It was no surprise that Quielle was one of the more reckless members of her family. Even as a youngling the girl was skirting about in the shadows, chasing after whatever adventures she could find in the island before her family decided to move towards Belrea to visit family and explore the world. But before they left the island there was a huge storm that shook the trees, their leaves flinging this and that way as the winds wailed around their family home. Quielle, of course, had seen the darkening clouds but rather than being afraid of them took it as a challenge to explore the nearby coast for anything exciting while her family was busy preparing the house in case things got a bit wild. Surely though she could get away with a little walk to go gather something, right? She really had wanted some of those pink fruits that grew on the trees before any storm knocked them away into the ocean, the girl feeling awfully stubborn especially after hearing that they could be traveling soon. How often would she get to try her favorite fruits if they left? Not that she minded an adventure but there was still a pang of loss whenever she thought about not waking up and being able to go to her favorite cove whenever she wanted anymore. Her mama always did say that sometimes you had to give up things to get something new though. But for now? She wanted to try to gather as many of those fruits as possible before losing the chance to do so! And so she had taken two baskets with her, the woven material bulging at the seams from how many fruits the girl collected. However, her timing was not the best because Quielle found herself getting pelted by really fat raindrops before she could leave the cove. Attempting to run would probably cost her a basket and she really didn’t want to give up the fruits…plus, how long could a storm really last? They had strong rains all the time that were over in a blink, so surely this would be over soon. At least that was her hope as she made her way towards the cliffs and climbed up a bit, taking her time with the baskets even as the rains picked up, and then the girl tucked herself away into the little cave that was higher than the beach so that she didn’t have to worry about the tide coming in on her. Her brother had shown her the spot since he liked to watch birds and for once Quielle was really grateful for his hobby, it was much better to be up here than to risk getting washed away and losing her fruits.

Though as the winds continued raging, the girl found herself surprised as someone else wandered in. At first she thought it was a monster, Quielle raising a fruit to toss it at the stranger in defense with a scream, but then lightning revealed the golden colors of a soaked hapuna girl. “Hey there. Mind if I stay with you?” The hapuna asked, her arms shivering as she hugged herself against the chillness of the air from the cave.

“I…I ‘spose.” Replied Quielle after a moment, the child remembering her manners and also not feeling like being mean with the storm raging outside. “There’s just enough space for two, and you can’t take more than one fruit.” She placed the one that she had nearly thrown on the ground and scooted back further to give the hapuna space.

“Thank you.” The hapuna smiled as she accepted the offering. “My boat drifted over here when the winds got too strong. What about you?” She tilted her head, blinking thoughtfully as she studied the girl in the dim light. “You seem awfully young to be a traveler.”

“I…” Quielle pursed her lips before shaking her head. “I could travel if I wanted. Either way I’m fine, I have a place to go once the storm lets up. So you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Hmm. If you say so.”

“I do! Though…you said you had a ship? Do you travel?”

A soft laugh of amusement before the hapuna nodded. “I do. Would you like to hear some stories? Might as well since we’re kind of stuck here, right? My name is Kula, by the way.”

Quielle’s silver gaze brightened at the offer and she found herself nodding. “I think that’s a good idea! I’m Quielle!” And so they spent the next few hours with Quielle listening to the hapuna’s stories until the storm finally quietened down, the youngling feeling a bit more excited about traveling than she had before meeting Kula. Thankfully Kula’s boat was also okay and so Quielle said her farewells and prepared to rush home, offering some of the fruits as an apology for worrying her family.

[820]