Chapter Seven: Fire Under The Silvery Moon
Onto the bridge of rainbow-coloured platforms, the group of travelers jumped quickly and searched for any signs of the treasure hunters. However, there was no flick of their hair or a flash of a demonic grin. Not even a brush of their clothes or a twinkle of the tiara. They were already gone like the wind.
"Looks like those two got away," Mint remarked with disappointment.
"Well, if a certain somebody didn't lied to us, then we wouldn't have lost that tiara," Aurora scorned.
"Hey, it's not my fault it was stolen!" Mint shouted defensively.
"Oh, sure, keeping it to yourself for your big head wasn't your fault!"
"Well, if someone ran a bit faster, maybe we could have caught up with those two!"
"Oh, and I suppose you're saying it's my fault then, huh!?"
"Maybe I am!"
Lighting sparked between their eyes as their rivalry flame ignited. A sweat tinkled down Fiona's furry cheek.
"Were they like this when they first met?" she asked Rue.
"Yeah," Rue replied with a nod.
With a sigh, Fiona raised her spear up in the air and before the girls scorned another sentence of anger respectively, she hit their heads with the pole of the spear.
"OUCH!!!" the girls yelled, rubbing the sores on their heads.
"Why did you hit us for!?" Mint demanded.
"We're not going to stay here and see you two do a catfight," Fiona stated. "We should get going before anymore of those skull beasts come after us."
"Sheez! You're always like this, Fiona," Aurora grunted.
Fiona's eyebrow twitched with hidden temper as she drew up her spear and hit Aurora on the head.
"OUCH! Ok! Ok! Sheeez!" Aurora groaned.
"Hey, Fiona," Cosmomi called as the Dragon Guardian rubbed the sore on her head. "Are the others with you?"
"Others?" Mint echoed.
Fiona patted her fist into her other cupped hand. "Oh. I nearly forgot about-"
An ear-piercing scream rumbled through the tunnel, which stopped Fiona from ending her sentence.
"What was that!?" Rue shouted.
"That voice!" Aurora declared.
The demi-human scratched her cheek sheepishly. "As I was saying, I nearly forgot that I left Rachael somewhere in this place."
"YOU WHAT!!!?" Aurora screamed, grabbing Fiona's collar and shaking her angrily. "You left Rachael all alone!!!?"
"Don't worry," Fiona said calmly. "Flare and Black are with her."
"Who's Rachael?" Mint asked. "And this Flare and Black?"
Without answering her questions, Aurora turned tailed and speeded down the tunnel as fast as her legs can carry. Mint raised an eyebrow. Sweat dropped down Rue and Fiona's cheeks.
"Would anyone mind tell me who they are?" Mint demanded.
Cosmomi sighed. "Rachael is Aurora's little sister. Flare and Black are my siblings."
"I didn't know that a flying cat would have siblings."
"I'M NOT A FLYING CAT!!!"
"We'd better catch up with Aurora," Rue suggested. Agreeing to him, they ran down the tunnel and to the hole where Aurora and Mint had fallen earlier. Cursing words echoed as Aurora glared irately at the hole.
"I suggest jumping won't get you out of here," Fiona remarked.
"Oh, and I suppose leaving my sister behind was a GOOD idea, then!?" Aurora growled.
Rue looked up at the ceiling where the gasping hole stared down. "How do we get out of here?"
"Simple." Opening a bag made of deerskin, Fiona dug through the items. "Ah. Found it."
She pulled out a rope and an object that was wrapped in a cloth. Revealing it was a large hooks with its sharp ends covered with corks.
"You carry that around?" Mint exclaimed.
"She'll carry anything around," Aurora mumbled.
Fiona ignored her simple remark and taking off the corks, she tied the rope to the hook. She twirled the rope in hand and fired the hook over the hole. Cosmomi flew out of the hole.
"Is the hook in a good place?" Fiona shouted to assure precautions.
"Yup!" was the flying cat's answer. "It's hooked. Come on up!"
One by one, with Fiona first, Rue second, Mint third and Aurora last with Green on her shoulder, they climbed out of the hole. While Fiona put away the hook and rope, Aurora turned to Cosmomi. "Cosmomi, can you sense them?"
Ears and nose perked upwards, he sniffed the air. Catching a scent, he flew down the tunnel. "This way!"
Despite their tiredness, they followed down the swirling tunnels and the split corners. "You know what? You make a good canine," Mint sneered.
"I AM NOT A CAT OR DOG!!!" Cosmomi screamed.
Turning left and right and sloping up overhangs, they continued on, passing waterfalls and pushing aside monsters. Approaching a stoned chamber, Aurora stopped in her tracks as her eyes shot wide. "Rachael!"
On top of a flat boulder, a girl, who looked no younger than ten, was climbing as high as she could possible can. Large King Ants were biting furiously, angry at her presence. However, at her aid, two flying cats, similar to Cosmomi yet different for the reason that their colors were diverse, were backing the giant ants away.
The girl was wearing a garnet kimono with one sleeve only while the other cut away and a malachite-buttoned shirt. She wore long, saggy boots and a pair of fingerless gloves. Her long orange hair was tied in two ponytails. Its coiled ends would nearly reach the floor if she were standing on ground level. Around her waist was a loose belt and clutching to it were two daggers, which the little girl called them 'Fire Loka' and 'Luha Flare'.
One of the flying cats was scarlet in color and had wings with blazing fire and a bell collar. The other one was black like the night and had a pair of plated wings. His four black legs were seemingly shiny.
"Back off!" the red-furred cat shouted, sending a kick at a King Ant. The other black one scratched at the hard head of another ant with strange steel claws. The girl looked up with frightfully light blue eyes.
"Big Sis!" she cried hesitantly.
"Hang on, Rachael!" Aurora yelled.
"Hold it!" Fiona stopped Aurora before she darted into battle. Aurora realized why. If the nest were near, harming one King Ant would alert more to come. "Mint, can you cast a spell?"
"Could you be more specific?" Mint cried.
Fiona sighed. "Anything as long as it doesn't hurt her."
"And if you do hurt her, I'll strangle you, Mint!" Aurora growled.
"Aurora, calm down," Rue told her.
"HOW CAN I BE CALM WHEN MY LITTLE SISTER IS IN DANGER!?" Aurora shouted, nearly frightening Rue out of his boots.
"Just...calm down?" Rue asked timidly.
"Okay!" Mint yelled, pulling up her sleeves and seizing her Dual Haloes. "Brace yourself, kid!" A spark of flame ignited as her rings started to spin energetically. "Wildfire!"
An ocean of fire waved from her rings and washed at the colony of King Ants, overheating their plated exoskeletons. The burnt carcasses fell to the ground. No survivors of ant colony have escaped to warn the others. Aurora ran across the ash ground and to the frightened girl.
"Big Sis!" the girl cried and threw her arms around her. She wept over Aurora's shoulder.
Aurora laughed softly. "It's okay. They're gone. And I'm here too. Nothing to be scared of."
Slowly the cerulean-haired girl carried her off the rock and to the ground. Like an older sister, Aurora brushed off the dust on the girl's dress and gave a carefree smile.
"Big Sis, who are those two people?" the girl asked, looking over her shoulder.
"I'm Rue," Rue introduced.
"And I'm Mint," the red-haired girl cheered. "The victorious heroine."
Aurora was not amused but rather irritated by her remark spoken in front of her little sister.
"Hi," the orange-haired girl greeted with a sweet smile. "My name is Rachael."
"I see you two are alive," Cosmomi said to the flying cats.
"And you thought nearly drowning in the sea would stop us?" the black cat inquired.
"Anyway," Aurora cried. "This is Black and the cat who looks like on fire, is Flare."
"I resent that," Flare snapped as she curled up in Rachael's arms.
"Hey, Rachael," Fiona sang.
"Huh?" Rachael spoke as she came face to face with the head of a dead King Ant. Her arms wrapped tightly, nearly choking Flare to death.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!" The shout repeated down the tunnels and out of the ruins.
"Fiona!" Aurora scolded, as she tried to calm the frightened girl. The demi-human threw her arms over her head and smirked with laughter.
"Why did you do that?" Rue asked, puzzlingly.
"Two reasons," Fiona sang. "To entertain the readers and to see her freak out."
"It's NOT funny!" Rachael screamed. "I hate bugs..."
Finally, the gang reached the chamber where the teleporter was after several turns and many battles. They teleported to the wilderness and was greeted with the rays of the sun setting to the horizon. Dusk was near.
"Looks like we'll have to stay here for the night," Rue suggested.
"Guess so," Fiona agreed.
"WHAT!?" Mint shouted. "Sleep here in the outback!?"
"Then what do you want? A bed right here?" Aurora taunted with sarcasm.
"I am guessing you've never camped before, am I right?" asked the demi-human as she swung her spear over her shoulder. "It's not that difficult, once you get the hang of it."
"Get the hang of it?" Mint echoed, unsure about this new activity called 'camping'.
"Let's start making dinner," Fiona hinted. "Some of us get some firewood and the rest will prepare the food."
"And how are we gonna find food in the middle of this forest?" Mint asked.
"Ever once heard the words 'fishing' and 'hunting'?" Aurora snapped, disbelieving the red-haired girl's lack of knowledge of the outback. She heaved a sigh, said, "I'll get the fish," and walked towards a stream not far from the ruins with Green, Cosmomi and Black following behind.
Rue took off to see if there's anything edible while Rachael and Flare went off to find some herbs for preparing the food. Which left Mint and Fiona behind.
"Well, that means we get the firewood," Fiona uttered.
"'We'? 'We' are not getting any firewood. 'I' m' just gonna sit here and wait," Mint spat.
BONK!
"Ouch!" Mint shrieked, rubbing the sore Fiona gave with a whip of her spear.
"Either you help me or I'll make you work," Fiona demanded, a shadowy aura casting over her.
"Ok! Ok! Sheez!"
Fiona turned tail down a path of a few fallen trees.
"Guess that rumor about demi-humans being barbaric animals is true," Mint mumbled.
"I heard that," Fiona shouted from afar since her feline ears had picked up Mint's mutter.
"Hmm..." Aurora hummed with boredom as she watched the fishing line she made drift up and down in the clear moving stream. Green stared silly at his own reflection over the ripples. Aurora heaved a sigh.
"Guess the fish aren't biting today... Maybe I'm using the wrong bait." She looked high at the upper stream. "So how are you two doing?"
Furiously and impatiently, Cosmomi rushed through the clear water with his two front paws, trying to catch the swift fish but without ease, they slipped away from his grasp. Black just watched him continue to thrust the water from one place to another. A sweatdrop hung over Aurora. She didn't need an answer to that question.
'And he's supposed to be one of the Chromatic Creaturea? Maybe the information we found was entirely wrong,' Aurora thought. Again she turned back to the flying cats. 'Though it's nice to see them happy with a little of their memories.'
"Come here, you little fry!" Cosmomi screamed with frustration. "Why can't you help, Black!?"
Black waved his front paws in the air. "Sorry. Metal rust, remember?"
"Hey, hey, calm down, Cosmomi. Just don't let the fish outsmart you," Aurora uttered.
Gradually, the feline winged cat spotted two pairs of glowing eyes in the water. "AH-HA! Now I've got you!" Shouting with pride, he leapt into the air, with extended claws.
Water suddenly splashed at his face. Clearing his eyes, he looked up seeing the jagged teeth of a Warsaw Catfish.
"Aaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhh!" Cosmomi screamed, and flew behind the Dragon Guardian just in time before he was to be swallowed by the giant fish. Black scattered as quick as his wings could take him to Cosmomi's hiding place.
The Warsaw Catfish fell into the stream but jumped up with the help of its powerful tail. Two eyes extended on long antenna-like stalks. Spikes dressed under its scales. It had four fins that were like webbed feet. Ugly like an anglerfish, it could frighten a Saber Tiger away (If it was possible for it to come onto land).
"Qreeeee!" Green growled, his watery form rustled with canine fury.
Aurora just grinned as she stood up. "Guess we're going to have a big catch today."
She darted fast and leapt into the air, ready to fight the terrorizing fish, with only a fishing rod in hand.
The quietness was soon entering into the forest's atmosphere as the birds were coming to a rest from calling their songs. In an area where sticks littered, Mint and Fiona were picking the right firewood. Since they have started, they have spoken no word.
Until now...
"Hey, Fiona, are you from West Solaris Kingdom?"
The demi-human's ears perked up as she looked over her shoulder, watching the princess picked up a second piece of firewood. Seeing it was best to answer, she heaved a speech.
"Yeah. Why'd ask?"
"...Well, there are not many demi-humans who walk around these parts," Mint declared. "And...that bag. It looks like it's made in the western continent."
"Oh, this?" Fiona asked, patting the bag with one free hand. "My father gave it to me as a goodbye present. Since then, I've been away for three years."
"He must be a very nice person, huh?"
"Yeah." Fiona smiled, feeling pleasant of having this conversation.
"What about your mom?" Mint asked.
That question stopped Fiona from taking a piece of firewood that lied silently on the ground. Minutes went by, as she didn't give her answer.
"Fiona?" Mint called, curious why she didn't respond.
Snapping from a daydream into reality, Fiona seized the piece of firewood and sighed painfully. "...She died before I was four."
A thrust of her head, Mint realized her mistake. She felt guilty of even asking.
"Oh, sorry... I...shouldn't have asked," Mint apologized, biting her lips as a punishment. 'Nice going, Mint!'
"That's okay. I don't know much about my mother. Just heard stories about her. Like one about my mother falling in love with my father when he had a fiancée, who in fact he didn't like in the first place. And to make things worse for her, she was to be married to a guy who she didn't like. But in the end, my father won my mother's hand in marriage and they lived happily ever after," Fiona explained. "That's what my teacher, Uncle Hubert said."
Mint watched the demi-human continue on with her search for firewood. Still feeling guilty and seeing nothing else to speak of, the princess turned back to her search.
"But..." Mint looked back as Fiona spoke out. "I know she was a great mother...to be loved."
"..." She was speechless and was starting to feel Fiona's pain. "My mom died too...a long time ago."
"She must be someone nice, huh?" Fiona asked.
"Yeah," Mint replied.
Silence fell. Two girls lost their mothers and now were feeling each other pain. Yet they were also feeling love for her mother respectively. The endless quiet hung in the midst as the girls went on with their thoughts.
"Mint, are you from East Heaven Kingdom?" Fiona asked, distorting the silence.
"Yeah," Mint replied. A giggle caught her attention, making her suspicious. "What's sooo funny?"
She received a smile from Fiona. "Ever find this conversation strange? Demi-humans do sometimes dislike humans and humans do sometimes hate demi-humans. But slowly, things are looking bright for the two clans. Take us for example."
Realizing this surprise, Mint heaved a laugh. "Yeah, you're right."
"...I think that's enough wood. Let's head back," Fiona suggested, hauling up the firewood in her arms.
Mint agreed by giving a nod and the two girls walked back to a patch of lush that lay near the underground ruins. There, Rachael had been waiting after her search for herbs.
"That took a long time to get wood," Flare remarked as she rested on a log.
"But took long enough till the fish arrived," answered from a voice not far.
Standing near were Aurora and the creatures, their eyes wide and their breath short. Her clothes were damp and her hair was soaked. Looming over her back was the Warsaw Catfish with the fishing line entangled around its massive mouth and slimy body.
"That's a big fish," Fiona uttered, impressed by Aurora's encounter with the fish.
"How the hell you'd beat that thing?" Mint wondered with one raised eyebrow.
"...It's best not to ask," Aurora replied, still recalling the dreadful fight she encountered with the fish. To her surprise, it was amazing how she fought it with just a fishing rod and only received minor bites.
At the time, Rue walked into the campsite, carrying three Pollywogs he successfully caught during his short trip through the forest. With a smile Rachael gave, she announced she would cook dinner. She took the fish, the Pollywogs and the herbs that were neatly in her pocket, cleaned them in the nearby stream and went to a flat stone that almost resembled a table.
"Aurora, will your sister be alright?" Rue asked, seeing a young ten-year-old girl cook dinner a little odd but unsafe.
"Better not underestimate Rachael," Aurora laughed. "She knows how to cook."
"Exactly, what's she gonna cook?" Mint wondered.
"Now there's a mystery that cannot be solved at all," Fiona answered, as she prepared the fireplace.
Flare grabbed a coverlet with her teeth from Rachael's bag that lied nearby and placed it over the stone. Rachael laid out the ingredients over the coverlet. With a swing, she seized and threw one of her daggers, Fire Loka, into the air.
Rue twitched with shocking surprise as he watched the dagger swinging in the air, ready to thrust at Rachael's skin. However, she easily caught the dagger in hand and started to scrape the scales and spikes off the cold fish.
"Where did she learn a move like that?" Mint asked, stunned by that performance.
Aurora stuck her tongue out sheepishly. "As a kid, she wanted to learn how to use daggers from me. At first, I thought it was crazy but she was a fast learner. Teaching her how to use those daggers really improved her cooking. What do you think, Rue?" The girl's eyes widened as she saw the boy gasping for air and trying to calm his beating heart. "Are you okay?"
Finishing off the last layer of scales, Rachael carefully but swiftly cut the meat into thin, silky pieces.
"Rachael is swift with those knifes. Doesn't anyone tell you her to play with knifes?" Mint asked.
"My older sister did, but that didn't stop Rachael from cooking," Aurora replied.
"And how about your parents? You know how adults are when kids are playing around with knives," Fiona asked, finishing blowing the small fire in the fireplace.
Cosmomi slapped his face as hard as he could. No one realized the mistake except Black and Cosmomi. Aurora's eyes deepened with doubtful sorrow.
"She...doesn't have parents."
"Huh? What'd you mean by that?" Mint asked.
"...Rachael's an orphan," Aurora explained. This captured the attention of everyone except the little girl. "She was adopted by Shal, a 'friend' of my older sister."
"Her parents...?" Rue spoke out but didn't dare end his question, afraid the word would be 'dead' or 'abandoned her'.
"Don't know what happened to them. Shal just found her in an orphanage in Pertidna. The owner working there just found her and they have no idea about her past or her hometown."
"Sorry to hear that," Fiona apologized.
Aurora stared back at the cheerful girl enjoying her cooking. To what she had told them, that wasn't the exactanswer to Fiona's question because two certain people Aurora had loved most were no longer around. She turned away and walked towards the forest.
"Where are you going?" Rue inquired.
Aurora looked over her shoulder, a face with content painted over agony. "I'm...just going for a stroll. That's all."
She took off into the darkening forest. Cosmomi sighed and shook his head when Black was about to flutter after her.
"It's best not to follow her..." he whispered to him as he watched the Dragon Guardian disappear.
Rachael hummed to herself as she stirred the stew she had finished. The aroma lifted up and seeped through the leaves of the forest. Three furry heads stared at the swirling soup.
"When?" Black asked.
"Soon," Rachael replied.
The soup was dressed in rich cream. Herbs had sprinkled over to overwhelm the taste.
"When?" Flare asked.
"Soon," again the little girl replied.
Chunks of sliced Warsaw Catfish and Pollywog rose up and slowly sunk below the creamy surface.
"When?" Cosmomi asked.
"Soon," Rachael answered patiently.
With the smell playing with their little noses, drool was leaking from the flying cats' mouth.
"When?" the flying cats asked in unity.
A sweatdrop hung over Rachael's head. She has seen it clearly that the flying cats were not patient when food was still not ready. "Uhm, could you wait a little longer? It's not like the food will speed up by itself."
"That's what we're hoping." A huge sweatdrop hung over the orange-haired girl when Flare's comment entered her ears.
Rue gazed around the campsite. One side was where their bags stood untouched. Nearby, Mint sat impatiently on a log while Fiona leaned against a tree. Both were waiting to have dinner. The three flying cats peered watchfully at the stew while Rachael stirred onwards. Once finished gazing, he realized two were missing. Aurora and Green.
"Hey, where's Aurora?" Rue asked.
"She should have been back from her little stroll," Mint grumbled as she rested her head on her hand.
"Oh boy," Fiona uttered with a sigh. "Must be in a mood again."
"What'd you mean by that?" Mint inquired.
"In some situations, she always gets on a mood," the demi-human replied and shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know why she does it. I think you two should go looking for her."
"Huh!?" Mint shrieked.
Before Rue could ask why in such a manner, Fiona spoke out calmly. "'And why am I not gonna look for her?' you ask? Simple. I once went looking for her and tried talking to her about her unpredicted moods but she refused to talk about it. So, it's best that newcomers should find her and maybe give her some comfort. Whatever is bothering her, she sure needs some talking from someone else."
Rue understood completely and nodded his head. However, Mint hesitated. "Why should I also look for that (expletive)!?"
"Come on. Just use this time until dinner is ready. As they say, 'time flies when you're having fun'," Fiona stated with a calm smile.
"What fun? This looks more like fun to you!" Mint shouted. A glimpse of sheer angry glowed within Fiona's eyes as she reached for her spear. A sprint, Mint took, turning tail and running off. "On second thought, I think I'll go look for her!"
Rue smiled uncertainly as he grabbed his Arc Edge and followed after the venturing red-haired girl into the forest.
Distancing a few kilometres from the campsite, the duo wandered off, in search of the missing loner and her green companion. No Saber-Tigers had yet pounce on them for the night was not near yet. But the Pollywogs hovered away to their place of sleep and the Mandolas' blooming flowers closed for a slumber.
Soon the trees came to a break, opening to a clearing where a familiar person stood by, next to a strange purple and gray large ostrich with a huge beak dyed in bright orange and green. Close by, the green blob spotted the approaching duo and bounced. "Qwee!"
"Aurora," Rue called, catching her attention as she turned away from the bird.
"Is that Elmurich yours?" Mint inquired.
"Yeah," Aurora answered. "His name is Elmer." She began to stroke the flightless bird. Elmer cooed softly, happy to be stroked.
"You keep quite a collection of different types of monsters," Rue noted with impression.
Aurora hummed a "yes". "I like keeping monsters. They're helpful in times of need. Plus..." She turned to Rue and flashed a smile. "It's kinda fun having these guys around."
A smile was imprinted on the silver-haired boy's face, seeing that she wasn't 'in a mood'.
"Hey." The princess's call interrupted the Elmurich's strokes. The yellow bird grumbled but eased, knowing it would get its turn of attention. "Rachael's about finished with the stew so can we head back now?"
"In a minute," Aurora replied, reaching out to her bag, taking out five monster disks. "Time for these critters to get out."
She tossed the five small disks into the air, each symbolizing its contained monster. The two disks that Aurora had use earlier shone their color. A disk with the shape of a small reptile started to glow red. Another with the image of an armored creature curling up gleamed yellow while the last disk with the picture of a fish-like animal sparkled with brilliant blue.
"Release your powers and come forth!" Aurora commanded.
Once she shouted her command, the monsters sprung out of their comfortable disks, one by one. The first was a small red reptilian dinosaur. Black markings and stripes clothed over its red-fire scales. Its claws were long and its tail had a flame that lighted up the darkening hour (A/N: Not a charmander! I repeat. NOT a charmander!!!).
The second came the Dryad and the Silver-winged Phoenix whose name was Silver-Edge arose in the third wheel. Both creatures greeted Aurora soon after they came forth. The fourth leaped out a dolphin-like animal. Its smooth streamlined body polished pink while its tummy paled with sky-blue. It hovered over the land despite of lacking water, and clicked with a toothy smile.
Rue was now even impressed by the number of monsters the Dragon Guardian kept. An eyebrow raised as Mint's jaw slumped.
"I wonder how the hell she looks after these monsters," Mint questioned herself with disbelief.
Aurora kneed down before the young dinosaur as it looked at her with huge adorable eyes and yawned sleepily.
Aurora heaved a giggle, watching the dinosaur rubbed its eye. "Hello, little Eliot."
"That's a Flare Tail, right?" Rue asked. He had seen one before during his journey, knowing they are very protective over their territory and live in hot environments.
"Yep. This little guy was an stray," Aurora told them. "But now he's got a family." The dolphin clicked and nuzzled its nose under her arm. "I wouldn't forget you, Aqua."
"Answer this question," Mint uttered and pointed to the dolphin. "How in Cytherea did you get a Dalphin?"
"Try holding on to it like in a rodeo and tire it out," Aurora answered.
Boing! Boing!
Rue looked up at the sound of a ball bounding. Not far, what appeared to be a round yellow ball was bouncing up and down continuously.
"One of your monsters is a ball or what?" Mint exclaimed.
As if invisible hands were playing with the ball, the ball suddenly bounced towards Aurora and landed in her arms. A triangular head popped as it curled open, revealing its true self as an earth-toned armadillo. It squealed loudly.
"Hello, Sacha," Aurora greeted, ruffling its shorthaired head.
"That's a Sandamadillo, right?" Rue asked, once he kneed down to get a closer look.
"Yeah, I found this one in the mountains of Jamlite Yellow Tundra."
Rue smiled as he watched all the monsters gather around the Dragon Guardian, wanting to have attention. With no hesitation, she patted one another or scratched behind one's ear. Aurora gently placed the little Sandamadillo down and stood up, followed by Rue. "Ok, you all, time to get yourself some dinner."
At that command, Silver-Edge flapped his wings and soared towards the dimming sky, Sacha dug to the ground and disappeared beneath the earth, Lilith drifted away, vanishing into the bushes, and Aqua floated towards the stream. Only Elmer and Elliot stayed behind.
"Where are they going?" Mint asked.
"Off to get some food. I trained them to find themselves food. If I didn't, I might have more work to do," Aurora giggled.
"Like you never," Mint mumbled but Aurora caught her hasty taunt and was tempting to attack the princess with her sword.
"Now, now," Rue laughed timidly, afraid there would be more trouble. "Calm down."
Aurora did so, restraining her hand from grasping her hidden sword and breathed deeply to calm her anger. Straight away, she realized something was amidst. "Oh, that's right. I nearly forgot." Reaching to her bag once again, she took out the last disk. Carved on the stoned disk was an unusual animal. It looked like a griffin, yet some of its features were different then a common griffin.
With a flip, the disk was tossed in the air at the moment Aurora commanded once again. "Release your power and come forth!"
The winds howled wildly like wolves and the trees shook terribly as the disk shone a glow of light. A creature soon sprouted forth from the disk as Rue and Mint stepped back and examined the bizarre animal.
It was no bigger than a Elmurich but its wingspan were stretched wide. Its head and its front talons were of an eagle while its hind legs were of a Saber Tiger. Plates shielded over its talons and its coat was in a mixture of feathers and fur. Horns and anthers crowned over its feathery head. Its tail hissed. It was a head of cobra that looked at its surroundings.
"What the heck is that!?" Mint screamed after she had fell down on her rear.
"Aurora," Rue called, still feeling cautious of this strange creature as he watched the Dragon Guardian walked closer to the griffin.
"Hi, Loki," Aurora greeted it. "How've you been?"
"Aurora, what is that monster?" Rue asked, feeling less alert since it wasn't dangerous. "I've never seen anything like this one."
"To tell you the truth, I don't know too," Aurora confessed. "My grandfather did say that Loki could be a Chimera."
"Chimera?" Mint echoed as she stood up. "But Chimera experiments were banned a hundred years ago. There shouldn't be any more."
"Chimera experiments?" Rue echoed, unfamiliar with the word.
"Chimeras," Mint began. "Are man-made creatures that are made from a range of different parts of other monsters. It's also said that you can use a human to make a humanoid Chimera."
"That wouldn't be right," Rue said, feeling a little uncomfortable about humans becoming humanoid Chimeras.
"But the four kings of Aédura agreed to ban them all." Mint turned to Aurora. "How the heck did you find this one?"
"Actually, I found him in some old abandoned laboratory in Felsaica two years ago," Aurora told them.
"Laboratory?"
"Yeah, Loki was the only one there when I found him. He said he doesn't remember why he was there in the first place."
"Said?"
"Because I was only born at that time."
A mysterious low voice spoke in the midst. The princess and the boy stared dead at the Chimera, unsure if it came from Loki.
"Did...did," Mint muttered frightfully, pointing one trembling finger at the mutated griffin. "Did it just talk!?"
"And you would think it was the wind?" the griffin asked, his beak moving. Rue's jaw dropped while the princess gasped endlessly. "You have very interesting friends, Aurora."
Aurora just scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Seeing a Chimera talk would make them jump."
"How...can he talk?" Rue asked.
"Well, he..." Aurora began but Loki spoke out.
"When young, I was very interested in books and began reading them."
"I was quite surprised myself when he started talking," Aurora added. "He read most of Grandfather's books. That's why he can speak."
"Aurora," Mint called. "You keep a lot of strange things."
"Pray tell what that means?" Aurora asked, growling with startling anger.
"I must be off," the Chimera announced, bowed his head politely and took off into the forest.
"Come back here after you're done with dinner," Aurora cried as she watched the Chimera disappeared.
"That was very remarkable," Rue said with amazement. "He's even polite."
"Yeah, that Chimera is sure something," Aurora laughed.
Rue once again smiled, seeing her uneasiness had gone away and was now happy to have creatures that understand her more than people do.
She then felt a tug of her boot and looked down, seeing the little Flare Tail calling for her. Aurora, with no indecision, picked up Eliot and carried him like a sweet little baby. "We'd better head back. Rachael should be finished by now."
"Finally," Mint cried, throwing her hands and turning tail. "Now we can eat."
Taking off, the trio, along with the Elmurich followed down the path, brushing away the annoying branches and towards the campsite.
"MMM-MM!" Mint droned, still sucking on the spoon in her mouth. Once taking the clean spoon out, she cried, "This is really good stew!"
"Thanks," Rachael thanked for appreciation.
"Rachael, how'd you make this?" Rue asked after eating another bite of bread that Rachael had made earlier with the use of flour, birds' eggs, and other ingredients in the forest.
"It's very easy," Rachael told him. "I used a special herb called Faerio Petals that keeps the taste of fish and Pollywog in and other herbs to give more flavor. I also used Cream Melons to make it creamy and for the bread, too."
"I didn't know those were growing around here," Rue admitted.
"They do. They can be found near waterfalls, right, Big Sister Aurora?"
"Yup," Aurora agreed, taking another scoop of the stew.
"You really know how to cook, Rachael," Rue enlightened her.
"Of course, she knows how to cook," Flare spoke, licking clean of her bowl. "She makes the best meals than anyone."
"And you're the first to gobble it up," Fiona uttered calmly as she drew her spoon of stew into her mouth.
"Hey! I was hungry back then!"
Close next to Aurora, Green munched on a bunch of tasty Canberries while Elmer ate Gayhral Greens and Perri Nuts that Aurora had found earlier. For little Eliot, it was stew. It splashed playfully with the warm creamy soup until Aurora stopped it from playing and fed its dinner to Eliot.
Already the stars had appeared over the black blanket in the sky. Aurora's monsters had come back and returned to their disks, all except Loki who was now sleeping peacefully nearby.
Once the three flying cats cleaned their dishes, they turned to licking their coated front paws.
"I just love fish," Cosmomi cried. "Taste great."
"That's because you're a cat," Mint mumbled.
"I AM NOT!!!" Cosmomi screamed.
"Then what are you?"
"I happen to be a great-"
"Winged feline," announced Aurora.
The platinum cat face-faulted but quickly got up, furiously. "That's the same for flying cat!"
Aurora gave him a look. "Cosmomoi, it's best not to get upset of what you are now. It's not such a big difference."
"What do you mean by 'now'?" Mint demanded, seeing suspicion writing all over the Dragon Guardian.
"Does it matter to you?" Aurora asked evenly.
"It does matter!" Mint shouted.
"Here we go again," Fiona sighed, wishing their rivalry would come to an end.
"Black, right?" Rue called, catching Black's attention. "Back in the underground ruins, you said something about drowning in the sea. What was that all about? I'm a little curious."
This question stopped the two rivals as they froze in positions of grabbing one's collar and raising a fist in the air and gazed at them.
"Well..." Black began and looked at Fiona.
"To make a long story short, a few weeks ago, there was a rough storm in Sylaio. The villagers wanted us to find out what was going on," Fiona explained.
"That was before I came here," Aurora added.
"We took a boat and somehow it was hit by lighting and we drowned. Rachael and Black and Flare and I ended up in Iruma," Fiona continued.
"What about the others?" Cosmomi asked.
"Others?" Rue echoed.
"There were Hawkeye and my cousin, David," Aurora stated.
"And my siblings, Bright and Blue," Cosmomi noted.
"You sure have a lot of siblings," Mint informed with a raised eyebrow.
"We might be different but we're still brothers and sister," Black told her as he threw his right paw and hugged Flare like a little sister, which Flare glared at him if he didn't let go of her.
"As I was saying," Fiona carried on. "I don't know what happened to David and Hawkeye but I do know they can survive a storm."
"I hope Big Brother David and Hawkeye are really alright," Rachael whimpered.
"Hey, I'm sure they're on their way to Carona by now. If you knew I was here, I'm sure they would know, too," Aurora reassured, wrapping an arm around Rachael to comfort her.
"I'm not too sure about Hawkeye. He can't even survive on his own," Fiona intoned evenly before taking another scoop.
"True," Aurora agreed.
"We went back to Sylaio and heard you were at Carona," Rachael stated
"And when we arrived here, we got info that you went to the Underground Ruins, Aurora," Fiona told them.
"And that's when you met us, huh?" Mint asked.
"Right. Although..." The demi-human crossed her arms and looked at the black sky. "That storm was strangely weird. I have a feeling that storm wasn't natural."
"What do you mean?" Aurora asked.
"I could have sworn there was magic going around at that time but it's just a theory."
"I also thought the storm was caused by black magic," Black joined in.
"Come on!" Mint shouted. "There's no such magic that can stir up a rainstorm."
"I wouldn't be too sure, Mint," Fiona heaved.
"I agree," Black exclaimed, waving one paw. "There are greater magic than those today."
"Um, Black? I know this is a stupid question but, why is your paw shining?" Rue asked, dumbfounded.
"Oh, my paw?" Black wondered. "I lost my legs a few years ago."
"You what!?" Mint screamed.
"Strangely enough, you don't remember how you lost them in the first place," Fiona droned.
"Yeah. We had to ask a blacksmith to make black iron legs for him to walk," Aurora informed.
"So...your legs are made of metal?" Rue asked, surprised with pity.
"Yeah, but it's not a big deal. Really. I even lost my tail and got a metal tail," Black uttered as he chow down on a slice of fish.
A catch of a book grasped Rue's eyes. Aurora had already finished her meal and had taken out a leather-covered book with a belt as a lock, from her bag. Taking a feather from her pouch, she used it as a quill with the helping ink that was taken from her bag as well.
"What's that book you're writing in?" Rue wondered.
Aurora's attention drew to him. "Oh, this? It's just my diary."
"Oh, really? Mind if I peek in?" Mint asked, shining a catty grin.
An icy glare gazed dead straight at Mint. "You wouldn't dare..."
"Oh come on! Let me see!" Mint shouted and before Aurora knew it, Mint had taken the diary from her and began flipping through the pages. "Let's see what we have here."
"HEY! Give it back!" Aurora screamed, her face blushing red. She tried to take her book away but Mint evaded her.
"Mint, give back her book, would you?" Rue asked, wishing that there would not be another catfight. Fiona just sighed.
"Huh?" Mint exclaimed. "'Maybe after a couple of findings, we can get the relic, and maybe get Angela back.' Who the heck is 'Angela'?"
Cosmomi slapped his face for the second time, disbelieving his ears. A quick swift and a sneak, Aurora stole her book back, her face hollowed with emptiness.
Mint threw her arms over her hips. "Now what does this person have to do with the relic?"
"..." Wordlessly, she looked away.
"Well?" Mint demanded, awaiting her answer. Far off, Loki was watching this conversation with one eye open.
"...It's nothing," was all she said and put her diary away into her bag. She then walked away from the campsite.
"Aurora?" Rue called worriedly. "Are you alright?"
"I'm going to sleep," Aurora replied and lay beside Loki, her back facing the fire. Loki gazed at Mint and gave her a meaningful face. Words did not need to be spoken from a talking Chimera for it was shown in his eyes. Elmer nested beside his trainer, knowing she needed comfort.
Loki then lowered his head and closed his eyes for sleep. Green had fallen asleep near the fire and was used as a pillow for Eliot. Feeling a pair of eyes staring at her, Mint looked down and saw the platinum flying cat gave that same face the Chimera gave, however a seeping hatred was sparkling in his amber eyes.
Turning away, he told them, "I'm taking a nap" and flew away from the campsite, followed by Black, feeling that Aurora needed some more comfort.
"Oh boy..." Fiona uttered, knowing this was one of Aurora's moods again. "You've really done it, Mint."
"Done what?" Mint wondered, seemingly unsure what she had done.
Unimpressed by the princess's lack of knowledge, Fiona threw her arms over her head and lied back on the ground. "Never mind. Let's get some sleep."
"Hey! Tell me what the hell did I do?"
A sigh escaped the demi-human's mouth. "Mint, just leave her be. She had a rough time in the past."
"Rough time?" Rue echoed. "What do you mean?"
"Don't know. All I know is, she had a rough time," Fiona explained before closing her eyes. "Time to hit the hay. Night, everyone."
"I think I had enough," Rachael enlightened, placing her bowl away. In the shadows, her smile faded away as she looked back at her older sister before falling asleep. The cats rested their wings and napped away.
"Sheez! What the heck did 'I' do!?" Mint screamed, yet no one heaved an answer. With a sigh, she thought to hit the hay as well. A view captured her eyes. Rue was looking at the sleeping cerulean-haired girl lying close to her monsters. An accepting emotion of pity shone in his eyes. "What's wrong with you?"
"Eh?" Rue cried, but answered, "...Nothing."
"Hey, nothing means 'something', you know," Mint muttered, a glare shooting from her to the now-nervously boy. With the princess's death glare eyeing at him, he gave in.
"It's just..." Rue started, looking back at Aurora. "She is so determined about something in particular. And she takes care of almost everything with confidence."
"Yeah, now that you mentioned it. It's not like every girl carries a 5 foot long sword, keeps monsters as pets and has a few talking animals."
"Yeah..." Rue agreed. "But..."
Curiously, Mint glanced down at the silver-haired boy.
"She always look sad and in pain...as if...she's hurt deep inside." Hearing that, she realized what she had done.
'So what if I read a little of her diary? She isn't hurt because I read it! ...Or is it?' Mint thought.
"Every battle we encounter, she doesn't seem to be so afraid but she really isn't good at hiding her emotions," Rue continued.
"What do you mean?" Mint asked.
"Remember back in the ruins? When Aurora was fighting with that skeleton?"
Flashes of the memory of venturing through the underground ruins seeped into the girl's mind. But an irritated memory of the tiara stolen annoyed her mind. "How can I forget? What about it?"
"She wasn't herself at that time. And what Fiona had told us, I feel sorry for her. If she had a rough time, then it's understandable. I guess we all have a tough past."
An awkward moment hung in the atmosphere.
"Yeah. It's just..." Mint mumbled but faltered.
"Just what?" Rue asked but he received a glare.
"Aah, forget it! Goodnight!" Mint shouted and lay on the uncomfortable ground, resting her head on her bag.
Rue took a pause, looking at the red-haired girl and smiled. "...Goodnight, Mint." Gently, he fell back and gradually closed his eyes after gazing at the blazing fire in its fireplace.
A pair of eyes opened. Slowly, getting up without waking up the monsters or alerting the Chimera, Aurora gazed over her companions. She had overheard their conversation. Her face was depressing and painful.
"Why...didn't they tell me...?"
A question without an answer, she got up and strolled down into the darkness.
Golden and platinum feathers fluttered in the shades under the tall trees. The sound of river drifted along the wind's call. Watching over the firm current over the river's waters, Aurora stared eternally. Her carefree smile, which had always been there, was gone. Now with thoughts flowing into her mind, all she could do was think and stare at the river.
With a sigh, she reached to her long white ribbon and untied it. A free hand reached up and pulled her hair from her eyes. Revealing upon her forehead, was a symbol that looked undoubtedly printed on the skin. The symbol was four horns; two large and two small, circling around a black mark.
"Aurora?" She turned to the sound of her own name, seeing the platinum light demolishing the blackness.
"Are you alright?" Cosmomi asked, after landing on a log nearby. He received a nod but he knew clearly that was a lie. "You shouldn't be so selfish on yourself. Telling me you're okay when you're not isn't gonna change things."
Her grip tightened. Cosmomi lowered his head and sighed.
"...It's just..." Inquisitive, the flying cat gazed at the girl and noticed shakes quivering over her. Aurora looked over her shoulder, giving Cosmomi a momentous face full of tears. "I misjudged them, Cosmomi... Rue and Mint... I..."
Her voice was caught in her throat as she turned away, keeping in her forcing tears.
The flying cat's ears perked down. 'Oh, Aurora...'
The sunlight peered over the volcano and soaked over the canopies. Greeting was the Twilight Sparrows, singing as the animals arose from their slumber. Only a group of travelers slept peacefully around the ashes. A couple of loud snoozes mumbled into the environment.
"Rise and Shine, everyone!"
Opening his sleepy eyes, he shielded himself from the stingy light and took a gaze of the cerulean-haired girl. A cursing mutter escaped from the princess's mouth as she strained from getting up. Fiona rubbed her eyes, still woozily from her sleep. Rachael stretched her tiredly back while the two red and black flying cats were lazily lying over the hard ground. Eliot yawned loudly, followed by Loki's noisy yawn. The Elmurich stood up and ran to the awaken Dragon Guardian's side.
"Morning, everyone," Aurora greeted as Cosmomi landed onto Elmer's back. "The sun's up."
"Aurora, it's kind of early," Rue whimpered.
"Might as well get up," Fiona mumbled utterly. "She's always the early bird that eat the worm..."
"Then could someone get a early cat to shut her up...!?" Mint screamed.
"HEY!" the three flying cats shrieked, ready to extend their claws.
Instead of losing her temper as quick as Mint would, Aurora sighed happily. "I'm sorry, Mint."
Mint looked up at the Dragon Guardian with sheer surprise. "For what?"
"I want to apologize to you... About last night. I misjudged you for some other rude red-haired girl."
The others caught this by surprise. Mint's eyes widened with astonishment.
"What crawled into your sleeping bag!?" Mint yelled. "I am a rude red-haired girl! ...Wait, that didn't come out right..."
"And Rue," Aurora called. "I want to apologize to you, too."
"Uh, for what?" the silver-haired boy asked.
"Last night, I was sort of rude to you two. I hope all is forgiven," she laughed, scratching her head awkwardly.
Again, she recalled what Cosmomi had said to her last night after she had shredded her tears.
"You're not the only one who misjudged them." Aurora remembered Cosmomi saying that. "Remember back at the docks, I said that Rue was not entirely human. That was misjudging him... But then I got to know him better. He turned out to be someone that I would never expected."
A smile tossed from the flying cat stopped her tears from falling.
"Sometimes, we make mistakes. But it's good to make them," Cosmomi reassured. "Because then you can learn from them. It isn't too late, Aurora. It always isn't."
Always, Cosmomi had given her advice. She smiled before looking to her friends.
Silver eyes stared at the smiling cerulean-haired girl. A smile extended over Rue's face. Mint joined in the silence with an awakening smile. A bond that once was seemingly unborn was now beginning to strengthen among the trio.
"Well!" Cosmomi exclaimed. "We should head back to Carona."
"So, Carona, it shall be," Fiona uttered, hauling her bag over her shoulder. Getting up from the ground, everyone took their bags, ready to head back to Carona.
"I propose an announcement," Aurora exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. "Let's do our best on finding the relic, ok?"
"Sure," Rue agreed.
"Whatever," Mint mumbled.
"Count me in," Fiona shouted with pride.
"Me too," Rachael cheered.
"Don't forget us," Flare shouted as Black and she flew onto Elmer's back
"Alright! Let's head to Carona!" Aurora shouted proudly as the gang took off to the path leading to the town.
Vickie: "Finished chapter 7! Finally!" Collapses onto the computer desk and wishes for her own one "Tired..."
Aurora: "Get on your feet, authoress! You still got a long way to go."
Vickie: - - "I know, I know. Please everyone read and review. I don't mind any cheerful reviews. Now for the info about two monsters, Faerie is gonna read them out today."
Faerie: Comes in "Ugh, what about Chibi Victoria?"
Vickie: "Don't worry about her. I asked the spirits to haunt her." Thinks that all the ghosts she summoned that are chasing after Chibi Victoria."
Faerie: "Well, okay.
Elmurich
Elmurich are large ostriches that are either wild or tame and some can adapt to deserts, swamps and shallow oceans (Different colors means different adaptations). It is used for transportation since its adaptation to the environment is very adjustable. They have extremely strong beaks that can break rocks.
Chimera
Chimera is a man-made creature. In the older days, sorcerers used organs and other parts of different monsters to create a new one. Humans, elves, demons and demi-humans can be used to make humanoid Chimeras whereas some clans cannot. However, it required many types of equipment and magic and was very dangerous. Some Chimeras are not tamed and can run wild, causing destruction. The existence of being Humanoid Chimeras is a curse to the person itself. To prevent the experiments to continue on, it was banned in Aédura. Today, there are some experiments still running either on their own or are still being used by sorcerers without anyone's knowledge. The punishment for Chimera-experiments is immediate death. To the addition, there are wild Chimeras running around in Aédura so travelers have to be well prepared when traveling."
Faerie: "Wow, I didn't know Chimeras could be dangerous."
Loki: "Ahem."
Faerie: "Some, I mean."
Loki: "..." Stares icy at Faerie
Faerie: "Um, Aurora, can you ask Loki to go away? Please?" Cowers behind Vickie
Vickie: "Well! To everyone, hope you enjoy this chapter! Chapter 9 will be coming up soon."