So another addition to the  Thursday_Prompt. This one is special because a new member of the fandom is celebrating her birthday on June 18th and she's got a character named Rainner that she's been developing for over a year! He looks and sounds incredible, so here's a story for the upcoming special occasion! Happy Birthday to you Miriam and Rainner! I hope you and all who read this enjoy it.

And remember:

"Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality" -Jules de Gaultier



Some Imagination Required
By Rando Shywoulfe


Nix was bored. There was no other way to put it. The young purple and red-furred cat sat against a tree in the woods on the outskirts of his neighborhood, wishing the sun would set faster so he could go home.

He had been on his Gamestation 6 when his mother had come in and told him, in no uncertain terms, to go play outside. Despite his protests, pointing out the lack of things to do outside, his mother would not budge, and he was forced to leave the house. Wanting to get his mother off his back, he went into the forest to try and hide out while he pondered what to do.

As he sat there, he considered what he could do to pass the time, but realized there wasn't anything. All his friends were inside and he knew that, like him, they would rather play on their Gamestations than head outside and be bored. Sighing, he put his head in his paws, his tail swinging behind him in frustration.

“You seem frustrated, my fellow explorer. Are you lost?”

The sound of another voice startled him into a standing position, and he whipped his head around to try and figure out where it had come from.

After a couple of seconds, his eyes landed on a tree a few feet away. Sitting on one of the branches was a young black and blue-furred wolf with a pair of wings that stood out against the dark backdrop of the forest. He was swinging his legs back and forth as he stared down at Nix, his indigo eyes filled with curiosity.

Struggling to come up with something to say, the first words out of his mouth were, “Um...no, I’m fine.”

He hoped that would please the wolf and he would go on his way, but that wasn't the case. A smile spread over the wolf’s muzzle, and his tail started wagging as he swung himself so that he was hanging upside down on the branch.

“That’s good! It’s easy to get lost in this dense jungle if you’re not careful, so glad to hear you know where you are. As for me, I, Rainner, am a great adventurer and always know where I am at all times. Nothing will stop me from exploring!”

Nix couldn’t help but be confused at what Rainner was talking about. The former looked around to make sure he wasn’t imagining where he was, but all he saw were the same trees and plants that made up the woods he passed by often in his comings and goings throughout the day.

“What are you talking about? A...jungle?”

Rainner nodded his head, swinging his paws as he talked.“Yup! We’re in the deepest part of the Broken Claw Jungle, the largest and least explored jungle in the whole world! I’ve set out to be the first fur to see what it contains and to tell the world what I’ve seen!” He then swung himself so he was sitting on the branch again, and began climbing the tree. He grabbed onto the branch above his head and pulled himself up onto it. He repeated the process, going higher and higher up the tree; and though he struggled at times, he didn’t slow down. Nix had to wonder why he went to all that trouble when he had help right on his back.

“Uh, why don’t you use your wings to just fly to the top of the tree?”

Rainner stopped climbing to look down at Nix. “Because of the vines,” he said matter-of-factly, pointing towards the tops of the trees. “I’d just end up tangled in them if I tried to fly up there.”

Looking up, Nix failed to see any vines within the tops of the trees. Growing frustrated, he watched as Rainner seemed to reach the top of the tree. He looked around, his face lighting up with a smile.

"You know, you're missing out on an awesome view! Why don't you climb up here?"

Nix didn’t have to be up there to know that he wouldn't see anything other than houses and a few trees. He was frustrated at the wolf’s insistence on seeing and believing things that weren’t there. He was already annoyed at having to be out there when he’d much rather be inside, gaming with his friends. Having someone tell him about things that weren't there just added to his annoyance and he was fed up.

“Dude! There is nothing to see up there! There are no vines! There is no jungle! We’re in the middle of some trees near my neighborhood! I don’t know what you’re seeing, but you need to come back down to reality!”

Once again, Rainner looked down at Nix; but instead of the anger he expected to see, Rainner just shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, it’s real. It may not be real to you, but in my mind, I see it. If you open yourself up to more, I’m sure you’d be able to see it too.” He then flew up into the sky, not once looking back at Nix.

As he watched him go, Nix pondered Rainner’s words and considered whether he should be looking at these woods differently. It seemed stupid to him, but since his only other option was to continue being bored, he figured he'd give it a shot. So he pushed himself off the tree and looked at the tree Rainner had climbed. He tried to picture in his mind what a dense jungle would look like and closed his eyes to better get it in his mind, though he doubted it would work. This wasn't a fairytale book after all.

However, as his eyes were closed, his nose picked up a new scent he wasn't used to smelling. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see that the smell was coming from some moss that had all of a sudden grown on the tree in front of him. Even more surprising though was the fact that the tree had grown in size! It and the surrounding trees were now almost double their original size, their leaves blocking most of the sunlight but still adding enough humidity to soak his fur with sweat. More branches sticking out of the trees, and he could now see the path Rainner must have taken to climb to the top. Curious, he grabbed onto a branch and found that it was as solid as he was. He had been hoping that his paw would phase through it and he'd realize that this was all in his head, but that didn't appear to be the case. So, with his curiosity piqued, he started his climb, taking care to make sure he was stable on each branch before grabbing the next one, using his claws to help dig into the bark.

When he’d reached the top, his head broke through the leaves, and he was treated to a beautiful sight. Expecting to see the houses of his neighborhood, he was shocked to see nothing but the tops of more trees as far as the eye could see. A slight breeze blew through his fur and filled his nostrils with the smells of nectar and rain. Some clouds were in the sky, but the sun continued to shine down on him from above. As he stood there, wondering how this was possible, he heard a fluttering of wings behind him. He turned around to see Rainner flying next to him, a content smile on his face as he saw Nix’s amazement.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Rainner said after a brief moment of silence had passed between them. “To think that no one else has seen what we’re seeing right now.”

Nix tried to get his mouth to work, to ask Rainner how it was possible that the woods he knew he’d been in minutes ago could grow into this vast jungle, but words refused to escape his throat. Seeing this, Rainner smiled.

“I see you opened up your mind. Isn’t it just amazing?”

Nix was uncertain how his mind could have made something as real as this, but after considering it for a second, he realized he didn't care. He was so filled with wonder and excitement that all he wanted to do was explore this new environment he was in.

Looking at Rainner, Nix could see a mischievous look in the wolf’s eyes as he started climbing back down, dropping from branch to branch. Smiling himself, Nix followed, and a race soon started between them to see who could reach the ground first.

From there, the two of them enjoyed hours of fun entertainment exploring the vast jungle. They climbed trees, swung on vines, tasted berries, drank fresh river water, and overall just enjoyed themselves. Nix was surprised that despite Rainner saying it was his first time in this forest, he guided Nix like he'd been there a thousand times before. Rainner even showed him the tree that the forest supposedly got its name from, a giant claw protruding out of the thick bark of the tree base.

Eventually, the two of them reached what they realized was the jungle's outskirts. Knowing their adventure was coming to a close, Nix turned to Rainner. Both of them were exhausted, yet their eyes sparkled with wonder at what had happened. It took a couple of minutes before Nix had enough air in his lungs to speak.

"Well, I guess this is it," Nix said, rubbing a paw on the back of his neck.

Rainner nodded his head. "Unfortunately my fellow brave explorer, it is. Thanks for joining me in this adventure! Now we can tell everyone things that will be put into the history books, and they'll be jealous they couldn't see it!" He then stepped through to the outside, and after one final look back, Nix followed.

Stepping through the trees, Nix looked around for Rainner in the diminishing daylight and found the wolf flying a couple of blocks down. When he saw Nix, he waved a paw and shouted, "Hope to see you around more!" Which Nix laughed at while returning the wave.

After Rainner was out of sight, Nix turned back towards the woods and entered them again. When he did, he was greeted with the normal woods he was used to seeing. There was nothing in them to suggest it had been the vast, dense canopy of trees and vines that he'd just been in, but at that moment, he didn't care. He'd had a lot of fun today; and, as he headed back towards his house, knew he'd have just as much fun in the days to come. After all, sometimes all you need is a little imagination.