Fantasy Time to Make a Change (Kapowne)

[Kapowne]

The hairs on Alex’s neck stood to attention when the roar of the demon bellowed through the rest stop. He now understood why Zona had been making such a big deal about not staying out after dark. Alex had no idea what that demon must look like, but based on how damn loud and monstrous it sounded, Alex figured it would be better to keep it that way.

As if to make them forget the demon, the waitress finally came out with two plates of food. Placing Alex’s burger in front of him, and Zona’s curry in front of her. “Don’t forget to enjoy!” She said, her voice dry and bored. Clearly she had been doing this a long time.

Alex was surprised by how normal the food looked. He didn’t know why, but he’d half expected a glowing shimmering burger made of magical air... but here stood a simple burger with lettuce, tomato, onions and even pickles! Alex figured they would be called something else here, but hoped they would taste the same. Being as hungry as he was, he decided to just jump right in. The burger was surprisingly juicy, and tasted just right. Whatever a chocobo was, it tasted good. Alex looked out the window as he chewed. The darkness on the other side of the runes seemed ominous, evil even.


“So how long you been doing this? Seems like must have run into demons a few times to have reacted like that.” Ales asked, reaching for his now half empty water. Alex figured she must still be relatively new to adventuring since she couldn’t be much older than him. But hell, even a year of this had to be worth more than a thousand years of high school....

Wandering Fae

 

[Wandering Fae]

Spoiler: Scene Music

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Zona looked at her curry, nice thick juicy cubes of meat, rice and stew-like sauce that made curry great and she took a bite, giving the waitress sheepish smile as if to apologize for her reaction even though she was far from the only one. She then listened to Alex's question about how long she had been adventuring and she thought about it for a moment.

"Let's see, I started when I was 14, so about two years now." She said, eating another spoonful of her curry, clearly enjoying her meal. Now anyone able to do simple math would be able to conclude from the girl's statement that she was in fact only 16 years old before she continued "Yeah, I ran into a few starting out, was too smart for my own good and figured staying out past dark wouldn't be so bad and people were exaggerating to scare the newbie, but those things are...something else, they aren't unbeatable but they are nowhere near easy to take down especially not by yourself, even a full party on average would have a hard time, so trying to solo is next to impossible, not undoable but let's just say you start to become an expert and dodging, and reciting prayers outside your guiding star...you aren't exactly picky about which one saves you at that point. I've had the displeasure of running into one every now and then, but I don't typically stick around to fight them. That's why most adventures like to find havens before dark, it's not guaranteed you'll run into a demon during the night but...better safe than sorry right?" She asked laughing a bit nervously, still a little embarrassed that he got to see her being a little jumpy.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

Alex listened to Sona explain but found it surprising she had started when she was 14. That was super young to be fighting off monsters like the ones he had been running from. What were they called again? He thought as she continued speaking. Blood beasts! He remembered, congratulating himself internally for remembering their name. Still though, that was quite a long accomplishment for only two years...


Two years? Fourteen?......


Alex choked at the realization that not only was Zona not older than him, but she was at least a year younger! Alex was coughing and sputtering loudly enough the whole diner turned to look. Alex even heard the mythril comment to her partner “that Hom Okay?” Alex tried to quickly reign in the coughing, which only seemed to exasperate his symptoms. Finally Alex was able to catch his breath, which he quickly put to use.
“You’re 16?! You’re younger than me?!” He blurted, confusion, embarrassment and even a little shake evident on his face. It didn’t take away from how impressive she had been earlier.... but still... sixteen...

Wandering Fae

 

[Wandering Fae]

Spoiler: Scene Music

​

Zona was a little worried for a second with all the coughing she thought he might be choking there for a moment there. He seemed surprised that she was 16 for some reason. She supposed that he hadn't known her age until this point but she didn't expect him to be so surprised about it.

"Oh, so you are older than me? I thought you might have looked a little older than me, but since you're a hom and boy, I wasn't entirely sure. Oh, wait, right, you're called human, right?" She said, sliding him his glass of water. Though his fit of coughing seemed to have faded, she was still a little worried about him there. She nodded to his question "Yeah, I'm 16, why? How old are you?" She asked, unsure of why this was so surprising, he seemed more surprised about that than everything else that apparently didn't happen in California.

"I mean you're legally allowed to become an adventurer at 14, I'll admit most people don't start that young without a party member that can drive since they will only let you legally let you drive a vehicle at 16 back in the kingdoms, but... " She leaned in whispered to him playfully, resting her arms on the table, her knees in her seat. "Between you and me I started driving at 15, they let you get away with a little more out here on the range than in the kingdoms." She said with a smile "I mean it's a little ridiculous right? They let you go out into the world to risk your life at 14 overall for their benefit but it's illegal to have all the necessary equipment for a whole 2 years? Do you know how long it takes to get around on foot? Are they trying to get us killed out here before we've even started?" She said jokingly, but there was some truth to what she was saying, only by the grace of the Gods and kindness of strangers did she survive her first year. It wasn't impossible to survive without a car or mount, once you knew what you were doing, but starting without one was hell and even with experience they certainly made things a lot easier.

"But I suppose since you're older than me we don't have anything to worry about on that end do we?" She said and sat back down in the booth properly.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

Alex took the water Zona offered and drank two full drinks before he finally relaxed. “Yeah, sorry... that caught by by surprise. Back where I’m from, at 16 you can pretty much only go to school. You definitely can’t go fighting monsters for two years... but yeah. I can’t believe I’m older than you... sure it’s only a year older, but it seems like you’re a lot older...” Alex rambled on, which only seemed to fluster him more. “Not that you look older or anything. You look great! I mean.. you look fine for you age- good, good for your age....” Alex winced, this really wasn’t like him at all. He just yesterday he commanded the school, ruled it with an iron fist. Now here he was stumbling through a simple conversation with a girl who was a full year his junior, yet in experience light years ahead. All he could do is try to get stronger though, and Zona was obviously the closest and easiest path to getting there.

“But, yeah.... Age won’t be a problem then.” He added, scratching the back of his head. “So what will the plan be tomorrow? I’d like to learn the ropes pretty quick so I get out there and get jobs done. I already owe you a lot and I don’t like being in someone’s debt for long.” He added, trying to steer the conversation in a more productive direction.

 

[Wandering Fae]

Spoiler: Scene Music

​

Zona watched as Alex seemed to get flustered and stumble over his words, seemingly very taken aback at the revelation that she was a year younger than him. She blushed a little, only slightly practically unnoticeable as he tried to find the right words to say and ended up commenting on her appearance twice. She could see this was awkward for him so she gladly played along when he decided to change the subject to something more practical and productive.

"Well I suppose we should start with some easy hunts listings, so we can get some practice in with that gun blade of yours. Speaking of which I suppose I did tell you'd I'd explain the purpose of the flasks so I guess now is as good a time as any to explain magic...to an extent, just basic application stuff and all. So magic comes from mana as mortals our souls produce mana at a steady rate, this mana forms into something called an aura, aura is the manifestation of our immortal souls it allows us to reach into the beyond and connect with the mystical forces around us. Aura also steadily heals us over time, though not by much and the healing rate slows down while one is in battle sense aura is also used as a passive shield that protects us and makes us slightly resistant to damage it's also used to increase the power of our attacks. This healing factor doesn't make us invincible however since most times you might be taking more damage than what's being healed, but this is why it's a good idea to take a step back every now and then when you can." She explained as she pulled a flash from her bag, it was pale blue and somewhat misty "This is frost, otherwise known as ice magic sometimes elemental magic forms into crystal out in nature and it can be harvested, these can then be used for a few purposes, mostly just aura augmentation, you know giving your aura a little extra elemental kick to it, for example of you coated your aura in frost anyone would made contact with you would suffer ice damage if you used an aura burst you could hit someone or something with a basic ice spell or if you use your aura to make ammo for your gun blade, you can even coat your gunblade in the element it'll make ice ammo instead, you get the point. The most common to find are ice, fire, and lightning, water, wind, and earth are a bit more rare to find. Also, a bit of a secret tip, if you're feeling particularly desperate use cane break one of these open to make an elemental grenade." She said taking another bite out of her food, there were other applications for it, but those were the ones that came to mind off the top of her head and most common ones she used anyway. After all, she didn't know absolutely everything.

Now that she thought about it there was a very important issue she needed to check and to take care of, she reached over and grabbed his hand, interlocking his fingers with hers and used her empathic ability, she wasn't trying to read his emotions, just trying to feel his aura. She figured that if he'd never heard of or seen magic, maybe he wasn't aware of it. She could definitely feel his aura, a cluster of emotions flowing through and surrounding his body this was definitely the energy and essence of his soul. She sighed a breath of relief for a moment she worried he might not have any, this California place sounded completely off but she figured they just must be oblivious. "Well that's good, you do have an aura." She smiled and let go of his hand, letting fingers slip from between his.

"Anyway there are different ways to use magic, spells are typically more powerful but they require more effort and mana a culmination of skill, knowledge and sometimes chance put into action. Spells are far more specific than an elemental burst and more powerful although not all spells are used to do damage, for example," She placed her hand on her chest closing her eyes for a moment and tapped the air again, sending ripples through it like a still lake when a fairy appeared but this one was different from the one she summoned last time. This one had an almost white blue kind of aura, she also wore a white sleeveless and strapless bodysuit with a diamond shape cut out around her stomach area. She also wore a silver chain around her hips like a belt with a sparkly heart charm hanging off of it, she also seemed to be wearing a light blue see-through sheer dress and a pair of white and blue sandals. Her skin was light brown and her eyes were blue-green, her hair was black, long coming down her back with two round buns on the top of her head reminiscent of panda ears with blue ribbons tied around them. Her wings were more like that of a dragon-fly, blue at the base and then naturally fading out into silver as you reached the end. She dusted herself off and straightened out her dress before sitting down in mid-air on her knees, seeming very lady-like as she did.

"This is Bellatrix, Bella, Bell, Trix or Trixy if you don't feel like saying the entire thing. Now she is a healing fairy," She said alluding to the comment she made to Cursa earlier when she told her to leave him alone. Bellatrix then looked back at Zona who simply nodded to her. Bellatrix would then get up and fly up to him and like Cursa boop his nose only she wouldn't shock him but instead send a ripple of green energy through his body that would physically make him feel better, using healing magic on him before returning to her original position.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

Alex listened intently to the information Zona was giving him. It was invaluable of course, and flasks sounded like something that would easily compliment his gunblade. They sounded easy to use since they had multiple functions. Grenade? ice bullets? Ice armor? That’s three very distinctly powerful and diverse uses... he would definitely have to make sure to keep stocked up on those... he finished off his burger as he thought about various ways he might be able to use the blade. He looked over at it sitting next to him in the booth. It was large and quite rusted. Alex wondered if the black matter would get rid of that or not...


He turned back to ask, but Zona suddenly grabbed his hand, interlocking fingers with him. His heart suddenly thumped in his chest, his temperature suddenly rising with his heart rate. Her fingers were surprisingly cold, but in a pleasant sort of way. But almost as suddenly as she had interlocked her fingers with his, she released him, commenting that he did in fact have an aura.


“Oh, that’s good. It would be pretty disappointing if I couldn’t use magic.” He replied, finding it hard to make eye contact. Feeling a bit more flustered than he wanted to.


Zona then moved onto the next topic, spells. Alex was particularly excited to learn about these. He definitely wanted to learn some spells, but figured that would take a lot of time and energy to learn... but wasn’t that he point? Spells were more powerful because they were more difficult to use and master! Though Zona surprised him by showing off, summoning another Fairy. The fairy made him blush again as she was also dressed a little.... well... anyway. She boiled him on the nose and he felt a strange sensation that was both warm and comforting, a small wave of green light flowing out from the little fairy’s finger.



“Now that. Is really cool! How do you learn to summon fairies? Can I learn to summon things too?” He asked a little too excited to be polite. His mind swirling with ideas of himself atop a large summoned dire wolf, or fighting beside a massive lion... though maybe fairies were the only things that could be summoned... so perhaps it would be more like... he imagined himself fighting along side zonas first summon. What was her name? Alex thought, curse? No that didn’t sound right. Cursa! That was it! Then he remembered how she had carried conversations and had spoken and stuff. “Oh, uh. Hello bellatrix. I’m Alex.” He greeted, completely spacing on basic manners of introduction.

Wandering Fae

 

[Wandering Fae]

Spoiler: Scene Music

​

She smiled at him and nodded "There are different kinds of summons that do different things, each summon has a different requirement for you to earn their allegiance, sometimes it's just showing them you're a decent person the kind they'd like to be around, others want to know if you are strong enough to warrant following, others like to see if you're smart, some will if you do them a favor or complete a task for them and sometimes you can literally raise them, you can then call them from the beyond to help you when you need them." She explained, "When you earn the allegiance of a summon they resonate and familiarize themselves with your soul, each person's soul is unique and therefore cannot be mistaken for another's we then use our souls as a beacon to call them from the beyond." She explained just before he began to speak to Bellatrix.

"Hello, Alex, it's nice to meet you." She said bowing her head respectfully in a proper greeting form, she was certainly more polite than Cursa who seemed a little more bratty and mischievous.

Zona explained before she placed her hand over her heart and tapped the air again, this time summoning Cursa once more who merely stretched and yawned until she saw Alex and had every intention of messing with him in some way but before she could get too close Bellatrix grabbed her leg and pulled her down, making her sit down and behave herself. The little fairy sat, blinking in confusion as she was essentially put in time-out and looked at Bellatrix as if to say 'Did you just?' to which Bellatrix simply placed her hand on her head as if to reply 'Yes I did, now behave.'

"Forgive her she's incorrigible." Bellatrix said as she let the two continue their conversation in peace.

"Bellatrix and Cursa are both support types just in different capacities, Bella is a healer and therefore supports by way of healing, blocking damage to an extent, restoring stamina and even mana. Cursa is a saboteur she supports by way of sabotage, causing debilitating ailments, providing damage increases and elemental affinities. She's not the type of summon you send in alone and expect to win the fight all by herself, she's not a heavy hitter, she just supplements you." Zona explained.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

“Well My names Alex fullman, it’s nice to meet you. Formally anyway.” Alex said not sure if he should try to shake their tiny fairy hands, or just leave it at that.. he decided to go with the later. They would probably consider their “boops” to be something like a handshake maybe. Though being able to see them up close, they looked like regular women, just super tiny... though hearing about the various things they could do only made him want to be able to summon all the more.


“So, anyone can make like a summoning pact type thing? Do most adventurers have summons? Can they make it with anything or anyone? Is it just fairies like these?” He asked, finishing off his fries. “Sorry for the thousand questions. We don’t have anything like this at all where I come from. Seems like everything we had exists here but so much more...” he said, looking around the diner, unable to spot even a single thing that might have been improved upon by something back home. They had TVs, radios, phones, even tablets, as he could see the mythril paying her bill on one across the diner. Alex sighed, he had a lot of catching up to do...

Wandering Fae

 

[Wandering Fae]

Spoiler: Scene Music

​

"Summons come in all shapes and sizes from tiny fairies like these to colossal Titans that tower even over the kingdoms though from what I hear the titanish sort are particularly picky and hard to gain the allegiance of so you don't see many of them. In fact, I've only seen one and needless to say they probably cost a hefty amount of mana to call." She pulled out her phone and scrolled through some things until she got to a video she took and handed him her phone. "I saw her way back when I was starting out, she belongs to a Cygnus kingdom knight, they call her Garuda, Lady of the Storm."

Spoiler: Summon Video

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In the video, it was the dead of night. There was a shadowy figure, large, red smoke coming from its mouth, sparking lightning as it let out a nightmarish roar. It sounded different from what he had heard earlier but he would probably be able to guess that it was a demon. There was a woman, who did something similar to what Zona does when she Summons her fairies, she placed her hand over her heart but instead held her hand up to the sky. Ripples of light came through the sky and a lady-like figure came from the sky, summoning a storm that concentrated and struck down the demon, turning it into black most, her attack was so powerful it leveled the area the demon was standing on and cleared the sky, the light of the full moon giving a clear view of the being that had been summoned.

"Anyone can get a summon if they're determined and willing to put the effort in to gain their allegiance, but no not all adventurers have summons, each person has their own style that works best for them and sometimes that doesn't include summoning. Sometimes it just includes very powerful techniques and or spells." She explained. "Summons are typically intelligent, some are more like pets but they understand enough to know how to resonate and swear allegiance." She said.

She smiled laughing a little and shook her head when he apologized for asking so many questions, but she didn't mind truth be told his excitement and curiosity were pretty damn adorable "Nah, it's fine. It's nice to have someone to talk to about this stuff. I've never been in a long term party before, just some team-ups every now and then." She said and finished off her curry.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

Alex’s grin slowly grew wide as Zona continued her explanation of summons. Something about commanding the powers of a summons was very enticing to him. Perhaps it was the manifestation of his darker instincts from before he had come here, which so far was beginning to have a good impact on him, though now, unbeknownst to him, a piece of him was slipping. Sliding back into not so old habits.



“Hey.... why are ya looking so gloomy and doomy?” Cursa asked, her head cocked to one side, full of interest.


Alex realized his excitement had turned into some weird twisted grin, which quickly vanished. “Oh uh, sorry... just excited by the idea of finding a summon of my own... you two sound really helpful, so I think it only makes sense to find one of my own.” Alex wasn’t sure why, but he felt a pang of guilt for some reason, and didn’t like it.


“Alright. So I know a bit about where we are, the monsters and stuff that live here, magic, summons, adventuring... all that’s left is to dive in tomorrow and live it right?” Alex asked, not sure what else to ask. He had never been the cram school or study time. He was always more of a learn by doing type kid.. though the consequences of failure here were much, much higher.

Wandering Fae

 

[Wandering Fae]

Spoiler: Scene Music

​

"Nothing else we can do, but jump right in. I mean I'm not gonna make you do anything too outrageous...if we can help it, but until my car is fixed and I pay off said repairs and fuel then we're stuck here anyway so might as well take advantage of it. So after breakfast tomorrow I suppose we'll head out." She said and paid for their food she also went to the convenience store part of the diner and bought some snacks and instant meals before returning to him, finished off her water and stretched.

"Well, I suppose we should get a room now unless you just want to hang out a little more, the night is still young after all," Zona said which wasn't untrue, it was sunset when they arrived and had only become dark after they entered the diner and had been waiting a bit for their food. "Though we won't be able to go anywhere I mean we can hang out in the parking lot I suppose, unpleasant business from earlier aside, it is technically still a nice night, but I'd understand just want to sleep it has been...that kind of day she said." She said making her way to the door, but making sure he was right behind her with Cursa and Bellatrix. Before she took out her phone and took a picture of the diner and the people inside, taking a look at the picture when she was done and smiled, showing that she was satisfied with it before putting her phone away.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

Alex followed Zona and her fairies out the door and watched as she snapped another picture. Though as she took the picture he found himself watching her rather than what she was taking a picture of. The way she stood, the way her shoulders arched and how she held the phone in her fingers. He saw her smile as she put her phone away and couldn’t help but smile as well. He turned to seen both bellatrix and cursa eyeing him intently, cursa’s face glimmering with mischief and bellatrix looking quite interested...


“You like taking pictures don’t you?” Alex asked after clearing his throat. His face was quickly turning shades of red, feeling a little awkward about getting caught starting. He couldn’t help but admire the fact that she obviously had a hobby, and that was better than not. “But, yeah I could hang out for awhile.... not that I could sleep anyway... seeing as how crazy today as been.”

Wandering Fae

 

[Wandering Fae]

Spoiler: Scene Music

​

She smiled, blushing a little and rubbed the back of her neck "Yeah, I do. Sorry if that bothers you. It's just I see a lot of things I'd like to remember. Not that I'd forget, but it's not to be able to physically look back on something and there are some things that are kind of hard to describe with words. It's nice to be able to show people what you mean, ya know?" She said as she opened the door, stepping back out into the wondrous scenery of the night. Given all that had happened what she said was true, it really was a nice night. The sky was clear, the moon was full and stars were out and shining bright, like a sea of diamonds, sparkling in the sky the way you would see them if you were out in nature on a camping trip away from the city concealed by all the lights. "Do you have something you really like to do or something you'd like to do?" She asked.

She looks around and spots something of interest to her. Usually, she'd sit in and or in her car but it was in the shop and it would be rude to sit on somebody else's car without permission, but she felt like she found a good spot. She smiled and walked back to him and grabbed his hand "Come here, I found a good spot." She said and took him into the parking lot and walked him over to the overhead canopy. "Just uh, brace yourself okay?" She said and kind of slowly wrapped her arms around him, sliding her hands around him in kind of a hug. She held her body close to his in a way that almost seemed intimate. She looked up at him and closed her eyes for a moment taking a deep breath when suddenly they were on top of the canopy. One moment they were on the ground and now they were on the canopy, just like that. It was like magic and in this world it most certainly was magic.

She then let him go and took a step back, scratching her cheek with her index finger "Sorry if I got a little too close, I just didn't want to make a mistake while warping. I don't often do it with other people. So...I'm sorry if that was uncomfortable." She said before sitting down on top of the canopy.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

Alex’s heart raced as Zona gripped his hand, pulling him over to some canopy, his mind freezing up as she told him to hold on tight, her hands sliding up his body into a tight hug that gave Alex small goose bumps up his arms. He was looking down at her, feeling the distance between them shrink and shrink while his thoughts chased after various possibilities, when suddenly a small Flash of light burst from them, and they were on top of the canopy, with a ceiling of stars so bright and so perfect Alex wondered if they were the same as the stars he had seen as a kid. The streams of blue, grey, brown and pink splattered Over the twinkling of billions of stars that went for miles silhouetting Zona’s figure beside him as he tried to find the energy to look away, though finally the pull of the lights finally took his eyes upward, an ocean of stars that threatened to pull him in.


“Back where I come from, there aren’t any stars... at least, not in the city where I lived, and definitely not like this...” Alex felt something freeing standing there with Zona, looking up at the stars above them without a care in the world. Suddenly it didn’t feel like he was in some distant world, demons and monsters not more than a few hundred feet away. “Thanks for everything again, Zona. I appreciate it!” He said, the first outright thanks to come from Alex since he had appeared in this world, but more likely, his whole life.

Wandering Fae

 

[Wandering Fae]

​

Zona looked up at Alex, slightly confused. He had been thanking her all-day, but for the first time, he didn't sound awkward about it. She wasn't sure why, but something about his thank you this time felt different. It made her blush a little and gave her a funny feeling in her stomach like something was fluttering around inside of it. She felt kind of light which was saying something for a Selkie who was naturally lighter than most and she had this feeling inside, she couldn't describe it as anything other than bright...she felt bright and it was...a nice feeling.

"Umm, you're welcome." She said, brushing her hair back a little as she looked out over the horizon of the mystical wisteria forest, the two aesthetics complimenting each other into a truly amazing sight. "So...California is a faraway city with no magic and there are only Homs...which are called humans, but there are also no demons or monsters...but there are still wolves that apparently look a lot like blood beasts. The more I hear about it the stranger it sounds...though I suppose we must seem very strange over here to you." She said laughing a little as she walked along the edge of the canopy, keeping her balance every easily. It's not like they were very high up, they could easily jump down, but it might hurt just a little if she fell, but she seemed to have it under control.

"So, what did you like to do over in California? You must have hobbies you like too." She said, realizing she never gave him a chance to answer her question when they were leaving the diner.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

Alex walked up beside Zona, walking towards the edge of the canopy they stood upon, joining her at the edge. A small part of him was nervous, but he wasn’t sure if that was due to Zona or the edge...

“Well... California is only the state i live in. I live in a town called Los Angeles that is inside California, which is inside the United States, which is one country, or I guess you would probably call it a kingdom though...” Alex could feel his brain struggling for a way to explain where he came from. He felt a pang of guilt as he thought about how he had basically been doing that to Zona the entire night.

“Instead of magic and monsters, we live a pretty peaceful life, with technology that is kind of similar, but also very... different... you might think it’s boring though.” Alex said with a small smirk, remembering how happy she had looked fighting off the blood beasts. Alex tried to avoid the question about hobbies though, hoping that questions about his home would make her forget that one question in particular. He didn’t really have hobbies, at least none that were any good... and he didn’t want to admit that to her now. He was starting to wonder why that was.... before today he would have bragged about bullying Marcus any day of the week to anyone who would listen... maybe the magic here had changed him? Maybe he could be a good person now? With a shake of his head he decided to focus on things now, crouching down to sit on the edge of the canopy, letting his feet hang down below, looking up at the stars above.

Wandering Fae

 

[Wandering Fae]

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"I don't know, I think it's investing to know there's someplace new out there I've seen or even heard of. It sounds strange but it sounds kind of interesting that it's different, I probably wouldn't mind visiting it sometime if we can even figure out where it is from here." She said with a smile and decided to sit down with him at the edge of the canopy looking up into the sky watching what seemed to be a pathway of stars, shining brighter than the rest, moving across the sky.

"But, you might be right. I like adventure, I get to see things hardly anyone has ever seen before, sometimes I get to see things no one has ever seen at all. The world is a very big place and it seems like we've never even seen most of it." Zona said leaning back on her hands, swinging her legs back and forth a little then her phone beeped and she took a look at it, she had received a message from Doran about her car and she sighed in relief.

"Well, the good news is there is nothing wrong with the inside of my car, so all they have to do is fix the outside and refuel. The prince isn't nearly as high as I thought it would be. I still don't have enough to pay for it myself but not as bad as Doran made it out to be. So all we have to do is pay it off by doing the listings and we'll have it paid off in no time." She said shifting through the hunts since she promised him they'd do something easy first to get him accustomed to fighting so she searched for the easiest creatures they needed taking care of and scooted closer to him to show him the listings.

"So the car repairs plus the full tank of fuel is going to be a little over 4k, but that's fine hunts usually pay pretty good anyway. So the easiest hunts they have are, in order, in my opinion, are mesmers, sylph tails and uh...blood beasts. Not sure how you feel about that last one but trust me they're really easy to deal with once you get used to them. So...which one do you want to try first?" She asked, showing him the pictures, while she was showing him the easiest ones she did want him to be able to have control over what he had to face first if he was going to do this. After all, one of the appeals to being an adventurer was having freedom, freedom to do what you wanted and go where you wanted and do things how you wanted to do them. Mesmers seemed to be a slightly smaller than horse-sized creature that had a face more akin to that of a goat and a body that more so resembled that of a gazelle with armored skin. It had a large, long white horn that curved backward over its head and toward it's back. While the Sylph Tail seemed to be a large black scorpion with a dark blue tail and claws that was about the size and a dog specifically about the size of a fully grown cocker spaniel.

"Now they're paying a little over 900 for the Mesmers with a free hi-elixir...nice. The Syph Tails they're only paying around 700 for, but they're poisonous so I consider them to be a bit harder to deal with, given they're technically a lot less durable than a Memser...I've just...got a thing about ailments but I suppose that shouldn't be a problem, we have antidotes and Bella, plus there's another hi-elixir in it for us. Now the Blood beasts they're paying almost 2000 credits for and they're giving away and iron bangle, you could probably use one of those. Now all together we owe $4350 for the car if we do these jobs we'll already have $3290, meaning we'd only have $1060 left to go." She said with a smile "See, told you we'd pay it off in no time."

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

As Zona opened her phone and began looking at the listings, alex opened his and followed suit, looking at the various post available on the application. The jobs sounded easy enough, but as Zona explained them.... not so much. Each one sounded particularly dangerous in one aspect or another. Be it poisonous scorpions, horned beasts or pack based blood beasts.


Though, just about as soon as Zona had listed he options, he had made up his mind. He needed revenge on the beasts that had screwed with him when he got here. Alex hated being made a fool of, and they had certainly done that.


“The blood beasts for sure, I got a bone to pick with those bastards! Also, What’s an iron bangle though? Don’t tell me it’s another quirky thing about this place...” Alex laughed half heartedly, honestly worried he would never understand this place...

Wandering Fae

 

[Wandering Fae]

​

"Hmm, facing your fears head-on and without hesitation. I respect that." Zona said, somewhat impressed by how quickly he answered yet was just a little bit worried, she hoped his desire for payback wouldn't make him reckless though she supposed she had nothing to worry about, even if he did get carried away she'd be there to watch his back.

Zona laughed a little when he asked what an open bangle is, not because she found the question stupid but because it was kind of true, at least by his standards. "I'm afraid so, just a little bit. It's an accessory, enchanted items that give you buffs and minor abilities without the need for spells or mana. Iron Bangles have an enchantment that increases vitality a fair bit." She explained and shrugged. "See, not too quirky." She said and with that bit of business out of the way, she went back to simply hanging out and enjoying the night with him.

Of course, if he still had questions she would answer them as best she could, but they'd have plenty of time to work tomorrow.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

Alex groaned loudly as he flopped onto his back, legs still dangling over the edge of the canopy. “There is so much to learn!” He shouted into the sky, despite that a smile was on his face. Maybe his world was better suited to him though. Accessories, fighting, magic, monsters.... back home he just bullied other kids and got into fights all the time. Here, he could do that and help people, make money and even help this girl who had already helped him so much...

“I miss my home for sure, but I’m definitely excited for tomorrow to come. I feel this... like... feeling in my chest that’s telling me to go out there, and adventure everywhere there is to go!” He gripped a handful of shirt over his chest, indicating the serious sensation he was feeling, a smile across his face. though he likely didn’t notice or wasn’t willing to acknowledge the darker, more primitive feelings that hid within. The desire to crush, destroy, command and conquer.

Though like all good things, this too had to come to an end. A few more hours passed of mildly hanging out, discussing and learning more about each other’s worlds, the two finally decided to turn in for the night. Two careful leaps off the canopy and one purchase of two motel rooms later, they were left alone to relax and sleep. Waiting for the sun of another day, and the adventures that awaited them.

Wandering Fae

 

[Wandering Fae]

​

Zona woke up in the morning, having taken a bath the night before was relaxing especially before bed. She'd have gotten a singles room with two beds if they had it, but she didn't want to make Alex uncomfortable. After all, they'd just met and she wasn't sure how he'd feel about sleeping in the same room as a girl he just met even if they were in different beds.

She took a shower and changed out of her pajamas, putting on her usual attire before going to get Alex so they could get some breakfast and start the day. She walks next door which is where Alex's room was and she knocks on the door. "Hey, Alex are you ready to go?" She asked, not necessarily wanting to walk in on him in case he wasn't dressed. To be honest, she didn't actually know that he was in there, of course, she'd assume he'd come and get her if he was already up, but that was merely a guess. Maybe he didn't want to bother her while she was sleeping, in the end, she just hoped he didn't try to go hunting without her...or before breakfast.

Truth be told she was kind of excited for today, the sun was rising and they had all day to spend in the Wisteriam Wilds, she kind of wondered what they'd see today, it was a pretty beautiful place. She wasn't sure why entirely, but she just really wanted Alex to see it with her. Speaking of which she was very eager to see him in his new adventurer's equipment.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

Alex had been far to exited to go right to sleep the night before, after laying in bed restless for almost an hour he opted instead to do some light motel room exercise. Endless number of bicycle crunches, sit ups, and push ups later, he finally collapsed into a deep sleep on he floor, rather than in he bed.


Alex was plagued by dreams that night. Dreaming of an ominous figure in the dark, whose eyes glowed in the dark, and whispered for him to do the worst sorts of things. He’d been led into a room where Marcus lay on a wooden operating table, torturous tools strewn about. “Hurt him, maim him. Inflict on him a sense of despair so complete he would wish he had never seen the likes of you before him.” The voice had beckoned him forward, edging him on in the worst sorts of ways.


Alex found himself enjoying it at first though. The screams of agony from Marcus were like a melody made just for him. The hot blood clinging to his fingers felt like playful putty rather than the gore they spilled from.


“Now.... kill him!” The voice had commanded and Alex began to do so. A dull cleaver in hand, raised above his head, ready to chop downward in a final killing blow.
*knock* *knock* *knock*

“Hey Alex-“ zona’s voice called out gently to him.


Alex’s eyes snapped open to find himself standing covered in sweat, his right hand held high in the air and fist clenched right as if he’d been holding a weapon just like in his dream. He was confused. Why was he standing, was he sleep walking the nightmare? “Are you ready to go?” Zona finished asking. Alex panicked, he’d slept in!


“Uh... sorry! Just a minute! I just woke up!” Alex called out as he sprint into the bathroom to turn on the shower, cleaning himself off in a matter of seconds using the ice cold water. Shower complete he dried himself off with a towel, sloppily drying his hair as well. Pulling on his new equipment that Zona had bought him. Finally he grabbed his new sword. The large rusted gunblade that sat idle next to his bed, strapping it onto his back using the special clip the shop keeper hand included with it.


And so finally, less than five minutes after Zona had knocked he opened the door, showered dressed and ready for the day. His long off white trench coat with a small fur lining seemed to fit perfectly, his blue V neck showing off a bit more of his collar bone than his previous shirt the day before. Small droplets if water still sliding off the ends of his hair in some places.


“Sorry about that... couldn’t sleep, then slept in...” Alex apologized, feeling stupid for starting the day this way.

Wandering Fae

 

[Wandering Fae]

​

Zona giggled a bit, watching the boy exit his room frantically after sleeping in, still have droplets of water from his shower dropping from his hair as he apologized explaining that he couldn't get to sleep last night.

"Don't worry about it, we don't have a set schedule, plus it's still early, still got plenty of daylight to work with." She said playing with his hair a little before they left the motel and got some breakfast, and ordered a snack for later before heading out. He wasn't that wet and it was a nice day, the air would dry him off.

Zona pulled out her phone and looked to see where the sighting of said offending blood breasts seemed to be "Well, we're starting with Blood Beasts and the offending pack seemed to be a little ways back, that-a-way." She said pointing across the street in a northwest direction. She debated about renting some mounts but she supposed he could use the exercise, plus if they really needed then they could also call for some later.

She turned to him and smiled, grabbing him by the hand and crossing the street to take him into the forest with her. Not because she felt like he needed to be lead everywhere by the hand like a child or anything but because she was kind of excited to start his first day and...kind of just wanted to hold his hand.

Walking into the forest, soon the rest stop would be out of sight, surrounded by Wisteria trees, the falling petals drifting through the air and lying beneath their feet. She finally lets go of his hand and turns to him. Pulling out her phone. "So a big part of hunting is tracking, you have to find the creature before you can hunt it. This here is the adventurer's network here adventures share info, rather it's filling in the blanks on the map or sharing other info to make it easier on everyone else, cause you know, knowledge is power and all that jazz. People are less likely to die if you share helpful tips and info...that being said not all adventurers necessarily care about everyone else so they don't feel the need to share, but thankfully enough of us actually do. There are also other things posted here, job and party requests, S.O.S. and sometimes people just like to share their experiences and talk." She explained before going to a specific section "This is the Hunter's Log it's basically a bestiary put together by adventurers and they have info on creatures they've run into, they tell you things like how to find them, what their tracks look like, how they usually attack, their strengths what they seem to weak against and so on." She said and tapped on Blood Beasts before dusting away some petals from a part of the ground revealing a set of tracks before pointing at a tree that seemed to have scratches on it "These are Blood Beasts tracks and that is how they mark their territory. So if we follow these, we'll find them pretty soon." She said gesturing to the direction they seem to lead.

Kapowne

 

[Kapowne]

Alex walked beside Zona to breakfast where he scarfed down a rather large helping of eggs , bacon and toast. Feeling full and ready to get work Zona led him across the road hand in hand. Alex was surprised by how soft the girls hand was, and how fast his heart beat while she held it tight. This had honestly been one of the few times he had ever walked somewhere just holding a girls hand, or anyone’s for that matter. The wisteria peddles floated lazily down around them, making it feel like a scene straight out of a romance movie. Eventually Zona let his hand go, and Alex silently hoped it wasn’t because his hand had started to sweat from the nerves he’d been feeling.



Luckily it had just turned out they had reached the start of their hunt. Alex followed along on his phone every step of the way, making sure to memorize each and every step so as my to forget it in the future. It seemed fairly straight forward, using the hunters app to find the bestiary, find the tracks and follow them in real life, though Alex looked for any sign of tracks, spinning around the forest only to see nothing but the same thing in every direction.


Zona ok the other hand, had obviously done this many times before, quickly finding and pointing out the tracks.


“Damn. You have definitely been doing this awhile...” Alex said, scratching his head as he approached the first tracks. “I didn’t see these even a little bit!” He added, trying to look forward in the direction Zona was pointing, looking for more.


He walked a few more feet, only to find nothing. A few more... nothing. He roughly began sliding wisteria peddles away from the ground with his feet as he looked. “Man... I’m really bad at this tracking business.....” he groaned as he continued to look.


Wandering Fae