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It was a normal day on the island that Nari had lived on for the most of his life he could remember. He glanced up into the branches of the tree he’d been sleeping in and noticed Azul resting on one of the higher branches, various trinkets adorning his feathers like the toucan was nothing more than some sort of magpie, noticing anything shiny and taking it with him to decorate his nest with it, leaving no other spoils for any of the other inhabitants of the small island, causing Nari to smile amusedly. The other inhabitants didn’t really care all that much about Azul’s antics however, as they all sort of considered him their king, despite their king’s admittedly short stature.
Life was pretty peaceful on the island, despite Azul’s apparent king status, and Nari shuffled around in his own ‘nest’ so he could see the happenings down below. ‘Nest’ was really the only word he had for the place where he slept, as anytime his mind just so happened to wander onto a possible other word for it, that storm haunting his memories would rear its ugly head. It was simply a memory, and he had no recollection of anything before that storm, so it really didn’t have anything to be repressing really, he just simply couldn’t remember anything before that point. But that was also not entirely the case either.
Nari had memories of something preceding the storm, he could just simply feel it, but he didn’t know what exactly it would be. It felt like it could be related to his name, for some reason, like part of his name had just been completely wiped from his head. ‘Nari’ by itself just somehow felt incomplete, despite being the name on the box that he’d woken up entangled in, where Azul and Sagi had found him, all those years ago. These thoughts were a fairly new development however, as if his mind had waited for adulthood to bring these ideas to light. That his name might be incomplete, and why did his memories cut off at a very specific point in his life? Were there things his mind wasn’t telling him?
Nari wasn’t stupid, at least he’d like to think he wasn’t. He could tell coral from milk, he could tell horsetail from other similar plants. He could tell the difference between edible and non-edible mushrooms. Living on the island had told him many things, but things about his possible past were few and far between here. He knew for a fact that he’d just showed up here one day, according to Sagi and Azul, and Tika had even seemed surprised at his arrival as well, but besides that knowing of him not originally being from here, the probable memories being blocked by the storm still evaded him. Though, it did bring a few thoughts to his mind, in the very least.
If he wasn’t from here, then where did he originate from?
If he wasn’t from here, were there people out there far away from the island that missed him?
If he wasn’t from here, was he missed?
If he wasn’t from here, how did he end up here?
Something about those thoughts pierced Nari’s heart. He’d ended up here at around seven years old, he knew that as much, but now? 16 years later? If people from his possible past were out there, would they even still remember him? If they were out there, were they still missing him? Even all these years later? If they were out there…
Were they searching for him?
Ignoring the stabbing feeling in his heart, Nari looked down at the sand below him. Some visiting foreign birds had landed on the sand, chattering among themselves. The birds were somewhat unique, long legged ones, with white feathers and black-capped heads. Some sort of heron or crane, it looked like, and they traversed the sand with caution, as if unused to it and they were chirping to each other, as if giving each other encouragement, and Nari, despite himself, smiled at the two birds. Then, a flock of what must have been the heron/cranes’ chicks followed after their supposed parents, and Nari watched them. The one that was slightly bigger was helping the chick that was struggling the most and Nari felt his mood darken just slightly.
Witnessing the family of cranes had just brought his mind back to the very real fact that there could be people out there that once knew him but they’ve now forgotten him. He might have had a family once.
Once.
If he had a family, did they still remember him?
Nari didn’t particularly feel his ears flatten, but he realized when Azul decided to speak up for the first time. “What’s got you so… dejected?” He asked almost as if he was personally offended by the very thought. “It’s a marvelous day, my good friend! You should enjoy it! King’s orders,” he tweeted, sounding a bit smug, and Nari could only look at him, before turning his gaze back on the sand. Then, he threw a playful look the toucan’s way.
“Well, one thing, I would like to be notified before you just say anything,” he retorted playfully. “And you’re right, I should enjoy it. Hey, isn’t it around breakfast time now? We should get on with that. We wouldn’t want to arrive and there’s nothing there, is there? Follow me.” Shuffling off of the tree branch, Nari jumped onto the jungle floor, and glanced over at the beach, just briefly. There was some sort of brown shape on the horizon, but Nari chose to ignore it and then continue onwards to breakfast
In a clearing in the middle of the jungle, numerous animals were gathered around as if it was a buffet. The herbivores, at the very least, and the omnivores. The carnivores tended to come later to pick off any unlucky individuals should they find them.
It was simply the circle of life after all.
Tika joined the two when they arrived at the banquet, thundering over like a stampeding horse. “Hey! Hi Nari, Hi your Highness,” she stated, bowing before Azul out of respect, Nari doing the same, even though he’d been talking to Azul earlier. “The food is over here.” The two followed her towards where the food was and Nari bent down in front of the mushrooms, as if evaluating them. All edible, though seemingly of different qualities, and he picked one up. It was white in colour, and he turned it around in his fingers. The mushroom was fairly round, and felt soft between his fingers. Perfect for consumption, and Nari was getting a bit hungry, so he took that mushroom and then picked out the rest from the pile and then walked away, letting the other animals take their pick of the food, as he was fine with just mushrooms.
He couldn’t quite recall where he got his love of mushrooms from, all he knew was that he’d always loved them since he’d awoken on this island, as they had been one of the first things Sagi and Azul had tried to feed him when they’d noticed him awaken all those 16 years ago. Eventually heeding his stomach’s complaint at his stalling, Nari started eating the mushrooms in a secluded corner of the clearing, watching the other animals get their fill, almost seeming out of place.
Nari was different from most of the normal animals on the island, not by much, for he still had his ears, and the tail that seemingly got more caught in the branches, despite his hair being the length of his back, but still different. Where fur didn’t grow on his body, were two slender tanned arms and legs of nothing more than skin, some kind of wrap hid most of his body, as if it was a blanket, somehow pristinely white, and the parts that weren’t covered by the white garment, were covered by a skirt made out of palm tree leaves, that scattered the beaches of the island. The skirt was uncomfortable and rough, but by this point, Nari had gotten used to it. There wasn’t much else one could use on the island to dress oneself.
Nari continued to eat the mushrooms in silence, keeping his gaze trained on the ground for no particular reason. He stared down at the mushrooms and he could hear some sort of fuzzy words in the back of his mind but he couldn’t make them out, however he could tell that they were motherly, and he could almost see a blur of a dark green shape, and warm circles of hazel in his mind. The beginnings of a song too. Something like: “Stars begin to…” A single sentence, and not even a full one at that. It almost sounded like a lullaby, like a mother might sing to their child. It almost calmed him, though in actuality it might be some sort of of poltergeist.
Suddenly, a scream. Nari looked up from the mushrooms, ear twitching, before swiveling it around to try and pinpoint where it came from.
Being born with more sensitive hearing is an advantage. Especially for someone in trouble. And it sure seems like someone in trouble.
Scoffing the remaining three mushrooms into his mouth, and swallowing them quickly, Nari raced off in the direction of the noise. It came from the more swampy area of the jungle and Nari suddenly paused. The swampy area was known for its crocodiles. Noting this, Nari stole some cobwebs from nearby spider nests, and then picked some plants that could be could good pain killers should it be needed and then continued onward. Swinging up into the higher levels of the branches, to get a better vantage point, Nari looked down at the commotion in the swamp.
Someone was sitting up in the pond like they’d fallen in, making their salmon pink fur dirty, and they were staring down the eyes of an angry crocodile. The someone’s clothes, though plain, held a sort of sense of regality to them, and the someone’s tail, was wrapping around them as if trying to warm themselves up.
Situation surveyed, Nari leapt down from the trees and landed on the crocodile’s snout, startling everyone beside the pond. “It isn’t feeding time yet Veronica,” Nari reprimanded the crocodile, before turning his gaze back on the the stranger.
The stranger was looking up at him in surprise and awe. His ears were pulled back as if in shock, and he’d stopped holding his tail so tightly, as if his arms had just completely given out and he no longer had use of them. Nari eyed the stranger wearily, slowly backing away as if he was a nervous animal, and he supposed he was, as he didn’t know the motives of this stranger at all. The stranger quickly got to his feet and tried starting to placate him, but Nari was unsure of his motives, so he just warily eyed him, backing away yet again. “…Who are you?” Nari eventually asked, and the stranger’s ears pricked to above his head.
“Oh me?” The stranger asked, surprised. “The name’s Jiaoqiu, I really didn’t mean to make a mess or commotion or anything like that. I’m simply an explorer, and this place wasn’t on the map just yet, so we thought we’d come and check it out. We really didn’t expect this place to be inhabited. So, I’m sorry about that,” this Jiaoqiu rambled out, and Nari gazed at him. “We can leave, if we’ve overstayed our welcome. It’s no trouble.”
“…We?” Nari asked simply, and Jiaoqiu blinked, before smiling.
“Oh yeah, it’s not just me but Moze too. Speaking of… where did he go?” Jiaoqiu was then distracted by looking for the man called Moze or whatever, but Nari was too distracted to really notice.
Salmon pink ears jotted out of Jiaoqiu’s head, the same shade as the fairly short curtain of hair that went to his shoulders, and his hair was braided in a way that seemed almost traditional, though Nari wouldn’t have any clue why it seemed that way. His eyes were yellow, glinting as the sun started to leave its position in the sky, lighting up the slightest bit when he caught sight of someone donned in purple. Jiaoqiu’s tail was soaked through with swamp water, muddying it, yet it was fluffier than Nari’s own. But the weirdest thing about Jiaoqiu was that he looked like him.
“You look… like me…”
Nari had never met someone that had looked like him in all the years he’d been living on the island, and though there were differences, the similarities were too great to ignore. Jiaoqiu looked like him . Were there creatures like him across the waves? Once again those thoughts came to his mind.
Had he had a family at one point? Did he just so happen to have a family out there? If so, were they missing him? Did they know he was alive and well-
That was a new thought.
Jiaoqiu turned his head and let out a somewhat awkward chuckle, as if he wasn’t sure how to explain this revelation either. His ears twitched a little, and he ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think of it, and if Nari wasn’t as wary as he was, he might have even found it cute. “Well, yes, all Foxians look like this. Well not exactly the same, I have salmon pink hair, Tingyun has brown, and so on,” Jiaoqiu said somewhat awkwardly. Nari’s ears pricked against his will as curiousity took over his wariness. Foxians? All Foxians look like this? Jiaoqiu seemed to recognize this and he calmed.
“Foxians?”
“Well yeah, they exist all over, in different cities and towns, on different continents. Just wherever civilization just so happens to show up.” Jiaoqiu smiled and gazed at him. “And I guess deserted islands as well. Say, what’s life like here? Don’t take this the wrong way, but you seem pretty… well-fed? No, that sounds too much like an animal. Hm… you seem pretty healthy? You’re a healthy weight. Nope, that somehow seems worse. Uh, what I mean is um… you look good . For a deserted island, I mean.” Nari let out a chuckle despite himself, and Jiaoqiu, the stranger, almost blushed.
For a stranger, Jiaoqiu was quite funny. He had that going for him.
“Well it’s nice to know that by this random stranger’s standards I look good,” Nari retorted playfully, once again forgoing his wariness. Jiaoqiu’s ears pricked and he smiled before chuckling a bit himself, tension fully releasing from his shoulders. Nari could feel someone watching his back, but he wasn’t exactly sure who. “Also, it may seem deserted to you outsider, but I’ve been on this island for as long as I can remember, so I kind of know my way around.” The sentence was said casually, perhaps far too casually for a conversation with a stranger, but Jiaoqiu seemed to pick up on the not very well concealed undertone to it, and he frowned.
“As long as you can remember? What happened?” The question was genuine, but Nari couldn’t help his wariness coming back with a vengeance, as he gazed at Jiaoqiu. But… he’d already mentioned Foxians, and Jiaoqiu was a Foxian… maybe he could give him answers to the many questions he had in his head.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I only remember up to a certain point in my memory, and after that point I don’t remember anything else. All my memories begin with a storm. I don’t remember where I come from. I only remember waking up on this island and being cared for by the animals.” Jiaoqiu looked thoughtful for a moment.
“I’m well-traveled in this world, maybe if you tell me your name I can see if I know anything?” Jiaoqiu offered, with a kind smile and Nari blinked at him.
“Nari.”
“Nari…. Hm… No that… doesn’t ring a bell, unfortunately,” Jiaoqiu said with a frown and shake of his head. “Though, it is quite a pretty sounding name, Na-ri. I’m sure it’s from somewhere in the world, even if I’ve never encountered the name before-“
“Prince Jiaoqiu, what are you-“ A new voice sounded, and Nari was immediately on guard again, eying the newcomer warily. Jiaoqiu blinked and then smiled.
“Moze! Took you long enough to show up-“
“I’ve been here a while, you were too busy fraternizing with the local to notice me. Hello, by the way. Jiaoqiu seemed very focused on you so I didn’t really want to interfere,” the newcomer’s speech was curt and stagnated as if he wasn’t all that experienced in social interaction. “Anyways, Jiaoqiu, have you done everything you needed here?”
“If by fall in the crocodile pond, then yes, he has,” Nari commented, curtly, and Moze blinked.
“He has a sense of humor.”
“As does everyone, Moze,” Jiaoqiu murmured sounding frustrated in a way that had Nari chuckling. Jiaoqiu smiled. “Sorry, he’s not used to actually finding life on a deserted island. We're used to abandoned islands, you see. Anyways, Moze, this is Nari. He has no memory of showing up here or where he came from.” Moze blinked.
“And yet he remains unscathed? Interesting. Forgive my prying, but I am curious now-“
“Slow down Moze.” Jiaoqiu turned towards Nari. “I’m sorry that I can’t help you remember your past, but maybe coming with us will help? If you find you hate it, we can always bring you back here.”
And so that was how Nari found himself sitting on the cliff edge, watching the sun go down, and just pondering everything that had happened earlier. With Jiaoqiu and Moze, their offer. To go to this ‘civilization’ to somehow find clues about his past. Or try to do so, at least. But, should he really trust the two strangers? When they had only really showed up that very day? Was it right to trust that they wouldn’t ship him off and sell him or something to gain a quick buck? Why was his heart fighting with his brain?
Was it the possibility of finding his family?
Was it the possibility of learning where he came from?
Was it the possibility of getting free of the loneliness of the sixteen years he’d spent here?
Was it the possibility… of seeing what’s out there.
There was the possibility that Jiaoqiu and Moze’s offer was just a trick, and that he shouldn’t trust so easily. Though something about Jiaoqiu made the black fox trust him more than he probably should have. Moze was still a mystery as well. His last memory of the ocean was of that storm, a ship being torn apart at the seams. Granted that boat had been built of weaker material than the ship Nari was currently gazing at, but it was still a memory, one that he wasn’t sure he quite wanted to relive. But then again, he could finally get the answers he found he so desperately wanted to know.
Was going with Jiaoqiu and Moze the right choice?
A thundering sound, followed by lighter paw beats, and the ever so subtle flapping of wings then entered his ears as Sagi, Azul and Tika ran over, as if to prevent him from doing something rash. “Azul and Sagi told me everything,” Tika began, her thundering footsteps coming to a halt beside him. “They said that you met a stranger in the woods. And I don’t know what you’re thinking right now, but I’m sure that those two aren’t trustworthy!” Nari’s ear flopped down as his heart clenched in his chest, but he said nothing. Sagi and Azul had also caught up by that point and were watching him, sadly and curiously. “Nari…” Tika murmured, dumbfounded. “Y-you can't be thinking of leaving, you can’t mean it!” Her plea barely reached Nari’s ears.
“Personally, I think it’s a wonderful idea,” said Azul, preening his feathers. “This man is royalty like myself, after all. And I’d say that I’m pretty trustworthy.”
“That’s not how trustworthiness works,” Sagi said eventually, before turning his gaze back on Nari. “Trust requires time, and isn’t reliant on the stranger’s similarity with the stranger. In other words, Nari’s trust must come from the stranger himself, and he mustn’t base his trust on the trust he has for you.” He flicked his tail after Azul squawked in offense, glaring at the tiger, and Nari almost laughed, though he turned away again and let out a little sigh, causing Sagi to gaze at him. “Nari?”
“I don’t know, guys. I don’t really trust them, not yet anyways, but I…” he trailed off, and then tried again. “I… look, I… don’t know where I come from, and neither do you. You said that you’ve always wanted to know, and I… just, where did I come from? I wash up on your shore with nothing other than you for company, and don’t you want to know that too? Do people still exist in my birth place? If so, who are they? Another question is why do my memories start with a storm-“
“It was storming on the day you arrived,” Sagi replied, interjecting, but Nari just shook his head.
“That doesn’t explain why I can’t remember anything before that point.” Nari sighed and tore his gaze away from the ship. “I’ve been wondering recently, what if I had family once upon a time? Would they still be missing me? Even all these years later? Would they even recognize me? I just… I just… I need to know.” Sagi stopped Tika’s protest with his tail before walking up to Nari and lying beside him.
“Nari, I know this is a difficult choice to make, but in my opinion, if these two really are willing to help you gain some answers to these questions you have swirling around in your head, then maybe leaving would be the best bet. You may not trust them fully, but if you truly feel like they are the key to the answers you seek, then maybe at least trusting them for this trip will be enough, and then you can go back to being distrusting once you’re there.” Nari could only nod quietly as he once again turned his head towards the ship at the bottom of the cliff
Maybe he would find the answers he was seeking.
~
Nari couldn’t remember the number of days he’d been on the ship as they travelled back to what Jiaoqiu had called the ‘mainland’, but had certainly been a few. The days seemed to blend into each when all that could be seen for miles was the open ocean. The only break in the otherwise mindless blue of the water were the dolphins that would appear every so often to say hi, or give a piece of news they’d heard from the waves, not that Nari was all that interested in ocean gossip. In fact, being on the boat had only aimed to bring up more questions regarding the two he was traveling with.
The main question that was currently ailing him about the strange individuals were where do they sleep if at all. Were the strange trees with the white leaves where they slept? And there was another thing, too, that seemed almost concerning to the black fox. Every so often he would witness Jiaoqiu looking through some odd looking device, with rounded edges, seemingly looking out at the sea, trying to see if there was anything to find in the vast expanse of blue. When Nari knew there wasn’t, at least from what he could see.
One of things that wasn’t weird about the two strangers though, was that they’d allowed Sagi, Azul and Tika to come with them, and despite seeming like she might affect the boat, Tika had had no adverse effects on it at all. Azul had been less than enthused but when told that it could be seen as a diplomatic mission, he had brightened considerably. It was almost…
Considerate, in a way.
Once again that strange shyness afflicted him, and Nari tightened his grip on the bow of the ship. This feeling was a new development, and foreign to him, it was almost like distrust, in some odd way, but also different in that it was an almost positive emotion in nature. He couldn’t quite describe it. In fact, the feeling made the otherwise distrustful black fox, trust Jiaoqiu more than he probably should have. Well, maybe ‘trust’ wasn’t the correct word, but he didn’t really have another name for it. Jiaoqiu was currently the one at the steering wheel of the ship, chattering away about something Nari wasn’t privy to. The pink of his hair was shining in the sun and his yellow eyes were lit up in amusement. And oh…
It was doing odd, odd, things to the black fox’s insides.
Despite having been on the ship for however many days it had been at this point, Nari felt strangely uneasy whenever Jiaoqiu would show up, and yet, it didn’t feel like the icy sort. No, this unease was warm, uncomfortably warm. This unease was the kind that made his insides feel all fuzzy and not normal . Like this feeling wasn’t meant to be there, but yet it was. It made his cheeks flush, and made him want to curl up into a ball and just figuratively die. Though, dying would probably not preferable if he wanted answers to his past, so it probably wasn’t time to die just yet.
Shaking his head to clear it if the strange thoughts, and Jiaoqiu. Though he still wasn’t sure what was causing the strange emotions to appear, but it was best to just forget about them. No use in worrying about something that was probably as silly as an illness. Turning his gaze on the sea, he tried to see if there was any sort of indication of the supposed mainland, and sure enough, a mass, about the size of a moderately sized sapling, came into the view and Nari’s ear twitched in curiousity. Was ‘mainland’ really that small? Or was that just a perspective thing. “Is that it?” He wondered aloud, not really expecting anyone to answer.
“Yeah,” a voice laughed beside him. “It seems small at first, but it’ll get larger as we get there.” Nari whipped his head around to find Jiaoqiu beside him and he stumbled backward in surprise, falling over Sagi’s sleeping frame and Jiaoqiu blinked. “Aeons above, sorry! Um, here.” He raced over and helped Nari up, but as soon as their hands touched, Jiaoqiu reddened ever so slightly and he simply just quickly helped Nari up and then immediately put distance between them. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, I was just going to ask what you think.” Nari blinked at him, before looking at where their hands had touched, even if it had only been briefly. The sensation intensified, and Nari felt his own cheeks redden, and he looked away. “So, what do you think? We’re still quite a few days out of actually getting there. But from what you can see, what do you think?”
“It looks… quite dead, to be honest. I honestly thought civilization would be more bustling, according to you. But, from where I’m standing I can’t see much bustling.” Jiaoqiu’s ear twitched and a mischevious light entered his eyes.
“Do you even know what ‘bustling’ even looks like? Were things bustling on your island?” He joked, and Nari blinked at him. He, however, strangely didn’t feel offended. Sure, there’d been animals on his island, but what exactly was the definition of bustling anyways?
“Well, no. It invokes an image of large and busy though, if that’s anything?” Jiaoqiu nodded silently.
“That’s basically what it means. But, my kingdom isn’t really one of the busier ones. It only really gets busy during festivals and events. There are others that are much busier in terms of people than mine. But, mine isn’t all that busy so that’s why I think it’s best if we bring you here because if we brought you to a busier place, it’d be harder to spread the word that we found you without rumours running rampant that you’re a slave or something. People get weird with the rumours sometimes. And the other reason? My kingdom is the closest to your island, so if you feel this isn’t for you, it wouldn’t be too much of a trip back.”
“Other kingdoms would’ve taken longer? Thank the Archons it was you who found me.” Jiaoqiu reddened again and let out a small, embarrassed laugh.
“Well it wasn’t that we found you, we kinda discovered you.”