Disclaimer: She does not own Ni No Kuni.
Swaine smirked. "Why are you so worried, are you in love?"
Esther glared at him evilly. Drippy snickered and hopped up to grab one of Rashaad's babanas.
"Just because you're one of us doesn't mean you don't need to pay for that," Esther told him.
Drippy sighed and put the babana down. He did not have any money to pay for the babana.
"Where is he? Is he okay?" Esther asked, looking around.
Then, just as if on cue, a flash of light blinded the three, revealing a fourteen year old boy. He wore a blue tunic with a brown belt around his waist, white trousers, brown shoes, a red cape, and a necklace around his neck.
"Oliver!" Esther and Swaine called in unison.
"Ollie-boy!" Drippy called as well.
"Mr. Drippy! Esther! Swaine!" Oliver called out.
Oliver stepped forward and smiled. Esther and Drippy rushed to him and embraced him in their arms (this was a bit hard for Drippy, as his arms were incredibly short). Oliver, slightly shocked, hugged the two back. Esther turned her head to look at Swaine.
"Come on, Swaine," she urged.
"I'm perfectly fine right here, thank you!" he responded, but Drippy and Esther pulled him to Oliver for a big group hug.
With Oliver in the middle of the hug, Esther and Drippy squeezed Swaine especially hard just so he would not break away. After the hug, they talked about Oliver's life in his world.
"Oh!" Esther remembered. "Here, Oliver, a present." She turned to the babana stand. "Dad! Oliver's here!"
Oliver gasped. "Neato!" He placed the gift in his bag.
Drippy turned to Oliver. "Hey, do you have any guilders? I want a babana but apparently there's no discount for us friends of Esther."
Oliver handed a few guilders to Drippy and the fairy put the guilders in a box and grabbed a babana.
Rashaad appeared from behind a curtain of cloth and smiled widely. He joined the four and made conversation.
"Oliver, was everything alright in your world?" Rashaad asked.
"Um," Oliver hesitated, "Everything was great! I missed you guys, though!"
"'Course you missed us! 'Specially me!" Drippy said.
"I think he missed us all equally," Esther crossed her arms while glaring at Drippy.
"Hey, so what are we going to do?" Swaine asked the other three.
"Um, bounty hunts?" Esther asked.
"Nah, I'd like something a bit more adventurous, mun," Drippy shook his head causing his nose lantern to shake.
"We could go see if we can dig up that cave on Old Smoky," Swaine offered.
"That's sounds like a plan!" Drippy said.
"I'm tired of staying in hot weather, it's all I've been through for the past year," Esther told them.
"You want us to go to the Winter Isles, then?" Swaine asked half jokingly.
"Actually," Esther sad, "that sounds like a great idea!"
"We could try finding a hidden passage in the Glittering Grotto!" Drippy piped.
"I was just joking-"
"What do you think, Oliver?" Esther asked.
Oliver thought for a moment. "I like it, let's do it."
"I said I was just joking. . . ." Swaine said.
"Well, it's three against one. We're going to the Winter Isles!" Esther said.
"I don't like the cold, it's so . . . cold," Swaine complained.
"Then, you shouldn't have given us the idea, eh?" Drippy grinned.
Swaine sighed as the other three went off to the town entrance.
"Tengri, it's been a long time!" Oliver patted the dragon's muzzle.
The dragon roared and wagged his tail like a dog.
"We better move or he's going to hit us with his tail," Swaine observed.
"Right," Oliver responded.
Oliver, Swaine, Esther, and Drippy hopped up onto Tengri's back.
"Tengri, we're going to the Winter Isles. It's northwest from here," Oliver instructed.
Tengri roared in response and jetted towards the Winter Isles.
"Here," Oliver said, handing the others' winter coats, mittens, and boots.
"Thanks," Swaine and Drippy said.
"Thank you," Esther said.
After a conversation (or argument, depending on whom you ask) about familiars, they spotted the Winter Isles.
"Put on youer stuff, everybody," Drippy commanded.
Everyone slipped on their coats, mittens, and boots. Swaine swung the hood over his head while his teeth started to chatter.
Tengri descended and the four jumped off his back.
"Bye, Tengri! See you soon!" Oliver waved good-bye as Tengri flew back up.
"Time to find that secret passage, everyone," Drippy said.
"Okay, time to go!" Oliver smiled.
"Is it just me or is it colder than usual?" Swaine asked.
"Stop fooling around, it's not any colder than the first time we went here," Esther sighed.
"Are you sure?" Swaine asked. "It definitely seems colder than usual."
"Probably because you spent two flipping days on Old Smoky right before this," Drippy told him.
"You were there, too!" Swaine yelled.
"We fairies don't get very hot. Cold; yes. Hot; no." Drippy explained.
"Well, it's still cold," Swaine huffed.
"Before we go to Glittering Grotto, I want to go to Yule first," Oliver announced.
"Alright, we'll go. Plus, that means Swaine can heat himself in front of a fire and be quiet," Esther said.
"No one's outside," Oliver remarked.
"Did something happen?" Esther asked.
"Most likely," Swaine answered.
"What do you think happened?" Oliver asked as they continued walking.
"Do you think they evacuated?" Esther questioned.
"Maybe I was right, and everyone left because it was too cold," Swaine reckoned.
"That's your opinion! Stop being such a baby!" Esther yelled.
"Most of these people lived here for their whole lives, like they would evacuate because it's too cold," Drippy rolled his eyes.
"I don't think they evacuated," Oliver quipped.
"What?" the others asked simultaneously.
"If they evacuated, why is there someone moving in that house?" Oliver asked.
Everyone saw a woman in the nearby house moving around. The house's door burst open and a seven year old child ran out the door excitedly.
"Wait for me!" she shouted.
"Me too!" another seven year old girl shouted from the door.
"Wait for your brothers, you two!" their mother ordered.
"Hurry up!" the two girls shouted at their brothers.
"We're coming," the two brothers said.
The brothers ran out the door and caught up to their two sisters.
"Hurry! Daddy's already there!" the twin girls shouted at their mother.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," the mother said.
The mother walked out the door and caught up to her children. She smiled as the four kids ran out of the town excitedly.
"What's going on?" Oliver asked the woman.
"Oh, there's a ship!" the woman replied.
"A . . ." Esther said.
"Ship?" Swaine asked.
"Not to hurt anyone's feelings, but . . . how's a ship so exciting?!" Drippy asked. "I mean, all it does is float on water and get across large bodies of water! Nothing exciting!"
The woman giggled. "Oh, sorry, it's not just any old ship."
"It isn't?" Oliver asked.
The woman's eyes sparkled. "It flies."
AN: Okay, first things first, I actually do not know what Esther's present should be so that's why I didn't tell you what it was. . . .
And I will restrain from making Peter Pan references and puns but that does not mean Oliver will restrain from doing it as well . . . which means Oliver can call Drippy "Tinker Bell" but apparently Oliver is too nice to do that.
Any way . . . hope you enjoyed that! Please review and you can read more about Oliver's new journey in "Chapter 3: The Flying Ship" next time. :)