Submission (#6801) Approved

Elnin: https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN2936
Additional elnin: https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN2884

Region: Ealei
Exercise: Swimming

Word count: 983

6EC +1EC ( pomu lantern ) + 2EC ( over 900 words )= 9EC

The days were starting to blend together. King was beginning to feel a bit lethargic and a little homesick. It didn’t help his mood that his pomu, Calla, was still hibernating. The crystal his pomu had transformed into was safely encased in a lantern made of red, golds, and black paper and ribbons. For now, Calla was no more than an accessory tied to King’s tail. He missed his pomu friend.

The dire kittom stood in one of the many bridges that connected the cities built high in the trees of Ealei together. He blankly stared out into the ocean water that surrounded the region. Even from this height, he could make out the rocks and mangroves that sat underneath the crystal blue ocean waters. Ealei was completely opposite of Ahza. The more he stared down at the water, the more he missed the sands and heat of Ahza.

Right as he was about to let out a soft sigh and mull over how to spend the day, he heard the sound of running paws. He looked away from the ocean and turned to watch a familiar orange and purple kittom run towards him. Nova, the kittom he was spending the past few months with in Ealei, had a bright grin on her face while her eyes sparkled with excitement. Her pomu was also hibernating, as all pomu were in a hibernating state this time of year. Her pomu lantern, securely tied to her tail, was made up of oranges, purples, and yellows that matched the color of her fur and anima. The orange paper sparkled in the light, reminding King of Nova’s starlit anima and starlight suffusion.

In her excitement, Nova only noticed that King was on the bridge when she almost tripped over his tail. Nova stopped in her tracks and turned to look at King, her eyes wide.

“S-Sorry! Didn’t see you there!”

The idea of someone not noticing a dire kittom bewildered King but he let the comment slide. There were other things he was more interested in asking.

“S’fine. Where are you headed off to in such a hurry?”
“Down to the docks! I’m gonna go swimming!”
“Swimming?”
“Yeah! There’s spots near the docks that’s deep enough to swim and not worry about mangroves or rocks. I’m starting to get a little restless, and I want to stretch out my arms and legs a bit. And, like, y’know, burn some extra energy and work up an appetite. Want to join?”

Swimming was a foreign activity to King. Sure, there were patches of water in Ahza, but he never would dream of swimming in them. This may be one of the few times in his life where he could go swimming. The idea of moving around in the water was also a good way to make sure he was keeping his arms and legs active. If nothing else, swimming seemed more entertaining than standing around on a bridge staring off into space.

“Sure. Lead the way.”
“Yay! Follow me!”

The two kittoms made their way across bridges and down wooden staircases. It didn’t take long before they reached the docks that stretched out over the ocean waters. As there weren’t many ships coming to and from Ealei during miasma season, all was relatively quiet and empty. The two kittoms made their way over to the edge of one of the docks. King looked down at the water and found himself hesitating. Now that he was so close to the water, he found himself hesitating. Swimming was similar to flying, right? It probably was. He watched as Nova dipped her foot into the water to test the waters, then with a grin jumped on in. The string tied around her tail was long enough to allow her pomu lantern to stay several feet above the water while Nova’s body was submerged in the water, her head poking out.

“Going to join?”
“Y-Yeah… give me a moment.”

King didn’t notice Nova’s curious expression as he continued to look at his reflection in the water. After several moments Nova finally realized what his hesitation could be and swam closer to the dock.

“I can teach you how to swim.”
“I know how!”
“‘Course you do. But we can pretend you don’t and I can give you some tips and tricks!”

The dire kittom huffed before carefully getting into the water. He hadn’t planned on being in water today, so the string connecting Calla’s pomu lantern to his tail wasn’t as long as Nova’s, but there was still enough length to the string that it managed to stay above the water’s surface.

Nova and King spent the next several hours swimming in the ocean water. Most of that time was teaching King how to stay afloat. To the surprise of both Nova and King, he managed to nail down the dog paddle technique rather quickly. It wasn’t the most graceful way to swim but it did a good job to keep him from immediately sinking down to the rocky depths. Nova tried to teach King how to tread water but unfortunately King was more interested in keeping his body moving than to float in one place.

It wasn’t until both the kittoms pulled themselves out of the water that they realized how tired they were. Swimming was quite a workout! And now they had multiple staircases to climb to get back up to the house they were staying in. King was about to turn towards Nova and suggest that the two of them rest here for a while before heading back home, but to his dismay the other kittom was already making her way up the steps. With a grumble King followed suit, not wanting to be left behind. His arms and legs were going to refuse to move tomorrow, but it’d be worth it- getting out and moving around had been fun!