Submission (#5) Approved

Two kittoms carefully wandered through the swamp boardwalks of Enmir. Wick’s whiskers twitched in the damp air as the kittom trotted along with a bag of goods. In his wake was Mallow, a slightly more distractible kittom that must have gotten drawn in by the confident Wick. The two of them stopped by a small haven among the reeds and planks of wood.

“Why are we preparing the decorations out here?” Mallow inquired with a head tilt, his eyes following a stray moth that flew past. “Well….because.” Wick rummaged through the bag of materials and supplies. “Because…” His voice drifting off as he thought. “I want to surprise everyone.” The answer was simple but the materials Wick dragged out from the bag were sad and damp. “Well I’m here, aren’t I?” Mallow asked, implying that not everyone would be surprised but Wick was already too deep in his own vision. Paper tore beneath Wick’s paws as he attempted to craft lanterns the moisture causing the fibers to become weak. Ultimately he had ripped it into finer pieces in frustration. ‘How obnoxious.’ he thought.

It was the silence that caused his mind to drift. Usually he expected some commentary out of his friend Mallow, though that kittom had his head in the clouds some days Wick noticed. He turned to look for Mallow and nearly tripped over his friend in the shadows of the haven. “What are you doing in there?” His eyes glimmered with curiosity. “Looking for a jar.” Mallow replied and continued to dig through the pile of things left behind by travelers.

Wick snorted, unimpressed. He seemed to have a fallback plan of sorts and with a gleam of mischief in his eye he pulled out a small box of…something. Upon opening the box it was filled with what looked like sticks with paper bits at the end. He looked awfully proud that had a grown elnin been present they may have raised a brow at how the kittom had gotten what looked like fireworks, sparklers specifically. Taking some stones he rubbed them together to try to create a spark near the tip of the paper. Crickets chirped around them as Wick continued to scrape the stones together. With much difficulty eventually the sparkler lit. Wick was quick to grab it, holding it aloft. Mallow seemed to have a different plan though.

Rolling a jar over near Wick, Mallow waited with an air of patience. The swamp was starting to get dark and Wick suspiciously looked over at the other kittom just about jumping when a light blinked in the corner of his eye. It was fireflies attracted to the light of the sparkler but when they came too close the smoke seemed to deter them. Wick watched as Mallow caught them with a small net the kittom must have found in that pile of “junk” earlier and carefully added them to the jar. Once there were quite a few fireflies inside Mallow put a lid on the jar and decorated the outside with the damp paper using the condensation to stick it on.

Wick’s petite ears went back slightly. It was hard to admit Mallow and salvaged his lantern decoration idea in an odd but creative way. Carefully lighting another sparkler he flicked his small tail at Mallow to pick it up. The other kittom complied quickly but seemed quite shy. It was their first Starfall faire, unlike Wick’s and the experience would be treasured. Once the sparklers fizzled out Wick and Mallow got to work with their decoration making. This time Wick took a different approach, digging through the swampy haven pile to draw out some fishing line and other materials that would fare better in the humid climate. Mallow found a candle or two to light and taking old bits of rags the two of them created colorful streamers of tied cloth. Here and there an abandoned snail shell would be woven in, at least the ones Mallow could reach fishing out from the shallows. There was some risk of falling in deeper but Wick held onto Mallow’s tail with a bit more diligence.

It was hard to find kittoms to play with especially when most of them were daunted by the mysterious atmosphere of Enmir’s swamps. They weren’t really far from the hutches but playing amongst the gnarled branches most kittoms would hardly consider an enjoyable pass time. Once or twice Wick had even fallen in and come out a brown mud monster of a kittom, his white and yellow fur covered in dirt and moss. This was not that kind of day though. Wick wanted their decorations to be clean…well mostly clean.

After piling their haphazard Starfall faire decorations together Wick carefully pushed them into his bag. Mallow carried the firefly lamp behind them and the two made their way back to the hut where Wick’s guardian Kormir was staying. The elnin scrunched his nose at the smell of the kittoms when they wandered in. Bugs were stuck in their fur as well as some twigs. What a mess they were. Kormir spent a good few hours cleaning them up and Wick begrudgingly allowed it after promises that they could find some colorful outfits to wear for a “grand” entrance to the Faire.

Soon they would be off towards the event itself. Kormir had a bit of trouble with their idea of decorations…not sure what impression it would make on the other Faire goers but he was sure the inspiration might be welcomed. For safe measure Wick was told to air them outside for a while so they strung them up around the hutch and Kormir sprayed water over the different shells and rags to try to get some of the dirt and smell out.
The kittoms had cleaned up fairly well. Mallow found a small embroidered cloak while Wick was determined to have a little less reserved ensemble. The kittom ran into the middle of the hut after jumping out of a pile of clothes. Ignoring the look Kormir gave him he darted around with some colorful scarves wrapped around him, letting the motion cause them to trail behind like flames. The scene was vivid and while his guardian was not as impressed Wick was proud to see Mallow’s eyes had grown wide. The kittom was not particularly jealous but bewildered by the colors and fabric.

“What am I?” Wick challenged Mallow to guess and watched as the other kittom’s brows furrowed together in thought. “A dancer?” Mallow fished for the answer. Wick shook his head. Clampering up onto a stool shaped from a piece of gnarled wood he jumped off of it, nearly tripping as he tried to portray his costume of sorts. “I’m a falling star!” His chest puffed out proudly. Kormir even cracked a smile at how innocent kittoms could be. Not long after though he gathered the two up and set them on a cushion to sleep.

“Alright falling star it’s time for bed. We start our trek to the festival tomorrow and I’ll need both of you to help carry what you guys created. You’ll have to keep your outfits clean as well.” he warned in a soft but stern voice. Kormir was a fairly gentle parent but Wick pushed his limits at times. Bundled amongst the soft fabric the two kittoms fell soundly asleep. Wick cracked one eye open when he felt Kormir curl up beside the two of them for the night before dozing off soundly. Preparations were complete and the time to celebrate would be near soon. The foliage here made it difficult to see the stars but the skies would surely clear up as they traveled away from the swamp.