Submission (#6635) Approved

A soft breeze rustled through the long grains planted with care in the fenced of fields that patchworked the Bellmoril countryside. The smell of woodsmoke drifted faintly through the late afternoon air, and the warm rays of sun that came in with a slant hinting towards an early sunset seemed to cling to every facet they touched. It was a familiar scene for the little kittom that ambled through the picturesque scene on a well marked and traveled dirt path.
They didn’t have any particular destination in mind that afternoon, but they did have one simple goal: mushrooms. Their stomach growled at the thought of fresh champignons, portabellas, chicken of the forest! Perhaps if they sniffed hard enough, they could even find a truffle or two. Now that would be a prize indeed.
The only issue with their quest was simple, but its simplicity did not make it easier to overcome. In order to eat those delicious little fungal treats, they first needed to find them. Matcha sighed as they glanced along the path. They knew it very well. Soon, they would cross a little irrigation creek, and then in about a minute of quick trotting, they would reach the edge of the woods. The forest was the spot, certainly, but every other nin coming and going would have plucked the path clean of any tasty little morsels.
They of course had the option of striking off the path, however, they were all alone, and admittedly not the best navigator. The last time they had struck out on their own, they had tried their best to do everything right by leaving markers on trees they passed. When they had turned around to get back home, they ended up following their markers around in a circle until a concerned older elnin had come to their rescue.
With that in mind, Matcha knew there would be no leaving the path. They stared at their paws as they went, contemplating their dilemma. While they stuck to the path, their mind went in circles trying to figure out how to get the delicious dinner that they so craved. Suddenly, they felt a strange pull at their paws. They looked up and round them, finding the woods just as they always were. But still, the tingling in their paw pads urged them towards the edge of the path. Matcha frowned, looking at the undergrowth. 

“What do you want, paws?” They huffed as they cautiously walked in the direction of the pull, with it getting stronger as they did so. “This is so silly, what am I -”

Matcha’s musings were cut short with a gasp as they pushed their head through a surprisingly pliable bush. In front of them lay a narrow but distinct trail that curved around the roots of trees and through dense patches of brush.

“When did this get here! I mean, I’ve walked here so much, and I’ve never noticed this trail. Oh, but this is just perfect!”

They grinned as they talked to themselves, nodding and leaping through the bush onto the little trail. 

“Cause if I haven’t noticed it, then a lot of other nin probably haven’t either. So that means, maybe-” 

Their thoughts went unfinished as they carefully trotted down the formerly unknown path, their attention fully dedicated to scanning the sides for any hidden treats. They trod carefully, but it was as if the paws that had gone before them guided their footfall, and they soon found they needed to pay no attention to where they landed. The soil here smelled different than the rest of the woods. It was loamy and deep, looser than the packed earth of the main path.

Matcha took a deep sniff, enjoying the scent of deep woods, then popped their eyes open at once as they hit a familiar scent.
“Champignon!”
They crowed in victory as they leapt forward, carefully plucking the mushroom and depositing it in their foraging sack. As they bent to pick another, they came nose to nose with a small wooden sign that had no doubt fallen from the limb above. The tilted their head to match the slant of the text. It was a bit hard to read, but once they made it out, it excited them more than the mushrooms.
“Keep going for great treasures”
Matcha’s eyes grew wide as they looked from the sign to the path.

“Great treasures? What kind of treasures? On this path?”

Their mind reeled with the possibilities. What treasure could possibly be hidden at the end of this hidden path? Had some other nin already found it and whisked it away? Who put it there to begin with? There was only one way to find out. They started to make their way down the path a little faster than before, but making more and more frequent stops to pick delicious little treats. A portobello here, a crimini there, and oh, the chanterelles! They were practically skipping down the path as their paws took them closer and closer to the possibility of a long hidden treasure within the woods of Bellmoril.

As they stooped to pick a porcini, they caught a particularly distinctive wisp of delicious scent. They quickly shoved the shroom into their quickly filling sack and bolted down the path. After a minute of fast running past other delicacies, matcha found the end of the path. In front of them towards a mighty tree with a simple sign. It read only ‘treasure’, and had and arrow pointing to the roots. Matcha smiled wide and began to dig with reckless abandon. It didn’t take long for them to find what they had sniffed.

“Truffles!”
They practically shouted with glee as they delicately extracted the fungus, placing it safely in their sack.

“Now that really is a treasure!”