"Child."

He barely managed to keep a deep-seated sigh of frustration at the term. They were children years ago. They were all older now. Even Takeru was older than he himself had been when they'd come to Digiworld all of those years ago. Still… he supposed it was only natural. It was the Elder, and the Digi-Destined were referred to as "children" in every scripture they'd ever managed to decode. "Chosen Children" was the actual term. And Digimon didn't know what children were. "Yes?"

There was an ironic and tiny grin that peaked around Koromon's usually toothy mouth. As if he'd picked up on Matt's annoyance and found it strangely funny. "You react to knowledge with prejudice." Matt squinted down at him. "All knowledge; truth and lies, is like a riddle. It is finding the path that comes before you for discern which is the adventure. More will confound you and make you think. The twists and turns are full of many obstacles and further information."

He stared at the Digimon. Even with the scars and the ripped tendril… it was still a Koromon. And it was strange to hear words that weren't said around a large grin. "That was profound."

There was the Trade Mark Koro-grin. "Profoundly wise."

"Did you need something?"

Koro-Elder hummed, eyes roving away. "You all need some cheering up." It was a statement of fact, and Matt barely kept his eyes from rolling skyward. "You've all arrived in time for the Annual Holiday."

Suspicious, he quirked a brow. "Annual Holiday?"

The In-Training looked up in a sly manner, nodding more with his eyes than physically. "We've been setting up decorations all week, but we've made the most progress today." He turned outward towards the huts.

And Matt blinked. Sure enough, strings ran from hut to hut, decorations and shapes of all sorts were dangling from them. The colors were bright and… warm, ranging from yellows to browns. All over, Koromon were hopping around, working on their tasks. "What… what are you celebrating?" his curiosity won over.

And the Elder knew it. "Annual Holiday." He turned away, one tendril waving slowly with the motion. "But this is just another twist of knowledge on your path which may or may not be detrimental to your quest."

He tried schooling himself, turning around indifferently. Everything with Genai crashed back to the forefront of his mind, and he mentally growled. "We don't have time for a party. I mean no disrespect, but there's a lot going on." In his attempt to coolly brush off the Koromon, he caught sight of Hikari, carrying still her brother's partner.

But her eyes weren't distant, and Gatomon was playfully batting at the string Kari was carrying. The girl was laughing at the white and purple cat. There were two Koromon around them, too, each carrying items of their own. It was like those times he'd see her in the hallway at school, where she was surrounded by friends and looked happy to be exactly where she was. And he saw Mimi and Sora moving small items as well, Palmon stringing some things and Biyomon hanging others.

The Elder nodded, "Yes. You are needed to save our world from destruction, as the legends predict. Our festivities are low priority, and I apologize for suggesting otherwise. We will allow you all space so you may plan and discuss." The small Digimon turned away.

"… Wait..." The scarred In-Training stopped, but didn't turn around to face him. "I…" He spotted TK and Daisuke carrying a pole, bickering as they went. "I'm sorry. We… would be honored to join in your celebration."

The Elder turned around then, wisdom shining behind brown/ruby eyes. "No, child. We would be honored." The Digimon turned back toward the Fountain-like thing that had been dry since they'd arrived. "Annual Holiday is the celebration of not only our history, but of that which predates our known history. It is our tribute to the Sun and the Light."

"So it's a day of Creation." Which made enough sense. There were many Creation Holidays in the Human World. Why wouldn't Digiworld have some of its own?

"In a way. It's a lot like a party. Fun and festivities," the Elder grinned. "Something you all could greatly use. Being the Children of Legend puts much pressure upon your shoulders." Taichi… Izzy and Tentomon… Pichimon… Who knew if things were bleeding over to the real world yet…

Those striking eyes slid up to meet his own. "Keep your hope, child. Hope is a precious commodity that will guide you to the end. It is like the light. It may seem dark or dimmed, but your belief and friendship will conquer that and see you through."

=/=/=

A/N: It's back! I'm in no way promising to update as often as I was, but… here.

Elder Koromon is awesome. Nuff said.

Addtional- I feel I should qualify... this is not turning into a religious story. I know the word Creation is often hand in hand with religions, but it is not religion that is meant in this case... Matt is equating it as a similar concept. It is Digi-world, after all. It was created by man (see the chapters with Thomas and Gennai). Religion is a touchy thing in fanfic. It's not something I'd ever feel comfortable writing about in real life or in fanfic.

Regardless, tell me what you're thinking. Remember, ideas that are thrown out that give me inspiration might end up a part of the story. If there's something I need to improve on, also, please say something. I like to improve.