"A pigeon really? For the first time trying to use that skill?"
"Well if we were in Mila I'd get myself a seagull instead." Stella's face warmed.
"Stella, it's parrots that pirates have."
"Oh! I know." She spins, her pirate jacket spinning out of tune with her. "Argg, I'm a little more festive pirate than any normal one.
"Definitely not related. There is no way you aren't a native here."
She turned away and looked for a bird. She saw one and used her first skill on it. The bird who was flying away turned, and flew into her hand.
"Oh! It worked."
She released it and the bird stared blankly and then flew off. She kept using it as we wandered the streets a little past middle of the day. Pigeons line every part of her body.
"Since we're in the area, wanna look at the fool?" I asked.
"Sure, I've kinda been wanting to visit that while we are here."
What we were talking about we finally walked up on. A group of people both dragon and human stare giggling at the frozen blonde haired man encased in black ice. He had black armor that seemed to match the ice. Light blue flowers, specifically made by the man of chaos in the ice, littered the area. Whether at random or regrowing in the destroyer's path.
"So that's the strongest to ever live?" I said happily. "It would have been nice to see his strength or even learn from him."
"That's so dumb Heo, he would have slaughtered you for simply being a dragon, or maybe you were just in his way."
"Of course I know that. I paid attention to that in school at least. 'You won't ever hate more than the frozen fool'."
"Thankfully we weren't born two thousand years earlier or we'd have to fear everyday."
I shifted away slightly. "Yeah, couldn't imagine dealing with The Destroyer or America's Ruin during the awakening"
"Isn't our great great couple of more great ancestors the first to die after the awakening?"
"Yes, he was the only one to die on that day actually. It's very weird that we keep that fact in the family. If I was him I wouldn't want to be continually remembered for dying."
I looked back at the black ice and then around it. I watched the sea water splash up on a maybe five foot wide walkway stretching through the sea. The same black ice was on the floor and it stood even though nothing supported it from below. Never breaking over two thousand years is crazy. I wish I was that strong. Enough to ignore laws of physics like that, or maybe just teleport like Rex does.
"One day." The thought was clear in my mind. "I'm going to slay the dragon slayer. Burn that ice to a crisp." Stella's face changed in the corner of my eye, I wasn't paying attention to how, but if we go far, she'll know that will be just our first feat. We finished gawking at the fool in ice and started to walk away.
"Maybe the quest is done and we can catch Baydí leaving the guild?" Stella asked.
"I do wanna know if we got any reward money, but asking her for it seems weird."
"We can't get a room or eat without it though."
"Good point, let's beg." We reached the guild and surprisingly caught sight of Baydí. She was just coming out.
"Ohh, sweet just who I wanted to find, no?" She questioned herself. "Why do you smell like birds?"
"Uhh" I stammered.
"Wait, do I really?" She looked at her jacket. "Wait, how do you know what they smell like?" Stella replied, her face burning.
"You got some tamer skills I'm guessing? I had some friends who did that and they smelled like birds for a couple of weeks." She laughed. "But not ever again after that." Baydí's sword rattled against her armor as she laughed.
"Why were you looking for us?" I asked.
"So I could give you your reward for those three you were there for."
"We should get five then." I mutter jokingly under my breath to Stella who laughed in turn.
"What?" Baydí asked.
"Oh nothing, inside joke. How much did we get?"
"Well there was a D, a F and a pretty strong skelly, though you killed the F it's still fine, so about five, thirty, one thousand five hundred and thirty five. Then divide by five, uhh, you two get three hundred and seven each."
"What!" We both yelled.
"Yeah, you knocked that skelly on its ass for being a newbie."
"H-how strong?" I spoke raggedly. My flames bounced happily around my head. I grabbed them and flimsily placed them on my head. They hardened and became ragged too.
"Who knows, maybe the monster underestimated you and didn't take you that seriously when attacking you. That explosion might have scared what life was left in him out of him."
...
We got to the hotel we rented the night before. We had both ordered food for dinner and then went to bed on the opposite side of each other. Laying in bed I thought, after taxes it's still pretty decent money for both of us. Maybe I even get a new sword now... I fell asleep.
At that moment my eyes started to adjust to the dark. I came to the realization that I was still in my room. What! That.. that was just a dream? No way that was such a realistic feeling. I mean except for the sky. I cheer slightly realizing I'm safe.
I sat up in bed and looked at my blinds. "I don't think I closed those last night. I wouldn't have had time if I got home super late and passed out. Then I turn to my right. "Did my parents rearrange my room?" I turned towards the door in the center of the room.
The moment I turned, the door opened and a small black figure walked into the doorway. Their hand was still on the door as it swung all the way back and slammed against the wall.
"Hey why would y…" I cut off after my eyes adjusted to the light and I saw who the person was.
A small girl with Sandy blonde hair, bright orange eyes, and a pirate outfit too big for her stared at me with a huge smile on their face.
"You're already up sis! So that means you're ready to play!" The little girl shouts.
I lay back down in an attempt to go back to sleep in the hopes of waking up from yet another dream.
"Heo! You said you wanted to wake up early and play, don't say you're gonna go back to sleep!" The little girl pleaded. "Well I guess if you really don't want to play I could just go back home and we wouldn't see each other for another month like last time… I'm sorry." the little girl whispers "I didn't mean that."
In that instance the little girl dashed towards the bed and leaped onto me.
"Please Heo I was just kidding I didn't mean that!" the little girl sobs while holding onto me.
"Woah woah woah calm down.. I'll.. I'll play."
"Oh really! Oh I mean yeah I knew you were kidding you can't fool the great Stella Estellé." She acts high and mighty while the tears are still on her face. "Your mom said Heo needs to get on the same sleep, uhh too hard of a word, as me while I'm here. Oh! And breakfast is ready."
I got out of bed, leaving my room and heading towards the bathroom. I open the door to the bathroom and turn to check the mirror. Only to see a drawer.
"Huh?"
I'm so short and can't even see over the counter of the sink. I look down at a stool I used to get up to the sink. I grab the stool and pull it over to the sink. I get the stool moved towards the sink and stand up on it.
Looking back at me in the mirror is a little girl. The girl has the same sandy blonde hair, and bright orange eyes as Stella's, The great Stella Estellé, I corrected in my mind. Fear racks the little girl's face. I squinted at my bright orange eyes and puffed out my face.
I step down from the stool and forget to use the bathroom, instead I walk downstairs toward the kitchen. Wait, I'm in my house right? I walked into the hallways between the stairs and kitchen, on the wall in the middle of the hallway hangs a familiar picture. I got to the counter and managed to get up on the tall chair. The left side of the counter has a window where outside, Stella is running around the yard in a full pirate outfit and hat on.
A woman with red hair pulled back into a ponytail and more red than orange eyes turned toward me and placed down a plate of eggs and bacon.
"Good morning sweetie how'd you sleep? Good?" The woman asked, turning back around.
I shake my head in response, still bewildered.
"Since Stella is here you need to get on the same sleep schedule as her. No staying up reading about magic, ok?"
Yeah, nothing is really good, at the moment. The person I am doesn't feel right. Why is there a photo like that of the boy? He looks seventeen, with middle parted brown hair and blue eyes. He's not in our family.
"Mom? Why is there a random kid's photo in the hallway?"
My mom turned around a little taken aback at the question. "Uh, well you know your father, whatever that Estellé family tradition is. To be honest I think it's creepy having a long dead ancestor hung up on the wall. Ask your father about it and he'd give you a better answer if you're curious again." My mom said surprised.
"Thanks, mom."
Long dead ancestor? This is confusing. That boy has been dead for a long time, why is he on our wall? I'll just ask my dad about it when I find him. My last name sounds close to primé. Why does my head hurt so badly? When I became a little more relaxed, I took a bite of the food she cooked.
I hopped down and walked to the door. My arm was barely long enough to reach the door handle.
My mom saw me struggling to open the door and laughed to herself. "Don't run off with your cousin anywhere, I got laundry to do, and I can't watch. Okay?"
I'm pretty sure Stella would cry if I left her at all. I walked over to a tree and sat down. I then looked at the shirt I had on. It was a long grey shirt that was almost a dress with patterns on the bottom. Do I have other clothes I can switch to?
As I thought, Stella jumped right between my small legs. Her pirate outfit probably burned her alive in this heat. It was clearly oversized for her and the jacket was the most oversized out of the entire outfit. A little more than half of it was on the ground.
"You ready?"
"For what?" I asked.
"You know to go to the beach like we planned last night."
"Oh yeah, the beach I almost forgot." I say happily, that might be interesting.
"Sis, I need help. I can't reach the handle."
I head over and let her climb up on top of my back. She stands on me to get to the gate, my arms shake under the pressure.
We got the gate opened and I let Stella lead the way. The town looks renovated. After a ten minute walk, which was normally shorter for me, we got to the railing. When I went closer to the railing, Stella turned around and grabbed my arm.
"Heo you know we'd get caught if we go look down. Last time they waited for us at the bottom."
"Oh right."
We walked the paved ledge, staying just on the end not to be seen from below. Then stairs appeared not before long.
"Come on Heo, if we don't go quick the guards will catch us for sure." Stella said.
I start to walk down the stairs faster. Why would there be guards? They petrol this area, right? My head twisted in confusion
We got to the bottom and Stella turned to me and whispered. "Remember, be quiet and hide, we can't be caught by the monsters, or the guards."
"Ok"
I whisper back. So she meant it as a game, I see now. Monsters and guards huh. We start to walk, checking around the corners of the wall that goes up to the rail to check for the imaginary guards and monsters. The beach was about thirty feet out from the wall, very small but the water ran back and revealed a little more of the small beach.
"Heo, I'm scared, let's go back home." Stella shivered and faced me. "The plan worked too well, but I expected to find guards at least, but there are none. We really did catch them when they weren't here." Stella seemed scared, she grabbed at her pirate jacket that was now covered in sand.
"Yeah, we should go back, we don't want to get lost or caught." I try my best to reassure the short pirate.
"No Heo, that's not the problem, what if a monster is here and no guard can save us."
"Stella, we should be fine, let's head back now." I hesitantly took her hand and pulled my older cousin along.
We turn a corner where a big hairy creature's back faces us. It was covered almost entirely in seaweed. It turned around, hair flowing to reveal a single glowing eye with a dull eye. Its right arm was just a giant claw. An anomalied type of monster I remembered just then.
Stella screamed out and the creature slashed at me. Instantly, a huge gash appeared through my shirt and blood sprayed out onto the monster's singular claw.
I fell onto my back, seeing another half of me limply fall forward from me. Am I gonna die! This.. this hurts a.. shit ton. My hand reached to cover the wound but all I could do was see the entire bundle of blood and organs spilling out of me. The slash had cleanly gone from my left shoulder to my right hip. My eyes fell back and I saw the rail again.
Stella screams rang out desperately, but her own body came to save her. She jumped in front of the monster before its claw came down on my head.
Stella's body glowed red, and black horns sprouted out of her head and curved in front of her face in a crown. A giant flaming shield appears in front of her and blocks the monster's attack. The monster, after getting its hand burned, attacks the shield again and again.
The attacking only burned the claw and arm of the monster. The monster had confusingly stopped slamming the shield, hurt from the hot fire.
The shield dispersed and turned into giant flaming spears that wasted no time skewering the monster.
After the monster went down so did Stella. My vision was fading. I saw my body give up fighting. Then it went black for a bit.
...
"Ehhhhh."
I stretched while waking up from my dream. Damn, that really did hurt. I rubbed the scar across my left shoulder.