Msafiri/Story
More actions
The "Little Brother"
| Reward |  Dough ×100 |
|---|
Under the dim moonlight, a circle of young creatures engaged in animated chatter on the great plains.
"It's my turn! What do you think we should play?" "No, no. It's my turn today! I wanna go fishing!" "But you get the next two days too, that's not fair at all!" "It's not my fault you won't be here for your turn... Plus, I need to practice hunting anyway." "How about I go instead? There'll be tumbleweeds today, and I want to catch the biggest one!" "Alright, enough. Let's do this the usual way — draw lots!" One of them pulled out a handful of wooden strips from their pocket, and the circle instantly closed as everyone picked their lot.
"The triangle mark — I got it!" Someone let out a victorious whistle as the others reluctantly returned their blank strips with pouty faces. And as this was happening, Msafiri was going about his usual hunting practices with his younger brother, blissfully unaware of the shenanigans that were about to unfold. His bright, sharp eyes focused intently on the prey mid-flight. He crouched and sprang up in a clean pounce. The soft feathers landed in his palms right on cue, and so did the prey's small form. His little brother clapped in celebration. "Plop!' said the small pebble that suddenly struck his brother's back. Msafiri immediately locked onto the source of this prank with deadly precision. He was on his way to teach the little troublemaker a lesson when his brother spoke up. "It's fine! That was our signal anyways, heh."
He watched as his brother skipped toward the "secret meeting" and kept watch from a respectful distance. Even kids need their privacy, he thought to himself. However, whether it was the telltale winds or the rush of excitement after a successful hunt, Msafiri's sensitive ears overheard some strange chatter.
"Weren't you guys supposed to take turns? Why are you guys here?" "Taking turns just doesn't work. Drawing lots is way easier! Besides, I got lucky, hehe. Can't blame me for that!" "Well, fine! You know the rules, show me the good stuff first..."
Could it be that his little brother was involved in something written in the sacred laws...? Before Msafiri could put two and two together, the little rascal who had drawn the lucky lot rushed up to him. "Big bro Radarear! What are we gonna do? Hunting? Chase tumbleweed? What it is, I'm your little brother for today!" "You're my... little brother? What do you mean?" Msafiri looked down at the kid with pigtails and expectant eyes. His lips twitched as even more questions popped into his head. "Well, anyone who draws the lucky lot can be your little brother for a day for the price of one fish! I've already paid mine~!" As the answer dawned on him, Msafiri lifted his head and twitched his ears as he spotted his actual little brother sneaking away. Uh-oh, busted! His little brother, who hadn't gone far, shuddered as the gravity of getting caught red-pawed by Msafiri descended on him.
Finally, Msafiri learned why his little brother, who usually complained about never having enough fish to eat, had been sharing half of the catch lately.
Kula Bata!
| Reward | Dough ×200 |
|---|
This was the first time Msafiri had tasted such authentic...sand. He spat a couple of times as he stood up. Fine yellow sand reustled and fell with his movements. The lens cap of the recording device was off, and the localized sandstorm was captured in its entirety. "Is it filming already?" Msafiri leaned in closer, blowing away the misbehaving feathers on his headband that interrupted his curiosity.
The camera bobbed up and down,, nodding affirmatively in place of its operator. "Well then, welcome to Planet D-18's exploration site. I'm your Driftingale Exploration Team Guide, Msafiri." He abducted an innocent emergency flashlight from somewhere to serve as a microphone while skilfully mimicking a documentary host.
"As you can see - we've just been invited to an exceptionally warm welcome ceremony fresh out of the vehicle, and even sampled some local delicacies." "Pfft-" the cameraman barely stifled a giggle. Msafiri tactfully stepped out of frame, leaving the recording to the professionals as he turned his attention to setting up camp.
But the camera faithfully captured everything in sight, including a greenhorn who accidentally tore a hole in the tent just as another wave of yellow sand came with a gust of wind. Fortunately, this one came and went quickly, and Msafiri's timely assisted evacuation meant no one was hurt. No one, except for the torn tent, now half-filled with sand. The green horn was at a loss after causing the major blunder as Msafiri pulled out his allpurpose tape and started mending the tent.
"This is perfect. I've heard about this thing called sand bath therapy. Should we all give it a go? Kula bata!" he suggested.
That night, the entire team enjoyed a nice, long, three-hour "sand bath." Topics from serious expedition work to not-so-serious gossip were exchanged, and the newly assembled team became fast acquaintances in no time.
While the windswept sands didn't exactly have any real therapeutic properies, at the very least, some of this team felt relieved.
And for Msafiri, that was all that mattered.
Special Coming-of-Age Gift
| Reward | Dough ×300 |
|---|
???
???
| Reward | Dough ×400 |
|---|
???