Alaia Skyhawk: Expect cuteness early on, though things will get darker in a few chapters time. Now though, now is time for fluff :D

Note, up until chapter 3 there will be very little dialogue. It just plotted out that way, so the chapters will only be short up until more speech comes in... and I hate to disappoint, but Ratatosk himself won't utter a word until chapter 6. It's so cute to write from his POV, but without him actually speaking. XD

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I don't own Tales of Symphonia so please don't sue me. I do however own Krishka, Dallinius (Dalli), Aluran, the Alurannai and any OCs, except Sanaro and Annule, who belong to 2123, Mika and Fiuras, who belong to WingedWithFireyMana, and Gaea Silverleaf, who belongs to Sparkling Moon Phoenix, so please don't steal them...

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Chapter 2: Childish Curiosity

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His laughter drifted on the wind, unheard by the elves nearby as he danced over the grass. He'd never known sunshine before, not that he'd been alive that long to have encountered it. His innocence knew no bounds as his red eyes sparkled with happiness, happiness that turned to curiosity as he knelt down to peer at one of the many tiny flowers that poked up among the swaying stems that reacted not to his presence.

He prodded at the flower, tiny white petals arrayed around a yellow centre like a sun with white rays radiating outwards. It didn't matter that he already 'knew' this flower and its fellows having balanced the mana within them, it was the first time he'd taken a close look at them with his own eyes and wondered at the beauty of it.

Smiling he got up, eyes moving to latch onto the erratic fluttering of a nearby butterfly. Walking over to it he watched it, following it even when it fluttered well above the ground. Standing on air where he'd stepped up as though it were a staircase, he held out a hand and continued to smile as the creature briefly alighted on his fingertips. He could not cease to find wonder in everything the Tree had created, his child-like nature allowing him to find happiness in even these simple things. Summon Spirit he might have been, his nature would mature as his Tree did, taking him though childish games onwards to the calm observation of an adult. He was free to revel in his youth though, for it would be several centuries before his Tree reached it's full size. For now he could play in this new world, and delight in all he would see.

He looked around from his lofty perch, gaze sweeping over the nearby sea of tents that housed the thousands of elves. They'd marked out fields, fields the Tree had filled with crops that would flourish in this bright sunlit world. Many of the plants brought from Derris Kharlan would dislike full sunlight, hence their being brought as seeds carefully preserved until a suitable place was found for them. Others were too large to bring as grown plants, like the flowers that puffed out gusts of wind when they were healthy. Ratatosk remembered those flowers, there had been some in the garden of the woman who had tended the Tree. He'd spent a full afternoon during his first week of life simply hovering in the air over one of the flowers, letting the gusts ruffle his hair.

He frowned for a moment, thoughtful. Where was that woman now? He'd not seen her since she planted the Tree, and surely after taking such good care of it while it had been in the urn she'd come back to check on it. He floated back down to the grass, trotting through it in the direction of the elven settlement while high in the sky above the purple sphere where he'd been born was no longer there. He didn't really think about it now, as frightened as he'd been to leave it. His mind was too young and flighty to hold onto yearning for a place he'd known for but a few short weeks. What his mind yearned for now was learning, and understanding of this world he'd been bid watch over.

Skipping through the long grass, he continued to smile as he hummed to himself unheard by the elves he passed in the fields. Even if he'd wanted them to know he was there, the Tree wouldn't allow them to. He was its secret, just like all other Tree Spirits were kept secret by their trees. In these early years it would protect him, and once the Tree was fully grown and his power and form mature, he would protect it.

He reached the settlement, eyes never ceasing to move from one face to another. It had been over a year since curiosity had brought him into the town, he'd slept from weariness for most of a year after balancing the mana for the first time. Now nearing the end of their third year on this new world, the elves had wasted no time at all in making up their numbers. Every woman he saw had a toddler or a baby in tow, the children bright and healthy as young elves on Derris Kharlan had not been for many generations. On that purple sphere most were born sickly, prone to illness, with few making it to adulthood. But where Derris Kharlan's darkness had been slowly killing them, here the bright sunlight nurtured them. As they'd hoped, their immigration had saved them, and just as he found delight in everything, so Ratatosk delighted in their happiness.

He wandered through the town, searching for the presence of the woman. It took him some time to find her, with so many new lives close by, but when he did he broke out into a joyful grin and hurried over to her. She was sat in a garden behind what must have been her canvas home, smiling as she listened to the happy chortles of the baby in her lap. Ratatosk stood at her shoulder, as he had done that day they'd departed Derris Kharlan, and he looked over it at the child. Bright green eyes were fixed on a silver pendant that dangled on a fine chain from her neck, the item square with scrolling patterns on its edges. Peering at it Ratatosk didn't know what it was, but he could sense it was special.

He stayed there, watching her care for her child; feeding it, cleaning it when it cried, and singing to it as she rocked it to sleep. He sang too, humming with his silent voice in harmony to that lullaby. It was his thanks to her for tending the Tree, and bringing him to this world so full of bright promise and hope. It began to grow dark, the woman checking the herbs in her garden one last time before she retreated into her tent with her baby. Reassured that she was fine, that the reason she hadn't visited was because she was caring for her baby, Ratatosk returned to the Tree and sat himself once more at its base, gazing up at the darkening sky with awe as the stars blinked into life... one by one.

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Alaia Skyhawk: Well, the next chapter is sure to get a few laughs. I think I'll write it next then do another chapter on Restoration. Happy reading :D