A little over a month had passed since Aranor returned to her homeland from visiting her friend Ebi at the Palu’au Islands. Though she was only there for a few days, she had grown quite fond of the sandy beach and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. It’s true Faerindell has beaches of its own. However, they are located along the border of the continent and nowhere near her faerie shrouded place of dwelling. Realizing she was falling behind schedule yet again, Aranor focused and exited her small home and began her journey to the nearest village to collect some crops from the local market. The farmlands surrounding the village could be seen for miles. After acquiring her grown goods, she turned to head home. Her voyage was abruptly interrupted when she came across a mess of various rocks all large in size. The rocks were blocking the cobblestone path she had just traveled on a little over an hour ago. Glancing around, the Kittom spotted another trail a little ways away. Though it was more worn, she assumed it would take her in a similar direction, one that would likely link up with her usual path. The strange trail twisted and turned, taking Aranor deeper and deeper into the brightly colored forests of Faerindell. Mindlessly, the Kittom continued on the path not minding where the rolling hills were taking her. Being lost wasn’t a thought that crossed the Kittom’s mind. Though she was physically present, Aranor was almost never mentally present. Suddenly, a strange sound caused her to blink the cloudiness from her eyes, and she finally took note of her surroundings. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized the scene before her was completely unfamiliar. Taking a deep breath, she continued her trek and searched for the sound that had alerted her initially. The sound of flowing, falling water caught her attention once more and she approached it. The various colorful different species of flowers lined the faded path at her paws as she went. She stepped over the vines that threatened to overtake the former trail in places. Her pace hastened as the waterfall came into view, and a smile spread across her face at the sight. It was beautiful to say the least. Flower petals and brightly colored leaves littered the surface of the water as it cascaded down into the pool at the bottom. The colors swirled together perfectly in the basin before gliding out onto the water’s surface once more on the backs of the ripples. Aranor eagerly approached the body of water in a happy trot and sat down at the edge watching the exciting display the waterfall had to offer. A sudden movement beneath the colorful petals caught the Kittom’s attention. She squinted her doe eyes but to no avail. Whatever was in the water was too far down for her to see. An idea crossed her mind. She removed the basket that housed her future meals and grabbed an ear of corn. Aranor began picking some pieces off the cob and tossed them on the water’s surface to see if she could tempt the creature with food. At first, there was nothing then suddenly a swarm of koi breached at the water’s surface to consume the pieces of corn. She couldn’t help but laugh at the way the fish acted like they had never eaten a day in their lives as they folded over each other leaving no scraps behind. She shucked the remaining corn off the cob and tossed it into the water, watching as the brightly colored pink koi ate every bit of the corn.
“Ebi would love this.” Aranor thought to herself. It was decided. When the Palu’au resident decided to visit, she’d bring her there to feed the koi fish.
