Chapter Text
The feather fluttered in the gales of the storm, trying its hardest to stay attached to the Spirit Willow. But the winds were too powerful; it was plucked from the safety of the leaves and cast into the open air. It was dragged through the sky violently, being yanked by an imaginary string. Down on the ground, Gumo was outside and spotted it being carried away. He got up and began following its path. The wind whipped it to and fro, and Gumo just barely kept it in his line of sight. It took him on a long journey around the surface of Niwen; through Howl's Den, around the hollow trees of the Wellspring Glades and up into the flowery Baur's Reach, the harsh winter turned to spring thanks to Ori, before entering the cliffside lake of the Wellspring. This place was sheltered from most of the wind, and the feather slowly floated downwards without anything dragging it around. But it got too close to the cliff. It became trapped on a fault in the rock and became wedged. Gumo attempted to carefully climb the rock face to get to the feather. He barely got off the ground before the flimsy dirt and gravel collapsed, and he fell back down again. With a sigh of despair, he gave up and forfeited the feather, and headed back home.
He returned to the Spirit Willow sadly.
"Gumo sorry. Couldn't catch the feather. Too high up."
Ori called back down to him.
"Thank you for trying, Gumo. Don't feel too bad, there will be plenty more coming soon. It's such a shame to lose the very first of them, though."
Gumo left consoled that Ori didn't mind his failure, but still felt that he could have caught that feather if he tried harder. Next time, he would. He promised himself that.