"Here you go, Mythra! Thought you might need a little pick me up!" Frankie offered as he held a large swirly chocolate shelled ice cream up for the blonde to grab and gaze at in intrigue.
"I wanted to hold it for you, but Frankie said otherwise…" Pyra muttered with a pout.
"Pyra. Honey. You were so hot that one night I didn't even need the blankets." Frankie snidely pointed out.
"I can turn up the heat further if you aren't careful, Mr. Guosmán..." Pyra answered back with an annoyed grin.
Mythra was too transfixed on her creamy concoction with its fudgy prison to really care or notice what Frankie or Pyra were talking about while Miko and Kaito stood back with wide grins on their faces. Without hesitation, Mythra took it in her mouth and was pleasantly shocked by the chocolate coat her ice cream wore… a delectable, sweet, soft crunch to compliment the mild and soft flavors of the vanilla ice cream inside, all of which caused her eyes to sparkle with delight as she took another bite in absolute bliss.
"Feeling a bit better, Mythra?" Frankie asked.
"Mm-Hmm!" Mythra nodded in energetic happiness as she continued eating her sweet treat while Kaito came to his side smugly.
"This is exactly what a good boyfriend does, you know…" He whispered. Frankie blushed sharply and looked away from both girls so he wouldn't tip them off on anything too soon… not like it wasn't insanely obvious to pretty much everyone at this point.
"We got that little treat at the pier! I know it's a bit unorthodox considering all the snacks we bought, but there's so much more if you wanna go see!" Pyra exclaimed.
"Th' pur? Wuffat?" Mythra asked as she continued eating her ice cream.
"Well, now, if I told you that would ruin the surprise now wouldn't it?" Pyra giggled.
"H-hey, s-speaking of snacks, I'm starved- got any more of those kettle chips left? Or-or some chicken, or how about- HUH?!" Frankie rummaged through the ice chest to discover it was shockingly empty. He felt around to no avail some more and opened it up to shock. All that was left were hot dogs, graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate, two chicken wings, a cookie, and a few bits of cheese. "Hey! What happened to the snacks?!"
"-Urp!" Miko held her fist to her mouth as she belched lightly. Frankie wasn't surprised.
"Miko, that was a week's worth of snacks you just downed! What did you do?!" Pyra asked.
"Well, pardon me! I was burning calories out there, if you didn't notice! A growing girl like me needs to replenish herself as much as she can! I don't wanna starve!"
"Yeah! You tell 'em, Muffin!" Kaito cheered as Miko placed her hands on her hips confidently and nodded sharply.
"Mmf! You're lucky I'm preoccupied at the moment, cuz if not…!" Mythra swallowed lightly and smacked her lips before continuing, "You'd be on the floor begging for mercy!"
"I'm sure I would, Banana-Senpai." Miko teased.
"Ya wanna come closer and say that to my face, you little brat?" Mythra leered further as she continued her snacking. Pyra turned to Frankie in confusion.
"Born and raised in Japan…" He said in amusement.
Kaito inserted himself between the ladies so they wouldn't escalate their battle.
"Well since Miko's gone and stuffed herself til dinner tonight, I say the three of you go off by yourselves to get more to snack on, sound like a plan?"
"I mean… that isn't exactly what the point of bringing it up was…" Frankie admitted.
"I'd be okay with that!" Mythra hollered as she finished her ice cream.
"We're not going to just snack, Mythra, there are plenty of games and stuff there, you know…" Pyra pointed out as Mythra stood up energetically.
"Games?! Alright! What kinda games? Tellmetellmetellme so I can DOMINATE THE LOT OF YOU!" The fire in her eyes lit up considerably, getting a chuckle out of Frankie.
"Maybe not quite up to your speed, but I think you'll get a kick out of them regardless, let's get a move on!" Frankie said.
"Lead the way, Big Guy!" Mythra joined up with Frankie as the two immediately headed off his way while Pyra stayed behind briefly.
"And Miko… the weenies and the sweets are for later tonight… if I come back and find a single one gone… I'm going to be mad…" Pyra warned with a very serene but very disapproving glare.
"Y-you got it big sis…" Miko whimpered as Pyra suddenly shifted to a happy smile and nodded silently as she followed Frankie and Mythra.
"Miko, did you just…"
"She can carry a metal sword as big as she is in one hand like it's a hobo bag… my stomach can wait…"
—————————————————————————
Not even five minutes on top of the pier, and Mythra had already begged Frankie to get her a cotton candy at a stand just before the full picture came to view, to which she was indulging in quite hastily.
"It melts in your mouth!" She cried excitedly as she ripped another piece off and plopped it on her tongue. "If thish ish a dream… I dun wanna wake up…"
Frankie smiled happily at her, glad and relieved he had gotten her out of her funk, meanwhile Pyra looked over at her with concern and discomfort.
"Mythra, you better be careful… you're gonna get a stomachache…" She warned.
"Hey! Who's the oldest here! Me! So quit worrying your pretty little head so much and let me…" She ripped off another piece with her teeth this time, "…Enjoy myshelf!"
Pyra groaned and rolled her eyes as she stood erect by Frankie's side once again, turning her glance toward him, to which he was slightly intimidated by.
"C-can I help you…?" He asked.
"She never acted quite like this before, you know…" She bemoaned.
"Oh, I think she's fine! Besides, I like a bit of weight on my girls and guys."
"Hm?" Pyra and Mythra turned to Frankie in unison. Realizing what he had just said, Frankie stuttered nervously.
"I-I mean- th-that-that is to say th-that um… cacamoté, cacamoté… h-hey! Look! We're here!"
Frankie frantically changed the topic as he explained the various activities at the pier. It was a bit of a variety park, filled with people and various fun distractions like snack bars, carnival games, knick knack shops, the works. In a more lowkey city, this would be akin to a festival.
Frankie toured Pyra and Mythra through the various attractions, and immediately something caught the ladies' respective attention.
"Ooh, those food stalls look divine!" Pyra hopped giddily in excitement.
"Were you not just getting on Mythra's case for the same?" Frankie asked with a smug smile.
"This is sustenance! Not junk food!" She defended.
"Hmm…I wanna check out some of those shops, I wanna get a souvenir of some kind." Mythra peered over to a shop selling figurines of cute animals.
"Then how's about you and Frankie check the shops out and I'll catch up with you later?"
"You sure about that Pyra? Wouldn't want you getting lost." Frankie tapped her shoulder just to make sure she was being attentive.
"Mhm!" Pyra nodded. "I'll be fine, Frankie. It's just getting some snacks, and I have my own money!" She pulled out her slightly old-fashioned pocket book filled with her savings from working at the library. It was a bright yet easy-on-the-eyes red with yellow borders, not immediately eye-catching but still quite charming and befitting of Pyra, at least that's what Frankie felt.
Seeing Pyra's wallet, Mythra pondered for a moment. Then she lit up as if an idea struck her.
"So she'll be fine!" She grabbed Frankie's wrist. "C'mon Dummy! I know what I wanna get now!"
"Wuh-alright then!" Frankie stumbled as Mythra pulled him away. "Just be safe Pyra!"
The red lass smiled and waved him off.
…
About 15 minutes later, Pyra casually munched on her French fries and alternated between the so-called Calamari Rings as Frankie called them. Though a bit more chewy than she would've liked, it was a unique profile she'd never tasted before.
"Now this is an interesting recipe… I wonder if there are any free range squid back home…" She said aloud to herself as she chewed.
It was at that moment did she come face to face with a small and curious little fellow. A feathery little fellow. It had a black head with white cheeks, a striking blue bill and black webbed feet. Both it and Pyra stared at each other for a short while before the redhead smiled warmly and squatted closer to its level.
"Aww… hey there little guy. What's up?" No response. "You must be one of those dinosaurs Frankie told me about…!"
"…Awk!"
"Gotta say… you don't look anything like how I remember them way back when… but I still think you're pretty cute nonetheless!"
"Awk!"
"Oh, you poor thing, you must be starving…" Pyra took a ring and offered it to the little duck. "Here, it's yours. Go on, take it!"
With no further invitation, the duck snatched the ring away from Pyra and flew off, surprising her with how sudden an action it was. Nothing short of rude, she decided. Miffed, Pyra was about to continue eating just as another duck showed up. This one was almost entirely brown in color, and it stared at her in a similar manner to the last one she encountered. Pyra grimaced and crouched down to this one as well.
"Okay, listen here. I know what it is you want, but I'm not your personal larder… And these weren't very cheap, I'll have you know!"
"Quack!"
Pyra sighed and took a French fry.
"Alright… this one last time, but don't tell your friends, okay?" Without a second thought, the duck immediately snatched the fry from Pyra's fingers and flew off, biting her finger very slightly. "Ow! A thank you would have been nice!" She called out.
Before she could even turn herself back around, yet another duck took the opportunity of her being distracted to snatch another calamari ring. When Pyra noticed and tried to call out to it, again, another one showed up and stole quite a few of her fries.
"Hey! Now that's quite enough! Oh… look what you did… you cross contaminated… that isn't good…" She looked solemnly at her food before she turned ahead to the sound of gentle flapping and landing. Her eyes shrunk in shock as a small flock of ducks, red and brown stared her down blankly as she stood alone with her basket.
"Um… hello…" She nervously said.
"…And when the competition from bears and dogs grew too strong on land, that's when the ancestors of modern day seals and sea lions took to the seas, and now we have these cool little tubs of lard today!" Frankie proudly announced to Mythra, who was transfixed by a small herd of sea lions hanging out underneath the dock. A couple males were fighting and barking loudly while the females slept lazily in the sun.
"Wow… that's something, alright… How long did it take them, anyway? An hour? Two hours? Huh! A day…?" Mythra cooed as she peered over curiously.
"Pokémon evolution and real world evolution are very much not the same thing, Mythra…"
"Well then, I guess we'll have to change our viewing schedule after work, eh, Big Guy? Get the ol' noggin working again with the science channel or something!" Mythra swiped herself over to face Frankie, letting her new 'belonging' hit the barricade.
"Careful, Mythra! You don't wanna get your purse all dirty, or worse… torn apart by ravenous California Sea Lions."
"Oh! You're right! Sorry, Frankie…" Mythra patted her brand new purse, completely colored in a bright aqua with gold buckles, a purchase that she and Frankie made together, per her own request and selection.
Before either of them could say anymore, they turned to the sound of Pyra's screaming followed by… angry quacking?
"Frankie! Mythra! Help!" She called as she shielded her head from the ducks above, and paying no attention to the ducks chasing her on the ground.
"Pyra, what did you do?!" Frankie screeched.
"They should have notices not to feed the wildlife around here!"
"Pyra, you dolt! For the love of the Architect, just torch them with your blade!" Mythra hollered.
"Oh, yes! Brilliant idea! Roasted animal with a side of PTSD for the innocent bystanders! What a concept!" Pyra answered back in annoyance as she waved her arms wildly to shoo the ducks away.
"Hold on, Pyra, I'm coming!" Frankie called as Mythra held up an arm his way.
"Stand back, Big Guy… I got this!"
Mythra ran over to the angry flock and leapt in front of Pyra quickly as she screamed wildly with her arms up in the air, all the while, a ball of light forming in between her hands, frightening the ducks and halting their attack. The blonde smiled smugly and inched toward them with her arms still outstretched, the ducks outstretched their wings to try and scare her off as they backed away, but to no avail. With another roar and a bout of wild stomping, the ducks flew off in a fright, dropping a bit of scraps from Pyra's lunch in the process.
"There! That takes care of everything!" She proudly exclaimed as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Frankie… the next time I get the idea to play with a wild animal… call me back to my crystal." Pyra sternly said.
"Ah, all waterfowl are assholes, Pyra, don't give yourself too much credit." Frankie pointed out as he patted her head gently.
"And not a person out of place! It's times like this do I really give thanks for the light of day AND the power of light!" Mythra cried as she went on over to the two of them.
"You better be careful, Mythra, you really rolled the dice with that little maneuver of yours…" Pyra warned again, only for Mythra to place her hands on her cheeks and lightly slap her playfully.
"Oh, quit worrying yourself so much, it's all over now. And you've got big sis Mythra to thank for it!" Mythra smiled brightly while Pyra stared on with an angry pout, getting a laugh out of Frankie.
"Why don't we just… move on and find something else to do before the pelicans or frigate birds show up?" He suggested.
"Yeah… I like the sound of that!" Mythra said as she continued to play with Pyra's cheeks, her expression unchanging.
"I take it the big spinning contraption is out of the picture?" Pyra guessed whilst rubbing her cheek, directing their attention to the Ferris wheel all the way at the back of the pier; its cars reaching high into the sky, above the clouds and close to the sun, Frankie swore. Even down below he felt his blood run cold as he timed just how much the people up top would have to wait to come back down… too long.
"Extremely…" He said nervously.
"Awww I get it, Dummy." Mythra replied with a concerned smile. "But then, what ARE we gonna do?"
"I have a suggestion!" Pyra popped up.
DING!
"Alright! How about another round, guys?!" Mythra hollered excitedly as the bell atop the strength meter rang out once again.
Frankie and Pyra were off to the side, shrinking in embarrassment and cheering her on supportively respectively.
"Yeah! Hit it again, Mythra hit it again!" Pyra turned to the sound of Frankie's jealous grumbling. "I-it's okay, Frankie… we never expected you to be rough and burly in the first place…"
"If my godsister finds out about this, she'll never let me live it down…" He grumbled.
"Oh, come on now, I'm sure she's more mature than that!"
"She's 11…"
"Ah… sorry then, Frankie…"
"Don't worry too much, Frankie!" Mythra called as she prepared another swing- straining a small bit as she picked up the hammer once more. "Now you know… that… we can… UNF!"
"DING!"
"Take care of ourselves just fine!"
"Congratulations… you've broken our last record… this karaoke machine is all yours… woo-hoo…" The keeper of the high striker unenthusiastically announced.
"Sweet! …what's karaoke…?" Mythra asked Frankie.
"It plays instrumentals of songs for you to sing along with. Pretty popular in clubs and pubs." He explained.
"Oh! Mythra! Did you hear that?! We have an outlet at last!" Pyra exclaimed.
"You bet I did!" Mythra hollered as she collected her prize dutifully. "I dunno if you know this, Frankie… but Pyra and I are quite the aficionados of the fine arts… and I don't mean to brag but… our voices aren't only suited to kiddy stories, I'll have you know…!" Mythra proudly scratched directly under her nose as she explained herself.
"We'll have to give it a try later this weekend!" Pyra then turned toward Frankie hopefully. "You'll set it up for us, won't you, Frankie?"
"Well… I don't see why not… just don't expect me to be up there with you… anything higher than old school rock n' roll shoots the birds right out of the sky." He chuckled nervously.
"Well, just play something a little more lowkey, Dummy!" Mythra joined back up with her peers with her prize as they continued to walk forward. "So! Where to next?"
"Hmmm… well…" Pyra gazed over curiously at a trio of young adults cheering each other on as they shot basketballs into electronic moving hoops under a timer… a bit of fair challenge tickled Pyra's fancy just fine!
"Aim for the square, Pyra! Aim for the square!" Frankie hollered as he shot a ball over to the hoop, just barely missing.
"I'm trying!" Pyra called back as she missed entirely.
"Come on! I've seen rusty Blades fire better than you two! Get it together!" Mythra screeched as Frankie and Pyra each tried their very best to shoot into the hoop per Frankie's instructions and Mythra's jeering cheers, only to miss the last shot totally and time out just as the game finished.
Frankie had two points over Pyra, who only had two herself. Nowhere near enough for a prize.
"Darn it! I'll never get that board game now!" Pyra crossed her arms harshly as she, strangely enough, glared unblinkingly at the game she had set her eyes on, none other than 'Scrabble'.
"Looked a lot easier from farther away, huh, Pyra?" Mythra asked. Pyra nodded with her eyes gently shut, a pout on her lips in agreement.
"We each need to get 25 points each to get that game, you have any ideas, Mythra?" Frankie asked.
"Don't look at me, I'm just as stumped on this whole thing as Pyra is." She admitted with her hands in the air.
"With how much my dad talked about basketball like a madman, I really do wish I would've listened instead of just relying on PE classes…" Frankie bemoaned as he squeezed one of the balls solemnly.
"Well… I did get pretty close with the strategy you suggested…" Pyra pointed out.
"You know what the definition of insanity is, right, Pyra?" Mythra asked.
"We were running out of time! Give us a break!" Pyra excused herself stoically.
"Well… I for one never liked that definition…" Frankie began as he reached into his wallet and paid the keeper once again to start the game. "So let's give it another shot, I think I recall Kaito telling me how he won an Eevee plush at one of these for Miko."
Mythra and Pyra both looked in some shock.
"That dork? I never pegged him as much of a sports guy…" Mythra looked down in thought. "...well, actually, Miko did mention that he used to be a soccer coach for kids."
"And he was quite spry on his feet back when Frankie and I conjured that illusion." Pyra added.
"Guess that explains why he and Miko lost their minds over the volleyball stuff at the beach or whatever it's called."
"Kaito actually has some history with a chunk of sports, he played soccer and basketball in his youth, and from the latter he learned some technique for tossing in the ball, if I recall correctly…"
Frankie took the ball he was holding and held it to his chest. He then proceeded to shift his hand position, making it slightly different from how he was shooting before.
"...he said you have to lob the ball up with one hand, and then snap your wrist forward. The way he explained it to me is, 'your shooting hand should look like you're putting sprinkles into the basket.' So…" He followed the instructions he just described to take a practice shot at the net, pumping his arm up and pushing the ball forward with his palm, keeping his arm raised as he mimicked the motion of tossing sprinkles.
Sure enough, the ball sunk in the basket, without even touching the rim.
"N-nothing but net??" Mythra's jaw practically hit the floor as Pyra clapped excitedly.
Frankie was similarly surprised as he was not anticipating Kaito's advice to work so immediately. He looked down at his palm and, in an effort to copy one of the sports anime Kaito was obsessed with, clasped it tightly as he turned to Pyra.
"Ready?"
"Ready!!"
With only thirty seconds left down from forty five, Frankie and Pyra had to really get to work. Following Kaito's technique and Frankie's demonstration as best as they could, they certainly drew Mythra's attention as they began to sink basket after basket.
While it took Pyra a few tries to understand the technique fully, once she did, it became like second nature almost. Both of them went from basically never scoring a basket to rarely missing one, and by the end of the 30 seconds, they had fully smashed the record.
Loud ringing noises had filled the area, causing Mythra to fall over on her rear, as she was leaning up against the machine, while Frankie and Pyra themselves reeled back quickly in alarm. Mythra joined them to look at the rapid flashing lights as the score from both flashed proudly on the screen.
"Congratulations!" The attendee manning the game clapped at their success. "That was great work, you two! You're a real power couple-"
"THANK YOU WE'LL TAKE THE PRIZE NOW THANK YOU!" Frankie quickly moved on as to keep him and the ladies from processing the attendee's words.
As they began to leave, Pyra triumphantly held the Scrabble board above her head like it was a trophy.
"And now, my esteemed effendi! We reap the benefits of our success!" She cried.
"And who's the dork now?" Mythra slyly asked as Pyra brought the game down to her chest and gently shut her eyes stoically at her.
"It's still you, I'm afraid… showboating your victory in front of our dear friend Frankie like there was no tomorrow- shame on you Mythra."
"You're just jealous, Pyra! Jealous that all those love handles of yours were carried over to my rippling abs and biceps!"
"That you'll lose in ten days tops if you keep snacking on all that cotton candy and ice cream from earlier~" Pyra whispered smugly.
"What was that?!" Mythra craned her neck forward to face Pyra now, who stuck her tongue out at her playfully.
"How about we say you're both dorks and leave it at that?" Frankie chuckled, earning him disapproving glares from both ladies.
"You're one to talk, mister science of evolution! Who keeps an internal encyclopedia stewing in their whole being for any given time other than you?!" Mythra asked huffily.
"And it's you who turns weekdays after work into sing-along movie nights with your little dizzy plus or whatever it's called." Pyra pointed out.
"I-it's just as well…" Frankie admitted with a sheepish smile and blush.
"And if you admit all that, I say that you're the biggest dork and Dummy between all of-!" Mythra stopped suddenly as she stared straight ahead.
"Mythra? You okay?" Frankie asked as he and Pyra stopped to look at her.
"There…" She pointed straight ahead to yet another game stand. The other two's attention was directed toward the prize corner in particular. Large, soft, very colorful plushies of all kinds lined up in a corner… ripe for the picking.
The three followed Mythra to the stand to get a better look. Following her gaze upward, they saw the grand prize: a lifesize Charizard plushie, fluffier than a cloud, softer than a luscious field of dandelion fuzz, and a confident but peaceful smile drawn on its furrowed, reptilian face.
"He's… beautiful…" Mythra intoned.
"I've seen plushies like this go for a thousand dollars online…" Frankie added as he stared upward.
"Well, are you looking to give it a shot, Mythra?" Pyra asked.
"Hell yeah! Jimmy needs another cuddle buddy!" Wasting no time at all, Mythra ran over to the smiling, large portioned man just behind the stand and brought out a dollar to play. "Lay it on me, guy! What's a girl gotta do to get that big ol' Charizard plushie? I dunno if you know this, but I'm a bit of an avid Pokémon player, ranking level 9 on the online ladder for a consecutive two weeks straight…! Hold your applause…!" Mythra turned away proudly with her eyes shut and hand on her hip in confidence.
"Stuck there for two weeks is more like it…" Frankie muttered to Pyra, who stifled her laughter.
"Well I surely am glad you asked, Missy!" The man said while rubbing his hands together. "It is a very simple procedure, I assure you! It takes nothin' more than knockin' over all of these here cans with one little softball!" The man held up the ball and placed it towards Mythra, who smiled toothily and picked it up.
"Alright, guy! Move outta the way! It's about to get messy!"
The man obliged with a very light bow as he moved aside to reveal at least one hundred cans stacked up on each other in a pyramid shape. Frankie, Pyra, and Mythra's eyes widened in surprise as they all took a step back to really analyze what it was they were looking at.
"Mythra… for your sake… I'd advise not getting too ahead of yourself…" Pyra said.
"Right… uh…" Mythra gripped the ball tightly and took a deep breath as she focused intently on the stack, flinging the ball with as much might as she could. Unfortunately, her toss was a bit off, and she only managed to knock a few cans off the edges and no more.
"Oh, no! So very close!" The attendee quickly ran over to fix the structure once again, then rushed back to Mythra with the same wide smile and rubbing of his hands as previously. "Would the lady care for another go? All she requires is one more dollar!"
"I see your game…" Mythra pulled out another dollar and placed it on the counter. She then grabbed another ball and pressed it firmly in her hands and squeezed it tight before winding her arm back.
"Again, this is gonna get…MESSY!" As she ended her sentence she flung the ball, this time much closer to the middle. However, this time, the ball almost seemed to bounce off the cans and unceremoniously fall to the ground, knocking over even fewer cans than her first attempt.
"W-wha…" Mythra stood back, a little shocked. The first throw she could understand in terms of why it didn't do much, but she had no clue as to how the second throw failed.
"Sorry 'bout that, miss!" The attendee slowly got up from picking the two cans Mythra knocked over off the ground. "Them's the ropes."
Mythra's face started turning red with annoyance as she slammed another dollar onto the counter to try again.
"My mom always told me to stop and think every once and a while if we get into a sticky situation like this… aye… even when she's not here, she's right…" Frankie advised.
"A wise woman with even wiser words! Even if they are a bit simple and broad!" Pyra pointed out as she walked back to Mythra to place a hand on her shoulder. "Really analyze the situation, Mythra, don't get too hasty, now."
"Analyze the situation, eh?" Mythra's face lit up in confidence as she really took Pyra's words to heart. "I have just the idea for that…"
This time Mythra closed her eyes as she held the ball, seemingly trying to channel some sort of energy.
"Ooh, she's actually using it?" Pyra curiously put her hand to her mouth.
"Using what?"
"One of Mythra's unique abilities as a Blade is being able to see the immediate future, just a few seconds though, and it requires a lot of concentration to activate. I assume since she's a bit rusty, it'll take her a little while to bring it forth."
"I…huh…" Frankie sighed.
"You… don't seem nearly as surprised as I thought you'd be." Pyra tilted her head at him.
"I mean, I've seen you two appear from practically thin air, create a vision of a completely different side of the world, make fire spew out of your hands, summon a 'BFS', so to speak, manipulate the visions of a whole room of people, and Mythra over here just summoned the sun with the palms of her hands like it was Tuesday!" For added emphasis, Frankie pointed sharply over to Mythra as he finished.
"That isn't TOTALLY what happened, but… fair point."
"At this rate, you could tell me that you and Mythra could shoot bizcocho de zanahoria out of your wrists and I'd believe it."
"I don't know what that is…"
"Yeah… that's what you want me to think, isn't it?"
"Would you two be quiet! I'm trying to concentrate here!" Mythra angrily squeezed the ball further.
"Oh you definitely got this ma'am!" The attendee spoke with a very discernable hint of sarcasm.
"Shut it!"
Frankie leaned over to Pyra so he could whisper and not distract Mythra.
"So…can you see into the future too?"
"Well I…I don't think so, but I guess I've never actually made a serious attempt at it..." Pyra put her hand to her chin in contemplation.
Frankie pondered himself. Thus far all of Pyra and Mythra's abilities had been shared across the both of them, only difference being the fire and light natures they seemed to possess respectively. Thus he just anticipated that all of their unique Blade skills were mirrored.
"I mean, it stands to reason that I could if I practiced at it, it's just that…I probably would have already shown signs if-"
She cut herself off and stared more intently into the middle-distance, as if she realized something.
"Pyra?"
"Well…there was this one time…my memory of it is a bit hazy, but I do recall me and Mythra discussing… something about my dreams…" Pyra was clearly struggling to make out the finer details. She closed her eyes and pressed her wrist to her forehead as she wracked her brain.
"You alright?"
Pyra opened her eyes to Frankie's face up close to hers, causing her to blush suddenly.
"O-oh…I uh…looks like I can't remember after all, sorry!" She said, somewhat nervously.
"Oh, well that's alright, not like it's something you need in this time I guess, minus for silly things like this." Frankie gestured over to Mythra, who seemed to be finishing her concentration ritual.
"Yeah…you're right…heh…" Pyra just chuckled as they both turned to watch Mythra.
The blonde took a deep breath inward as she shifted her stance.
'Aaaaannnnnnnd…Foresight!'
She opened her eyes as a faint blue glow emanated from them. Suddenly she could see a variety of potential future outcomes, represented by blue silhouettes of herself. She watched herself aim at various parts of the tower of cans, observing each result. Aim to the left, ineffective. Aim to the top, not enough cans knocked over. Aim to the middle, the ball will bounce off.
Thus that left only one option.
"The bottom-left!" Mythra shouted as she lobbed the ball straight for the bottom corner of the tower.
Only for it to unceremoniously bounce off the can and strike her in the head. Frankie and Pyra gasped in shock as Mythra recollected herself.
"Mythra, are you…" Frankie began just before Mythra swiftly held up a hand and got him to stop.
"Heheheh… it's alright Big Guy… really… it's fine… it's totally… completely… ASTRONOMICALLY fine…!" She chuckled darkly.
"Mythra, we can walk away, it's-" Pyra was cut off herself by Mythra's low and crazed dark chuckling, which exploded into mad laughter as she exploded into a scream of bloody anguish.
"OKAY! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"
Mythra rolled back her sleeve and began to rapidly give dollars and throw balls repeatedly at a faster and faster pace.
"If she keeps going like this, she'll spend her life's savings on the plush! Much less a thousand!" Frankie frantically tried to stop Mythra to no avail as Pyra watched on in mild concern.
"Surely there's some trick to this accursed carnival game…" She looked around the stall. Suddenly she noticed something off about the cans, some odd magnet-looking device hooked to the back of them and attached to a machine.
Coming out of said machine was a long chord, only barely visible as it fed through the back of the stall and narrowly peeked out as it was clearly running towards the nearest power outlet.
"...hmmmmmmmm…"
Frankie had managed to prevent Mythra from throwing any more balls for a solid few minutes.
"Aww come on, sir! She was soooo close to winning the prize!" The attendee said in a tone that was clearly mocking but just toned down enough to not be obvious.
"Piss off…" Frankie warned darkly as he rubbed Mythra's shoulders to console her, with a very unfriendly grimace adorning his face.
"I swear, Smokey… I'll free you from this prison…" She said somberly, as small little tears dripped down her eyes. Upon seeing this, Frankie's mouth swung open in shock as he looked back angrily at the attendee and lowered his voice towards him.
"We're done here, keep your flying lizard…" He said just as Pyra came up happily.
"Oh, come on, now, Frankie! Let her try once more! It can't hurt!" She cried.
"Wh-what? But, Pyra-"
"Great! I knew you'd understand! Let's give her some room!" She said as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him aside, leaving him a stuttering mess. Then she came closer to Mythra and whispered, "You got this, Mythra, I know you do…"
Mythra looked over to Pyra briefly and then back to the cans. With one last hopeful sigh, she focused intently and gulped slightly. Frankie looked over to Pyra shadily while she delivered a bright and cheery smile his way before both turned back to Mythra.
'Just focus, aim like you did before…'
She psyched herself back up as the attendee was starting to doze off in boredom. She winded back, took one more deep breath, and launched the ball from her arm like a cannon, aiming it straight for the bottom left corner again. This time, however, the can was knocked clean off of the podium it was standing on. And, thanks to Mythra's precise aiming, the balance of the whole pyramid was undone.
The sudden sound of the can hitting the back of the stall woke the attendee right up, just in time for him to watch as the mountain of other cans fell onto him like a tsunami. Every last one.
Mythra, Frankie, and Pyra all looked on at the now buried attendee, and while the former two simply stared in shock, Pyra jumped in the air and loudly cheered.
"Yayyyy! Mythra you did it! I knew you had it in you!" She grabbed both of them into a big warm hug.
"She did it…?" Frankie asked.
"I did it…?" Mythra also asked.
"Mmm hmmhmm?" The attendee also also asked.
"…I did it!" Mythra's smile widened to both ears as the attendee got up from the pile to see Mythra's confident face staring him down. "I believe I'm owed a bit of compensation!"
With a frown, the attendee grabbed his ladder and climbed up to reach the Charizard plushie and offer it to Mythra.
"Thank you, sir! Pleasure doing business with you!" She cried as the trio went off, leaving the attendee to contemplate everything that led him to this point in life.
"Well, I'd say this trip was a successful one." Frankie said, smiling at Mythra's new plushie.
"An excellent performance, if I do say so myself, Mythra!" Pyra clapped as she held her board game.
"A thousand dollar value for only twenty… yeah, pretty good job Mythra…!" Frankie intoned, holding the karaoke machine, letting Mythra hold the giant Charizard plushie and cuddle him so very closely.
"I love my Smokey… I love him so very much!" She cooed. Pyra chuckled in response.
"Well, now, I, myself am wondering if you're the older one between the two of us or not!" She said.
"Don't touch my Smokey!" Mythra hollered back.
"Now, now. Don't take that tone with me, young lady! Or we'll march right on back to the stand and give the nice man his plushie back!"
"No, no! I'll be good, I promise!"
"Oh, you two…" Frankie fondly chuckled as the trio walked on back to the beach, their day fully made up from the blunders earlier that morning.
—————————————————————————
It was dark now, but quite a few people were still hanging back in the sand, including Frankie's little crew- they had rented a bonfire and were currently roasting hot dogs and making s'mores, the likes of which neither Pyra or Mythra had ever heard of before. The juicy savory spices of the sausages and the overwhelmingly -but all too delicious, gooey, and warm- sweetness of the marshmallows and chocolate betwixed between two crunchy graham crackers gave both of them the impression that this must've been what heaven tasted like. They had practically burned through both packages by themselves- much to Frankie's chagrin, as he didn't get nearly enough, angrily pouting at the two older ladies alongside Miko.
Another half hour had passed and a number of people had packed up and gone home for the night, minus the Circle of five still enjoying what little snacks they had left.
"…so anyone who thinks that Dynamax was a stupid mechanic can go and die for all I care! It made so many more Pokémon viable than silly old Mega Evolution or Z-Moves!" Mythra hollered as she plopped a bite of chocolate digestive into her mouth.
"Yeah, but Terastalizing is more balanced…" Frankie sneered quietly to himself, just loud enough for Mythra to hear and stick her tongue out defiantly at him.
"For the record, I blame you for this…" Pyra said, turning towards Kaito, not amused in the least.
"Hey, Frankie's the one hanging with her 24/7, not me!" Kaito pointed out.
"She spent twenty dollars on one game, you WERE listening to our story, weren't you?"
"And what lovely sets of memories and mementos you've made!"
As the two finished, Miko let out a big yawn as she stretched herself.
"Today was a full day!" She exclaimed as she sat back in her seat.
"You can say that again, I'm gonna sleep like a gun damn koala bear tonight." Frankie said as he placed his hands on his stomach.
"Well, one thing's for sure, I had a pretty good time…" Mythra said, leaning back with a smile.
"Same here!" Pyra chirped up. "The beach was a great idea, Kaito! We have to do it again sometime!"
"Yeah, well, we wouldn't even be here if big brobro wasn't such a caring, considerate guy to the likes of you…" Kaito pointed out, getting a blush from his older brother.
"H-hey now… all I did was take them to go shopping…" He quietly responded.
"Shopping alone by yourselves for stuff you know they like based on how they act around you. That's pretty caring and considerate to me!" Miko replied, getting a silent and nervous blush from Frankie as he turned away, unbeknownst to him, Pyra and Mythra did exactly the same thing as they listened to Kaito and Miko's little rambling.
'Cute.' The shorter couple thought to themselves.
"S-so… should we get going in a bit or something…?" Mythra asked.
"Oh, just a bit longer! The beach is still open for another hour! We can just take our time! As a matter of fact… with all of us around the bonfire like this… I think we can afford to share some little… yarns, if you know what I mean…" Miko chuckled slyly as Frankie, Pyra, and Mythra all turned towards her.
"Yarns?" Pyra asked.
"Ghost stories, fun facts, just little nonsense tales, those kind of things." Frankie suggested.
"Oh! Well… I wouldn't mind hearing a fun little fact! We've been kind of slacking on our record keeping lately, haven't we, Mythra?" She asked.
"Hm? O-oh, y-yeah… sure, I guess…" Mythra responded, still a bit flustered from Kaito and Miko's comments. Just then, Kaito began to chuckle eerily, making Frankie raise an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Hey, Pyra… you ever wonder why the ocean is so salty…?" He asked.
"Huh… as a matter of fact, I have! Do tell!" Pyra was on the edge of her seat as she leaned in for Kaito to speak.
"Well, you see… when a mommy and daddy whale love each other very much… they-" before he could continue, Frankie dove right in and slapped a hand over his mouth as he hastily tried to change the subject.
"-ARE COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO THE ACTUAL REASON, WHICH IS BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF YEARS OF ERODED CHEMICALS FROM THE EARTH'S CRUST SEEPING INTO THE SEA!"
"Billions of years?" Pyra was stunned. "I really am learning something new every day!" She clasped her hands together brightly as Frankie removed his hand from Kaito's mouth, glaring at him harshly. Kaito's response was to grin cheekily at him with a wide toothy smile.
The beach was now completely empty, with the only people still hanging around being Frankie, Pyra, Mythra, Kaito, and Miko, who were putting away all their things and getting ready to head out at last. The day long gone, bellies full, and hearts happy, the quintet headed out in their car, with Kaito driving them home, Miko resting on his shoulder happily as she kept lookout for him as well. And in her duty, she noticed something that made her smile. She tapped Kaito on the side and rolled her eyes to the backseat, garnering Kaito's attention quickly. He smiled warmly at the sight as well. It was Frankie, Pyra, and Mythra, sleeping soundly on each other. Frankie right in the middle, and Pyra and Mythra on either side of him; resting their heads on his shoulders, while Frankie rested his on Mythra's. They looked… peaceful.
"What a trio of dorks…" Kaito intoned as he turned back to the road quickly.
"They can say whatever their silly little hearts want, but the proof is in the pudding, right, Kokonut?" Miko asked.
Kaito laughed heartily in response.
"Waaaaaaaayyyyyy in the pudding! Think we should separate them when we wake them up so they don't freak out?"
"We'll see~" Miko chuckled. She was silent for a minute further before turning to Kaito once more. "I wonder how Mythra was able to take down those cans so easily after all her fumbles previously?"
"Beats me." Kaito admitted.
"THAT RED HEADED BIMBO!" The fat attendee hollered as he overlooked his stand, holding the plug of the magnetic device dramatically in his hands as the cut ends of each remained singed in black. He could practically hear Pyra's teasing giggle as he overlooked the scene so dutifully.
