Submission (#6916) Approved
User
Prompt
Submitted
1 March 2024, 11:28:25 PST (8 months ago)
Processed
14 March 2024, 18:15:48 PDT (8 months ago) by wintry-chan
Comments
Resonance Quest Act 1- Adventurer Rank
1 Strynhalde AP Please
1 Strynhalde AP Please
Content
RQ-SU-1, Chilly Hospitality
There’s a saying that goes that all good things must come to an end. The feeling was especially poignant as Loki’s time in Strynhalde was to draw to a close. Fu sensed this most keenly as she lounged by the studious kittom, her nose drawing in the soft scent of the hot cocoa she had come to love enjoying with her new friend.
The sound of a hushed sigh drew Loki’s gaze as he raised a brow towards her. “You don’t seem yourself, Fu. Even you aren’t normally this quiet and it’s honestly kind of unnerving, Is there something the matter?” Loki asked, albeit somewhat clinically. Dissecting emotions was not his strong suit.
Fu simply turned her gaze towards the window and stared longingly at the snowflakes falling softly behind the panes of glass. Her thoughts mulled over the past months, reminiscing of how she had guided Loki through the frigid Strynhalde climes as he surveyed the local ecosystem. Fu had never had a friend before, the other kittoms tended to steer clear of the white kittom her for her cold personality.
In spite of her lack of social skills, nobody knew the forest and surrounding snowfields better than Fu. Guiding Loki on his studies had given her fresh purpose, growing a warmth inside her that she did not know she possessed.
While Initially professional, the two kittoms had surely grown to appreciate each other and formed a close friendship they had both come to treasure.
The daydream came to an abrupt end as Loki, having set down his book and stepped over towards Fu, began waving his paw in an attempt to garner her attention. “Fu? Fu? Are you in there? Hello?” He chimed vigorously, snapping the snowy kittom back to her senses with a series of shuttering blinks. “Look, I think I know what this is about,” Loki postulated. “I’m due to leave Strynhalde in a few days, this much is true,” he continued.
Fu’s brow furrowed and she jerked her gaze away from Loki once more, this time to the other window. “I’m aware,” she uttered.
Normally one to challenge such perceived rudeness, Loki stammered before catching himself in his feelings, the intricacies of the situation dawning upon him. “Listen Fu, it doesn’t have to be the end of our time together. And we still have a few days, is there anything left here that you’d like to show me?” He enquired.
Fu’s ears twitched as thoughts resonated in her mind, soft blue eyes turning to regard her friend with renewed excitement with great haste. “We’ll need some equipment,” she posed to her friend. “It’s a day’s travel. We have enough time,” Fu continued, her words beginning to take on a degree of uncharacteristic excitement.
This drew Loki’s intrigue towards a final sojourn in the cold before warmer pastures anew. He had a little coin left in his research budget and swiftly agreed to his friend’s terms.
Following the cleanup of a minor cocoa spill resulting from Fu’s uncharacteristic excitement, the two friends set out from the town library to the town general store to acquire equipment. A price was quickly bartered by the loquacious Loki and the two kittoms were soon furnished with new equipment. The town, though being something of a remote outpost, had maintained good trade links and the discerning shopkeeper had just the thing to facilitate the travels of the two youngsters.
After some effort, Fu stood proud in her new gear, a soft, fleece lined attire in Strynhalde white. From the spacious hood sprouted soft, white fur which reached and embraced the back of her head in a spread of warmth. A deep green cloak billowed across her back beneath a small canvas pack and bedroll, filled with sufficient supplies for a snowy sojourn. The outfit terminating in moccasins cuffed in matching furs for added protection from deeper snow than the adventuring pair had traversed previously.
Fu checked over her equipment carefully, she stretched and posed, checking that each and every stitch was in place and that every button fastened properly. This was thorough even by her standards, but in her mind she sought to savour every moment of this final foray into her icy surroundings.
“Will this be enough, Fu?” Loki questioned, his lightening coinpurse now weighing against his curiosity of this mysterious sight his guide had in store for him. He too measured the quality of his matching equipment and it was some time before they made it out of the general store.
Loki had barely waited for Fu’s response and pressed the shopkeeper about every eventuality, counted out every berry and ration in his pack and plied question after question until even Fu grew tired.
She placed a white paw on his shoulder and regarded him with her lidded eyes.
“Time to go, Loki. This will be fine,” she stated matter of factly. With a series of nudges, she proceeded to usher the verdant shaded kittom out of she store. This was much to the relief of the shopkeeper nin who, like Fu, was quite unused to so much commotion.
It was with that that the two young adventurers headed into the cold auspices of the white forest, which shielded them from the ever present snowfalls and winds which fell in great waves across the frigid landscape. The path was long and reached further and further into the depths and darkness of the frozen woods.
As they travelled that Fu noticed that the sounds of the winter forest grew more quiet and the branches arched higher into the air, the forest taking on the appearance of an icy cathedral. Great icicles hung from the boughs as though monuments to some icy deity as Loki’s eyes grew wide in awe beneath the swathes of fur pulled tight against his head.
“We still have a way to go,” Fu said calmly. She regarded her friend’s gaping expression with a sense of satisfaction as he pulled tighter on the scarf she had gifted him. The corner of her mouth cracked into a smile as she paused and gazed softly at him. She was going to miss guiding him, she could tell.
Eventually the two managed to continue forth, overcoming Loki’s urge to soak in the many wonders of the icy forest. Fu found herself pausing frequently as Loki scribbled furiously in his journal, but she found herself forced to press him, their destination further than his usual work regimen allowed for.
They managed to make camp for the night, with a combination of Fu’s expertise and Loki’s charm providing much amusement. The two worked together and managed to start a campfire, reminiscing of their exploits before falling asleep in snug bedrolls. Respite was found under a large fallen bough which sheltered them from the occasional fall of snow from above.
The next morning was when they finally reached their destination. Though it had been a hard journey, Fu found herself stood before her favourite place in all of Strynhalde, her companion stood in awe as he beheld the sight before him.
It was a rocky rise in a clearing of snow, crested with the ice of a stream which had not appeared to have melted in many summers, The ice poured fourth from the diminutive summit, flowing forth as a glacier in miniature. Though perhaps only standing a dozen or so heads above the two kittoms, the ice twisted and turned in growing complexity. The ice appeared to flow and meet rock, contorting outwards as though splashes were captured in time before pooling at the base of the outcrop in a confluence of rime.
Fu’s eyes shifted lazily towards Loki to take in his expression. Her tail swished gently beneath the canvas of her cloak and the corner of her mouth curled into a steady smile. His expression was one she had not seen before and for once, the young academic was lost for words. She knew this was to be a treasured moment for him as well as for herself.
As though to impart one final show of beauty upon the two visitors, The morning light crested above the treetops and struck the cascading flows of rime, which lit up in a dazzling display of discordant lights. Each twist of descending ice sparkled as the rays of light danced between them. The eyes of the two kittoms widened as they took in the sight before them, with nothing but snowflakes drifting in the breeze for company.
After almost five minutes of Loki’s silence, with what she believed to be something of a record, Fu thought it best to speak up. “Well?” She purred inquisitively. “Will this do for the ‘Something else to show you?” Her question was met with a pause before Loki was able to compose himself and reply.
“Thank you, Fu, for everything,” breathed Loki. His every motion and breath was one of awe as he struggled even to take notes before the magnificent sight in front of him. “This will most certainly do.” He beamed, his expression one of both awe and contentment.
It was some time before Fu was able to coax Loki into making the return journey, his initial shock giving way to a return to his feverish scribbling, pitching his observations as Fu lounged lazily in the snow to enjoy his eccentricities one final time.
All good things must come to an end, however. The return journey passed most uneventfully and the forest was filled with the sound of Loki’s musings. They made camp once more under the same bough as before, with the two making their return to the town the following day.
Once back at the library, Fu lounged once more by the fireside warmth with another cup of cocoa, this time on a saucer after the previous spillage.
Between composing his notes, Loki turned to address Fu with a look of trepidaton in his eyes, from his mouth poured a question he had longed to ask. “You know, this doesn’t have to be the end. You can follow if you like. Not as a guide, as a friend. I’m sure there’s lots of things out there in Eyre you want to see. I would daresay you seem happiest when we’re spending time together.” Loki's words hung in the air for a moment as Fu digested them, the sound broken only by the crackling fireplace.
“I don’t need an answer right now, but I will be leaving on the morrow,” he paused. “If you wish we do not part ways, I would be happy that our adventures might continue.” Loki concluded his monologue and his eyes beamed expectantly upon his friend, awaiting what may from her reply.
It was about then that Loki could have sworn he saw a tear in the corner of his friend’s eye, a sight rarer than any jewel he might have stumbled upon during his travels. The cool and collected kittom glanced away for a moment as though to catch this most precious of treasures before turning wordlessly to him with eyes dewy and wide.
Loki Chuckled and glanced downwards, shuttering his eyes in defence of his friend’s dignity. He did not need Fu to expose her emotions so and he knew how she detested to expose her feelings. Loki read the response plain and clear and the two smiled in unison at the cementing of a beautiful and continued friendship.
“Would you care for a biscuit to go with that cocoa, Fu?” Loki asked politely, his attempts to diffuse the thick layers of emotion still weighing heavily on the pair. It was a question which marked both an end of one chapter and the beginning of another in Fu’s life, who chirped in response with an affirmative.
She stared into the wisps of steam from her drink and dreamed of new possibilities, new adventures and new pursuits with her dearest friend beyond the snowy tundra she had called home.
Rewards
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Characters
MYO-ELN711: ᛚᛟᚲᛁ
| Reward | Amount |
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MYO-ELN712: Fu
| Reward | Amount |
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| AP (Strynhalde) (Currencies) | 1 |
Add-Ons
These items have been removed from the submitter's inventory and will be refunded if the request is rejected or consumed if it is approved.
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SylSyl12's Bank
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