Growth Quests

They were first aware of the cool, comforting feeling of soil against their fur. It covered them completely, keeping them secure until they were ready to enter the world.

But they weren’t ready, not quite yet. Venturing out of their burrow required them to move, after all, and they were very comfortable. That, and they had no idea what awaited them outside. They certainly didn’t hear anything, or anyone, around. So they stayed curled up, holding onto what they’d later know as their tail. For a while, anyway. They found that they couldn’t simply go back to sleep, or unconsciousness, or whatever state of existence they were in before they had awoken. They had waited long enough, they decided, and they began to unearth themselves. They were clumsy, though their claws helped in shifting the dirt away from them until they could squeeze their head, and then shoulders, out of the ground. They pushed through, finally popping out of the burrow and tumbling into a ball. They took a while to stumble on their legs, not used to supporting themselves properly, and blinked their eyes at the world around them.

They were surrounded by weird, tall things that stretched high enough that they had to crane their neck to see the tops, and covered in a tough, scratchy surface.

The light, even scattered by the trees, was brighter than they were used to, and they couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by it, finding themselves crying out for help. They didn’t know who they were calling for, unaware that anyone else existed in the first place, but, of course, nobody came. The only living beings around them were weird, tiny flying creatures that darted from plant to plant.

There was nothing for them, here, as far as they could tell. No lon to take care of them. So, not wanting to stick around in this unfamiliar place(disregarding the fact that everything was unfamiliar to them), they picked up their tail, chose a direction, and began walking.

…That was the first memory that they could think of, and the sprout spent much of their time wandering through the woods, essentially lost, and scrounging up what little food they could find through trial and error for what tasted yummy. Eventually, a strange creature they’d later know to be called a Vespire had found them and taken pity upon them, scooping up the young Ursuki and taking them in. They were incredibly skittish, backing themselves up into a hollow log as the well-meaning vespire had tried to coax them out. Bribery with some yummy candy worked wonders, and got the sprout following the stranger into Fluorspar proper, though they’ve yet to outgrow their standoffish nature.

They weren’t the only orphan there, either- a handful of other children of all kinds darting through the building. They could hear the laughter and chatter of the others filling the rooms, a new sound that they hadn’t even realized they had been missing. For the first time since they’d sprouted, Vellumi didn’t feel alone.