Author's notes: I decided to play Skies of Arcadia after having last played it approximately a year ago. As luck would have it, my Dreamcast in the meantime felt the need to break. So to cope with the withdrawal symptoms, I started to write this. Due to the length of time between the last time I played the game and now, some characterizations may be off, or certain characters may be on Crescent Isle without explanation when the game's epilogue may say otherwise. This is not intentional and if anyone sees a mistake along these lines, I'd appreciate it if you'd drop me a line either in the guestbook or by email. Thank you and enjoy!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1:
Startled, the girl dropped the picture frame. It hit the wooden floor of her cabin with a crash, shards of glass spraying towards her bare feet. She let out a yelp as she spun to face the doorway and her intruder.
"Pow!" she gasped. "You scared me!"
The purple-gray huskra barked again and scampered towards her.
"Hang on a second, buddy." she laughed lightly. "There's glass all over the place and I don't want your little paws getting hurt. I'm such a klutz!"
She bent down and scooped the huskra up into her arms. Pow nuzzled his cold nose against her neck as she scratched his ears. She placed him on her bed.
She shook her head. "And here I was going to pack this last so it wouldn't get broke."
She crouched in front of the ruined frame. With a careful flick of her fingers, she brushed away stray glass. A drop of blood formed around the tip of her ring finger, a glistening red jewel. She extracted the picture from the destroyed frame and joined Pow on the bed. The huskra wagged his tail.
"Yes, Pow, I'm packing." she said. "Don't worry. It's not you. It's just… everything, really."
The huskra propped his head on her lap. She began to stroke his head absentmindedly.
"It was loads of fun in the beginning." She sighed. "We were all adventurers, Blue Rogues, best friends. But I got stupid. Selfish, really. I thought I could have more than that. I should have realized that I was intruding on something that was much greater."
Pow began to whimper quietly. She pulled him up into her arms.
"No, it's nothing like that, Pow." she assured. "They tried to include me, they really did. It's not their fault. It's just that I'm not needed anymore."
She giggled as the first tear escaped her eye. The huskra propped his front paws against her chest so that he could lap at her salt tears.
"They deserve one another." she insisted. "Really. She's so beautiful and sweet and caring and kind. And he deserves the best. They'll have gorgeous babies together with their mommy's eyes and their daddy's smile. Really."
She wiped the last of her tears away with the back of her hand and pushed the huskra off her lap. She reached under her bed and pulled out her boots.
"So you understand why I have to leave now, right Pow?" She slid her feet into the boots. "Crescent Isle is such a happy place. I don't want to wreck things."
Pow barked, his tail wagging fiercely.
"What's that, Pow?" The girl's face lit up.
The huskra barked again.
"You want to come with me?" she asked.
The huskra yipped. She looked at the picture one last time before placing it inside her meager sack of belongings.
She smiled. "Well, let's head out before anyone tries to stop us and change our minds!"