#waeziverse

[waeziverse]

https://www.instagram.com/69ze.e?igsh=dDVyZHc2ZWhuZGtt

There is no right answer, you fool!

[comicsin5panels]

The Leap in 5 panels

... My artwork sucks ass...

(Check out my first original written work “The Leap” right HERE and follow the Waeziverse tumblr HERE)

[waeziverse]

Atsidas and Connie's baby.

Drawn by scottmon3y

[waeziverse]

Royal Punch (chapter 22)

Dimi sat on her hands as she felt nauseous. The elevator was bad enough, but this giant box with seats was horrible to be inside. Her heart was beating as crazy, it got worse after she looked out the window and was reminded that the gondola was thirty meters above the ground and that if it should fall then it would not just be her and the other passengers who was trapped inside this death machine who would get hurt, the creatures below them would get crushed like bugs.

Dimi looked around her. The gondola had eight seats, each coated in some sort of fur. She sat on the seat next to the window because it was the farthest from the door, an attempt to feel less anxious about being in the contraption. A mistake since it was impossible for her to not take a peek out the window now and then. On the door was an illustration of a dwarf’s head and below the drawing was a sign where you could read that her name was Bismuth and how she had invented the gondola line for the city. On the seat in front of Dimi sat a minotaur lady with black fur and hair covering her eyes in a red dress. Her daughter was leaning her head against her and taking a nap.

Dimi could feel a massive amount of spit in her throat, wondering how the brat could be so calm about the situation. Her blood then turned to ice as the gondola jounced and then stopped moving. Dimi held her breath and didn’t move out of the spot while the minotaur and her kid casually stood up and got out of the door.

“It’s the end station.”

Dimi turned her head to see an elf in a blue uniform and a beret at the door.

“Miss, you have to get out.” The elf with six fingers on each hand looked at Dimi patiently. “Hope you had a pleasant trip.”

Dimi didn’t answer as she stood up and steeled herself as she realized she had to get inside another elevator. “Next time, I will just walk…”

***

The Asparagus Resident Complex had been close to the gondola station. It was a big square building that looked like it was about three floors tall. Dimi could also see something that looked like the top of a birch that would have to have been planted on the roof.

Dimi was exhausted, being stressed out had eaten every bit of energy in her body. But before she could throw herself into her new bed in her new apartment, she had to meet her landlord.

Dimi couldn’t recall ever seeing a satyr without horns, or at least not a male one.

Tryphon was a middle-aged Lacaune-type satyr. He was tall, hornless, wore a massive set of round glasses and was dressed in a long green coat. His wool was white as snow and he had a full beard that was in a shape that Dimi had no other word for than pointy.

“Welcome to the apartment complex, young lady.” Tryphon gave Dimi a handshake and a kind smile. “I understand you had a long journey. I hope it went well?”

Dimi smiled and shrugged. “Well, it was a bit boring, but that's about it. This town is huge.”

“Yes, I prefer trumpets myself.”

Dimi blinked. “What?”

“Follow me, I will show you your flat. The dwarf you're gonna share it with won’t be here till later this evening.”

“Can you tell me when they will be here? I have to go somewhere but would like to be there when they arrive. You know, make a good first impression.”

“Oh, that won’t be a problem, there is a toilet everyone shares here on every floor.”

Dimi narrowed her eyes, slightly annoyed. “No, my flatmate, FLATMATE!”

“Oh, one minute…” Tryphon picked a horn-shaped object from the left pocket of his coat and held the pointy end at his ear. Runes had been painted on it, enchanting the ear trumpet. “I forget now and then that I’m heavy of hearing. Could you repeat that?”

“My flatmate, when will I meet them?”

“Oh, she shouldn’t be here till sundown, I believe. Here, your key.” Tryphon gave Dimi a beg key that was grey and brown-tainted. “You will find your flat on the third floor, door C2. If you need me or have any questions, then I will be found in my home to the left of the front door or I will be on the roof, tending my garden. We expect you to pay rent on the last day of the month. We have no elevator, sorry about that.”

Dimi smirked. “I don’t mind. At all.”

As Dimi went up the stairs, Tryphon scratched his chin as he placed his ear trumpet back in his pocket. “Hold on… Archibald said it was a dwarf, right? Oh well…” The satyr shrugged and went to his apartment to fetch his gardening gear.

***

As Dimi entered the room, she dropped her bag of belongings and stretched her whole body, creating small popping sounds between her shoulders. The trip had made her stiff as a plank and she only now realized that she was hungry.

She looked around the apartment. The entryway was slim, there were hooks on the walls for clothes. There was doors to the left, right and one at the end of the entryway. The door straight forward led to a room that had a green sofa, a table with three chairs and a small kitchen. Dimi checked that the sink worked. It did, so did the heat crystals at the stove. But she found no pots, pans or knives, so she would have to talk with her new room mate about that.

The doors that were to the left and right of the entrance of the apartment had bedrooms. Each had a bed just about big enough for one person, a small shelf that reached Dimi’s waist and a window so you could see… well, not much but other apartments and a very grey street. Dimi fetched her bag and threw it on the bed in the room to the left of the front door.

“I call dibs, roomie.” Dimi stretched one more time, cracking her neck. She then sat on the edge of her new bed, leaning against the wall and made a deep sigh. After feeling as if she was gonna fall into a coma, she then smirked as she thought of something that made her grin.

“I’m gonna meet Devil Daisy.” Dimi snorted and smiled like an idiot.

***

After a very very VERY long walk that made her rethink her decision to never use the gondola again, Dimi had managed to find the place where she would get to meet the greatest boxer who had ever lived. She felt numb in her legs as she had walked in circles using a lousy map to find her way through a town that made Onyxville seem small and clean. She had almost twice stepped on a gnome and gotten yelled at by a fairy she had accidentally elbowed as he flew past her.

Dimi wondered if tiny creatures couldn’t just get their own city to live in. Then she wondered if that was a bigoted thing for her to think.

But she didn’t dwell on it as she now stood in front of a building with a sign over the front door that said Rough Gym.

As she opened the door, the first thing that hit Dimi was the smell. Sure, the gym Willie the Satyr owned that Dimi had worked in had smelled like sweat. But this gym? This gym made Willie’s seem like a flower boutique in comparison. The stench of sweat, tears and blood made Dimi’s throat tighten. The next thing that she noticed was the noise. She could swear that everyone in this room jumped and punched in a specific rhythm. She looked around the gym. There were mirrors places up the walls that creatures of different types stood in front of, either shadow boxing or jumping ropes. Benches were placed next to the mirrors where creatures sat and shouted commands at everyone in the gym. Dimi noticed that she was stepping on sand, then realizing that it came from a punching bag that a dwarf was punishing as if he had something personal against it, resulting in it getting a hole that same came out of. And in the middle of the big room was a boxing ring where a satyr woman who leaned against the ropes shouted something at an eagle-harpy.

Everyone in the gym were of different races, some of them creatures Dimi had never seen. Heck, she even spotted an elf doing jump ropes. The only thing they all had in common was that they were drenched in sweat.

“This is the coolest place I have ever seen.” Dimi said out loud.

“I know. Say, could I get in?”

Dimi turned around and saw a satyr with long black fur and curly horns. He looked like he was in his thirties and he used crutches. Dimi didn’t mean to stare, but his legs didn’t look… right.

“Oh, sorry.” Dimi moved away from the front door so the sheep-man could get inside. “Do you… work here?”

“No, I co-own the place.” He let go of one crutch, but a piece of rope was tied around his wrist that was connected to the crutch. He offered a handshake and smiled. “I’m Bud. I don’t believe I seen you around here?”

Dimi grabbed Bud’s hand. “I’m Dimi. I have a letter from Ivan the Minotaur, I’m supposed to-”

“Ooooh, you are Ivan’s kid? Then you wanna meet Daisy. Follow me.”

Dimi walked slowly as she followed Bud, but the handicapped satyr was surprisingly swift. They reached the boxing ring at the center of the room. Now that they stood next to the ring, Dimi could better see the two creatures who stood inside it. The eagle-harpy looked young, probably around Dimi’s age, and wore headgear and a pair of big gloves used for sparing. The satyr with tired eyes that made Dimi assume she was past fifty was wearing a blue tracksuit and the zipper had been zipped down, revealing more of her fluffy fur. She also wore a pair of gloves, but no head protection. She had white fur with a brown pattern that made her face look like a skull from a pirate flag. Dimi then noticed that the gloves had broderies of flowers on them.

“Oh shit…” Dimi couldn’t help but gawk as she recognized the fur pattern.

“You are not listening to me!” Devil Daisy leaned her back against the corner of the ring as she scolded the eagle-boy who gave her an annoyed glare. “You think it is all about speed and strength, but that only gets you so far while you still haven’t reached your thirties.” Daisy lightly jabbed the beak of the harpy. “You still think boxing is about hitting someone, but any fool can do that. Na, kiddo, it is about NOT getting hit. Strategy, you get me?”

Bud elbowed Dimi. “Listen closely.”

“Focus.” Daisy patted the harpy on his headgear. “Body language.” She patted him again. “Strategy is what separates a boxer from a chump with a face filled with bruises!”

The eagle boy ruled his eyes. “Whatever…”

“Oy! What's with the attitude?” Daisy raised an eyebrow. “You think you can take me? Lets go.”

“What?!” The eagle boy’s eyes were now wide open.

Bud shook his head. “Man, here we go again…”

“You think you are so smart?” Daisy raised her gloved fists and rolled her shoulders. “Show me what you got, punk.”

The eagle boy narrowed his eyes. “Dude, I’m not gonna hit an old lady, that’s just- HEY!” He took a step backwards as he got hit in the head by a left hook. Daisy made small jumps as she moved left and right. Her satisfied smirk made the eagle boy extremely annoyed. “Okay, you are asking for it, grandma!”

Dimi had both fight and seen satyrs fight, most of them basing their fighting style on their enchanted hooves that allowed them small bursts of speed. So she was confused as she saw Daisy holding up her gloves to protect her head and only moving backwards as she got a barrage of punches. She now had her back against the ropes as the eagle punished her for letting herself get caught.

“I know what you are thinking.” Bud said, smiling unconcerned. “But just watch.”

After half a minute, the eagle boy got tired. Then, with a smile that almost looked creepy, Daisy punched the young harpy on the forehead and then planted a solid punch in his stomach, making her young opponent step backward.

“Oh! I think I get it!” Dimi turned to Bud. “She used the ropes, right?”

Bud smirked. “What do you mean?”

“It’s like… she let herself get against the ropes. And she could then lean against them so she could roll with the punches, making him run himself tired, right?”

“You are pretty sharp.” Bud laughed. “Yeah, you are right. It’s called rope-a-dope.”

Dimi turned her attention back towards the ring to see Daisy make a series of light punches, making her younger opponent trip and fall. The satyr smiled and placed her gloved fists on the waist. “So? What did I tell you?”

“Yeah, yeah, got it.” The eagle harpy groaned and he got up and then snaked his way through the ropes. “Strategy wins, got it. I’m hitting the shower coach.”

As soon as the harpy was far enough away, Daisy replaced her satisfied smile with a grimace and groaned. “Ooooh, my back…” She leaned her arms and overbody against the ropes and moaned.

“Why do you keep doing this to yourself?” Bud got himself closer to the ring and then patted Daisy on the forehead with one of his crutches. “Is playing you are thirty again worth your back killing you?”

Daisy shrugged as she took off her gloves and dropped them on the canvas. “It’s the best way to get the kids to respect you, you know?”

“Right, and it has nothing to do with you wanting to prove you still queen of the jungle?”

“Get off my back, Bud. I’m sixty-two years old, I’m not a child you can scold.”

“Then act like an adult!”

“I will show you adult, Buddy.” Daisy stretched her back, then got through the ropes and got down from the ring… and then wrapped her arms around Bud and gave him a big kiss.

Some of the creatures in the gym teasingly whisted and laughed.

“Ah, shaddap!” Daisy smirked, then noticed Dimi. “What is the human doing here?”

“Ivan’s kid, she just got here.”

“Ah…” Daisy tilted her head and studied the human girl. “Dimi, right?”

Dimi could feel her entire body trembling. THE Devil Daisy was talking to her. “Ma’am, it’s a huge honor to-”

“Fight stance.”

Dimi blinked. “Eh?”

“Fight stance.” Daisy had her arms crossed, looking impatient. “Show me.”

“Oh… Oh!” Dimi blushed as she spread her legs, clenched her fists and raised one next to her head and the other lowered a bit, as if she was ready to attack.

Daisy gave her a bored look. “Your chin is out. That’s not a good sign. And you fight head on, eye to eye?”

Dimi blushed even more.

Daisy then walked around her, poking her on the shoulder. “You are stiff as a tree.”

Bud tilted his head. “Don’t you think you are being a bit hard on her?”

Dimi felt as if she was a ten year old who showed off her new drawing of a griffin, only to be told it looked like a dog.

And Daisy looked like someone had skimmed on the meat in her sandwich. “Okay, I had low expectations when I got the letter about you. Sure, you are a human, not built for fist fighting. But your stance? It looks like you have been trained by a minotaur!”

“I have…” Dimi felt stupid as she said that.

“Good for you! But you are NOT a minotaur, you are not seven feet tall and wide as a barn door..” Daisy poked her again. “You are slim. Ivan wrote to me that you are undefeated, so my guess is you have been fighting nothing but chumps.”

Dimi stopped being embarrassed and instead got pissed. “Hey!”

“Had you been anyone else, I would have told you to bug off my gym.” Daisy rolled her eyes. “But Ivan is an old friend… So I will, despite seeing that you are mediocre as heck, try to make something out of you.” Daisy patted Dimi on the shoulder. “If nothing else, I get to enjoy watching you trip over your own feet.”

All of Dimi’s admiration for this sheep-woman had been replaced with burning anger.

***

After the very very VERY long walk home, Dimi decided that she would now be okay with risking her life stepping inside a gondola. She forced herself up the stairs of the apartment complex to reach her door on the third floor. She had just been told by a living legend that she was completely hopeless and she just wanted to fetch a pillow and scream into it.

But one last terrible surprise awaited her.

As Dimi opened the door to her apartment, she could see that her new roommate was about to open the door to get out.

Her new roommate was about her height. She was bald as an egg, dressed in a blue tunic and had bare feet. She had pointy ears as well as pointy tusks. But more importantly… Her hide was green.

The orc girl was clearly as displeased as Dimi.

[waeziverse]

Royal Punch (chapter 21)

Dimi and the rooster-type harpy Suk threw a combination of hooks and japs inside the ring. Suk then began to throw right crosses as Dimi bobbed and weaved, evading most of the harpy's attacks. Eyeing an opportunity, the seventeen-year-old human girl made a left hook that connected with the harpy's beak.

"Hey, not too hard!" Suk nudged his beak.

"Oh, oops." Dimi blushed slightly. "My bad, sorry."

"Eh, no worries." Suk touched gloves with his sparring partner and the two of them raised their fists once again. But then they heard coach Willie ring the bell. He was a satyr in his late forties with light-brown wool. He had no horns as they had to be cut off due to the horns crowing with the edge of them getting dangerously close to his temples.

"Okay, that's enough for today. Suk, water break. Dimi, thanks for your time."

Dimi pulled off the big gloves with extra padding and smiled when she gave Suk a fist bump. "Same time next week, chicken boy?"

"Watch your mouth, pink-skin." Suk snickered as he took off his protective headgear. He then transformed his arms to wings which he used to fan himself.

"Yo, Suk!" Pearl the Dwarf who took a break from hitting a slightly shabby sandbag. "Why do you keep sparring with that human scumbag? You want her to elbow your eye too?"

Dimi narrowed her eyes and leaned against the ropes of the ring placed in the middle of Willie the Satyr's gym. "For the last time, I did not elbow Clarabelle!"

"Maybe you are telling the truth." The blond dwarf went back to pummeling the sandbag. "I heard you ripped the tape around your glove so you could use the laces to cut open that wound over Clara's eye. Either way, we all know humans cheat!"

"Oh yeah?" Dimi waved a fist at Pearl. "Why don't you get up in the ring? Then I will show you how I cheat!" Dimi blinked. "No, wait, that sounds like... well, up yours!"

“Alright, that’s enough.” Willie rang the bell again. As Dimi ducked between the ropes to leave the ring, the old satyr gave Pearl a stern look. “If you spent more time hitting bags than you do talking like a smartass, you would be professional by now, Pearl.”

Pearl snickered as she kept hitting the sandbag. Dimi handed the gloves and headgear to Willie who then gave her a small bag of coins. “Any news?” Dimi asked as she grabbed a towel to clean her face for sweat.

Willie shrugged. “Sorry, Dimi. I tried, but my friend from Biggsville says she doesn’t need new fighters at the moment.”

Dimi sighed. “I need to do more than just sparring. I have to get experience from real fights.”

“Well…” Willie lowered his voice. “If all else fails… you could try underground fighting.” Willie realized it was a very bad suggestion as Dimi gave him a glare so sharp it could slice up a cheese. “Hey, it was just a thought-”

“A very bad one.” Dimi cringed as she recalled pulverizing a guy’s face without anyone stopping her. “I will just get a shower and get outta here.”

“If you like, you could use the gym, free of charge. You deserve it, you are probably the best sparring partner we got.”

Dimi forced a smile. “Thanks, but I need to get home for work.” As Dimi went to the locker room, she felt as if a dark cloud hovered above her head. “Best sparring partner…” She grumbled. “Yay me.”

***

“God damn mediocre!”

A young minotaur with cream-colored fur felt rather small despite being taller and bigger than the middle-aged winged lion-woman who yelled at him. The bull-boy held a rope firmly in his strong hands while a griffin who was tied to the other end of the rope screeched.

Albert the Minotaur pouted. “I’m doing the best I can-”

“Then you are very limited!” Aura the Sphinx growled. Bad enough that she had to take an apprentice, she also had an awful headache.

Albert looked at his new mentor and boss, unsure if it was worse getting yelled at by the stout lady or being screamed at by the overgrown chicken-monster. “I’m pulling all I can, but the stupid critter won’t-”

“It’s not about force, it’s about respect!” Aura rolled her eyes.

The griffin kept making its disapproval of the farm’s new apprentice. “SCREECH!”

“You can’t overpower a griffin. And even if you could-”

“SCREECH!”

“- then it would be a brat about it. You need to make them-”

“SCREECH!”

“- respect you, make it clear you are the boss. It’s about attitude, it’s about-”

“SCREECH!”

Aura turned her head towards the majestic beast. “SHUT UP, YOU BIG BABY!”

Said majestic beast lowered its head and kneeled on its left front leg.

“See?” Aura narrowed her tired eyes at Albert who had a mix of fear and awe written all over his face. “Respect. Now go clean the stables for shit, you can do that much at least.”

As the young minotaur fetched his tools to do his dirty task, a much older minotaur with a broken horn arrived. Ivan raised an eyebrow. “A bit hard on the kid, aren’t you?”

Aura nudged her head. “I managed this farm alone for years! And now I have to babysit some runt who barely qualifies as stableboy. How would you-”

“You have a migraine again, right?”

Aura glared at her husband. “That is beside the point. Alfred or whatever his name is-”

“Put them on.”

Aura blinked. “What?”

“You heard me.” Ivan smiled patiently. “Put them on.”

“Okay, I reeeeally don’t need you patronizing bullshit right now, Ivan.”

“Put them on.”

“I don’t need them! They are just in the way when I-”

“Put them on.”

“They are tacky!”

“Put them on.”

“... They make me feel-”

“Put them on.”

Aura sighed and took the pair of big, round glasses Ivan held in his hand from him. She reluctantly placed them on her nose. She blinked twice, her eyes feeling less strained and her vision getting clearer. She narrowed her eyes as she pouted.

Ivan patted her on the shoulder. “See? Tell me that didn’t help.”

Aura moaned. “I look like my grandpa. He had a pair like these.”

“They make you look sophisticated and mature.” Ivan made a coy smile. “And very attractive.”

Aura raised an eyebrow. “You saying my grandpa was attractive?”

Ivan opened his mouth. Then closed it, opened it one more time only to close it once more. “That… sounds like a trick question.”

Aura snickered, then she wrapped her arms around Ivan’s neck as she kissed him on the cheek. “You just came to remind me that I’m getting older?”

“Actually…” Ivan pulled himself free from his wife’s embrace and pulled out an envelope from one of his apron’s pockets. “I finally got an answer, honey.”

***

Every muscle in Dimi’s body felt tight and she was annoyed that she had to work in the forge after working at the gym since she could get a proper shower there instead of just using a bucket from Aura’s well. The young human lady kept making her hammer bounce on the red-hot metal, making it thicken. A lock of her blond hair got in her left eye that she tried to blow away without success.

Dimi heard both of her godfather and his wife call for her as she had managed to get the steel into the right shape. She cooled the steel in her bucket with now lukewarm water and cleaned her face with the back of her sleeve… which did remove the sweat but instead smudged sod into her forehead.

What the minotaur and sphinx had to say surprised her.

“Happy birthday!” Both Aura and Ivan smiled and waved their arms as they yelled in unison.

Dimi raised her eyebrow. “My birthday was last month.”

“Sure.” Ivan waved with the envelope he held in his right hand. “But we didn’t have your birthday present ready.”

“Good news, kiddo!” Aura’s wings flapped as she patted Dimi on the shoulder. “You are fired!”

Dimi narrowed her eyes. “Ah…”

“Because you are going on a trip.” Ivan said. “We have saved up for your ticket and also a little extra for an apartment for you.”

Dimi got annoyed. “Okay, I’m lost. Are you kicking me out?”

“Dimi… I have a friend in Danburite. It’s a larger city about half a day’s travel from here. She runs a boxing gym and she has agreed to let you train in her gym for half a year.”

“The catch is…” Aura interrupted. “Well, it is so far away that you need to live there if you want to train there every day.”

“Wait, hold on…” Dimi crossed her arms. “No offense to your buddy, Ivan, but I already have a trainer; You.”

Ivan sighed. “Dimi… I taught you everything I know. And I’m sorry to say that it was not that much. If you actually want to be able to fight well enough to face the orc princess who probably has the best trainers in the kingdom, you need to go somewhere else.”

“Okay, but…” Dimi felt anxious. “Why so far away? Is your friend that big a deal?”

“Well…” Ivan shrugged, trying to look nonchalant while studying his nails. “You probably never heard of her… They used to call her Devil Daisy.”

Aura snorted as Dimi’s jaw dropped.

“Shut up!” Dimi pinched herself. “How do you know Devil Daisy?”

Ivan studied his nails. “Oh, you heard of her?”

“Ivan, my hand has been inside a boxing glove, no duh I heard about her! When am I going to Danburite?!”

“Tomorrow, you pack a bag.” Aura flashed her sharp teeth in a wide smile. “We will get you on a carriage first thing tomorrow.”

Dimi practically lept towards the house to get to her room and gather her few belongings… but then she realized something.

“So, ah…” Dimi gulped. “I won’t see you guys for half a year?”

Ivan didn’t know what to say. Aura knew what she wanted to say but didn’t have the nerves. Dimi had too much to say so she kept her mouth shut.

So instead, the three of them just hugged.

***

As the sun rose, Dimi carried a bag with her few belongings over her shoulder. The breakfast with Ivan and Aura had been very awkward, the same could be said about the time it took them to wave goodbye. So when Dimi saw Nora at the lake of Jadedale, she was relieved by how not-sentimental the very short elf was.

Nora was sharpening the arrows she used for fishing while sitting on the edge of the bridge that was used to cross the lake. She looked up at Dimi and gave her a neutral look through her round glasses. “So, you are leaving today?”

Dimi shrugged. “Yeah.”

Nora blew at the arrowhead she har sharpened. “See ya in six months.”

***

As casual as Nora had been, Dimi’s friends had been the exact opposite.

“You bitch!” Amethyst the Dwarf stood on a rock and gave Dimi a hug so tightly that Ruby the Gorgon could swear she heard bones pop. The teen dwarf girl with the fluffy beard shedded a single tear. “You are leaving before I can introduce you to Romeo! So not fair!”

Dimi grinned as she patted Am on the back. “I’m sure you can introduce me to the next boytoy you get yourself attached to after this fling ends.”

Am let go of Dimi and lightly pushed her. “Jerk” She snickered. “Seriously, I’m gonna miss you.”

“Me too…” Ruby made an awkward grin, feeling a big lump of spit in her throat. “I hope it will be worth it. I don’t get why you gotta ditch us-”

“Ruby, getting to be trained by Devil Daisy is a big opportunity.” Dimi smiled at the gorgon with brown and black scales and a salamander tail. “This could be what I need to…” Save my dad. “... make fighting my career..”

Dimi spread her arms to give Ruby a hug while Ruby extended an arm for a handshake. Dimi snickered, Ruby cursed herself.They made an awkward hug.

Am looked at the hug, silently judging Ruby.

“ALL ABOARD!” The goblin who was the coachman of the carriage going to Danburite yelled.

Dimi got inside the carriage that only had one other passenger, an elderly satyr in a worn suit that had probably looked sharp once. He was reading a newspaper, ripping out a page he had already read and ate it.

As the carriage with Dimi inside it drove away, Ruby gave it a longing look and sighed. Her snake hair hung from her head, looking as sad as she felt.

Am gave Ruby a very judgemental glare.

***

After fifteen minutes inside the carriage, Dimi started to sweat. Her breathing got a bit funny and she twitched her fingers.

The elderly satyr looked up from his paper and at the human who seemed like she had eaten something she couldn’t digest. “Are you… alright, young lady?”

Dimi gulped. “I think it just sinked in that I… that I left my… home.”

***

One of the snakes attached to Ruby’s head had wrapped itself around an orange and squeezed it while another snake collected the juice from the fruit in a cup. Ruby used a new device Amethyst’s mom had made for her where she turned a handle of a machine and it would chop vegetables as fast as she turned the handle. Ruby usually liked being in her kitchen, it made her feel in her element. But she was in a bad mood, not enjoying her craft, just making food on auto pilot.

Am opened the door between the kitchen and the eating room. “Yo! Order up. Three pork combos, extra bacon on the side, two chili cheese samplers, a basket of liver and onion rings.” 

Ruby nodded. “Three oinkers wearing pants, plate of hot air, basket of Grandma's breakfast. Got it.” After finishing chopping up vegetables, Ruby went to the fridge and got a handful of sausages.

Am took off her efron with and laid her notepad and pencil from her. She took an apple next to the kitchen sink and leaned against the wall. “You are such a pussy.”

Ruby blinked. She turned her head and lowered her look towards the teen dwarf girl who looked at her with annoyance.

Ruby tilted her head as her snakes raised up, looking at Amethyst with curiosity. She heated up the pan with oil without getting distracted. “Excuse you? I'm what now?”

“You heard me. Dimi just left us for Terra knows how long… and I bet you STILL haven’t told her you have the hots for her!”

Ruby’s eyes widened, her snakes hid behind the back of her head. She poked holes in the sausages as they started to fizz. “I don’t know what you think you-”

Amethyst rolled her eyes. “Oh, please!” She took a bite of the green apple “The only thing you haven’t done is drool over her.”

Ruby glared at Amethyst, tightening a grip around the handle of the frying pan. Then, she sighed. “... Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah! And now she left before you had your chance! She might get a boyfriend in half a year! Or girlfriend, I don’t know how she swings.”

“I know, I KNOW!” Ruby slapped her cheeks after lowering the heat of the pan. Her snakes practically tied knots on each other as she fetched the bacon. “But it’s not that easy, okay? I kept waiting for the right moment, for the mood to be right-”

“Yeah, and that works so well for you, huh?”

“Don’t give me that!” Ruby’s snakes hissed at amethyst. “You had, what, seven boyfriends? Guys practically throw themselves at you.”

“Actually, I have dated eight boys… and been rejected thirteen times.”

Ruby almost dropped the four slices of bacon before placing them on the pan. “WHAT!? That’s insane! How does that not crush your confidence?”

“I’m not THAT fragile. I’m just looking for Mr. Right, and that means I have to throw myself out there.” Amethyst smiled. “I don’t want to meet a nice guy and not ask if he would go out with me. That would just kill me. But if I ask him… well, worst thing he can do is say no.”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “I would die of embarrassment if Dimi said no.”

“Na, you would get an answer and life would go on.”

Ruby’s snakes started to relax while she fetched the second pan for the onion rings. “You make it sound… easy.”

“It’s not easy. It is what it is.” Am patted Ruby on the tail as she couldn’t reach her bag. “I will go in and fetch the dirty dishes. How about once I start washing, we can talk about how much you loooove Dimi?”

Ruby smiled gratefully. “You suck.”

***

Having gotten bored after having been inside the carriage for more than an hour, Dimi had read the back of the newspaper the faun who sat across her was reading. “Oh, cool.” she said out loud without thinking. “There is a word for what I am.”

The faun looked up from his newspaper. “I beg your pardon?”

“Oh, sorry. I looked at your newspaper, and there is a world for me, I guess. I’m apparently aro.”

The faun turned his paper around so he could look at the article Dimi was reading about a rally to raise awareness. “I see. How peculiar.”

Dimi raised an eyebrow. “You are peculiar.”

The faun shrugged. “Would you like the paper? I’m not hungry anymore and I think I will take a nap.”

Dimi gladly accepted the half-eaten newspaper, but she didn’t get a chance to read it as the carriage stopped.

The faun stepped out of the carriage and made sure not to step on the long red line that was painted on the asphalt.

Dimi awkwardly stepped out, planting her left foot on the red line. She was… baffled.

She had thought of Onyxville as a city. But she now realized that it was just an area with a couple of houses now that she found herself in Danburite.

Danburite was a city. The buildings were ridiculously tall, the ground was covered in smooth rock. There were signs telling whoever read them not just what street they were in but how long to the next street as well as the nearest healer and bank.

It was so… organized.

“HEY! MOVE IT, BIG-FOOT!”

“Eh?” Dimi looked down to see where the squeaky voice came from.

“You standing on the tiny lane, dum-dum!” A small creature with a red pointy hat and big insect eyes waved a tiny fist at Dimi. Behind her stood a line of other small creatures like fairies and something that looked like it was part spider. And Dimi’s foot was in the way for them to move along the part of the pavement reserved for them.

“Oh… Oh! Sorry.” Dimi blushed as she moved her foot away. “I’m new here.”

“Pff. Yokels…” The gnome was annoyed as he pushed his wheelbarrow.

Dimi looked around her and saw how many creatures were walking around the street. There were so many that they practically pushed each other. And she was surprised by the different creatures she saw. She even saw creatures she had never seen before… like someone that looked like a deformed dwarf. They had a single eye in the middle of their face, a single arm attached to the chest area, and one leg they jumped on. Not to mention the creature had a massive set of ears.

Dimi had been so overwhelmed by everything she saw that she realized much later how terrible the city she had arrived smelled. Sure, Onyxville smelled like old fish and smoke. But Danburite smelled like… everything.

“Whut ya lookin’ at?” The one-eyed creature yelled while humping around.

Dimi blinked. “Nothing. Sorry, but I need to go to, ah…” Dimi checked the note she had placed in her pocket. “... The Asparagus Resident Complex. You know how I can get there… sir?”

The creature was surprised. He couldn’t recall the last time someone had referred to him or any other fachan as sir. “Asparagus? Well, that would be the otha’ end o’ town.” The fachan pointed with his one arm towards something above his huge head. “Just take the gondola, when ya reach the last stop then ya should find the place.”

“Gondola?” Dimi raised an eyebrow and looked up towards the direction the fachan pointed towards. “What is a goHOLY SHIT! WHAT IS THAT?!”

Dimi looked at a big red box that was miles above the ground. It was attached to metal strings that were tied to huge poles.

Dimi was completely stunned.

“Right, guess ya must be a farm girl, they still haven’t arrived on the country side, I guess.” The fachan scratched his big nose. “It’s transportation.”

Dimi narrowed her eyes in disbelief. “You telling me creatures go inside those things willingly? It looks like a massive death trap!”

“Relax, it’s safe.” The fachan then pointed towards one of the poles the metal strings were tied to. There was a door with the number 7 and 9 painted on it. “Go inside there, will get ya to the elevator.”

“The what?”

The fashan snorted as he humped away. “Welcome to the big city, yokel.”

[waeziverse]

Art by @myriamsaviniart First time Aura came to watch one of Dimi’s matches. It was also the last time...

[waeziverse]

Dimi's parents Minerva and Pater.

... wait. Her biological parents. Drawn by @myriamsaviniart

[waeziverse]

“Royal Punch”... IN COLORS!!! Dimi and her surrogate family when it’s morning. Drawn by @myriamsaviniart