This story was originally published on November 4 2017 as part of a completion of stories called "Mixtape".
Happy Birthday Brother
When Eye-Brawl and Dive-Clops were young, they once set out into the woods to explore. Dive-Clops had talked his brother into exploring it with him, and they set off. Back then, they were merely curious kids. Impetuous and observant, they enjoyed going out on adventures frequently. And unlike many of their future friends and team-mates, they had all the freedom to do what they wanted.
They were two young eyeballs. Already past their adolescence, but still young and reckless. And it just so happened that the day they went into the woods was their birthday. Like many, their birthday would be celebrated with family members and friends. But although the two of them enjoy the celebration part of that day, they preferred their adventures in the woods a lot more. So, before any guest arrived, they both sneaked out and explored the woods together.
In the shadows, they came across a seemingly empty cave. As the two brothers did not have a sense of smell, they were unable to smell the fishy smell of salmon. As the cave was dark, they could hardly see the clues of a bear family living there. But as they had perfectly functioning hearing organs (even if they were not visible), they were able to hear the growl of a bear as they woke him and his family up.
The brothers' birthday was in late autumn, a time where animals all prepared for their hibernation, and they all became more sluggish with the cold weather. So, the bears did not appreciate being awakened from their slumber.
The two brothers, being largely inexperienced fighters then, took to flight as they saw the angry family of bears wake up. Across the woods they ran, the bears on their tail. Eventually, they managed to outrun the family, and when they came out of hiding, they had a good laugh at it.
But as they returned home, they were stopped by their mother. The party had already begun, without them. When she found out what they had been doing, she issued several household chores for the two of them to do as punishment. But as they looked back, they didn't mind all of it in hindsight. It made for a fun story to recall, and a short story to talk about. It had been one of their first small adventures.
Besides, it was the last time in a long time where they had a birthday together.
OoOoOoOoOo
"Ding-a ding-a ding-a ding-a…" Rang Dive-Clops' alarm clock as it snapped him awake. He groaned, as he pulled himself out of his covers sluggishly, popped into his diving suit, and turned to his nightstand to flick on the lamp. As the light filled the dark room, he grabbed the rusty red alarm clock to turn off the annoying sound. He had been kept up half the night last night dealing with a small skirmish the next town over, and he had hoped that he would have had some time to sleep-in the next day.
The time read four forty-five, which was way too early to get up, even on days when he went to bed early. He was certainly not the one who had set his alarm that early.
Must be some sort of prank. He thought, as he popped out of the diving suit and laid down again. But just as he was making himself comfortable, a knock came from the door.
Dive-Clops pushed the sheets off himself, popped back into the diving suit, and fumbled towards the dorm room's door. He swung it open, expecting to see some sort of early morning prankster at the door. However, as he opened the door, he received a pleasant surprise. 'Oh! Hello, brother.' Greeted Dive-Clops, irritation and exhaustion ebbed away from him the minute he saw that familiar blue eye, his giant headless friend following him closely. 'What brings you here this early in the morning?'
Eye-Brawl picked his brother up to meet him eye-to-eye. 'Well, simply put brother, today is a very special day for the both of us.' The Headless Giant pulled out a calendar and a small slip of paper, and showed them both to Dive-Clops.
Today was his birthday, as marked on his calendar in bright red marker. And just like magic, any remaining hint of exhaustion in him was instantly replaced with earnest excitement. 'Oh goodness! That's today? I've completely forgotten about our birthday!'
'I'd completely forgotten about it too.' Admitted Eye-Brawl. 'I had never had the time to truly celebrate it after joining the Skylanders, and even when I did, it just felt odd celebrating it without you by my side.'
'Oh, goodness. I completely understand what you mean brother.' He looked at the calendar with bitter-sweetness. 'It just never felt right without you by my side. Not to mention, I only got one birthday cake every year, and only half the presents.' Birthdays without his brother were distressing on multiple levels.
Eye-Brawl chuckled. 'My sentiments exactly brother. But it looks like our friends had taken on the task of planning our first shared birthday in years.' As he said that, the Headless Giant pointed to the sheet of paper.
Dive-Clops handed the calendar back to the Headless Giant, and read through the written message. In a messy, inky scrawl, it read:
Happy birthday to you;
And your long-lost dear brother;
After decades and centuries;
Of separation from each other.
This clue that we leave you;
Is part of a hunt;
For treasure, work together;
And pursue this common front.
Now go together into the;
Place where books are kept;
In large amounts, the first clue is found;
Where you carefully watch your step.
It was far from being the best poem that Dive-Clops had ever read in his life, but he could commend his friends for trying. 'How sweet of them. A treasure hunt, for our birthday.' He folded the clue neatly, and returned it to the Headless Giant. 'I think we can both tell where the first clue is located.'
Eye-Brawl fluttered his wings, moving alongside the Headless Giant. He gestured playfully for Dive-Clops to follow him. 'Yup. To the library we go!'
OoOoOoOoOo
The two brothers entered the Academy's library quietly, with the Headless Giant down on his knees, trailing after them. 'Strange how the door isn't locked, isn't it Dive-Clops?' Asked Eye-Brawl.
'I think that when our friends went in to fit the clue somewhere, they must have forgotten to lock the door.' Said Dive-Clops.
'In that case, I'm pretty sure that this puzzle was set by your friends.' He crawled after his brother. 'For more reasons than one.' He said, peering down at the Headless Giant crawling.
Although they were all technically not alone, the cold, musty smell, the dusty air that stung their eyes, and the large dark space in front of the three of them gave the room a cryptic feeling. 'Alright then, let's see what we have here.' Said Dive-Clops. He turned the lights on, filling half of the dark library with bright fluorescent lighting. (The other half of the lighting came from the windows.) It toned down the creepiness factor of the room considerably, and the brothers immediately got to work at finding the next clue.
'Now, where could that next clue be…' Went Dive-Clops, as he scanned his surroundings. He tapped the Headless Giant on the shoulder, and asked him if he could look at the clue again. The Headless Giant passed it to him. 'Thank you.' Said Dive-Clops, and he smoothed the piece of paper to read.
'Hmm…' He rubbed his chin (well, the area that could be considered his chin). 'It says that it's located where we have to carefully watch our step. So,' He looked up. 'Could it be someplace like the staircase?' He pointed to a particularly dark corner of the stairs.
'That could be a good place to start.' Agreed Eye-Brawl. 'Let's go.' He dashed off towards the corner, the Headless Giant crawling after him as fast as he could. Dive-Clops ran after him.
But just as they were about to reach the dark corner, a loose board dug into the Headless Giant's knee, causing him to fall forward and push Eye-Brawl. 'Oh!'
'What's the matter, Eye-Brawl?' Asked Dive-Clops.
'Nothing much.' Replied Eye-Brawl, as he inspected the Headless Giant's knee. Other than a small scratch, no damage was done. But something about that loose board struck him as off. The library was meticulously looked over by Hugo every day. To the point where he would have a spot check over the entire library at least three times before closing it. If there was a loose board, he would have known about it and have it repaired immediately. The fact that the board was kept loose seemed to indicate that there was something being hidden from them.
Could it be related to the treasure hunt?
It would not hurt to find out. 'Wait a minute, Dive…'
'What is it, Eye-Brawl?' Asked Dive-Clops, ever-curious. Eye-Brawl inspected the other wooden boards around the loose one. To his surprise, most of them were also rather loose. He began pulling the loose boards away, and when the hole he created was large enough for him to stick his hand into it, he reached in, shooed away a small mischief of rats, and dug out a small wooden crate. It was chewed up, due to the rats' gnaws and bites. A crumpled piece of notebook paper was stuck to it; the next clue.
'What does it read?' asked Dive-Clops. Eye-Brawl cleared his throat, and began to read it out loud.
Congratulations! You have found;
The first clue and a prize;
But the next puzzle's gonna be harder;
As you need to use more than your eyes.
The second prize and clue both lie;
Where danger and safety meet;
When no matter the time of day;
If you're near it, there is heat.
Using memory, metaphor, and some help;
You'll find this little clue;
Maybe use one, or two, or all three;
Whatever it is, is up to you.
'Hmm…' Eye-Brawl drummed his fingers on his lap. 'Do you know any place that could be like the description?'
'Well, they said to either use our memory, or to think metaphorically, so I guess we should start there.'
They both sat in silence for a while, their minds hard at work, looking for anything that could hint at where the next clue could possibly be located. Both their trains of thought were both interrupted, however, when Hugo entered the library and saw the two of them sat there, next to a decently-sized hole in the floor.
'What in Skylands did you do to the library floor!?' He screamed.
'Uh, well…'
'You see, Hugo-'
'Why did you two do this? Just, why?' His eye was twitching in anger. A warning signal that Hugo was about to get violent.
'Hugo, if you would calm down, we could give you a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why we did this.' Said Dive-Clops.
'What type of explanation could you give, that anyone could give, that justifies tearing apart the library floor? It's heinous vandalism, that's what it is! Why, I ought to-'
He was stopped mid-rant when Eye-Brawl picked him up. He brought him to his eye level, and with a calm voice, explained to him the situation. 'Now, Hugo, please calm down, and let us explain ourselves. We were involved in a treasure hunt that our friends have sent us on, Hugo. We even have the evidence down there.' He pointed to Dive-Clops, who was still holding onto the piece of paper. 'And it just so happened that they buried the first clue underneath the library floor. Now, I realize that everyone involved in this could have been more careful with the library, including Dive and I, but we can't change what had been done. So, why don't I make you a deal?'
As he noticed Hugo had calmed down, he set him on the ground. Dive-Clops walked towards him, and showed him the piece of notebook paper. With an adjustment of his glasses, he read it. 'How about we help to fix the floor, and then you let us off without any hassle? How's that, Hugo?'
Hugo rubbed his chin, thinking about it. 'I suppose that should be fine, if you apologize and repair the floor.' He made his way to the door. 'Don't go anywhere. I'm going to get some tools and wood for you two.'
As they waited, the two brothers sat cross-legged in silence. Minutes passed before anyone even said anything. 'So, shall we see what's in the box?' Asked Dive-Clops. He already looked like he was about to get up and check out what was inside the box.
'Let's do it.' Agreed Eye-Brawl.
Dive-Clops jumped up, and turned to the wooden crate. With an excited tug, he ripped the lid off, and dipped inside it to inspect the items in there. 'Oh, look at these!' He pulled out a couple of lime green flasks, and handed one to his brother. Clutching the tiny flask gently between the Headless Giant's large fingers, Eye-Brawl brought the flask close, and read the handwritten label. Written in teeny-tiny print, it read "Eye-drops – Use for eye irritation and allergies. Also clears bloodshot eyes.".
'Pop Fizz must have made it for us.' Said Dive-Clops.
'My thoughts exactly, little brother.' He pointed out the many bloodshot areas on Dive-Clops. 'You could certainly use it. All that lack of rest really does not bode well for your complexion.' He joked.
Dive-Clops chuckled. 'You're one to talk. You look like you've just flown into a pile of onions.' He pointed to the equally bloodshot sides of his brother.
'Hmm, in that case, I guess we both need a little more rest, don't we?' Eye-Brawl placed his eye-drops back into the crate, careful to not crack the glass of the flask.
'Honestly brother, with the amount of work I've been given lately, it feels like I can only rest when I'm dead. Now the both of us have got too much work to do to have a consistent sleep schedule.'
'Well, I'm technically already undead, so I guess I qualify for it!'
'Qualify for what?' Came a voice at the door. Hugo walked in, all the necessary tools placed in a bucket in one hand, two-by-fours in the other, and a confused look on his face. Due to the huge load, he was struggling to hold up all the materials. With his arms shaking under the immense weight, it was clear that someone needed to help him out, lest his arms give way.
Dive-Clops walked over, and took the bucket from Hugo. With the large weight taken away from him, he shifted all his strength to the planks of wood. 'Thanks Dive-Clops.'
'No problem, Hugo.' He flashed a thumbs-up at him.
'So, I'm just curious, but what were you two talking about while I was away?' He attempted to put the planks down neatly, but in a move of clumsiness, dropped them into a messy pile. 'Oops.'
'We weren't talking about much, just about the eye-drops Pop Fizz gave us in this crate.' He placed the bucket down next to the pile of wood, and began to help Hugo stack the planks neatly.
'Oh, those are eye-drops? Well, that's rather odd then.' Hugo scratched his head.
'What's rather odd?' Asked Eye-Brawl.
'It's just that, it smells a little too strong to be something like eye-drops.' He looked up. 'Don't you two smell it?'
'No, not at all.' Said Dive-Clops.
'Not even a little bit?'
'No Hugo.' Replied Eye-Brawl. 'We don't even have noses. There's nothing we can use to smell with.'
Hugo rubbed the back of his head, bashful. 'Oh, of course. Do you know where the others could have gotten these, "eye-drops"?' He picked up on of the lime green bottles in the crate, and began swirling it around. As if he were inspecting the liquid from every possible angle.
'I suspect that Pop Fizz made these. Seeing as they seem to be homemade and those bottles are the types that he uses the most often.' Answered Dive-Clops. 'That could be why it smells so strong to you. Pop Fizz does get experimental with his potions.'
'Yes, Pop Fizz making the potion could be why it has that smell. But just be careful when using it. Like you guys said, Pop Fizz tends to get experimental with his potions. Make sure to test it on some sort of inanimate object first before using it on yourselves.' He placed the potion back into the crate.
'Sure Hugo. We will.' Said Dive-Clops.
'We're aware of the protocol for trying Pop's potions, but thanks for looking out for us.' Agreed Eye-Brawl.
'Alright then. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I think it's time that you two fix up that hole in the floor. I'll come by later to see how you guys are doing. See you!' And with that, he turned around and walked off to attend to his daily duties.
OoOoOoOoOo
It took longer to fix the floor that both Eye-Brawl and Dive-Clops anticipated, but by mid-morning, they had managed to fix it up to something that Hugo was satisfied with. 'Happy birthday, you two! Please remember to tell your friends that they can't dig up the library floor, no matter what reason they have! Especially after closing hours! And if they want to sneak into the library, at least lock the door when they are done!'
'Sure thing, Hugo.' Replied Dive-Clops. Beside him, Eye-Brawl carried the crate of eye-drops. It was a little tricky to get a grip on it, due to the gnawed holes by the rats, but the Headless Giant could get a solid grip on it. Which reminded him…
'Oh, by the way Hugo, there are a few rats living underneath the library. You may want to get an exterminator or something to deal with it.' And before Hugo had the chance to respond to that, the two brothers were off.
'So, do you have any clue as to what the clue could be about?' Asked Eye-Brawl. He had been thinking about the clue all that time while he fixed the floor, but his mind still drew blank.
'Well,' He began, twiddling his thumbs. 'I may have a clue to where we might begin.'
'Really? Tell me about it.'
'Alright then. I think it may be at those lava pits that the fire Skylanders frequent. You know, the one on the nearby island. We can get there pretty easily.'
The lava pit was considered an almost mythical place among most Skylanders. This was because most Skylanders, outside of the fire Skylanders (who frequent it as a place to relax and swim in), did not consider it worth their time to visit such a place. It was largely due to elemental incompatibility. After all, if your comfort zone was a place like the open skies, the deep, cooling seas, a laboratory, a mountain range, a graveyard, ex-cetera, why would you waste your time near a bunch of lava pits?
Eye-Brawl gave him a quizzical look. (Well, as quizzical as a flying eyeball could look.) 'Why so?' He found it strange that his brother had apparently been to the lava pits. After all, he was of the water element. He would not feel any more comfortable around the fiery lava pits than anyone aligned under the fire element would around large bodies of water. 'Did you ever go there?'
'As a matter of fact, I did!' Replied Dive-Clops. 'I was just accompanying Spitfire there after a training session. I think that it might be where the next clue is located.'
'Alright then, lead the way brother.' Said Eye-Brawl. He did. (Thank goodness for public transportation.)
But as they neared the woods which the lava pits were located, Eye-Brawl's pupil shrank in alarm. 'Uh, brother, are you sure that you want to get in there?' He took a step back.
'Of course.' He paused as he saw Eye-Brawl's expression 'Brother? Is there something going on in these woods?'
'Yes, there is. Didn't anyone tell you about it?' Asked Eye-Brawl. Judging from his brother's clueless expression, he had no idea.
'I had been a little too busy with paperwork and missions to have much small-talk with others. So, no, I don't know what's going on.' Admitted Dive-Clops.
Eye-Brawl placed the wooden crate onto the grass, sat down next to it, and met his brother at eye-level. 'Well, recently there had been reports of some wolves affected by some weird disease that makes them go crazy in those woods. We don't know where they are right now, but all the life Skylanders had been busy doing what they can. You know, keeping civilians out of harm's way, protecting the animals living in these woods, and most importantly, tracking down those rabid wolves. They've been intense about it too, especially since this breed of wolves are rather secretive and shy. They've refused to let anyone harm them unnecessarily. Something about being humane.'
A faint howl came from a distance. Both Dive-Clops and Eye-Brawl heard the loud sound, and they turned to face the woods, where it came from. More howls came, some sounding like they came from nearby, others as if they were far away. 'I think we should try to find a life Skylander now.' Eye-Brawl grabbed the crate, in agreement with his brother.
But just as they were about to walk away, a low, heavy breathing sound was heard from behind them. Mixed into it were some twin growls; one came from mouths, and the other from stomachs. The two brothers turned around slowly, anticipating the worst. Sure enough, a pack of wolves were sat there, with streams of foam bubbling out of their mouths, their yellow eyes mad and starving. It was clear that they were jet-set on chasing down the two of them.
The two brother's pupils shrank with fear, and for a moment they felt themselves freeze up. The two of them looked at the wolves. The wolves looked back at the brothers. The brothers looked at each other. The wolves continued staring.
And just like most moments when time stopped temporarily, the immediate next moment could be considered a fast-forward. The brothers made a mad dash away from the rabid wolves, as the wolves began their chase towards the brothers. The sound of loud barks filled the air, and frothing saliva dripped from the wolves. Their teeth were bared and ready to attack their potential lunch.
'We have to get to Zoo Lou to inform him about these guys. He said that he had a cure that he was going to try on them. I think he also said that he has a camp-site set up somewhere there.' He pointed northwards. Dive-Clops nodded at his brother, and followed him to reach their new goal.
They ran as fast as they could. Into the woods they went, towards the north of the forest. As they ran, Dive-Clops would open his suit's eye-guard and spill water onto the wolves. Sometimes, Eye-Brawl would attempt to shoot a few lasers at them. But all those actions did was slow down the wolves a little. They eventually ended up running on a rocky trail, on the way to inform Zoo Lou about the situation.
With his short, stubby legs, among other factors, Dive-Clops was far from being a speedy Skylander on land. So although he ran as fast as he could, he eventually felt the warm, nerve-wrecking breath of a pack of rabid wolves behind him. But before he could become wolf chow, his brother grabbed him by the diving suit, and pulled him away from the imminent danger.
'Thanks brother.' Panted Dive-Clops, as he caught his breath. But the immediate second after he had regulated his breath, he found himself breathless again as he gasped at the path ahead. He turned to his brother, who was busy as he made sure he outran them. 'Watch out, Eye-Brawl!'
Eye-Brawl turned around, and the minute he saw the camp-site in front of them, he skidded to a halt. But inertia took its toll, and the box of eye-drops was flung from his hand. It landed a few meters away from the brothers, and…
"Crash!" It landed right in front of the wolves. Shards of glass and splinters flew everywhere, and the eye-drops spilled out of the crate, forming a large puddle on the rocky terrain.
Almost instantly, the wolves stopped and swarmed around the puddle. They huddled together, and lapped up the eye-drops off the ground, as if they forgot the brothers they were just chasing. In fact, they seemed to be completely oblivious towards them at that point. Their once menacing eyes were now glazed and unfocused, and they seemed to be far calmer. To the point where they seemed to be a little tipsy.
Eye-Brawl and Dive-Clops looked at the wolves, slightly thrown off. Of all the things they could have done to stop the wolves, they did not expect it to be the eye-drops. They looked at each other again, and began to laugh in relief. That shared laughter slowly evolved into a larger laugh, and it all ended as the two brothers stopped to move on to their next action in the plan.
'Well, I don't know how Pop would feel about us using his birthday gift to us for this purpose, but I hope he understands.' Said Eye-Brawl.
'I'm sure that he'd understand.' Replied Dive-Clops. 'After all, he uses potions for his attacks too. He'll understand that this was for a good reason.'
They walked into the camp-site, hoping that Zoo Lou was inside it.
Fortunately, they found him inside, eating his lunch. 'Hi, Zoo Lou.' Went the brothers. From outside the tent, the Headless Giant waved at him.
'Oh, hello. What brings you two out here?' Asked Zoo Lou, as he placed his sandwich down. Eye-Brawl and Dive-Clops gestured at him to come outside, and that was when he saw the pack of wolves, all lapping up the puddle on the rocks like they were dehydrated.
'Oh, goodness. Thanks for getting these guys here.' Said Zoo Lou. He inspected the wolves carefully, to make sure that whatever they had just drank was safe for them. Fortunately, they seemed alright.
'No problem, Zoo Lou.' The two brothers watched him gently handle the wolves. At that point, they were more like sheep than menacing wolves, which the two of them found rather funny.
Zoo Lou went up to a nearby wolf – the alpha male – and began to make a series of whimpers at him. The two brothers looked at each other in confusion (What in Skylands is he doing?), then looked back at Zoo Lou. The wolf whimpered back at him, and at that point the two brothers realized that the two of them were conversing with each other. Zoo Lou and the wolf carried on with their chat, although the further they got into it, the more Zoo Lou's eyebrows seemed to raise.
He finally got up, and reported his findings to the brothers. 'He seemed to be slurring in his speech, but I could sort of get what he was saying. He said that he and his pack smelled something delicious and a little intoxicating, and they only ran out of the woods to see what it was. They said that it came from that box over there.' He pointed at the wreckage. 'I wonder, where did you get it from?'
'Well, it was actually some eyedrops that Pop Fizz gave us for our birthday.' Answered Eye-Brawl. 'It's not harmful to the wolves, is it?'
'Not from what I can see.' Said Zoo Lou, as he inspected the jaw of the wolf. 'On the contrary, it seems to act as a sort of anesthesia to these guys. But,' He sniffed the wolf's jaw, an eyebrow raised in suspicion. 'Are you sure you got some eye-drops? Because it smells a little strong to be eye-drops.'
'Hugo mentioned that too, when we were at the library earlier.' Brought up Dive-Clops.
'Hmm…' Zoo Lou finally stood up, and petted the drowsy wolf on his head. 'You said Pop Fizz made it, didn't you? He could have mislabeled it with a sort of magical anaesthesia. But just to be on the safe side,' He began to lead the wolves inside. 'I'll do some tests on these guys. Hopefully they didn't ingest something toxic or anything. Although it doesn't seem to be the case.'
He got up, and began to prepare his medical equipment. As he was about to administer a jab to the wolf, a thought came up. 'Say, what were you two doing so near the forest in the first place?'
'Erm…'
'Well, you see…' Began Eye-Brawl. 'Our friends have sent us on this treasure hunt. The next clue read this, you see.' He showed him the clue, which Zoo Lou quickly scanned through. 'We were hoping that we would be able to find some sort of clue at the lava pit.'
Zoo Lou issued the jab into the wolf, and grabbed a cloth to sanitize the needle. As he leaned the syringe, he peered at the remains of the box on the rocky path. 'Hmm… Well, I'm not sure if it helps, but I did see a wooden box earlier today. It was on the old hot-air balloon launchpad. You know, the wooden square on the edge of the island. Flynn used to have a balloon, but he traded it away.'
The two brothers looked at Zoo Lou, eyes widened with realization. Of course, the clue would be near a hot-air balloon's docking bay! It was warm year-round, due to the hot-air balloons that used to be docked there. Danger and safety met there, as Flynn was a way to get to dangerous missions, away from the safety of this island. They asked for help to make use of someone else who had a memory of the hot-air balloons, and they filled in all the details with their knowledge on metaphors.
'Hmm, I think we'll be checking out that place now, Zoo Lou. Thanks for that tip.' They began to head to that launchpad. A site that they had seen many times, but had never paid much attention to.
'No problem guys.' Said Zoo Lou, as he carried on vaccinating the wolves. 'And happy birthday!'
'Thanks!'
OoOoOoOoOo
The two brothers made their way to the old hot-air balloon launchpad. (Once again, thanks public transportation.) Sure enough, there sat a wooden crate placed right in the center. The two brothers sprinted up towards it the moment they laid their eyes on it. Excitement built up inside of them every step they took, and when they finally reached the box, the top was ripped off immediately by the Headless Giant. The two brothers reached into the crate, and they both pulled out their second gift for the day.
'Huh, I didn't know they still made these.' Went Dive-Clops, as he inspected his single-lens sunglass. It was deliberately shaped so that he could slot it into his diving suit.
'Oh, they still do. But most of them are pretty hard to get cheap.' Said Eye-Brawl. His sunglass had a clip at the back to clip to the Headless Giant, which was a somewhat strange design choice, but he still wore it well. 'A lot of them have to be custom-made and all that.'
'Well, either way, this is great.' Dive-Clops slotted his sunglass into his suit. It cast a grey tint to everything he saw. 'Although it's a shame that we only got this in autumn. Don't get me wrong brother, I'm really grateful for these, but it would have been amazing to have these around in the summer.'
'I completely understand what you mean.' The summer sun was an annoyance for the two of them to get through, as they had to be more aware of whichever direction they faced, lest they both experience a painful body ache. 'Still, all of this could not have been easy to get.'
'Yup.' Agreed Dive-Clops. He picked up the piece of paper he held. 'Let's see what this clue says.'
Eye-Brawl peered over his brother's shoulders to read the new clue. Written in the same inky handwriting and on the same crumpled notebook paper as the previous two clues, read their third and final clue:
Yay! You found the final clue;
To lead to your surprise;
Who knew that such intelligent minds;
Could come from single eyes.
I think that since the both of you;
Will go through a physical challenge;
It's only fair that I tip you off;
The next location, for game balance.
It's located atop a red hill;
Where we'll wait for you two;
Climb up there, and there we will;
Celebrate your birthday, it's true.
'Atop a hill…' Eye-Brawl thought out loud. 'There aren't any hills on this island. So, where could it be?'
'Another neighboring island, I guess. More specifically, that one.' Said Dive-Clops, as he pointed to a nearby island. A prominent russet red hill stood out as the distinguishing landmark. 'I guess we'll have to take public transportation again brother.'
And with that, they both made their way to the balloon stop once again.
The balloon stop was new in Skylands, with balloonists from all over Skylands offering their services to transport people around the place for a small price. It was a simple idea, but for the most part, it worked out well.
As the two brothers waited for a balloon to show up, they looked up at the hill. On it, they could see some silhouettes. Those silhouettes moved fast, clearly busy as they moved objects around the flat hilltop. 'It's been awfully sweet of them, hasn't it?' Said Eye-Brawl.
'It has.' Answered Dive-Clops.
'When was the last time we celebrated our birthday together?' Asked Eye-Brawl.
'Oh, I remember that day well…' Recalled Dive-Clops. 'That was hundreds of years ago, wasn't it? We were meandering around in the woods.'
'Getting into reckless situations…' Added Eye-Brawl, a wave of nostalgia washed over him.
'Yup. There were those bears, remember?'
'How could I forget?' Said Eye-Brawl. 'I think you were the one who first suggested that we steal their honey.'
'Maybe so, but you still carried out with it with me. Besides, the bears weren't even the biggest threat. I'm pretty sure the punishment we got back home was even worse.' Said Dive-Clops. He recalled their mother's old punishments for them. Starting fires to warm the home, cleaning things with soap, and other household chores that were a pain for a flying eyeball to do, in more ways than one.
'Yeah, definitely.' The two of them laughed as they recounted their little adventure together. But after the laughter died down, the air was replaced with a silence. A sort of transitional silence, where they both had nothing they wanted to say, but they knew exactly how they both felt.
'It's really been a while since we've had an adventure like that, hasn't it? A little light-hearted one.' Said Eye-Brawl.
'Yes, it has.' Agreed Dive-Clops. 'I guess that's what maturing entails. Less light-hearted adventures and , and we all have to tackle more serious and mature stuff.' He leaned back, and folded his arms at the back of his diving suit. As he relaxed, he let the nostalgia soak into him. It filled his thoughts, and gave him a serene feeling. 'I miss those days.'
'Same here.' Agreed Eye-Brawl. 'Although, I guess the antics we got up today were pretty light-hearted.'
'Heh, I guess you're right.' The events of today did fill him with an energizing joy that missions and adventures nowadays did not give. There was that same on-the-fly feel, and strangely enough, it even shared characteristics of their last birthday together. From the chase in the woods with animals, to the manual labor on that day.
'It really was fun to do something like this again.' Said Dive-Clops. He understood that all those important missions were important and all, but at times it was good to have a fun expedition alongside your best friend. He looked over at him brother, and he could sense that he felt the same way.
They sat together in silence for a while, completely still. And they only got up when a balloonist showed up, they flagged him, and they requested him to take them atop the red hill.
OoOoOoOoOo
'Surprise! Happy birthday!'
The two brothers had arrived at their destination, where their friends had set up their party. Spread out on the small hill was a simple birthday set-up. In the corner, there were two birthday cakes being set up on a small, fold-out table. Set right next to it was a cooler, with a few canned drinks and ice placed in it. In the corner, a radio was placed, with loud, bright music blasting out of it. And all around the hill, blue and green balloons were strung around in clusters. It was a small set-up, but cheery nevertheless.
It was the perfect way to end the adventure; to spend the rest of the day with their friends at their party.
'Anyways, what took you guys so long to get here anyways?' Asked Stealth Elf.
'Oh, just a few setbacks.' Laughed Dive-Clops. 'Got chased by wolves. They wanted those eye-drops.'
'Oh, you mean my gift?' Asked Pop Fizz. He reached into his leather pouch, and took a quick look through it. 'Oh, I see. Yeah, I gave you guys another potion. It's supposed to be a drink, but there's nothing harmful in there. Here are your eye-drops.' He handed the brothers some purple flasks, labelled "Soda".
'So, I guess now that we've cleared that up, we should get on with the celebration?' Went Eye-Brawl.
Dive-Clops chuckled. 'Yeah, I guess we should.'
'But we have to be quick.' Said Bouncer. 'Don't we, Fiesta?'
'Si.' Agreed Fiesta. 'There's going to be a camp set up here soon. We expected you two to come here earlier, but since you got busy,' He checked his watch. 'We have about an hour of partying to do.'
Fiesta grinned at his friends as he looked up from his watch. 'Well, now that we know how long we have, vamos a empezar la fiesta! Make the most of it while we can!'
And with that, they began their party.
The End
OoOoOoOoOo
Surprise! This is the first story of a new set of short stories. It will be where I put all sorts of weird experiments and where I will try out new stuff.
Now, this story was written for my brother's birthday, so happy birthday bro! It's also where I experiment with integrating poetry into the story and seeing how well I can write with a short time limit and almost no plan. I think I did pretty well, all things considered. But tell me what you think in the reviews, and I will see you with another story next time.
-Tabbyluna