Hody grunted as he walked through the courtyard of the Butterfly castle. He had ever cared much for this place. It was so much larger than the other castles he visited. As if the royal family needed to remind everyone just how vast and overshadowing their pull was compared to the other royals families. It irked him.

Then there was also the company. Aside from Astro, there were a number of others he didn't really care for lurking about. But with him assuming more responsibilities, his parents thought he should at least show up to more of the royal meetings. Even if he didn't actually start attending them yet.

Also, a certain someone had been bugging him about coming to see the Butterfly castle, so he was all but forced to tag along. "Damn, this place is huge," Topaz said, looking up in amazement. She had thought the Kelpbottom and Lucitor castles were huge, and they were. But they were pretty much dwarfed by this place.

"It's the home of the ruling family. Of course it would be needlessly huge," Hody said rolling his eyes. He had remembered coming here for years back along with the other heirs and royals to take classes from Moon. He'd gotten lost quite a few times.

The fire nymph smirked at him. "You sound a little salty big boy. Are you jealous that this place is bigger than yours?" she asked.

Hody scowled at her, the phrasing not at all lost on him. "Don't be foolish. Our castle is far superior when it comes to style and deorum. His place is gaudy in comparison."

Topaz clicked her tongue and kept looking around, while Hody sighed. He wondered just how long his parents were going to take. He hoped their meeting would end soon so he could give his usual hi and byes to the kings and queens and get going. The sooner he got back to the Waterfolk Kingdom, the better.

They approached a courtyard where they saw a few warriors training. They were aiming arrows and spells at targets, swinging weapons at practice dummies, and sparring with one another. "Huh, guess this is where the knights train huh?" Topaz asked. She'd heard the Queensguard were supposed to be the biggest baddasses on the surface.

At least according to most people anyway.

Hody rolled his eyes. "Hmm, looks more like they're wasting time if you ask me. I don't see a single one here who could hold a candle to our warriors." Waterfolk were all naturally strong due to having to endure the deep pressures of the oceans depths. Everything from their bodies to their weapons were much sturdier. Compared to that, these so called knights may as well have been children playing with toys.

Topaz hummed and kept glancing around. There were a number of different types of weapons being used. Bow and arrows, sword, spear, even a few maces. These guys really were equipped with everything. "They got some pretty nice shit though…"

"Kelpbottom?" Hody and Topaz both turned around and saw a figure lying lazily off to the side. Morel scowled up towards the prince. "The fuck are you doing here?"

Hody scowled right back. "Gracing your pathetic little fighting force with my presence," he said, crossing his arms. "And I see you're lazing about as usual."

The prince had never cared for Morel. As far as he could tell he was a nobody. The fact that he'd become a ranking knight told him just how irresponsible Asterossa and his mentor were and had been when picking out people who were supposed to be the defenders of mewni. He was a good for nothing lazy fool.

Morel narrowed his eyes, the feeling of dislike very much mutual. If Corona had been the exception to his father's warnings about mewmans, Hody had been the rule. His attitude towards monsters, and his treatment of both Astro and disrespect of Puff made him instantly disliked in the Incubus' book.

His eyes wandered over towards Topaz, who had vaguely recognized him. She knew he was part of the Queensguard and she had seen him once or twice before when Astro and the others all got together, but they'd never really talked. He was pretty cute. A bit lanky for her taste, but there was something about him that she couldn't quite place that made him… attractive.

"You're Bloom's cousin right? The fire nymph?" Morel asked sitting up. "I heard you guys are pretty battle crazy. Could you do me a favor and not start any fights or whatever. I mean I really wouldn't care normally, but if you did then they'd expect me to break it up, and that's way too much of a hassle."

Topaz raised an eyebrow. This guy was… weird. Was he seriously supposed to be a top ranked knight. He didn't give off the vibes she usually got from strong warriors. "Lucky for you I'm not here to start shit today," she said crossing her arms. "So how do you know big boy over here? You got a grudge with him too?"

Morel yawned. "You'd be hard pressed to find anyone here who doesn't have a grudge with him," he explained. "People don't take too kindly to anyone who disrespects the captain around here. Only Waterfolk who can get away with dissing him like that is Maria, for obvious reasons."

Topaz looked lost for a moment, but then realized he was referring to Astro. The others did say the kid's name carried a lot of weight, and she had seen some examples of it. But looking around here and now… seemed like it was a lot more than she realized. There were quite a few knights who seemed to be sending pretty dirty looks Hody's way. Some of them weren't even trying to hide their scowls and glares.

If Hody noticed at all, he didn't show it. Or maybe he was just used to it. It was kind of weird. When they were going somewhere with Astro they teased him all the time, and the only one who seemed to get upset at them was Fum, and sometimes Maria. Here it seemed like everyone was just waiting for Hody to say something bad about the prince.

"As if I care what this lot thinks," Hody said. "This generation of the guard is nothing but a group of ragtag misfits Asterossa and Higgs put together one a whim. How any of these people, let alone the bulk of the captains and lieutenants, made it to where they are is beyond me."

Morel just waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, unworthy people, waterfolk superiority and all that stuff. Listen, I was having a nice nap before you showed up, and I really don't want to have to clean up whatever mess you're bound to make. So swim along little fish," he said turning back around and laying down.

Hody grit his teeth. "You're better watch how you address me, punk. Like it or not I'm still a royal heir, and you're still just a knight. I'm due more than a bit of respect."

"Yeah… no," Morel said yawning. "Now like I said, get going."

Topaz had the bite back a laugh at the angered look on Hody's face. It looked like the prince was about to say something else, but then suddenly a shadow looked over him. Both his and Topaz eyes widened, and they slowly turned around to see a figure towing over the both of them. A heavily armored figure, who was about nine or ten feet tall.

"Holy shit…" Topaz muttered.

Hody's expression looked far more… worried. He opened his mouth to speak again, but the figure swung his arm and hit him right in the chest, sending him flying back onto the ground. "Holy shit!" Topaz yelled again. Just what the hell was that about? Who was this guy? Why was he just attacking Hody out of nowhere?

"Kelpbottom…" Puff said, practically spitting the name out with disgust. He marched over towards Hody who was groaning as he laid back on the ground. "I'm not finished with you!" he said cracking his knuckles.

Topaz looked on in disbelief, while Morel chuckled. "Told him that he should have left. I mean what did he expect to happen when he ran into Puff?" he asked, amused.

"Puff? The blacksmith Puff?" Topaz asked. She had heard about the guy before, but hadn't seen him. Apparently he was a real busybody. Like keeping to himself. But his work spoke for itself since even down in the Underworld there were rumors about how skilled he was at his craft. "The hell is he after Hody?"

Morel hummed. "Let's see… Hody insulted his work. He's never apologized. Puff has never forgotten about it. And he's got a pretty bad temper on him, So you know, this happens," he said. "We're pretty much used to it by now."

Topaz raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be stopping him? He's attacking a royal. Isn't that like, against the code or something?" she asked.

"There's no code that demands I get in the way of a well deserved ass kicking…"

Hody groaned and shook his head as he opened his eyes, then gasped when he saw Puff standing over him. He rolled out of the way before Puff's fist came crashing down on his stomach, then kicked the hulking figure in the shoulder. He barely budged however, and went right back to reaching for the prince.

"God damn it! It was for fucking years ago you baby! Get over it!" Hody shouted, scrambling to back away from him. Puff leapt forward and brought both fist down at him, but Hody rolled out of the way and got back up to his feet just in time. "You're assaulting a royal heir! I could have you stripped of your title for-!"

"Don't care!" Puff yelled, stomping towards him again. "Apologize!"

"I will not! What I said was true! The craftsmanship in the Waterfolk kingdom far outshines anything that anyone on the surface could-!" Puff picked up a nearby barrel and then hurled it at Hody, who just barely managed to duck out of the way. He narrowed his eyes at the knight. "Really? Throwing things?"

Puff threw another barrel in response. Hody avoided it again, but then was knocked to the ground as Puff rushed in and swung at him again. Puff grabbed him by his shoulders, slamming him against the ground a few times before throwing him a few feet away. The prince groaned and tried to get up at Puff rushed him again, bringing his foot back and getting ready to kick him.

Right before he could however, he felt something hit his leg. He stopped, and then slowly looked down to see Topaz, who had hit him in the leg with her mace. She looked rather surprised. She thought she could do some damage, or at least trip him up. But it barely even left a scratch on his armor. "Shit, what are you made of?" she asked.

Puff let out a breath, and Hody was about to tell her to move as he reached down towards her. Rather than grab at the fire nymph herself however, the goliath snatched her weapon away from her. "Hey!" she shouted angrily. "Give that back you fucker!"

Puff ignored her, looking over the weapons curiously. He let out a grunt, and then… turned around and began walking off. "Hey, what the-?! Give me that back!" she yelled, running after him. "I know you hear me! You can't just steal my weapon! Hey!"

Morel watched as the goliath walked off. "Huh… well, that sucks."

Topaz turned towards him. "That sucks?! Seriously?! Fuck that, get off your ass and tell that dude to get back here with my shit!" she said angrily.

Morel sighed. "Relax, he's gonna bring it back. Probably like tomorrow or something. It usually doesn't take him that long to make adjustments to simple weapons like that."

Topaz looked at him annoyed. "There's nothing wrong with my weapon though!"

"Must be to him," Morel said simply. "Look, just chill. The best blacksmith is mewni just decided to upgrade your weapon for free. Most people would kill for that chance."

Topaz looked a little bit annoyed. She didn't like the idea of someone she didn't know messing with her weapon. "Look, if you wanna try and head down into the forge and get it back, you can. But I'd just wait if I were you. Place is sealed up tight, and Astro is the only other one who can set foot in that place without burning up… well, you could probably handle it I guess, but there's no way you're getting in there."

The fire nymph huffed. "I'm coming back here tomorrow. And if I don't get my shit back, everyone is getting their asses kicked, you got it?" she threatened.

Morel gave her an amused smirk. "Yeah, sure..."

"He's late…"

Topaz stood in the training grounds, a pout on her face as she waited alongside Morel and Hody. The former looked bored, having been brought tracked down and pretty much dragged here by the ladder. Hody claimed he wanted to make sure someone was around to tell Puff to return the weapon if he didn't show.

Morel was pretty sure he was just afraid to be around the goliath without someone there to make sure he didn't kill him. "Give him some time. He said he'd be here soon," Morel assured.

"I'm surprised the oaf told you anything at all with how little words he seems to know," Hody said, crossing his arms.

Morel looked towards him. "Hey… shut up." Hody scowled towards him, while Morel just went back to cloud watching. He didn't need the prince shooting his mouth off and starting yet another fight with him. Honestly he didn't know why'd he'd bothered coming in the first place… well, aside from being with Topaz.

They heard footsteps, and suddenly looked up to see Puff approaching them. Sure enough, he was carrying Star Inferno. He walked up towards her, holding the weapon out. She reached out and took it, looking him up and down. It didn't look any different, which she was grateful for. But… did it feel more, balanced?

It was hard to describe it really. But she felt like it was just a tad bit lighter, maybe easier to swing. Before she could ask what he did exactly, Puff pointed towards one of the training dummies. "You want me to test it out?" she asked. Puff nodded. Topaz shrugged and stepped forward to do so, but Puff stopped her. "What?"

He shook his head, and then made a swinging motion with his arm. "He wants you to use it from here," Morel said, not patient enough for them to guess what his friend was trying to say.

"How the hell is she supposed to do that?" Hody asked. Puff turned and glared down at him, and he quickly held his hands up and stepped back.

"Yeah, you shouldn't say anything," Morel said before looking back at Topaz. "Swing it down, and twist your wrist a little bit." He had seen enough of Puff's work by now to know how this thing probably worked.

Topaz was clearly skeptical, but she decided to give it a shot. She looked at the practice dummy, and then brought her arm back before swinging. She twisted her wrist slightly as she did, and to her shock, the head of Star Inferno popped right off. "Holy shit!" It flew across the field and towards the practice dummy, still connected to the handle by a chain made of pure flames.

"How in the hell?!" Hody asked, confused.

Right as the head was about to crash into the dummy, it suddenly began glowing, and flames shot out from around it. The flames formed into an even larger mace head, smashing the dummy into the ground and forming a crater where it once was. Topaz looked out in awe, then pulled her arm back.

In an instant, Star Inferno was pulled back to her, going back into its original form. They looked at the smoking crater that was left behind by the weapon, and Topaz smiled. "Damn, now that's what I'm talking about!" she said excitedly. "How did you even do this?! This is so badass! Ain't nobody ever getting away from me again! I'm gonna smash so many people into the ground without even getting near them!"

"So you like it then?" Morel asked.

"Hell yeah I like it!"

Puff gave her a thumbs up. He knew as soon as he'd seen the weapon that there was something extra that could be added to it. And when he got an idea in his head, he carried it out. He liked to be paid for his services, sure, but when he really wanted to do a project, he'd do it for free if he had to.

Hody grunted. "I have to admit… it's rather impressive…"

"Thank you…" Puff said nodding towards him. The prince was surprised. Both to hear him speak normally, and for it not to be a threat towards him. Before he could say anything further though, Puff lifted his foot and then kicked him in the chest, knocking him back. Morel and Topaz winced as he slide back in the dirt.

Hody groaned in pain. "WHY?!" he asked.

"Because I don't like you Kelpbottom!"

Puff walked over to continue his attack, picking right up where he left off yesterday. Morel yawned and began walking off. This was officially no longer his problem. "Damn it woman, help me! Use that weapon and-!"

"Sorry, can't help you big boy," Topaz said, smirking as she twirled her new weapon in her hand. "He gave me free shit, so this is officially a you and him problem now." She headed towards another of the practice dummies. She had to start getting the hang of this thing. She couldn't wait to show the others back home.

"Ah! For fuck's sake!"

"I'm not finished with you Kelpbottom!

A/N: So I've always though Topaz weapon was cool, and I saw something on the anime Fire Force (which is a great reference for fire based abilities) and I thought... yeah, Puff would probably make something like that lol. And of course I had to add that beef between Puff and Hody because... you know, I have to.