Submission (#8120) Approved

Paws pattered through the earthy undergrowth of the low-hanging branches within Kyendi's jungle forests. It was a gentle afternoon, a rather tranquil one, spare for the rare trills echoing through the trees. It was the cry of a distant loon singing their songs. Harper's ears twitched incessantly every leaf it hit as he pushed through bushes, thwarting his attempt to maintain pace with his friend who was much more quick-witted on his feet. Mist swirled around his face as he parted through the humid veil. His hands continuously found new branches to shove aside every step of the way.

The jungle was dense.. would it even be possible to catch anything out here?

"It's up ahead!" The platinum-haired Kittom eagerly shot a raspy voice back at him. "The lake the villagers said was here..."

"S-Silur— agh!!" Momentary deviating his attention caused Harper to trip instead. "Slow down.. I'll lose sight of you in the mist.."

"It's just a straight line." Silurian's voice echoed through the trees.

The russet-haired Kittom scoffs, rolling his eyes, then feeling his hands finding the surface of a dirt cliffface in front of him. "You know how easily I can get lost."

"It's not hard to find ya either." A hand reached down and grabbed his wrist, pulling him up over the short obstacle with ease. "There. Ya good now?"

Harper shook his head. "Not if you keep running ahead."

"I don't want to miss out on catching the red-tailed loons though. They always fly off once the sun hides behind the mountains, I've heard." His hand grabbed Harper's own, linking them together. He gestured to the distant rounded mountain tops north of them, then to the sun while measuring the distance. "C'mon. I'll hold your hand the rest of the way."

Pausing for a moment, Harper tightened his grip, "but you have to slow down then."

Reassurance of "sure, sure," was spoken as his arm was tugged along. Though, as Silurian turned around, the large net he had strapped to his back smacked Harper in his face.

"Gahk-" Harper spluttered, grabbing the net with his other hand, stopping it from swiping at him again. "Be careful with that, you moron."

"Ah. Sorry." Silurian straightened his back with a nonchalant apology. He circled around his friend, taking his shoulders in his hands. "You first then."

"Wha—" Mild panic built in his throat, "no, what are you, I don't-"

"You can set the pace we'll go." Silurian tilts his head innocently.

Harper's ears were flattened back. "I'll run us straight into a ditch."

"Relaax.. If you stray off, I'll redirect you." The blonde Kittom rolled his eyes and sung a playful voice.

Harper felt his whole body sway as Silurian leaned on him. He wasn't wrong, but so much for what he asked for. "... Fine." A small huff answered Silurian's encouragement.

Harper raised his arms to shield his face from further flora growths as he pressed ahead. Long weeds stroked his sides. Vines hung in heavy drapes easy to push past. The faint smell of a lingering petrichor sensation hung in the loamy soil under them. Every step he took held some caution, testing his footing before stepping fully down.

Red-tailed loons, was it? It was a waterfowl species that migrated up to Kyendi during the summer months.

"... What made you want to go after the red loon specifically?" Harper glanced back at his friend behind him.

"You heard th' other Kittoms back there, didn't 'cha? The scholars wanted a bunch of different critters to check up on and sent us on our merry ways." A wide grin spread across Silurian's face. "The prize money's gonna fund our next trip."

"Is this about the money? I'm content with washing dishes at the Drifting Deer already." Harper flinched when a passing branch battered him in the face. He raised up his arms again to shield himself.

"Well, I'll take the opportunity to go out on my own terms than wash dishes for a few bucks during happy hour."

"They don't pay that poorly."

Silurian leaned over Harper's shoulder. "They aren't compensating me as much as they are with ya."

"Maybe if you break several less plates, the costs won't be docked from your paycheck."

"It's just a part-time thing anyway. They won't let us do anything else as Kittoms."

"So you thought gambling on a contest prize would be more worth your time?" Harper reached out, but he didn't feel another branch.

"I can hear the red-tailed loon's cry. We're close." Silurian kicked aside a tangle of vine. "Oh, that's the lake, watch your step."

The tip of Harper's foot brushed across a mirror of water, alerting him to pull back. He resettled his balance before looking up. Heavy mist rolled across the surface of the wide lake, obscuring the view of the opposite shore. The expansive clearing revealed the distant sky.. a bit vaguely at least.. the glint of golden crystals pierced the veil, revealing a couple floating islands hanging low above them.

His ears twitched again hearing a soft echoing trill echo around him.

Silurian circled around him, teetering close to the edge of the water. "Come on, this way," he tugged his hand, leading him to their right.

"Uh, sure." They walked around the bank. A moving blob of color caught his attention and Harper glanced over. Their reflections seemed perfectly mirrored back, making eye contact with himself.

"Shhhh," Silurian suddenly halted, reaching over his back for his net. "There's our target.. I'm going to circle around behind it. You stay here."

By the few seconds after Silurian whispered so and Harper turned around to see where he went, he was only met with a soft rustle of displaced leaves. "..." He held his breath maintaining the silence, shifting his attention towards where their loon was.

It was hard to miss the vibrant red cluster of feathers.

He crouched down himself, sensing every muscle in his body creak and every fold in his clothes wrinkle. Lower he went, gently sliding his way into the undergrowth for cover.

The loon let out it's trilling cry again, then it flapped its wings and tucked its head to clean its feathers. None the wiser it seemed to be. It was just the loon and the thrumming forest sounds of Kyendi.

Being unable to hear Silurian was rather offsetting. Usually he would be clamouring through with little regard to the actual space his body occupied. Lack of spacial awareness? Was that the word for it?

But his thoughts were soon met with a sudden flash of movement. "Darn!!" His friend had pounced and he heard the loon shout in panic. He was barely able to react when a flurry of feathers was thrown into his face and he flailed, startled.

Harper's hands grabbed whatever it was— the loon. His fingers hooked it under its wings, cradling its body with his palms. It flapped and tried to peck at him and he stared at it in a daze.

"Harper!! You caught it!"

"Wha- what? I have?"

Silurian sprung over to his side with his net in hand. "Damn, even with a net, I couldn't even catch a bird with my bare hands."

Harper perked at the statement and stared down at the bird. The sound of his heartbeat racing began to fade, letting what had happened fully sink into his mind. The red-tailed loon stared back into his eyes, now quieted, seeming resigned to its fate. "Oh."

"Oh? That's all you have to say?" Silurian patted his shoulder, then playfully shook him a bit. "That was so cool! Show some enthusiasm, you brick."

"My reflexes.. sure are something." Harper mumbled, his head softly swaying around in Silurian's movement.

"Call out your pipsqueak with the cage."

"Oh, right." The reason why Silurian asked him to come with him. ".. and don't call him pipsqueak." Harper looked down at his shadow, then readjusted where he stood so his silhouette was outlined by itself. Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he gently called for his Pomu to emerge.

"I'll call him that till you give him a name."

He saw a small pair of ears emerge, then followed by the face of a round blob appear.

"Pomu?" It squeaked.

"Hey, lil guy." He crouched down and showed the bird to his pomu. "Can you fish out the carrier I asked you yo store in there earlier today?"

It tilted its head with a peep, then spun around in his shadow and dived back in.

After a couple indescript moments, the side of a small pet carrier emerged, to which Silurian reached for the handle to haul it out. And out also came Harper's Pomu, still hanging onto the other side. He scooped it up in his palm to catch it before it fell, but it panicked louder in his hands. Silurian tried setting it down, but it bounced out of his hold and scurried up to Harper's side.

"Woah there, little buddy." Silurian watched it roll away with a sigh. He unlatched the door and held up the box for the bird to enter. "Your pomu really takes after you. Most Elnins will get five other things before they get the item they requested."

Harper let the loon slide through his fingers into the carrier, then shut the door. "I ask him not to carry too much."

Silurian looked inside at the bird. "Don't worry fella, they'll just check you up a bit then let you back, 'kay?"

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Harper scooped up his pomu, gently stroking its head. "Did you get scared? He's not going to do anything. Here, I'll get you a snack when we get back." He gently placed it back on the ground behind him in his shadow. "Thank you for your help."

His pomu held his finger, then dipped back in.

"He's scared of me, huh?" Silurian looked at his friend's shadow, heaving up the loon carrier over his shoulder.

"You've made fun of him quite often." Harper rolled his eyes, walking over to pick up Silurian's net that fell into the shrubbery. It was a bit damp from getting rolled in the dew on the leaves. "Let's head back now."

"Yeah, yeah." Silurian nods. As Harper walked past him, the kittom reached his free hand out to his head, plucking something out of his hair. "You got a feather stuck behind your ear. Here."

Harper stumbled momentarily, fastening his grip on the net. "Oh." He reactively took the red feather from Silurian's hand. "Thanks..?"

"Red does look nice on you," Silurian comments, turning to walk ahead. "Maybe we can split some'o th't cash on some new clothes for ya."

"No, you're just going to buy me something stupid."

"I won't!"

"You will!"

[... And they spent the rest of the afternoon bickering back to town, even while the scholars checked on the loon's health and released it back into the forest...]