin informed him that all the rooms were still available and that he was the first one to inquire about a room. He would have to fend for himself when it came to food and the likes, but she was more than happy to show him up to a room and allow him access to any of the books in the library as long as he was staying here.

That sounded absolutely perfect to Jasper.

After showing him to his room, the older elnin left him to head back to the front. The room was small, but it had a bed, table, and plenty of blankets and pillows. The window was positioned in such a way that only some of the light of the city could get in, and the noise from the chatter below was barely audible to Jasper. After setting his bag down and pulling out a book, Jasper made his way over to the ped and sat down. He pulled one of the blankets off the bed and wrapped it around his shoulders, and positioned the pillows to where he could lean back and stay nice and cozy.

If he could stay here, wrapped in a blanket and being close to civilization ( but not too close ), he supposed he would have a nice time in the city for the next few months. Now, time to get back to reading Ruby’s favorite book out loud to her.