Author's notes: Ah, my first fic in a long while. After you're done reading, please R&R. I always appreciate constructive critisim.
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Small. It's no fun being the tiny guy. Always getting poked fun at, being thought less of because you can't talk to most people eye to eye. It's pretty aggravating. It's so infuriating that you become so brave - or maybe foolhardy - that you wouldn't be scared to rip someone apart.
Of course, you have to realize it's scary at the same time. I mean, when you aren't angry you always wonder about the 'What if?' scenarios. Like, what if someone from the Smith Clan were to say something and I go ballistic? Needless to say, a member of the mole clan like me would get turned into red pulp. That's probably why I always seem so cowardly. It's not because i'm a coward, I just don't want to get killed.
It's pretty ironic that a guy who thinks about self-preservation so much ended up joining a group who challenged a goddess. I must be one crazy little mole. I guess if someone were to ask me why I did it, i'd have to say because they were the first people I had met outside my clan who actually cared about me. They saved me even though they didn't know me. From the moment I woke up from that dream world and saw that they were real, I knew they were the best friends I would ever have.
I never thought that I would ever prove useful to them. I just wanted to be around them. Felt like I belonged, you know? I remember we used to go all over the world and had all sorts of things happen to us, both good and bad. Fighting monsters, finding treasure, seeing new towns. It was great.
Often we would set up camp out in the wilderness because we weren't around any towns. We'd sit around the camp fire and talk about the day, tell stories to each other or even play some made up games.
Karn would always tell tales about breaking into wealthy merchant's houses and stealing them blind in broad daylight, while the merchants were home. I always thought Karn was full of it, but I think Gobi really believed him. Every time Karn would tell a story Gobi would get this really scared look on his face and hold his zenny purse real tight like.
Ox would occasionally tell the story of how he met his wife and proposed to her. Nina would always sigh and say how romantic it was. I thought so too, but I never said so. I mean, it's not what guys say, right?
Bleu would sit around and talk about how powerful and beautiful she was. I personally thought she was kind of arrogant, but she was still a good person. I can't say I was always completely calm around her though. That snake half of her was scary.
Bo never interacted with anybody really. He just sat there gazing into the fire a good majority of the time. Sometimes when the mood struck him, he would talk about hunting, or tell old legends of his people. He was real proud of who he was and his clan. I can't say i'm as enthusiastic about my heritage as him, but every time I think about him I get this feeling of pride about who I am. I don't know if it was just me or not, but I always imagined him and Bleu as an item. Maybe i'm just weird.
Nina was our pep squad I guess you could say. She would always talk about how peaceful everything would be after we beat the Dark Dragons. She'd say that after everything was over, we could all go back to Windia together and live in the castle, being around each other all the time. A real dreamer she was. I only wish it all ended up that way.
Gobi always acted really greedy. He'd sit there and count his zenny most all the time. He'd count it, sort it out into bronze, silver and gold piles, then put them all in separate bags. Then later he would put them all in a mixed up pile again and re-count and sort them all over again. I remember more than once he would try to sell me some strange stuff. Like once he tried to sell me a diamond shaped locket made out of shiny brass, saying it was made of pure gold. I always knew better when it came to metals though. We moles can identify any kind of metal just by smelling it. Sometimes it would annoy me that he tried to rip me off, but i'd buy something every now and then to make him happy. No matter how selfish he would act, I think everyone knew that he was a decent person deep down.
Then there was Ryu. Ryu was a real quiet guy. Even more so than Bo. He liked to hear what people would say. He'd sit there and listen to the stories, the laughter, and the occasional fights between Nina and Bleu. And he always had a smile on his face. When you were around him you always knew that everything was going to be alright. But there were times when I could swear that his friend smile was just a front. That deep inside, he was hurting like crazy and trying everything he could to hide it.
I really miss those days. After we beat Myria we all just kinda drifted apart. I haven't seen any of them for almost 3 years. I've heard some stuff about most of them though. A traveler stopped by Gramor a couple months after we all separated. He said that Nina and Ryu had gotten married, and that Ryu had become king! I was really glad for him. Can't say I envy being a king, but i'm glad Nina and him got married. They're both such good people, they deserve each other.
The traveler also told me that Bo had become cheif of Tuntar. Can't say I was suprised. He's got all the qualifications of a great leader.
Gobi apparently took over every business in Prima in a hostile take over. I never thought he would be capable of something like that, but ever since he took over, Prima has become even richer than Auria. I hear Gobi has plans to have sculptures create a giant statue of himself out of the old volcano above Prima. It's always funny to think of lava shooting out of his head.
Ox is living a quiet life in Guntz with his family. He always wanted to live like that so i'm glad for him.
I haven't heard anything about Karn though. Although I did hear stories that half of the city of Auria was stolen in a single night by a man wearing yellow. I'm only hoping it wasn't Karn.
It's been pretty boring here in Gramor. Ever since I got back it's been lonely. Yeah, I get hero worship from everyone in town and the people who visit get excited to meet me, but it doesn't mean all that much. Without Ryu and the others around me, i'm just a scared little mole with no one to turn to.
....But you know what? Now that I think about it, it's high time this short digger went on a journey. A journey of memories. If they won't come to me, i'll come to them. They won't get rid of this mole so easy!
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Small. It's no fun being the tiny guy. Always getting poked fun at, being thought less of because you can't talk to most people eye to eye. It's pretty aggravating. It's so infuriating that you become so brave - or maybe foolhardy - that you wouldn't be scared to rip someone apart.
Of course, you have to realize it's scary at the same time. I mean, when you aren't angry you always wonder about the 'What if?' scenarios. Like, what if someone from the Smith Clan were to say something and I go ballistic? Needless to say, a member of the mole clan like me would get turned into red pulp. That's probably why I always seem so cowardly. It's not because i'm a coward, I just don't want to get killed.
It's pretty ironic that a guy who thinks about self-preservation so much ended up joining a group who challenged a goddess. I must be one crazy little mole. I guess if someone were to ask me why I did it, i'd have to say because they were the first people I had met outside my clan who actually cared about me. They saved me even though they didn't know me. From the moment I woke up from that dream world and saw that they were real, I knew they were the best friends I would ever have.
I never thought that I would ever prove useful to them. I just wanted to be around them. Felt like I belonged, you know? I remember we used to go all over the world and had all sorts of things happen to us, both good and bad. Fighting monsters, finding treasure, seeing new towns. It was great.
Often we would set up camp out in the wilderness because we weren't around any towns. We'd sit around the camp fire and talk about the day, tell stories to each other or even play some made up games.
Karn would always tell tales about breaking into wealthy merchant's houses and stealing them blind in broad daylight, while the merchants were home. I always thought Karn was full of it, but I think Gobi really believed him. Every time Karn would tell a story Gobi would get this really scared look on his face and hold his zenny purse real tight like.
Ox would occasionally tell the story of how he met his wife and proposed to her. Nina would always sigh and say how romantic it was. I thought so too, but I never said so. I mean, it's not what guys say, right?
Bleu would sit around and talk about how powerful and beautiful she was. I personally thought she was kind of arrogant, but she was still a good person. I can't say I was always completely calm around her though. That snake half of her was scary.
Bo never interacted with anybody really. He just sat there gazing into the fire a good majority of the time. Sometimes when the mood struck him, he would talk about hunting, or tell old legends of his people. He was real proud of who he was and his clan. I can't say i'm as enthusiastic about my heritage as him, but every time I think about him I get this feeling of pride about who I am. I don't know if it was just me or not, but I always imagined him and Bleu as an item. Maybe i'm just weird.
Nina was our pep squad I guess you could say. She would always talk about how peaceful everything would be after we beat the Dark Dragons. She'd say that after everything was over, we could all go back to Windia together and live in the castle, being around each other all the time. A real dreamer she was. I only wish it all ended up that way.
Gobi always acted really greedy. He'd sit there and count his zenny most all the time. He'd count it, sort it out into bronze, silver and gold piles, then put them all in separate bags. Then later he would put them all in a mixed up pile again and re-count and sort them all over again. I remember more than once he would try to sell me some strange stuff. Like once he tried to sell me a diamond shaped locket made out of shiny brass, saying it was made of pure gold. I always knew better when it came to metals though. We moles can identify any kind of metal just by smelling it. Sometimes it would annoy me that he tried to rip me off, but i'd buy something every now and then to make him happy. No matter how selfish he would act, I think everyone knew that he was a decent person deep down.
Then there was Ryu. Ryu was a real quiet guy. Even more so than Bo. He liked to hear what people would say. He'd sit there and listen to the stories, the laughter, and the occasional fights between Nina and Bleu. And he always had a smile on his face. When you were around him you always knew that everything was going to be alright. But there were times when I could swear that his friend smile was just a front. That deep inside, he was hurting like crazy and trying everything he could to hide it.
I really miss those days. After we beat Myria we all just kinda drifted apart. I haven't seen any of them for almost 3 years. I've heard some stuff about most of them though. A traveler stopped by Gramor a couple months after we all separated. He said that Nina and Ryu had gotten married, and that Ryu had become king! I was really glad for him. Can't say I envy being a king, but i'm glad Nina and him got married. They're both such good people, they deserve each other.
The traveler also told me that Bo had become cheif of Tuntar. Can't say I was suprised. He's got all the qualifications of a great leader.
Gobi apparently took over every business in Prima in a hostile take over. I never thought he would be capable of something like that, but ever since he took over, Prima has become even richer than Auria. I hear Gobi has plans to have sculptures create a giant statue of himself out of the old volcano above Prima. It's always funny to think of lava shooting out of his head.
Ox is living a quiet life in Guntz with his family. He always wanted to live like that so i'm glad for him.
I haven't heard anything about Karn though. Although I did hear stories that half of the city of Auria was stolen in a single night by a man wearing yellow. I'm only hoping it wasn't Karn.
It's been pretty boring here in Gramor. Ever since I got back it's been lonely. Yeah, I get hero worship from everyone in town and the people who visit get excited to meet me, but it doesn't mean all that much. Without Ryu and the others around me, i'm just a scared little mole with no one to turn to.
....But you know what? Now that I think about it, it's high time this short digger went on a journey. A journey of memories. If they won't come to me, i'll come to them. They won't get rid of this mole so easy!