Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The wind was stagnant but rain graced the soils of the world of twelve. In the middle of an unnamed forest, a lone Eniripsa sat comfortable in her cottage, admiring the view through her window. Her wrinkled fingers clasped her steaming cup of tea and she lightly brought it to her lips to take a sip. Reclining in her chair, she let out a sigh of content before turning to face the interior of her home. Decorated with an assortment of unique plants, herbs, and flowers, the woman’s place was full with the comfort from nature. The floors of her cottage were crafted with cream-coloured planks that brightened look of the nature-themed building. Against her wall, a fireplace lit with crackling wood stood in front of her.

The grey haired woman took another sip from her cup and closed her eyes. The soft pelting of rain created a hypnotic rhythm that soothed and began to lull her to sleep. Yes, now would be a great time to rest for the night. She briefly opened her eyes to lean forward and place her cup onto the coffee table before her. Resting once more against her chair, she closed her wrinkled eyes and began to listen in to the music of nature.

The elderly lady had always been a fan of the rain, contrary to popular opinions. “Rain may call for a wave of sadness,” she would tell the children in the village she frequents, “but know that new life blooms once the clouds clear”. They never understood what she meant by those words, but she laughed it off and allowed them to continue with their shenanigans.

With that final thought, she drifts off into a soundless sleep—

Crack!

—A resounding crackle of lightning jolted her from her slumber and her head whipped towards the window. The rain had picked up tremendously and continuous zaps of lightning filled the sky with flashes of light. What caught the woman’s eye, though, was a cerulean strand of lightning that clashed against the rest.

“ You…” it seemed to call out.

“You must find…”

She winced at the unintelligible ringing in her ears, but she finds herself unable to turn away.

The cerulean bolt struck once more before shrinking and dispersing into a floating blue wisp that seemed to beckon her over. Like clockwork, her body instinctively rose from its seat, bones creaking as she did. She made her way to her door, swiping a cloak off a coatrack on the way, putting it on as she exited her home.

The once stagnant wind had become a frenzy, smacking droplets onto her face. She once again sought after the wisp, following after it when she found its trail. Her aged bones seemingly regressed to their youth as she relentlessly chased after the blue light. She brushed past the howling trees, hopping over loose roots in her way. Her frail body swayed and stumbled with the breeze, but she remained determined, much to her own surprise. The wisp began to twist and turn before sharply pivoting left, away from sight. Attempting to pursue it, the woman twisted herself, only for her foot to slip on the wet soil and send her tumbling through loose vines and into an open ended cave. She stopped rolling with a grunt, weakly looking up to the sight before her.

The wisp came to a standstill, allowing the elder to stop and catch her breath. In the midst of this heavily dense forest was a field of budding flowers and a lone tree in the centre. The tree was massive. Its trunk stretched high into the air and its interlaced branches weaved their way around each other in a sporadic uniformity. Parts of the tree branches off into additional miniature trees, with leaves that seemed to glow in the moonlight. Vines were wrapped around the trunk and subsequent branches, lighting the tree with a luminescence that created constellation-like formations against the wood. She rose up to her knees and approached the base of the tree, eyes trailed further towards the bottom and a soft gasp passed her lips.

The roots of the tree were thick and exposed out of the dirt, but, nestled in the centre of them was a bundle of cloth with a tiny hand poking through the material. A…baby? A distant crackle followed by a brief flash lit up the area momentarily. The heavy rain kept pouring, but the child was shielded by the bushes of leaves sprouting from the roots. One root had rested itself overtop the bundle, as if shielding it from the world. Instinctively, the woman kneeled down and gingerly reached for the child.

“Thank you…”

The ringing had returned, but this time, she paid it no mind. Her hand rested against the wood gently. Miraculously, the stem retracted and allowed the woman to lift the sleeping cloth into her arms and stand upright once more. The moment the child stopped touching the lumber, the world had gone silent. The thunder was hushed, the rain dried, and the wind was at a standstill. Moving the cloth away from the child’s eyes, she watched the little thing slowly rouse from their sleep.

“You are quite light, my dear. Are you a girl by any chance?” She cooed at the baby, gently nudging at ‘her’ chubby cheeks.

The infant grunted softly, and the older woman watched her awaken. A vibrant pair of aquamarine eyes stared back at her. Not really, though, as the baby had been seemingly looking beyond her into the field. The very instant the girl’s gaze locked onto the field, the budding flowers sprouted into a sea of colours that basked in the cold moonlight.

Looking around in amazement, the old woman glanced back down at the baby, “my, aren’t you a special little thing…?” She chuckled.

She gently rocked the baby in her arms, watching as her bright eyes slowly made their way closed once again. “Hm, I suppose you need a name, little one,” the woman muttered to herself. Before any thoughts even form, a name had already spilled from her lips.

*** *** ***

“Uvie!”

The young girl twirled around at the sound of her name. Her waist-length midnight hair and purple slitted dress swung with her movement. Her aquamarine eyes lit up and she called out with a smile.

“Coming, Granny!”

The young girl ran down the stone pathway to her home, making sure to avoid the plants and shrubs along the way. Her gaze followed the lively wildlife around her. Birds were squawking, deer were prancing, rabbits were nibbling on grass, and little tofu nested themselves in the trees around the cottage. Living in such a secluded area has its benefits, she supposes. Finally, Uvie reached the end of the trail and approached the wooden porch of her house. Standing in the middle of the wood was her guardian, Dianne. Known to Uvie as ‘Granny’, the old lady had taken her in and raised her twelve years ago. The Eniripsa’s short and hunched frame reached out towards the young girl with tanned fingers that were wrinkling more by the day.

“There you are! Are you ready to head… oh dear.”

Her eyes moved up and her words trailed off as she rolled her eyes and sighed. With a sudden jolt she reached forward and yanked Uvie by the loose braids on the sides of her face to reach the old woman’s level.

“Ack—!” The black haired girl cried out in surprise.

“Oh, hush. These old bones can’t tug hard anymore,” she lightly chastised, undoing the braids in Uvie’s hair in order to re-braid them stronger and with a significant decrease of stray hairs, “there you go, all done,” Granny announced as she wrapped a hair tie around each braid, letting Uvie stand upright once more. There is no reason for Uvie to bend down for her due to the two being the same height, but the Eniripsa’s hunched shoulders tend to cause cause her discomfort and problems with mobility; specifically with how high she can reach. Uvie knows this, which is why she tries her best to make things easier for her grandmother.

“Thank you, Granny,” she replied with a smile. Granny sighed again but smiled back at the young girl. The woman took a few more moments to stare at her child and adjust the satchel that was slung around her shoulder before brushing back her bangs affectionately.

“Are you sure you’ve packed everything?”

“Yup!” Uvie proudly grasped at the satchel her grandmother fixed for her, admiring the soft lilac fabric of the bag for a moment, “I’ve got kamas, herbs, and bandages for if I get hurt!”

“And how will you protect yourself?” Granny automatically replied, as if this was a common routine for them. Well, that had been routine for the past week or so.

“With,” the girl reaches behind her back, drawing out a wooden sword from its place and swinging it around, “this!” She announced confidently. The sword was blunt but solid and had some weight to it. Uvie had received it as a gift a few years back after her grandmother’s mobility began to grow weaker. The weapon was crafted by Granny herself once she was pestered enough by her granddaughter’s thirst for craftsmanship knowledge. The girl loves it and takes it everywhere—which is not very many places considering she has never left the forest she lives in—at least not on her own. She placed the weapon back in its original position before piping up with a question of her own, lightly fidgeting with her fingers. “Uhm… who am I looking for again? Al—Alibee…? Albion…?”

“Alibert, my dear,” She lightly brushes through her grey hair. Oh, right. That was his name. According to Granny, Alibert was an old friend who often helped her stock up on groceries and supplies. She never elaborated much on how they became friends, but the few stories she shared kept Uvie satisfied enough to keep her curious little mind at bay. “Remember, just go find him and ask him to help you out. No funny business!”

Uvie nodded eagerly, “alright! I can do this!” She pumped a fist in the air. Her grandmother was trusting her to go out on her own to a new place so she can collect food, clothes, and other household items, which was a responsibility she had always wanted. Man, how excited she was that she could finally venture all by herself. She was about to march off proudly before being stopped once more.

“Uvie,” the Eniripsa began, lightly clasping their hands together, “I know it is just an hour away, but please be careful.”

Uvie gave her a bright and toothy smile. “Don’t worry Granny! I’ll be back before you know it!” The girl gave her an affectionate peck on the cheek and turned to run down the stone pathway once again. She had only made it a few steps in before she pivoted on her foot and ran back towards Granny to smother her in an embrace. “Ugh, I know it’s not for long but I’ll miss you!” She whined into the old woman’s shoulder.

“Well, if you’re not ready yet, you don’t have to—“

“—no! I can do it, I promise!” Uvie quickly backed away from Granny and clenched her fists in determination. “Okay. I’m going for real now!” She nodded to herself and marched down the pebbled path for the last time that morning. Stepping onto the grass would mark the start of her first journey; even if it was a small one. Uvie took a deep breath and exhaled softly before planting her foot onto the soil. Turning around once more, she unnecessarily cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “I love you Granny! See you soon!” She gave a final wave and turned back before the Eniripsa could give a response, taking off into the sea of trees that encased their home. 

“That girl…” Dianne chuckled softly, “I hope you keep on exploring that adventurous heart of yours, my little flower”

*** *** ***

“Hah—! Finally made it out!”

It was a long while of walking before Uvie was able to exit the expanse of trees. The sun shone brightly and the crystal sky was clear. Her pupils shrunk to adjust to the sudden light that encompassed her body. The blades of grass below her feet were lightly coated with little droplets that reflected off the sunlight. Not that she paid that any mind. A light and warm breeze gently lifted strands of her hair up as she closed her eyes. Uvie raised her arms, taking in the warmth that engulfed her. She inhaled deeply, letting the nerves and excitement bottle up inside of her before exhaling it out into a smile. Her eyes opened once more and she clenched her fists.

“Now, onto the real adventure!”

She giggled to herself and hopped giddily, making her way across the field she found herself in until she reached the main road. With a central highway of dirt and pebbles, Uvie’s path laid out in front of her. She took a confident step forward, only for her foot to make a loud and prolonged squelch, her shoe sinking lightly into the wet ground.

“This is going to be…a lot muddier than I thought it would be,” met with slight resistance, Uvie raised her foot out and plopped it back onto the road, determined to continue her journey no matter what. Today may not have been the best day to go out, considering it had rained all throughout the previous night. The girl would not let that slide, though, as she had been hyping this journey up for herself for weeks already. ‘A little mud’s not gonna stop me!’ She thought persistently, continuing the trek her way along. The mud was not that bad, upon further consideration, just more tiring than she had expected.

It was about half an hour later that Uvie had really started to feel the exhaustion creeping up to her. She stopped momentarily for a breather, barely registering the faint clopping that was gradually getting louder until a sharp and slightly raspy voice called out.

“Oi, girl! You doin’ alright?”

Her head turned to the noise behind her. There sat a male Feca riding on a merchant’s carriage, two tall and green dragoturkeys attached by reigns to the vehicle to push it along. His spiky hair was cobalt blue and had a black streak running along the side, reaching down towards the edge of his short sideburn. His face was youthful, large brown eyes and clear face making him look no older than seventeen. The man was wearing baggy overalls and large leather gloves with some metal plating around his chest and thighs. After a moment of hesitation, she opened her mouth.

“Kind of! It’s much harder to walk than I thought it’d be,” she laughed in a hesitance that quickly trailed off into sheepishness. She clasped her hands behind her back, lightly swinging her foot around. Like a puppy in trouble, her embarrassed eyes flickered anywhere but towards the man in front of her.

“ …I can’t just leave her here,” he mumbled to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Do y’want a ride..?”

She brightened up immediately, imaginary tail wagging as fast as possible, “yes please!” He offered his hand out and she gratefully took it, letting him hoist her up onto the seat next to him. She thanked him and introduced herself, “I’m Uvie! It’s nice to meet you, Mister!”

“Name’s Ozenso. Nice t’meet you too” he swung the reigns to get the creatures moving again before starting a new conversation, “where are y’off to?” Ah, that’s something she knew! See, there was at least one thing she remembered from what Granny taught her!

“Oh, uhm..! Emile…emilka…emal—hm…” Well, she tried her best.

“You mean Emelka?”

“Yes! There! I’ve been sent by my Granny to find a man named Alibert!”

“The chef, ay? He’s one ‘f my clients,” Ozenso noted casually.

‘Clients? Oh, duh, we’re in a carriage!’

Uvie took a moment to actually look at the cargo in his cart. Turning around, all she could see were crates with metals of all sorts of shapes and sizes piled up on top of each other. She was able to identify some pots, pans, ladles, some helmets, and a few more items littered about.

“‘m a blacksmith. I make all ‘f his appliances, and some other things for a few other villagers,” he turned to her and answered before she could ask. Her head snapped back in a millisecond, eyes sparkling. To be able to create so many trinkets inspired the girl.

“Can you make swords too?!”

“Not really,” he scratched just beside his ear lightly, “‘m still workin’ on that stuff…can’t get the edges sharp enough yet”

“Still, this is really cool!” Uvie gestured around at the items, leaning back to grab a stray helmet, “I’ve always wanted to make things like these, but Granny doesn’t really trust me with open flames after what happened last time,” she recalled wistfully, remembering the panicked scolding Granny gave her as she rushed to put out the small fire caused by some stray sparks Uvie had made. ‘ Working with metals is not an art that should be practiced in the middle of a forest, ’ she learned.

Taken by surprise at her story, Ozenso sputtered out a quiet laugh, coughing in his hand to mask the awkward sound, “yeah—it definitely takes practice, preferably not in a flammable area,” Uvie giggled sheepishly and fiddled with her thumbs. He continued, “but I say y’can do it if y’try hard enough. I know ‘ve still got to work at it ‘til I can start sellin’ blades.”

“I hope you get there soon Mr. Ozenso!” Uvie beamed at him, placing the helmet back into its crate.

He chuckled softly, “thanks, kid,” he looked back ahead onto the road in front of him, letting out a whistle, “well, would y’look at that. We’re here,” he tugged on the reigns and the dragoturkeys slowed to a stop, “‘ve got some things to do on the other side of town, s’this is where we’ll have t’part”. Uvie turned away from the crates and gasped at the sight in front of her. She could see a border made from stone that connected in an arch directly ahead. On the stone, a single word was etched on. Emelka. From what she could see from the road, the town was bustling with activity.

‘My first time at a village all on my own…I can’t believe it!’

She launched herself off of the carriage, excitement bubbling off her openly. Before she ran in, she turned back to the Feca behind her. “Thank you so much for the help Mr. Ozenso! I hope we can meet again sometime!”

He nodded, giving her a thumbs up, “me too, kid,” he smacked his reigns again, steering around Uvie and making his way into the village. Just as he was about to leave her line of sight, he called out, “y’know, if we do, y’should show me what y’make!”

And then he was gone.

Though his disappearance left a hopeful taste in Uvie’s mouth. She took another deep breath, ready to finally enter the town herself. She burst forth with a squeal of excitement, dashing into the new experience ahead. People littered the grassy lands. Children were running around and playing games, adults were chattering, merchants were selling off items, and their cheerfulness did nothing to cool her excitement. Her hair swayed with her sprint, but she was careful not to trip over any loose roots on her way.

Uvie glanced around at the houses she could see, checking for the one Granny told her to go to. A majority of the building were build solely from stone with wooden doors and windows to accompany them. Some roofs were made from straw or other types of wood, and the different shapes and sizes of the homes impressed her greatly. Now, how would she know where to go from here?

“You’ll smell it before you see it,” She remarked during their daily recap of Uvie’s makeshift mission.

And smell it she did. The appetizing aroma of fresh bread and cooked meat began to waft in the air as Uvie delved deeper into the village. She followed the delicious scent, momentarily closing her eyes in bliss. Finally, she arrived at a lone building. As she stopped to move, she was careful not to stand on top of a small patch of budding flowers, instead moving to stand beside it. She then turned her attention to the building.

A large replica of a beer mug was the first thing to catch her eye, the thing hanging off of a section of the house that resembled a pillar. The roof was tiled and the house was large, with a clothesline attached to the larger section of the building. Lastly, the door to what smells like a restaurant has a circular emblem in the middle that has a black centre and assortment of colours around it like a wheel. Hung onto the door as well is a golden shovel with an orange fork-shaped crest as the focal point.

“Come on, Uvie, you can do this! This’ll mark the true start of your adventure!” She chanted to herself, working up the nerves to walk to the door. With a final burst of courage, she took the last steps needed to arrive at her destination. She gripped on the handlebar, aquamarine eyes brimming with confidence, and opened the door.

*** *** ***

A droplet of water cascaded down a flower that was once by her foot. When the droplet hit the soil, the budding flower sprouted at last.

Chapter Text

Behind the door, the building lit up with life. Guests were chattering, eating an assortment of meals, and drinking goblets of beer with their friends. Uvie’s eyes landed on a plate of meat that looked absolutely delectable. ‘It even smells delightful.’ Her stomach agreed with the thought and she wiped drool from the corner of her mouth before it became too noticeable. She ventured further in, a comfortable warmth engulfing her the longer she was in there. The sounds of muffled discussions and clattering cutlery were filling her brain and distracting her from her goal. That was until a loud, thunderous laughter redirected her attention to the bar area.

There stood two men. The one on her side of the bar was scrawny, aged, and bald with a ponytail on the back of his head, wearing old rags that were sewn together in some places. From the angle she was at, she could see his large white beard and shovel at his side. The other man was his polar opposite. Large and friendly, with a long and luscious moustache that draped down to his collarbones. His clothes were more refined, wearing a muted teal top and shorts that was topped off with a giant chef hat. Giant was a bit of an understatement, as the hat covered his entire back and ran down to just below his knees.

‘Ozenso said he’s a chef, so that’s gotta be him!’

“Well I’ll be a greasy Gobball! Ruel Stroud!” The man called out ecstatically.

She tuned out the supposed Ruel’s response and watched how they embraced before finding their spots around the bar. Sure, it may not have been the right time to go up there, but she did so anyway.

“So, what have you been up to?” The younger man asked.

“Oh, you know. Another day, another kama. You were so right Alibert…” Uvie once again spaced out now that her suspicions were confirmed.

‘So he is Alibert. I knew it!’ She thought and looked up at them innocently, fidgeting with her fingers as the gentlemen continued their conversation.

“You know, I’ve been meaning to lay my shovel down at long last. Maybe start up a restaurant of my own in Bonta or, maybe, even make my own Gobbowl team!” Ruel rasped as he leaned against the counter, laying his items down beside him.

“Yeah, yeah, old pal. That’s what you’ve been saying for the past ten years!” Alibert laughed once more at his friend.

“You really know how to put me down, Mr. Mayor,” Ruel grumbled, “and just as I open my heart to you too!” He glanced away and scoffed mockingly.

“Once you can stomach to give away a kama, we can have a heart to heart. Now, Yug—oh..?” Alibert paused in the middle of his order, finally noticing the large pair of eyes that have been beaming at him from just above the countertop, “why, hello there little one! I’ve never seen your face before!”

Butterflies instantly sunk their way into Uvie’s stomach and she gulped softly. Was now really the time to be nervous? No, but there’s no stopping a twelve year old’s nerves when encountering a much larger adult. She muttered out her name softly, uncharacteristically.

“I’m sorry, what was that? As young as I look, my ears sure don’t work as well as they used to!” He boomed with more laughter, which surprisingly helped Uvie calm down significantly.

She took a quick breath and regained her composure, giving Alibert a big smile, “H—hello Mr. Alibert! I’m Uvie!” Sure, she may have stuttered, and her voice was awkwardly loud, but she answered properly this time!

“Why hello little Uvie! What can I do for you?”

“My Granny—Granny Dianne—told me to come look for you!”

Upon hearing that name, the old man beside her sputtered into a fit of coughs, “By Enutrof! That old hoot’s still alive?!” He hacked into his words, knocking his hand to his chest a few times to calm his fit down.

Alibert stared at Ruel with a condescending smirk and retorted, “I don’t think an old man such as yourself should be saying that stuff, Ruel.” Ruel gasped in a mock offence, grumbling a mild insult unintelligibly, which caused her to giggle at their antics. The chef then turned his attention back to Uvie, leaning slightly against the counter to be closer to her, “I haven’t heard that name since ol’Ruel here left his Gobbowl team! So tell me, what’s she needing from me after all these years?”

She did not understand his analogy in the slightest, but Uvie could feel herself relaxing more as the conversation continued, the nurturing aura exuding from Alibert making her feel safe. “Granny wanted me to get some supplies from you…or I think maybe from the town, but I know that she wanted me to ask you for help!”

“Well, how can I say no to that? Tell you what, I’ll lend you a hand as soon as lunch hour is over—“ a loud grumble cut Alibert off. He looked at the young girl who stared back with a sheepish smile and fidgeting fingers, “—and as soon as you get some food in your belly.”

The conversation ended there and Alibert directed Uvie to wait in the kitchen until the lunch hour ended and she got to taste some delicacies. He then returned to continue his conversation with his old friend, not before telling Uvie to ask the person in the scullery.

It was weirdly empty, despite her thinking she saw some activity in the room earlier, alongside Alibert’s words. She came in further, glancing around at the utensils on the walls. A loud clang rang out and made her tense up immediately, quickly turning only to see pots and pans that were filled with boiling water and vegetables. ‘I could’ve sworn someone was here…’ as the thought entered her brain, she felt something graze the back of her neck. She jolted in place, swivelling around to see a single tofu flying levelled to her face. It let out a chirp. With that, her shoulders relaxed, “Oh, it’s just a tofu. Hello—“

A presence from behind called out, “Boo—Ack!”

She squealed in surprise, quickly reaching for her weapon and swinging at the figure before she could process that actual words were being said. The boy she whacked fell onto his butt, hands rubbing his long hat in the area she hit, groaning lightly. As soon as she realized what she had done, she dropped her weapon and ran over kneeling down.

“Oh my gods! I am so so sorry—I really didn’t mean to I was just surprised and..!” Her voice trailed off due to the boy beginning to laugh a little.

“Haha! I scared you really good, didn’t I?” His head bobbed with his laughs, sandy blond hair bouncing with the movement.

Her heart was thumping loud in her chest from the altercation, but his words quickly take her out of her survival mode and she bursts into a surprised fit of giggles as well, “You—you really did!” She managed to sputter out between laughs. The boy hopped back onto his feet and she was able to see him better. Brown eyes, very lightly tanned skin, and blond hair covered by a blue hat, he gave her a toothy grin. Uvie had gotten back up as well, grabbing her sword from the ground and returning it onto her back, “sorry again for that, but uh…hi! I’m Uvie!”

“Yugo,” he answered back, rubbing the back of his head, “and I kinda deserved that so…I guess we’re even?” He reached his arm out for a shake. Uvie nodded in agreement and clasped his hand back. The shake was brief and they let go a second after.

A sudden flash of yellow covered her vision, a circular shape resting in the middle. The Tofu chirped in front of her once more, this time as an apology. “And who is this little guy?” She inquired, reaching out and giving it a little pat on the head. Man, forgiveness is sweet.

“That’s Az! He’s my best friend!”

He shared with her a few other details about himself, primarily about his love for his father, Alibert. Uvie could not see the physical resemblance between the two, but she and her grandmother were in the same boat so she understood. Conveniently, as Yugo brought up his dad, the man called out a few more orders for his son to cook up. Uvie, of course, offered her assistance.

“You can help me out with fuelling the fire if you’d like.” And she did just that, watching Yugo’s movements as he cooked different meats and took trays out of the oven. Meat sizzled on the grill and baked goods rose in the flames she was maintaining. Yugo’s moves were not very organized, though. Az was struggling to dodge the projectiles thrown into the air and Uvie herself had to flatten against the wall. It did not take long for the tofu to get smacked by an object, being flung into a bag of flour. The object parried off of him into a shelf of items that tipped towards the bag.

The two kids shouted out in concern, raising an arm out instinctively. The only difference was that the boy’s hand began to glow a bright cyan and a similarly coloured circle expanded from the ground and swallowed the falling objects up. It promptly disappeared right after.

‘Woah…what was that?’

Yugo walked up to the spot the circle was and tapped at the flooring, confused. He started at his hand with a raised brow but said no words. Suddenly, he swung his arms out and the circle appeared again, spitting out the bottles and flinging them in every direction. There was no time to process what had happened before Alibert piped up once more. The two kids brushed off his worries and fell into a brief silence.

After the short ruckus, Uvie piped up, “So…uh…let me help you clean this up!”

Az chirped, and the blue feather on his behind jingled in unison.

*** *** ***

Uvie sat on one of the barrel shaped seats and had a bowl of rice with a large, juicy steak placed on top. She gripped her fork and stabbed it into the meat, taking a large bite from it. Her eyes brightened immediately as the flavours burst on her tongue. Perfectly salted, not too chewy or tough, and had a nice balance of moisture. She squealed and held a hand to her cheek, kicking her feet absentmindedly.

“Wow, Yuho! Hyou awr such a gwood cook!” She complimented with her mouth full, barely breathing between bites of heaven.

He gave her a smile of thanks and raised two more plates up, “Gobball stew, coming up!” He launched it with great accuracy at the waiting customer. And the second. And the t—

“Argh! Hot!” Ruel held his stinging nose as porridge dripped down his face. The two kids laughed at his unfortunate situation and he muttered under his breath, ” little rapscallions…”

With a big gulp, Uvie swallowed the food in her mouth, “So…” she began, turning her attention to the older men, “how do you guys know my Granny?”

Ruel straightened his back and stood with pride, “Well, me and Alibert here used to be the best bounty hunters in the world of twelve!” Uvie’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the men with awe. The old man’s chest puffed out and he held his shovel proudly, “we would beat villains every hour! And boy, we would earn so many kamas…” he trailed off, eyes glazing over in a golden hue with a ‘K’ in the centre.

Alibert pat him on the back to get him back on track, “She wants to know about her grandma, not the greedy dreams of an Enutrof.”

Ruel’s face soured and he groaned, “That blasted Eniripsa! She would squeeze me out of all the kamas we would earn just because she could heal a bruise or two!” He shook his fist in the air and was about to rant some more before he was cut off.

A soft series of thuds were heard in the distance.

“What Ruel means to say is that Dianne was a trusted friend who would patch us up when we needed it,” he glanced over at the door to the establishment briefly, “the day I found Yugo, I knew my bounty hunting life was over and that I had to hang up my shovel. Your grandmother was one of the first people I told. She was very happy for me and wished me well with my new life and family,” he looked over to his son, eyes filled with affection. Yugo looked back and gave his father a toothy grin.

The thuds grew louder.

‘…and I guess that’s when they drifted apart, even if Granny has visited the village a few times since’

Thud. Thud. THUD.

Uvie opened her mouth to thank them for both the story and the food, but the building shook and rattled, causing her to lose grip of her plate. It smacked to the ground, spilling the contents onto the floor. But that was not the most pressing matter. The remnants of the door flying into the restaurant was. Alibert’s shovel that had once been attached to the wood spun and landed onto the floor, luckily still intact. All four people looked towards the source of the wreckage, surprise etching itself onto Uvie and Yugo’s faces.

The masculine creature was burly and tall, with grey skin and orange hair. He wore a sleeveless shirt that was branded with a Red Cross and shoes that had similar symbols. His eyes were completely white, but on the centre of his forehead was an additional eyeball that had a black pupil. He marched in, glancing at any shiny decorations he could find. Costumers were trembling with fear and readied themselves to escape, something that was met with a scowl from Yugo.

“Come on, you idiot! We have more important things to do! We need to destroy!” The eyeball spoke, much to Uvie’s surprise. She was still on alert and reached towards the sword on her back. But before she could act, Yugo threw a blanket onto the beast’s face.

Standing in front of the bulky being, he scolded, “Hey you! You better not think I’m gonna clean up after you!” The creature ripped off the cloth and punched at him, much to the eyeball’s encouragement, only for Yugo to swiftly move on top of him instead. He was not the brightest enemy ever, as he hit itself multiple times in pursuit of Yugo, which, in turn, enraged him further. He began to rampage and destroy anything he could get its hands on. Pillars, walls, and tables were all collateral in the rage. The creature marched onwards.

He approached a young girl who was frozen with shock, unable to react in time. Raising an arm, be prepared to strike again. And that’s when Uvie stepped in. With a shout, she grabbed her sword with both hands and swung as hard as she could into his legs, just below the knees, causing him to lose balance and fall down. She had barely made it out from under him by the time he hit the ground.

“Argh! How idiotic can you be?!” The eye complained.

“Hey, dad! People are leaving without paying!” Yugo added his own complaint in, head sticking outside the doorframe.

“Don’t you worry about it, Yugo! I’ll remember their faces.”

The monster rose again, unrelenting in this fight. Ruel grabbed his shovel and prepared to participate himself. On the other hand, Yugo tried to leap towards the grey man once more, but got backhanded and flung into the kitchen’s wall.

“Yugo!” Alibert and Uvie called out in concern.

Meanwhile, Ruel stood his ground. Even as the creature roared in his face, he responded with a shoe into the grey mouth of his enemy, using the leverage to flip over it. Uvie utilized this moment to focus back onto the battle, worried gaze hardening as she ran over to help the Enutrof. Ruel swiped at the back of the monster, sending it hurling forward. Using that momentum, Uvie stuck out her blade straight and tightened her grip, hitting the creature directly in the belly and causing him to stagger backwards. Unfortunately, the next attack from Ruel was abruptly ended as the best grabbed onto his shovel with one hand and his collar with the other.

He then used the handle of the shovel to swing back and nail Uvie in the gut, sending her to the floor and dropping the weapon afterwards. Winded, the girl struggled to catch her breath and gasped for some air. Alibert engaged in a momentary battle as well, but his skills were not as refined as they used to be, resulting in his collar being snatched as well.

“A—a Shushu!” Ruel stammered, “he’s possessed by a Shushu!”

‘A what?’ Uvie may be struggling a little to breathe at the moment, but her mind was still running rampant.

Thump!

A lump of bread had been levied at the creatures head, distracting it from the older men. Yugo had gotten back up, standing on the bar, stating Uvie’s thoughts out loud, “A shu-what now?”

“A Shushu! It is a spirit that is trapped in an object! If it’s wielder can’t keep it under wraps then it takes over!”

“The old gramps knows his stuff. Take him out!” It was too late for that, though.

“Then…then we just need to get it off…right?” Uvie rasped, staggering back onto her feet.

Yugo nodded, sticking out his hands. They began to glow cyan again and the boy instinctively spun his arms around, creating the circle from earlier. He created an additional one over the monster’s head, teleporting through it and grabbing onto the eye as soon as he landed.

“The—the message…!” Alibert muttered in shock, gazing at his son’s newly formed abilities.

At the same time, the creature was fighting back, struggling against the boy’s grip. With a final burst of energy, she held her weapon horizontally and slammed it into the backs of the creature’s knees, sending it toppling down into a kneel. That was the final distraction Yugo needed to finally yank the additional eye off the beast’s forehead. Immediately, the creature let go of the men and fell down to the floor, miraculously shrinking down into a scrawny man. He was pale and had irises again, light brown with no pupils. From what Granny taught her, Uvie determined that he was a Iop.

He shakily stood back up, “I…I need to tell you something…” he began, drifting off into sleep before he could say what he wanted to. He was still standing though. Weird.

As the adrenaline wore off, Uvie looked towards Yugo and her eyes began to sparkle. Though he was in his father’s arms, laughing proudly, she ran up to him, “Yugo, that was so cool! How did you figure it out?!”

Alibert set the boy down and he scratched his cheek lightly, “I don’t really know how. I just kind of…did it?” She reached out and gripped his hands with hers, bouncing on her feet slightly.

“Still, it was super duper cool!” With his ego inflated, Yugo moved his hands away smiled brightly, resting his arms behind his head instead. He was giggling at her words.

“You did very well too,” Ruel piped up with a compliment, giving Uvie a pat on the back. She smiled sheepishly and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She twiddled her thumbs, trying to mask her happiness from those words. She could not.

”…So did you, Mr. Ruel!” She returned the kind words.

In a complete tonal shift, Alibert’s expression became serious and he knelt down towards his son, “Yugo I have something to tell you…” he began, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder, “when I found you all those years ago, I was given a message. In that message, I was told about your powers and your real family.”

Yugo’s face morphed into shock, but before he could say anything a panicked scream rang out from outside. The group readied themselves to investigate.

Uvie had heard something else, though. A quiet Zzt! that turned her attention elsewhere.

*** *** ***

Lens after lens was stacked on top of each other, camera zeroing in on the boy with the blue hat and his companions. One final lens swung itself down from the ceiling and zoomed in on the boy’s hand. The cyan glow emanating from his palm was bright and vibrant, illuminating the room.

Resounding laughter filled the area and echoed around, the last lens retracting back up to once again show the unassuming group.

Now, however, the black haired girl made eye contact with the camera.

Chapter Text

Uvie’s eyes were trained on a spot in the distance, much to her own confusion. Sure, she heard a noise from somewhere but she swore she could feel it from where she was facing. Her thoughts did not go much further when Ruel called out, “By Enutrof! What is all that racket?!”

The two adults made their way to peek out the massive holes in the walls of the restaurant. Yugo turned towards the black haired girl, who was busy spacing out in the opposite direction. He approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Uvie…? Are you alright?” Feeling the sudden warmth on her shoulder jolted her from her thoughts and her eyes locked onto Yugo, but she nodded to his question.  In response, he nudged his head towards the gaps in debris and invited her to scope out the scene. She followed him, avoiding the man that was still sleeping upright, and gasped when the light of outside reached her eyes.

The scene felt apocalyptic. The once happy villagers that were eating and laughing in the restaurant were now running for their lives and screaming in terror. The culprits? Small black blobs with arms sticking out of their heads like antennas. Their faces were covered by an assortment of helmets; some from wood, some from leaves, and even some from nut casings. With emotionless white eyes, they reached out with sharp fingers and turned innocent townspeople into statuettes of shrubbery.

Ruel was the first to jump into action. Shovel in hand, he swiped and slammed onto the nearby creatures that were crawling towards him. For such an old man, he was still very agile and surprisingly fit.

Alibert had stayed close to the children, with his own shovel clasped between his palms. He did not remain there for long, though, as his attention was directed towards the girls that were cornered on top of a barrel next to a house, with a disgruntled man trying to balance onto the windowsill. With a growl, he called out, “Stay in your house, Jason!” He started to make his way over, pausing for a moment to turn towards the kids, “take care of yourselves!” The two nodded and he rushed off.

Yugo nudged at Uvie once more, outstretching his arm to her, “You wanna squash some weeds?” He said with a cheeky grin. She smiled in return and nodded, reaching out her arm in return. Before she could reach his hand, Yugo extended his arm further and grabbed her hand, running out into the battlefield. 

Uvie’s hair swayed behind her at the fast pace they were going at, eyes scanning for anything they could use. In the meantime, she used her sword that was still in her other hand to swat any critters that got too close to them. Yugo was effortlessly evading the outstretched arms, bringing Uvie along with him. His movements were sporadic but careful, at least, until his eyes locked onto the perfect weapon. Grinning, he tugged on Uvie’s arm, turning her attention back onto him, slowing down to a stop. She looked over his shoulder and saw what he was planning. A barrel had fallen over but was unbroken, which was perfect for standing on.

“Wanna get on together?” Yugo smiled mischievously.

Uvie nodded, smiling herself when—

“ Ah—! Somebody, please help! ” A young voice called out, causing the two to swivel their heads over. A young boy with bright orange hair and a pot with a handle sat on his head was on the ground, critters rapidly approaching.

“I’ll go help him!” Uvie said determinedly, hand slipping from Yugo’s. “Do you…want to take care of the critters here?” She tacked on after a short pause. He nodded, allowing her to run off with that approval.

And take care of them she did. Once the nearby foes were cleared, she knelt down to the boy, placing an arm on his shoulder.

“Are…are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?” She piped up a little awkwardly, but accompanied her words with a warm smile.

“Y-yeah, I’m f-fine!” The boy nodded, metal pot clanging with the motion.

Uvie smiled wider, “I’m glad!” She paused before helping him out, stopping to take a good look at the enemies she was fighting.

‘ Hm…these things…they look familiar…’

She then recalled a warning her grandmother gave her years ago.

*

“Uvie,” Granny began, slicing another chip off the wooden carving. Said girl stared at her, looking up at the wooden rocking chair the Eniripsa sat on. Uvie watched her grandmother’s hands in awe, mesmerized by the precision of the cuts made to the piece.

“Mhm?”

“I know how badly you want to go adventuring, but before you do, there’s something you need to know first,” Uvie sat up straight, big eyes sparkling at the mention of adventure. Granny sighed affectionately at her actions, making another cut before continuing, “we live near the Forbidden Forest, my dear. And you must know the dangers of upsetting it”

“But forests don’t have feelings. How can they be upset?” Uvie tilted her head curiously.

“Everything that has life is capable of feelings , little flower,” Granny momentarily set the carving down and clasped her cup of tea, reclining into her chair with a prolonged sip. She continued, “the forbidden forest guards a great being that fills the land with life.”

An amazed woah left Uvie’s lips, but she remained an attentive listener. Quite rare for her at the time. The Eniripsa blew on her cup and took another sip, closing her eyes, “As such, the great being must be protected to preserve the life of the forest. When the being is in danger, it summons a defence to aid and replenish it until it can thrive once more. It is imperative that you know what lies there. For one, there are….” Granny trailed off and opened her eyes, the right one immediately twitching. Young Uvie’s eyes were closed and she was nodding off in her seated position, head bobbing progressively lower. The old woman jerked forward and pinched her granddaughter’s cheek, stretching it.

“Argh! Grannyyyy!” Uvie whined after her sudden awakening, voice marbled by her outstretched cheek. So much for being an attentive listener.

“You little rascal! You need to know this!” Granny chastised, releasing her hold and reclining back into her chair. Uvie muttered out a brief apology and her grandmother took a final sip of tea to calm herself, “as I was saying…there are the small critters that protect the forest. With helmets of nature and clawed hands. Their names are…”

*

Uvie had come to the realization as her memory faded out.

‘ Polters! These are polters! ’

“H—hey, dude! L-look out!” The young boy called out, snapping Uvie’s attention behind her. While she was spaced out, the Polters had managed to make their way towards her arms reaching out. They were too close for her to properly react, sword unable to make it in time. She closed her eyes, bracing to be turned into leaves like the other villagers that could not get out…

…

…

…

Squish!

“…Uvie!” She slowly opened her eyes. In front of her, a familiar blue hat looking back at her. The barrel he was on was abandoned, black streaks staining the wood. Uvie exhaled in relief, smiling and thanking him in one breath. He smiled back, “it’s no problem! Wasn’t it pretty cool though?!”

She nodded and took a moment to think once more. It was odd, now that she was able to think with a clearer mind. The polters should not be here.

‘ So why are they...? ’

Distant voices rang out.

“Mister Mayor, no!”

Yugo’s face instantly shifted into horror, swivelling to face where his father was. Uvie followed his gaze, face dropping. Alibert was frozen, legs beginning to convert into shrub.

“D-dad!” Yugo sprinted over immediately, leaving Uvie to catch up after a moment of hesitation. Alibert gazed at his son, brows furrowing as the greenery spread to his lower jaw. Still, he fought against it and used the last of his strength to speak.

“Yugo, you must listen to me…! You will receive a message on where to—where to find your real family…you must…!” The leaves were spreading up the tails of his moustache. He carried on, “you must find the message!”

Yugo reached out toward Alibert, eyes wavering in fear and welling up with tears. The man grunted softly and murmured, “And-and…Yugo…I…I lo…” his words trailed off as the leaves encased him completely, but his words were understood.

I love you.

The boy screamed out for his father, “Dad—no! Please move or say anything…! Dad!” Yugo fell to his knees, tears slowly rolling down his cheeks as he sniffled softly. Uvie, recovered from the initial shock of the situation, softened her gaze and placed a comforting hand on his back as he wept.

Suddenly, Uvie felt a sudden flicker and heard the same Zzt from earlier. She kept her hand on Yugo’s back and looked around for the source of the sound once more.

“Tree…Noxins…” a garbled voice spoke. Her head snapped to the right and she stared at a small bug, though, by the looks of it, it only resembled a bug. Uvie’s hand slowly lifted from its spot as she began to move towards the insect. The bug itself began to lift and closed in on Az, the tofu innocently chirping and tilting his head at the bright blue eyes staring at it. Her brow raised after seeing this and she took a step to investigate.

“ Finally…dragon… ” it spoke once more. Uvie advanced further and was a few steps away—

—Now had been the perfect time for the forgotten Ruel to make himself known again. He approached the bug and raised his shovel up high, ready to strike.

“Wait—Mr. Ruel hang on..!” She reached out in a feeble attempt to stop him, but her words fell on deaf ears. Ruel had followed through with his swing and crushed the insect with the force of his weapon, shattering it it bits and causing it to burst into a blue puff of smoke. Az was startled by this and took shelter by Ruel’s foot, blue feather swishing with the movement. Uvie paid it no mind.

Well, normally she would have, but there were more pressing matters that could redirect her attention. Like a giant tree that miraculously sprouted from the ground. That would do it. She was in a stunned shock, eyes blinking periodically as she tried to process what she was looking at. On the other hand, Ruel whistled, impressed at the sight and he turned around to walk back to Yugo, picking up the spaces out Uvie by the scruff of her clothes as he made his way over.

“Alibert…” he muttered softly, looking at the still crying boy sympathetically. Uvie dangled in his grip silently, and he spoke up again, “…don’t you worry Yugo! We’ll find a cure for him!”

Upon hearing the word ‘cure’ Uvie snapped back to life and momentarily struggled in Ruel’s grasp until he let her go. With a flame in her eye, she looked down towards Yugo with a smile, “Ruel’s right! We can try and ask my Granny for some help!”

Said man sputtered and his face soured at the name, “Argh—no! Anyone but that blasted wom—”

His complaints were cut off by a distant shout.

“Hey! Where are they?! The ones who saved my life!” The man from the restaurant had finally woken up from his upright rest. His hair bobbed as he made his way towards the group. Given his pointed ears and flaming orange hair, Uvie concluded that he was a Iop. He brightened up and smiled as he made eye contact with them. Ruel rolled his eyes, unimpressed. The man approached and kneeled down, placing his hand onto his chest.

“I am Sir Percedal of Sadlygrove, a noble knight from the order of the Guardians of the Shushus!” He announced, bowing his head, “and it was you lot that freed me from the clutches of the evil Rubilax. I will repay you for your kindness; even if it costs me my life!” The group winced at his dramatics when an additional voice made itself known.

“A knight, you? That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard from you in years!” The voice chuckled, getting on the nerves of Percedal. With a twitched brow, or whatever could twitch in the place he should have had brows, he unsheathed a blade and yelled at the eye in the centre.

“Argh, Rubilax..!”

Uvie stopped paying attention to the conversation but— ‘oh my god, did the eye move?’ Indeed it did. The two continued squabbling and Yugo glanced back towards his father, tears silently flowing down his cheeks. Percedal was swinging the sword around in rage, the blade, Rubilax, goading on his actions. Placing her hand against Yugo’s arm, she comforted him while watching the debacle in front of her. That was about the time that Percedal began to smack Rubilax into the dirt.

Ruel had been staring, unamused, for the entire duration before he cleared his throat to redirect the Iop’s attention. “Look, I know couples tend to get into spats sometimes, but we have bigger snappers to fry!” That caused Percedal to stop and look around, finally noticing the human-like bushes around him.

“Uh…did the uh…polters come through here too? This is already the third town!”He asked with a genuine look of confusion. Ruel gave another unimpressed look but Uvie nodded her head enthusiastically, proud that she was right about the creatures being Polters in the first place. Percedal placed a hand on his hip, the one with Rubilax pointing behind him, “they actually come from the forbidden forest. I was there but I couldn’t find out much because I was attacked by a huge monster in my sleep of all things!”

“And that’s when you had to cry to me for help so I would promise to save your life! Remember how you were blubbering like a f—” Rubliax’s cackle was cut off by an enraged battle cry and more smacking, this time against stone.

Yugo had looked towards his father once more and clenched his fist, “The forbidden forest…” he mumbled, “we can find out why the Polters came here in the first place! We have to go!” He turned to Uvie who gave her a grin and a nod, the two turning towards Ruel for his approval. He did not respond yet. One of the townspeople, a woman, approached during this time, the young boy with the pot on his head at her side.

“Yugo, you’ll have to be careful! There are many terrible things that have happened there,” she warned, eyes filled with worry.

The boy spoke up as well, “Please Yugo, Uvie,” he glanced to said girl as well, clasping his hands together, “you saved me, so please save our parents”

Yugo nodded to the boy and pat his pot, “Don’t worry, Uvie, Ruel, and I will sort this all out!” He once again looked to Ruel.

“While I don’t usually work free of charge, I supposed I can make an exception for my old friend,” he looked towards the Alibert bush once more, smile on his face.

Uvie smiled brightly fist pumped into the air, “Alright, let’s go save everyone!” The other two nodded and they began to make their way out of the town, without the still bickering Iop and Shushu.

Zzt!

“H-hey!” Percedal called out when he noticed, breaking into a sprint to catch up to them.

Zzt!

Uvie’s ears were filled with a constant buzzing, causing her to wince and rub at her temples to subside the oncoming headache. Still, a voice crept in.

“ Eliatrope…dragon…Emelka… ”

…

…

…

Elia what now?

*** *** ***

The forest was thick but had specs of light that glimmered through the trees. Percedal had managed to catch up to them and regain his composure by the time they reached the entrance. With the group now traversing through the leaves, Uvie was looking around in awe, feet almost stumbling over themselves as she investigated the unfamiliar territory. She knelt down a couple times and unclipped the button to her bag, gingerly plucking some weeds from the ground to stuff inside the sack.

“They’re not weeds, they’re herbs!” She told Ruel that was watching her shenanigans with a doubtful eye. She squinted her eyes back, challenging him, but he graciously backed off and let her continue frolicking.

The Iop cleared his throat to start new conversation, “so, uh, you’re a bounty hunter, right Ruel?”

Said man grinned proudly, shovel resting on his shoulder, “Why, I’m one of the best!” he gloated, “though in all honesty, bounty hunting isn’t as good as it’s made to seem. You end up spending more money than you spend!” His boast faded out to a complaint, and he began to ramble on. He and Percedal continued trekking onwards as Uvie stayed a little behind to keep harvesting.

She hummed a quiet tune, picking up a weed only to click her tongue when it was not good for use. She repeated the process a few more times and readied to get up, only for a floating hand to pass another viable herb to her. She muttered out a thank you and took it, quickly turning back towards her bag, only to do a double check and squeak in surprise.

The ‘floating hand’ belonged to none other than Yugo, a blue portal hovering midair to prove it. The hand quickly retracted and the portal shrunk until it disappeared. Uvie’s heart lightly accelerated from the surprise but was already beginning to slow as she search for the boy within the trees. She found him snickering behind a thick oak trunk with Az chirping in laughter on his shoulder.

Uvie ran up to him and Az, big eyes sparkling for the umpteenth time, “Yugo, that was so cool! Totally scared me, but super duper awesome!” the blond grinned at her and he put a finger up to her mouth, beckoning her over to hide with him. With his other hand, he pointed over at the older members of the group who were conversing with each other. Of course, it was the perfect time to have a little fun! Uvie nodded and hid herself behind a bush, head poking out to watch the scene unfold.

“Look, I even drew a map! Sure, it’s not accurate, but it’s pretty!” The Iop defended, much to Ruel’s expected disappointment.

Meanwhile, Yugo kneeled down and stuck an arm out towards the distance. Almost instantly, a portal formed where he pointed. He did the same thing behind the bush. Wiggling his fingers, he reached his arm in and tapped Percedal’s shoulder. The man paused and looked around with narrowed eyes, trying to find the source of the feeling. He was not the smartest guy around, and managed to conclude that Ruel was guilty for it. Giving him a knowing smirk, he turned back to the map and hummed.

The two kids giggled to each other, and Uvie turned towards Yugo, “Can I try?” She asked in a hushed excitement. He agreed and created another portal, this time closer to Ruel. Uvie mentally prepared herself, but the moment a portal formed in front of her her arm shot in. The feeling was…odd. There was a cold sensation right around the part of her arm that was touching the edge of the portal, as if she was feeling the cold fumes that emanate from ice cubes. She still could feel the arm that was on the other side of the portal and stretched it out until it jabbed Ruel’s side. He yelped in alarm and turned where he was hit, causing Uvie to quickly retract her hand from the portal and watch it close.

Ruel also was unable to pinpoint the source of the jab and gave Percedal a glare, the man being completely unaware of the malice being targeted at him. The two kids laughed once more and decided to keep on moving. Uvie took one last glance as Yugo’s hands, still surprised at his newfound powers. Yugo’s palm still had traces of glowing blue from the last portal he made, at least, that was what Uvie saw.

“Alright Yugo, why don't you take a look from up there?" The Enutrof suggested, pointing at a total evergreen.

Yugo nodded and he glowed familiarly, hopping from one portal to the next. Higher, higher, and higher he climbed, tossing portal discs and he ascended upwards. Uvie's head tilted with the climb, only stopping once he was out of her line of sight and shielded by the trees.

"Woah, he's got some good moves!" Percedal voiced Uvie's thoughts out loud, the girl nodding with him enthusiastically.  After a brief pause, she turned to the man and looked at the sword in his hand. The weapon was clearly meant to be a sword, but the size made it more suitable for close combat, even though the weapon was not built to be a dagger. Uvie was perplexed by this.

"So, Sir Percedal, how do you fight? Your sword looks kind of...small...?" She piped up.

"Well, normally I would say to wait and see, but since you've never seen such greatness before, I could make an exception!”

" Snrk , yeah. Greatness that you have no part in– ” The Iop shoves a hand over the eyeball, effectively shutting the Shushu up. Somehow.

' How does he even—you know what, maybe that conversation is for another time '

On cue, Percedal announced a loud ‘ observe! ’, but just as he was about to do...whatever it was he set out to do, a portal appeared right in front of him and sent him stumbling to the ground. Upon hitting the ground, he quickly recovered and gripped Rubilax tightly, the sword miraculously warping into a larger size. And it was green now. Cool!

Yugo laughed momentarily and Rubilax joined in, much to Percedal's dismay, but the blond went back on track and pointed the group to a giant tree in the distance.

“Ugh, believe me, being a guardian of the Shushus, specifically this guy, is super duper hard!” Percedal drawls, Rubilax tucked back into his waistband. The three youngsters were being a little too casual considering the environment they were in. Which is precisely why Ruel called them out.

“You guys know that this is the forbidden forest for a reason, yes? It’s the most dangerous forest in Amanka!”

They blinked at him dumbly

“That means we should stick together! And of course, we need to stay out of troub—”

A loud scream echoed through the depths of the forest.

“Ah, a beautiful maiden is in trouble! Don’t worry, gorgeous, I’ll save youuuuuu!” Percedal readied Rubilax in his green form again. Still super cool. He had definitely been talking to himself as he ran off before his sentence finished.

Safe to say, Ruel was dumbfounded by the Iop’s antics, “And here I thought I said we should stick together” he said with clenched teeth. Yugo and Uvie, on the other hand, were beaming with excitement.

“Yeah,” the boy grinned, “that’s why I’m going with him!” He giggled, put his tofu in his pocket, and ran off, leaving the other two behind.

Ruel sighed and rubbed his temple lightly. As much as Uvie wanted to go with Yugo, Granny would not let her live things down if she did not respect the wishes of her elders. That did not mean she would not try. With big eyes, she turned to Ruel and brought her hands together, fiddling with her fingers.

Ruel’s eyebrow twitched.

She continued, lower lip sticking out in a pout.

Ruel tried avoiding eye contact.

She kicked a stray pebble, face unwavering.

He began to sweat.

Her eyes sparkled and she opened her mouth to speak—

“Argh! Fine! Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

*** *** ***

“Ugh! What do these things want from us?!”

Upon catching up to the two rambunctious boys, Uvie’s eyes fell onto the scene in front of her. Hundred of Polters were score off the grounds, directing their assault towards two girls. ‘A Sadidan and a Cra! So cool!’ The one that called out, the Sadidan, was struggling to climb up onto a tree, using a stuffed doll of sorts as leverage to get up. Stray polters were trying to swipe at her as she did so. The other woman was mounted on a green Dracoturkey, shooting as many critters as she could with yellow arrows.

“I don’t know—maybe you should be wondering why we’re even here?! ” Said the Cra, steering her steed to try and scare the nearby Polters off. “But of course, a great adventurer like you would totally believe these guys are friendly!” She glared.

“Hmph, well, you know, everyone makes mistake…” her eyes darted around awkwardly.

Percedal and Yugo took that as the time to act. They began combat effortlessly; Percedal slamming and crushing numerous Polters with the help of Rubilax, and Yugo teleporting Polters up high and letting them splat once they hit the ground.

The green haired girl redirected Uvie’s attention back to her with a scream. Polters were making their way towards her on the branch. And there was no way Uvie would let a potential friend get hurt! She ran up to the base of the tree and noticed a mix of notches and bumps in the bark that was perfect for her to climb on. With practiced expertise, Uvie dug her fingers into the crevices and kicked off the bumps with her feet to make her way up the trunk. Twelve years of living in a forest will really develop the strangest of skills, huh?

Her finger momentarily slipped when she pressed down on a particularly sharp bump, but she managed to recover by switching to her other hand on time. Reaching the top, she vaulted onto the branch and unsheathed her sword, smacking the Polters away from the Sadidan’s feet. With the coast cleared, Uvie lifts her head to look at the girl in front of her, bright smile tugging on her cheeks. Before she could speak, a Polter makes a dive towards her from behind. The Sadidan before her immediately jumps into action, kneeling down and placing her hand on the trunk. Magically, a green aura spread from her palm and into the bark, causing a series of branches to sprout outward and take out the enemies in one fell swoop.

Uvie’s eyes lit up in awe, “Thank you!” She called out, receiving a nod of acknowledgment.

The Sadidan looked over the edge and her face scrunched up in disgust, “Ugh! These things are everywhere!” She used one branch to swipe at more polters on the ground and lowered herself from the tree with another.

Uvie glanced over the edge as well, observing how the Cra was knocked off her Dracoturkey and swiftly caught by Percedal. He blushed at the contact but was elbowed by the blonde and he set her down on solid ground. On the other side of their battlefield, Yugo and Ruel had managed to take out the remaining creatures that surrounded them. They then made their way over to the other two, the Sadidan following shortly after. Seeing this, Uvie made her way towards the edge of the trunk, watching as it slightly curved downwards above an expanse of thick bushes. In the interest of saving time, she nodded to herself and ran off the edge, jumping with a cheerful squeal.

The landing surprisingly did not hurt much, the bushes being made of more leaves than twigs. One twig in particular did awkwardly nudge against her side. With a soft grunt, she rolled herself out of the bush and onto her feet, picking off any loose leaves from her person as she met up with them.

Ruel’s eyes, finally seeing the two women properly, lit up with recognition, “Ah, well if it isn’t the two lovely ladies from the bridge!” They both nodded at him, leading him to continue, “it is a pleasure to see you two again. I am Ruel, your humble servant” he gave a slight bow, arm gesturing towards the Iop when he arose.

“This one over here is Sir Percedal, a valiant knight” said man swiped his nose confidently, looking towards the Cra and winking at her. She was not impressed.

Undeterred, Ruel continued, now gesturing towards the black haired girl, “And this one is Uvie! A novice adventurer!”

Wow, Uvie had never been called that before! She beamed, and with her excitement she blurted out, “It’s so nice to meet you! Can we be friends?!”

The Sadidan’s expression brightened at her words, but with a light nudge from the Cra her face crumbled. She looked away from Uvie moments later, without a word.

‘ Oh…I don’t think I should’ve said that…’

Uvie fiddled with her fingers.

The girls stayed silent.

As did the boys.

There was a pregnant pause.

“Ahem,” Ruel cleared his throat turning his attention to the last one in their group, “finally, this is Yugo. His poor father has been turned into shrubs by the polters. That’s actually why we’re here to begin with.”

At the mention of his dad, Yugo’s eyes began to instinctively water, face forming into a forlorn pout. Uvie approaches him carefully and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. He gives a small smile of thanks momentarily, his sadness shifting his expression back into a frown.

“Well, I am Eva. And this,” the Cra gestures beside her, “is Amalia. We’re pilgrims”

“And what are two pilgrims doing in the forbidden forest?”

The two girls glanced at each other for a moment, but this time, Amalia was the one who spoke up, “…Actually, two nights ago, I had a prophetic dream! Sadida told me I had to come here to this forest, and the fact that we ran into you guys means we must be destined to meet each other and follow the same path! Even if some people think my imagination is too wild.” She finished her ramble with a pointed glare towards Eva. The rest of the group turns to her.

“What? Someone has to be realistic!” She shot back. Deterring everyone’s gaze. Clearly the two had some disagreements before getting to this point.

“Well, that’s awesome!” Yugo piped up, a renewed energy flowing through him. “The more people we have, the better chance we have to save my village!”

“You’re right! I think we can do this!” Uvie added, the two of them pumping their fists up together with a cheerful hurrah.

Percedal nodded as well, but his attention was targeted elsewhere, blush ever so present on his face. Eva was not impressed.

“Ugh, keep it in your pants, Romeo!”

And neither was Rubilax, it seemed.

*** *** ***

The walk was filled with small conversation. The forest seemed to be shifting in colour as they continued. The once vibrant green was fading into a cold brown. One that causes the grass to dry out and leaves to fall from trees. Uvie could hear a high pitch ringing that would increase in volume the closer they approached. She winced. Az, the little tofu he is, noticed her discomfort and flew over to rest on her shoulder. She gave him a smile and pet the underside of his chin with her finger. He chirped happily.

“Poor things…”

Without noticing, Amalia had gone ahead of the group. Stopping in front of a group of trees. “These trees…they’re…” she lamented, her face shifted into a frown, tears pouring down her cheeks as she placed her hand onto the trunk. The group of trees ahead were all shrivelled up and dark, twigs thin and brittle.

“…this must be because of Ogrest’s Chaos ” Eva piped up. Hand tightening its grip on her bow.

“You really believe in that old legend? It’s all nonsense!” Ruel countered, crossing his arms and looking away, “I swear, every bad thing that happens gets blamed on Ogrest with no proof he even exists!” He grumbled. Nobody paid him any mind.

“Um, Amalia, are you alright?” Uvie was the first to approach, maintaining a comfortable distance whilst also making her concern visible.

“I can feel something…there’s an ancient, evil , presence here. I really don’t think we’re welcome here” she replied, eyebrows creasing in anger, likely due to the state of the plant life.

“Hm, maybe we should teach them some things about hospitality!” Percedal readied up again, causing his blade to sigh.

“ You show off ”

“What?! I am not—”

This time, Yugo redirected the potential argument that would form between the Shushu and his keeper by letting out a gasp, redirecting the focus of the group. “Wow! That’s a really big tree!”

The tree really was huge. The roots were thicker than the trees in the healthier areas of the forest, even thicker trunk sprouting out well past the browned leaves of the other trees. Uvie could not even see a branch from her angle. Her observations were cut short by another sharp ringing in her ears, causing an additional wince and placing her hand onto her temple. This one was even louder than before.

“It looks like he’s been affected, too” Amalia noted, glancing downwards.

Ruel nodded in agreement, following her gaze, face lighting up in recognition, “That machine! It’s the same one I destroyed in Emelka!”

‘ Really? ’

Uvie fought against the ringing and looked down as well, eyes locking onto the shattered bot. Conversation between the group continued, but she crouched down to get a better look. The machine resembled a bug, with bandage-like wraps creating the body and wings of the tech. Its face, however, was made from a metallic material that had a circle in the middle. The closer the girl got to it, the louder the ringing was. Uvie picked it up, the ringing increasing once more in volume as she raised the head to her ear.

‘Is this what I’ve been hearing this whole time? Even from before in Emelka?’

It was the most likely reason, she concluded, but she did not have long to dwell on it once the ground began to rumble. The machine dropped from her grasp and shattered once more, the incessant sound coming to an end. Her head shot up and she looked around, alerted. From the depths of the desolate forest stomped in a herd of trees. They were short but wide, with crooked teeth and branches that sprouted out like split ends. Their short bodies had equally stumpy legs and their arms were thin branches that sprouted out from their sides.

“Argh! They’re Treechnids!” Amalia saved her the time of recollecting another one of Granny’s tales.

Opposite of their appearance, the trees were quick, surrounding the group near instantly. Amalia was the first to enter combat. She knelt down once more, green light emitting from the cracks in the ground. The earth ripped open and sprouted out a large vine to smack a treechnid to bits. Yugo was helping her out by creating portals and redirecting the trees into the trajectory of the vines. Uvie knew her weapon would not do her much in this fight. The treechnids were too thick and not hollow enough for her wooden weapon to do any good. Luckily, Granny made sure she would have backups. The girl dug her hand into her bag and rummaged through it, smiling when she found what she was looking for. She yanked out a circular bundle of purple cloth. The pouch had specks of yellow dust covering the top of the hatch. 

‘ An irritant powder! ’ She announced to herself as she wound her arm back and hurled it towards an unsuspecting conifer. Upon making contact, the pouch burst open and the dust formed a cloud over the treechnid’s eyes. It shrieked in pain and made an unsuccessful attempt to rub the dust away. The poor thing’s arms did not quite reach. An arrow did, though. A second glowing arrow dug itself into the back of its foe, tearing the tree apart. Uvie looked over at the source, Eva, who promptly turned away and resumed combat. Man, she was super cool.

In the meantime, Percedal, true to his title, was easily clearing the treechnids with his Shushu’s help. He sliced cleanly through one after the other, taking out anything in his path. He grinned triumphantly as he cleared the last one in front of him, turning to the rest of the group. They had all managed to defeat the sudden onslaught and collectively breathed a sigh of relief. The Iop then had to open his mouth.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about! Another easy victory for the great Sir Perceda—!”

Two giant arms made from aged oak descended from the sky, easily snatching up both Percedal and Amalia. The girl shrieked in surprised and struggled to escape. In his shock, Rubilax slipped from his hand and reverted back into his smaller form. Higher and higher they went, nearing the end of where Uvie could see. The Iop persisted, pushing against the arms with whatever body parts he had free.

“Let me go you accursed-Woah!” Let go of him the hand did. Gravity took care of him from there, sending the Iop catapulting into the ground.

“Percedal!” The group, sans Eva, shouted in concern. Yugo acted fast, circling his arms to create a portal under where the man was falling, effortlessly calling another portal closer to the ground from him to crash through. Once on solid ground, Percedal rose up for a moment, seemingly in a daze. When his gazed refocused, his face turned green and pale, cheeks inflating. He keeled over and—Uvie grimaced and turned away. She did not need or want to see that.

“ Leaf…? ” A voice boomed; presumably the tree’s.

Ruel swivelled towards the exit, “Uh, guys! Behind us!” He alerted. The Polters had emerged from within and encircled them all. Back in combat mode, everyone readied their tools. Weirdly enough, the Polters stopped at a comfortable distance away from the group, sending a wave of hesitance and confusion between the adventurers. Uvie looked up again, but from the distance she was only able to see Amalia, now resting on the conifer’s open palm, sparingly and pick up a few occasional words. Her eyes softened in concern.

“… princess… ”

‘ A what now? ’

From what she could see, the Sadidan spread her arms wide and spoke, causing the tree to react. Uvie could make out his facial features, decaying and layered pieces of bark serving as teeth, thick brows resting upon bulging eyes, and a greyed gemstone resting on the old oak’s forehead. After a brief moment of silence, the brows furrowed.

“ You…you are not Leaf! ” He rumbled.

With the angered statement, the Polters began to advance. Uvie unsheathed and gripped onto her sword, ready to swipe. One particular polter was approaching Eva’s legs, only for the valiant Percedal to come save her. He smushed the insect with Rubilax effortlessly and puffed out his chest in pride. Then, turning to the Cra, he batted his lashes and puckered his lips, leaning in. Uvie had looked past him at the squished polter, observing how another one made its way over, stringy arms outstretched to infect. She took it out with an effortless swing of her sword. Standing upright, she looked over at both of them with a bright grin. Eva returned the gaze, paused for a moment and sighed, giving Uvie a nod of approval. Score! She pumped her fist into the air and giggled.

Poor Percedal had not noticed what occurred behind him and deflated in defeat at the rejection. Another rumble returns the attention back to Amalia. She is kneeling on the palm of the oak’s hand now, a familiar vibrant green spreading through the veins of the bark. Miraculously, the glow continued its spread, rejuvenating the decaying splinters and restoring colour to its greyed leaves. Amalia was promptly set back down afterward.

“ Thank you, Amalia Sheran Sharm. You have given he reason to be patient with mankind .”

The Great Oak spread his arms out, dark gem now brimming with life. In a wave of light, the trees around the group regrew their emerald leaves and rich trunks, spreading quickly throughout the forest. Uvie watched as a small flower burst from the earth all on its own, later followed by five others that sprouted beside it. She smiled.

“ As a token for my gratitude, the ones who have been affected by my polters shall be restored, and I will provide you transport from this place ”

He spoke, causing the Polters to advance and lift the adventurers off their feet one by one, with a small attempt of fighting back from Percedal. They all waved farewell, and with that, the group were carried off into the woodland.

Ruel stretched out his arms and let out a sigh of comfort, “Man, travelling like this is the dream! We should save old trees more often.” He would have kicked his legs up if he was able to, but he settled with what he got.

Yugo nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah! And I can’t wait to see my dad again! The faster we get there the better!”

“Ah, right, Yugo!” The boy quirked a brow at the Iop’s sudden exclamation. Percedal faced him and placed a hand on his chest, brows furrowed, “I offer my life to you, Yugo! From here on out, my blade is yours!”

“ At least ask me first ”

“Gah–would you shut up!”

They began to squabble, Yugo quickly putting an end to it. “Thanks, Dally!” He gave a toothy grin, sharp canines poking at his lip.

“Erm…I’d prefer if you didn’t call me dally. Heh…I am a knight after all”

“ Well I for one think Dally is perfect! Heh … snrk ”

…And the fighting resumed once more. As the group were whisked away from their day long journey, a new conversation from behind took over Uvie’s attention, though she cleverly acted none the wiser.

Eva began, “I know you want to help him find his family, but—”

“—but a princess is delicate and can’t be trusted to do anything on her own. I’ve heard this so many times before. But I want to explore! I want to see the world for my own without my father and Armand all in my business!”

‘ Oh my gosh she really is a princess! That’s like…super duper ultra-mega cool! ’ Uvie fought the urge to turn.

“Why don’t we talk to the king about it? Maybe he’ll let you go?”

She perked up, discretely fiddling with her fingers, and not so discretely squirming in place.

“I doubt it. You know what he’s like”

She slumped, a saddened sigh escaping from her lips. Az nestled against her neck in comfort.

The Cra chuckled in amusement.

*** *** ***

The rest of the trip was filled with small conversations and occasional jokes. Uvie inhaled deeply, a calming scent of fresh grass and healthy soil filled her nostrils as the polters scurried their ways to Emelka. Eventually, the familiar stoned arch marking the village filling their visions. She glanced at Yugo, who was bubbling with excitement. He was rocking on his feet the best he could whilst being held by the stringy polter arms and was almost shaking from the anticipation.

Once they were all placed on solid ground, Yugo made a mad dash into the town. A few polters went along with him, stopping and separating whenever they encountered a human bush. They swayed with their arms in the air, causing the leaves to shrink and disappear, setting the people free. This continued until all of the villagers were moving again. Tearful reunions were shared between couples, siblings, children, and parents. Uvie watched the scenes happily, jogging towards where Yugo went off to.

“Ruel!”

The old man was lifted into a hefty embrace. Strong arms were wrapped around him and a large chef hat bobbed with the motion. Ruel’s grimace quickly melted into a smile and he returned the hug to the best of his ability. Beside him, Yugo cried out for his father.

Alibert set his friend down and gently picked up his son, “My little Piwi! I thought I’d never see you again!” He nuzzled into Yugo’s head, earning a giggle from his son. “Now, I think we’ve all been on our feet for too long today, how about you?” The group nodded and Yugo was placed onto the ground, the boy immediately nodding and motioning around.

“I learned a lot today dad! I even got to practice making portals!”

“Did you really?”

“Yeah! Uvie can back me up!”

“Mhm! He really did, Mr. Alibert! The portals went whrrr! and swoosh! ” She wildly motioned with her arms to mimic the things she saw.

Alibert let out a hearty laugh, patting both of the children on the shoulders. They giggled happily. He began to escort them back into the restaurant, proud smile on his face.

Then, the atmosphere went cold.

She felt it before she could hear it. A crackly static danced on her fingertips before he spoke.

“ Greetings. I am Nox ”

A high frequency burst of sound slammed into Uvie’s head and her arms flared up with goosebumps. Everyone’s eyes widen instantly and Eva stepped in front of Amalia, shielding her with an arm. Alibert tugged Uvie and Yugo close to him. A man was in the air, donning a metallic helm, and arms, one being much larger than the other. His eyes were shining a bright cyan. There was a ticking sound that echoed from his form.

“If you all comply, maybe things won’t end up being as bad for you. But you! In the blue hat. We have a lot to talk about.

The mayor looked over to his villagers, “The inn is closed. Get lost now!”

At the same time, Eva grabbed her bow and launched an arrow towards the Nox guy. The dart flew in the air at lightning speed, abruptly coming to a stop before it could hit his face, “Impressive, little Cra! You’re quick, but not quick enough!” He then disappeared, leaving the arrow to continue its straight path.

Ruel had a moment of recognition, “A-a time wizard! He’s a Xelor! ” He stuttered out, weapon drawn. The man reappeared behind the group, large arm glowing. A clock that was on the back of his palm ticked down quickly, unleashing a wave of energy that sent the group hurling into the air.

Until they stopped.

Uvie could see, but her body would not move. She struggled against the restraint to the best of her ability, but watched helplessly as Nox continued.

“My time is very precious to me. Though you all don’t have much left!” He cackled, floating over to Yugo, “now, boy , you will tell me what you know about the dragon Grougaloragran!”

“W-who? D-dragon…? I don’t understand…”

“Hm. Maybe you’ll understand more if I deal with your friends first,” He raised his hand, creating a magnet-like beam that lifted Az out from the boy’s pouch, “starting with this tofu” Az was stuck to the Xelor’s palm face first, blue feather sticking out very obviously.

“Now to figure out why it is so filled with Wakfu!” He pulled the feather out and tossed the bird aside. The feather began to glow and slipped out of his grasp, raising into the air and scribbling a message in a foreign language. “Fascinating! It’s in Dragonish!”. The words formed multiple letters and once completed broke off into pieces, trailing into Yugo’s eyes.

Uvie’s finger twitched. She glanced around, head able to move freely. ‘ Huh..? What is happening..? ’ She did not have the time to question it further as she reached back for her sword. Nox unsheathed a weapon as well, sticking out his hand to miraculously unravel a blade. Mechanically, pieces of the weapon unfurled and themselves together until they joined together in a spade-shaped tip. He aimed it right at Yugo’s neck.

“Tell me what you heard, brat!”

With that, Uvie broke free from the restraint, swinging her blade with a battle cry. The sword, unsurprisingly, bounces off of his metal shell, but the act was enough to make him stumble. She fell to the ground and landed on shaky knees, a sharp tingle spreading from her feet throughout her body.

“W-what?! You little—!”

That strike was all it took for Alibert to regain motion. He grabbed his shovel, determined, “Don’t you dare touch my son!” He growled, knocking Nox’s blade from his grasp and sending a barrage of attacks towards the Xelor. No matter how he teleported, side stepped, or tried to block, Alibert was already a step ahead of him and nailing him with another hit. Nox stumbled to the ground, being pinned down by the enraged father. Another grunt sent his trust shovel swinging down to his head.

Nox’s eyes narrowed and a blue glow encompassed his body. The blade was stopped from going any further, but Alibert kept pushing. He gripped the shovel harder and applied more force.

Crack!

And more.

Crack!

He was getting somewhere.

Crack! Crack!

That’s it.

CRACK!

Nox shrieked, sending a bright white light to emit from where was. When the initial light faded, the Xelor had disappeared. A harsh wind was still wrapping around Alibert, finally subsiding after breaking his weapon into bits. He dropped to his knees. The suspension around the rest of the group disabled and they all fell as gracefully as possible.

“Argh! My back!” Maybe not Ruel.

Alibert panted, trying his best to catch his breath. His brown hairs began to go grey, spreading from the hairs at his nostrils and down to the rest of his moustache. His skin began to wrinkle around his face and his cheeks sagged, as though he had not slept in years.

“Dad! Dad! Are you alright!”

Alibert gave a weak smile before his eyes rolled into his head, body collapsing onto the ground. Yugo cried out to his father and Uvie rushed over, placing two fingers against the chef’s neck.

“He’s…he’s okay! I think he’s just tired!”

A sigh of relief from the group echoed out. Yugo remained close to his father, keeping a hand onto his back. A silence followed, broken by Dally’s thoughts, “So Yugo, what’d that weird feather thing say anyway?”

“Uh…well…the first thing it did was call me Eliatrope Child. Then it told me to find my family. My real family. They’re somewhere called Oma Island?”

Ruel perked up, “Well, I may be able to help you out! There’s a portal nearby that can get our foot out the door!”

The ‘Eliatrope Child’ was apprehensive, eyes scanning over Alibert’s sleeping form. He frowned worriedly, “…But who will take care of my dad?”

“We will,” a villager piped up, approaching the scene.

“Yeah! He’s protected more times than we can count, so it’s only fair we return the favour” another added, causing a series of chants and sounds of agreement from the rest of the town, who had all gathered near the scene.

Two men bent down and picked Alibert up by the arms, wrapping them on the backs of their necks. If Uvie was correct then the one on the right was Jason, the man that was saved back when the polters first attacked. The rest of the villagers had big smiles on their faces and sent Yugo off with a mix of arm waves and thumbs up.

“Everyone…thank you”

*** *** ***

The hill of the cliff was steep, but the climb up was not as bad as it initially looked. Once finally reaching the top, Uvie could see a tree that was bent into an arch ahead of her. The view from the spot was gorgeous, the setting sun dancing across the waves of the ocean. As beautiful as the sight was, she was apprehensive to keep going. On the flip side, Dally bubbled with excitement, “Alright everyone, it’s time for an adventure!”

Yugo stopped one last time and looked back to Emelka. A tearful smile graced his face. Ruel tapped him on the shoulder, “Come on, kiddo, we’ve got your family to find!”

A pit formed in Uvie’s stomach and she clenched her fists together

“Yeah!” Said Dally again, “off we go to Oma Island and to Yugo’s family!”

Her eyes darted around nervously, lip trembling.

“Eva, I’ve decided that I’m not going back home. I want to help Yugo find his family, even if you won’t come with me,” Amalia exclaimed determinedly.

“Princess, you can’t even cook a mushroom skewer right, there’s no way I’m letting you go off on your own,” the Cra tried not to, but a small chuckle left her lips before she hardened her gaze once more, “ but once we find Yugo’s family we are going straight to the king. Understood?”

She gulped and dug her nails into her palm.

“Okay, but please stop calling me Princess and treating me like one! I want to be your good friend Amalia from here on out!” Amalia pleaded. Eva sighed and caved to her words.

“Fine, I’ll treat you as a friend… Princess ” well, she’ll get there eventually.

Ruel pulled out a gemstone from his pocket. The gem was a deep blue in colour and its shape resembled a teardrop. A lighter blue swirled within it and glimmered in the sunlight. He started to swing his arm and toss the stone in, “Okay, here we go—!”

“— Wait !” Uvie cried out, loudly.

Ruel jolted and the teardrop fumbled in his grasp. He barely managed to catch it. Once it was safe in his hands, he let out a huge sigh of relief. The rest of the group faced her.

“Uvie? What’s wrong?” Said Yugo, eyes swirling with concern.

“I…I…”

The Iop added, “You know, you don’t have to come with—”

“—No I do want to come! It’s just…” she fiddled with her fingers, eyes avoiding everyone’s gaze. “Granny…can we please see her first…?”

Now the attention was on Yugo, who nodded emphatically after a brief moment, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Lead the way!”

*** *** ***

The familiar walkway Uvie lead them through was brimming with new life. The sunset perfectly reflected off of the water droplets brimming the leaves of the greenery. Not only were there an assortment of gorgeous flowers, but there were also a series of herbs planted along the route as well.

‘ Granny must’ve done some gardening today! ’

Out of everyone, Amalia was the most amazed by what they were seeing. The atmosphere around her instinctively put a smile on her face, the walk feeling like a warm hug. She spread her arms out and exhaled, “Wow, the plants love it here! I can feel the love and care radiating off of them!”

Uvie beamed with pride, “That’s all my granny’s doing! She’s the best at this stuff! She even taught me about all of the names and uses for what she plants! For example…” she filled the rest of the walk with rambles about what she learned over the years.

Eventually, the group reached an opening in the trees that meet that reveal an all too familiar building. At the centre of it all, seated on the porch, was Granny Dianne, knitting away at her latest project. A pair of gloves, if Uvie remembered correctly. As if sensing her, the Eniripsa stopped her motion and looked up, a smile gracing her wrinkled features. “You’re back. And I can see you’re not alone”

Uvie nodded, “Granny, these are all of my friends! This,” she gestures, “is Yugo! He’s Mr. Alibert’s son!” Said boy waves.

“These two are Amalia and Ms. Eva!” Uvie fought the urge to call Amalia ‘Ms’ as well after being told not to back in the forbidden forest. Eva was not as lucky to escape the politeness. Still, the both of them nodded in acknowledgment.

“This is Sir Percedal and his Shushu Rubilax!” Dally placed a hand on his chest and used his other to prevent Rubilax from saying anything.

“Finally, this is—”

“—Ruel Stroud,” Her eyes narrowed.

The stare was returned, “Dianne. I’m surprised you’re still kicking.”

“And I’m surprised you’re not charging these kids to travel with you.”

“Well at least I– ”

“Can it, Ruel! You can hash this out some other time!” Amalia interjected, glaring at him. “We’re here for a reason you know!”

“Oh? Why is that?” Granny’s attention went back onto her granddaughter who was looking at her with big eyes and a trembling lower lip.

“Granny…I…” the sentence trailed off.

Dianne looked at her expectedly.

She opened her mouth, but the words were holding themselves back in her throat.

Dianne remained silent.

Uvie’s eyes brimmed with water and she exhaled shakily. In response, Yugo walked up and placed a hand onto her shoulder, encouraging smile on his lips. She inhaled deeply, holding it for a few seconds before exhaling. The words then vomited out, “Granny…Yugo is on a journey to meet his real family and I want to go with him and help him out. I know I’m young and I haven’t been adventuring much but I really want to do this andIwashopingyou’dbeokaywith…”

“Uvie—” Granny tried to interrupt, to no avail.

Her eyes welled up more, “Ipromisetobesuperdupercarefulsopleaseletme—”

“Uvie!” The shout silenced her immediately. Granny let out a sigh that trailed off into laughter, rubbing her temple lightly, “It was about time you told me you want to go adventure. I’ve been trying to prepare myself for this for years now. Of course you can ”

With that, the dam broke and tears poured freely from her eyes. She wailed, running into her grandmother’s waiting arms.

“ Wahhh! Granny! I’ll miss you so much! ” She sobbed into her grandmother’s blouse, fists clenching onto the back of the cloth. Granny returned the embrace, petting her granddaughters head.

The moment was cut short as Uvie steeled her expression and pushed away, “We need to get moving, Granny,” she hiccuped, wiping her nose with her arm.

Dianne nodded, looking over to the Enutrof, “I’m putting her under your care, Ruel Stroud. Do not make me regret this decision” He grumbled but agreed nonetheless, letting the Eniripsa focus her attention somewhere else.

“And you, young Yugo,” the boy perked up, “I hope you find what you’re looking for” his head bobbed, toothy grin on display.

“Now get lost, the lot of you,” she shoo’d them away, picking up her knitting needles.

Tears were still free falling, but Uvie’s cheeks rose up with a bright smile.

“I’ll see you later, Granny! Love you!”

With that, the group left the cottage behind, their forms fading into the distance.

*** *** ***

Dianne smiled. The needles in her hands began to shake freely. Then, her lower lip trembled. Finally, a lone tear travelled down her cheek.

“I love you too, little bud”