Submission (#633) Approved

Quest: Resonance - Act 1
Act Type: Bravery
Word Count: 1278
Adult Elnin Present: Ruelle [ELN315] [friend's Elnin that benefits Cyprus for Resonance Questing]

I actually had no intention of claiming AP for this region but I guess it wouldn't hurt to have it just in case, so sure. :> (I fixed the Act Type to Bravery, hope that's all that was needed!)

Cyprus and his foster mum Ruelle were traveling to Strynhalde for some secret ingredients to add to Ruelle’s frozen treats, specifically her new concoctions that she was sure the other Kittoms back home would love. Cyprus, her ever present little helper tagged along for the ride to this winter wonderland.

It was nothing less than complete shock and awe to the sandy colored Kittom, for he had never seen snow before. Considering he lived his daily life in an island paradise, snow was practically unheard of! That and it would be his first winter on this earth, as young as he was. Sure he knew what ice cream and ice itself was, but the fact that a bunch of it just...Falls from the sky? On its own? Pure witchcraft! Not to mention the cold, crispy air that made him regret ever leaving his warm and comfy home. Now he wondered why Ruelle bundled up for this trip and had him snug in his little purple striped scarf.

The further the duo went into this land, the deeper the snow got in certain areas. Cyprus already had enough of a hard time avoiding patches of ice, not liking the feel of sliding all over the place. His paws just couldn’t get a grip on the slick surfaces. Ruelle also told him to ‘not eat oddly colored snow,’ which was probably the first rule when coming here. Cyprus didn’t want to know more on that in fear he regret asking.

Ruelle stood proudly among the white, fluffy, chilly snow drifts in all her bold sunset colored glory. Cyprus was practically buried up to his ears in all this white stuff, bundled up in his little purple striped scarf and blue eyes as big as can be.

“Rue! I can’t see a thing!” The tiny Kittom squeaked, treading hopelessly along in the snow and only succeeding in making a small trench. He shivered and fluffed out his fur, standing closer to his foster mum. He couldn’t take his eyes off all the snow! It was falling from the sky in big chunky flakes. Sometimes they’d land on his nose and he’d try to lick it off. It tasted like nothing but the texture was interesting. If he was lucky, he’d see shapes. Snow truly was a mystical experience.

Ruelle thought the display was adorable, chuckling to herself as she bent down to whisper in Cyprus’s ear. “We’ll take a break for now. Do you want me to teach you the art of a Snowball Fight?” She made an example by casually rolling up a little bit of snow with her paw until it was a nice round ball. “It’ll get you warmed up nice and proper!”

Cyprus blinked, looking at the ball and then up at Ruelle. “You FIGHT with this stuff?!” Although he was looking forward to feeling a little warmer. His little bean toes weren’t very used to the sensation.

Nodding, Ruelle made another snowball, this time with her tail. “You try, just get some snow and pack it up nice and tight! Make sure it’s nice and round.”

Cyprus did as instructed, tiny paws not used to such sensations as he quickly tried to make a ball. It looked more oblong than anything but it was a start. “Okay, now what?” He waited patiently, tail twitching as snowflakes collected in his fur.

Ruelle picked up her first snowball with her tail...And then took off at a light run. “Throw it! Can you hit me from here?”

The little Kittom wrapped in his purple striped scarf just stared in shock. “YOU….YOU WANT ME TO THROW IT AT YOU?!” He looked back at the ball and then at Ruelle, thinking his foster mum had lost her mind.

“Come on kiddo! You can do it! Just toss it at good ol’ Mum!” She grinned.

Cyprus wasn’t so sure if this was something “fun” but regardless, he took his misshapen snowball in his tiny paws and threw it as hard as he could.

He missed. By a mile, but it was a start. Scowling, he quickly got busy with another snowball and then threw a second one. Ruelle easily dodged, playfully throwing a smaller snowball so it would land near Cyprus. She wasn’t going to go all aggro in this fight when the poor kid was just getting his bearings.

Cyprus made another snowball and then launched it with his back feet, choosing to kick it at his moving target. It managed to hit Ruelle in the leg, but she pretended to go down dramatically all the same. “OH NO! I’VE BEEN FELLED BY A MIGHTY BLOW!”

Cyprus couldn’t help the rolling of his eyes, “you’re going easy on me! I wanna play fair!”

“Alright, alright! Such a serious little thing aren’t you?” Ruelle laughed, finally getting to her feet and then tossing another snowball at Cyprus, who was too slow to dodge. It didn’t hurt of course but now he had fuel to get back at his foster mum. His blue eyes blazed in determination!

His third snowball was too big and so it didn’t go too far. Cyprus let out a curse and Ruelle had to lightly chide him for language.

Eventually his frustrations at making ammo out of snow devolved into little giggles and romping around in the big snow drifts. He was tiny enough that he could dodge the balls thrown by Ruelle, sneaking up on her and plopping a fat snowball in her face or hitting the candy trinkets in her hat.

He got better at his aim and soon developed a couple of tricks, watching how Ruelle moved and then would throw the snowball at where she would be. Ruelle praised Cyprus for his clever thinking...Only to toss a snowball at him and run.

The two laughed, jumping around and dodging, hiding in the little makeshift snow trenches, and Cyprus improved as time passed. This WAS fun! You couldn't do this with sand back home!

They made a mess of the area as snowballs continued to be thrown. The area was slowly becoming easier to run around in as snow was scooped up, stamped on, and thrown about willy nilly.

Cyprus had a wicked little grin on his face as he leaped at Ruelle and landed a sneak attack. The snowball plopped right in her face, causing the adult Elnin to go cross-eyed.

She blinked and dusted the snow off, laughing all the same. “Good one kiddo! Ain’t so cold now are you?”

Cyprus grinned, breathing a little labored from his running around but nonetheless he felt alive and well. He was no longer shivering or complaining about how frigid the ground was under his feet. “This is fun! Do we have to leave after getting the ingredients? Can we play again?” His little tail swished in anticipation. How on earth could Ruelle say no to that cute face?

She thought about it while going over the list in her head, idly rolling up another snowball...Then lightly tossing it in his direction. Cyprus deftly dodged of course, that energy all little ones have certainly comes in handy. “Sure thing kiddo, now let’s get going! We still have work to do in Strynhalde. The snow won’t be leaving anytime soon.”

“YES!!” Cyprus cheered, hopping up and down and rolling around in the snow in pure joy. This wasn’t such a bad trip after all! He couldn’t wait to share his experience with the others back home!