Submission (#8499) Approved

The black and white kittom with fiery red and orange markings along the length of her back as well as a stripe across her face had the biggest idea drifting back and forth her mind. It was almost the end of the year, and she wanted to thank the villagers for supporting her over the year while she chased her dreams here. She had accomplished a lot this year and she wanted to share that bounty with them. Of the many things she was doing here on this land, one thing she made sure to do every day was gather the manaberries that had fallen to the shore and collect them. What she did after that had been a bit of a mystery for many of the villagers here.

What had she done with them? She didn't eat them or process them for food like the jams she caught many villagers making with the abundance. She had used many of the manaberries she'd collected as the colour base for her new paint so over the months she had been drying all the berries she found in the sun and then when they were dried completely, she ground them up into a fine powder. Originally, she had someone else doing this work for her but over the months she found that she was able to do it herself and took pride in making her own paint.

So now she had a lot of paint, and the desire to do something for the villagers. She walked around the village, looking at the place. The tree village was small, one of many on the island. She may not have been from the island region of Ealei, she may not have been born under the big, blue skies that highlighted the puffy, white clouds in the sky. She may not have always seen these sandless shores, or watch the waves crash into the barrier rocks that covered the sea near the island. She didn't always climb along the large roots or hide between the mangroves of the shallows around the island. She may not have always called this place home, but she felt like it was home now.

She ran along the planks of the bridges that hung from the trees until she made her way to the main promenade. There she watched the elnin walk around, do business and generally go about their day. She saw the kittoms who had tried to scare her before and they gave her a tentative wave, and she waved back. A smile, and then she went into her bag to retrieve what she wanted. She pulled out her canvas, as well as her paints. She made sure she had the manaberry blue paint she'd made in particular, planning to use that as the star of the painting as she used that paint as the background of the scene. She'd paint this very promenade, the usual vendors, the elnin who walked along it every day.

She would paint this life. She would paint the good, and the bad. She would paint those who gave this place life, and those who gave her trouble. She would paint the struggles, and the hope. She would paint those who made this place feel like more than just a town in the trees, more than the small village it was. She would paint more than the trees, more than the blue skies and the puffy white clouds. She would paint more than the sea, and the rocks that said hello from the waves. She would paint more than the work, and more than the joy.

She watched as elnin walked by, knowing she would paint those who made this place feel like a home.