Doodle Champion Island Journeys!

8.

Lucky got out of the pool, dismissed the air veil and opened the holo-map to check her next destination.

Kitsune shot up in a rather loud splash and sent some water splattering out, before slowly landing next to the feline. Then, again, she chuckled at Lucky's widened eyes on her.

"All Inaris have wind power, I thought you should've guessed that when you met Ume," The fox explained.

"Ume is the mascot Inari's name right?" Lucky recalled the team selection. Ume Inari did make a whole wind cocoon poofing out of a stone lamp for an entrance.

"Uh-huh," Kitsune nodded.

"But, about the team selection..." Lucky remembered, there was no other Inaris other than Ume!
"I didn't see you there."

"Of course I didn't go to the selection. All Inaris are born dedicated to Yellow Team, our family's team, so that's not necessary," Kitsune said with pride, "So, do you have your next target in mind or are you taking a nap here and now as your species would?" she asked.

"Not ALL cats nap always, you know?" Lucky retorted, but again, she was an exception in almost all 'usual' cat activities.

Artistic Dancing was probably the least tiring contest here, still, she had used up a lot of energy to maintain that veil as well as create the sparks, so she needed something where she wouldn't burn herself out entirely. It's true that she could've taken a rest for a good few minutes or so, and it's not because of Kitsune's teasing tone that she decided to do otherwise, but rather because there was literally a whole great sports event going on that made her feel restless.

Lucky checked the holo-map: her choices were either Archery at the Northwest Docks, Climbing at the North Mountains, Rugby at Oni Island - which was another islet opposite to her location, or Marathon at the beach.

Climbing was out of the question, Lucky had experienced enough to tell how tiring it was to climb a snowy mountain...

"I'm going to the beach," she decided, "Uhm, I guess, catch you later!"

With that, she took off, back to the main island, and followed the path back to the main road. It was about an hour past noon, the early summer heat was getting on with blinding light beams but as if it could affect a cat's spirit anyway. She jogged, her scarf and her tail fluttered to her movements, the winds were so refreshing, it was barely a day that she had started to enjoy this place. And there's that sensation, every time she passed by the Central Hill, something indescribable and different from all that she'd ever known about living creature's sensations...

"Oi!" Her ears slightly twitched from someone's shouting, followed by a specifically strong wind that almost knocked her off her feet, then a familiar figure in pink came running - though her footsteps were so light she seemed to be floating - towards Lucky.

Kitsune slowed down once she spotted the lone figure of a cat with a red scarf and called out to her, but got careless in the process that she let the winds she created to speed herself up off-leash. She didn't realize it until Lucky got hit and was almost picked up in air. Oh how that cat kept surprising her, Lucky quickly unsheathed her foot claws to hold onto the ground. There was a slight change in her essence, like a barrier that made the winds slip by without further harm to her body, then she shouted out loud:

"Be careful everyone!!!"

"Ah! Sumimase!" Kitsune snapped her fingers, and the winds died down at once, "Sorry..!" she apologized to no one in particular.

Lucky drew her legs from the soil, retracted her claws, and looked at Kitsune's panicking fit:

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Lucky was worried. If Kitsune couldn't hold the winds she created, she might be in some trouble...

Kitsune felt Lucky's essence change back to normal when the winds ended, before receiving her concerned question.

"I'm fine, just got a little distracted. Controlling the air isn't easy, you know?" she sighed silently, "You're going to the beach, aren't you? I'll go too."

"Really?" Lucky beamed, "Let's go, then!" It's not like she couldn't handle things on her own being the adaptive creature she was, but having company was always better than being alone!

"You don't even wonder why I suddenly want to go with you?" Kitsune said, amused, when they continued the walk to the beach.

"I do, a little. But there's nothing wrong with athletes sticking together, especially when we're in the same team," Lucky replied.

"It is true, to some aspects," Kitsune chuckled.

They soon reached the bank. The grass on the lower ground was significantly in a darker shade of green and definitely wet because there was a forest full of water-bound plants at the intersection between the higher land and the beach - the Kijimuna's natural habitat. Down a few stairs were a wet trail that went beside the forest, Lucky could easily smell its dampness and felt that under her bare feet as it shifted from wet soil to soft sand. The feline was sorry to admit that she hadn't been to a beach before. Her small town of Wiira was relatively far from the sea - it was in fact fifty days' travel from Champion Island that Lucky had to run through woods and fields and across rivers instead of taking the usual path just to make it within a month! She couldn't blame Bells for telling her about the Championship so late though, as she was the one who kept hesitating that her sister had to step in. Another reason was that her parents were always too busy to take family vacations. Taking care of five kittens sounded tough.

By the first step on the sand, Lucky almost fell. It felt like snow, but dryer and warmer, and she knew exactly which one she preferred. She paced up on the tip of her toes, a cat's light and agile steps left almost no marks as she got to the Torri with a green emblem, excitement filled her chest. When she passed under it, she felt something itchy, like a burn on the fur on her neck, so she reached into her scarf. There was definitely a mark there, a square fitting inside a circle on the side of her neck.

"Say hello to the Checker Mark, Lucky. That baby stays until you finish the race," said Kitsune as she came after. Lucky witnessed the process that had happened in her own neck on the fox's: a glowing green stamp appeared, then its light turned into withering light sparks in the air, leaving an area of outstanding brown fur the shape of a square fitting inside a circle, which size barely exceeded that of a beetle, "An old forest magic that only the Kijimunas and the von-Schwarz frogs can practice. Us Inaris have tried before but failed to replicate it. Even using it was hard for those who can, so they save it for the Championships. They record the moment when you cross the finish line pretty accurately, though the downside is the burning part."

"Who are the von-Something frogs?"

Man, the strange name triggered Lucky curiosity.

"Von-Schwarz. A family of magic frogs. As far as I know, the first of them arrived here long before our Seven Champions, but they're physically weak so they avoided taking part in anything. Otherwise, they're useful before matches because they can do precise weather forecasts." Kitsune answered, then a thought crossed her mind. She suggested. "Hey, if you're so keen on that, why don't you go see them in person? I can lead you." Now it is your reaction that matters, Cat.

"It'd be really nice, thanks!" Lucky said, delighted that she beamed as brightly as the sun. "Maybe after the race, if you don't mind." She looked at the fox, who nodded.

"We didn't have our fur burnt for nothing, after all." Kitsune had to refrain herself from a sigh, relieved. "The next race is starting soon. Let's head to where the Kijimunas assemble, shall we?"

A small part of the grove stood solely on the seaside. Among the trees stood out a banyan, its branches so wide they cast a shadow on the sea and ran down its trunk, making one with the roots. And for the trunk, Lucky could swear that her family could fit a life in there, given if it was hollow. The leaves were of emerald green, not just because of sunlight but also because of the ancient energy it bore, and you don't have to be as sensitive as Lucky or Kitsune to sense it.

Lucky took a round around the tree, unknown that Kitsune was slowly out of sight, and in a flash, the fox was gone.

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*Language/culute note:
Sumimase: pardon me/sorry in Japanese