Ecstasy
The first memory I can recall at lengths would have to be of my brother. The memory of his carefree face playing chess against a man I couldn't quite recall the face of. My brother was an expert at chess. He could beat a proud player without loosing a single pawn. Only proffesional players with much experience could make him actually play to his full potential. Nothing brought me as much bliss as watching my brother's face while he played.
The young girl breathed in the salty ocean air as she looked out at the broad horizon. One arm, keeping her steady, latched onto one of the many sturdy ropes of the ship the other on her forehead, acting as a visor against the ungaurded sunlight. She stood upon the rim of the rocking boat, her long auburn hair whipping about in the strong wind.
"Looks like it's gonna get a wittle wough," the balding man came up behind her, eyes not upon the girl, but upon the sea as well. "I can tell by de taste o' de wind!"
The man's receeding hairline wasn't the only thing noticeable about his appearance. He had one eye sewn shut, probably for medical reasons, and when he spoke, only one half of his lips would lift up while the other half was swen, just like the eye. A gruesome scar ran down along the limp side of the man's face, as if pointing down to the horror below. The man had given up fashion long ago. His torn captain's uniform jacket lay ruddy and exposed upon his shoulders, gaping open to show the dirty undershirt beneath. His last shower was probably back when it rained.
Despite the aging man's haggard appearance, the young girl was unaffected, and she even had a broad grin on her face, which threw the old sea rat off. "What you be smilin' for, girly?" he asked her, his one eye narrowing suspiciously.
"I'm on my way to take the hunter exam, how could I not be smiling?!" the girl replied, her whole body squirming with giddy energy. "Plus, if your sea-sense is right, a storm should be coming, and that has got to be loads of fun! But more than that, the veiw is just nice."
The man's bushy eyebrows raised in wonder. "You're intersting, girly," he smirked, almost fondly. "What be your name?"
"The name's Ecstasy," the girl boasted, pounding her free fist against her chest in declaration, "but you can call me Stasy!"
"That be a fittin' name for ya, girly," the sea-dog chortled. "What be your reason fer takin' dat Hunter Exam? I like tah know my passengers, this old sea cap'in!"
"I want to find the greatest treasure in the world-no!-the universe!" the girl exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement. "One worth more than gold, jewels, or even the hunter's license! Something that would be the ultimate collector's item! Something I would greatly like to have, and keep forever."
'A great goal, this one has,' the captain thought to himself then spoke aloud "What migh' dis grand treasure be?"
Stasy, for the first time, looked straight at the captain. Her look softened, no longer jittery and energetic, but now, calm, still smiling, but softly this time, more sentimentally. "A family."
Now he's heard it all. Out of all his career working as the preleminary examiner for the Hunter Exam, never before had he heard something like this. His expression mimicked Stasy's, his coarse face becoming soft and full of admiration. "Ya 'ave a wunderfull gift, girly," he spoke softly, full of warmth. "Ya can see de true valya of dings in life. I be sure ya'll find what you be lookin' fer."
Stasy nodded, she turned back to the ocean, a last gesture to end their conversation. The captain stood for a while, admiring the view along side her quietly, before nautical needs stole his attention.
Stasy had stood there the entire time, watching as the dark clouds made their way above the ship, looking like a bruise in the sky. There was no rain, only brash gales that lifted the water into the air and created their own fierce waves that crashed down onto the old ship. She giddily leapt off the banister and down onto the deck, making her way across the rocking boat to the captain's quarters. She expected to find the captain sleeping, as she had left him a few minutes ago, but it seems he was already up and manning the ship.
As she walked along the swaying deck, water poured from above, as if it was raining, but Stasy could tell easily that it was ocean water by the salty taste stuck in her mouth. She finally found the captain at the steering wheel, and a few other sailors at highly complicated mechanisms around the room.
"Can I be of assistance?" Stasy giggled, looking around in mere amusement.
"Girly," the captain shook his head, "ya never cease ta amaze this ol' sea-dog. A'ight! Work da sails!"
Stasy looked back up at the ship from the rocky ground. It felt weird to be on a inanimate floor. The sea captain looked down at her from the deck. "So," he mumbled to himself, "only seven made it off this ship. Well, with all the other ships coming here, there should be thousands of examinees this year. It seems we've got some lively rookies, too." Then he spoke louder, so that the young girl could hear. "Hey, girly! Da Hunter Exam is in a different place each year. Da only way tah find it is by findin' the navigators which lead examinees dat have impressed dem to the 1st Exam. If ya want tah find da navigators, try going to dat pine tree on that hill over yonder!" He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to a series of hills to Stasy's left, past the city where she was currently located. She easily spotted the hill with the lone pine tree.
"Got it!" she yelled back up to the captain. "Thanks for the advice! Bye!" She waved her arms dramatically and then turned away.
"See ya!" the captain said his final farewell to the girl, and couldn't help but smile to himself. "An interestin' girl, dat one."
Hair billowing in the wind, Stasy made her way to the hill in the distance. The area was slowly becoming more and more wooded when she finally reached an abandoned town. She looked around perkily. Then, there were some brushing noises, and identical, cloaked and masked people blocked her path. They made odd whispering noises and had long frizzy hair. Then, a crippled old lady walked in front of the odd crew. She had an oak staff to walk with and lazy eyes, with two buck teeth that protruded from her closed lips.
"TIME FOR THE MIND-BOGGLING 'TWO CHOICE' QUIZ!!!" she shouted suddenly with amazing energy for so elderly a woman.
Stasy was silent, unsure of how to answer that. Her groupies behind her clapped politely and then stopped.
"Are you heading for that tree atop this hill, missy?" the old woman asked her, then continued, notwaiting for a reply. "If you want to get there, you'll have to pass through this town. Other trails are like a maze and littered with dangerous, magical beasts. To pass through here, you'll have to answer my two choice quiz. I will ask you one question, and you are to answer with either 'one' or 'two' within five seconds."
The young girl shrugged her shoulders. "Ok. Ask away, granny."
The old woman nodded, and then spoke. "A criminal has taken away your brother and your sister, and you can only rescue one. Which do you choose? 1. Your brother. 2. Your sister."
What kind of quiz is this? Stasy thought. There's no way anyone can answer either one of those!
It must be a trick, Stasy.
Yes, this is another test of the hunter exam.
I agree with those two, but something just doesn't seem right. Why would they merely ask a question? They are more than likelyto test our information seeking skills. There's something we've got to notice to answer.
Apathy's got a point.
I say we go with our gut instinct. That usually works.
Yeah, but we'll blame it all on you.
Stasy closed her eyes and waited. Five seconds had already passed and the old woman was watching her intently. "Time is up," she said in her aged voice. "What's your answer?"
No noise was present except for the distant chirping of the birds. Stasy's eyes remained closed.
"You are correct," the old woman finally spoke. "Silence was the answer. The real path is over here."
The woman pointed her staff to a wall of one of the decrepit buildings. A door appeared and it opened to reveal a long winding path into the forest.
"Take this path and you should reach a house beneath the pine tree. It should take you about two hours to reach the top."
Stasy nodded. "Thanks, Granny!" she smiled and then continued on her way.
This Hunter Exam has been easier than I expected.
We haven't actually taken the Hunter Exam yet. We're still in the preleminaries
Has it been 2 hours yet?
The day was waning quickly, as the sky metamorphed from orange to purple. The birds were settling into their nests as the bugs substituted their nocturnal chirping. Finally, Stasy reached a clearing and there was indeed a wooden house benath the broad branches of the pine tree. The young girl thrust her head back to look up at the towering tree. "Wow! Its a lot bigger up close."
After gazing about for some while, she finally walked up the porch of the house and opened the front door to a disturbing scene. She found a creature that stood upon its two hind legs like a human and used its forelegs as arms to hold a woman with many tattoos over her body. It had a long, sly face like a fox with long moth-like ears. It had long clawed fingers and its fury tail whipped behind it.
A kiriko. A shape-shifter.
It was almost unseen, that slight movement. Next thing the kiriko knew, the girl was up in his face, and she punched him down into the floor. Face crushed, the kiriko twitched along the floor and the woman was freed. Stasy heard a voice and she found a wounded man behind the unconcious kiriko. "Are you the navigator?" she asked coldly.
"Uh, actually," the man stuttered sitting up, and rubbing his cuts and bruises, "you just knocked out the navigator."
Oops.
"Honey!" a voice called out from behind the girl. She turned around to find another kiriko walking through the front door. She immeadiatly bent her knees to ready an attack but the man and the woman shouted "No!"
She stood still in her spot, and then relaxed, her face blank and calm. "Are you also a navigator?"
"Y-yes," the kiriko stuttered, obviously surprised by this scene. "Has this one passed?" it asked the man and woman.
"Alarmingly," the woman answered, chuckling lightly. "What's your name?" she asked the girl.
"My name is Apathy," she answered coldly, frowning.
"How fitting," the kiriko stammered, then she went to help her fellow kin.
The other kiriko awoke, but didn't seem angry about being smacked into the floor. "Apathy, let me explain," it spoke. "We're the navigators. This is my wife," he pointed to his fellow kiriko, "and this is my son and daughter-" he pointed to the two humans which suddenly had ears like the navigators and similar facial features. "We'll fly you directly to the exam hall."
Apathy did not say anything to that, but just let the kiriko's open their arms, to reveal a webbed lining along their armpits. They leapt into the air, grabbed each of her arms and flew up into the night sky.