It was an exceptionally bright summer day that woke Kanin up. Many moons had passed since the last time she was awake, she couldn't really tell the exact time, but it wasn't anything unusual in her case. When the sun was at its highest point in the cloudless sky, the warm and golden rays managed to travel through the holes on the ceiling of the cavern and shine on Kanin's face. As a reptile, she found the warmness of the sun quite enjoyable. She raised her head and looked up, making an observation of the above world. It seemed to be a beautiful day, not only because of the sunlight, Kanin noted that a mellow breeze was rustling the leaves of the trees, all of them possessing stunningly green foliage, some even had grown flowers. Kanin nodded her head approvingly, as if somebody had asked her if today was a fine day. She got onto her feet and stretched her limbs because it had been a while since the last time she had used them. She rustled her colorful feathers a little and she was ready to go.

Kanin lived in a cozy cavern; there were a few holes scattered here and there that let in the light of day. But of course, it also gave shelter against rain and wind, making it quite an ideal place to live. But she didn't dwell there alone, her best friend Upai shared the cavern with her. And then there were also the fossils, remnants of the past, that had survived since the ancient times. Among them, there were crystals as well, preserving something miraculous and magical that otherwise would be forgotten. The cavern was quite a mystifying place, but more importantly, it was a home.

As she walked around the cavern, Kanin pondered whether Upai was even awake. She kept glancing around, trying to catch a glimpse of her best friend, but didn't see her. It wasn't until Kanin had made her way to the grand entrance of their dwelling when she spotted Upai. So, she had woken up as well. Glad to see her friend again, Kanin started to walk towards her.

They were quite different, Kanin and Upai. Kanin was a raptor that had lived since the lost times when dinosaurs inhabited the world. She had a very colorful plumage, making her pretty gorgeous sight. Upai, on the other hand, she was like a salamander, having an affinity with crystals. There were a few of them growing from her body, holding the colors of the rainbow. They had met aeons ago and formed a friendship that had lasted since ancient times. A bond like that, it was a treasure.

“Good morning, Upai”, Kanin greeted as she emerged from the cavern.

“It's technically not a morning anymore”, Upai pointed out, but maintained a smile on her face.

“I think it's morning whenever you wake up and start the day, no matter what time it is”, Kanin explained her logic.

“So, you're saying that if you woke up in the middle of the night and you decided to stay up, that's morning to you?” Upai inquired.

“Yup.” Kanin sat down next to her friend.

“Fine. Whatever you say”, Upai dropped the subject, but still remained amused by her friend's logic.

The two friends were silent for a minute, looking at the wonderful panorama in front of them – it had been a while since the last time they had seen it in this glorious state. There was a stunning valley, filled with green since there was a lot of woods. The view was especially beautiful in autumn. But there were a couple colorful patches even in summer because of the flowers that bloomed. All the colors blended in together perfectly, it was like the whole scenery was a work of a talented artist. And who knew, maybe that was the origin story of the valley. It was also a peaceful place, Kanin and Upai had lived there for thousands of years.

The wind started to blow slightly more strongly and it carried the smell of flowers which was a delight to Kanin and Upai's sense of smell. The breeze played with Kanin's feathers and rustled them while she would look at the clear summer sky and watch how birds were flying by. It truly was a serene moment.

“Do you ever wonder who created all this?” Kanin suddenly asked her friend, her gaze still fixed at the sky.

“What do you mean?” Upai asked.

“You know what I mean. Like, did someone just snap their fingers and everything came to be? Or maybe an artist with a giant brush painted everything? Or did everything just… started to exist without anyone giving guidance to living beings and the world around us?”

“Wow, you're pondering the weird stuff again”, Upai chuckled. “Maybe you've been asleep for too long, your head is getting fuzzy once more.”

Even Kanin managed to snicker a little. “Yeah. Maybe.”

They sat in silence again for a couple of minutes, just admiring the world around them. Whoever had created all this, they had done splendid work.

Then Upai turned to face her friend again. “You know what we should do?”

“What?” Kanin asked, looking at Upai with curious eyes.

“We should paint!” Upai said; there was a spark of excitement in her eyes. “It's been so long since the last time, I honestly can't even remember.”

Kanin seemed to think about this for a brief moment, perhaps trying to recall when was the last time they had done this. Whether she succeeded in this or not, she didn't let her friend know. Instead, she just nodded her head after a while. “You know what, I like that idea, we should definitely do that!”

“Great!” Upai exclaimed, seeming even more excited now that she got an approval from Kanin. “But! Let's make this interesting.”

“Oh?” Kanin tilted her head a little, being all ears.

“I think we should form teams and do a challenge! The team that manages to get more paintings done wins.”

“I'm in!” Kanin replied and she got up from her spot.

Upai started to slither inside the cavern and Kanin followed her. Upai was glancing around the insides of their home, trying to recall where they had left their artistic tools.

“Do you remember where our brushes and paints are?” Upai asked her friend. “I can't quite bring it to my mind, it's been so long.”

“I think they're in this section”, Kanin answered and took a turn to the right, heading to a small chamber.

And that indeed was where their tools had been stored. Clean brushes just lying around, ready to be used to create something beautiful. And many stone bowls filled with paints of various colors, they were something Kanin and Upai had made together. They had been sealed shut with flat stone covers, which had gathered a layer of dust since they hadn't been touched for a long time. Kanin approached one of their homemade paint containers and opened it, peeking inside. It appeared the paint had been preserved well.

“As far as I can see, we have everything ready here”, she informed Upai, who had been checking something else.

Upai found a pile of thin stone plates that had nothing in them. They had used these kinds of plates before as their canvases, it was great that there were still quite a few of them left.

“Nice, we can begin now”, Upai said and took a batch of the plates, starting to carry them to a more expansive chamber, suitable for working.

Meanwhile Kanin had taken it as her task to carry all the bowls of paint to the said chamber. The two friends prepared a little workshop in there; it was spacious and there was plenty of light coming through the holes in the ceiling. Soon everything was ready and they were about to begin painting.

However, there was this one thing they had to do first.

“Time to awaken our buddies!” Kanin exclaimed excitedly.

She rushed around the cavern, touching all the stones that contained fossils. With her touch, they started to come alive; a green glow appeared on their surfaces, waking up the ancient creatures that had slumbered for a long time. Various dinosaurs came forth from the fossils, just as whole as back in time when the world had been ruled by them. They stretched their limbs, shook their heads, trying to get used to moving their bodies again.

While Kanin was going around awakening her fossilized friends, Upai was doing something similar as well. Within the crystals that were scattered around the cavern just like the fossils, they hold something alive in them as well. Upai's touch made them glow too, but with different colors, depending on the crystal. A life could be seen pulsating inside the crystals, then the glow would grow even brighter before disappearing. In the place of the crystal would stand a creature similar to Upai, a diverse cast of animals that had crystal growths in their bodies. And just like the dinosaurs, they had been asleep for a long time, so they were doing the same kind of rituals using their bodies after their great rest.

Once Kanin and Upai had managed to wake up their friends, they watched happily as their little crowd gathered inside the grand chamber. It was a wholesome moment, old friends meeting again and catching up, talking about what kind of dreams they had been having since the last time they had seen each other. A light chattering filled the cavern, a sound that hadn't been heard within its stone walls for centuries. 

Kanin and Upai allowed the friends to talk for a while before they caught their attention.

“Listen up, everybody!” Kanin yelled loudly so her voice could be heard by everyone in the cavern.

The crowd went silent immediately, numerous curious eyes now staring at Kanin and Upai.

“We have now gathered here because of a fun little event we thought you would enjoy”, Upai started explaining. “It's a little art challenge! We form two teams and the one that's able to get more paintings done wins!”

A chatter burst throughout the crowd again, everyone seemed excited.

Upai decided to keep a brief pause before she continued. “It's fossils versus crystals, everybody! Now, if you all are ready, start painting!”

After her declaration, the game was on. All the creatures rushed to get their brushes and stone plates Kanin and Upai had prepared for them. Everyone found their own little spot, dipped their brushes in paint and started to create art. Kanin and Upai joined them and so everyone in the cavern was busy with painting.

The joy of being able to create and express yourself, the sensation is wondrous. All the creatures were filled with this feeling. Everyone was having so much fun that they ran out of stone plates rather quickly. But it didn't stop them from creating, they just started to paint on the cavern's walls instead, making it more beautiful than it had ever been. The pictures they painted depicted many different things, brought into the canvas with vibrant colors for everyone to see. Some of them were portraits of those who were once dear to them. Some were landscapes of their former homes. And some were simply things they just felt like painting. But they all told a story of some kind and with the power of their brushes, they were able to bring these things to life, in a way.

The aspect that this was a game was pretty much forgotten after some time since all the creatures just enjoyed creating art. Since this thing was Upai's idea, she had tried to keep track of who had painted what and how many paintings they had done, but even she had to admit eventually that it didn't really matter and went with the flow. So much joy, so much passion… The cavern became a little art gallery. The creatures would fall asleep again, but whenever they would wake up once more from their slumber, they would be reminded that they had shared an inspiring moment when they all gathered around and created something with great desire.