Submission (#8754) Approved

Varun was with family in Ealei for a short trip and it hadn't been more than half a day since they arrived that the kittom wandered off much to Symph's dismay. At least there were quite a few elnin Symph was familiar with in the area so safety wasn't particularly a concern in Nalnalo. Also Varun for better or worse had their sibling Fantine along too which settled some of the faenin's other worries about the kittom straying too far. Fantine was playful but a bit more paced than their sibling, so that would slow Varun down a touch Symph was sure. The faenin had climbed up towards the buildings built among the tree's branches and gazed down to squint at what was likely their specks of kittoms skittering along the boardwalks below.

"Hey Fan, look at this!" Varun's excited voice clamoured as he found a small shop nestled in amongst the mangrove and elder tree roots and boardwalks. It looked like boxes were being moved in the shop by a pale sandy blue colored elnin. They must have drunk a manaberry potion to be able to take on a form easier to move the boxes with. Varun's eyes were drawn to a colorful corner of fabric that was visible from the top of a box. "Excuse me, miss. What's that?" Varun asked, a little shy now that he was in front of a stranger despite his question being quite bold.

The edges of the elnin's bright yellow eyes crinkled as they bent into crescent moons with her smile. She must have been quite fond of kittoms. "They're textiles, lovely bolts of fabric for sewing. I brought some of my materials to this place to work on some new designs inspired by the locals in this region. "Designs?" Varun's curiosity grew as his neck craned a bit to peer in the open door of the place. He had thought it was a shop, but now he wondered a bit if this elnin wasn't a local. "Yes. I'm a seamstress. I sew and do a bit of design work following trending fashions on the side. Between that and selling fabric you could say there's quite a bit of overlap in occupations." She said, thinking of her relations to a few others in various regions that also sold textiles. Though Eweca focused mostly on sewing, when she was gathering inspiration for designs she would sometimes help friends sell some of their fabrics alongside her stock if she was staying in another region for a stretch of time. This was one of those times but it seemed like she was settling in yet.

Varun marveled a bit, still young and trying to wrap his head around what sort of work Eweca did. She had explained, but the kittom's thoughts were distracted by the colorful fabric that might be in the box. "Would you and your sibling like to come into the shop?" Eweca offered and Varun's eyes momentarily turned wide to look at her. "How did you know we were siblings?" The question came as the kittom looked suspiciously at her for a moment. "Well I know your father, Symph. We came on the same route into Ealei but you and your siblings were asleep at the time. He mentioned you were quite the help at the last location you visited." Eweca said nonchalantly, not actually needing much help at the moment though she didn't give that away.

"Since I've just arrived as well, how about you and Fantine help me decorate a bit?" She said, already seeing Varun puff up his chest a little proudly. "Well, if you need a paw lent, I suppose we could help." He said, stealing a glance at Fantine who simply smiled and shrugged a bit. Fan could be a touch lazy but Varun was the most encouraging and compelling of their siblings so Fantine often went along with what the other kittom wanted to do. Things were always interesting with Varun.

The two kittoms ambled into the shop and peered into the boxes. There were areas to lay fabric samples and that seemed to be the box Eweca directed them to. It didn't take long for Varun to have the fabric samples sprawled across the floor, taking in the blend of colors. Some fabrics were dull while others were vivid. There were even some with delicate beading and others that had lace or fancy patterns. Varun's favorites were probably those that glittered like the stars along his deep purple markings or shone like the metallic fur that swirled and framed Fan's visage.

Eventually with time Varun had pulled the fabric samples from the floor and used the boxes and small stools around the store to drape the fabric over various spots Eweca said were for display purposes. Every so often she peered up from a desk she had settled down to draw at and watched as the store grew more and more colorful. Pretty soon it felt like there wasn't an inch of the place where a visitor couldn't see some fabric at least out of the corner of an eye if not several. Fantine had helped pass sample fabrics over to their sibling and by the time the two kittoms were done they had sprawled out on the floor to stare up at the ceiling. Eweca had pulled a few rope pulleys that caused some of the hooks around the shop to rise now that they were draped with fabric. It almost felt like the store had a tent of some kind inside with how it flowed.

Despite there being nothing truly magical about this store, somehow Varun felt that the experience was. Maybe not actual magic, but a moment that inspired the same sort of wonder a kittom might get from watching fireworks or finding a place with all sorts of new curiosities. Varun rolled over, eyes peering out the door at the rocks in the distance and the colors dying the sky outside. It would be night soon in Ealei and they had to get back to Symph. The sea in this place was pretty but Varun looked a bit reluctant to leave this colorful and wonderful store. "Can we come back?" The kittom asked, tilting his head towards Eweca. "Any time as long as we're still both visitors." She smiled, guiding them to the door and watching as Varun and Fan scampered off. She made sure they were headed the right way, winding up the steps to the residential areas further above in the trees before closing the door.

Varun chattered away to Symph when the two kittoms had arrived back at their lodging place for the visit. Symph was glad a friendly face had kept them busy most of the day. They would be here a while and Varun clearly had a lot of energy to spare and creativity too it seemed. The kittom really did have a way with colors. It made Symph curious what path the little one would some day pursue.