"This is where my life starts."
A child who could only be 4 or 5 woke up in an alleyway of Pandora, Thinking about nothing but the pure rage he felt. His hands were clenched in fists, Blood dripped from his hand and onto the floor.
His fingers dug into his palm, But he didn't or rather couldn't feel anything else than his anger.
Hours passed. He became tired and laid down on the cold stone floor.
He shivered. Though he was tired now, His anger had never retreated, In fact it'd actually grown.
Unable to sleep, He idly looked around the alleyway. He didn't see anything worthy of noting until he looked at the darkest corner of the alley, Floating there in the corner was an eye.
He hadn't noticed, But he'd fallen to the ground in fear. Frightened by the strange eye, He quickly scooched away.
Though, The eye flew back to him but he continued moving away.
After a few more tries, He realized it was useless to try and move away from the eye.
He tried to remember how he'd ended up in this odd place, It infuriated him that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember.
A red blanket appeared above him. He had no idea why it did but it did.
He covered himself with the odd blanket, And held the floating eyeball closer to him. Despite the boy's earlier reluctance to be around the floating eye, He fell asleep fairly comfortably.
The eyeball seemed surprised by the kid's sudden kindness, But it fell asleep peacefully by the boy after a while.
Twelve Years Later
A young girl entered the boys room.
"Wake up, Pig. Hey I said WAKE UP!"
She knocked his head with a frown on her face.
"Ouch… Okay, Ok I'm up. What time is it?"
He asked groggily as he took off his sleeping mask and rubbed his eyes.
He still looked tired and his hair was messy.
"It's time to WAKE UP! Unless you want Kalpana to beat you up again."
She pointed at the old clock in his room.
"Don't remind me, God I just want to go back to sleeping."
He got up while thinking about what to eat, A quiet yawn left him as he got up and scratched his hair.
'An omelette would be good right now.'
"Can't you wake up by yourself?"
She asked as she sat on the edge of his bed, Sulking at her older brother. Her hair laid on his bed, It was long, Silky and black.
"Yeah I could, But my adorable little sister could do it instead…"
He said as he gave her a noogie.
"Aww come on… Mom just did my hair, You know that."
She tried to fix her hair. Failing to do so, She got mad and messed up his hair in annoyance.
"I haven't even brushed my hair yet, Nyx. Can't you just do your hair again anyways?" He asked cluelessly while stretching, He glanced over at her casually.
"I'll break your legs, Pig."
It seemed his careless wording had angered his sister. She was tempted to throw something at him, Maybe even beat him.
"Ok… ok… I'm sorry, Princess." He said teasingly while running towards the door of his room.
She threw the closest item at him maliciously. The item ended up being his fully functional alarm clock, It struck his right leg as he was running.
He fell to the ground holding his breath knowing he'd yell if he didn't, He grimaced while holding his right leg.
"That'll teach you. Maybe use your clock next time, Dumbass…"
She left his room with a small but satisfied smile on her face.
Though it took awhile, He eventually got up, Massaged his leg a bit then took a shower.
After that he got dressed and checked his phone. Noticing he was late.
He walked down the stairs to the living room slowly, Hoping to distract them from the time, He saw the rest of the group and joyfully said, "Hey guys, How's it going?" A bead of sweat ran down his face.
"You're late."
A tall woman with short and messy black hair said coldly, Her halo moved slightly when she glanced at him.
"Yeah I guess I am, Huh…?"
He covered his head in fear before she threw a few rocks at him, He never knew where she got those rocks from.
He curled into a ball.
'Why do I always get assaulted?'
"Must hurt huh?" The tall woman asked him, Mocking his earlier words.
"Damn chill I was just a little late!"
He yelled while rubbing his head, He didn't yell too loud as he didn't want another rock thrown at him.
"Is an hour a little late to you Isle? Kalpana's a busy woman you know."
His little sister walked out of the kitchen into the living room, And gave him a teasing look.
"What are you doing here Nyx? You should be at school right now."
Isle sighed in annoyance.
"Didn't I tell you yesterday? I don't have school today."
She shrugged with a smug look on her face.
"Either way, that doesn't mean you have to be here disturbing me."
He said before hearing a meow, He instantly frowned.
"And why is there a cat here?"
Isle asked while picking up the cat, It was pitch black in color. He immediately suspected Kalpana and looked at her.
"That's my cat dont worry about it." Kalpana answered calmly while looking at Isle curiously, Isle usually liked cats.
"Why does it matter if there's a cat in here anyways?"
A young man with long hair asked him while petting the cat, The cat purred clearly content with the pats.
"Why is it pitch black?! I can't see anything but it's damn eyes! You're really not concerned about this at all Val?"
Val shook his head. Isle looked closer at the cat. Although as he said before, All he could see were its round white eyes and its dark body.
"When I found her she was all alone, And hungry so she's my cat now." Kalpana said, though no one really asked. She yawned while fixing her hair slightly.
"Where the hell did you find it? The Abyss!?"
Isle held the cat up and looked into its eyes skeptically, He'd never heard any stories of a creature like this cat.
"Just shut up so we can get to the bounty already." Val frowned, He had grown tired of Isle's inquiries about this cat.
"Fine."
Isle put the cat down, It meowed at him then walked over to Kalpana and laid down.
"Let's just move onto the plan already, Or would you like to waste more of my time? Hm, Isle?" Kalpana asked with an undertone of annoyance.
Isle glanced at the cat one more time, Then he looked at Val's braided hair. His hair was black with gold colored tips, It was long and braided.
"Isle you alright?" Val fidgeted with his hair idly.
Isle stared at the corner of the room, Noticing a relatively tall man with white hair. He was leaning on the wall with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.
"Star, Ahy are you here?" Isle asked while looking at him curiously.
Star was his friend that'd disappeared years ago, He came back recently and explained that he went to see his grandparents and some other family.
'Was he always this antisocial?'
Star opened his eyes.
"Neiva insisted I come with her, So here I am. It'll be interesting to see how you've grown with the sword." Star answered, Glancing at Neiva and Isle before closing his eyes once again.
"Are you guys dating or something?"
Isle asked teasingly while poking Star.
"No, She just likes me for some reason I don't know why though."
He was confused as to why, After all he thought he had a cold personality, And who would want such a cruel man as a partner?
Neiva blushed at the mention of her crush on him.
"Can't you shut up Isle? Always being a nuisance…"
Neiva knocked his head in annoyance. He rubbed his head and backed away from her a bit.
'I'll never be free from the assault huh? I guess it was my fault to be fair.'
He stood back where he was before and looked at Neiva while covering his head, Then he looked at Star.
"Well If you're here, Where's your brother don't you usually take him with you?"
Isle asked while still rubbing his head.
"Oh you mean that little prodigy? He's doing some 'training' with the princess, He's probably found a way to extort food by now."
He said while shrugging his shoulders casually. He didn't really find it to be that interesting but to be fair he doesn't find a whole lot to be interesting.
"Training with the princess? As if that wou-"
Isle said with an amused tone before really listening to what Star said.
"WITH THE PRINCESS!?"
You would've thought his jaw was coming off with how much it dropped.
"It's not very surprising, after all his quantum is pretty similar to the princess'"
He said in his usual monotone voice.
It's not out of the ordinary for the Kingdom of Pandora to train children with similar Quantum's to other ones.
So while It was weird to see a child be trained by the princess personally it definitely wasn't unprecedented.
"That's pretty interesting, Has he told you anything about the princess?"
Kalpana curiously looked at Star.
"I mean he said that she took him to some fancy restaurant."
He answered as blankly as ever.
"What a fatty."
Nyx chimed in, Star glanced at her with no particular expression.
"Shouldn't you be helping your mom cook right now?"
She had an anxious look then ran off to the kitchen, He watched her run back to the kitchen. He closed his eyes again.
'She must've forgotten too.' Star sighed.
"Anyways, he also said she asks about me a lot, But that shouldn't really be any cause for concern." He said with just a little more emotion than usual.
"What did you say…?"
Neiva's eye twitched. Her fists were clenched, But she made sure it wasn't noticeable.
"It's not that big of a deal really."
He shrugged at her, Truthfully he didn't really care about it at all. Not a whole lot troubled him these days.
"You know what you're right it's probably fine." She pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment before sighing.
"She's probably just curious about who's taking care of him after all he's a good kid."
He said with a slightly prideful smile on his face, Before it abruptly faded away.
"Star… You know what, It doesn't matter."
She frowned slightly.
"Good. Isle what's the plan for today's bounty?"
Star looked at Isle with a hint of interest.
"I'm glad you asked, Cuz today we're gonna kill the Dryad of the Aklyne forest. That bounties way too good to let go."
He daydreamed about the reward, Thinking about all the stuff he could buy with it, And the perks that'd come from having that much money. Power, Infamy, Weapons, He was gonna have it all.
"Isle… You're drooling stop it." Val narrowed his eyes in disgust.
"Huh, What?" He snapped out of it then wiped his mouth.
"You know you're splitting the money right? So don't even think for a second that you'll get all of it."
Kalpana said as she punched his head with no restraint.
"Oww… Yeah I know…"
Isle winced in pain, Even now he wasn't used to being assaulted by her.
'Damn, Island Company. Is it that bad to dream?'
He thought while rubbing his head.
"Well let's get going then. Nothing to wait for."
Nyx smiled while holding an odd dagger, She could hardly contain her joy.
"You're not coming, it's too risky." Isle shut her down in an instant while still rubbing his head.
"Why can't I…? It'll be fine if Lucille comes with me won't it?"
She begged, Her joy had changed into desperation in an instant. Isle held his face in annoyance.
'That idiot probably isn't even awake in the first place.'
"Is Lucille even awake right now?" Val wondered while looking at her.
"Probably not. Knowing her, She's sleeping comfortably in her room or anywhere else."
Isle responded while taking a wooden sword from a floating sword rack and handing it to Star, The rack disappeared instantly after.
"Isn't that the Reality Carver? Can I hold it?"
Nyx reached to grab it with excitement, Her hand was gently pushed away by Star.
"No."
"How come that idiot gets to hold it?"
Nyx glared daggers at Isle, If he didn't know any better he'd think Nyx was gonna stab him with her actual dagger.
"It's not a toy, Nyx. I'm sure you know this." Star answered in his monotone voice.
"Yeah whatever."
She poked both Star and Isle.
"Anyways as I was gonna say before Nyx interrupted… Here's the plan, First Val will distract the Druid, Then the rest of us will ambush her when she's distracted, and the rest is history."
Isle was visibly proud of his plan, There wasn't any apprehension to be felt.
"That plans pretty bad, But it'll work I guess."
Kalpana said smugly teasing him, Isle glared at her, He could glare as much as he wanted but there wasn't really anything he could do other than that.
"Don't cry about it dude." She chuckled.
"Fuck off."
He said while flipping her off. There weren't a whole lot of things he could do in retaliation, But he knew that flipping her off would always be an option.
"Let's just get going already, before we waste anymore time."
Val patted Isles shoulder while holding a wisteria petal, Val was always quick to comfort his younger brother.
"Nyx, Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone alright? Moms already on my ass cuz of last time…"
Isle said to her with a petal in his hand, He remembered when Nyx nearly lit the house aflame trying to bake cookies for everyone when they came back, If it weren't for Lucille then the house would be ashes right now.
"Yeah I won't… See you later Isle."
She gave him a hug, He hugged her tightly then let go.
"Mhm." Isle responded.
"So… Where's that forest?"
Neiva stretched, Her muscles flexed as she did, It was one of the rare times she hadn't worn baggy clothing that hid her built body.
"Don't worry I know where it is, Just hold the petal."
Star answered as they all held their petals, Some held their petals tighter than others.
"Wait don't tel-"
Before Isle could finish his sentence, Star warped them all to the Aklyne Forest. The process could be a little troublesome for people with motion sickness.
Isle ran over to a bush and threw up in it, Val walked over to him and patted his back.
"You alright?"
Val looked at Star walking away. Star glanced back at the two before he walked off with Kalpana, And Neiva while repeating Isle's plan in more detail.
"I'm fine… Where're they going?"
Isle wiped his mouth with a red towel.
"I'm pretty sure they're going to look for our bounty. Why do you ask? Feeling good already?"
Val asked teasingly, Poking Isle's head softly more to annoy him than harm him. While Val was quick to comfort Isle, He was also quick to make fun of him.
"If I'm being honest, No I feel like I'm going to barf my organs out…"
He started to stand up and Val helped him up.
"Well, I hope you're feeling fine cuz it's not getting any better." He laughed, and walked towards the rest of the group while Isle slowly followed.
"Oh… You two finally stopped goofing off, Huh?"
Kalpana turned around to look at them, She was obviously annoyed by them being behind.
"Oh calm down, It's not like you've even gotten close to finding the dryad yet so it doesn't matter…"
Isle said cluelessly with his hands resting on the back of his head.
From the hill they'd stopped at, Kalpana pointed towards a bunch of trees, And there she was. The nymph was playing with some birds, Blissfully unaware of the bounty hunters currently stalking her.
"Oh… Well let's start the plan then." Isle said eagerly as he pushed Val towards her.
Val rolled down the hill, Falling through a few bushes. While trying to grab a hold of something to stop himself, He ended up grabbing the dryad by the ankle.
"Oh? And who are you?"
The Dryad stopped playing with the birds and stared at the odd visitor currently at her feet.
"Me? I'm just laying here." He said tiredly as he let go of her ankle.
For whatever reason, He dusted off his clothes while he was still on the ground.
"That doesn't really answer my question…" She said as she reluctantly held her hand out to help him up.
He grabbed her hand softly as she pulled him up.
"Thanks."
He smiled at her, and brushed some dirt off of his long black hair.
"So... Who are you?" She asked again as a bunch of butterflies landed on her, She smiled faintly.
"I'm Valekis, How about you?" He answered while braiding his hair, It'd come undone as he fell through the bush.
Usually his braid didn't come out like that, But today he let Nyx braid his hair, Whenever she'd ask, He'd always say no but he felt nice today.
"My name's Mori. Why are you here? You couldn't have come here by accident."
She had her finger on her lip while thinking.
"So… What do you need here?"
"I got lost while I was taking a walk, And I guess I just kept on walking and ended up here." He rustled his hair.
Isle jumped to hit Mori with a crimson bat the second Val rustled his hair, Mori seemed to have been ready for it though.
She glanced at him, And he was struck by a root from the ground, Sending him flying through the forest, Snapping trees until he hit a rundown cabin.
He grimaced in pain and held his head, "I'll make a mental note not to mess with nature…"
He pulled a splinter out of his shirt.
'That was my favorite shirt…'
He looked at his shirt in disappointment then glanced at the cabin he hit before walking into it.
Isle hesitantly opened the door to the cabin, And looked inside before entering.
Everything was old but it was much older than what should've been possible.
Everything looked as if it was from the Primordial Era. Isle took a few steps forward before tripping on something and landing on his face.
"As if my luck wasn't bad enough…"
He rubbed his forehead and held his nose to stop his nosebleed. While still holding his nose he kneeled down to see what he tripped on. There on the floor he saw a dusty book, He blew on it before opening it.