Kiyo's Wish

Kiyo stood up, brushing himself off from the small rock he was previously sitting on. He took a step forward towards the small pond he often visited and stared at himself. The Xero watched as the water rippled and flicked his tail. He let out a sigh and turned, walking back towards his humble home. Tonight he had plans to carve Lantern Fruits with his good friend, Verox, a somewhat tall, sociable Xero, and he wouldn't miss it for the world.

The green Xero chose a reasonably large Lantern Fruit, packed a small bag of various berry candies for the pair to share, and set off. He met Verox on the border of Owai-6's forest near the Alurizan reserve, and together they found a quiet clearing to carve their fruits. Verox set down a patterned blanket he had carried in his bag while Kiyo searched for the needed carving tools. After an intense bag search, he finally found the small tools and laughed a little. He plopped down next to Verox on the blanket, popped a Ru Berry candy in his mouth, and began carving away at his Lantern Fruit. Verox talked about the day's adventures to fill the awkward silence between the two but stopped, noticing the sorrowful look on Kiyo's face.
"Something on your mind?" He asked his friend.
Kiyo let out a small sigh and looked at Verox, his eyes big and sad.

"I'm sorry... It's just.."

"Hey, it's ok, you can say all you want out here; it's just us." The blue Xero smiled, placing a reassuring paw on Kiyo's shoulder. Kiyo smiled a little, lowering his head before speaking.

"Well, it's just that I've been thinking and…." Kiyo finished a few details on his fruit and showed Verox, pointing at the glowing image he had carved. The fruit showed a happy Xero jumping out of a body of water.

"I've always dreamed of living in Owai-6's ocean. The feeling of water, cold and refreshing, on my fur and the thought of fins always excited me. It's been my life-long dream. But I can't swim. At least, not like the Marine Xeros. One day I wish to be like them. To swim for long periods of time without ever getting cold or having little need to return to the surface. If I could spend hours down there, I would. It's such a free feeling, the water. It's my only wish, my only desire."

He paused, looking at Verox's face for a reaction. All he could see was understanding in his eyes. He continued after the blue Xero nodded.

"I guess I envy them, and I don't mean to!" Kiyo quickly clarified. "But there's a deep longing in my heart, and I don't know how to fulfill it. So... So I just needed to get it off my chest. Thank you for listening; There's nothing I can do but wish-" The green Xero paused as a fiery ball of light crossed the sky.
"A shooting star! Great timing, hah." Verox laughed. He looked at his friend and smiled.
"I understand how you feel. And I think you're in luck. Rumor has it that a kind and unusual fellow has returned to the reserve. They know exactly how to help."

Kiyo's antennae shot up with excitement. Who was this mysterious stranger? Kiyo certainly hadn't heard of them, not yet at least. Verox stood up and quickly shoved all of his supplies in his bag.

"Come on. We're going to see The Curator."