Naiee sat in between his brother's grave and his mother's.
"A new kid is supposed to be moving in next door to us today." He said.
Faint white mist spread from his mother's tombstone. A figure took form out of it, features slowly beginning to rise from the facial area.
"Anyone your age?" Naiee's mother, he called her Moma, asked.
"I think a boy one or two years older than me." Naiee answered.
"What about your brother's age?" Moma asked.
"I don't think so, but I'll let you know as soon as they get here."
"Thanks honey." Moma attempted a peck on the forehead. It made Naiee's chest ache with sadness, remembering when Moma could touch him and give him those motherly kisses.
"Naiee! The new neighbors are coming!" Father called.
"I have to go. Bye Moma." Naiee said, then he got up and ran to his father. His dead family member evaporated.
"Naiee, dust yourself. You have dirt all over you." Father said softly. Naiee quickly patted down his pants and vest.
Father nodded with approval and turned to look at the approaching wagon.
"Greetings, new neighbors!" Father called, waving. He nudged Naiee with his foot.
"Hi!" Naiee shouted. He waved.
The woman leading the wagon had short brown hair, big olive eyes, a simple black and brown dress, and black boots. The boy walking alongside the wagon had messy, shoulder length black hair, familiar brown eyes, a red shirt with white stitching, a navy blue vest (kind of like the kind Naia would wear), black fingerless gloves, brown pants, and black boots.
"Hello!" The woman called. She stopped the ox leading the wagon in front of the house one rockpile away from Naiee's.
Father walked down the bridge that led to the rockpile, and Naiee followed closely behind.
"It's a pleasure to make your aquiantence." Father said, extending a hand towards the woman.
"For you as well. My name is Cass, and this is my nephew, Hiro." The woman said, gesturing to the boy.
The boy, Hiro, looked up and awkwardly waved.
"My name is Jae'ish, and this is my son Naiee." Father said. He swayed a hand toward Naiee.
"It's an honor to meet you, Miss Cass and Hiro." Naiee dipped his head.
"What a handsome young gentleman." Cass smiled. "Well, now that we've gotten past the formalities..." Cass turned and pulled a tray out of the wagon.
"Who wants cookies?" She exclaimed. A dozen chocolate chip cookies rested on the pan.
"Wow!" Naiee said. "How did you find these?"
Cass chuckled. "I made them. The chocolate is a bit hard to come by, but it's not that much trouble."
Naiee's mouth watered. He hardly ever got desserts, they were so expensive, and his father didn't make that much money selling fish.
"Well, help yourself!" Cass said.
"Thank you very much mam!" Naiee exclaimed. He took a cookie of the tray and took a bite. Gooey chocolate and sweet, crispy, cake-like taste slid onto his tongue.
"This is amazing!" Naiee said after swallowing his bite. He munched on it again.
"Thank you hon." Cass smiled sweetly.
Naiee licked his lips after finishing his cookie, savoring the taste of the crumbs his tongue had discovered.
"Hiro, why don't you show Naiee Baymax? I'm going to start unpacking." Cass suggested. She set the tray of cookies on a tree stump.
"Allow me to assist you." Father offered.
"You're too kind." Cass blushed.
Hiro pulled a red, wooden box out of the pile of boxes. He met Naiee's gaze and jerked his head upwards.
Naiee nodded.
Both boys ran across the bridge up to Naiee's yard. Hiro set his box down.
"Hold still." Hiro said. He pulled a small tack out of his pocket.
Naiee gulped and froze.
Hiro took Naiee's gloved hand and pricked his pointer finger with the tack. Pain swam in Naiee's finger.
"Ow!" Naiee exclaimed. He yanked his hand away. A small amount of blood had began to rise from the prick. "What was that fo-"
The box opened. A large white humanoid inflated. It looked like a wad of cotton with a head, arms, and legs, except smoother and tighter. Two black dots with a line connecting them made up the facial features.
"Hello. I am Baymax. Your personal, healthcare, companion." The humanoid said.
"Woah." Naiee breathed.
"He was my brother's." Hiro said.
"You have a brother?" Naiee asked, looking away from the humanoid.
"Had. He died. There was a fire." Hiro said curtly.
"Oh." Naiee said. He darted his eyes awkwardly. "Older or younger?"
"Older."
"And he made this...thing?'
"It's a robot. The answer is yes and no. He made the first one, but the first one is floating around somewhere in a teleportation vortex. The first one's data chip is installed in this one, which I made. He remembers everything that happened to his original model."
"Wow. What does he do?"
"He's made to be a healer." Hiro walked up to the robot. He pushed two fingers against a circle on it's chest, and an access port slid out. Naiee may not know much about robots, but he was no dummy.
Two cards were in the port. A green one, and a purple one.
"The green one is the data chip from the original model." Hiro explained. "It has over ten thousand medical procedures downloaded. The other one is combat. If I put some armor on this guy, he can be pretty menacing. Although he can't hurt anyone because of his programming. I used to use him to keep order in my village section other than just heal people. My friends had some gear too. We would all get tricked out, then we would keep justice."
"Cool." Naiee breathed.
Baymax put some disinfectant medicine on the prick on Naiee's finger, then he wrapped it in a bandage.
"That's impressive." Naiee said, examining his finger.
"Yeah, it is." Hiro agreed.
Naiee raised his eyebrows at Hiro. "I wonder..."
Hiro tilted his head to the side. "What? What are you wondering?"
"Oh it's nothing."
"Well you've got me interested now."
"What section did you say you were from?"
"I never said. I'm from the Grassland Section."
"Great." Naiee grinned. He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.
Silence for three seconds. And then a bird like figure came into focus, flying towards the boys.
"What..?" Hiro muttered.
"This is my griffin, Sal. Short for 'Salbatu', which means 'save'." Naiee smiled. The lion-bird settled on to the ground, his wings stirring up leaves. Brilliant russet feathers decorated his strong, muscled wings. He had a soft looking white underbelly, gleaming golden talons, a red-brown lion tail that was lashing back and forth, and a small golden orange beak in the center of his face. His large, dark, shiny eyes stared at Hiro, curiosity flickering in his expression.
"He's beautiful." Hiro approached Sal, one hand extended. Then he hesitated and looked to Naiee. "May I?"
"Sure." Naiee nodded.
Hiro rested his hand on the griffin's beak. His feathers rose a little, but he didn't show any sign of uncomfort.
"Wow. I've never seen one before." Hiro said softly.
"I figured, seeing as you're from the Grasslands." Naiee replied. He softly stroked Sal's wings. Hiro began to pet the griffin, and Sal seemed to like him. Sal made that whistling sound, the one griffin's sing, which guaranteed he liked Hiro.
Naiee watched Hiro, studying his eyes. They were chocolate brown, and had a protective, intelligent gleam. Just like Naia's eyes. There was the chest ache again, yearning for his brother to be returned from the dead, so he could look into those eyes on Naia and know that everything would be okay because his big brother was going to be there for him. That Naia was going to protect him from anything and anyone.
Hiro looked up from Sal. "Why are you staring at me? Are you crying?"
"You remind me of him." Naiee whispered.
"I remind you of who?" Hiro asked.
Naiee choked and snapped out of his daze. Hiro stared at him, his head tilted to the side. Naiee blinked furiously, and tears dripped from his eyes. He frantically wiped them with his sleeve and hands.
"No one. You remind me of no one." Naiee said quickly. "Do you want to ride him?" He patted Sal.
"Naiee, who do I remind you of?" Hiro said, looking away from the griffin.
"He really is quite fun to ride..."
"Naiee."
"You just have to hold on tight to his neck..."
"Naiee, tell me."
"Don't pull any feathers. He hates that..."
"Tell me."
"When he's landing make sure to keep your feet away from his talons..."
"NAIEE!"
"YOU REMIND ME OF MY DEAD BROTHER ALRIGHT!" Naiee exclaimed. He grit his teeth. "You remind me, of Naia."
"How?" Hiro asked.
"You have his eyes." Naiee answered. "Now, climb on this griffin before I leave with out you."
Hiro sighed and stepped back. "I'd rather use Baymax. Do you think my Aunt Cass will mind?"
Naiee patted Sal's fore arm. The griffin flexed it's claws and drew various lines in the dirt, that eventually spelled out "GoNE GrIFFIN rIDING, bE baCK SooN."
"Wow." Hiro said. He looked Sal in the eye as if looking for secret robotic parts.
"Yep. Don't say griffin's aren't smart." Naiee said.
"What a fascinating creature. Griffins are not in my healthcare, or combat, database."
Baymax said.
"They'll treat you how you treat them." Naiee smiled.
Hiro pulled six red chips out of his pocket. He placed one on each of Baymax's arms, his legs, chest, and head. They quickly grew into smooth red and purple armor, which did give Baymax a more menacing look. Red wings popped out of his shoulders. Hiro quickly mounted the robot after putting his purple armor on.
"Hmm..." Hiro's smirk got mischievous. "I wonder who's faster..."
"Let's find out." Naiee replied.
"Ready?" Hiro asked, his expression clearly daring, challenging, Naiee.
"Oh yeah." Naiee smirked.
"Thrusters!" Hiro shouted. Fire shot out of Baymax's feet and hands, and he hovered in the air. Robots are so cool, Naiee thought. He was briefly reminded of the inventor he and Naia had encountered on their way to the Tree of Life.
Chest ache.
Naiee shook his head and rubbed Sal's right wing. He started flying.
"One lap around the village. First one back wins." Naiee said.
"You're on." Hiro grinned.
"Ready...set...GO!"
They took off.
The wind rolled over Naiee as Sal sped through the air, screaming in griffin. This was the feeling. This was life. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, wind running through his hair, his heart beating at what felt like 100 miles per hour. This is what he lived for.
Naiee turned to see Hiro, neck and neck as he rode Baymax.
"I'm impressed, not many people can keep up with this guy." Hiro shouted.
"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet!" Naiee replied.
Sal screamed, then he began really flying.
The speed of the griffin was the fastest of all of the fantastical creatures of Naiee's world. A journey that took two humans two days took a griffin about...half an hour or so.
Baymax and Hiro became a red and purple speck behind Naiee.
Come on Hiro, Naiee thought. At least make it a challenge.
As if they had read Naiee's mind, Baymax rocketed up to Sal, neck and neck again.
"CAN I-" Hiro attempted to shout some stuff over the white noise of the air zipping by that was lost to the wind. "GRIFFIN-" Wind. "AFTER I-" Wind. "RACE?"
Naiee grinned widely and shrugged. Hiro playfully rolled his eyes. He shifted his ankles and wrists, and Baymax shot forward.
"Come on Sal. We're halfway there." Naiee muttered. Sal chirped irritably.
"I promise I'll show you that fishing spot I told you about." Naiee said sweetly. Sal squawked excitedly and poured on the speed, gaining on Baymax.
Naiee glanced down, scanning the landscape. He saw the bridge that was off to the right of the healer's cabin. Baymax began to slow, seeing Naiee's house nearby.
"NOW!" Naiee cried. The griffin put on one more burst of speed.
Sal streaked forward, past Baymax, and he expertly landed on the lawn. Baymax landed barely a second after.
"Dang, that is one fast bird." Hiro said, climbing off of Baymax.
"Your neurotransmitter and heart rate levels are, rising." Baymax said thoughtfully. "This means you are, excited, and, happy."
"I sure am bud." Hiro said.
Naiee dismounted Sal. "Your robot is super fast. Griffins are the quickest creatures alive." He observed.
"I know." Hiro said smugly.
"What did you say up in the air earlier? I couldn't understand you." Naiee asked.
"Can I check your griffin out after I win the race?" Hiro smiled.
"I dunno...you didn't exactly win." Naiee teased. "Why do you want to 'check him out'?"
"I want to see how his feathers are arranged, since that makes the most sense on the explanation of why he was so fast." Hiro answered. He turned to Baymax. "I am satisfied with my care."
Baymax's armor transformed back into the chips, which Hiro quickly caught as they fell off Baymax's now huggable form. Baymax then stepped into the red, wooden box. He seemed to sink into it, and then the lid flipped over him. A key in the back began to turn.
"He's charging. I'm gonna run him down to Cass. I'll be back in one minute." Hiro said. He grabbed Baymax's box and sped down the bridge.
"One minute, eh?" Naiee smiled. He climbed onto Sal. "I can show you the fishing spot in one minute."
Sal screamed joyously and flew into the air. Naiee pointed to the east, towards one of the mountains, and Sal sped off in that direction. In ten seconds Naiee softly kicked Sal's front paw, and he halted.
"Directly below me, there is a pond with fish the size of a baby troll. They eat berries off a tree with orange leaves. Shake the branches and the fish will come up. Easy prey." Naiee explained. Sal flew around in circles three times happily. Naiee had to clutch his neck very tightly to keep from falling off.
Suddenly, a speck of red caught Naiee's eye. A person with black hair was being pushed around by three other boys. Hiro.
"Sal, drop me off down there." Naiee commanded. The griffin obliged, rocketing towards the boys, stopping for a second to let Naiee jump off, then he sped back toward the mountain.
Hiro's cheek was bruised, and his nose was bleeding. His clothes were covered in grass and dirt.
Naiee's chest grew hot with rage. Of course the local bullies would see Hiro as fresh meat. How could he have forgotten?
He recognized all three of the bullies. Icksar, the leader, was a short, scrawny boy with neat brown hair that just came past his ears, and beady dark brown eyes.
The other boys were Damien and Dustin, the twins. Both boys had a big, squat body, curly red hair, and a freckled face. The only difference was that Damien had brown eyes and Dustin had green.
"Oh, look who showed up. Mister WEAKLING!" Icksar cackled. "He can't even save his big brother from a spider!"
Damien and Dustin laughed.
"I'll have you know she was the queen, of the spiderlings. You would've wet yourself at the mere sight of her." Naiee snapped. He turned away from the bullies and helped Hiro to his feet.
"Aww... Would you look at that! The orphan and the weakling are getting along! Maybe it's because they have so much in common!" Icksar taunted.
"Stop it Icksar." Naiee hissed. Hiro stumbled a little, and Naiee hurried to steady him.
"Wow. You really are pathetic." Icksar said. He clapped. Damien and Dustin grabbed Naiee's arms and pinned him against a wall of stone. Naiee thrashed and pulled against the twin's grip, but they overpowered him two to one.
"Are you trying to be the hero or something?" Icksar asked. He grabbed a wooden bucket that had been concealed in a crevice of the stone. Naiee's heart pumped twice the regular speed once he heard the sloshing sounds coming from it.
"Heads up, kiddo. You had your shot to be the hero and you failed. You got your mother killed because you couldn't pull her into a boat." Icksar said icily. He lifted the bucket up to his chest level.
"Then you got one more chance. You failed again. You got your brother killed because you couldn't talk him out of following some girl." He continued, approaching Naiee.
"Such simple things that would have saved their lives. But you couldn't do them." Icksar stood directly in front of Naiee. "You failed them because you weren't good enough."
Icksar lifted the bucket. "And you never will be."
A wave of icy cold water crashed onto Naiee. He choked, water cascading through his half open mouth and filling his lungs. He gasped and strained against the hands that held him pinned. He began to panic. So much water. He couldn't swim. The world began to go black. He couldn't swim...
.
He couldn't swim. He thrashed against the surface of the river, the waves pushing him under and tossing his body around like a toy.
"NAIEE! HOLD ON! I'M COMING!" Naia cried. He was on the other side of the natural rock wall that split the river in half.
Naiee gasped for air. He was panicking, like he always did in water, his arms flailed and his legs kicked in a pathetic attempt to tread water.
"NAIA!" Naiee cried. "NAI-" a wave smashed into him, filling his throat with foul tasting water. He coughed and sputtered, frantically trying to get the water out of his system.
And then he was falling. The river had turned into a waterfall.
"NAIA!" Naiee screamed. He spotted a small outcrop in the surrounding stone walls.
Naiee grabbed the ledge mid fall and pulled himself up. His legs dangled off the outcrop as he lay belly up on the ledge. He breathed in shaky breaths, allowing himself to calm down.
He heard approaching footsteps. Naia was coming. He was coming. He was going to save Naiee like he always did...
.
"Naiee!" Hiro shouted. He was shaking him."Naiee!"
Naiee sat up, coughing. His whole body was soaked.
"What...happened...?" He groaned. He coughed up more water. He noticed his arm was bruised, and his mouth tasted of blood.
"Well, that leader guy doused you in water. He had four buckets, and after the second, you just went unconscious. The twins dropped you, and they started kicking you, and then, once you were really bloody, this ghost dude or something showed up and fought them all off. He kept saying 'Stay away from my brother' over and over again."
Naia. He always came through.
"That...was my...brother." Naiee said. "Naia."
"Your brother is awesome. My brother never saves me in ghost form." Hiro's expression fell into sadness.
Naiee didn't know how to respond to that. He instead staggered to his feet, and helped Hiro up.
"Come on. The Healer should be able to fix us up." Naiee said. He pointed to the cabin on the other side of the river."
"Awesome. Aunt Cass is going to kill me." Hiro muttered. The two staggered towards the cabin.
