Ori and the Spirits Within: Revitalized

Chapter 1: Regrets

The sun had risen on a new dawn for Niwen, a quaint one from the looks of it. Bits of puffy clouds speckled the blue skies above as the sun's warm light rained on the forest. It was already rather late into the morning. Most people were already going about their day, some with simple chores or planned meetups, others with little scavenges across the forest for foraging or examination detail, and the young moki stayed in the calmness of the Wellspring Glades, playing with one another in the warm light. Ever since Ori gave himself to the Spirit Willow a little less than two months ago, the atmosphere of Niwen had gotten happier, and they couldn't thank the heroic spirit enough for it.

It was in the pleasant morning that a sleepy owl had woken up from her slumber, a time much later than her normal routine. Opening her amber eyes to the gray stone that had covered the ceiling, Ku arose from her relatively new nest and glanced around for a moment. There was a small table near a wall for the family to eat at, a few drawers and cabinets to hold their possessions, and a few shelves to hold candles when things got dark. She turned around to see a small pathway that led to where Naru and Gumo slept. It was very much like their old home in Nibel, but... they weren't in Nibel anymore.

It really was a difficult choice to make when they learned what had happened. After staying in Niwen for a few days to mull over everything that had happened, the family had to make a choice: Should they return to Nibel, their homeland, or stay here in Niwen, choosing to stay with their son? After a few hours of talking it over, all of them came to the agreement that they should stay in Niwen. While Nibel was their home, Niwen... meant more to them now that Ori had planted his roots there. Naru in particular wanted to tend to the tree as best she could, wanting to be close to her cherished son at all times. Naru and Gumo often paid visits to the Spirit Willow...

But not Ku. She hadn't gone back there since... since she lost him...

Not until today, that is.

Assuming that Naru and Gumo were going about their daily plans, Ku let out a quiet yawn, hopped out of the lonesome nest, and walked out into the light of the new day. To her, the atmosphere of the Wellspring Glades acted more like a community of people rather than the isolated environments of Nibel. There were dozens of huts scattered all over the place, some connected by pathways carved out by the towering trees. Despite the towering trees surrounding them, the leaves didn't block the village's view from the clear sky one bit, letting the fresh sunlight shine on them. Ku looked around from the hill their cave was perched on, seeing the folk that created this community, made up of races and species she had never heard of before coming here. Despite the newness of it all, Ku was growing accustomed to it.

Taking in the warm air around her, Ku trotted to the center of the Glades, taking a small stroll before getting on with her plan. She overheard a few conversations from the adult moki around her, mostly of daily plans and discussions about their young ones. It wasn't long before she reached the Spirit Well in the middle of the village, its light radiating out of the water that filled it. There, she encountered a rather familiar face, sitting beside the well. She saw his charcoal-colored face with three eyes, large white fluffs that made both his hair and his beard, and two tools sitting beside him, a pickaxe and hammer. The Gorlek she encountered eventually noticed her presence and gazed at her with a quiet smile...

"Ah, Ku," he spoke in his deep tone, waving for her to come over to him. "Did you sleep ok?"

"I slept alright, Grom," Ku smiled back as she walked over to him. "Have you been sleeping fine? I know you've been doing a lot of work around Niwen. It must be exhausting."

"Don't you worry about me, kid. I've been doing this sort of thing for years. I'm used to overworking myself a little bit," he explained before letting out a chuckle. "Anyways, I heard from Gumo that you had something you were going to do something personal today?"