File type: Text File (.txt) [Download]
-----------------------------------------
…
I believe I have stopped my tale before we could introduce Fotia, didn’t we? Allow me to continue then.
I have, as per princess’s own request, allowed her to take on the role of the captured, and finally explore the world as the way it truly is. And it truly was, without holding anything back, exceptionally unfair and in many ways unfortunate. The team of brigands we set along with hadn’t much in terms of scraps and even less in terms of actual sustenance. A lovely bunch they were, it seemed as if she picked them off from a random corner of the world and decided that it would do as is. They weren’t even going to carry her far, and will drop as soon as it becomes convenient, which we were all aware about. When I asked her about that decision, slightly daunted, she declared that her bow she borrowed from them and extensive knowledge of magic was all that needed to get her through this predicament.
I found it admirable, I admit. As foolish as she is about her life that soon to expire, perseverance against odds wasn’t something I would have mocked. So, off we were set, complete with as little as resources available and only single idea of a goal being the next kingdom over the horizon being our fuel to adventure.
As we kept on going, trouble began arising.
We’ve taken a small detour, a jungle like area that would lead us immediately to the nearest bazaar. What we did not expect was a sudden sneak attack, set off by warriors we were not at all familiar with. Their clothing was wild, their weapons almost primitive, and their masks covered only everything except their fiery eyes. The brigands immediately panicked, and told us to leave immediately, to which we obliged. And yet, to little did we know of the area surrounding us, which only led to more attacks against which we couldn’t defend from. One by one, a member of our group disappeared within the greenery with a howl punctuating as it happened. As we tried to escape, those beastly warriors showed talents we could never had seen before. Ability to claw with bare hands, to roar, to pounce and even to fly, their prowess was extraordinary. I do imagine still reeling myself in awe, even now, at those warriors, even if I had felt actual terror from them at that moment.
By the time there were only two of us left, we managed to get away by sheer luck. We hid well, but seeing how little we knew of the jungle, and how persistent those hunters were, we probably wouldn’t stay hidden for long. In due time, we came to a conclusion, one we both shared, which was to retaliate with an offensive.
Sadly, we were out of weapons by that point, with my sword stolen and her bow broken. In the battle between uneven strength, those of wits will still prevail. Setting up a trap for those brutes was rather easy, mainly because the princess did at least steal some of those jewels, similar to the ones back in the cave as you remember, from the castle before leaving. We’ve set them up in a circle, ready to be ignited by Her Highness as soon as they would enter it. Seeing her taking the role of igniter, I by process of elimination became the bait. I still do remember the thrill of running away from them, trying to figure out where they could strike next, the ever sporadic distance between us, the fury and passion they instilled into their talents, and of course, the feeling of accomplishment I gained after successfully leading them to their trap.
Rose was a bit worried then, considering she had no clue how it would turn out. She was also very surprised by how I’ve treated my situation as one would a game. I admit, I was foolish a bit back then, and felt that I should celebrate the smaller things in life. Even now, I am not exactly sure what I was hoping for then. But, we had at least finally dealt with our attackers.
And it was then that we were introduced to our one of their finest. His presence was towering, and his feathers were ablaze. That man had more than enough power in his step alone to shake us on our feet. Without an inkling of a doubt, I threw myself at him, hoping we could replicate the same trap on him. It was an arduous task, as he had clearly more power against mine, and quite a bit of experience too. Furthermore, he was able to incapacitate her highness and that left me alone to finally defeat him. It could’ve been my end there, and I had no way out of that predicament.
And so, I chose to do, in my youthful wisdom, to continue fighting him. I’ve scrambled for other weapons, tried to use the magic as she did, and even made my way to his head, but that only proved futile. Soon I was hanging off the ground, held with that man’s one arm, looked him in the eye and without losing spirit, held one jewel tightly in my fist. Not content in giving up here, I raised it, and punched his arm with that jewel. Imagine my shock then and there, when the jewel suddenly came to life, and blew both of us apart.
I came to some time later, thanks to Rose, who woke up much earlier than me. We thought we had defeated him, and nearly celebrated, until we saw him rise from the ground, more annoyed than hurt. Yet, came from him a sound I didn’t think could come from someone that fierce, and it was a thunderous laugh. Soon, the other hunters arrived, and he halted all of them, saying that they will bring both of us to their village.
Afterwards, we were introduced to his tribe, a quaint, beautiful but impressively ordered place and later on to their chief. I had believed that was because of his high rank that that man was capable of ordering the troops, but later on we learn that he was a chief’s son. And furthermore, believe it or not, never actually was given a proper initiation into adulthood, despite being slightly older than us. He apparently was the best fighter, undisputed it truly was, but his manners and sense of timing left a little more to be desired, and he frequently failed to become a rank worthy to even scout. Still, he went out regardless because of his loyalty to their tribe and his passion for fighting unusual enemies.
To make it clear, I was talking about Fotia, a future comrade of ours.
…
Pierre “woke up” with groan, as his alarm signaled the start of the day. He rubbed his baggy eyes, barely managed to turn his heavy head, and slapped his phone away from the desk it was on.
“Son, breakfast!”
He groaned once again, though much more loudly, while deafening it to not be heard by using his pillow. It was time to repeat the morning routine. And yet he had no desire to do so, thanks to his “wrong-side-of-the-bed” mood. He wanted to lie down and sleep. He wanted to forget things ever happened. He wanted to damn them all and go back to his simple life. Why was he stuck with the most stupidest bunch of idiots imaginable? And ones that just cannot SHUT UP.
<I presume you are angry?>
“WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!!!” This time Pierre just exclaimed into the air.
Long story short, the reason he wasn’t at school the day before was because of this thing that happened to him…For some reason, his “spirit” awakened and had been bothering him inside his head for several hours straight. Was this what Chester and the others were dealing with? Cause it was horrible! The guy wouldn’t shut up, distracted him every time he was in the middle of something, or was talking to someone, like his dad. Even worse, he appeared in the middle of the night, and just didn’t want to stop talking! No pauses whatsoever, it was as if he had a toddler in his head who couldn’t sit still. And boy did that ruin his day!
Pierre got out of the bed and started wobbling right to his bathroom.
<So, er, young one, did you sleep?>
“No! Thanks to you!!!”
“Son, what’s going on? Who are you talking to?”
Pierre moaned turned on the faucet. He splashed water on his feathery face, and dried both it and his beak. Cleaning up as much as he could, he went back and put on his prepared suit before going downstairs. It smelled like eggs and sour cream, and before long, he face his father, with the most dejected look he had.
“Son, you look terrible.” Father said in tone that was matter-of-fact.
Of course I look terrible, look at me!!!, he thought, angry at the wording.
<You do not want your father to know your misery?> The spirit asked him.
It wasn’t that. His dad in particular played with the whole thing as being a make belief. Sure there were attacks, but he treated them as pranks and the rest of the team as role-players. The other day when he told about the attack at the library, his father’s concern was apparent. Yet, when he mentioned some weird looking man heading the attack, he treated the guy as some deviant hooligan. Even after describing how he looked like, his father just dismissed as a very unconventional costume.
“Only fools fall for tricks and panic. The only people who think this is real and are panicking includes the principal and the mayor. And that gives us an advantage,” he told him once.
Thankfully, he was given a pass for the week, including foregoing the assembly part, because of the attack. Not much of a big thing, really. That said, Pierre would definitely rather go to school today, mainly to get in touch with the others. He didn’t know where most of them lived, and using the phone usually meant giving it to his dad to see. This time, he wanted to do it by himself.
<Why not confront him? Kids ought to be foolish! Now, where is your meat?”
“Shut up…” Pierre said under his breath. He wanted to get this guy out of his brain so badly.
“By the by,” his father suddenly said, “School is closed for today. Something about one of those attacks happening while we were both away. Absolutely dreadful! Anyways, you can go ahead to your room and rest for today. You look like you could definitely need it.”
Pierre’s beak nearly fell wide open. Why today of all days?! Of course, the whole universe was now out to get him! And this was just another sign, no doubt about it.
<Do not tell you give up?>
Pierre shook his head.
There was someone he could talk to first…
…
-----------------------------------------
…
I believe I have stopped my tale before we could introduce Fotia, didn’t we? Allow me to continue then.
I have, as per princess’s own request, allowed her to take on the role of the captured, and finally explore the world as the way it truly is. And it truly was, without holding anything back, exceptionally unfair and in many ways unfortunate. The team of brigands we set along with hadn’t much in terms of scraps and even less in terms of actual sustenance. A lovely bunch they were, it seemed as if she picked them off from a random corner of the world and decided that it would do as is. They weren’t even going to carry her far, and will drop as soon as it becomes convenient, which we were all aware about. When I asked her about that decision, slightly daunted, she declared that her bow she borrowed from them and extensive knowledge of magic was all that needed to get her through this predicament.
I found it admirable, I admit. As foolish as she is about her life that soon to expire, perseverance against odds wasn’t something I would have mocked. So, off we were set, complete with as little as resources available and only single idea of a goal being the next kingdom over the horizon being our fuel to adventure.
As we kept on going, trouble began arising.
We’ve taken a small detour, a jungle like area that would lead us immediately to the nearest bazaar. What we did not expect was a sudden sneak attack, set off by warriors we were not at all familiar with. Their clothing was wild, their weapons almost primitive, and their masks covered only everything except their fiery eyes. The brigands immediately panicked, and told us to leave immediately, to which we obliged. And yet, to little did we know of the area surrounding us, which only led to more attacks against which we couldn’t defend from. One by one, a member of our group disappeared within the greenery with a howl punctuating as it happened. As we tried to escape, those beastly warriors showed talents we could never had seen before. Ability to claw with bare hands, to roar, to pounce and even to fly, their prowess was extraordinary. I do imagine still reeling myself in awe, even now, at those warriors, even if I had felt actual terror from them at that moment.
By the time there were only two of us left, we managed to get away by sheer luck. We hid well, but seeing how little we knew of the jungle, and how persistent those hunters were, we probably wouldn’t stay hidden for long. In due time, we came to a conclusion, one we both shared, which was to retaliate with an offensive.
Sadly, we were out of weapons by that point, with my sword stolen and her bow broken. In the battle between uneven strength, those of wits will still prevail. Setting up a trap for those brutes was rather easy, mainly because the princess did at least steal some of those jewels, similar to the ones back in the cave as you remember, from the castle before leaving. We’ve set them up in a circle, ready to be ignited by Her Highness as soon as they would enter it. Seeing her taking the role of igniter, I by process of elimination became the bait. I still do remember the thrill of running away from them, trying to figure out where they could strike next, the ever sporadic distance between us, the fury and passion they instilled into their talents, and of course, the feeling of accomplishment I gained after successfully leading them to their trap.
Rose was a bit worried then, considering she had no clue how it would turn out. She was also very surprised by how I’ve treated my situation as one would a game. I admit, I was foolish a bit back then, and felt that I should celebrate the smaller things in life. Even now, I am not exactly sure what I was hoping for then. But, we had at least finally dealt with our attackers.
And it was then that we were introduced to our one of their finest. His presence was towering, and his feathers were ablaze. That man had more than enough power in his step alone to shake us on our feet. Without an inkling of a doubt, I threw myself at him, hoping we could replicate the same trap on him. It was an arduous task, as he had clearly more power against mine, and quite a bit of experience too. Furthermore, he was able to incapacitate her highness and that left me alone to finally defeat him. It could’ve been my end there, and I had no way out of that predicament.
And so, I chose to do, in my youthful wisdom, to continue fighting him. I’ve scrambled for other weapons, tried to use the magic as she did, and even made my way to his head, but that only proved futile. Soon I was hanging off the ground, held with that man’s one arm, looked him in the eye and without losing spirit, held one jewel tightly in my fist. Not content in giving up here, I raised it, and punched his arm with that jewel. Imagine my shock then and there, when the jewel suddenly came to life, and blew both of us apart.
I came to some time later, thanks to Rose, who woke up much earlier than me. We thought we had defeated him, and nearly celebrated, until we saw him rise from the ground, more annoyed than hurt. Yet, came from him a sound I didn’t think could come from someone that fierce, and it was a thunderous laugh. Soon, the other hunters arrived, and he halted all of them, saying that they will bring both of us to their village.
Afterwards, we were introduced to his tribe, a quaint, beautiful but impressively ordered place and later on to their chief. I had believed that was because of his high rank that that man was capable of ordering the troops, but later on we learn that he was a chief’s son. And furthermore, believe it or not, never actually was given a proper initiation into adulthood, despite being slightly older than us. He apparently was the best fighter, undisputed it truly was, but his manners and sense of timing left a little more to be desired, and he frequently failed to become a rank worthy to even scout. Still, he went out regardless because of his loyalty to their tribe and his passion for fighting unusual enemies.
To make it clear, I was talking about Fotia, a future comrade of ours.
…
Pierre “woke up” with groan, as his alarm signaled the start of the day. He rubbed his baggy eyes, barely managed to turn his heavy head, and slapped his phone away from the desk it was on.
“Son, breakfast!”
He groaned once again, though much more loudly, while deafening it to not be heard by using his pillow. It was time to repeat the morning routine. And yet he had no desire to do so, thanks to his “wrong-side-of-the-bed” mood. He wanted to lie down and sleep. He wanted to forget things ever happened. He wanted to damn them all and go back to his simple life. Why was he stuck with the most stupidest bunch of idiots imaginable? And ones that just cannot SHUT UP.
<I presume you are angry?>
“WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!!!” This time Pierre just exclaimed into the air.
Long story short, the reason he wasn’t at school the day before was because of this thing that happened to him…For some reason, his “spirit” awakened and had been bothering him inside his head for several hours straight. Was this what Chester and the others were dealing with? Cause it was horrible! The guy wouldn’t shut up, distracted him every time he was in the middle of something, or was talking to someone, like his dad. Even worse, he appeared in the middle of the night, and just didn’t want to stop talking! No pauses whatsoever, it was as if he had a toddler in his head who couldn’t sit still. And boy did that ruin his day!
Pierre got out of the bed and started wobbling right to his bathroom.
<So, er, young one, did you sleep?>
“No! Thanks to you!!!”
“Son, what’s going on? Who are you talking to?”
Pierre moaned turned on the faucet. He splashed water on his feathery face, and dried both it and his beak. Cleaning up as much as he could, he went back and put on his prepared suit before going downstairs. It smelled like eggs and sour cream, and before long, he face his father, with the most dejected look he had.
“Son, you look terrible.” Father said in tone that was matter-of-fact.
Of course I look terrible, look at me!!!, he thought, angry at the wording.
<You do not want your father to know your misery?> The spirit asked him.
It wasn’t that. His dad in particular played with the whole thing as being a make belief. Sure there were attacks, but he treated them as pranks and the rest of the team as role-players. The other day when he told about the attack at the library, his father’s concern was apparent. Yet, when he mentioned some weird looking man heading the attack, he treated the guy as some deviant hooligan. Even after describing how he looked like, his father just dismissed as a very unconventional costume.
“Only fools fall for tricks and panic. The only people who think this is real and are panicking includes the principal and the mayor. And that gives us an advantage,” he told him once.
Thankfully, he was given a pass for the week, including foregoing the assembly part, because of the attack. Not much of a big thing, really. That said, Pierre would definitely rather go to school today, mainly to get in touch with the others. He didn’t know where most of them lived, and using the phone usually meant giving it to his dad to see. This time, he wanted to do it by himself.
<Why not confront him? Kids ought to be foolish! Now, where is your meat?”
“Shut up…” Pierre said under his breath. He wanted to get this guy out of his brain so badly.
“By the by,” his father suddenly said, “School is closed for today. Something about one of those attacks happening while we were both away. Absolutely dreadful! Anyways, you can go ahead to your room and rest for today. You look like you could definitely need it.”
Pierre’s beak nearly fell wide open. Why today of all days?! Of course, the whole universe was now out to get him! And this was just another sign, no doubt about it.
<Do not tell you give up?>
Pierre shook his head.
There was someone he could talk to first…
…
Geez, I feel disheartened today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
…
I believe I have stopped my tale before we could introduce Fotia, didn’t we? Allow me to continue then.
I have, as per princess’s own request, allowed her to take on the role of the captured, and finally explore the world as the way it truly is. And it truly was, without holding anything back, exceptionally unfair and in many ways unfortunate. The team of brigands we set along with hadn’t much in terms of scraps and even less in terms of actual sustenance. A lovely bunch they were, it seemed as if she picked them off from a random corner of the world and decided that it would do as is. They weren’t even going to carry her far, and will drop as soon as it becomes convenient, which we were all aware about. When I asked her about that decision, slightly daunted, she declared that her bow she borrowed from them and extensive knowledge of magic was all that needed to get her through this predicament.
I found it admirable, I admit. As foolish as she is about her life that soon to expire, perseverance against odds wasn’t something I would have mocked. So, off we were set, complete with as little as resources available and only single idea of a goal being the next kingdom over the horizon being our fuel to adventure.
As we kept on going, trouble began arising.
We’ve taken a small detour, a jungle like area that would lead us immediately to the nearest bazaar. What we did not expect was a sudden sneak attack, set off by warriors we were not at all familiar with. Their clothing was wild, their weapons almost primitive, and their masks covered only everything except their fiery eyes. The brigands immediately panicked, and told us to leave immediately, to which we obliged. And yet, to little did we know of the area surrounding us, which only led to more attacks against which we couldn’t defend from. One by one, a member of our group disappeared within the greenery with a howl punctuating as it happened. As we tried to escape, those beastly warriors showed talents we could never had seen before. Ability to claw with bare hands, to roar, to pounce and even to fly, their prowess was extraordinary. I do imagine still reeling myself in awe, even now, at those warriors, even if I had felt actual terror from them at that moment.
By the time there were only two of us left, we managed to get away by sheer luck. We hid well, but seeing how little we knew of the jungle, and how persistent those hunters were, we probably wouldn’t stay hidden for long. In due time, we came to a conclusion, one we both shared, which was to retaliate with an offensive.
Sadly, we were out of weapons by that point, with my sword stolen and her bow broken. In the battle between uneven strength, those of wits will still prevail. Setting up a trap for those brutes was rather easy, mainly because the princess did at least steal some of those jewels, similar to the ones back in the cave as you remember, from the castle before leaving. We’ve set them up in a circle, ready to be ignited by Her Highness as soon as they would enter it. Seeing her taking the role of igniter, I by process of elimination became the bait. I still do remember the thrill of running away from them, trying to figure out where they could strike next, the ever sporadic distance between us, the fury and passion they instilled into their talents, and of course, the feeling of accomplishment I gained after successfully leading them to their trap.
Rose was a bit worried then, considering she had no clue how it would turn out. She was also very surprised by how I’ve treated my situation as one would a game. I admit, I was foolish a bit back then, and felt that I should celebrate the smaller things in life. Even now, I am not exactly sure what I was hoping for then. But, we had at least finally dealt with our attackers.
And it was then that we were introduced to our one of their finest. His presence was towering, and his feathers were ablaze. That man had more than enough power in his step alone to shake us on our feet. Without an inkling of a doubt, I threw myself at him, hoping we could replicate the same trap on him. It was an arduous task, as he had clearly more power against mine, and quite a bit of experience too. Furthermore, he was able to incapacitate her highness and that left me alone to finally defeat him. It could’ve been my end there, and I had no way out of that predicament.
And so, I chose to do, in my youthful wisdom, to continue fighting him. I’ve scrambled for other weapons, tried to use the magic as she did, and even made my way to his head, but that only proved futile. Soon I was hanging off the ground, held with that man’s one arm, looked him in the eye and without losing spirit, held one jewel tightly in my fist. Not content in giving up here, I raised it, and punched his arm with that jewel. Imagine my shock then and there, when the jewel suddenly came to life, and blew both of us apart.
I came to some time later, thanks to Rose, who woke up much earlier than me. We thought we had defeated him, and nearly celebrated, until we saw him rise from the ground, more annoyed than hurt. Yet, came from him a sound I didn’t think could come from someone that fierce, and it was a thunderous laugh. Soon, the other hunters arrived, and he halted all of them, saying that they will bring both of us to their village.
Afterwards, we were introduced to his tribe, a quaint, beautiful but impressively ordered place and later on to their chief. I had believed that was because of his high rank that that man was capable of ordering the troops, but later on we learn that he was a chief’s son. And furthermore, believe it or not, never actually was given a proper initiation into adulthood, despite being slightly older than us. He apparently was the best fighter, undisputed it truly was, but his manners and sense of timing left a little more to be desired, and he frequently failed to become a rank worthy to even scout. Still, he went out regardless because of his loyalty to their tribe and his passion for fighting unusual enemies.
To make it clear, I was talking about Fotia, a future comrade of ours.
…
Pierre “woke up” with groan, as his alarm signaled the start of the day. He rubbed his baggy eyes, barely managed to turn his heavy head, and slapped his phone away from the desk it was on.
“Son, breakfast!”
He groaned once again, though much more loudly, while deafening it to not be heard by using his pillow. It was time to repeat the morning routine. And yet he had no desire to do so, thanks to his “wrong-side-of-the-bed” mood. He wanted to lie down and sleep. He wanted to forget things ever happened. He wanted to damn them all and go back to his simple life. Why was he stuck with the most stupidest bunch of idiots imaginable? And ones that just cannot SHUT UP.
<I presume you are angry?>
“WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!!!” This time Pierre just exclaimed into the air.
Long story short, the reason he wasn’t at school the day before was because of this thing that happened to him…For some reason, his “spirit” awakened and had been bothering him inside his head for several hours straight. Was this what Chester and the others were dealing with? Cause it was horrible! The guy wouldn’t shut up, distracted him every time he was in the middle of something, or was talking to someone, like his dad. Even worse, he appeared in the middle of the night, and just didn’t want to stop talking! No pauses whatsoever, it was as if he had a toddler in his head who couldn’t sit still. And boy did that ruin his day!
Pierre got out of the bed and started wobbling right to his bathroom.
<So, er, young one, did you sleep?>
“No! Thanks to you!!!”
“Son, what’s going on? Who are you talking to?”
Pierre moaned turned on the faucet. He splashed water on his feathery face, and dried both it and his beak. Cleaning up as much as he could, he went back and put on his prepared suit before going downstairs. It smelled like eggs and sour cream, and before long, he face his father, with the most dejected look he had.
“Son, you look terrible.” Father said in tone that was matter-of-fact.
Of course I look terrible, look at me!!!, he thought, angry at the wording.
<You do not want your father to know your misery?> The spirit asked him.
It wasn’t that. His dad in particular played with the whole thing as being a make belief. Sure there were attacks, but he treated them as pranks and the rest of the team as role-players. The other day when he told about the attack at the library, his father’s concern was apparent. Yet, when he mentioned some weird looking man heading the attack, he treated the guy as some deviant hooligan. Even after describing how he looked like, his father just dismissed as a very unconventional costume.
“Only fools fall for tricks and panic. The only people who think this is real and are panicking includes the principal and the mayor. And that gives us an advantage,” he told him once.
Thankfully, he was given a pass for the week, including foregoing the assembly part, because of the attack. Not much of a big thing, really. That said, Pierre would definitely rather go to school today, mainly to get in touch with the others. He didn’t know where most of them lived, and using the phone usually meant giving it to his dad to see. This time, he wanted to do it by himself.
<Why not confront him? Kids ought to be foolish! Now, where is your meat?”
“Shut up…” Pierre said under his breath. He wanted to get this guy out of his brain so badly.
“By the by,” his father suddenly said, “School is closed for today. Something about one of those attacks happening while we were both away. Absolutely dreadful! Anyways, you can go ahead to your room and rest for today. You look like you could definitely need it.”
Pierre’s beak nearly fell wide open. Why today of all days?! Of course, the whole universe was now out to get him! And this was just another sign, no doubt about it.
<Do not tell you give up?>
Pierre shook his head.
There was someone he could talk to first…
…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
…
I believe I have stopped my tale before we could introduce Fotia, didn’t we? Allow me to continue then.
I have, as per princess’s own request, allowed her to take on the role of the captured, and finally explore the world as the way it truly is. And it truly was, without holding anything back, exceptionally unfair and in many ways unfortunate. The team of brigands we set along with hadn’t much in terms of scraps and even less in terms of actual sustenance. A lovely bunch they were, it seemed as if she picked them off from a random corner of the world and decided that it would do as is. They weren’t even going to carry her far, and will drop as soon as it becomes convenient, which we were all aware about. When I asked her about that decision, slightly daunted, she declared that her bow she borrowed from them and extensive knowledge of magic was all that needed to get her through this predicament.
I found it admirable, I admit. As foolish as she is about her life that soon to expire, perseverance against odds wasn’t something I would have mocked. So, off we were set, complete with as little as resources available and only single idea of a goal being the next kingdom over the horizon being our fuel to adventure.
As we kept on going, trouble began arising.
We’ve taken a small detour, a jungle like area that would lead us immediately to the nearest bazaar. What we did not expect was a sudden sneak attack, set off by warriors we were not at all familiar with. Their clothing was wild, their weapons almost primitive, and their masks covered only everything except their fiery eyes. The brigands immediately panicked, and told us to leave immediately, to which we obliged. And yet, to little did we know of the area surrounding us, which only led to more attacks against which we couldn’t defend from. One by one, a member of our group disappeared within the greenery with a howl punctuating as it happened. As we tried to escape, those beastly warriors showed talents we could never had seen before. Ability to claw with bare hands, to roar, to pounce and even to fly, their prowess was extraordinary. I do imagine still reeling myself in awe, even now, at those warriors, even if I had felt actual terror from them at that moment.
By the time there were only two of us left, we managed to get away by sheer luck. We hid well, but seeing how little we knew of the jungle, and how persistent those hunters were, we probably wouldn’t stay hidden for long. In due time, we came to a conclusion, one we both shared, which was to retaliate with an offensive.
Sadly, we were out of weapons by that point, with my sword stolen and her bow broken. In the battle between uneven strength, those of wits will still prevail. Setting up a trap for those brutes was rather easy, mainly because the princess did at least steal some of those jewels, similar to the ones back in the cave as you remember, from the castle before leaving. We’ve set them up in a circle, ready to be ignited by Her Highness as soon as they would enter it. Seeing her taking the role of igniter, I by process of elimination became the bait. I still do remember the thrill of running away from them, trying to figure out where they could strike next, the ever sporadic distance between us, the fury and passion they instilled into their talents, and of course, the feeling of accomplishment I gained after successfully leading them to their trap.
Rose was a bit worried then, considering she had no clue how it would turn out. She was also very surprised by how I’ve treated my situation as one would a game. I admit, I was foolish a bit back then, and felt that I should celebrate the smaller things in life. Even now, I am not exactly sure what I was hoping for then. But, we had at least finally dealt with our attackers.
And it was then that we were introduced to our one of their finest. His presence was towering, and his feathers were ablaze. That man had more than enough power in his step alone to shake us on our feet. Without an inkling of a doubt, I threw myself at him, hoping we could replicate the same trap on him. It was an arduous task, as he had clearly more power against mine, and quite a bit of experience too. Furthermore, he was able to incapacitate her highness and that left me alone to finally defeat him. It could’ve been my end there, and I had no way out of that predicament.
And so, I chose to do, in my youthful wisdom, to continue fighting him. I’ve scrambled for other weapons, tried to use the magic as she did, and even made my way to his head, but that only proved futile. Soon I was hanging off the ground, held with that man’s one arm, looked him in the eye and without losing spirit, held one jewel tightly in my fist. Not content in giving up here, I raised it, and punched his arm with that jewel. Imagine my shock then and there, when the jewel suddenly came to life, and blew both of us apart.
I came to some time later, thanks to Rose, who woke up much earlier than me. We thought we had defeated him, and nearly celebrated, until we saw him rise from the ground, more annoyed than hurt. Yet, came from him a sound I didn’t think could come from someone that fierce, and it was a thunderous laugh. Soon, the other hunters arrived, and he halted all of them, saying that they will bring both of us to their village.
Afterwards, we were introduced to his tribe, a quaint, beautiful but impressively ordered place and later on to their chief. I had believed that was because of his high rank that that man was capable of ordering the troops, but later on we learn that he was a chief’s son. And furthermore, believe it or not, never actually was given a proper initiation into adulthood, despite being slightly older than us. He apparently was the best fighter, undisputed it truly was, but his manners and sense of timing left a little more to be desired, and he frequently failed to become a rank worthy to even scout. Still, he went out regardless because of his loyalty to their tribe and his passion for fighting unusual enemies.
To make it clear, I was talking about Fotia, a future comrade of ours.
…
Pierre “woke up” with groan, as his alarm signaled the start of the day. He rubbed his baggy eyes, barely managed to turn his heavy head, and slapped his phone away from the desk it was on.
“Son, breakfast!”
He groaned once again, though much more loudly, while deafening it to not be heard by using his pillow. It was time to repeat the morning routine. And yet he had no desire to do so, thanks to his “wrong-side-of-the-bed” mood. He wanted to lie down and sleep. He wanted to forget things ever happened. He wanted to damn them all and go back to his simple life. Why was he stuck with the most stupidest bunch of idiots imaginable? And ones that just cannot SHUT UP.
<I presume you are angry?>
“WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!!!” This time Pierre just exclaimed into the air.
Long story short, the reason he wasn’t at school the day before was because of this thing that happened to him…For some reason, his “spirit” awakened and had been bothering him inside his head for several hours straight. Was this what Chester and the others were dealing with? Cause it was horrible! The guy wouldn’t shut up, distracted him every time he was in the middle of something, or was talking to someone, like his dad. Even worse, he appeared in the middle of the night, and just didn’t want to stop talking! No pauses whatsoever, it was as if he had a toddler in his head who couldn’t sit still. And boy did that ruin his day!
Pierre got out of the bed and started wobbling right to his bathroom.
<So, er, young one, did you sleep?>
“No! Thanks to you!!!”
“Son, what’s going on? Who are you talking to?”
Pierre moaned turned on the faucet. He splashed water on his feathery face, and dried both it and his beak. Cleaning up as much as he could, he went back and put on his prepared suit before going downstairs. It smelled like eggs and sour cream, and before long, he face his father, with the most dejected look he had.
“Son, you look terrible.” Father said in tone that was matter-of-fact.
Of course I look terrible, look at me!!!, he thought, angry at the wording.
<You do not want your father to know your misery?> The spirit asked him.
It wasn’t that. His dad in particular played with the whole thing as being a make belief. Sure there were attacks, but he treated them as pranks and the rest of the team as role-players. The other day when he told about the attack at the library, his father’s concern was apparent. Yet, when he mentioned some weird looking man heading the attack, he treated the guy as some deviant hooligan. Even after describing how he looked like, his father just dismissed as a very unconventional costume.
“Only fools fall for tricks and panic. The only people who think this is real and are panicking includes the principal and the mayor. And that gives us an advantage,” he told him once.
Thankfully, he was given a pass for the week, including foregoing the assembly part, because of the attack. Not much of a big thing, really. That said, Pierre would definitely rather go to school today, mainly to get in touch with the others. He didn’t know where most of them lived, and using the phone usually meant giving it to his dad to see. This time, he wanted to do it by himself.
<Why not confront him? Kids ought to be foolish! Now, where is your meat?”
“Shut up…” Pierre said under his breath. He wanted to get this guy out of his brain so badly.
“By the by,” his father suddenly said, “School is closed for today. Something about one of those attacks happening while we were both away. Absolutely dreadful! Anyways, you can go ahead to your room and rest for today. You look like you could definitely need it.”
Pierre’s beak nearly fell wide open. Why today of all days?! Of course, the whole universe was now out to get him! And this was just another sign, no doubt about it.
<Do not tell you give up?>
Pierre shook his head.
There was someone he could talk to first…
…
Category Story / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Any
Size 120 x 120px
Comments