Disclaimer: Kirby belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.
Vesa and Fecto Elfilis stood before the Fountain of Dreams while they faced each other. The tall space rodent held onto her handbag while she placed both of her hands on her chest. Elfilis plucked the Star Rod and handed it to her.
"Hold it," Elfilis instructed, "don't just hold onto it, though. Hold onto your hopes, your dreams, have the courage to make what you want a reality and be ready to put forth the effort needed to see it through."
"Ok," Vesa nodded.
Vesa took the Star Rod and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she concentrated. Elfilis kept an eye on the flow of mana as they monitored this little experiment. As thoughts swam in her mind, she could imagine herself back in the school library, reading a book she borrowed detailing historic architecture. She knew Popstar might have historic structures scattered about. Have any of its residents pondered about the ancient structures of the past? Come to think of it, her own world would be subject to archaeological scrutiny. Maybe this could be a bit of a hobby for her or even an option for a career.
Minutes continued to pass on until warmth stirred in her chest. Vesa opened her eyes and made a brief glance at the shallow water surrounding the fountain. Gazing at her reflection, she thought of her family who cherished her growing up, but was now gone. But then, she also thought of the new friends she made after Elfilis saved her life.
At least she didn't have to see those apathetic scientists again.
Her thoughts drifted back to Elfilis. She still wasn't used to life in Popstar, but having them as more than her friend gave her the assurance she needed to press forward, pursue passions as she saw fit, but more importantly, cherish the love she had now. The Star Rod reacted a little, though Elfilis noticed it responded more to her hopes.
"Let yourself dream of your future," Elfilis advised, "what do you want to accomplish? What kind of things do you hope you'll get to do one day? Let these thoughts fill your head."
Vesa nodded as she closed her eyes. For a moment, she thought of her future with Elfilis. Perhaps they wouldn't have to carry out their mission to preserve life alone. Her thoughts then drifted to what she would want to do with her life. Maybe she could try exploring career options until she at least found a few she'd most likely thrive in. The Star Rod glowed a little brighter.
"Keep it up," Elfilis encouraged, "you're on the right track now."
Vesa nodded as she kept focusing on her hopes and dreams. Soon enough, Elfilis sensed her making the connection with the Star Rod in full.
"I think that did it," they told her.
Vesa observed the now glowing Star Rod before she locked eyes onto Elfilis.
"So what now?" she asked.
"I believe that's about it," Elfilis shrugged, "I'll put it back so no one else can get their hands on it. Though, I'll write an exception into the wards for emergency situations."
Vesa nodded and gave the Star Rod back to Elfilis. They put it back onto its pedestal before they grew a stick from their hand. They ignited the stick until it became charred. From there, they used it to start writing out runes.
"If I had more time," Elfilis said, "I'd make some real chalk, but due to the complexity involved, I'm just using charcoal for now. It should be enough to keep out anyone for at least a few years, though I might come back and redo the runes later."
Vesa didn't say anything as she simply watched.
"Rune crafting is a vague and yet also specific art. As long as you have enough mana and are smart enough not to mess up on the meaning and symbology of what you're writing, you can make runes as long as you want and get whatever effect you desire through its use," they added, "of course, the more runes you use naturally increases how much mana is required. For most people anything bigger than a great sword might be too much for them to accomplish. I could likely inscribe something as large as a school bus from your planet before feeling any strain on my reserves of mana. You might be able to inscribe a dagger as you are now, I guess. Over the next year, I suspect you might be able to inscribe a short sword, maybe a katana or something similar if you put in some effort."
It wasn't long before Elfilis finished inscribing the runes, so Vesa followed them along the walkway. A ripple of blue and purple tinted energy flashed over the pedestal in a half circle over the top of it before it vanished. Soon enough, they finished crossing the walkway. Vesa leaned closer to Elfilis.
"I wonder what other landmarks this place has," she said.
"I believe the Orange Ocean isn't too far from here," Elfilis mentioned, "would you like to go there?"
"I'd love to!" Vesa nodded with a smile.
Vesa leaned closer and spread her arms, allowing Elfilis to scoop her into their arms. The ultimate life-form spread their wings and took off into the sky. She held on as they flew past several Bronto Burts. Several minutes passed in a leisurely paced flight before Elfilis touched down on an island. The angelic lancer released Vesa from their embrace. From a distance, she observed a large rocky structure with a waterfall coming out.
"If I'm correct," Elfilis mentioned, "the reason they call it the Orange Ocean is because the ocean takes an orange hue in the late afternoon."
Vesa tilted her head towards the sky, checking the position of the sun.
"It shouldn't be long before I see the ocean's true nature myself," she replied.
"I believe it is likely caused by some kind of mineral in the water, or maybe some kind of algae."
Vesa and Elfilis began their stroll through the island. They passed by a Foley minding its own business while a Broom Hatter swept the ground of its territory. When they reached the edge of a stream, Vesa sat down. Elfilis sat beside her out of the way of any sand. She watched as a Slippy perched on a lilypad. She crossed her legs and perched her hands on her lap.
"This stream kinda reminds me of that creek in the forest my older brother would visit sometimes when he was younger," she mused, "I remember he took us to play in the creek one time."
"I see," Elfilis sighed.
Elfilis's feelers drooped, still empathizing with her lingering grief. Still, Vesa leaned towards them.
"But I guess I can treasure this current moment, at least," she added.
"It's also what I've been doing," Elfilis added, "I'm not sure how much it'll help my tension yet, but still…"
Vesa embraced herself to Elfilis, letting them wrap an arm around her. They simply huddled close until the sun began to set a couple hours later. The ocean began to take on an orange hue. They both rose to their feet and meandered between the trees. Along the way, Elfilis gently pushed branches aside as they followed close behind. When they stopped at the coast of the island, Vesa stared in awe. Elfilis gazed out at the ocean, their large perceptive eyes taking in the details of the tranquil waters. When Vesa peered down, she spotted a large rusty metallic wing which reminded her of a bat wing, jutting out from the shallow waters.
"Huh," Vesa paused, "I wonder if that's the remains of some ancient creature, or…"
Elfilis peered down and examined the submerged wing.
"Oh, that. It's the wing of the Halberd, Meta Knight's ship," Elfilis clarified, "apparently, after Nightmare was defeated, he got it into his head that everyone in Dreamland needed to be prepared for another potential threat and that people were being too lax and lazy. In his paranoid state, he decided that he would force people to prepare for another threat and would conquer Dreamland so that they would be ready for another fight should one come. I assume he thought he was doing the right thing— he was scared for the planet and its people, and wanted everyone to be safe. He also seems to be broken as a person. He has spent too long fighting, and at the time he likely saw everything as a battle. He wanted to protect everyone, but he went about it the wrong way is all."
Vesa blinked twice and shifted her gaze towards Elfilis.
"And where did you hear of that story?"
"It's pretty common knowledge since pretty much the entire country was involved and I had asked my siblings about recent history on Popstar, I wanted to be kept informed of past threats and other similar things."
"Oh, right," Vesa blurted.
Vesa and Elfilis continued to watch the sunset for a while.
"Are you ready to go home?" they asked.
Vesa thought over the question for the moment.
"Yeah, I had some fun spending time with you," she nodded.
"I, too, enjoyed myself," Elfilis agreed, "I'd like to speak with Meta Knight about his attempted campaign someday. I'm curious as to how his opinion changed over time."
Elfilis knelt, allowing Vesa to wrap her arms around them. The ultimate life-form blushed cutely, yet they took off into the sky anyway.
Vesa and Elfilis arrived at the tower that evening and made their way to the foyer.
"Hey," Vesa waved, "we're back!"
Elfilin, who had been perching on Hyness's head, perked up his large ears. The wizard set down his book and fixated his eyes on Vesa and Elfilis.
"Oh, welcome back! I was just working on helping Elflin with his powers. Speaking of, you should really start helping him with it, you are more experienced in their use than me after all. I just know the theory, but Elflin could use a helping hand with it."
Vesa and Elfilis exchanged glances. Elfilin floated towards the two, circling around his older sibling.
"So how'd your date go?" Elfilin chirped.
"I had fun," Vesa smiled.
"I also enjoyed myself quite a bit," Elfilis gave a soft barely visible smile.
Hyness stood from the couch.
"I'm glad your relationship finally took off," Hyness told them, "based on how I've seen you two interact, I was wondering if you would admit to having romantic feelings at some point. I've been waiting to see results since you woke up from your coma! I bought another camera since I lost my old one, so I'll be taking pictures…likely for a big book of photos to look back on."
Vesa and Elfilis exchanged confused glances.
"You mean a photo album?" Vesa clarified, "for both of us?"
"Yeah, that's the plan!" Hyness nodded, "I would've loved to capture some of the earlier moments, but might as well start now!"
Vesa and Elfilis noticed as Hyness pulled out a camera and a sudden flash of light elicited a surprised reaction out of them. Vesa gave a dumbfounded expression for a moment, then she scratched behind her head.
"That was…awkward," she commented with a soft laugh.
"I'm just happy to see they've improved so much from how they were described being only a year and a half ago," Hyness smiled with his eyes closed, "they seem to be doing a lot better and more like their old self."
Vesa gazed into Elfilis's eyes and leaned closer to them. A thought quickly popped into her head.
"Maybe we can borrow that camera sometimes?" Vesa offered, "you don't have to be the only contributor to the album, you know."
"Of course! I might even pick up a spare for you sometime if you really want!"
Hyness soon stopped to think.
"Of course, that brings up another matter I have been having some…issues with. As Elfilis and the girls know already, magical research is…well, it's expensive sometimes," Hyness mentioned, "and currently, we don't really have any large means of income and have been relying on selling off small artifacts and trinkets to make ends meet. However, it's not exactly a lot of money. I was thinking Elfilis might be able to help us by writing out old books and novels from back home to sell here. They were quite the avid reader back home and I was hoping they would be able to assist, all we need is to make a magical printing press and for Elfilis to write out the books like they did for the library. It's a necessity if we're going to get the materials needed for proper magical research."
Vesa shifted her gaze between Elfilis and Elfilin.
"Well," Vesa asked, "is there a way I could help you with that?"
"I'm not quite sure," Hyness offered, "I suppose you could help us bind the books and operate the press if you'd like? Due to magic, the process is largely automated other than applying the cover to the pages."
Vesa thought over the offer before she nodded.
"I'm sure this could be a learning experience," Vesa answered.
Vesa offered her hand, prompting Elfilin to give her a high five.
"Sounds like a plan!" Elfilin chirped, "and maybe Elfilis can teach me some stuff along the way about how to do that whole DNA thing!"
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