I caught up with Lana near the Spirit Tree. Neil ran away to the elder spirits closer to the Tree, while Lana and I settled down on a stone. My sister spoke first.
— Orion, do you remember when I told you about the last moments of your parents' life? Look at that branch with three glowing leaves.
Lana pointed to the Spirit Tree.
— Your parents took their last breath on it.
My sister said this with sadness, but after she told me everything, there was peace of mind on her face and a slight smile appeared. She continued.
— There are amazing moments in such an early appearance of our brothers and sisters.
— Lana, tell me about these amazing moments.
My sister looked at me and after a few seconds turned her gaze back to the Spirit Tree.
— Three winters have passed since the birth of Neil, Ren and the rest of the elder spirits, and new spiritual leaves have appeared in the spring. Mia is one of the four spirits born in the second generation. Three winters later, I and my four brothers and two sisters were born. Hol and the others were also born in the spring, three winters later. By the way, you were born on the same night, together with them,— Lana laughed briefly. — An amazing coincidence, isn't it? And so. It's the beginning of autumn, which means they will appear six months earlier, and there are eleven of them. This is more than in the last four generations. By the way, few people know, but nine guardian spirits were born in the first generation.
Lana was silent for a while, and just when I wanted to ask her a question, she said one more thing.
— It is also amazing, Orion, that on the branch on which your parents gave their spiritual light to our father, Ori, three spiritual petals appeared at once. There has never been such a thing. The only two spirits that have grown and fallen from the same branch are Ansu and Nansu.
— Lana, where is the ninth senior spirit then?
— No one knows, even the older brothers and sisters themselves only saw him or her once when they were born.
While we were talking, Neil and the other senior spirits were discussing something, periodically looking at the Tree of Spirits and at the branch with three spiritual leaves.
— So you're five and a Holf years old?
— Yes.
— Neil and the others are twelve and a Holf?
Lana nodded.
Then Neil, Ren and Suri came to us. As soon as they approached us, their puzzlement became noticeable. Ren came closer and addressed us.
— Orion, Lana. We have decided to let you and Neil take care of our three brothers or sisters growing on the same branch.
Just as Lana opened her mouth to say something, Ren held out his palm. She abstained.
— Our father spoke to Neil. He informed us that these three spiritual leaves might be unusual because of the remaining energy and essence of Orion's parents on that branch. Our father asked us to let these three spirits be raised by Lana, Neil and you.
Ren looked at me. Lana suddenly focused on the Spirit Tree. She attracted our attention so that we, too, turned our gaze to the first spiritual leaf that fell off.
A light breeze was blowing, and the glowing leaf was slowly falling to the ground, wagging from side to side, as if performing a dance in the air. While he was flying, one by one the others began to break down. It was a beautiful sight that I saw for the first time.
— Once again I am watching the first movements of our brothers and sisters and I can't get used to this wonderful phenomenon, — Suri said in an excited and joyful voice. We all watched the smooth movements of the petals in the air. Everyone breathed deeply and often. My heart was fluttering, emotions were rushing out from this exciting moment. Ren and Suri rushed to the birthplace of the first spirit. The first petal landed on the soft grass and lit up with a bright light. A small glowing creature appeared in its place. Lana and I arrived at the place of birth to take a closer look at the new brother or sister. It turned out to be a spirit boy with fancy ears and appendages. His ears were rather narrow and long, and pointed backwards. The appendages grew just below the ears and pointed in the same direction as the ears. He lifted his eyelids and looked at us with his black eyes with a white pupil. There was so much childlike innocence and kindness in his eyes that you could look into them forever, forgetting about reality.
And so each fallen spiritual leaf took the form of a luminous creature. All the spirits who were older than me ran from one newborn to another. The only three leaves from one branch did not want to leave the Spirit Tree in any way. Lana, Neil, and I watched and waited for them to finally decide to accept this world in the guise of beings of pure light. And then two of them fell off the branch and danced in the air between them. We headed to where they were supposed to land. The wind blew in the opposite direction, and two spiritual leaves flew in the opposite direction, as if flirting with us. Each of us could not wait for the moment of their birth, and now a few meters remain to the ground. Very soon I will become the happiest moki in the whole wide world.
From the dark night forest, a dark creature was watching what was happening in the clearing next to the new Spirit Tree. For these children of light, everything that was happening was a joyful event, but for him, the appearance of new spirits only complicated the task of capturing Niwen. Once he managed to do this, but due to unforeseen circumstances he had to leave Niwen, gripped by Decay. And so, out of nowhere, a daredevil appeared who managed to reunite Seir and recklessly merge with him, thereby spoiling what the dark creature barely managed to achieve. He watched the children of light with an evil look and with the same thoughts on his mind. When two of the three remaining spiritual leaves fell from the branch, the observer turned his gaze to the last leaf, which was on a small twig growing from the main branch.
"Hmm-m-m… The last spirit does not want to leave his father in any way, I wonder. Maybe I should try to steal it and turn it against the light and our relatives? Yeah... it's a good idea, but how? There are too many of these so-called light beings around, perish you in the darkness!"
The dark creature was considering a plan to commit a crime. A bird with black and white plumage, a long blue tail and a small beak came into view. Flying past the Spirit Tree, it suddenly swooped down to the last leaf. The bird landed on the main branch and, having eaten a twig with a leaf, took off with it, holding the glowing leaf in its beak. The observer looked at those who were in the clearing. Their fuss amused him, the way they tried in vain, using their abilities, to save the leaf with the soul, and allowed him to smile maliciously.
"That's a shame. Poor things, they missed their miracle and are now trying to get it back. I need to follow that bird that fits so well into my plan. I cannot allow this unborn spirit to get to these beings of false light."
"Well, soon my journey will end, and I will be in my native cozy nest. It's just a pity that I couldn't find something interesting..." - reasoned a bird flying past a large branching tree with fancy hanging lights. The bird's attention was attracted by the glowing leaves slowly descending down. One of these leaves remained hanging on a branch. She swooped down and, sitting on the main branch, bit a thin twig with a glowing leaf. Clutching a twig in its beak, the bird flew up to the sky and quickly flapped its wings, noticing the pursuit.
"I'll plant this twig at home, maybe something will grow. And the leaf is beautiful, I hope it will hold."
Two leaves touched the ground and shone with a bright light. In their place appeared two charming creatures, curled into a ball. When our eyes got used to the colors of the surrounding world after the dazzling radiance, we were able to see two charming creatures glowing with white light. The first thing we all noticed was their hind legs. Instead of hooves, they had paws similar to the paws of moki.
— How amazing. Their paws, they... they... are not like ours. It looks like we have a special brother and sister now,- Lana said with a slight surprise and kindness.
— Heh. So that's what our father was talking about about a possible feature,- Neil said.
The girl's ears are like a rabbit's, lowered down. Instead of appendages, one long thin appendage grew above each eye, similar to a tendril with a translucent tip in the form of a flashlight. The tip of the tendril itself shone with a bluish glow relative to the whole animal due to the concentration of energy in it. Her tail was as long as her body, covered with short fur and with a small extension in diameter at the end. The spirit's fur radiated a soft, soothing, whitish glow.
The boy was a little more different from the spirits in that his ears were more like moki's ears, only a little longer. Behind the ears grew appendages similar to those of his sister, in the form of antennae, but slightly thicker, and their tips glowed with a darker shade. And despite the fact that he was bigger than his sister, they were very similar to each other.
— I wish I could see their eyes, — Lana said, raising both paws to her muzzle and clenching her fists together. Neil couldn't resist making a joke about me and my brother and sister who still haven't woken up.
— Orion, it looks like you have competitors for the love of sleeping.
I grinned and ignored Neil's taunt. There was no limit to my happiness, and I looked up. The last spiritual leaf remained, hanging on a small branch of the Spirit Tree. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bird flew in and broke a twig with a spiritual leaf. At the moment of the fracture, a shining translucent line formed between two fragments of the branch. She reached for the bird until it flew away to a greater distance.
Many of the spirits present abruptly took off and tried to catch the thief in every possible way. Someone fired a spiritual arrow, and it flew past without causing any damage to the bird.
— DON'T SHOOT! — Ren shouted at the top of his voice, — We're not harming creatures that don't threaten the forest! Sheila, lift Mia up in the air so she can catch this bird.
Ren understood that Sheila would not be able to reach the bird with telekinesis at such a distance. She reacted instantly. With the help of her ability, she lifted Mia to the maximum height. Mia, in turn, tried to pull the thief with the help of an energy whip, but she was already too high and was quickly moving away. Sheila stumbled and lost control of the ability. She caught Mia a meter off the ground and gently lowered her to the ground while on the ground. Many ran away to the forest to try to save the spiritual leaflet from an unknown fate.
Neil, Lana and I stayed where we were, unable to leave the two creatures who had not yet woken up, who had lost a relative.
— They can handle it, right? Will they be able to bring him back? Neil? Lana?
They could not answer. Joy was replaced by deep sadness. The remaining spirits, like us, drooped, hugging their newborn brothers and sisters.
A few minutes later, Ren and the others came back. The elder spirit came up to us and looked at me.
— I'm sorry. We couldn't catch the bird. She flew away towards the ocean. Forgive me.
For the first time, Ren looked so depressed. He sat down on the ground and closed his eyes, unable to look at us. Suri sat down next to him and tried to comfort him, even though she herself was not in the best condition. Neil sat down next to me and closed his eyes. His father's voice sounded in his head. He listened carefully to every word. When our father finished his speech, Neil exHoled and, opening his eyes, addressed all of us.
— My father is saddened by what happened. He could not imagine that such a thing could happen. Not knowing the fate of our sister... yes, there was the soul of our sister in that leaf, our father at the last moment, introduced into her consciousness, which had not yet fully formed, some knowledge about survival and the world around her. He would never want any of his children to experience loneliness like he once did,- Neil squeezed his eyes shut, showing deep sadness. — Along with the knowledge, our father managed to give her her name.
Everyone present listened attentively to their brother. Lana eagerly asked him about the name of their stolen sister.
—Her... her name is Nori.
He turned towards the flying bird and repeated the name of the stolen spirit.
— Father said one more thing. Seir will do his best to find her light. As soon as she reveals herself, we will be informed of her location.
Ren stood up and put his paw on Neil's shoulder and looked into his eyes.
— We will wait for it, brother, we will wait. We need to take care of our younger brothers and sisters.
After these words, he headed towards the other spirits.
— Okay. Lana, take the baby. I'll take the boy. Orion, let's go to your house.
Neil and Lana picked up the newborns on our paws and slowly wandered towards the Spring Glades, lowering our ears. I hurried after them.
Upon arrival at my house, Neil and Lana put our younger brother and sister on my former parent's and my current bed. As soon as they were on the soft surface, the girl's ears and bizarre antennae began to move. Her ears tried to catch the sounds, and the tips of her antennae, like her brother's, shone even brighter. The girl opened her black eyes with a bright white pupil and focused her attention on us. We looked at her with emotion. Opening her mouth, she began to make sounds, but because of her undeveloped vocal cords, she could not speak. She shifted her gaze between us and the objects around her. Her voice, though childish, was clear and beautiful.
— How nice.
— Her voice is similar to Mia's voice when she was just born. She was also talkative.
— And what should I call it? Lana asked. We can't have two Mia's, can we?
Neil smiled.
Taking into account Neil's words about Mia, I decided to call my younger sister by a similar name.
— Moya, I want to call her Moya.
— It's a pretty name, almost like Mia, — Neil agreed with me. Then our little brother opened his eyes. He looked at us with his wide-open eyes, similar to the eyes of his own sister, and shifted his gaze to her. After a moment, he moved closer to her. Resting his head against her body, he closed his eyes and purred. Moya also closed her eyes and put her head on him.
— I have never seen a more pleasant and sweet scene, — said Lana. — What should we call the boy?
Listening to the purring of my little brother, I was able to find a suitable name for him.
— Maybe we should call him Moore? I think it suits him.
Neil and Lana nodded in agreement. Our younger brother and sister opened their eyes and looked at us. Moya spoke to us again with a set of sounds.
— Moya and Moore, they are beautiful, like all the other newborns, and they seem to want to eat.
My stomach rumbled at the mention of food. I haven't eaten since the beginning of the trial and hurried to my supplies of peaches to distribute to everyone. Moya and Moore, taking a peach each, first sniffed them and only then bit off small pieces. After tasting it, they smiled and began to eat the fruit one by one.
After dinner, Moya and Moore fell into a sweet sleep, quietly snoring on a straw bed. We couldn't sleep after what happened last night. Each of us watched the sleeping innocent creatures, immersed in our thoughts. Lana looked at Neil, and he broke the silence in this room. He spoke in a whisper so as not to wake the sleeping babies.
— I can feel what you're thinking, Sister. We will not be able to hide from our newborn brother and sister for a long time what happened. Our connection is strong enough, because we were born from the same tree; those who grew up on the same branch, this connection is even stronger. They may feel their sister's absence. But you need to try to hide it as long as possible, otherwise they can go in search of her and disappear with her.
I didn't like it. I went through this without knowing the fate of my parents for two winters. Now I have to repeat it with my younger brother and sister. But Neil is right. We must not allow them to go in search of their sister, at least until they get stronger and are able to stand up for themselves. The loss of the one I've been waiting for has not gone unnoticed. My thoughts got confused, and I kept trying to find a solution how to find her.
— Neil, but what should we do? Maybe we should go on a search?
Neil shook his head.
— No, Orion, our task now is to raise Moya and Moore and wait for word from our father. I'm as worried about the baby as you are, but we have to believe in her and our soon meeting. I am sure that Nori will be strong and will cope with everything.
Neil smiled at us with a sad, tired smile and, leaning on the table, closed his eyes. We did the same thing.
A bird flew slowly over the swaying sea, holding a twig with a beautiful glowing leaf in its beak. There were no evil intentions in her thoughts, and she could not know that she was taking the leaf with the soul of an innocent animal further away from his house. From the happiness caused by the unexpected find, the feathered bird did not notice the clouds coming from the right. The wind picked up and carried her a little to the side. I had to resist the force of the wind on the way to the nest. A large island with tall trees was already visible, among which her house was located. Suddenly, a glowing leaf fell from a branch, and it was carried away by a stream of wind. The bird followed him with a saddened look and decided to get to the nest as soon as possible.
The spiritual leaf continued to fly over the ocean, obeying the force of the wind. Several times he sank close to the surface of the water, but the ocean did not want to accept him in any way, every now and then throwing him back up by an unknown force. The wind carried the leaf further and further away, to a small unfamiliar island with tall trees. Maneuvering between the branches, the leaf descended until it came into contact with the surface of the stone.
Among the tall trees, on a high sloping stone, after a bright flash, a small animal glowing with a white glow appeared. The eyes were closed, there were no emotions on its muzzle. The creature did not yet know what his life path might be and in what world he was born. But there was something that was well imprinted in its memory — the name, and it sounds like "Nori".