Just Another Day

The cave was just how Shanku remembered it. The walls were lined with large, luminescent shelf fungi that were the food of the fuzzy moth larvae which glowed both as caterpillars and as moths. There were holes in the ceiling that allowed tiny waterfalls to fall through to the streams below, causing any light above to reflect throughout the cave.

Inside one of the deeper chambers, the floor gave way altogether, and Tasura had a few boats tethered. Tasura entered one, followed by Katari and Hilael, as Mataio entered another with Shanku and Ina. The Islanders stood at the back and pushed the boats through the caves with long sticks as the Sylvans stayed seated and observed. Tasura described various kinds of life visible from the reflected moonbeams, the way they were affected through the various seaons and weather patterns, and told of some of the history of the cave such as how the other Islander tribe prized the moths as part of their winter moon dance, before that tribe eventually moved further north and left the area solely to the current tribe.

The tip of Shanku's tail became as active as that of a hunting cat as they neared the final chamber. Tasura rounded the curve into a very large chamber where the family of giant, pale marine reptiles lived. Innugati trilled when she saw them. The matriarch raised her long, slender neck to look at the visitors, grunted at them, and shifted her weight to get her hind flippers onto her rocky bed.

"What are those?" Ina asked, eyes full of wonder.

"The dassu," Tasura replied. "Sea dragons that eat a lot of the sharks, snakes, and other dangerous things in the water. Sometimes we bring them food to show them thanks. They came in from their hunt earlier tonight, so we do not have food for them this time."

Tasura and Mataio directed their boats back to the entrance and the kurach returned to the village. Shalu invited them to stay the night in her family's guest house, which the Sylvans happily obliged. It was a beautiful domed hut with a grassy roof, open walls, an interior structured by the wood of trees and bamboo, and the floor was made of smooth stones that were delightfully cool. The beds consisted of woven mats of palm fronds and it didn't take long for the tired Sylvans to go to sleep. Although they didn't stay asleep for long. Being used to sleeping below ground, they awoke when the first light of dawn came peeping over the short walls of the guest house. Still a bit tired, they rose, and began their morning grooming and preening. Dawson was stirring not long after and began to prepare breakfast.

"Well, that's a different a smell," Katari remarked as he walked over to investigate.

"Boiled bananas," Dawson explained. "I'm in the mood for a hot breakfast. Shalu can bring you something out from the garden if you'd like something cool to start the day with."

"I'm not shy of work, so is there anything you need help with?" Katari asked.

"Can you fish?" Dawson asked in return.

"I was decent at it back home," Katari shrugged.

"Come with me after breakfast. There's plenty of work to obtain supper. Hilael should come too," Dawson said.

Hilael's ears flicked down when he overheard. "Say what?"

"The guys do most of the hunting around here. Go on, have fun!" Shanku urged her brother. "Fishing at sea is something that shouldn't be missed out on, and there are lots of things to eat around here. Ina and I will be with Shalu getting fruits and veggies." Shanku wandered off with Ina in tow to find Shalu. Dawson took Katari and Hilael out in the shallows to spear for fish with the other sires, and Shalu let Shanku and Ina help her gather roots and shellfish with other dams.

"I can see why you were so eager to come here," Katari teased when he had finished helping clean the fish they had caught. "I swear, life here revolves around food."

"Some eat to live. We live to eat!" Shanku giggled.

"But it is now time for me to go and earn part of our living," Shalu said as she passed by. "Caelin will soon head into town for his job as well."

"Does Dawson still repair shoes?" Shanku asked.

"Surprisingly, yes," Shalu replied. "Either his father was very particular or some kind of master with shoes, because I think Caelin is a wonderful cobbler! You four are free to go where you wish while we're gone." Shalu excused herself and got herself dressed and ready for her afternoon of entertaining tourists and locals.

"We're not going to spend our entire Foterutu here, are we?" Katari asked when a week had passed. "What about Bhadarukia?"

"I'm ready to go when y'all are," Shanku said as she stretched. "Although there is one more person I'd like to see before we head off."

"Oh, there is, now is there?" remarked an elderly kurach approaching them.

"Kisona!" Shanku squealed. "Good to see you again!"

"Yes, you too, cub," Kisona said warmly. "Or should I say, dam?"

"Might as well. We're out on our Foterutu!" Shanku said proudly.

"Ah, a very important time," Kisona said as he settled down on the ground and gestured for the others to do likewise. "I wonder, does the Sylvan Foterutu vary from ours? Tell me, what are you here to do?"

"Traditionally," Katari said, with a quick glare at Shanku, "we journey out into the Nyre to show we learned all the hunting and survival skills we were taught as cubs."

"I take it some of you had other ideas," Kisona chuckled. "It is good to see the world and meet new people. Not many have the opportunity to do so. Although we usually send our cubs out to hunt a great shark on their Foterutu, and some take a trip to Bhadarukia. I overheard that you wished to leave soon?"

"Yes," Ina replied. "We were going to go to Bhadarukia. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Stop by the port town first," Kisona replied. "We have some Bhadarukians that live here permanently now as part of the trade outpost they've set up. I'm sure they'll give you some good travel tips."

"Thanks, Kisona. We will," Shanku said cheerily. Kisona waved them off, and the Sylvans left to go back to the port. It didn't take them long to find the Bhadarukian trade outpost. A new building had even been constructed for them and it was filled with many goods from oversea. One of the assistants was sweeping the patio when the Sylvans arrived.

"Ah, what can I help you with today, my young friends?" he asked merrily.

"We wish to go to Bhadarukia," Ina replied. "Is there any advice you'd have for us?"

"It is a beautiful country," he nodded, causing the sun to glint off his dark, bald head. "Steamy jungles, burning deserts, and the most beautiful women in the world."

Everybody always says that about their home, Shanku thought as she grinned broadly. "Are there any ships due to come by this way any time soon?"

"No, miss, not for another month or so. If you do not wish to wait, I can find one of our kurach to give you directions," he replied.

"Yes, if you don't mind," Shanku said. The assistant bowed his head and disappeared into the shop. A moment later, one of the desert kurach came out.

"You wish to travel to Bhadarukia the old way then?" he asked.

"There's another way?" Shanku asked.

"Just follow this island up to its farthest tip, turn right, and hop over the islands until you hit the mainland. There is a village not far from there. We have set up markers pointing to it," he answered. "May I ask why you wish to travel there?"

"Truth be told, we're on our coming of age journey," Katari replied. "So far, it has lead us here."

"Then you will definitely need to go to that village," the clerk said. "It is customary among our people to send our cubs on a pilgrimage there to learn some of the sacred matters of our kind, and we are beginning to direct some of the Islanders to it as well. You will find elders there to assist you."

"Thank you," Katari said and bowed his head to him.

"Fair winds, cubs," the clerk bowed to them and returned to his duties.

"This trip just got a lot more interesting," Katari remarked to Shanku as they turned to leave. By now, Katari and Ina's interest was becoming quite piqued, and Katari was starting to stop regretting letting Shanku drag him so many leagues away from the Nyre. Hilael was simply content to be out of the Scissortail capital. They spent the rest of the day helping out around the village in exchange for any tips and guidance the others had to offer in regards to any obstacles, plants, and wildlife they were unfamiliar with. Shanku also asked Kisona to teach the other Sylvans how to cast the water shedding spell on their feathers in case they got caught in a rain storm. In the morning they set out to continue their Foterutu.