In private, Sem had explained to Kenrir his own experience, and Kenrir was surprised as he was shown. Without tools, they buried the body, and Sem stood before the grave in a long moment of silence. Kenrir understood fair well the weight that must have been on Sem's shoulders, and out of respect for the citizens of the burning city, the two held a brief funeral in their silence—the sharps nails of both their hands torn and bloody with dirt and blood-made mud.
With Tatalia and Variann in wait, Tatalia had eventually summoned the courage to ask a question which lingered on her mind...
"How old are you...?" she asked.
The small girl sniffled, and after a moment, she placed her hands over her ears—a gesture which became of natural habit to her were nothing covering them—as she curled up her gaze to meet Tatalia's eyes. Every hardship could be seen reflecting off them—every confusion and emotion.
"I don't know..." she murmured ever faintly, "I can't remember much... Only the last few months I've spent with my mother..."
These simple words tore young Vari deep.
"She... found me in the woods... and before that... there's nothing..." she sniffled.
Tatalia hearing these words, now understood that regardless of her count of tails, why she seemed so young. In a sense—she was. With no memory of a previous life, it left Tatalia in wonder—as she could understand how someone of such a small caliber could seem like they were only a child. This was a thought which like Sem, was one deep within her own subconscious.
Tatalia did not pull away; she held there, soon resting her head atop the small girl's own, as Variann scrunched herself slightly under her.
Eventually, Sem and Kenrir would return—then eventually, the four of them would move on, connecting with one another as time went on.
The following morning, Sem and Tatalia, as well as Kenrir and Variann, were making their way back to a small camp where they had settled prior to stumbling upon the burning city.
Waiting for them there, was a tall, lean girl with large, burnt orange and golden blonde highlighted hair who had rather large, flexible paws for hands—sitting on an equally large boulder. She was looking staring off to the side, out in the distance.
After everything they had been through, Tatalia—who was a bit taller than Sem at the time—was walking at his side, holding him close—her arms low as she had one tucked under his shoulder, with the other hand just above it. It had been a long night, with much still on each of their minds, and she was silently trying to comfort him. Kenrir however, was walking just a short distance from them, carrying an exhausted Variann in a huddled up position within his arms.
As they approached, the tall girl's gaze turned, landing firstly on Sem.
Sem then knowing raised his hand, and covered a single finger over his lips.
The tall girl blinked at him with curiosity, then looked over to the emotionally troubled girl who rested within Kenrir's arms. Thinking little of it, she soon hopped down.
Variann flinched slightly, caught off guard by the sudden sound of another set of feet hitting the ground a short distance away. She hadn't been looking in any particular direction. She eyes merely lingered half-lidded, staring into nothing as she was focused on the single closest sound. Until the moment the landing startled her, Variann had been listening solely to the sounds of Kenrir's heart. It was soothing to her—even with all things considered, and as Kenrir carried her along their path, she came to memorize every single change and rhythm. She didn't need to have her ears pressed against him to hear it, for it was like a storm to her sensory—one that was just low enough to not bring her sensitive ears any harm.
As she landed, the tall girl instantly noticed the small girl's reaction, and she opened her mouth as though to get ready to be. Before she did, she looked back over to Sem, who had slowly shook his head at her in silent warning. She perked up in greater curiosity, and a moment later, Sem touched Tatalia's hand and looked at her—gestering for her to let go. That's when Sem moved away from Tatalia's side, and grabbed the tall girl by her arm, gently pulling her off to the side.
"I'm going to need you to be as quiet as possible Ulva," Sem murmured faintly.
Ulva's ears perked up tall at his quiet expression, and her mouth hung slightly open, which showed off the tips of her razor sharp teeth.
"That girl we brought back with up has sensitive hearing, and it's to a level unlike anything we thought possible. If you speak or do anything too loudly, you could hurt her," Sem explained.
Ulva appeared to be slightly shocked by this explanation, and a single soft beat could be heard coming off her breath. Ulva paused to think, seriously considering the words spoken to her by none other than Sem. That is when her deep, almost beast-like voice tried to speak—which like the others, was less developed then, than it is in the modern day.
"Did I... hurt her when hopping down?" her husky voice asked curiously.
Sem thought for a moment, but shook his head.
"I don't think so, but it's hard to know for sure; she's been through a lot."
Ulva turned her head to look upon the others; her personal interest had been peaked. That's when she suddenly realized.
"What's..."
Ulva hesitated, and soon turned her gaze back upon Sem.
"Why does Ken have four?"
"I suppose I should say, we, have been through a lot," Sem answered.
Ulva couldn't fathom that someone from their group could be put in such a position, to willingly make such a great sacrifice—and being of a similar age to the rest of them, she knew exactly what it meant.
Sem took Ulva away, going further to explain everything they had experienced the night before, and now Ulva knew what had taken them so long to return.
The four of them would go on to spend the next few days settling into their temporary camp, looking after the small girl while trying to figure out what could be done about her predicament. It wouldn't be much later when they would pick back up, and set off again.
They were a small group of nekomata, which deviated from others of their kind, who had gradually found one another over time.
During their travels, they would stumble upon Sheila—who they found knelt into a field of flowers, picking at various herbs she had found growing amongst them. A satchel rested at her side, and a book on herbology was in her possession.
"How is this?" Sheila asked softly, pressing two large flower heads to Variann's ears—who had been standing on her own.
Her voice wasn't too quiet, as she was testing the field, but she was quiet enough.
"That feels funny," Variann's delicate, yet gravely voice spoke softly.
It was still a bit loud, yet somehow, it did have an effect.
Putting that aside, Sheila found larger, slightly denser flower heads, trying those next.
"How about this?"
Variann gave Sheila an expressive scowl, but it wasn't in as much of an annoyed sense as it was just feeling what Sheila was doing for her was marginally weird, yet she was slightly amused.
"You're a bit funny, but I kind of like it," Variann indirectly answered.
Sheila blinked at Variann curiously, continuing to hold the large flower heads to her ears as she was unsure of what her response meant.
"It's better," Variann spoke softly, taking a chance at raising her own voice slightly to test the field for herself.
It had worked.
Now it was a matter of figuring out just how they could utilize this method of covering, and how they could get the flower heads to remain in place.
As time would go on, the group would learn that like them, Sheila too had her own reasons for being on her own—and she had decided to join them. They were becoming quite the close group, with Kenrir setting apart to everyone but one. Everyone got along, and their journey was quite peaceful with minor skirmishes along the way.
After a few weeks traveling together, Variann—in her flower-made headdress—would stumble across a strange feeling in a wide, rolling hilled meadow, stretching out as far as the eye could see.
"Do you feel that?" the small girl asked.
Variann's gaze had drifted off beside their path.
Everyone had stopped, looking back at Variann, who had suddenly fallen behind them.
"What is it?" Tatalia asked, while catching Sem's shirt in her fingers, as he hadn't quite stopped just yet. Even Kenrir had stopped of his own accord thereafter, as they all turned their attention in the same direction off into the distance.
"There's something over that way..."
Variann soon turned her gaze to face the others.
"Can't you feel it?"
No one could feel what Variann had, which was another case that made her truly special.
"What does it feel like?" Ulva asked in a growing curiosity.
Sheila, who had been hanging next to Ulva who stood close to Sem, had tilted her head slightly in equal curiosity. Kenrir hung towards the back, closest to Vari, as he all but stood over her at her side.
Variann, standing a small distance away, lifted her hand to point out to a forest out in the distance.
"It's calling to us."
Some subtle breaths were heard among the group, and they all turned to face one another as they each took into consideration the small girl's words.
Kenrir turned his attention to Sem. He had no desire to deviate from the group, but at the same time, he didn't want to ignore the girl who seemed to have such an obvious set path.
"What do you think?" he asked him.
Surprised by Kenrir's seeming request for guidance, Sem stepped forward, marginally closing the distance.
"It's not like we have anywhere to go anyway. I say, we let her lead."
Variann had lowered her hand, but she hadn't stopped looking in the direction of the forest. She remained there, listening, as she tried to understand.
Variann also hearing Sem's words, took a few steps forward toward the forest, as her feet once again came to stand still.
"So... we're coming."
It was evident to everyone, that her words weren't directed to any of them, but were rather vocalizing to something off in the distance.
In changing their path, Sem, Tatalia, Ulva and Sheila, Kenrir and Variann, all set off on a new course into the forest.
As she led everyone by following her unique senses, her eyes eventually stared off in awe, as a large, pink tree surrounded by a bed of flowers reflected from her eyes in full blossom.
Everyone stopped, as something so inspiring had befallen them all.
Everyone else could now feel something that they never had before.
"Gorgeous..." Sheila muttered, and Tatalia too had the same thought, while all the others stared off in utter amazement.
Variann's gaze soon fell upon the bed of blossoms, and a moment later she stepped forward.
Her bare feet entered the blossoms, and a powerful calm stemmed into her, resonating with her from the ground below.
She paused for a moment, taking in the overwhelmingly gentle sensations that surged through her unlike anything she had experienced before. That was until she heard something—not a voice, but something else that she could feel. It bore a different sense of calmness, and was coming from the base of the tree itself.
As Variann approached the tree, she reached out her hand, placing her palm upon it.
Her breath soon hitched, as it was as though the tree had a voice of its very own.
She looked upon the bark in utter amazement, and she listened.
Everyone had been so amazed by the vividly blossomed tree, that they paid absolutely no mind to Variann in the flower bed. They each examined individual parts of the tree, as they stood just outside the flower bed.
After a few moments, Variann with her palm still on the tree, turned her gaze upon both Sem and Tatalia.
"It wants you two to enter the flowers," she spoke to them, and everyone knew she was specifically talking to them.
Both Sem and Tatalia perked up at her instruction, surprised the Variann somehow understood something that they themselves couldn't—then after little hesitation, the two of them stepped forward together, entering the radiance of flowers.
Small puffs of lace suddenly rose from the flowers, as the dense bed of flowers surrounding the tree filled the air with the same. It took Sem and Tatalia by surprise, and they froze, as they and everyone else took in the ambient sight around them.
Variann with less surprise, took in the beauty of lace flowing all around them.
Her eyes soon stood upon them once again, as she soon opened her mouth tospeak.
"The tree gives you its blessing," Variann explained, "It feels something in you two—something that must happen."
Tatalia stood puzzled, taken aback and unfamiliar with what she meant, but Sem knew it all along—as his eyes only slightly veered away.
"This tree has a mind of its own?" Sem questioned internally.
It hadn't taken him much thought to determine what they were to do next.
Variann returned her gaze upon the bark of the tree, and she blinked at it, as she soon rested her head upon it. A certain chill ran down her spin—her body reacting to it briefly, and a single tear soon slipped from her eye—dripping into the flowers below.
Thereafter, Variann rose her head—gazing to the tree with watery eyes, and a smile on herface.
"Thank you..."
Her voice was calm, her heart was whole, and it was all for the blessing bestowed upon her.
As Variann turned away from the tree, her hand left the bark, and she looked to the others with a pure, teary smile.
This was when Sem knew that what must be done stood true.
"This is it. This is where we must reside."
Sem turned his attention to Tatalia, taking her hand as he delivered promise, locking onto hers with just his eyes.
"This is our home."
Tatalia's eyes widened, reading the promise within his gaze.
Variann nodded towards them with a hum, in complete and utter agreement with full understanding.
"'Home...'"
Everyone stood there in a collective feeling of promise, one that for the moment was foreign to them, and full of peace.
"So this is the place..." Kenrir spoke in a solemn calm.
Sheila stepped forward, barely reaching the edge.
"The place that we can call 'home...'" as she stared off upon it all.
This was the tale of how it all began, and what had set the foundation for a 'sweet journey'...
"I wonder how long it will be, before it will truly be our own..."
These words, were the words of one's subconscious.