As time passes seasons change and with that change came new faces as adventurers traveled freely between the different regions.
Elnin walked the stone-paved streets greeting one another with smiles on their faces.
Many new adventurers arrived in Il’durahn over the last several days while the temporary residents packed their belongings and would soon be on their way. It’s how the world of Eyre worked, or so Fleur said. There were those, like her, who were content to settle down stay in one place, to help a city grow and prosper the only way a young kittom knew how. But then there were those, like Caspian, who thirsted for a story of their own.
Now that the miasma was finally gone Fleur felt a gnawing sadness when she heard her friend up at the break of dawn, shuffling around his room cleaning and packing while everyone else tried to sleep. He was ready to go and she was reluctant to say goodbye.
“Leaving so soon?” she nudged the wooden door open and peered inside curiously.
“Huh?” Caspian looked up with an owlish expression not realizing how noisy he had been. “Oh! Um, yeah… kinda.” Glancing around he spotted a small trinket that had some how fallen under the bed and with an added prance to his step he bounded over a small wooden chest, knocking it over on accident when his back paw brushed against the open lid.
He stumbled but caught himself. However, from the treasure chest, a small bottle of sand with tiny shells rolled across the room towards Fleur.
Carefully picking it up, she approached the fallen box and set it back upright. “That’s for you,” Caspian announced before she could put the memento away. He turned in such a way that even with his little shoal tail sticking out from under the bed as he reached for the coin he could see her from under the bedsheets that hung over the side of the bed.
“Oh?” Honestly surprised by the unexpected gift she sat down for a moment to regard the little treasure.
“Mmhmm! It’s from my home in Palu’au.” He shimmied his way out from under the bed with his prize and put it away before closing and locking the lid to his treasure chest. “I didn’t know when I’d be back so I brought a part of it with me.”
“So… is that where you’re heading?” She asked curiously.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Caspian shrugged. “That’s the thing about adventures. They have a way of taking you places you never thought you’d be.” Like here, in Bellmoril. A city that was painted in the colors of fall with ivy growing up the sides of buildings and across stone archways that lead into the market place areas with shops that had high pitched roofs. “I was kind of thinking about visiting Ealei. From what I heard it is kind of like Palu’au but not really. The water is supposed to be clear enough though!”
“It sounds nice.” There were pictures of each region in various books in the library she worked at. “Just make sure to come back and visit sometime ok? You owe me a few stories for all the ones I’ve read to you these last few months.”
He laughed, “I know, I know! Don’t worry, you’ll be the first I tell.”
Fleur’s heart flitted with happiness that made a light blush sweep across her cheeks. “Before you leave though, you owe me a walk.” She declared and from her tone, he knew she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“Ok, ok!” Caspian agreed, shaking his head with an amused grin on his face.
They had only known each other for a few months, but that was enough time for her to get used to his crazy ways and mood swings from being cooped up far away from a familiar place. He had an energy to him that demanded he be active, not idly sit by a window waiting for the seasons to change or reading books to pass the time. But she was patient, and kind, listening to him wine and stopping him from doing something questionably dumb like going out the main entrance and running across the suspended bridge simply because he was going stir crazy.
The two walked down the bustling streets in quiet admiration of how much the city had changed in such a short amount of time. Neighbors came together to help spruce up their homes and shops in preparation for new arrivals passing through.
A flock of birds flew by overhead and when Caspian looked up he found himself momentarily blinded by the sun just as it peeked out from behind the wispy clouds. Dazzled, he paused and shook his head, blinking several times until the spots left his vision and he could see his friend clearly again. However, it was not him she was looking at. Rather, her gaze appeared to be set somewhere behind him.
“What?” He asked curiously.
“That kittom you ran into. The dark purple one that reminded you of Silveil. You said she reminded you of fireworks in the night sky or something like that.” Fleur’s eyes squinted as she scanned the faces of those in the crowd.
“Yeah…” He confirmed hesitantly. “Why…”
“I think I found her!” She said with a grin.
Caspian’s eyes went wide and the fur between his shoulderblades rose in a mix of surprise and fear as he spun around to look for the one he had literally run into not more than a month ago. “What? Where?” He ducked, ears pinned back as far as they could go.
The sound of Fleur’s musical laughter filled the air around them. “Made you look!” she said between gasping breaths. “Still as smitten as ever.” With weeks of wandering, they never did spot her again. Perhaps she already went home, or maybe they weren’t looking hard enough. Either way, he never got the opportunity to apologize for running away as he did before.
“Har har…” Caspian puffed his cheeks at her then stuck his tongue out. “Very funny.”
“Well, I thought it was.” She knew he wouldn’t stay mad for long and at least it gave him another reason to come visit again, even if it meant watching the smitten kittom find friendship with someone else.
