Chapter 3: Termina
The next morning, Mikau reluctantly walked out of his bedroom and into the living room. He slowly peeked around the corner to see if his mother was there waiting for him. Luckily, Lynisana was still in her room, sleeping.
Quietly sneaking out of the cave, Mikau swam to the spot where he usually met Jabu Jabu Jr. He glanced around.
"Jabu! Where are you?" Mikau yelled into the bare land.
Suddenly, a dot appeared in the horizon. Slowly, the dot grew bigger.
"Squeeee!" Jabu Jabu Jr. yelled happily as he swam toward his friend.
The two lonely souls embraced in the middle of nowhere. Mikau laughed as Jabu Jabu Jr. tickled his stomach with his whiskers. Mikau tackled the giant fish playfully. An all-out wrestling began. After a while, both younglings stopped to catch their breath. Mikau sat on the dusty ocean floor as Jabu Jabu Jr. floated gently down beside his friend.
"Listen. I... I have to go," Mikau said hesitantly after a moment of silence.
"Squee?"
"I... my mom wants me to leave this place. I don't know if I can see you anymore."
Saddened by the news, Jabu Jabu Jr. slumped against Mikau's bare shoulder *(1). His tail hovered lifelessly. The young Zoran Hero softly stroked the fish's scaly back.
"I am sorry." Tears began to form around his eyes.
"Squeee..."
The ocean sky began to brighten up as daylight bathed the underwater world. Mikau sat with his friend for a long time. He and Jabu stared at the scenery in front of them. A few fish swam in the distant. A few ocean plants wavered slowly in the currents. Rocks on the seabed glistened as the filtered sunlight shone upon them.
Occasionally, Mikau would point toward the horizon to show Jabu Jabu Jr. an interesting specimen that was swimming around. Jabu would reply with a weak squeak or so.
"Don't worry. I will still visit you whenever I can. It's just that I won't be around much anymore," Mikau lied to his friend as he started to get up from the floor.
"Squeeeeeeeee..." Jabu Jabu nudged the Zoran Hero's silver chest.
Mikau laughed again. He grabbed the giant fish and gave it a big hug. Tears had finally found their way out of the giant blue eyes.
"Goodbye. I will miss you."
Glancing back for the last time, Mikau swam back to his home where preparations of moving were on their way. His mother should be packing up right now. Jabu Jabu Jr. watched the retreating back as it disappeared into the blueness of the water. He hovered, not moving at all. He was going to be lonely again...
* * *
"You ready?" Lynisana asked as she checked the cave for one last time to see if they had left out anything.
Mikau nodded silently as he grabbed the rope. One end of the rope was secured around fourth giant bubbles. Mikau tied the other end of the rope around his waist. He gave it a tug to send the spheres floating toward him. Although young in age, Mikau was surprisingly strong. This was one of the Zoran Hero's traits.
"I am sorry that you have to leave your friend like this. Did Jabu Jabu Jr's father meet you?" Lynisana asked sorrowfully.
"No. Jabu Jabu didn't come. Only his son did."
Heading out toward the door, Mikau didn't say anything. Sighing, Lynisana followed.
* * *
Traveling around the Chaotic Rim was tough. Predators were lurking around everywhere. Lynisana had to glance left and right to avoid being ambushed. Mikau just stared in a straight line like a zombie. He didn't have a friend now. He had left his only friend and for what? To get educated? Screw the education! He didn't want to be alone!
"Mikau, are you okay?" Lynisana asked when she saw that her son wasn't responding to her previous comments.
"Am I okay? Do I look like I am okay? Do I act like I am okay?" Mikau muttered as he swam forward.
Lynisana sighed. "Mikau, don't do this to me. You know as well as I do that we can't stay there forever."
Not replying, the Zoran Hero continued kicking his legs hard. Fins on his arms sliced through the water. Lynisana had to swim double the effort in order to keep up to her son's superior speed.
Finally, noon came.
Mikau had caught a fresh salmon a few miles away from their resting place. He brought the meal back to his mom. They were in a place where boulders and reefs stood up like statues. It was the safest place. The rest were open space. Using his blade to cut the fish in half, MIkau took a piece and started to chew. Lynisana stared him in deep thought. The young Zoran Hero avoided his mom's gaze.
"I am not hungry. You want my share of the food?" she offered as she pushed the salmon meat away from her.
Mikau stopped eating. He gulped and laid his food beside him. He looked up into his mother's eyes. "Just because I don't want to talk that doesn't mean you have to give up your food."
"No, you got it all wrong. I seriously-"
"Look. I am tired, frustrated, angry, and most of all, hurt. So stop giving me those bullshits about how you cared for me and everything."
"Mikau!" Lynisana yelled with rage. "How dare you speak to me like that? Why, I've never..."
"We should get going. Finish up your lunch."
Without looking back, Mikau swam out of the rock pillars and headed for their belongings. Lynisana sat there in silence. What had she done? Had she destroyed Mikau's life because of her decision? Because of her decision to seperate Mikau from his only friends? Mikau seemed as if... as if living was pointless right now...
* * *
The outline of Termina City could be seen faintly. Mikau and Lynisana were tired to the bone as they swam slowly. Termina City was actually in an enormous cavern. Outside, there were guards patrolling the area.
"Let me do the talking all right?" Lynisana said as she came to a guard.
"What do you want?" the muscular Zora male asked as he pointed his spear toward the stranger.
"We are moving into Termina. Could we get in?"
"Name?"
"Lynisana Loencraft and my son, Mikau Loencraft."
Taking the documents away from her hands, the guard swam away and talked to his partner further back. After a while, he came back.
"It looks okay. Go in from gate three. Don't make any troubles," he said as he looked at Mikau and his arm blades. "Are those weapons?"
"No. I got these the day that I had transformed from Zora Tadpole and into a Zoran Hero," Mikau snapped. His mother grabbed his shoulder.
"Zoran Hero eh? So you are not a true bred Zora, am I correct?" the guard sneered.
"What do you care?" Mikau retorted.
"Mikau..." Lynisana said nervously.
"Tough words from a little kid like you. Better not let me catch you wandering around in the city. Otherwise I might mistake you as a shark and kill you," the Zora threatened as he turned away.
Glaring, Mikau headed toward gate number three. The bubbles, as usual, trailing behind closely. Sighing a relief, Lynisana swam after her son quickly.
The streets in Termina were beautiful. One thing that had attracted Mikau's attention was the light coming from the ceiling of the massive cave. There were holes drilled into the solid rocks and florescent fish were being placed there *(2). The fish gave off this soft orange light that could hypnotize people. The light lit up the place efficiently. Even though Zoras didn't usually need any stepping pathways since they could swim in the water, but there were stones being cut into various sizes and shapes to make a unique walkway. Stores were opened on the side of the roads. Plants from remote destinations were being planted around the buildings to form a beautiful picture. Currents had made those many-colored leaves trembling around as if they were dancing.
Although she had been in Termina before, but even Lynisana had to gasp at the environment. Why, it was such a wonderful place.
There were many Zoras moving to and fro. Some had to get to work, and others had to go to schools that were located around the area. Many of them did not notice two new strangers swimming among them. But some did. And those that did see the aliens quickly swam away as they saw Mikau's arm blades. 'Rolling' his eyes, the Zoran Hero continued pushing through the crowds. Those that got pushed were surprised at the little boy's strength. What was even more surprising was that the part where the blades had touched was bleeding slightly.
"Mikau, contract your fins," Lynisana said when she saw angry glances directing toward them. She called those arm blades 'fins'. She didn't want to think that they were weapons. Instead, she saw them as a tool that could help navigating around the water more easily.
Grumbling, Mikau did what he was told.
After a few more minutes of shoving around, cursing, yelling, and apologizing, the two Zoras *(3) had found their new home. Opening the door, Lynisana went in first. After checking to see that everything was all right, she motioned Mikau to come in. Opening a jar containing florescent fish, Lynisana lit up the house by placing the fish into holes near the top of the walls in every room. The place was nearly empty. Only a few old furniture were lingering here and there in a few spots. Mikau released the rope from his waist. A rope mark was on his silver rubbery skin. The bubbles slowly drifted down and bounced on the floor a few times before settling down to a stop.
"Well, what do you think of our new home?" Lynisana asked as she came into the living room to help Mikau unpack.
"It's fine."
"After we unpack, I will bring you to one of the schools okay?"
"Yeah."
They didn't say anything else after while they worked. Realigning the chairs and the tables, and putting their stuff into different rooms had taken up most of their time. By the time that they had finished the work, it was already afternoon, around four o'clock.
Lynisana sighed as she finished a cup of algae, her favorite drink. "Alright then! Let's go."
Mikau swam out the door and Lynisana locked the house using fish bone lock and fish bone key.
"Where do we go?" Mikau asked.
"We will go to the nearest Elementary School first. Then if they don't accept you, which I doubt it, then we will go to another school that is further away from home."
The young Zoran Hero eyed his mom suspiciously. "How did you know how far the schools are away from us? And how did you know where the schools are located?"
Lynisana smiled. "I came here a few times last year. Also, I came here for our honeymoon with your dad."
Mikau watched as Lynisana gracefully took the lead. A few ordinary Zoras quickly moved away to avoid collision as she came dangerously close to them. Mikau wondered if he had been too hard on his mother. After all, she did care for him and love him for many years up till now. Just because she thought getting an education for him was a good idea, and had accidentally taken him away from his only friends, that didn't mean she hated him or something like that.
Shaking his small head, he headed toward the registration office with his mom.
~End Chapter 3~
-------------------------------------------------
:::[NOTE]:::
(1) Zoran Heroes don't wear any clothing, and same thing applies to the other normal Zoras. However, some females Zoras do wear some clothes to hide their more private spots as in an act of modesty.
(2) The florescent fish could live without food for a long time. And with the way they glow, they make a perfect lighting source in Termina. Orange colored light, isn't that beautiful?
(3) Zoran Heroes are Zoras. But since their appearances and characteristics are different than the average Zoras, that's why they have a different name. So instead of calling themselves Zoras, they call themselves Zoran Heroes to avoid confusion. Are you confused right now? :D
-------------------------------------------------
Author's Note: This chapter took longer time to revise simply because I wrote it over again in a totally new plot. So readers couldn't see the original story in here. I don't think that I need to talk more than necessary here. So... stay tuned for chapter 4!
The next morning, Mikau reluctantly walked out of his bedroom and into the living room. He slowly peeked around the corner to see if his mother was there waiting for him. Luckily, Lynisana was still in her room, sleeping.
Quietly sneaking out of the cave, Mikau swam to the spot where he usually met Jabu Jabu Jr. He glanced around.
"Jabu! Where are you?" Mikau yelled into the bare land.
Suddenly, a dot appeared in the horizon. Slowly, the dot grew bigger.
"Squeeee!" Jabu Jabu Jr. yelled happily as he swam toward his friend.
The two lonely souls embraced in the middle of nowhere. Mikau laughed as Jabu Jabu Jr. tickled his stomach with his whiskers. Mikau tackled the giant fish playfully. An all-out wrestling began. After a while, both younglings stopped to catch their breath. Mikau sat on the dusty ocean floor as Jabu Jabu Jr. floated gently down beside his friend.
"Listen. I... I have to go," Mikau said hesitantly after a moment of silence.
"Squee?"
"I... my mom wants me to leave this place. I don't know if I can see you anymore."
Saddened by the news, Jabu Jabu Jr. slumped against Mikau's bare shoulder *(1). His tail hovered lifelessly. The young Zoran Hero softly stroked the fish's scaly back.
"I am sorry." Tears began to form around his eyes.
"Squeee..."
The ocean sky began to brighten up as daylight bathed the underwater world. Mikau sat with his friend for a long time. He and Jabu stared at the scenery in front of them. A few fish swam in the distant. A few ocean plants wavered slowly in the currents. Rocks on the seabed glistened as the filtered sunlight shone upon them.
Occasionally, Mikau would point toward the horizon to show Jabu Jabu Jr. an interesting specimen that was swimming around. Jabu would reply with a weak squeak or so.
"Don't worry. I will still visit you whenever I can. It's just that I won't be around much anymore," Mikau lied to his friend as he started to get up from the floor.
"Squeeeeeeeee..." Jabu Jabu nudged the Zoran Hero's silver chest.
Mikau laughed again. He grabbed the giant fish and gave it a big hug. Tears had finally found their way out of the giant blue eyes.
"Goodbye. I will miss you."
Glancing back for the last time, Mikau swam back to his home where preparations of moving were on their way. His mother should be packing up right now. Jabu Jabu Jr. watched the retreating back as it disappeared into the blueness of the water. He hovered, not moving at all. He was going to be lonely again...
* * *
"You ready?" Lynisana asked as she checked the cave for one last time to see if they had left out anything.
Mikau nodded silently as he grabbed the rope. One end of the rope was secured around fourth giant bubbles. Mikau tied the other end of the rope around his waist. He gave it a tug to send the spheres floating toward him. Although young in age, Mikau was surprisingly strong. This was one of the Zoran Hero's traits.
"I am sorry that you have to leave your friend like this. Did Jabu Jabu Jr's father meet you?" Lynisana asked sorrowfully.
"No. Jabu Jabu didn't come. Only his son did."
Heading out toward the door, Mikau didn't say anything. Sighing, Lynisana followed.
* * *
Traveling around the Chaotic Rim was tough. Predators were lurking around everywhere. Lynisana had to glance left and right to avoid being ambushed. Mikau just stared in a straight line like a zombie. He didn't have a friend now. He had left his only friend and for what? To get educated? Screw the education! He didn't want to be alone!
"Mikau, are you okay?" Lynisana asked when she saw that her son wasn't responding to her previous comments.
"Am I okay? Do I look like I am okay? Do I act like I am okay?" Mikau muttered as he swam forward.
Lynisana sighed. "Mikau, don't do this to me. You know as well as I do that we can't stay there forever."
Not replying, the Zoran Hero continued kicking his legs hard. Fins on his arms sliced through the water. Lynisana had to swim double the effort in order to keep up to her son's superior speed.
Finally, noon came.
Mikau had caught a fresh salmon a few miles away from their resting place. He brought the meal back to his mom. They were in a place where boulders and reefs stood up like statues. It was the safest place. The rest were open space. Using his blade to cut the fish in half, MIkau took a piece and started to chew. Lynisana stared him in deep thought. The young Zoran Hero avoided his mom's gaze.
"I am not hungry. You want my share of the food?" she offered as she pushed the salmon meat away from her.
Mikau stopped eating. He gulped and laid his food beside him. He looked up into his mother's eyes. "Just because I don't want to talk that doesn't mean you have to give up your food."
"No, you got it all wrong. I seriously-"
"Look. I am tired, frustrated, angry, and most of all, hurt. So stop giving me those bullshits about how you cared for me and everything."
"Mikau!" Lynisana yelled with rage. "How dare you speak to me like that? Why, I've never..."
"We should get going. Finish up your lunch."
Without looking back, Mikau swam out of the rock pillars and headed for their belongings. Lynisana sat there in silence. What had she done? Had she destroyed Mikau's life because of her decision? Because of her decision to seperate Mikau from his only friends? Mikau seemed as if... as if living was pointless right now...
* * *
The outline of Termina City could be seen faintly. Mikau and Lynisana were tired to the bone as they swam slowly. Termina City was actually in an enormous cavern. Outside, there were guards patrolling the area.
"Let me do the talking all right?" Lynisana said as she came to a guard.
"What do you want?" the muscular Zora male asked as he pointed his spear toward the stranger.
"We are moving into Termina. Could we get in?"
"Name?"
"Lynisana Loencraft and my son, Mikau Loencraft."
Taking the documents away from her hands, the guard swam away and talked to his partner further back. After a while, he came back.
"It looks okay. Go in from gate three. Don't make any troubles," he said as he looked at Mikau and his arm blades. "Are those weapons?"
"No. I got these the day that I had transformed from Zora Tadpole and into a Zoran Hero," Mikau snapped. His mother grabbed his shoulder.
"Zoran Hero eh? So you are not a true bred Zora, am I correct?" the guard sneered.
"What do you care?" Mikau retorted.
"Mikau..." Lynisana said nervously.
"Tough words from a little kid like you. Better not let me catch you wandering around in the city. Otherwise I might mistake you as a shark and kill you," the Zora threatened as he turned away.
Glaring, Mikau headed toward gate number three. The bubbles, as usual, trailing behind closely. Sighing a relief, Lynisana swam after her son quickly.
The streets in Termina were beautiful. One thing that had attracted Mikau's attention was the light coming from the ceiling of the massive cave. There were holes drilled into the solid rocks and florescent fish were being placed there *(2). The fish gave off this soft orange light that could hypnotize people. The light lit up the place efficiently. Even though Zoras didn't usually need any stepping pathways since they could swim in the water, but there were stones being cut into various sizes and shapes to make a unique walkway. Stores were opened on the side of the roads. Plants from remote destinations were being planted around the buildings to form a beautiful picture. Currents had made those many-colored leaves trembling around as if they were dancing.
Although she had been in Termina before, but even Lynisana had to gasp at the environment. Why, it was such a wonderful place.
There were many Zoras moving to and fro. Some had to get to work, and others had to go to schools that were located around the area. Many of them did not notice two new strangers swimming among them. But some did. And those that did see the aliens quickly swam away as they saw Mikau's arm blades. 'Rolling' his eyes, the Zoran Hero continued pushing through the crowds. Those that got pushed were surprised at the little boy's strength. What was even more surprising was that the part where the blades had touched was bleeding slightly.
"Mikau, contract your fins," Lynisana said when she saw angry glances directing toward them. She called those arm blades 'fins'. She didn't want to think that they were weapons. Instead, she saw them as a tool that could help navigating around the water more easily.
Grumbling, Mikau did what he was told.
After a few more minutes of shoving around, cursing, yelling, and apologizing, the two Zoras *(3) had found their new home. Opening the door, Lynisana went in first. After checking to see that everything was all right, she motioned Mikau to come in. Opening a jar containing florescent fish, Lynisana lit up the house by placing the fish into holes near the top of the walls in every room. The place was nearly empty. Only a few old furniture were lingering here and there in a few spots. Mikau released the rope from his waist. A rope mark was on his silver rubbery skin. The bubbles slowly drifted down and bounced on the floor a few times before settling down to a stop.
"Well, what do you think of our new home?" Lynisana asked as she came into the living room to help Mikau unpack.
"It's fine."
"After we unpack, I will bring you to one of the schools okay?"
"Yeah."
They didn't say anything else after while they worked. Realigning the chairs and the tables, and putting their stuff into different rooms had taken up most of their time. By the time that they had finished the work, it was already afternoon, around four o'clock.
Lynisana sighed as she finished a cup of algae, her favorite drink. "Alright then! Let's go."
Mikau swam out the door and Lynisana locked the house using fish bone lock and fish bone key.
"Where do we go?" Mikau asked.
"We will go to the nearest Elementary School first. Then if they don't accept you, which I doubt it, then we will go to another school that is further away from home."
The young Zoran Hero eyed his mom suspiciously. "How did you know how far the schools are away from us? And how did you know where the schools are located?"
Lynisana smiled. "I came here a few times last year. Also, I came here for our honeymoon with your dad."
Mikau watched as Lynisana gracefully took the lead. A few ordinary Zoras quickly moved away to avoid collision as she came dangerously close to them. Mikau wondered if he had been too hard on his mother. After all, she did care for him and love him for many years up till now. Just because she thought getting an education for him was a good idea, and had accidentally taken him away from his only friends, that didn't mean she hated him or something like that.
Shaking his small head, he headed toward the registration office with his mom.
~End Chapter 3~
-------------------------------------------------
:::[NOTE]:::
(1) Zoran Heroes don't wear any clothing, and same thing applies to the other normal Zoras. However, some females Zoras do wear some clothes to hide their more private spots as in an act of modesty.
(2) The florescent fish could live without food for a long time. And with the way they glow, they make a perfect lighting source in Termina. Orange colored light, isn't that beautiful?
(3) Zoran Heroes are Zoras. But since their appearances and characteristics are different than the average Zoras, that's why they have a different name. So instead of calling themselves Zoras, they call themselves Zoran Heroes to avoid confusion. Are you confused right now? :D
-------------------------------------------------
Author's Note: This chapter took longer time to revise simply because I wrote it over again in a totally new plot. So readers couldn't see the original story in here. I don't think that I need to talk more than necessary here. So... stay tuned for chapter 4!