Urat closed his eyes and listened to the dim sound of crickets chirping in the distance. The peace and serenity of Sarutabaruta settled about his shoulders. The young Mithra let out a sigh of relief. What a wonderful place it was, this land of purity, yet untouched by the filth of Beastmen.
Final Fantasy XI, characters, races, and names, all belong to their proper affiliates.
Rating: T; Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.
Words: 825
Primary Language: English
Fanfic of… Final Fantasy 11
Chapter 1 Altana's Gift
The Mithra was the last male of his race in Vana'diel that anyone knew of. Thus, he was watched over constantly and protected. Urat cracked one eye open to view his guardian, Mahajaa-Mela, a slightly older Mithra, whom was currently sitting atop a nearby outcrop of rock protruding from the ground, casually shiny her Spatha. She paused every so often to examine he reflection, searching for any smudge that dare escape her rigorous cleaning.
Urat moved is gaze over the landscape, watching a small Rabbit nose its way amongst a patch of flowers, searching for food. The young Mithra's tail swung back and forth across the cool grass lazily, his eyes continuing their scan of the landscape. His gaze landed upon a small yellow daisy.
Lazily, the Mithra stretched out one arm to grasp its stem and pluck it from the ground. Perhaps mother would enjoy the present. Suddenly Urat's ears perked up as the sun neared the horizon. The young Mithra hopped up with sudden energy and ran towards the outcrop his guardian sat upon. His dexterous claws found crevices cleverly concealed within the rocky faces as he easily scaled the rock, to sit beside Mela. She turned her gaze towards him to smile warmly.
Urat leaned forward eagerly as the sun finally dropped below the level of the horizon. A sudden flash of light from it caused the entire sky to turn into an iridescent display of warm colors mixing with blues and purples. Clouds lazily skimming the horizon turned a flaming red as the sun finished setting, before the pair were bathed in darkness.
For a moment, the two Mithras sat in silence, before Mela spoke up, "Well," she yawned, "I suppose it's time for us to head back to the Woods," she spoke, stretching her arms aback and purring quietly. Urat sighed and stood up.
"Can't we stay out for a bit longer?" he queried, gazing up at his guardian.
She frowned, "no. It's getting late, and the bigger monsters come out after sunset, we need to go home," she patted him on the head, "Besides, it's almost your bedtime!" Urat frowned and followed her towards the path that led back to Windurst Woods.
At the gate, Urat waved to one of the guards as they passed by, "Hey, Urat!" the one on the left called out to the young Mithra, "Heard you're taking the test tomorrow, good luck!" Urat grinned back and returned the wave.
Urat entered Windurst, waving at a group of passing Tarutaru, the other race that inhabited Windurst. Unlike the catlike Mithra, Tarutaru where only waist height, and had large round heads with pointed ears that stuck out comically, giving them the appearance of a football with arms and legs. The two races were altogether warm and welcoming, and always the life of parties.
Urat grinned at Mela, "Race you home!" he shouted jumping up and down.
She sighed, "I'm sorry Hun. I have some business to take care of with the guards. They need me to do some scouting," she turned and left. Urat turned and continued his trek home. His gaze swept over the buildings around him as he passed the center point of Windurst Woods, the massive fountain built by the Tarutaru to celebrate the joining of the Mithran tribes with Windurst.
The majority of the building where made up of small huts fashioned of rawhide, with the occasional ancient stone building, normally reserved for studying of the Arts. A small stream trickled form the fountain to join the water network that made up most of Windurst.
The small Mithra followed the wooden path above the water towards his home at the edge of the Woods. As it came into view, Urat's listless walk turned into a full run. The small Mithra ran through the door breathlessly, grinning at his startled mother.
"You're home!" she said, frowning at him, "And filthy as usual! Go and clean yourself up!" Urat nodded and obediently made his way to the large basin of lukewarm water at the back of the large double hut. He began to fiercely scrub his skin.
Unlike the other races, young Mithra actually preferred to keep clean, mainly due to their catlike heritage. Urat finished rubbing down the soft fur on his ears, which instantly perked back up into position. He returned to his mother, who gave him her approval, before Urat returned to the back of the hut and into his room.
The small Mithra quietly slipped under the covers of his bed and drifted into innocent slumber quickly. It had been an eventful day, and Urat was tired. Tomorrow was going to be even bigger, for it marked the day of his test that would determine whether or not he could join the Academy in the hand to hand division. This would eventually lead to him obtaining monk status and his adventurer's certificate. After several years worth of training of course.