[Firnenfire]

I found a flower on the ground!
username; Firnenfire
day: 5

[WhiteWater ;]

I found a flower on the ground!
username; whitewater ;
day: 5

[0h-Six]

I found a flower on the ground!
username; Lloril
day: 5

-----------------

prompt 5/ day5
username; Lloril
Kjaku participating; Elio
Prompt response;
Elio rubbed at their face and yawned. These past few days have been absolutely brutal and the week isn't even over yet! Encounter after encounter and flower after flower, they were just about ready for a good long nap. A nice, quiet stroll through the local forest - LOCAL this time- seemed nice. A pleasant evening with absolutely no distractions this time. No chasing down thief's, no errands to run. If they happened to find a flower in the wind then whoop-de-doo.

They sighed and continued to the forest. It wasn't as if they didn't want to help others, they loved being helpful, but there really comes a time then one feels stretched too thin in all directions. Nonetheless, it was nearly impossible for them to get mad, never has Elio been genuinely angry at someone or something. Annoyed, yes, but mad? Boy, were these events slightly pushing it.

Their ears perked up; lost in thought, Elio almost missed the sound of someone running swiftly in the brush next to them. They turned and prepared to fend off another Kjaku just in case but all they were able to catch was a brief glimpse of the colors of their coat before the other was gone. Elio sighed in relief, it was most likely anther Kjaku overly-enthused about the flower hunt. Good on them.

“You there! I know you saw that darned fool in the woods, please tell me you have! They’re wanted, alright! What’d they look like?!” They startled a bit and turned to the Kjaku who had the audacity to yell and disturb them. Their brow twitched and Elio took a long breath-counting to ten- before exhaling and loomed towards the other.

"Listen here, I don't know who you are, I don't know where you came from but if what you're asking of me has nothing to do with a certain blue flower than I want absolutely no part of it! I refuse to chase after someone just because you claim they're "wanted". Do you have proof? Or are you really the criminal? I don't know and at this point I couldn't care less! Did I see the other Kjaku? I don't know! DO I know what they look like? I don't know! Am I having a pretty rough day? You bet I am! You know what, I'm 90% sure that other Kjaku did absolutely nothing wrong!"

Now, Elio wan't yelling per-se, rather their voice became lower and more emphasized the closer they came to the other Kjaku."You don't seem like the police to me so don't come yelling to me about some so-called criminal. Take your problems elsewhere and not to me for once!" That being said, Elio turned with a loud huff and stalked away in the direction the running Kjaku went, not caring about the yelling Kjaku and rather hoping they go find someone else to bother. When they appeared to be alone, Elio took this moment to lie in a sunny patch of grass and groan away their frustrations.

"I can't stand other sometimes..." They mumbled to themself. Hopefully the other managed to get away somehow, with how fast they were running it was almost a guarantee they did. The sun did wonders to Elio's tense muscles and with another giant yawn, they fell into a light doze, the colors of the mystery Kjaku the last thing on their mind.

I saw these colors!:
0F0D3E
271338
4C2B64
A74B94
EEBCEF
D8D5F4

[sadtrashking]

I found a flower on the ground!
username;rorythedork
day: 5

[G1 Sunstreaker]

I found a flower on the ground!
username; G1 Sunstreaker
day: 5

[Corvuss]

I found a flower on the ground!
username; sschw
day: 5

[_Alex_]

I found a flower on the ground!
username; _Alex_
day: 5

[Strudel]

prompt 4 /day4
username; Strudel
Kjaku participating; Petra
Prompt response; (remember that the prompt response should be under the perspective of your Kjaku/alajax!)

I hold my paws out toward the blazing fire, grateful for the warmth. The older kjaku is looking to me now. Did I really just ask that out loud? How terribly rude of me. I had been so curious though. After all the legends I had heard of the elderly kjaku in the Northern Woods, it was no wonder I had wanted to learn whether they were true-- if he had indeed been to hell and back.

Instead of being angry that his guest had spoken so candidly he seemed to smile as he sat across from me, on the other side of the fire.

"Are you really willing to hear an elder's old, fabled tales...?" the grizzled kjaku asks as the fire seems to frame his face from the angle I'm looking at him. The way he's worded the question is so odd. If I agree to hear the tale-- and I probably will let my curiosity get the better of me here and agree-- will what he tells me be the truth? Even if it is the truth, will it be so extraordinary that I'll have trouble taking it at face value? Even if there's a chance he's going to simply tell me a tale, at least it should be something interesting. It'll be something to pass the time in this cozy house of his, beside this warm hearth. After the stressful week that I've had, perhaps a tale is what I need anyway.

I'll humor him. What's the harm?

I smile at the elder kjaku and nod "I'd love to hear it."

His face lights up only a moment before turning into an almost grim expression, and I start to wonder if I've made the right decision.

"I'll warn you now, young kjaku. This is not a story for the faint of heart. Are you sure?" he pauses until he sees me nod in response. "It all starts, dear girl, with a glance."

A glance?

"I glanced to the other side of the bonfire. It had been the first time I had seen a woman as beautiful as her-- as my darling. She was as beautiful as a goddess. When I looked into her eyes, I could see both strength and passion. I was just a poor poet, a young soul. I was talented but hungry. Hungry for fame and fortune. I didn't have the means to care for a mate. Still, I found myself approaching her. I fell in love that very night-- and so did she. I left, telling her I would come back for her. I would find my fame and fortune so that I could take her for my wife. Somehow, she agreed to wait for me. She would take no other, she promised me.

"And so, I sought out my chance at fame. It did not come easy. I was still penniless for many seasons. I became desperate and despondent. I wanted to go back to my love, but how could I ask for her to spend her life with me if I could not provide for her? Eventually, I asked a young witch if I would ever achieve my goals. She told me I had to make a choice first. She said 'You cannot have both things that you seek the most. You must choose one. You cannot both be happy and have your fortune.'

I furrow my brow as I listen. A witch? Did those exist? I have to remind myself that this is just some tale. I sit quietly, not wanting to interrupt as he continues.

"But I was a foolish man. I scoffed at her. I told her I would have both. My pride was my folly. The witch was right. I made my fortune, I become renowned, just weeks after my visit to the witch. My poems and songs were known throughout the land. I had no want for money, I had everything I needed-- a home even for the first time.

"Well, not a home yet." he corrected himself "My love was my home. But I would soon have her too."

He warned me this tale wasn't for the faint of heart. I had a feeling this wasn't about to be a happy ending.

"I couldn't promise her a perfect life. But I had something more to offer her now than just my love alone. And so with a heart as light as air, I traveled back for her."

He lets out a sigh that seemed to shake his whole frame.

"But when I came back, she was... gone. She hadn't left of her own will, of course. She was taken from me."

"Taken?" I whisper fearfully. Did I really want to know what had happened to his love? "Taken by who?" I couldn't help but ask anyway.

"Not by a man." he responds "No, she was taken from me by the Earth itself. She had traveled to meet me when she had heard of my success. She had traveled across the frozen wasteland of the North, and gotten caught in the harshest of snowstorms."

He seems to visibly deflate as he speaks. Whether this was a tale or not, some of it had to be true. The pain he felt even now was most definitely real.

"The witch had been right. I couldn't have both things. And so, with a heavy heart, I sought the witch out once more. I told her I would trade anything for the life of my love, even my own. It was then that she told me there was only one way I could have my love returned to me-- I had to take her back myself. I would have to travel a road never traveled by a living, mortal man.

"And so, I took nothing with me as I traveled to hell itself to seek out my love."

I gasp at his words, Surely this wasn't true? I thought, in the tales, hell was a metaphor. But it meant literal hell, if he himself was to be believed.

"I had to face many trials and tribulations-- far too terrible to share with one as young and innocent as you. What matters, is that in the end, I met the King himself."

The king of the underworld? I shuttered at the very thought.

"Or, to be accurate, he found me. You see, I was supposed to sneak my love out. I wasn't supposed to confront the king of hell himself. How would a mortal man even fight such a terrible, powerful man?

"He gave us a chance to prove ourselves. Something about me brought out some kind of compassion in him, he said. He told me that, once, he was quite a bit like me. He gave us a test. All we had to do was trust one another, he said. We could prove our trust for one another if we could find our way out of hell without touching one another."

The older kjaku grimaces as he recalls his past. The pain still seems so fresh, just looking at him. It's obvious that whatever happened wasn't happy at all. Of course, I had figured that much.

"What happened next?" I urge after it's quiet for far too long. He startles a little as if he had forgotten I was there as he reminisced.

"I didn't realize just how tricky he was. The king. I thought he had some compassion for me. I learned quickly that if he did, it wasn't enough to give me a fair chance. You see, while in the underworld still, he took my vision from me... and her voice."

My eyes widen. Could that be true? How horrible! "He tricked you? He didn't want you to leave together at all, did he? He wanted you to fail."

He nods in response "Yes, he tricked us. I was the one that knew the way out, and I couldn't lead her. And she couldn't lead me with her voice. Neither of us could touch one another, or we risked the king's wrath."

I can tell, for a moment, that he holds back a sob. He clears his throat before he continues.

"We wandered aimlessly. I wasn't sure if she was with me, but I had to have faith she was. I felt for the walls, trying to think if they were walls I had passed. They were all rough, hewn wood or sharp, solid stone. We might have traveled like that for far longer except... I walked right into a pit." he winces at the memory "I could feel myself falling slowly for just a moment... until I felt warm arms encircle me. I was relieved... before I realized just who had saved me from falling. My love had grasped a hold of me."

I think there are tears in his eyes as he continues.

"Knowing she would lose her life again, she had still decided to save me. I could see again, now that we had failed. I could see her again as she smiled at me and began to fade, leaving ashes behind. I can still hear her voice in my head, even now. I can still hear that last thing she said to me before she was no more. 'Continue to live. For me.' And so, even as my heart was shattered, I found my way out of the underworld, alone as I had come."

He is silent for several moments as I wipe tears from my own eyes.

"And now I'm here." he concludes "I live out the remainder of my days, making sure young ones like you don't freeze to death in this barren wasteland of ice and snow. So that no other young soul falls prey to this awful place."

He stands and makes his way over to his wood-burning oven. I just watch him quietly as he begins to work on making tea.

Is the tale true? I don't know. But it's certainly real to him. That's what matters, anyway, isn't it?

"Thank you, for telling me your tale."

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I found a flower on the ground!
username; Strudel
day: 5

[Twilight Prince]

I found a flower on the ground!
username; Twili Imp
day: 5

[suplauren]

I found a flower on the ground!
username; suplauren
day: 5