[ edit: reposted on this account !! ] next: coming today previous: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/975407407/ first: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/975412006/ ask for pings here: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/975406527/ TWO YEARS LATER: Qiren blew his fur out of his face, padding to the front door. His tail curled as he walked outside. He winced from the sun and glared at the ground. Blanei was waiting for him at the summer market. The ripe vegetables, finished jewelry and other trinkets pleased Blanei, as it was a place where she could find new valuables for their home. The peaches and cherries greeted Qiren at the beginning of the market. He tossed some soft peaches and put a bag of tart cherries at the bottom of his basket for an afternoon snack. "Blanei?" he murmured. There was no sight of her slate-colored fur or the same wings in the market, but Qiren didn't need to panic. As long as he knew she was somewhere, then he would eventually find her. She probably has a big basket full of everything in the summer market, thought Qiren. He chuckled and kept walking along the sidewalk. There were some flower shops, antique shacks, and plenty of other stores that Qiren bought from, for Blanei. » Qiren came across a honey shop at the end of the first row. He bought a full jar and wanted to try it. Just like when he was a young Crownsai, he would have wanted to taste the sweet, viscous, golden liquid. He squeezed a small droplet into his mouth and tried his best not to act so delighted about a simple drop of honey. The young store owner grinned, and slipped another jar into Qiren's basket. "I see you like my honey." he began, standing with pride. "I do." Qiren said, reaching over to place a jar of lemon honey in his basket. There was a silence between them, as Qiren started to walk away from the stand. "I'm Kailun," the store owner shared. "What's yours?" Qiren didn't turn his head, and tried to ignore Kailun. He hesitated and turned around. "It's Qiren." "Want to see something cool?" "I'm actually looking for someone...my guardian. Yeah, I'm looking for my guardian- so yeah." Qiren mumbled. Qiren squinted again at the sun rays and turned quickly. Kailun wasn't Alpine like him, he was Swamp. Kailun had a long tail with a leafy end and 3 floating pieces. Although they were the same age, Qiren didn't want to take the chance of anything happening, especially when he was away from Blanei. Qiren walked away from the stand. The top of his fur was warm, and the between of his paw pads were covered in sweat. "Ugh, yuck," he muttered, padding to the nearby stream to wash himself. There were some elderly Crownsai by the stream, huddled in groups, sharing rumors and gossip. "The queen is going to send a patrol to this town." "Huh, really? I heard she's sending it to that crazy town in the south part." "Weird, I heard her daughters are planning on battling for the throne, again." "She had daughters? Where have I been, living under a rock?" "I should be queen, not that party brat." "She hosts worse parties than the previous queen." "Agreed." "Agreed." "I just go for the refreshments..." Qiren turned his head, swiftly and pawed at a fish in the stream. As the elderly were talking, Qiren had cleaned his fur at the higher end of the stream and walked back to the lower end to catch a fish for himself. He knew about the queen's secret patrol. Qiren remembered the night Blanei sat at the table, her eyes focused on Qiren, "If you see the queen's patrol- around 5-10 Crownsai, in uniforms... hide!" Little Qiren blinked, beads of tears on his cheeks. "Who knows what they're here for?" she remarked, piling dinner leftovers. Everything Qiren knew, was from Blanei. Everything he had been taught, was from Blanei. So why do I want to leave her now? he thought. ask for pings here: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/975406527/ » notes: woowow a long chapter » characters mentioned [ in order ] qiren . he/him blanei . she/her? kailune . he/him? crownsai elders blanks are parts you need to figure out as the story continues! » credits code . @mothwinqs written by . @mothwinqs characters belong to . @mothwinqs editor . none if any writing is taken, copied, or reposted, that project/person will be reported and put on my graylist. :/