Fun fact, Capupu Village is a mashup of Cappy Town and Pupupu Village of the Kirby anime...the English and Japanese translations, specifically.
Disclaimer: Kirby belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.
A couple days later, Vesa followed Elfilin and Zan to Capupu Village. Prior to leaving the tower, Vesa picked out a short light-blue dress with white ruffles at the hem of the skirt. It had pink and white layered ruffles across the chest beneath the thin straps on her shoulders and a pink sash belt with a matching bow wrapped around her hip.
When they arrived at the village, Elfilin spotted Kirby at the entrance to Chef Kawasaki's restaurant.
"Hey, Kirby!" Elfilin waved his paw.
Kirby turned around and waved back.
"Poyo!"
Vesa, Elfilin and Zan approached Kirby.
"I was told this restaurant sells these bento boxes, right?" Vesa asked.
"Poyo!" Kirby nodded.
Vesa stared at the building before her.
"I heard about his cooking," Zan mentioned, "he tends to not be the best unless he's doing a specific set of dishes. I won't be buying anything that doesn't seem simple. I'm told Kirby is the only one who tries any of his practice dishes. Really, he's the only one that'll eat them."
Vesa nodded before she stepped inside the restaurant with Kirby, Elfilin and Zan following close behind. The pink star warrior sprinted towards the entrance to the kitchen and waved his arms.
"Poyo?" Kirby called, "poyo poyo!"
Seconds later, a tall orange egg-shaped being dressed in a chef's hat and an apron emerged from the kitchen.
"Kirby?" Kawasaki paused, "what are you doing here? The restaurant's not opening for another thirty minutes!"
"Poyo," Kirby explained, "poyo poyo poyo. Poyo! Poyo poyo!"
"Oh, really?" Kawasaki warbled, "who's the friend you speak of?"
Kirby glanced behind him and pointed at Vesa.
"Poyo!"
Vesa shuddered as Chef Kawasaki locked eyes onto her.
"Oh!" he blurted, "good morning, Miss, uh…"
"Vesa Krasniqi," Vesa told him, "you can call me Vesa."
Zan placed her hand on Vesa's shoulder, giving her some reassurance for her to sigh in relief.
"Well," Vesa stammered, twiddling her fingers, "what options for bento boxes do you have, sir?"
"If you're looking for recommendations, Miss Vesa," Kawasaki suggested, "I can whip up some mushroom and pork cutlet sandwiches with honey mustard and some cucumber slices and rice balls."
Vesa took a moment to process the knowledge before she nodded.
"Seems simple enough. I'll give that a try," Vesa requested, "for myself and my partner."
"Partner?" Kawasaki paused, "as in romantic partner?"
Elfilin happily did a back flip.
"Yup!" Elfilin chirped, "my big sibling is head over…ankle? Yeah, ankle…for her! They don't really have any heels."
Kawasaki clasped his hands together.
"All right," he declared, "I'll get to work on that bento box!"
"Poyo!" Kirby raised his arm.
"Oh?" Kawasaki smiled, "why thank you, Kirby!"
Kawasaki and Kirby entered the kitchen.
"So what kind of stuff do you guys plan to do now that you're dating?" Elfilin asked Vesa.
"Really," Vesa replied, "we're just figuring out the relationship part."
"I'm just curious if you have plans for stuff you want to do in the future is all," Elfilin giggled, "big sibling is a wiz at magic, but they aren't good at most social stuff, I think. They're just way too nervous…"
Vesa, Elfilin and Zan waited for a while. Elfilin sat on a shelf, fiddling with his tail. To stave off the boredom, the small chinchilla started experimenting with his powers which he hadn't tried out yet. He managed to make a little twig grow out of his paw. Half an hour later Kawasaki and Kirby returned from the kitchen, the chef holding a bento box.
"Ok," Kawasaki called, "it's ready!"
"Poyo!"
Vesa stood from the table and approached the chef. She plucked the bento box from his grip. Her hands could feel the warmth emitting from the bento box.
"Thank you!" she smiled.
"Hey, guys!" Elfilin chirped, "check it out!"
Kirby watched as Elfilin happily waved around his twig.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped.
"Thanks! I dunno what species it is," Elfilin proclaimed, "but I made it myself!"
Vesa placed the bento box in her handbag while Zan approached Chef Kawasaki. She handed him a couple of small rings with miniature little gold stars in them.
"Thank you," Kawasaki smiled, "you have a nice day!"
"Anytime," Zan nodded.
Zan, Kirby, Elfilin and Vesa left the restaurant and made their way out of Capupu Village. It was only a while before they returned to the tower. Vesa spotted Elfilis in the foyer.
"Morning, Elfilis!" Vesa smiled, waving her hand at them.
The angelic lancer's feelers perked up. Vesa sprinted over to Elfilis and embraced them. Elfilis let out a startled squeak, yet they returned the embrace.
"I got some lunch for the trip," Vesa told them, "you ready to go?"
"We can leave whenever you're ready," Elfilis nodded, "I don't really have anything I need to get."
Vesa released Elfilis from her embrace a moment later before they both focused their eyes on Kirby, Elfilin and Zan. The ultimate life-form couldn't help but blush, nervous about displays of affection in front of others, yet they resisted the urge to teleport away.
"You two have fun, ok?" Zan proclaimed.
"We will," Vesa nodded.
Vesa gently grasped Elfilis's hand, giving them a reassuring smile. The ultimate life-form returned their smile as they led her out the door.
"Should we fly there," Elfilis asked, "or…?"
"I think I can stomach teleportation for now," Vesa answered.
Vesa reached out her arms, nodding at Elfilis and letting them scoop her into their arms.
"If you insist," Elfilis sighed softly.
Elfilis summoned a portal above them and flew into it. The next thing she knew, the space twisted around her in a kaleidoscope of color. When the ultimate life-form flew through another portal, they gracefully touched down on a somewhat rocky area. Objects shaped like stars seemed to have embedded in the ground and cracked. Patches of oddly purple grass dotted the terrain. The light reflecting off the fallen stars made the scenery rather breathtaking. Vesa stared in awe as Elfilis lowered her to the ground. She took note of the tall rocky structures decorated with colorful stripes.
"It's certainly an interesting place," Elfilis mused, "there's no small amount of magic in the air, likely due to the Fountain of Dreams leaking its mana into the atmosphere."
As Vesa and Elfilis strolled along the terrain, they passed by a few residing Waddle Dees. Two of them happened to be sitting down and cuddling up next to each other. Several Bronto Burts could be seen patrolling the skies, zipping between the colorful clouds. Considering her small reserves of mana in her body, she could sense the magic in the air, getting the sensation of a static charge in the air…almost.
They stopped at an ornate bridge and began to cross it. Nearby, a Waddle Doo sat at the edge of the river while holding a fishing rod.
"Can you feel it?" Elfilis asked, "if you were able to sense ambient mana, it would be here."
Tilting her head upwards, Vesa held up her hands and took a deep breath.
"The air is tainted heavily with magical energy generated by the fountain siphoning off energy from dreams," Elfilis explained further, "it doesn't take dreams away, it just skims off the top and absorbs the energy, which it then uses to power the Star Rod and provide more pleasant dreams to those nearby. It sprung a leak at some point though and the mana seems to have seeped into the area over time."
"That's…pretty interesting," Vesa commented.
Vesa and Elfilis continued venturing along the colorful stone pavement which ran between colorful palm trees. Elfilis idly ran their hand over the trees and took genetic samples…just enough to make copies later. Vesa watched several Twizzies perching on the branches of a tree. Soon enough, one Twizzy flew over and perched on her head.
"Oh!" Vesa blurted in astonishment, "why hello, there!"
Elfilis watched curiously with a bit of caution. They blushed, understanding it might be just instincts they never experienced cropping up…instincts to protect their girlfriend. The Twizzy on her head simply gave the ultimate life-form a curious look. That was enough for Elfilis to calm themselves for now. Vesa led her partner along the path, passing by a Kabu circling a Rocky. They both reached the edge of a large lake. A Coner crawled along the sandy shore while a few Glunks sat in the shallow waters. Far ahead, Vesa could see the Fountain of Dreams.
"The area should be safer now," Elfilis told her, "I found some scum stuck to the bottom of the fountain, but I took care of it earlier."
Vesa recalled the morning after she first moved into the tower.
"So that's what happened," Vesa commented.
"Yes. It was stressful for a few reasons, but not due to any real challenge," Elfilis added, "it was upsetting to me since it was corrupting the artifact and ruining the enchantments. It's possible it was even the cause of the leaking mana. But the thing that set me off the most was that it ran away, and I decided to slowly follow it. But then I realized I was underestimating it and went into a rage. The last time I underestimated something, it was your people, and then I became their experiment for several hundred years."
Vesa sighed softly and grasped Elfilis's paw.
"Hey," she assured them, "it's ok. I'm here for you, remember?"
"I know," Elfilis replied, "it's just hard sometimes. Sometimes I'm fine with talking about it; but other times, my emotions flare up. I suspect the reason I don't freeze up or react poorly every time is due to my body being made to resist such effects. Still, such long exposure to such deep traumatic experiences left its mark on me. I…I'm glad you're here, though. If there is only one good thing to come out of the situation, it would be that I met you."
Vesa smiled and nodded in agreement. At that point, the Twizzy flew off Vesa's head and started feeding on the seeds in the patch of grass.
"So what would you like to do?" Elfilis asked her.
Vesa fixated her eyes on the Fountain of Dreams.
"Can we see the fountain up close?" she requested.
"We can," Elfilis answered, "though there isn't much room to walk around near it and the surrounding ground is mostly covered in shallow water."
Elfilis gently lifted Vesa into their arms and floated over the water, touching down on a walkway which led to the fountain where they set her down.
"We can approach it from here."
Vesa took the hint and strolled down the walkway alongside the tall space rodent. Elfilis took her hand while they made their way towards the fountain. The Star Rod still perched on top.
"How strange," Elfilis observed, "I hadn't noticed before, but the Star Rod seems to have gained quite a lot of concentrated power. I suspect that it would work beyond its function as a filter now."
Elfilis stepped closer and examined it further.
"Yes," they continued, "this was supposed to filter the fountain's power, but something about it…it functions much like a wand now. It might be the shape, or maybe some kind of variant in the enchantments due to the leaking mana? Some kind of occurrence? How odd."
Vesa tilted her head sideways as she examined the Star Rod, which glowed brightly enough that she couldn't tell what it was really made of. Simply gazing at it gave her warmth in her core.
"What do you know about the Star Rod?" Vesa asked.
"The star on top is made of solidified mana, specifically mana aligned to Hopes and Dreams. It was made by two mages," Elfilis answered, "one of them was a commander for one of our armies who used magic aligned to Hope to inspire his men. It's said that he ignited people's hope for their future and the future for our people as a whole. People's performance in battle seemed to skyrocket and morale was always high in his army."
Elfilis blinked slowly.
"The other mage responsible for its creation was just someone who did parlor tricks and created illusions for children," Elfilis continued, "he was also the person most would go to if they had insomnia or other issues with sleep. He didn't charge for those services and made a living off of donations and goodwill people gave him, he was a popular person and closer to a street performer than a real mage, and yet he was the one who inspired so much.
"Inspired?" Vesa chirped, "how so?"
"He was the person who set us on the path of Dream magic in general as one of the main forms of magic we used on our old planet," Elfilis clarified, "he was responsible for assisting in a few artifacts before he passed away and left behind his magical knowledge. He's kind of a folk hero."
Vesa tilted her head towards the Star Rod for a brief moment.
"Does it have similar properties to that of a Warp Star?"
"Not quite," Elfilis corrected, "the Warp Star is more of an energy construct than anything, powered by positive emotions in general. It also just accepts normal energy. Although, it responds better to positive emotions. The Star Rod wasn't meant to be a weapon at all, honestly. Now it is. I suspect that it is due to Hope for some kind of weapon and its power over Dreams responded to that need. Or maybe, the General involved in its making had some other ideas in mind for future use. It's hard to say. However, the enchantments on it lead me to the former conclusion over the latter."
Taking a step back, Vesa scanned her surroundings. Funny enough, she couldn't seem to find a bench of some kind. It didn't take long for Elfilis to notice as their feelers perked up.
"Allow me," Elfilis summoned a wooden bench, "this place wasn't really meant to be a tourist attraction. There's even a subtle barrier around the place that scares off most people with ominous intentions. There used to be one anyway; it seems the enchantment was likely broken at some point. Before I do, I'll place a barrier over the Star Rod, just to ensure no one runs off with it."
"Ok," Vesa nodded.
Vesa sat down at the bench, placing her handbag on her lap.
"So how are you feeling?" Elfilis asked her.
Vesa locked eyes onto them.
"I'm just happy you're by my side right now," she smiled.
Elfilis blushed and sat down next to her.
"I still feel like I'm kind of dreaming sometimes," Elfilis confessed with a sigh, "like I would wake up back in the lab and this will all have been a fantasy concocted in my unstable mind. I know it's real, I've tested it several times. Sometimes, it's hard to believe that things can be going so well so suddenly."
Vesa leaned closer to the ultimate life-form.
"Wanna cuddle for a bit?" she asked.
"O-Of course," Elfilis nodded.
Elfilis wrapped their arm around her and held her close. Vesa set aside her handbag and returned the embrace. She ran her fingers through their chest fur, eliciting soft purrs out of them. Vesa nuzzled their face. She giggled softly when Elfilis gave her an affectionate lick on the forehead, their tail swaying behind them happily. They relaxed in their embrace near the Fountain of Dreams as the sun moved into its peak above their heads. Once time passed, Vesa checked the bento box in her handbag.
"I…brought some refreshments," Vesa chirped.
Vesa pulled out a thermos along with the bento box.
"Oh," Elfilis blurted, "thank you."
Vesa opened the bento box, the sandwiches, cucumber slices and rice balls still fresh. She opened the thermos and poured some water into a pair of portable cups. Elfilis took a sandwich and took a bite out of it. Thankfully, they've been improving on their sense of taste even if some flavors still tasted a bit strong. Vesa took a bite out of her sandwich and relished the savory flavor. Elfilis ate more slowly; just a little at a time. They both would take a sip of water in between a few bites of their sandwiches. When they finished their sandwiches, they went on to share the cucumber slices and rice balls.
Elfilis enjoyed the cucumber slices mostly since they didn't have as much taste. Since cucumbers and rice were both unprocessed for the most part, they could assimilate them in the process. Once they both finished their lunch, Vesa tucked the bento box and thermos into her handbag.
"I wonder if the Fountain of Dreams could amplify the mana inside of me," Vesa pondered.
"I suppose it couldn't hurt to try," Elfilis replied, "the fountain isn't made for wishes, though. Perhaps if you hold a dream close to your heart, I think you might be able to see progress in your development of your mana reserves. Don't expect results right away, but it wouldn't hurt to practice."
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