Hello! I'm Kiel. I live in Selphia Kingdom with my sister, and I'm currently working to become a scholar! I know I might look young, but I'm very dedicated to brightening up people's lives and putting smiles on their faces, so if you're ever in a rut, don't be afraid to lean on me!~ *Part of the HM Masterlist*
“W-well, not all things… are unhealthy… like strawberries… b-but some things are a bit on the unhealthy side… I-I try not to eat too much pudding… but it tastes really sweet…” Tori smiled, imagining a quiet morning. “Kardia is often quiet… so I don’t need to get up.. too early for that. And I can read in the library all day… W-when I’m not working, that is….” She said. “…W-well… I suppose we can be a handful for her… but I’ve heard her say that’s she’s still proud of us.. in her own way. …Z-zavier almost never sleeps in caves.. b-but he brings a sleeping bag with him.. just in case… He’s been going in caves… for a long time. I suppose I can only.. trust that he knows.. what he’s doing…” Tori sighed.
“Ah, y-yes… I’ll be sure to let you know… when I think a nice time to go there.. would be…” she assured him. “E-eh? Compliment.. my skin and hair? You mean… because the color pink… suits me?” she asked. “…I always liked the idea.. of being married in church.. b-but… actually, a flower field.. sounds lovely… it would be nice….”
"MMM, yes, strawberries. They're so healthy! I love to cook with them. If you plop them into a cheese or shortcake, it can be DELICIOUS! And still super healthy, because there're strawberries and cream!!~ Hey, Tori. You should come back to my town! And I can bake you something! And it would be absolutely delicious."
"Oh? A church? That would be nice, too. There's no church in Selfia, so we usually get married in the entrances to the dungeons. The scenery is very beautiful, and I love the sky and birds. It would be so nice!"
"Oh...would you be able to get the petals on the houses? Because I'm not capable of climbing. I'm too scared of heights...which is sad, because I REALLY want to learn how to fly. And I can't! Because I wouldn't be able to stay steady!"
Pia could only laugh slightly. “Well don’t forget to save some for yourself.” She then merely shrugged turning on her heel. “Maybe we should just make this easy for us and stick to walking on land.♪” She told the blonde, giggling.
Her ears perked up to him calling her. Leaning over the counter she watched him work. “I didn’t know this is how you make pudding..” She pondered. “Then again I don’t think I’ve watched anyone make pudding before..” Pia nodded at his promise, her smile beaming. “I’m so excited! I bet it’s gonna be delicious!”
Her eyes wandered around the room, looking over almost everything. “Hehe, so this is where you live huh? For some reason I always pictured it just like this!♪” She turned back to the boy. “Which is a good thing of course, it’s so cute!”
"Yeah, maybe...or maybe we could learn how to fly. That would be fun! Except you'd have to be careful that you didn't turn into a mermaid, otherwise eagles and hawks and stuff would swoop in and eat up your tail! Which would be TERRIBLE. UNTHINKABLE, EVEN. But I'd bash them over the head with a rainbow or something. Can you touch rainbows? It must be nice to feel one between your fingers. I wonder what it feels like?"
Kiel blushed. "I really hope you enjoy it! O-oh! If you don't, please let me know, okay? It's no trouble at all to make something else. I enjoy cooking, especially for my friends~ It makes me happy to see them so happy!"
"Oh? Is it all of the books? How about your room? What do you have in it? Pictures of squid?"
The pink haired girl raised an eyebrow. “Medicinal herbs? How in the world would those help?” She asked holding back a giggled. “The thought was sweet anyway, and I tried to protect you too!~” Pia said with a laugh.
”Oh?” Pia looked in the direction Kiel was looking. “Right over there? Well let’s go!” Upon entering the house, Pia began to admire her surroundings. The house was exactly how she picture it would be, with items relating to both the siblings interests scattered all over the place. She noticed a picture of Kiel and his sister when they were younger, they looked a lot alike. Pia picked it up briefly, smiling to herself, but set it back down when she heard Kiel call her. She skipped over to the kitchen and found the blonde with cooking utensils scattered all over. “Hmm..” She thought, before her eyes brightened. “How bout one with honey?♪” Pia asked smiling at the blonde.
"Um. Well. You know. Medicinal herbs restore HP and all that, so it could help you if you were about to faint! But not so much if you'd already have fainted...but I wouldn't let you get to that point! Don't worry! I'd bring lots of recovery potions along to the rocket, and wouldn't leave until you'd accepted them all!"
Kiel followed nervously. He'd had a girl in his room before, but back then, the atmosphere had been casual. There was still a fun and light-hearted feel in the house itself, what with Pia's energy, but inside Kiel felt something constricting and weird. Like he wanted to impress her. He had never been so nervous! Seeing her pick up a photo of himself, Kiel quickly tried to avert her attention by calling her name. He soo did not look good in that photo, but his mother had insisted to keep it up.
"Yes! Okay! Honey's good! It'll taste delicious, I promise!" he mixed the milk and eggs in a creamy mixture, and added a few drops of golden honey. "Sit down~ I'll bring everything right over to you!"
“Then we’ll just bring a BUNCH of flowers for them to pick from!” Kohaku said confidently. She scanned the shop and picked out the most beautiful and eye catching flowers she could find and placed them gently into a basket. Kohaku giggled and spoke to a flower, “Your welcome~!”
“It’s alright. It can get hard, but it’s for the flowers after all!” Kohaku smiled genuinely, “If it’s for them then I don’t mind the hard work!”
Kiel gasped. "Wow! You're so...dedicated. And strong! And strong-willed! That's so wonderful. Watching your enthusiasm has made me very happy! I can feel a boost of energy coming on! Your cheery disposition has been very inspiring!!~"
He fist pumped the air. "Okay! We'll work hard! Where to next??"
“W-well… some raw medical herbs… do have very s-strong medicinal properties… b-but.. It’s really no replacement.. for a doctor….” Tori said, some concern leaking into her voice. It didn’t really matter that he was healthy now. If he wasn’t careful, he could get sick… “Ah… I suppose I like eating sometimes… I-I like.. a lot of.. s-sweet things… b-but I don’t eat unhealthily, either..” she said. “Ah, I don’t really.. cook for Zavier. Sometimes I’ll help mother… b-but I don’t usually get up in time.. to make something that big… B-besides… Mother says that Zavier will come back home.. when he’s hungry… She says she wants him back so.. he’ll do his chores… b-but I think she worries about him.. and doesn’t like it when he… sleeps in the caves…”
“Ah… w-well… I don’t think anyone is ever.. looking to get attacked…” she said. She paused at Kiel’s offer. She was surprised at such a sudden offer and had to think it over. “…Um.. n-not now…” she said. “Such a wonderful trip… I’d rather plan for it… and stay there a while… then go there so suddenly..” she said. “B-but.. it sounds lovely… Perhaps one day I will… go there with the one I love…”
"Sweet things aren't unhealthy! Usually honey is used as a sweetener, or sometimes jam, and that stuff's perfectly fine for you! I like to get up early, but that's because there's no one else around and I can talk to my animal friends and read and the light is perfect and there's not too much noise and stuff. It must be difficult, being your mother and having Zavier for a son. And for you, too. I'd be so worried! Forte doesn't sleep in the dungeons, and good golly am I thankful for that, because if she did I would totally DRAG HER AND HER ARMOUR BACK HOME! It's just so dangerous, you know?"
"Yes! You should! You definitely should! All the flowers are so pretty, and they'd definitely compliment your skin and hair and stuff. I want to get married there to, I think. Selfia doesn't have any flower fields like it.."
“Yes, you’re right… It does feel like a weight lifted from my chest” he smiled softly “Thank you very much for your support, both of you~”
He blinked and laughed out loud at Kiel’s string of questions “Please, Kiel, just how old do you think I am— I am a little offended. Don’t talk as if I was an old man… Not that you couldn’t have any goals as an old man, for that matter” he chuckled again and thought for a moment before finally answering “Well, my goal right now is to see that Selphia is well and safe, of course. Miss Frey and Lest do such a great job but I should supervise them, hmm? And, well, as always I still want to see many places and learn many more things~ There is always something brand new you can learn and this world is just so vast, hmhmm~♪” He glanced towards Tori, curiously waiting to hear her reply as well.
“I’ve never thought about writing…” he tapped his chin “I never considered myself very creative… but I suppose it could be fun to try someday”
“I… I know how to spell…” Tori mumbled quietly. She worked at a library, after all. But given that her objection was extremely quiet and Kiel was probably not actually insulting her intelligence, it would be unlikely that someone acknowledged it.
“M-my goals? Well… I suppose I want to travel… I want to be able to see.. all kinds of wonderful places…” she said. “And… to be married one day… that would be… so wonderful….” She smiled dreamily. “…Oh, b-but,” she said, snapping out of her daze, “Mr. Arthur… you supervise… the prince and p-princess? I-Isn’t that… I-I thought you were a trader.. and a scholar… W-why are you supervising them…?” Tori asked. To her, it sounded almost a little bold. But Arthur wasn’t a rude person, so perhaps she was missing something? Maybe Princess Frey and Prince Lest valued his input as a scholar. She looked at him curiously.
“Ah… N-no.. I can’t draw… I could.. try writing, I suppose… although I don’t think I have.. any particular talent for it…” she said. Sure she wrote to herself from time to time, but…
"Hmm?~" Kiel turned to Tori and skipped around frantically at her comment. "No! No! NOO! That's not what I meant! Don't hate me! Don't hate me! I just like to spell things out sometimes because it's FUN! And because it's important to know the epistemology of words! Heh."
He turned back to Arthur at Tori's comment. "How do you mean, supervise? Like the way you supervise me? Do Lest and Frey get up to a lot of trouble? That's not too surprising, actually, with the way they've got to go off and fight in dungeons all the time! Your input must be so valuable, because of your knowledge of the monsters and the terrain! I'm sure you're a great help!" he tugged at Arthur's arm gently, but then pulled him down to eye level and stared at him darkly. "But if you ever ditch me for Frey or Lest, I'll never forgive you! Never! Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever."
He released Arthur, thinking intently. "Hmm. Then maybe a children's book isn't such a great idea. Darn. It would've been a lot of fun!!'
Suddenly, Hiro felt bad for pouting. “Oh— Goodness— That’s not what I meant at all,” he reassured quickly, waving it off and offering a most apologetic smile. He began to laugh. “You haven’t done a thing to offend me. I’m just moping a bit— I’m terribly sorry for worrying you like that! I-I’m just not used to this variety of compliments, I suppose,” he rubbed his shoulder shyly. “But that’s very kind of you. Thank you so much! ♪”
Watching Kiel with a kind smile, Hiro giggled to himself. “Like Japan? Hmm— In some ways, it is. This is a much quieter place than the area of Japan that I’m from, though… Konohana is very peaceful.” Blinking, he nodded, cheery. “Yes! I have time! I already collected these herbs, and that was my only task for the day, so I can definitely show you around! First of all—” he pointed beyond the gates, “—There’s a tunnel there that leads straight to the other village— But unfortunately, it’s caved in now. Hopefully the carpenter will be able to fix it soon. Beyond that is the pet shop and one of my neighbors, Dirk,” he explained with a smile, casually pointing things out and reeling Kiel in towards the heart of the town.
Kiel kept flailing his arms. "I AM JUST SOOOOO SORRY! SO. SORRY. You let me know next time I say something stupid, okay?! Just shut me right up! Cover my mouth or something! Or stick an acorn in! Or an apple! Or if there's nothing lying around, you can just be like 'Kiel, shut up,' and I'll shut right up! PLEASE DON'T BE MAD AT ME." he blinked once he realized Hiro wasn't offended. "O-oh? Well good, then! I'm glad! I really did mean it in the best way possible! Although I'm make sure to filter my thoughts from now on, heh."
"A tunnel? Like a dark one? We should go explore! Maybe there'll be some very rare minerals! And then we could be rich! And I can build a library in my town. With books! And the books will have pages! And maybe even words! And sometimes pictures. Although, I find that adults don't really like books with pictures, so I'll make sure some of them are all boring and verbose and whatnot. Just to suit everyone's tastes!" he looked around. "Your houses are all so lovely! What beautiful architecture! Hmm hmm~ Is that the town hall? It's so grand! I like it best, I think."
Tori smiled. She admired that Arthur was able to overcome his problems. She wondered, if she had been in the same situation, what would she have done? Would she have enough courage to follow her heart? She didn’t know the answer. Her mother could be strict, but she was nothing but supportive, in the end. As for her father, she could find no memory of him where she thought him to be cruel. In fact, he had always filled her head with hopes and dreams, and tales of adventure and love. She looked at Kiel and nodded. “Mm! That’s what I believe…” she said. “I hope we all have many adventures… and fall in love. That would be… a good story…” she said.
Yes, it was a happy story so far. Tori agreed with Arthur on that. But… it wasn’t over yet. Arthur deserved more, she thought. And she wanted more for herself as well. As for Kiel, she could see he was going to strive ahead for his happy ending too. A strange feeling settled over her. It wasn’t exactly peaceful, yet it was too calm to be exciting. Hope, she decided, was what she was feeling. She had hope for everyone’s future, and that all stories could have a happy ending. She didn’t care if it was naïve, it was something she believed in- if only for that moment.
“Ah, no… I’m glad you told us, M-Mr. Arthur…” she said. “It’s nicer when you.. talk with friends, while walking… than if you just… keep going. And, um… even though it was difficult.. for you to say… Now that it’s done with… it’s not a bad story.. exactly…”She hoped that didn’t sound silly. “Y-yes… let’s keep going…”
((ah nuts now that frey is gone i don’t think she has a reason to be going to the castle orz))
"Yes! It's not a bad story at all, because you're much stronger now! And more assertive! And you know what you want! Marriage should be something you do when you're in L-O-V-E!!" he leaned over and whispered to both of them, "That spells 'LOVE,' by the way." He leaned back and started humming. "You should marry who you wanna! And then you can have lots of children! And wear nice clothes! And be happy! Wowee, I can't wait to get married! But I also can't wait to establish myself as a scholar. What about you, Tori? What can't you wait for? And Arthur? You're an adult, right?? So what are you focusing on? What are your goals? Do adults even HAVE goals? You're already accomplished everything I could ever hope to do!!"
"Yes, our story would be very lovely! HEY! Maybe we should all write a book one day! A romance novel! Or...any novel, really. Wouldn't that be fun? Can either of you draw? I'm not very artistic, but that's okay! We can make up the lot and characters and EVERYTHING!!"
“…W-well…” Tori gave up attempting to explain Sharron. She was mysterious, anyways- even Tori didn’t fully understand her. Still, she knew that if Melody was good friends with her, then Sharron was a good person. “Ah… d-doctors? … I… I know they do their best… to keep people healthy. It’s a good thing.. I suppose… It’s not good when people get ill… or get harmed… ah-” Tori shook her head. “N-no, you mustn’t.. p-put off seeing a doctor… y-you could get.. really ill… if you don’t get help… a-and….”
“U-unicorns? …They won’t… attack us, r-right?” Tori asked, knowing that monsters could get territorial from time to time. As nice as they were in stories, there were no unicorns near Kardia, so she couldn’t tell. “I-I’ve heard of Sharance… I h-hear that there is a flower field.. in a forest around there…. that blooms all year… Doesn’t that sound lovely?” Of course, the more Tori thought about it, camping there might not be such a great idea. She wouldn’t want to crush the flowers! But the idea sounded lovely nonetheless.
"That's true...normally, I just stuff myself with medicinal herbs and hope for the best! But I don't get sick very easily. Maybe because I eat a lot, my digestive and immune system is always full of FUEL! F-U-E-L! Do you like to eat? Or do you prefer to cook the food instead and let someone else have them? I like to cook for my sister so that she doesn't run out of stamina while fighting! Do you do the same for your brother?"
"I hope not! I'm totally NOT in the mood to get attacked! Look! I'm even wearing my best shirt~" he pulled at the hem of his green cotton turtleneck. "Oh! Would you like to go? I can teleport us there! The flowers really are pretty, and it's said that if you make a wish and go there with your loved one, your love will never wither! NEVER!"
“Of course we won’t pick them! And yes EVERYWHERE!” Kohaku opened her arms and spun around, “We could also make flower necklaces and crowns and give them to everyone in town!!”
“Okay! First we need to go to my flower shop!” Kohaku pointed and then started skipping towards the building.
Kiel raced after her, mentally planning all of the flowers he would give to people. "I think Forte would like moondrops, maybe. But what do you think Arthur would like? Pinkcats are nice, but maybe a bit too feminine? Maybe a charm blue? Oh dear, what if they don't like the flowers we give them?" he began biting his nails nervously.
"Hey, Kohaku, is it difficult running your own business? It looks like it would take quite a lot of work and upkeep..."
Pia burst out into a fit of giggles. “SO, you’d let me do something dangerous if you were there with me? You’re such a dork~!” She said still laughing. Leaning over she flicked his forehead lightly.
”Hmm pudding sounds pretty good!” Pia then hopped to her feet. “Yeah yeah YEAH I want too! Gonna be so awesome!” She sang throwing her arms into the air. The pinkette then shrugged. “Who cares! We’ll find out when we get there! Come onn!” She grabbed his hand and started running before she turned back. “Uh, I don’t know where you live.” She said with a sheepish grin.
"Well, if I were there with you, I could protect you! So...yes. Except, I'd still be really worried," Kiel frowned. "I'd definitely have to bring along a bunch of medicinal herbs, just in case!"
"Tee hee~ You have good instincts! I'm right over there, do you see? By the general store, where my friend Doug works!" he squeezed Pia's hand in excitement. "Yay! I can't wait for you to see my room! Let's go let's go let's GO!!" he pulled her along, running into the house. It was littered with armour, weaponry, books, stuffed animals, and flower seeds. Kiel released Pia's hand and got to work, pulling milk and eggs out of the fridge and mixing them in a pot. "Would you like honey or chocolate or milk in your pudding, or do you prefer the regular one?"
Pia frowned at the loud, off-key, high-pitched singing. It could only be one person, she knew. She cautiously opened the door to the bathhouse and peered outside. No..it couldn’t be…was it…?
“PIA! PIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Is that you? Is that you?! You’re so blue and pink and pretty today! Did you do something to your hair? Why are you so wet? OHhhh, it’s a bathhouse, riiiiiiiiiiiight.”
Pia’s eyebrows knitted together in concentration. Since when did Kiel slur his words together so much…? Oh. Oh. She scrambled over to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him along towards the inn. “Kiel! Come on! We need to sober you up!”
Kiel immediately resisted, plopping down on the ground and giggling. “But this is so much fuuuuun~ Look, Pia, I’m on the groooooound. I’m on the grouuuuund, like a shruuuuub.”
Pia looked down at him worriedly. “Who gave you alcohol anyway, Kiel?! Where did you find it? Why doesn’t your sister know about this? Come on! Get up! Let’s go! LET’S GO BEFORE THE SQUID FIND YOU, KIEL!!”
Kiel looked up at Pia and gently tugged at her hair. “It’s so soft, too…” he murmured to himself. “How do you keep your hair so lovely and soft?”
Pia blushed at the compliment, but reached out and flicked her friend’s nose. “Come on! Snap out of it! Why are you so intoxicated…how much did you have to drink, anyway?”
“Just four glasses of wine! Nothing too much!” Kiel hiccupped, laughing. “But I’m pretty small, so it must’ve hard a large effect…like the BIG BANG! When all the planets were formed because of the stars crashing. CRASHING!” He sprung to his feet and began dancing. “C’mon, Pia! Dance with meeeee!”
Against her better judgment, the mermaid couldn’t help giggling. She ran over to Kiel, slipped her fingers into his and swung him around gently. “Kiel, your rhythm’s off…” she complained, laughing.
“Sorry! So sorry! Don’t worry! I’ll protect you!!” he began moving his feet in a way that partially resembled dancing in no way at all, but at least it was an attempt.
Pia acknowledged his effort with a smile, and the two began twirling and dipping and spinning outside the inn.
“Pia?” At the voice, the two turned around to see Sakuya, with her hands on her hips. “What is this..? Are you two okay?” she saw the state Kiel was inn, and her eyes widened.
“Can he even understand the English language?! Look at him! His eyes are all glossy! Pia, you have to take him to the doctor! He could develop liver failure, or hurt himself, or something!”
Kiel blinked stupidly. “Noooo! Don’t take me anywhere! I wanna stay with Pia! I WANNA STAY AND DANCE WITH PIA!!”
Pia looked back at the boy, and wrapped him up in a hug. “Don’t worry, Kiel…as soon as you’re all fixed up, we can dance as much as we want!” she promised. Kiel looked at her.
“Really?! Okay! Okay! Let’s go, then! Let’s get this over with so that we can dance!!”
“I’ve got a better idea…why not dance the way there? C’mon, there’s plenty of room!” And Pia grabbed Kiel’s hands and spun him in circles, moving further and further away from the inn and towards Marian’s.
Sakuya looked out from her doorstep and sighed, watching the two twirl out of her sight. “They really are perfect for each other..” she muttered, sighing and walking after them to make sure they got to the hospital in one piece.
