Soaring through the village outskirts, Alena rode on Sem's shoulders with her arms spread up in the air. She laughed hysterically as her father continued dashing forward rapidly. Every now and again, Sem would take a moment to ask where to turn to next, wholly allowing his daughter to lead the way. As they neared the destination, Sem cautiously slowed down at a steady rate, and Alena braced herself on her father's head. Elijah was perked up, having been enjoying the created breeze, but lowered himself into his harness as they began to slow.
Coming to a stop, Sem lowered his daughter off of his shoulders, and Alena scoured the scene for their next clue. It was a site to behold as a large, grass-filled crater laid before them. It was that of a sunken meadow, filled with patches of color as clusters of various flowers grew throughout.
Amongst the painted crater were various mounds which too were layered in grass. A colony of carnivian hares filled the land, roaming through the patches of flowers. Along the crater's edge, large roots were exposed as the crater wall was dug out along the border of trees, even having little caves dug out under them, while on the outter rim of the crater could be seen large ferns colonizing amongst the trees. Every now and again the hares could be seen going in or out of the many mounds and caves they've built throughout.
As they stood there taking in the view, Alena looked up to her father, "Daddy?" she asked, "Where is the next clue?"
Sem turned to look upon his daughter to answer. "Well, what do you say we get a closer look?"
Alena nodded with a vocalized hum of agreement, as they walked together down into the meadowed crater. While entering the carnivian colony, none of the hares seemed to be bothered by their presence. Sem and Alena got a few looks, and a few hares sniffed the air to catch their scent, but those were all the reactions they received as the carnivian hares continued on as they were.
Unlike your typical rabbits, these were predatory creatures, and they had no interest in man-like beings, nor cats for that matter.
It didn't take long for Alena to spot another ribbon mixed into one of the hare's bedding. This was the only nest built out in the open, and there was an oversized hare nestled on top of it.
"There it is!" Alena exclaimed, running up to the hare's nest.
The hare was occupied with grooming itself, but gave Alena a single glare before carrying on. When Sem followed up behind Alena, he noted a slightly problematic detail.
"That ribbon appears to be well tied up under that hare. Looks like we'll have to move it if we want to get our next clue," he mentioned insightfully.
"I've got it," Alena announced confidently.
As she lowered herself to attempt to move the hare however, she was struggling to lift it up as the hare found itself propped up on its hind legs, practically dangling as it was slipping through her arms with its sheer size. Alena just wasn't quite big enough to lift this oversized creature.
"It's so heavy!" she complained.
"In that case, you'll have to find another way to move it out of the way," Sem responded diligently.
"But daddy, can you move it for me?" she asked of him.
"And interfere with the lessons of this little adventure? Overcoming is part of what makes the reward more fulfilling," Sem explained.
Alena continued to pout as she tried her best to move the animal, but she was at a loss as she finally let it back down. The hare to no surprise, was completely unphased by the struggle, as it just sniffed the air curiously.
Looking around, Alena began searching for something to potentially lure the animal from its nest, however, there was nothing that stood out. Just then, Alena saw the animal was sniffing the air towards her intently as it slowly began to step forward in her direction off its nest.
"Ahh!" she shrieked, "It wants me?!"
"Perhaps it smells your breakfast," Sem suggested.
As the hare got close to her, sniffing at her breath, Alena started backing away from the hare, holding its hands up nervously. When the hare closed in, she could feel its soft, little nose tickling at her lips. When it stepped far enough off its nest, Alena darted around the animal, wiping the tickle off her lips as she pulled the ribbon out from under the nest, before running over to hide behind her father. Sem chuckled at this turn of events as the hare turned its attention back to the young girl as she hid.
"Now, now. There's no need to worry Alena; this animal isn't going to hurt you," he assured her.
Alena didn't feel certain of her father's words, and refused to come out of hiding. The hare just stood there on its hind legs watching for a moment before returning to its nest.
"So what does it say?" Sem asked of her.
Straightening out the ribbon in her hands, Alena did her best to read the inscription.
"Be...," she paused, with uncertainty in her voice, "—yond?" Alena looked up to her father for confirmation. When he nodded back at her, she continued more confidently.
"Beyond rolling meadows, I shine brightly," she read.
"And do you know where that might be?" Sem asked her.
Alena took a moment to consider the riddle, but she had no idea on this one, deciding to shake her head in response. Sem smiled softly at his daughter as he took her hand.
"Come along dear, I have something to show you," he said. Squatting down, Sem moved Alena's hand over his shoulder and lifted her onto his back. She was like a little koala bear being carried by its mother. Elijah, who paid no mind this whole time, remained nestled in his harness.
When departing Straw Fern Quarry, Sem swiftly navigated around the forrest to a high altitude, where in the distance could be seen large open meadows with rolling hills, and beyond them was the village, where at the center, The Great Tree could be seen, shining in the sun.
Setting Alena down again, Sem knelt down, placing his hand over her shoulder as he pointed out over the horizon.
"Do you see that there?" he asked.
Alena's eyes lit up, as she would recognize that shimmering foliage anywhere. "The tree!" she exclaimed excitedly, "I see it!"
Sem was pleased, seeing his daughter light up as so. It seems he had found a way to help cleanse her of some worries. "While you may not get to visit it for a long time, you can still come up here any time you like to look at the tree," he told her proudly, "You won't have to miss it completely." Changing the direction of view, Sem slowly drifted his hand towards the flower-filled meadows below. "And you see that area down there? That is where you were born."
Alena was starstuck as she gazed upon the land pointed out before her. She let out a gasp. "It's so pretty!" she exclaimed, while cupping her paws over her cheeks, "I was born there?!"
Sem chuckled, sealing his eyes with pride, "I thought you would like it. It really is a beautiful place." He was as happy as could be, having had such an opportunity to have brought joy to his daughter's heart.
Smiling to his daughter fondly, Sem pulled out the next ribbon, holding it between his fingers.
"Hey wait! You had the next clue this whole time?" Alena questioned. Sem nodded, "Mm-hmm! And now that I've shown you this place, the ribbon is yours," he said, handing it over to her.
Alena quickly snatched up the ribbon, and recited its words, "Your reward can be found where your hunt began." It barely took a moment before Alena shot up with her answer, "We're going home!"
Upon arriving home, Tatalia was standing in the living room waiting for them. Alena, with all her young energy, came bursting in with her eyes shining bright, as she was ready to receive her treasure. Seeing her mother waiting for her, Alena ran over to her, and glomped into her completely thrilled. "Mommy!" she shouted. The mother already had her daughter's gift in had, enclosed in a small box, wrapped in a bow.
Dropping down to return her daughter's embrace, Tatalia's heart was filled with warmth as she gave Alena a heartfelt squeeze.
"Well, did my daughter have fun out there?" she asked.
"Yes, lots!" Alena replied enthusiastically. She was practically jumping for joy.
Seeing the gift in her mother's hand, Alena was ready to scoop it up. "Is that for me?!" she asked ecstatically. She could barely contain herself.
"It sure is! Why don't you go ahead and open it?" Tatalia confirmed, handing the gift over to her daughter. Sem and Tatalia stood proudly together, as they huddled up with one another to watch their daughter open her gift, and Elijah even perked up over Alena's shoulder to give a curious glance.
Pulling out the loop from the knot and removing the lid, Alena's eyes filled with wonder as she saw what was inside.