Submission (#6390) Approved

The sun is just cresting over a distant dune when DE001 and Nono finally find themselves at Ahza’s Eldertree. There are a couple different groups of Elnin scattered around the base with campsite settlements already drawn up.

No one else seems to be awake yet. DE001 wouldn’t be either—if he was back at school, learning his newest craft—but it’s the last leg of the journey, and they’d wanted to make good time.

And they had. They’re finally here.

It doesn’t feel real yet, but DE001 supposes that will come with time. Nono has already started moving forward to take a seat on some scattered bones, tucking into his water flask while shrugging off his backpack.

DE001 just stills, and watches the way the sun floats up in the distance. He’d seen a vast number of sunrises these last two weeks of traveling, but none feel as triumphant as this. Light catches and refracts across the sand until it hits the enormous skull anchoring the banyan Eldertree to the ground, filtering through the roots and various holes in the bones.

The roots themselves feel massive now. Before, as a smear of off-white in the distance, DE001 hadn’t fully appreciated their sheer magnitude. Now, within touching distance, the kittom feels like a speck of dirt, almost infinitely smaller in comparison.

It leaves him in sheer awe.

It’s while DE001’s in this state that he feels something sputter inside himself. Almost a tug of sorts, at a place in his core that has never been touched.

Casting a glance at Nono, who seems to be napping with his eyes open, DE001 looks around him. There’s nothing on him, and no one’s close enough to possibly affect him.

And then a spot moves in the corner of his vision.

Whirling around, DE001 backs away as a small, black creature darts up to him, quicker than he’d expected. He scrambles to escape its outstretched claws.

But when the two make contact, a wave of absolute understanding washes over him like a wave. Suddenly, his whole body alights with calm warmth.

“Apologies,” DE001 murmurs to the little one. “You startled me.”

His pomu chitters at him noisily. DE001 reaches out and draws the companion into his arms, wary of the belts and buckles that criss-cross his chest from the heavy load he’s still carrying.

Without need for any verbal communication, his pomu tugs on his scarf, and they both look back up at the towering tree. He can tell somehow that it’s just as in shock at the sight before it, although there seems to be a sort of sadness there, too.

“Nothing lasts forever.”

And his pomu must get what he means, because its mind falls quiet and unfettered once more. A few minutes pass by in contemplative silence.

Before long, a few early risers begin the task of waking up for a day of work. He’s unsure why other Elnin make their way to Ahza’s Eldertree, but the site is undoubtedly one of great import to many. There’s a quiet reverence that falls over the grounds; one that hasn’t been present in their journey thus far, especially not on such a well-traveled route.

Many of the groups cross into the others with a casual atmosphere. DE001 supposes it’s easy to get to know others in the vicinity if you stay longer than a night or so, but his own travels have been swift and steady. Nono hasn’t exactly encouraged getting to know their fellow travelers, either.

DE001 looks over at the Elnin. He’s now completely asleep on the bones, head tucked up against his chest and neck at an angle that’ll be unpleasant in a couple more minutes. But the kittom doesn’t have the heart to wake him up now, not when he has seen just how tirelessly Nono has been working to stay on DE001’s schedule. He turns away.

The pomu focuses its attention back on the massive graveyard, and tugs at DE001’s scarf once more. And they’re both thinking the same thing, because the kittom’s already moving towards the large skull before the second tug.

DE001 allows his pomu out of his grip when they reach the edge of a canine tooth the size of tree— a normal tree, that is. Banyan roots twirl around and between the molars before sinking into the ground, and the tips of the longest teeth pierce the sand by a couple feet. Sand flies as the pomu races to the chompers, and the enthusiasm with which it knocks on the petrified calcium would be terrifying if the creature they were attached to still lived.

It turns to DE001 to show off its prowess at climbing up the tooth vertically, and even he has to admit it’s an adorable sight. DE001 also walks up to the bones, running a weary palm up the side. It’s cold to the touch from the night, and hasn’t yet had its daily bath of warm light. There are groove marks in the surface— though it would be impossible to tell if they occurred before or after the death of this marvelous creature.

There’s no need to wonder, though. Stories of the great beast’s passing are not needed in the present, because the memory of it will always live on underneath Ahza’s Eldertree. Dead things will eventually return to dust—as is the way of life—but the Eldertree still stands, and will for many long, tireless years to come.

Shaking his head, DE001 motions for his pomu to jump back into his arms. It does so gladly. DE001 looks up at the skull towering above him and whispers a farewell into the wind. Heart feeling lighter than it has in years, the kittom turns its back on the relic from a long-forgotten past.

DE001’s pomu tugs once more at the blue fabric tucked around his neck, and the kittom smiles. He has a companion to introduce to Zephyrus when he arrives home, and cannot wait.

(And if DE001 nuzzles his face into the scarf one last time before waking Nono up, thinking of Zeph’s warm, furred neck instead, no one but him and his pomu know about it.)