Happy Fall everyone! Even though it feels like summer. Anyhoo, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 13

Moments in the Lake

I woke up to the sun's rays gently shining upon my face. I sleepily shielded my eyes from the rays as I sat up from my bed. After staring at nothing for a few minutes, I sleepily got out of bed. I stood up and stretched letting out a contented groan. Then the door opened with Finn standing in the doorway.

"Oh. Willy, you're awake. Good morning," he said.

"Morning..." I mumbled still feeling a little sleepy.

"How'd you sleep? Well, I hope?"

"Yep. I slept great thank you."

"Good," smiled Finn. "Now then, time to get dressed kiddo and make sure you make your bed. Breakfast will be ready in a second OK?"

"OK."

I did what Finn told me to do and made my bed and got dressed. Then I headed for the kitchen. When I came in, I was welcomed to the tantalizing scent of fish. The moment the scent filled my nostrils, my stomach let out a tiny rumble. I immediately went to the kitchen and I saw Finn making breakfast.

"Breakfast will be ready in a minute Willy," said Finn. "Mind helping me out by setting up the table?"

"OK!" I said as I got the plates and utensils we needed.

Soon the table was set and we were eating breakfast. I happily ate my food devouring everything on my plate.

"Whoa. Slow down Willy," said Finn. "You're food's not gonna go anywhere."

"I can't help it," I said with my mouth full of rice. "It's so delicious!"

"And don't talk with your mouth full either. It's impolite." chided Finn.

"Sorry Finn," I said as I swallowed another mouthful of food. "I guess it shows how much I love your cooking."

"Heh. Flattery will get you nowhere kiddo," chuckled Finn.

After we ate breakfast, Finn and I got dressed and we headed towards the clinic. You see Finn had work today and since he didn't want to leave by myself at the house, he decided that I would come with him. He figured it would be good for me to see what he does and probably meet some new people. At first, I was a little annoyed at Finn because of two reasons. One, while Finn was at work I was planning to go around town asking people for any information about Aquadia and that was gonna put a damper on my plans. Secondly, I thought I could handle myself just fine. I mean I was able to fend for myself when I was in the forest a while back. Well... kind of. Anyway, I let it slide and agreed to go. Besides, it would be a great opportunity to see what Finn does at work. Plus maybe I could make some new friends while I was there.

At the clinic, Finn and I went to the office so Finn could dressed in his doctor coat. After he was done, he planned to drop me off in a part of the clinic with the other kid patients until he was off of work. Needless to say, I was feeling a little nervous, worried, and not too thrilled about it.

"Finn come on. Do I have to? I was gonna go get some information and stuff," I said pouting.

"Well yes," said Finn."I couldn't find a babysitter on short notice, so I figured I'd leave you with Seiri for now."

"Who's Seiri?"

"She's a nurse that takes care of all the kids whenever they're recovering from injury or waiting for a checkup. Normally there are children there, so there should be a couple of kids at least your age that you can talk to," said Finn. "I've known Sieri for quite a while, so you should be in good hands."

"Can't I just stay with you, Finn?" I asked. "Maybe I can help you while you're working? I can even help you make people feel better using my magic."

"Now Willy, you know you can't," said Finn. "I'm gonna be busy all day and I'm gonna be dealing with a lot of things today, so even if you wanted to help you'd probably get in the way."

"Aww..."

My face turned into a pouty frown feeling disappointed. Finn chuckled and placed a hand on my head causing me to look up at him.

"Listen, Willy. I know you want to find some information on Aquadia as soon as possible and that's admirable, but you need to socialize and relax a little bit. You know, make some new friends and have some fun. In the meantime, I'll try and see if I can find some info on Aquadia and if I do find anything, I'll tell you what I know afterward. Until then, try to make some friends and have fun. OK?"

"OK."

Soon we came to a door just down the hall. I was expecting to be staying in some kind of waiting room, but I would soon be wrong. When Finn opened the door, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was welcomed to the sight of a big and spacious courtyard. It had a meadow filled with flowers with a small stream running by it leading up to a big lake. There were lots of kids playing around either running in the meadow or swimming in the lake. My mind was blown away by this sight, especially the lake.

"Whoa..." I breathed.

"You like it? Personally, I'm pretty taken with this place myself," said Finn. "Come on. I'll introduce you to Seiri."

We walked through the courtyard walking past various different people, but mostly children playing. Then we saw a young woman who stood by herself watching over them. She was young, had sky blue colored hair in a ponytail, and had a motherly atmosphere around her.

"Hey, Sieri. How's it going?"

The woman looked at us and when she saw us, she smiled with delight.

"Well if it isn't Finn. Good to see you," she said.

"How have you been? Everything going OK around here?"

"Yes. Everything's fine. Everyone's doing really well."

Sieri then noticed me. As soon as our eyes met, I once again couldn't help but feel a little shy.

"Oh. I see that we have someone new here. Mind introducing me?"

"This is Willy. He's a boy that came to Osia a couple days back. I'm taking care of him while he stays with me."

"Well then, it's very nice to meet you, Willy," said Sieri holding out her hand. I reached out her hand and grasped it in return greeting her with a handshake.

"Nice to meet you too, Ms. Sieri," I said.

"So Finn, let me guess. You want me to keep an eye on this little cutie while you're on the clock right?"

"You guessed right," said Finn. "Since I have work to do and I didn't want to leave Willy by himself, I figured he could stay here until I got off. Could you keep an eye on him until then?"

"No problem. I can watch him for you," said Sieri. "I'll take care of him like he's my own son."

"That's good. Just... don't teach him anything weird OK?"

"What? Me? Teach him something weird? Why I wouldn't do nothing of the sort."

"Uh huh. I'm sure you wouldn't," said Finn a little flatly. Then he turned to me. "Well then, I'll see you later Willy. I'll see you when I get home OK?"

"OK Finn," I said.

"Oh and one more thing," said Finn. "Make sure you have fun here and one more thing." He kneeled down and spoke low so Sieri wouldn't hear. "Be careful what you talk about with Sieri. She has... a bit of a wild imagination."

"A wild imagination?"

"You'll find out eventually," said Finn. "Trust me on this one."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"What are you boys talking about?"

Before Finn could explain, Sieri suddenly appeared behind us. Finn seemed unfazed, but I was a little surprised.

"Oh nothing," said Finn. "I was just giving Willy a warning. Anyway, I best be off. Don't want to be late."

"But Finn..." I called out trying to get him to explain what he meant before, but it was no use. Finn was already gone.

"Oh man. I wonder what he meant when he said something about Sieri," I thought. "She seems to be OK.."

"Something wrong Willy?" asked Sieri. "You look worried."

"Um... it's nothing," I said. "I was just feeling a little nervous that's all."

"There's no need to feel nervous," smiled Sieri. "You'll love it here. How about I introduce you to the other kids and I show you around? Sound good?"

"Yes. Please take good care of me Ms. Sieri," I said politely bowing.

"Oh my. What a sweet and formal boy you are," said Sieri. "Well then, shall we commence the tour?"

"Sure. Let's go," I said smiling.

First, Sieri introduced me to some of the kids. Being my timid self I naturally felt shy at first, but everyone there welcomed me warmly. After that, Sieri spent the next few hours showing me everything there was to see and do. It was basically like a giant daycare center. Only this daycare was outside and had wide open spaces. Everything about it was beautiful and amazing. The meadows, the view, everything. But there was one thing I wanted to do more than anything right away because it had been such a long time since I did. Go swimming in that beautiful lake. I was so enraptured by it, I completely tuned out everything else including Sieri.

"And that's the lake over there," said Sieri. "We use it to rehabilitate some people, but we mostly use it for fun."

"Yeah..." I said continuing to stare at the lake like a kid staring at a toy that it wanted from the store. Sieri noticed the way I was staring and she waved her hand in front of my face.

"Willy? Hello? Osia calling Willy. Anybody home?"

"Oh! Um.. sorry. I was out of it," I said finally out of my stare.

Sieri chuckled. "You're quite taken with our lake huh?"

"Oh yes! I really love to swim. I swam all the time back in my village. It's my favorite thing to do whenever I had spare time."

"Oh really?"

"Yup."

"Well then, do you want to go swimming now?"

"Really can I?!"

"Of course."

My eyes lit up like a light and I felt excited. I was actually gonna swim for the first time in a while. I couldn't wait to get in the water. I immediately started toward the water and began taking off my clothes starting with my shirt. Then I started taking off my shorts. When Sieri saw what I was about to do, her eyes went wide with surprise.

"W-willy! What on earth are you doing?!" she exclaimed blushing.

"Going swimming. What else?" I answered. I was about to pull down my pants, but Sieri quickly stopped me.

"Wait a second!" cried Sieri. "You can't just take off your clothes like this! You're in public!"

"Is... that bad?" I asked genuinely confused.

"Is it bad?! Of course, it is!" said Sieri. "I mean who the heck goes swimming naked?!"

"I wasn't gonna swim naked," I said. "I was just gonna swim in my shorts. Well, my shorts underneath anyway."

"Willy it's called underwear and that's just as bad as swimming naked," said Sieri blushing even more. "Haven't you ever heard of a swimsuit?"

"I actually haven't. What is a swimsuit?" I asked once again puzzled.

"It's clothing that you use to swim in the water with," explained Sieri. "Didn't your parents ever give you one or tell you what it is?"

"Well... no," I said. "I really don't remember much when I was little. When I was staying with my Mama, I mostly used my shorts to swim with. Then they started to get a little beat up, so to make them last longer, I either used my underwear or take off everything only if I have to."

"E-e-everything?!" exclaimed Sieri her face now a beet red. The moment she heard me say 'everything' she began to picture me with just my underwear about to take them off. She blushed even more and steam came out of her ears.

"No! Absolutely not Willy! I will not have you doing something so naughty!"

"Um... Sieri? What are you talking about?" I asked a little surprised by her outburst. "I'm not doing anything naughty."

Sieri snapped out of her thoughts and regained her composure.

"Ahem. Yes. You're right. Please excuse me, Willy," she said. "My mind kind of went away with me. In any case, come with me. Let's get you into some swimming trunks OK?"

"Um... OK, Sieri. If you say so."

"I guess is what Finn meant about Sieri having a wild imagination," I thought to myself. "She sure is strange."

A few minutes later, Sieri found me a pair of trunks and I was now wearing them. They were blue and with black stripes on the side. Sieri thought I looked pretty cute, but for some reason, I felt a little uncomfortable and didn't like them.

"Sieri? Do I really have to wear this? It kinda feels heavy," I complained.

"Yes, you do. I don't want you going around in your undies while you swim. It'll freak people out," said Sieri. "Besides, this is your first time wearing trunks. You just need to break them in that's all."

"OK. If you say so."

"Now go have fun. Go on and swim your heart out!"

"Yeah!"

I quickly forgot about my trunks and went straight into the water. I ran toward the edge of the water, took a deep breath and dove in. I met the water making a beautiful splash. I swam underneath the water kicking my powerful legs. It felt so incredible feeling water after such a long time. I let out a laugh as I swam in the water.

"This is awesome! Oh, how I missed doing this!" I thought to myself. "It's been so long! It's not the same as the ocean, but who cares!"

I swam forward taking in my surroundings on the lake. It didn't have anything like back at home, like rocks, the many fish, and coral and such, but there was plenty of space for me to swim in which made it the perfect time to test myself to see how fast I could swim. I pumped my legs and headed for the surface and started off.

NO POV

Sieri looked all around the lake searching for Willy after he just dived into the water. She looked all around the surface of the water, but she couldn't see him.

"Where is he?" she wondered. "I hope nothing bad happened to him."

Suddenly she saw the water ripple and then something burst forth from the lake. Sieri mistook it for a fish at first, but upon a better inspection, she saw that it was Willy who sprang forth from the water.

"What... what the heck?!" exclaimed Sieri as Willy dove back into the water. He reemerged from the surface and started swimming across the lake at an incredible speed. Sieri watched her eyes agape with shock and awe and she wasn't the only one who was surprised. A couple of the kids saw Willy swimming too and they were amazed. Pretty soon a small crowd of kids and even some patients were on the shore of the lake watching Willy swim. Even some of the kids who happened to be in the lake all stopped and stared at Willy in amazement.

"Whoa look at that kid go!" one little boy said.

"He's so fast like a fishie!" a little girl said.

"I gotta say, that kid's got talent," said an old man in a wheelchair. "Reminds me of how I swam back in the day."

In the crowd, a little girl made her way through the crowd until she could see Willy too. She was small, had white skin, wore a pink dress with red shoes, had blue eyes and had short white hair. She scanned the lake trying to see what everyone was looking at. Then she saw Willy who was now leaping about in the water like a dolphin in the ocean. Her eyes sparkled with wonder. She had never seen anything like this before.

"Wow... who is that guy? And how is he able to swim like that?" the girl thought. "He's just like a merman or something."

WILLY'S POV

Swimming around in the water was the greatest thing I ever felt in a long time. It was great fun dashing and zipping around in the water leaping about in the water. After a few more minutes of swimming, I decided to head back to shore to take a little break. Swimming down a little, I pumped my legs once and swam straight to the surface. I shot out from the water into the air and I gracefully and landed right on the sand with a soft poof. I straightened up and shook my head getting the water out.

"Whew. That was fun," I said to myself. "Looks like I still got it."

Suddenly I heard the sound of clapping and cheering behind me. I turned around in surprise to see that a large crowd of people looking at me clapping and cheering. All of the kids in the crowd clamored around me in excitement.

"That was so cool!"

"Yeah! You were awesome!"

"How'd you do that?!"

"Are you some kind of fishy man or something?!"

I was assailed by who knows how many questions by all the kids. I felt a little flustered from receiving such attention. Even Sieri approached me looking awed and excited from what I just did.

"Willy! You were incredible! Where... where on earth did you learn how to swim like that?! You looked just like a dolphin out there!"

"Well... it's wasn't anything much really," I said shyly. "I was just... doing what my Mama and Papa taught me."

"Really? You're Mom and Dad taught you?" asked Sieri.

I timidly nodded in response. Then Sieri smiled.

"Well I'll say this much, your parents definitely taught you something good. You're amazing!" said Sieri.

"Really? You... think so?" I asked.

"Of course! But don't take my word for it, everyone else here thinks so too. Right everyone?"

Every one of the people nodded in response. Seeing everyone praise me so much was something that I wasn't used to, but that didn't mean I didn't like it. It was a pretty awesome moment for me, but that would suddenly change.

Suddenly I heard a scream that came from the lake. I looked out towards the water and my eyes went wide. In the middle of the lake, there was a boy. He splashing around in the water wildly trying to stay afloat in the water. He wasn't swimming which meant it could only be one thing. He was drowning.

"Oh my gosh! You guys see that?!"

"There's a little boy over there! He's drowning!"

"Someone help him!"

"Hang on! We're coming to help you!" called out Sieri.

She was about to take off her clothes and jump into the lake, but I beat her to the punch. I immediately ran for the shore and dove into the water. I swam below the surface and headed towards the boy. I came back up on the surface and could see that the boy was a few more feet away from me. The boy had now sunk below the surface looking on the brink of being unconscious. I dove in after him and was able to grab a hold of him before he sunk any lower. I pulled him close to me and I kicked my legs hard making us rise to the surface. We both reemerged from the surface gasping for breath. The boy once again began to panic.

"It's OK! You're gonna be fine!" I said trying to calm him down.

The boy then clung to me desperately trying to stay afloat. The weight of him started to make me sink a little. With the way he was clinging to me, I couldn't swim. If I didn't do something about this even with my ability, we would both be dragged under. Then I remembered. I was a water dragon slayer! I almost forgot I could use magic. So I grabbed a firm hold of the boy and concentrated. Two magic circles appeared on my feet and jets of water surged beneath them.

"WATER DRAGON AQUA JET!"

Clinging to the boy, I shot upwards like a rocket as we burst forth from the water. We were launched high into the air, but like Newton's law of gravity stated; 'What goes up, must come down.' We both began to fall heading for the shore below.

"WATER DRAGON ROAR!"

Knowing that I had to slow down our fall, I aimed at the ground, chuffed my cheeks, and unleashed my breath attack. My attack hit the ground and thanks to that, it slowed down our descent. I kept on using my breath attack and we slowly came down until we were close to the ground. Once we were close enough, I stopped my breath attack and we both landed on the ground safe and sound. I gently laid the boy down on the ground and quickly looked him over. He had dark skin and had short white hair in the shape of a messy bowl cut.

"Hey! Are you okay?! Say something!" I cried shaking him a little.

The boy slowly opened his eyes and he coughed spitting up some water. Then he slowly sat up.

"Ohh... what happened?" he asked.

"You were drowning," I said. "You almost died back there, but I managed to get out of there."

"Huh? You saved me?" the boy asked.

Just then, Sieri and a couple of kids rushed to me and the boy.

"Willy! Are you both okay!?"

"We're fine. We're both okay I think," I said.

"Whoa! What was that kid?!" one boy said. "You both shot out of the water and you spit out water from your mouth!"

"Yeah! It was so cool!" said another.

"Did you use some kind of magic?" asked a girl.

"Well...yes," I said. "It's really nothing special, but you're right. I can use water magic."

Everyone if the kids oohed and ahhed very impressed. Even Sieri was surprised. Then from the crowd, a little girl rushed toward the boy. She was small, had silver hair, also wore a pink dress with red shoes, and had blue eyes that were filled with tears.

"Big brother! Big brother!" she cried as clung to the boy on his chest burying her face crying. "You're alive! Thank goodness you're alive!"

The boy hugged the girl and gently rubbed her head calming her down.

"It's okay sis. I'm fine. Thanks to this guy here."

The little girl looked at me and gave me a big hug.

"Thank you! Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You saved my big brother!"

"It's no problem..." I said feeling bashful once again. "It was no big deal. I just did what any other person would have done."

"Are you kidding?! What you did was far from what any other person would have done!" said Sieri. "You saved this boy's life and that makes you a hero!"

"Really? I am?"

"Of course!"

"Hooray for the swimming kid!" said a boy and everyone else joined. I must admit, I never received such praise before, but that didn't mean I didn't hate it. Then I was completely surrounded by the kids again.

"Hey, kid. Willy right? Can you teach me how to do magic like that?"

"Yeah! I wanna use magic like that too!"

"Ooh! Ooh! Teach me too!"

"Um... uh... I..."

I tried answering all their questions, but they weren't exactly questions I could answer. I mean, I wasn't exactly a teacher. and I couldn't just teach them my dragon slayer magic either. Luckily Sieri stepped in.

"All right, all right, break it up, kids. Give the kid some space. Besides, you're all way too green to be learning magic. You either have to be really gifted or taught by an adult. Willy just so happens to be one of those gifted kids."

"Aww..." every kid groaned disappointedly.

"Sorry guys," I said. "Besides, even if I wanted to teach you guys magic I would have no idea how to teach you. It's kinda... complicated."

"You heard him, people," said Sieri. "Now run along. There's nothing to see here. Go on. Willy? Can you stay with here with while I handle these kids?"

"Sure. No problem."

Sieri then left with the other kids trying to get them distracted. Now me, the boy, and the girl by ourselves.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay big bro?" asked the girl.

"Don't worry Lisanna. I'm gonna be fine," said the boy.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "If you want I can use my magic to heal you just in case."

"No, it',s okay. I'm fine. Thank you for being concerned with me," said the boy as he got up.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did you end up drowning in the first place? Did you get a cramp or something?" I asked.

"Well, I guess... I got a little jealous. I was watching you swim and the way you did was pretty cool," the boy said sheepishly. "I wanted to try swimming myself, but I kinda freaked out when the water got deep."

"That's understandable. It can make a person nervous when they swim to deeper waters," I said. "I remember when I was a lot like you once. I was a little freaked out when I swam in deeper waters too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but eventually I got used to it and it's not as much a big deal now."

"Wow. That's really cool. I wish I could be that good at swimming, but sadly I'll probably end up drowning all the time," said the boy hanging his head sadly.

"Oh come on don't say that," said the girl. "You'll get better with practice."

"She's right," I said. "If you want, I can teach some things about swimming sometime if you want to."

"Really? You would teach me?" asked the boy.

"Of course. I might not be the best teacher, but I can at least help you so you won't drown again," I said.

The boy's face lit up and he smiled. "Thank you very much!" he said.

"That's really nice of you," said the girl. "You're a really nice boy."

My face went a little pink from the girl's compliment. "Th-that's nice of you to say so. It's nothing special."

"Oh by the way," added the girl. "My name is Lisanna and this is my big bro Elfman."

"Hi. I'm Willy," I greeted bowing politely. "It's nice to meet you Lisanna. Elfman."

"Nice to meet you too," replied Elfman.

"So... what do you guys wanna do?" I asked not knowing what to say or do.

"Well since swimming's out of the question right now, how about we play in the meadow?" said Lisanna. "I can show you guys how to make flower wreaths."

"Sure. Let's do that," said Elfman. "Let's get changed first."

NO POV

A few feet away from them, the old woman was sitting alone at a table reading a paper. She had seen everything that had transpired and she was pleased.

"Well, well. I'm impressed. That was quite a display of magic the boy used," she said. "Well... he still could use some work on control and power, but still not bad. Hehehe. I knew I'd found the perfect candidate. Well then, guess I better be on my way. I got preparations to make."

Then the old woman got up and walked away.

After finally getting all the kids to do something else, Sieri headed back. She looked around trying to find Willy, Lisanna, and Elfman. Then she saw them and when she saw what they were doing, she couldn't help but smile. Willy, Lisanna, and Elfman were out in the meadow with Lisanna showing them how to make flower wreaths.

"Aww... looks like Willy's made some new friends," she thought. "Guess I didn't need to check on them after all."

She watched as Lisanna had finished a wreath and put one on Willy's head. It fit perfectly, but then it slipped over Willy's eyes because it was too big. Lisanna and Elfman couldn't help but laugh because of how silly Willy looked. Then Willy laughed too. From a glance, it seemed like they have been friends forever. Sieri continued to watch them from afar till long the afternoon was over and it was soon evening.

Finn had just gotten off work and was now heading back to Sieri's Meadow to pick up Willy. He came into the meadow and saw Sieri.

"Hey, Sieri. I'm back," he called.

"Oh, Finn!"

"So how did today go? Willy behaved himself right?"

"Yes you could say that," said Sieri. "He left quite an impression with the kids today. Especially with Elfman and Lisanna."

Finn was surprised. "You mean the Strauss siblings?" he asked

"Yeah. I'll be honest, this is the first time I've seen them open up to anyone," said Sieri. "Oh, Finn you should've seen them. They looked so happy. I've never seen them happy in a long time."

Finn chuckled. "Well, that's good. It's great to see them getting along so well. By the way, how did all of this come about? I mean did anything interesting happen?"

"Yes, but... it's kind of a long story," said Sieri and she told Finn what had happened.

"What?! He saved Elfman from drowning?" gasped Finn. "Is he okay? And is Willy okay too?!"

"Easy Finn," said Sieri. "They're both just fine. In fact, they along with Elfman's sister Lisanna are playing in the meadow right now."

Finn looked out at the meadow and he saw Willy playing with Elfman and Lisanna.

"Whew. Well, that's good," he said.

"I know. What really blew me away was when Willy used his magic to get him and Elfman out of the water He blasted out of the water and then he spewed water from his mouth to break their fall," went on Sieri. "I've seen plenty of magic before, but I've never seen magic like that before. He sure is something special."

Finn looked back at Willy playing with Lisanna and Elfman deep in thought. "This is... unprecedented," he thought. "I only wish that I could've seen it for myself."

"Hey, Finn, is something the matter?" asked Sieri. "You look deep in thought about something."

"Oh no, it's nothing. Just thinking about some things," said Finn. "Anyway, I think me and Willy will head home. I"m gonna cook him a hearty dinner tonight.

WILLY'S POV

I was having a great time with Elfman and Lisanna. We played together, talked together, and even made flower wreaths together. I never had so much fun in a while. I never wanted it to stop. Then I heard someone call.

"Willy! It's time to come home kiddo!"

I turned to the source of the voice and there was Finn walking towards me.

"Finn!" I cried as I immediately got up and gave him a big bug.

"Did you have fun today?" he asked.

"Yeah. I had a lot of fun. I met lots of new people here and I swam lots. You have a beautiful lake here by the way."

"Hahaha. Glad you had fun. You know Sieri tells me that you were quite the hero today. Am I right?"

"Um... yes. I guess so," I said. "But... it wasn't anything really."

"Oh stop being so modest," said Lisanna who had now come up to us. "It's true. Right, Big bro Elf?"

"Yeah. I agree," said Elfman.

"Well hello there Lisanna and you too Elfman," said Finn. "And how are you two today?"

"We're doing great. Thank you for asking Doctor Finn," said Lisanna.

"You two know each other?" I asked.

"Yup. Doctor Finn is our family doctor," explained Lisanna. "We've known him for quite a while. In fact, we've known him for as long I can remember."

"He's even been around since I was a kid," said Elfman. "He's always been very nice and always takes care of us."

"Aw stop you two," chuckled Finn. "Flattery will get you nowhere, but thanks for the compliment anyway. Anyway, it's time we went home, Willy."

"Aww... do I have to?" I asked. "I wanted to stay and play with Lisanna and Elfman some more."

"Hahaha. I know, but Elfman and Lisanna have someone waiting for them," said Finn. "They have to go home too you know."

My cheeks puffed out as my mouth turned into a disappointed pout. As much as I wanted to stay with Lisanna and Elfman some more, Finn was right.

"Hey, it's okay Willy," soothed Lisanna. "We can always play together tomorrow. In fact, why don't you come over tomorrow? We can make it a play date of some sorts."

"Yeah. Besides, I really wanna get to know you more," added Elfman. "Especially since you saved me and stuff."

"I'd like that," I said smiling. "Is that okay with you Finn?"

"Sure. Why not?" said Finn. "I have the day off tomorrow, so it's fine. I can even drop you off at their house if you like."

"All right!" I said. "OK, Lisanna. Elfman. I'll see you guys tomorrow and we'll hang out some more okay?"

"OK," said Elfman and Lisanna.

After saying goodbye to Elfman and Lisanna, we headed home. As we walked home, Finn couldn't help but look my way. I was humming a merry tune feeling in great spirits.

"Hahaha. Look at that," chuckled Finn. "He has a big smile on his face without a care in the world. And who could blame him? He made two new friends and isn't thinking about finding information anymore. It's good to see him cheering up for once. Not to mention he's gotten the Strauss siblings to open up to him. Even though it took him to save Elfman from drowning to do so."

Then Sieri's words popped into Finn's mind.

"He sure is something special."

"Yes, he is Sieri. Yes, he is."

I noticed Finn was staring at me and I felt puzzled.

"Is something wrong Finn?" I asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Oh no. It's nothing," said Finn. "I'm still feeling proud of you for what you did today. Tell you what, how about I make you a big dinner tonight? I'll give you lots of fish."

The moment I heard fish, my mouth dribbled with saliva.

"Yeah! Let's go!" I cried happily as I dragged Finn back to your house eager to eat some fish.

Whew! This one came out bigger than I expected!

My OC has finally met Lisanna and Elfman and the old woman is excited for Willy being her student.

What will happen next? Stay tuned!

Dragomaster out!