Vibrant arrays bloom
On sand Luluhawa paints
Beauty stirs Tōga's soul
Order rigid as wood
Duty melts into freedom
On beach of bright hues
Twilight swirls descend
Peace found in belonging
With cherished friends' feast
Yozora no shita ni, hi wa hanahiraku
- Under a night's sky, a fire blooms
Tōga sat along the beach, his eyes wandering over the arrays of color that Luluhawa had laid out before him. Though his homeland of Joya was known for its striking symmetry - forested mountains lining the horizon, cities built on grids of iron and wood - Tōga found a different kind of beauty here. Joya's precision and order gave it an austere magnificence, but Luluhawa's vibrant patterns welcomed the spirit as well as the eye. Tōga felt his weariness easing as he gazed at the arrays. Joya's culture was not for the faint of heart, but Luluhawa's art spoke to his soul. Here, where land and sea mingled in fluid shapes and bright hues, Tōga felt something he rarely experienced in Joya - a sense of belonging.
The city where the Rune Knights were headquartered was a refreshing change from Tōga's homeland. Unlike Joya, which valued precision and order above all, this city hummed with motivated people dedicated to their duties. As a Rune Knight himself, Tōga appreciated the crisp discipline that shaped life here. Yet he often longed for the easygoing liberty of Mahalo Beach.
On his visit today, Tōga felt the rigid lines of his knightly life relax. As he traced meandering patterns with his eyes or gazed at the swirling blends of color, duty seemed to melt into freedom. The city energized him with its sense of purpose, but the beach awakened something deeper - a longing for beauty that stirred his spirit. Here, Tōga didn't have to be solely a knight, ruler, or heir; he could simply be. Luluhawa Island welcomed him to set down his burdens for a time and find belonging.
As afternoon melted into evening, the sky transformed like one of Luluhawa's arrays - from azure to orange to dusky purple. A brisk ocean breeze gusted across the beach, sending a chill through the lingering warmth of the day. Tōga remained unaffected, his inner fire warding off the cold. Neither frost nor nightfall could disturb the peace he found here with Luluhawa and her vibrant artwork. The sun slowly sank below the horizon, casting the beach in deepening shadow. Most visitors had retreated inland to seek shelter and warmth. But Tōga was content to linger in the shifting hues of twilight, as Luluhawa added swirls of color to her patterns in the sand. The three friends were in no hurry to let this magical day come to an end.
“How do ya’ll like your hog!?” Tōga's voice rang out, shattering the hypnotic hush that had fallen with the dark. The day's languid peace scattered before the prospect of a hearty feast. The three had succeeded in their earlier hunt - a plump warthog now awaited the fire's kiss. While the Blue Pegasus’s set to butchering their quarry, Tōga gathered driftwood to spark a robust blaze. The mage was in his element, constructing a pyre as meticulously as any city's architecture.
WC: 582