Day in the Life Of...
The world is a vast place. Any human could testify to that. And in the vast world of Medius, primary populated by humans, lived a significant number of creatures. Though, from a human standpoint, only one could hold close to the variety of humans and that was the race of the Jakkai. Furred creatures that would be lucky to break three feet in height at most, the Jakkai were secluded in many villages scattered throughout the world over. Though they lived separate from humans, the two races generally got along rather well. Some Jakkai lived among humans in their towns and cities. Jakkai could even adapt to live in a variety of different climates and places.
Even with an Angel and Demon.
Such was the case for one Rhea Snaketail, her surname coming from the longer than average tail that she possessed. Since her death and rebirth, Rhea lived in somewhat quiet seclusion with her two friends, Buwaro Elexion the Fire Demon, and Kieri Suizahn the Angel. The phrase 'quiet seclusion' being relative as though they didn't live in a town, they did live close enough to one in order to gather supplies as needed. Still, for the most part, it was a peaceful existence. Still, that didn't mean that the occasional everyday adventure didn't pop up now and again.
"You've got to be kidding me. How much?"
"My price stands firm."
"No one in their right mind would pay that much."
"I can assure you, miss Jakkai, that it is made from only the highest, finest quality materials that can be found in Fragaria. Surely, the price is more than reasonable for-,"
"It's a damned chair! I don't care what kind of wood it's made of, it's still just a chair!"
Rhea and the shopkeeper stared each other down, neither one willing to break away. In fact, the only reason Rhea had come by to this shop in particular was because of Buwaro.
The Jakkai had always known that sooner or later, something had to give under Buwaro's dense, and often times, infuriating nature. Rhea was only surprised that the chair turned out to be the first thing. It had started that morning at breakfast, when Kieri was attempting to get some ill-placed strawberry jam down to enjoy with her toast. Of course it was just out of her reach, but she was unsure of summoning her wings and using them to fly up in such a cramped space. That was when Buwaro, trying to be the perfect gentleman, offered to get it for her and brought a chair up to get him some added height, claiming it was just like climbing up to visit Sakido back in Hell.
Except cliff walls didn't suddenly just collapse under his weight.
The end result was a broken chair, a jam-covered Buwaro, and a trip into town after Rhea complained to the purple-furred demon for about ten minutes. Currently, the demon and angel were at the Trouble Center, their reputation as the 'costumed duo' that liked to help people ensuring that no one would be suspicious of them. This left Rhea to her own devices, to which she was more than happy about. It gave her time, and the space she needed, to bargain with the shopkeeper.
"I can lower it to this much if you want," the shopkeeper had said, trying to get her to buy.
"That's still a rip-off."
"The quality of the product in question-,"
"It's made of wood and people sit on it. Do you really think I'm concerned in any way about the quality," Rhea deadpanned. Both stared each other down again. It was looking to Rhea that things might start having to turn ugly when the shop's bell rang, signaling the entrance of some new customers.
"Hey Rhea," came the voice of the overly-cheerful Buwaro. He was followed closely by Kieri, who was holding Buwaro's ever-constant pet rock Thadius. Rhea couldn't help but notice that they were holding hands.
"Oh, hey Buwaro," Rhea said, knowing that her illusion of being a completely bad-ass bargain hunter would be shattered soon. She knew she would have to make her move soon in order to close this deal.
"You know each other," the shopkeeper asked, as Buwaro picked up a picture frame. He held it up to his face and started to make a few ridiculous looking faces through it, which caused Kieri to giggle with amusement.
"Uh, yeah..."
"Rhea's my bestest friend ever," Buwaro said happily.
"Well, this is certainly a surprise. Well, then if you two are indeed friends... I seem to recall there is a store discount we can put on certain purchases..." Rhea blinked a few times, and couldn't believe her luck. Well, what do you know, Buwaro is useful after all... she thought to herself. Undoubtedly, it was the duo's reputation that she was riding on, but Rhea would go with it if it meant getting a discount.
"Hey Buwaro, come help me with this!"
"Ok Rhea," Buwaro said as the shopkeeper rang up the total and Rhea paid him. Taking Buwaro's pet rock Thadius from Kieri by her tail, Buwaro lifted up the chair easily.
"Come again," The shopkeeper called after then as Kieri waved goodbye to him for the three of them.
As they made their way through town, they passed by a few shops and small homes. Buwaro was looking every which way, completely engrossed by his surroundings. No matter how many times they came into town, Buwaro treated it as if it were his first time being there. Rhea could never understand where all his energy came from.
"Um, Rhea?" The Jakkai turned her head to see Kieri. "I was wondering... um, I wanted to buy a new sweater today, and I was hoping that you could help me out with picking one out."
"Really? Well, I guess so... It's not like we have a lot to do today anyway." Kieri smiled, while Buwaro was too busy looking over a toy store to really pay attention to the conversation. "It's not like you needed to ask though. You're a big girl after all."
"I know... but I wanted to make sure that you weren't busy, or-."
"Hey, I understand," Rhea said dismissing it. She knew that Kieri held a certain respect for the Jakkai, admiring her attitude in that Rhea wouldn't hesitate to act on certain issues, barring a few instances. Truth to be told, Rhea had a hunch that Kieri wished she could be a bit more assertive in some aspects of her life, especially those involving a certain purple-furred Fire Demon. "Anyway we should-," but her sentence was stopped, when she noticed that Buwaro was no longer following them, the chair having been left on the ground and Thadius no longer being supported by her tail.
Rhea was instantly off, Kieri picking up the chair as she followed her into a nearby store. Inside were a vast variety of toys for kids to play with. "Great. I can't lose him for a second..."
"Rhea!" Buwaro came bounding from underneath a pile of stuffed animals, holding Thadius with one hand, and in the other... "Hey Rhea, can we buy this? Please, please, please, please, please?" The object in question was a fluffy white plushy in the shape of a bunny. Rhea took hold of it, looking it over.
"This does kind of look like you..."
Kieri looked slightly worrisome that her curse could be comparable to a stuffed bunny, at least until Buwaro took it back and began hugging it tightly. "Yup! It reminds me of Snowy! And Thadius won't be lonely in case I can't play with her. So can we get this? Please?"
"Ok, ok," Rhea said, trying to calm the hyper-active demon down. "Just one thing."
"Ow!"
"Don't go running off by yourself like that again! It's dangerous," Rhea scolded as Buwaro rubbed the spot on his head that she had hit. As the female Jakkai went to pay for the stuffed bunny, Buwaro took the opportunity to give both Kieri and the bunny a hug ("Double Snowy hug!") before introducing the bunny to Thadius. Kieri gave a sigh of acceptance, knowing that Buwaro meant nothing but the fact that the white bunny reminded him of her. And, in her own eyes, it did sort of look like her while in her snow-bunny form.
Once they were back on track, Rhea lead the two of them to the nearest clothing store, where they spent the next few minutes having Kieri try on some sweaters and scarves, hoping to find something to help her keep warm in the upcoming winter. In the end, she chose a green scarf and light blue sweater, with a pair of purple mittens, while Rhea had to force Buwaro out of, and she couldn't believe how he had managed to fit into it in the first place, a pink dress with white, lacy frills all over the cuffs and ends ("It made me feel pretty...").
Glad to finished with their required shopping, Rhea was looking forward to heading back to the house the three of them called home, perhaps even enjoy a nice glass of juice or a cup of tea. Of course, Fate, in the form of a hyper-active, purple-furred fire demon, had other ideas. "Hey Rhea! What's a 'fort-tunes'?"
"Wha-? Where did you hear that?"
"Over there," Buwaro pointed, to a small stand. It consisted of nothing more than an ordinary table with a white cloth draped over it, with a sign next to it that read 'Have your fortunes told here'.
"Those are called 'fortunes'. It's just people faking that they can see the future or something like that. We shouldn't-," but Rhea's explaination was cut short by Buwaro dragging Kieri over to the stand ("B-b-Buwaro! Not so fast!")
Rhea followed the pair, noticing the small stack of cards sitting on the table. The man behind it was wearing a lavender robe and had his hair pulled back into a ponytail. "Hey! Is it true you can see the future," Buwaro asked.
"Ah, a customer! Well, not just the future, but the past and present as well! All can be revealed to you..."
"Yeah no," Rhea said attempting to drag Buwaro back. "No way we are going to fall for this scam."
"Oh? Not interested? It will even be free of charge."
"It probably wouldn't hurt Rhea," Kieri said reasonably. "We might find out something important."
"Ugh. Fine." The man smiled and took the stack of cards, shuffling them around. Every so often he would pull out a card and lay it before one of the trio. He continued to do this randomly, until each of the three had three cards before them.
"Now the lovely Angel first, yes?"
"How did-?"
"Oh," the man said, interrupting Kieri's surprise. "I am a fortune-teller. It would be bad for business if I couldn't at least identify who my clients are. Though I won't speak of it anymore." He pulled up the three cards in front of Kieri and studied the first card intently. "Your past speaks to me. A heavy burden placed on your shoulders. A level of responsibility one so young should not bear." The three looked to each other, nervously. Kieri didn't speak too much about her life in heaven, but from what Rhea could tell, it wasn't the easiest of lifestyles. The man took the card in his other hand and almost instantly, the card shredded itself.
"Whoa!"
"Ah!"
"Wow!"
The fortune-teller smiled and focused on the second card. "The surroundings speak to me. Your heart is conflicted. You are torn between two sets of ideals. Only one can prevail in the end." Once again the card was shredded and he focused on the final card. "Time unveils for me. I see a 'Great Trial' in your future. I see many shadows assisting you, but ultimately your success or failure will depend on you alone."
"What, that's all you can see," Rhea asked skeptically while Kieri looked worried.
"The future is hardly ever certain. Even those as myself can only ever see small glimpses of the future. But, perhaps you would love to be next, miss Jakkai?" He took up Rhea's cards and held them up. "Your past speaks to me. Two hearts were placed. One of selfish desires, another of righteousness. One had weighted heavier on you than the other, and for that you have faced judgment." Rhea shifted slightly, knowing that it was just such 'judgment' that had placed her in the Ring of the Slightly Damned.
"The surroundings speak to me. You have a strong will. Despite your hardships in life, it has not deterred you from remaining true to yourself," he said while holding the second card and held up the third card. "Time unveils for me. I see a looming shadow. You are 'the Hunted' who escaped. The shadow is 'the Hunter'. You should beware." Rhea crossed her arms in doubt. If that was his best, then she had him beat already. The whole Lazuli incident was proof of that.
Then, without warning, a cold chill crept up her spine as a single word penetrated her thoughts. 'Rynn'. No way... it can't be that.
"Me next, me next," Buwaro shouted cheerfully.
"Yes, yes. You next." He held up the first of Buwaro's cards. "Your pas-," but he stopped midway, a frown appearing on his face. "How odd."
"What, what" Buwaro said excitedly, his tail wagging around.
"It's strange. Your past, all I'm getting is a big blank. It's like there was nothing ever there."
"Aw. " Disappointment was written all over Buwaro's face.
"Nothing at all then," Rhea said, a smirk of victory on her features. Figures the simpleton would expose the 'supposed psychic'.
"No. Strange, there are very few things that escape my sight. Anyway, let's continue." He held up the second card. "The surroundings speak to me. An innocence is slowly being unfurled. A corruption threatens to tear you, yet there are those who act as 'gates' to control the flow." Rhea and Kieri exchanged glances with one another. "Time unveils for me." Then, without warning, the card in his hand caught fire, everyone falling back as the fortune-teller let go and watched the card shrivel up into nothingness.
"What in Gaia's name just happened," Rhea shouted.
"It wasn't me," Buwaro said, trying to defend himself.
"That... has never happened before. All I saw was some large figure. Nothing else." The man got up and straightened himself. "Sorry about that. But yes, those were your fortunes."
"Oh please," Rhea said as Buwaro helped Kieri up. "I didn't believe any of that for a second."
"Ah well, if you want I can give you a more accurate fortune. If you turn around now, you will become angry."
"What? Why would turning around-," Rhea started as she turned her head. She stopped seeing what was wrong. In Buwaro's haste to see the fortune-teller, they had left everything behind, the chair, Buwaro's stuffed animal, Thadius, and Kieri's new clothes. All of which were currently being stolen by someone. "HEY! Get the Hell away from our stuff," Rhea said charging at the surprised would-be robber who proceeded to try and escape.
"Huh? Oh no! Hold on Thadius and Mini-Snowy! I'll save you," Buwaro said following the Jakkai.
Kieri gave a sigh before pausing a moment to give a short bow. "Excuse us. Thank you for your time!" And with that, she hurried after her friends.
The fortune-teller looked surprised before relaxing. "Ah, what a strange group those three are. But, it should be fun. Fortunes are nice but the future is always best to experience, one step at a time. Perhaps I'll just watch. Just a little more..."
A/N: And that's all I got folks! Three chapters, one for each of the Main Trio, was all I wrote. Thanks for reading this far. Did you like? Have fun? Let me know!
