"Riku!"
A taller Rifana leans out of the window of a cottage, the sea breeze gently blowing her short pink hair. She places a hand over her brow, shielding her red eyes from the mid-morning sun directly before her. "Riku, where are you? I thought we were going to play today!" The last few words come out as a whine, but she can't help it, as she had finally been able to convince Sadeena to join them in their fun. She absently expects Raphtalia and Keel to be on their way, barring unforeseen circumstances, but her puppy was outside somewhere after momma let him out.
Of course, with how he is growing, puppy is more a relative term. This is even evident as he appears in a blur streaking towards her house, steps confident instead of stumbling as he bounds towards the house.
She immediately brightens up when she sees him, hurrying out the front door to meet him despite her lack of shoes. "Good boy, Riku!" She holds her arms out for him as he draws near.
He slows down so that he gently bumps into her at the end, licking her face and leaning into her.
She quietly giggles, brushing his fur with her hands and burying her face in his neck's fluff. "Welcome home, Riku. Are you hungry?"
He makes a few noises at her as if he's talking.
"I'm taking that as a yes." She smiles and pulls back, rubbing his cheeks and luxuriating in his softness. "Mom made your favorite steak. Blue." Her brow furrows slightly. "I still don't know why really rare is called that…"
He makes a two note response as if agreeing even as he looks down at her.
Rifana trails her hands down and straightens the blue bandana there. "Oh, what have you been up to, Riku? Find any friends?"
He lets out a breath that almost sounds like a huff and rests his head on hers.
"No?" She gently hugs him, smoothing down his fur with tender strokes. "It's okay. We'll find you some friends eventually. For now, you have us!"
He woofs and wags his tail.
"There's my happy boy," she says, beaming at him. "Come on, we'll get you your food and then we'll go find our friends."
He licks her cheek as he stands, now longer than she is tall if you include the tail. Even so, she tries to pick him up, arms under his front legs as his front half is lifted. He rests his paws on her shoulders, knowing not to wiggle as he balances. His head rubs against hers as he leans in, tail swishing behind him.
The eight year old girl bends her legs as she reaches for his hind legs. She briefly tries to lift, but lets go after a second, pouting a bit. "Still not strong enough... I miss being able to carry you," she whispers to him.
He woofs and gets back down, leaning against her.
She gently rubs his head, letting out a little sigh. "Maybe next time," she says, rubbing her thighs.
He huffs and curls around her before grabbing the back of her shirt in his teeth and gently dragging her back inside.
"Riku!" She whines, stumbling to get her legs back underneath her. "I'm fine, I can walk!"
She sees his tail only swish more as he brings her in and plops her in front of her mom, sitting and looking proud of himself.
She huffs softly, reaching up to gently rub his head. "...you're still a good boy," she acquiesces.
Her mom giggles as she watches them. "I'll say. I know I can rely on him to keep you out of trouble and bring you back to me if I need him to."
She blushes a bit, hugging the dog and burying her face in his fluffy red fur.
His tail wags under him as he lays down so she can hug him easier.
She ends up following him to the ground, partially draped over his back as she holds him.
"So cute..." Her mom says, looking as though she's memorizing the scene.
"…does Raphtalia's parents embarrass her, too?" Rifana asks, peeking an eye at her mother.
"I think all parents do in their children's eyes." She laughs.
She giggles softly, pulling a bit more away from Riku. "Maybe. Any stories about them?"
"Well let's see... there was the time you and little Raphtalia first met..." She starts as she looks upward.
Rifana starts to get comfortable against her dog friend-slash-pillow, smiling up at her.
"It was a little while after they came to town-" She's interrupted by a rapid knock at the door, Riku's head snapping to look.
Rifana sits up, blinking in surprise. "Oh, are they here already?"
Raphtalia's voice comes through the door. "Rifana! Riku! Please come out! Keel made plans for today!"
Riku looks back at Rifana as her mother laughs. "Well, I don't think they want to wait."
She blushes a bit, slowly moving to stand. "Can we hear the story later, momma?"
"Of course." She hugs her and pets Riku. "You two have fun. Oh, and here," She gives the dog a small slab of meat, which he gobbles down. "So I know you had lunch."
She hugs her mother, smiling warmly. "Love you, momma."
"I love you, too, Rifana."
She waves as they hurry out the door to their friends.
Riku stays behind a moment and seems to almost nod to the parent before following.
Raphtalia is busy shaking Keel when they approach. "Tell me," she whines.
"Nope!" The dog boy says evasively. "You have to wait until it's time."
Rifana walks closer, her hands buried in her dog's fur. "What's going on?"
"Keel won't tell us what his plans for today are," the raccoon girl pouts, walking over to hug Riku.
The dog accepts this as Keel crosses his arms and smirks. "It's part of the surprise."
The weasel girl walks forward, taking Keel's hands. "Are we heading over now? Will it be something amazing?"
"Of course!" He nods rapidly, beaming at her.
She smiles, gently squeezing his hands. "Sounds fun! Where are we going?"
"You'll see." He says, starting to lead her.
"Hey, wait!" Raphtalia says, trying to pull Riku after them. "Don't forget us!"
The dog quickly stands and leads her now, overtaking her as it follows.
The girl just holds on as she's dragged along, not expecting that.
He does slow down when he gets to the others, Keel blinking. "Wow... he's getting strong."
Rifana smiles, reaching up to rub the red dog's head. "Yep! Our boy is so strong!"
Keel murmurs something, but shakes his head and smiles once more. "All the better for today."
"Really?" She looks at him, but her hand continues to move.
"You'll see!" He laughs.
"Riku?" Rifana asks, walking up to her big friend. "Do you think you're strong enough to carry someone, yet?"
He tilts his head to the side, silent before he lays down and looks up at her.
She blinks, then smiles, moving to carefully settle on his back, hands buried in his fur. Raphtalia hurries next to Keel, turning to watch with him.
Riku huffs and braces himself, standing steadily to his feet.
Rifana giggles, rubbing his neck encouragingly. "Good boy, Riku."
Hsi tail wags as he stands to his full height, looking proud as he raises his head.
"…how far can he carry you?" Raphtalia asks, curious.
"How fast can he carry you?" Keel adds.
"...to be fair, this is our first successful attempt," She demurs, burying her face in the dog's neck fur.
Riku woofs, standing tall but clearly not actually moving.
"It's alright, you can let me back down," she offers, patting his side. "We'll see if we can get you to walking, eventually."
He eases down to let her off gently, a small grumble coming from him.
She climbs off, turning and hugging him around the neck. "You're so strong, Riku, and you're only going to get stronger."
The grumble is quieter as he licks her cheek.
The pink-haired girl giggles, patting him on the nose before turning to Keel. "Let's go, please?"
The boy nods, perking back up. "Right!"
They quickly hurry after the young boy like lost puppies.
Keel leads them to the edge of town and behind a large barn as he looks back at them all. "Ready?"
Raphtalia looks fit to burst with her desire to know, while Rifana gives him a patient, encouraging smile.
He leads them through a gate before gesturing grandly with his arm. "Ta-da!"
Before them lies a trimmed and clear section of land with a few tables with various sticks at one end along with targets and dummies of all shapes and sizes dotted around them. Everything from actual stick figures to sacks with bucket heads.
The girls look around, leading Riku into the center of the area. "So...is this a training area?" Rifana asks. "Is Sadeena teaching you to fight?"
"Well, no, not yet, but I figured maybe we could get a head start!"
"Oh! So we can help her once we're older?" Raphtalia says, smiling brightly.
"Yeah!" He nods enthusiastically. "That way she won't have to be gone for so long, too."
"I think I get it," Rifana says, nodding a bit. "So all of us can train here?"
He nods. "Yep! Sadeena even said she might come check it out."
Raphtalia nods, looking up at Riku. "...so would he just be biting, or...?"
The dog barks and goes over to the sticks, almost like he's assessing them.
"I don't know," Rifana hums. "I was thinking he could... use some kind of blade," she muses.
"Do they make dog swords?" Keel asks.
She shrugs helplessly. "Momma wouldn't say."
"Wait, so she knew?" He tilts his head.
"I don't really know… but it seemed like she did?"
"Hmm... maybe it's one of those 'when we're older' things."
Raphtalia pics up a stick, eyeing it. "…so what are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to practice?"
"I figured we use these like practice weapons and try different ways to use them." Keel explains, going to grab a stick but having it taken by Riku before he can get to it. The large dog holds it sideways in his mouth.
Rifana looks at him, tapping her chin thoughtfully. She gently tugs it so it's centered, then taps each side with a stick. "...maybe that's how he can..."
"Huh... yeah that could work. So no chance of just giving him a sword, huh?" He asks.
"A sword in that shape, maybe?" The raccoon girl suggests, tracing a half-circle in front of Riku's face.
The dog gives a muffled bark while Keel looks thoughtful. "I can try to find a stick like that…"
Rifana smiles and gives the dog boy a grateful hug. "Thank you."
They can spot his tail wagging as he tries to respond. "Well, yeah, you know... no problem."
Raphtalia watches with a confused expression as Rifana pulls away, looking at the sticks gathered. She blinks, picking up one with a hooked end. "...why'd you grab this one?"
"Why not? There's all kinds of weapons and I didn't know what we'd each like."
She shrugs, offering it to him. "Did you want this one?" She asks, holding the sickle-like stick by the curved section.
He takes it, giving it a few swings as he smiles. "Yeah, I think I'll start with this."
She smiles at him before turning back to Raphtalia and the straight stick in her hands. "…oh, did you already choose?"
She nods, looking at her practice weapon. "It seems… simple enough, I think."
"What are you gonna pick, Rifana?" Keel asks.
She looks around, inspecting the sticks and frowning a bit. "...I'm not sure. They... don't feel right to me?"
Keel looks back. "Did you want me to try to find bigger or smaller or something?"
She crosses her arms in concentration. "…do you have string?" She asks, thoughtful.
He looks down at his shirt, thoughtful.
She watches him with a raised eyebrow. "…what are you thinking, Keel?"
"I was thining if I could use a string from my shirt, but I don't think that would work."
She sighs, moving to browse through the sticks. She pulls out a branch that appears to have something on one end. "...not quite..." She searches further, going around the edges of the training field for anything that might feel right.
Riku makes a curious noise, setting down his stick and following her.
It takes her a minute of looking, but she nearly stumbles over her find. Reaching down, she picks up a large hammer, frowning in confusion. "Did someone lose this?" She turns this way and that, trying to figure out who would lose a tool about as long as her torso.
Riku woofs as though that might shed some insight, sniffing it.
She nods absently, giving it a few swings. "…I was hoping for a bow," she admits, "but this works, too, I think."
The dog tilts his head before suddenly running off into the trees.
Rifana blinks, looking after her friend in confusion. "Riku, where are you going?"
He is gone about thirty seconds before he comes running back with a thick vine dragging behind him. He barks as he gets closer, sitting in front of her.
Blinking in surprise, she tucks the hammer into her belt and gratefully takes the vine. "Thank you," she says, smiling and petting her friend. "This should help a lot."
He rubs his head on her side before leading her back to the others.
She waves at them and reaches for a good, bendy branch. Raphtalia watches curiously as she starts tying the vine to the branch. She turns to her friend for answers. "Keel? What's she doing?"
"I think she's making a bow of some kind." He answers, looking impressed. "I didn't know she knew how."
It is in the process of trying to bend the branch that it flies loose, nearly nailing the dog boy.
He yelps, hopping to the side with his ears standing straight up. "Hey!"
"Sorry!" Rifana rushes over, quickly looking over and patting down his body to make sure it didn't hurt him. "Are you alright? Please tell me you're alright…"
"I'm fine I'm fine..." He tries to catch her hands as she pats him, resulting in it looking more like some kind of game.
Raphtalia can't help herself; she giggles from the sight and tries to cover her mouth.
"What?" He looks over to her even as he keeps trying to parry the other girl's hands.
"Nothing!" She gives him a cheeky smile as Rifana eventually stops and hugs him instead.
Riku woofs as he walks by with the vine, tied to only one side of the stick. He seems to be entertaining himself by flicking his neck and seeing how far the stick goes.
The racoon girl holds up her own stick, smiling at him. "You want to play? See if you can keep me from touching you?"
He barks and wags his tail, crouching down in front of her.
She smiles and stretches forward to tap his nose with the stick.
His mouth slowly opens.
She turns and flings the stick down the practice area, grinning. "Go fetch!"
He takes off, a bit of dirt flying in his wake as he zooms down the field, almost beating the stick to the spot it lands.
Rifana smiles and politely claps for her friends.
Riku zooms back with the stick in his mouth, putting on the brakes so that leaves scatter behind him as he parks right in front of Raphtalia, tail wagging.
The raccoon girl smiles and pets his head, reaching for the stick. "Good boy. Want to go again?"
He barks and stands up on his hind legs briefly, his ears higher than hers.
As the two play, Keel and Rifana busy themselves trying to work her bow into a usable condition. This rustle of activity eventually gathers a particular audience. A tall form almost silently walks up behind them all before they even know it's present.
"Well now, what's all this happening behind the barn here?" A smooth female voice announces herself.
Rifana yelps and jumps into Keel's arms, hugging him around the neck. Raphtalia fumbles her throw, the stick sailing straight up and almost landing square on the surprise guest's head.
Sadeena catches the stick calmly before it hits her, twirling it and setting it on the table. "Oh come on, am I that scary?"
"I wasn't expecting you!" The weasel girl whines, not relenting in her hold on her friend.
Sadeena laughs, smiling at them all including the slowly reddening face of Keel, though if that's from holding up Rifana or another reason she doesn't say. "Well, I saw a bit of movement over here, so I decided to check it out."
"Oh?" Raphtalia starts rubbing Riku's neck. "I thought we were well hidden…"
Sadeena taps next to her eyes. "You don't get to be a hunter without being able to spot anything out of the ordinary."
Rifana blinks, but before she can act on her current idea, her makeshift bow comes apart and smacks her on the bum, causing her to squeal in surprise.
Riku springs on the stick, biting it and shaking his head back and forth as he growls.
Keel scoots away from the scene a few steps with Rifana.
"…yeah, this probably isn't ordinary," Raphtalia admits, bowing her head.
Sadeena just laughs. "I didn't say it was bad! I just came to see what was happening."
The other girl drops down to free her hands, rubbing her sore rump. "Oh… what do you think, Miss Sadeena?"
"About which part?" She smiles slyly.
"This place," she says, gesturing around. "Keel says it can help us to help you!"
"D'aww... well aren't you all precious?" She rubs the pink girl's head. "You all want to become hunters and protectors?"
"Protectors," Rifana says, nodding once against the woman's hand.
"Yeah!" Keel cheers, puffing his chest out.
"...what's the difference?" Raphtalia asks, tilting her head, one ear folded. "Aren't hunters pre-protectors?"
"They're not mutually exclusive, it depends how you think of them." Sadeena looks at them all.
Rifana blinks her eyes a couple times, thoughtful.
"Both protect, one just more offensive and the other defensive." She elaborates.
"Oh." The weasel girl nods, looking at the stick and vine that would be her bow. "…I could be both then, I guess…"
"Exactly. Being flexible might be the better option because then you can be what's needed." The woman walks over to the 'bow' and examines it.
Raphtalia moves next to her friend, eyeing the splinters that Riku had left behind.
"But... I think we'd better get you some proper training weapons first." She looks at the array as Keel sinks. "A good attempt for just starting out." He perks back up.
Rifana blinks a few more times. "What do you mean? I thought these were fine training weapons…"
"Oh, the sticks are fine." She swings one experimentally. "The only difference between this and what I would give you would be texture. They'll start training your muscles in the right way. It's this little one here that needs something a bit more specific if you want to use it." She gestures to the bow.
She taps her fingers together. "What does it need?" She quietly asks.
"Well, for a bow you want something that'll bend, not break, and that tries to go back straight. You'll also need a firm bowstring." She explains. "Plus some proper arrows to use."
Raphtalia whines in confusion. "But isn't that what she has?" She eyes the broken stick for a moment. "...had, I mean?"
"It was definitely a good attempt, but I have a few training bows around. I'll grab you one and some blunted arrows. Don't worry." She rubs Raphtalia's head now. "Maybe I can even give you four some advice on where to start... unless you wanted to do it all yourself."
"No no! We'd love any advice you've got!" Keel quickly shakes his head.
"And possibly something for Riku," Rifana adds, rubbing the dog's chin.
"Oh-ho? Claws and teeth not enough for you?" She crouches down and rubs his ears. The dog makes what sounds like a grumbling noise as she laughs.
"We were worried about him getting hurt by the tougher monsters out there," the little girl says, hugging the friend they're discussing.
His tail thumps on the ground as the woman nods. "Good idea. There've been some odd ones appearing these last few years. Best to be prepared."
Raphtalia blinks, holding her own stick closer. "…odd monsters?" She nervously asks.
Sadeena nods. "Nothing I can't handle, but just things I haven't seen. Good news though: most of them taste good."
Rifana hums softly, thoughtful. "Do you think we might face them, eventually?"
"Once you're all older and trained, sure. There'll always be threats like that to keep away from the village. It'll be nice once I have some extra hands to make it easier." She smiles at them.
"We'd be happy to help!" The raccoon girl says, hugging Sadeena's waist. "You're our big sister!"
She rubs her head fondly. "Then I'm lucky to have so many siblings."
She nods in response, gesturing for her friends to join her. Keel does so happily, eyes sparkling as he looks up to the warrior. Rifana guides Riku over and hugs the dark-haired lady they all adore.
The sun sets and rises once more, now looking down at a different scene in that same spot. Sharp clacks echo around from nearby trees as taller and more determine-faced youths go at it.
Keel narrows his eyes before he strikes forward, holding the handle of an odd weapon that lays parallel with his arm. The blunt weapon smacks the wooden training dummy in front of him multiple times as he rattles out swift strikes.
The quiet hiss of released breath reaches his ears. He manages to dodge, whether by instinct or by rote, the arrows that land on the dummy's head and chest, dead center in the mass.
Rifana lets her bow lower, wiping her forehead of the sweat that would've fallen, as Raphtalia rushes forward to smack the target around once the blunt-tipped arrows fall out of the way. Though hesitant, she is slowly starting to get the forms down, even with a blade as big as her torso.
Riku jumps in at the end, a knife held sideways in his mouth as he slashes at the bottom of the dummy.
Once he finishes, Rifana walks over and gives him a hug. "Great job, Riku!"
The large dog lets out a small woof and is only given away by his tail wagging to show how much he enjoys the attention.
Raphtalia sighs softly, letting her practice sword drop. "H-how was that?" She asks, looking off to the side.
Sadeena watches with arms crossed, striding forward and examining the marks on the dummy. "Well, definitely don't go dropping a real sword, but I'm glad to see you all are taking my words to heart."
She blushes softly in embarrassment. "R-right. Thank you!" She quickly picks it back up.
The adult nods approvingly as she traces a cut. "We'll get you all into a working squad in no time. Maybe one day you'll even get strong enough to go solo like I do."
"That's still amazing," Rifana whispers, pausing where she's collecting arrows. "The thought of facing monsters worries me. How can you be so confident?"
"Experience. You start small, you learn more about yourself and them. Soon, you can almost predict what some will do, or you know what to prepare for that got you in trouble last time. It's a lifelong process." She explains.
The pink-haired girl nods, looking pensive. "…will we have to fight those featherless Filolials?" She asks, placing a hand on Riku's shoulder as she remembers the day she found him.
Sadeena laughs softly. "Hopefully no filolials hear you call them that. When you're ready, I can probably lead you to some of those pink ones. You might be surprised how well you can do against them after you've had training. You almost took down one on your own the first time after all."
"But that was mostly luck," she tries to protest, hugging her red dog. "And I don't know if I could've done that if I wasn't protecting Riku…"
"Luck and protecting are both good attributes to have." Sadeena points out, touching the girls nose. "Why do you think I fight so hard? I have a whole village to protect."
Rifana blushes, giving the tall woman a bashful smile. "Thank you for protecting us."
"Daww..." she hugs her. "Thanks, Rifana."
The smallest child squeezes her and Riku in turn, relaxing slightly.
The dog, now slightly taller than her, woofs and licks her face.
Rifana laughs happily, rubbing his fluffy cheeks.
"I imagine you two will be a pair at the smallest. I wouldn't feel right separating you two." Sadeena says as she watches.
"I couldn't imagine it either," she agrees, pulling away to straighten out his bandana.
Riku seems to air up straighter as she does so.
"Though we can still work with others, right?" She asks, glancing at Keel out of the corner of her eye.
"Of course! Often times it's better to." The more experienced hunter nods.
"Good!" She hurries over to hug the wolf boy. "Then we all should be on a team!" She declares, feeling proud of herself.
"Are we not already?" Keel asks.
"We're going to make it official," she insists, squeezing him a bit for emphasis.
His tail swishes. "O-oh! Okay then..."
She smiles at him, and Raphtalia watches, quietly wishing she could show this scene to their parents.
Sadeena stands and looks around. "Well, I think that'll do for today. Gotta give you time to still be kids after all."
Rifana blinks up at her. "What do you mean?"
Sadeena pats her head. "This isn't some army. You kids put in your work for today, so now you can play."
"Oh." She thinks for a bit. "...so it's story time?" She looks to Riku, blinking a bit. "Did you want to read together?"
The large canine opens its mouth in a slow quiet yawn before wagging his tail and looking at her.
"Great!" She smiles at him before looking at Keel. "Would you like to join us?"
"Yeah! I mean," he clears his throat and replies more smoothly, "sure, sounds nice."
Her smile stretches into a grin. "Perfect! We just got a new book today!"
Sadeena glances over to Raphtalia. "Think you'll be joining them?"
She just shrugs, playing with the hem of her shorts. "I was hoping we could play a game… but I don't want to interrupt their reading…"
"Hmm... well, I was going to go on a little beach patrol, care to join me?" The woman offers.
Raphtalia looks up at her with wide eyes, her expression slowly changing from open-mouthed surprise to a smile as bright as the sun. "Really? Can I?"
"Of course, and if I happen to stop to check an area more thoroughly and you get up to something a bit more fun like splashing or shell collecting, well, I think I could let it slide." She winks.
She grins, nodding and taking up her wooden sword. "Maybe I can dig for shells better with this!"
Sadeena laughs softly. "Sure, that could work."
Raphtalia smiles and waves to her friends, who are gathering under a tree. "I'll see you later!"
Rifana smiles and nods genially. "Have fun with big sis."
Keel looks a little torn, but waves her goodbye nonetheless as he stays by Rifana.
The pink-haired girl rubs his back to try and cheer him up.
He quickly beams at her.
She smiles back and pulls out a book about the Seven Star Heroes. "Did you want to read aloud first?"
"Sure, does this one have the heroes in it?"
"Yeah! And they're supposed to be heroes from our world!" She smiles brightly. "They're supposed to help the Cardinal Heroes protect the world!"
His eyes sparkle as well. "So they could even be us?"
"Sure!" She glances over at her bow, frowning a bit. "I might need a different weapon, though?"
"Do you? I mean, they have the fancy legendary weapons, why can't we just use what we want?"
"I dunno. I always thought they could only use the one weapon?" She admits.
"Huh... I guess big sis Sadeena mostly uses a spear..." He mumbles.
"Do you think she could secretly be the spear hero?" She quietly muses.
"That'd be so awesome!" He whispers back.
"Maybe we should ask when she gets back," she says, smiling brightly.
He quietly laughs as the two head away from the training grounds, Riku in tow.
"How strong would you say we are, now?" She asks him, eyeing the dog's bulk.
"Hmm… we're getting better, but I don't think even all four of us at once could lay a hand on big sis."
"We haven't even seen her come back with a scratch, before," she points out. "Who knows what kind of monsters she has come across out there?"
"I bet we could ask, she might tell us." He reasons.
"She might," she agrees, turning to look out at the woods. "…we won't run into any, will we?"
"Here? Nah, she's got this whole place protected, then when we're better, we help and she has more time to relax, right? Everyone wins."
"Right." She nods, smiling at him with her hand on Riku's side.
"It'll be great!" He pumps a fist. "No one will mess with us and the village will be perfectly safe!"
She beams, silently agreeing with him, and gestures to her favorite tree. "Can we read there?"
He nods. "Yeah, nice and shady."
Nodding, Rifana drags him and Riku over to the large tree. Keel sits against the trunk while Riku curls up naturally behind Rifana once she settles. She smiles and hugs them both briefly once more before they start to read.
Happy New Year, and apologies for this being a day late.
Also, to be clear, Riku is not a Zinogre. He is a Palamute. The red, dragon-element Palamute. Sorry if that disappoints any of you.
Thank you for reading, and next chapter shall be when things get dire.
Have a nice day, and I hope your year goes well! Enigma out!