The Mystic Knights Chapter 1 · 8:29pm Jul 13th, 2021
Chapter 1:
Within the dense and humid jungle, a single ripe mango fell from a shaking branch. One of the mono-iris (which in the Guaninan language roughly translated to Rainbow Monkey) appeared out of thin air. His orange fur overlapping with hues of yellow and bright red to match the coloring of the fruit.
The mono-iris possessed magical fur which gave them chameleon-like abilities to blend into their surroundings. Their colors were bold and bright, always interchanging, rippling through their fur like water. The multicolored monkey took a big bite out of the mango. The extending branches above formed a natural canopy that shaded him from the unforgiving tropical sun.
And served as the perfect cover.
A pair of bright green eyes peeked through a small opening between two star-leafs, watching the blissfully ignorant monkey munching on his mango. The creature kneeled closely to the ground, its cloven hooves soundlessly grazing the rocky ground. He sniffed the air, slightly cringing at the monkey’s strong odor. He would need to rely on that odor to track him if he ran away.
He was right within reach. His lion-tail gracefully swished back and forth and a low growl vibrated against his throat.
The monkey unleashed an ear-piercing screech when a large green creature leaped from behind the large palm leaves of one of the tall trees. The monkey quickly scurried away once the beast’s paws touched the ground. In her landing she lost her footing and tripped, inadvertently allowing the monkey to jump over her head, run across her spine and leap into the air to grab onto a hanging vine and hurry across the treetops.
“What the—Kymera!” The male creature stepped out of his hiding place. A beautiful chimera-like being with a slick but still muscular body completely covered in thin, soft silver-blue fur and blue underbelly. He had a long horse-like face, the tail of a lion, the legs of a horse, the hooves of a goat, a pair of membrane wings tucked on both his sides, and a single curled horn puncturing out of his forehead.
His long and pointy ears were pushed back against his head and he blew his crimson bangs away from his eyes.
“I had him!”
“Gotta be quicker than that, bro!”
His female counterpart, in contrast to his silver, was bright emerald green with a yellow underbelly, a horse-like face, lion’s tail, and wings, but instead of horse legs and hooves she had the legs of a large cat, claws on her wing-thumb and lacked a horn. Her mane was also much longer than that of her brother’s.
Kymera and Griffin first learned how to shift at the age of twelve, just a couple of days before their thirteenth birthday.
That was three years ago.
Kymera spread her wings and took off after the monkey. Griffin growled and sprung ahead, quickly catching up to her.
“A couple of seconds and I—“
“Would still be slow as a turtle!” Kymera said, cutting off her brother mid-sentence. “You gotta learn to act more on instincts, Griff. Like this.” She bumped his side, causing him to lose his balance. His legs got tangled up with one another and he rolled on the ground. Leafs and dirt coating his once clean coat.
“Hey!”
“Rules of the jungle, Hermano! Toughen up!” Kymera shouted from afar and kept on running.
“Jerk!” Griffin shouted, his voice overlapped with a roar. He shook his body like a hound himself after coming out of the water.
***
“You’re mine now,”
Kymera was closing in on the monkey. His constantly changing fur colors made him a rainbow beacon for her to follow. He was scared now.
“Hey-ooh!” A voice from above called out through the trees. Kymera, overtaken by her impulsive curiosity, foolishly looked up and saw her brother flying past her, his hooves brushing the tuff of her mane.
“Hey! We said no wings!”
“Law of the jungle, Hermanita,” Griffin taunted her and flew after the monkey, his horn glowing with magic.
“Oh, you’re on!” Kymera spread her wings and ruffled her brother’s mane with her paw. “Can’t get rid of me that easily, Bucko!”
“Don’t remind me. I’ve been trying for the past sixteen years.” Griffin said, narrowly dodging more branches and leaves, every so often slicing them in two with his horn.
“Oh, please! You’d be lost without me.”
The siblings flew past various trees and tangling vines, almost losing sight of the monkey. They spun through leaves, branches, and trunk archways, frightening various other monkeys and cotorras (parrots) in their way. A few of the brightly colored feathers temporality blocked Griffin’s vision.
For a moment it seemed as though they had lost the monkey when they flew into a clearing that was shadowed by the elongated leaves of the largest willow tree in the jungle. With their bloodhound-like noses, they quickly detected the creature’s scent close by, hiding behind a nest of coconuts. He screeched and ran off again, this time landing on the ground. The siblings flew over him, constantly bumping into each other. One part to shove the other out of their way, and another part because the path they were taking was far too narrow to support their equal size.
Kymera purposely bumped into Griffin, and he purposely bumped back. Forgetting about the monkey for a moment, the siblings started to tussle. Paws, hooves, and wings clashing and the trees around them closed in, shrinking their path and making it difficult to spread their wings to stay airborne. Their tails entangled, as did their wings and the twins spiraled to the ground. Tiny rocks poked their bodies as they rolled in a mash of green and silver down the hill slide.
They crashed near a large lake, populated by Ahuizotl; canine-like water-dwelling creatures with monkey-like hands instead of paws and an extra one on its tail. A few of them poked their heads out of the water when they saw the two siblings crashed by their watering hole. The Ahuizotl spewed water from their noses before submerging again. They were calm and gentle creatures, despite being predators, though their usual diet consisted of fish and the occasional bird, so they never attached faeries.
The twins landed on opposite sides of each other, dirt and mud coating their once beautiful, shiny fur. Kymera’s body became engulfed in flames making her dragon form disappear. Her paws were traded in for hands, arms, legs, and feet, her tail was gone as were her wings. The only features that remained were her green eyes and red hair. Her olive-toned skin glistened in the sunlight as though she were just at the beach.
She dusted off her shoulders and a long green shirt that stretched back to her knees, resembling a cape or an open dress. She plucked out the bristles from her knee-length leggings and rubbed the heels of her pink converse shoes against a rock to wipe off what she hoped was mud. Her hand instinctively reaching for her mother’s firebird feather necklace.
Griffin’s body became engulfed in a cloud of crystal dust and he too changed from a unicorn into a teenage boy in a blue buttoned shirt with a red bandana wrapped around his right bicep, gray pants, and blue sneakers. He dusted himself off.
The monkey screeched and jumped around, stomping his feet on a rock nearby, scratching his head and butt, taunting the twins to catch him. Kym and Griff exchanged competitive glares and they both lunged after the monkey, who jumped out of the way, resulting in the two of them bumping their heads together.
“OUCH!” They exclaimed and the monkey started dancing again, clapping his hands in amusement as he held up the half-eaten mango and swallowed the rest whole.
Griffin dusted off the dirt from his pants and Kymera bent down, gripping her knees as she took a moment to catch her breath. A chime went off in Griffin’s pocket.
“How many… minutes… was that?” She inhaled and exhaled sharply like a starving dog.
Griffin pulled out his geo-phone; a slate of geode carved into a rectangular shape, the back was a platinum gold color and the multicolored surface of the stone lit up, changing into a clear screen akin to a mirror. Geodes have been used for centuries as a means to communicate with other faeries. Nowadays, with the advanced alchemical sciences, geodes had become far more sophisticated, capable of taking pictures and downloading information off of the Realm Net.
Griffin slid his finger over the screen and read the timer. “Eight minutes and twelve seconds.”
Kymera draped her hair over her head to remove the sweat then flipped it over dramatically. The tips nearly slapping Griffin’s cheek.
“New record. Thanks, Travi!” Kymera waved to the monkey, who waved back before climbing back up another tree to return to his normal routine.
“But, unfortunately, it was another tie,” Griffin said.
“I would have gotten here first if you hadn’t cheated!”
“Or maybe you’re just a sore loser.”
“You’re one to talk. Cheater!” Kymera folded her arms. “I demand an apology.”
“What?! You pushed me first!”
“Yeah, but I’m a girl.” Kymera pouted, holding her clasped hands close to her face, and fluttered her eyelashes, trying to look into innocent.
“That doesn’t—“ Griffin sucked in his lips, straightened his posture, and folded his arms behind his back. “You’re right. I’m sorry. By the ancient laws of the twin-mandments, I am obligated to perform an undisputed act of sibling respect.”
“What? Oh, no. No!”
“Noogie!”
Kymera tried running away but Griffin pulled her towards him by the arm and started rubbing his knuckles against her hair. “Griffin no! Stop! Noogies is not an apology!”
“I co-wrote the twin-mandments. So it is said, so shall it be done!”
“Blasphemy! Seriously, dude! I will bite you, I mean it, I will bite you!”
“Struggling only makes it worse! It only makes it worse!”
“Alright, I give! I’m sorry for pushing you!”
“And…?”
“And for being sexist!” Kymera’s hair was a ruffled mess once she finally managed to pry herself off of him. The two laughed like a couple of crazy people.
“Sibling balance restored?” Griffin asked, running his hand through his hair while still coughing a laugh.
“Sibling balance restored.” Kymera and Griffin performed their signature twin handshake, in which they filed their fists over the other, slapped palms, fist-pumped then finished by pulling their hands back and saying, “Booyah!” at the end.
Another alarm went off on Griffin’s phone. “Oh, Styx! We’ve got to head back or Abuelita will kill us.”
“Right. But first.” With a wave of her wrist, Kymera manifested sparks of light which flew out of her hand and towards two ripe juicy mangos hanging off of a branch and handed one to her brother.
“Cardio for the rode.” Kymera took a big bite. “Mmm. Ripe mangos are always the best. So much better than the ones from the market.”
“Plus, they’re free,” Griffin said before taking a bite out of his.
Kymera swallowed and rolled her eyes, “You are so cheap!”
“You call it cheap, I call it being smart with money.”
“Race ya to the waterfall!”
“You’re on. But this time, on two legs.”
“Geez, I didn’t know you wanted to lose that badly.” Without warning, Kymera tossed the heavy bag of mangos at Griffin. He caught them Kymera sought the chance to run ahead of him “See ya!”
“Kymerita!” Griffin shouted, using her embarrassing childhood nickname. He adjusted the bag around his shoulder and ran after her. Kymera was ahead of him, but Griffin quickly caught up. Even when on two legs, the twins possessed incredible speed, more so than the average elf.
A cloud of cotorras flew overhead and tiny coquis jumped from one leaf to another, soaking up the water droplets that dripped from the tips of the leaves after the hard rain from the night before. Morning due made the flowers sparkle as if they were sowed with diamonds. Kymera snatched a maga flower and placed it on her hair.
The twins laughed, feeling the wind in their hair as they neared a rushing waterfall. Kymera, who was ahead, jumped over the slippery, soaked rocks and dived down towards the rapid waters below. Griffin stopped right above the rock, nearly sliding off and looking over the water. Mist and foam rising upwards into a thick cloud.
“Kym? Kym quit fooling around.”
“Woohoo!” Kymera shouted as she zipped past her brother and up into the sky, her green wings flapping, pushing the turbulent winds below her. Griffin shook his head and dove in. His wings appeared just as his nose narrowly made contact with the water and flew after his sister.
“I win!” Kymera declared.
“Race isn’t over yet,” Griffin gave Kymera a taste of her own medicine by crashing into her with his shoulder and she nearly lost her balance.
“Dude!”
The twins propelled themselves higher once they reached a cliffside and took to the skies. They spun and flipped in mid-air, the wind caught beneath their membranes as they soar Ed above the wave-snapped mountains of the Yúcahu rainforest. One of the largest rainforests in the world that took up half of the island of Guanina. Kymera and Griffin grew up in the mountainous village right next door to the rainforest, which meant they had twenty-four-hour access to their island’s greatest national wonder.
The mountains dispersed to reveal a large glen where a farm of ophiotaurus slithered across the open grass planes devouring rats and squirrels while hippogriffs swooped down from the trees to munch on some grass. The twins spotted a lone car driving up the mountain and Kymera suggested a friendly game of ‘chase the car’. These games were mostly frowned upon by adults, and this occasion was no different. The person driving honked and rolled down their window, shouting at the twins to cut it out.
The two laughed and flew farther away, the angry driver’s shouting drowned out by the speeding winds.
They flew closer to the trees, over an outstretched river. A swarm of perytons descended from the twins’ opposite direction and drank the cold waters. Rustic houses were painted in bright colors, from pink to white, to yellow and green, to clear blue and yellow, each with either a white or yellow roof and outline. Neighbors and old friends waved hello to the twins. Some called to them by name, while others referred to them as “principe” or “princesa”. One of their neighbors, an elderly elf woman with brightly colored red hair, which was dyed, called out to them from the main road going upwards through the mountain. Her husband was out on the porch, watching television while drinking from his can of nectar. She gestured to them to come closer.
“Chicos!”
“Buenos Dias, Señora Dominga.” Griffin greeted as she and Kymera landed.
“Chasing those mono-iris again, are you?” Dominga said with a laugh.
“That’s gonna be a national sport one day, just you wait,” Kymera said with a finger-pointed gesture, coupled with a wink. Her cheeky antics always made the elderly woman laugh. In her hand, she held a bag of plátanos.
“For your Abuela, tell her thanks for the arroz last week.”
Griffin accepted the bag. “Of course. Gracias.” Just as the twins were about to take off again, Dominga stopped them.
“Oh, you two are going on vacation this weekend, right?”
“Yep. Going to spend Pascal with our dad’s family.” Kymera said.
“Que bueno! You know my granddaughter just moved to Camelot for college, maybe you’ll see her there.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Griffin said.
Dominga opened the door to her house. “Come inside, I made some pinnacle pancakes.”
“Oh, we’d love to, but we really should be going,” Griffin said, taking a tentative step back. “We can’t be—“
“Vamonos, there’s plenty. Besides Griffin, you don’t eat enough meat, and Kymera your stomach is too flat.”
Griffin snickered and Kymera shot him a death glare. “We can’t, we have school,” Kymera said quickly.
“Aye, is today Monday?”
“Thursday.” The twins said in unison. Dominga was never really good at keeping track of the days of the week.
“Oooh, okay. But wait, at least take some pancakes for the road.” Before the twins could politely decline, Dominga was already inside before she could hear them. They couldn’t just leave, knowing it would hurt the poor old lady’s feelings.
“Why do we have to be so polite?” Kymera hissed through her teeth.
“Or, we could have skipped morning workout just this once,” added Griffin, also through his teeth.
“You’re the one that slept in.” Kymera hissed back. “All nighter again.”
“I was finishing something!”
Just then, Dominga stepped out and handed the twins two plastic containers with the pancakes. Even though the plastic they could smell the sweetness of the pineapple the chunks inside. They loved pineapple, but not so much in the pancakes but of course, they would never say so out loud. Luckily, their grandmother did like these pancakes, so at least it wouldn’t go to waste.
“Gracias, we’ll see you soon,” Kymera said and the two took off. Kymera checked her phone and the two picked up the pace. “Finishing what?” She said, directing the conversation back to what they were talking about before. “That song you’ve been writing for weeks?”
“It’s only been one week.” Griffin corrected.
“Does that mean you’re gonna sing it at the festival this year, or what?” Kymera asked hopefully.
“I think we both know the answer to that.”
She groaned, “Seriously, dude! You could easily knock all of those other talents out of the park.”
Griffin shook his head. “I don’t wanna knock anyone out of the park. Besides, it’s not finished yet.”
“Tell me, Griffey, what’s the point of writing songs if you don’t want anyone else to hear them?”
Griffin didn’t reply. Mainly because he didn’t have an answer. Yes, he wrote songs, but he never did it for anyone outside of his family. And even that was a small number. Kymera, his grandparents, the occasional cousin, but large crowds with a multitude of eyes staring at him, expecting him to be amazing and spellbinding… was enough to make him upchuck whatever he had in his stomach. Even right now as he thought about it, and he hadn’t even eaten yet.
Kymera flew closer, shaking his shoulder. “Hermano, you have killer talent. Everybody knows this. One day you’re going to have to get over this stage fright.”
“Why? Whether I sing or don’t, what difference does it make?”
“Um, more confidence in yourself. Your songs getting a chance to shine instead of gathering dust inside your closet.” Kymera cupped her hand close to her ear. “I can hear them now,” she lowered her voice in a high-pitched whisper close to her brother’s ear. “Sing us, Griffin! Set us free! We’re so lonely and your closet smells of dirty socks!” Kymera gripped her throat and pretended to chock, “I can’t breathe! Goodbye… cruel world…” Kymera tilted her head to the side and her eyes glossed over, her tongue sticking out from the corner of her mouth.
Griffin tried not to laugh, but he never could stay annoyed whenever his sister did her crazy theatrics. He laughed and gave her a shove. “Would you stop acting like an idiot? Songs don’t breath.”
“How do you know? Are you willing to take that chance?”
“I’d rather take my chances with Abuelita,” Griffin said and swooped downwards as they reached their house.
“Yeah, I guess some things are scarier,” Kymera said and swooped down, following her brother.
***
Their home was a two-story house of pure, glistening white and orange roofs made of individually stacked half-open cylinders, which was a common design for Guaninan’s styled houses. The porch had three open archways, two of which had cement fences with hour-glass-shaped cylinders and a medium-sized pool right out front by the house’s main entrance, carved right out of the ground of freshly cut grass. The road faded into the mountain and a grassy archway led upwards to the house and the open breezeway garage where their car was parked.
The twins descended and Kymera was ambushed by a light brown colored peryton with a black colored saddle-like patch on her back. She licked Kymera’s face and her long feathery tail wagged crazily like that of a dog.
“Ah! Katia, stop that tickles!” Kymera laughed and dusted herself as she stood up. The peryton, Katia, kept barking and jumping around her, flapping her wings.
Perytons were deer-like creatures with the wings, tails, and back legs of birds. They could mimic other animals to lure in before they snatched them. Katia’s favorite sound was that of a dog, having grown up around them. She was found by the twins amidst a herd of wild dogs near a garbage can, fighting over a half-eaten dead chicken. Katia took an immediate liking towards Kymera and the two have been close ever since.
Katia then proceeded to lick Griffin’s face. He cupped her face and peppered her head with kisses, cooing as he marveled at her big brown eyes. From a nearby hole, he caught glimpse of a pair of yellow-green eyes. Griffin crunched down and snapped his fingers, whistling to the creature underneath the earth.
A cat head poked out, followed by a set of feline paws… and a long serpentine tail. The creature meowed and its fork tongue flicked out of its mouth.
“There he is. Come here, Salem. Come here, boy.” Griffin said. The Tatzelwurm slithered towards his owner, climbing up his shoulder and rubbing his furry head against his cheek. “Catch any rats today?”
“Niños!” Their grandmother Elseleyda, shouted from the front porch. Elseleyda was a short, and round woman with chubby cheeks and hair like white cotton candy. “Come inside and eat! You’re going to be late for school again. And I bet you both smell like monkeys. Come inside and get cleaned up.”
“We’re coming, Abuelita,” Kymera said with her signature eye-roll.
“By the way, Dominga sends some plátanos and pineapple pancakes.” Griffin handed Elseleyda the items and he and Kymera walked inside before their grandmother could say anything else. Their grandmother smiled graciously at the gift of free plátanos from their oh, so generous neighbor.
The mountain village was a tight-knit community. Everybody knew everybody. Sometimes folks would just stroll into one’s house to say hello, and the host would drop whatever it was they were doing and offer their guest food. Which, in Guaninan culture, was a four-course meal complete with free drinks and dessert afterward.
Their grandfather, Raul, was lounging on the sofa, sipping from a can of nectar coke just like Dominga’s husband. “Hola, Abuelito!” Kymera walked on over, hugged him, and planted a bit fat kiss right in the center of his bald spot. The usually grumpy-looking old man cracked a smile and patted his grandfather’s hand that was flat around his neck.
“Gracias, Mijita.”
Kymera noticed his finished plate of food and took it with her to the kitchen. She levitated it over the sink but Elseleyda snatched it from the air. “Ah, ah, ah. You go get ready for school. And this time wear the skirt.”
“It was one time and technically those pants were to code,” Kymera said, folding her arms.
“Not for the girls, unfortunately.” Griffin corrected.
“You already have a pair of pants for school,” Elseleyda said.
“Plaid pants?” Kymera gagged, “Those should be a sin and you know it.”
Elseleyda pointed at the clock on the wall. “Look at the time. Stop complaining and take a shower.”
The twins turned to one another. Their eyes shifted towards the hallway where the bathroom awaited them. They could almost hear the chorus of celestials harmonizing at the end of the polished restroom with mother-of-pearl walls and coral pink floor tiles, with the stained glass window that allowed the perfect lighting for a refreshing shower. Not to mention the smell of freely picked cinnamon sugar sticks from the sugar hills.
Without exchanging words, a challenge was set into motion. Their fingers twitched, itching to grab that doorknob first. Their nostrils flared, and their eyes narrowed, glowing yellow for Kym and silver for Griffin.
“No way, Achilles won by a nose,” Kymera looked over Griffin’s shoulder at the television, where they were showing the equine races. Griffin, foolishly, looked.
“Really?”
“Ha!”
“Gah!”
Kymera made a mad dash for the bathroom, grabbing the doorknob and rushing inside, locking it. Griffin crashed against the smooth wooden door. “Kymera!” he banged on the door, “Not cool, woman!”
“Ladies first,” Kymera said cheekily from behind the door
“Puck!”
“Language!”
Griffin flinched. “Sorry, Abuelita. Can I use yours and Abuelito’s bathroom, please?”
“Dry the sink when you’re done.” Elseleyda ordered. Griffin mouthed her response in annoyance. She never liked anyone using hers and Abuelito’s bathroom. Eden knows he was already untidy enough as it was.
Elseleyda sighed, levitating the utensils back into the cupboards and using her other hand to make the broom sweep the floor of dirt the twins brought with them. She sneezed when a strand of monkey hair landed on her nose. Her pointed ears pricked in frustration.
“Esos niños.”
“Leave them alone, Vieja. They’re just having some fun.” Raul said while flipping through the channel once the races were over. Raul laughed. “Reminds me of their mother.”
***
After her shower, Kymera proceeded to get dressed for school. She loathed the cotton white shirt with the itchy folded collar and equally itchy sleeves she was forced to wear. Her and Griffin attended the finest private school on the island and they were very strict about their dress code.
Kymera winced as she slipped on her plain black shoes, not bothering to wipe off the splashes of dirt and sand that stuck to the surface. At least it was a splash of something. One time she rebelled by wearing black sneakers to school. That did not sit well with the faculty.
To make it even more unpleasant, Kymera had to put on a plaid vest over her shirt, which was just as itchy and uncomfortable. Why did a school make its students wear clothing that only increased their chances of sweating and itching when they lived in an already tropical island was beyond her. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and choose to add a dash of color by wearing a maga flower beret. The rules never said anything against accessories, just as long as they weren’t excessive. Kymera put on her mother’s phoenix feather necklace. The one she always wore around her neck at all times. She sighed, playing with the bead that held the feather in place between her fingers. She took one last look in the mirror, pulling back wild strands of hair, though she would much prefer to keep it loose.
“Love you, Mami.” She said in the mirror before stepping out, seeing Katia waiting for her at the foot of her door. She scratched the peryton’s ear and hurried to the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal while Griffin ate toast with jelly and a slice of peach. He wore a male version of Kymera’s shirt with a plaid button vest and a pair of old and worn jeans with sneakers.
Kymera poured herself a bowl of cereal while Katia ate her leftover meatloaf.
“Hey, everybody look!” Raul pointed at the television, where they were showcasing the preparations for the Pascal festival. A yearly celebration in honor of the return of spring. The news showcased faeries from all across the realm of Avalon getting ready for the event. Every region of the realm hosted their own events, parties, pageants, concerts, and parades. In Arcadia, the locals were hosting rodeos, zoos, horseback, hippogriff, and Pegasus riding, Minotaur wrestling, griffin wrangling, etc.
Residents of the Cedar Forest crafted hand woven crowns, bracelets, and rings made from vines and flowers that blossomed around this time of year. They baked honeycomb cakes, rosebud surprise, poppy cake-pops, lotus cookies with orchid frosting, lemon meringue, and cherry-jubilee pies.
Children ran around a pole with ribbons, and little girls wore floral crowns and long sleeved dresses that billowed like petals in the wind. Each one adorning distinct floral patterns. In Camelot, there was no end to the fun to be had during this time. From the floral decorations to the music being played in the streets, the parades, the concerts, the new line of fashions brought out from the most elite fashion designers in the world, inspired by this festive time. All leading up to the Pascal Festival Gala held at the royal palace.
Everyone, from the wealthy to the middle class were invited. People were also expected to bring gifts for the less fortunate. Charities for the homeless and hospitals were a top priority since spring was all about new beginnings.
Kymera tried her best to focus on her food while at the same time listening to all of the magical events happening in the coming weeks before the festivities officially commencing in two days. To Kymera’s disappointment, they didn’t showcase any clips about the royal family aside from a few pictures.
“Wow. They’re really going all out this year.” Kymera said. Elseleyda tapped the counter to get her attention.
“Did you two finish packing?” Elseleyda asked, waving her hand and levitating the clean dishes neatly into their respected cabinets.
“Si, Abuelita.” The twins replied in unison while they ate. Salem jumped on the counter and Griffin levitated for him some milk.
“And did you tell your teachers to excuse you from class for the next week?”
“Yes.”
“And did did you tell your friends where you’re going?”
Both twins froze. Kymera’s mouth was open with a spoonful of cereal hovering above her tounge, while Griffin’s cheeks puffed up. Even Katia and Salem stopped eating long enough to look up towards their owners. Raul shook his head.
Griffin chewed before swallowing. “Um. Yeah.” He said while Kymera chewed. “They’re super excited.”
Elseleyda sighed, “Mijos, how can you not have any friends yet? It’s been a whole semester.”
Raul: “Leave them alone, Mi Amor. They’ll make friends when they’re good and ready,”
“It’s not that we can’t make friends.” Kymera folded her arms, slouching back in her chair, “It’s that everybody at school hates us.”
Elseleyda threw her arms up in disbelief. “Basta! Everyone loves you two.”
“Doesn’t help that we’re the only Pendracorns in our entire class.” Griffin said.
“That’s the least of our problems.” Kymera tossed aside the empty bowl and her grandmother levitated it towards the sink. “Besides, we’ll be leaving soon anyway.”
“Well, when we get back, I want you to try harder to make some friends,”
“You know, Abuelita, studies have shown that the more you pressure a child into doing something they’re not ready for, the higher the chances develop anxiety towards the very thing they’re being pressured into doing, thus preventing them from actually performing the task.” Griffin explained. Kymera nodded, showcasing her clever brother as though he were a prize at a game show. Granted, he was embellishing what he actually read in the Realm-Net, but he could always trust the fact that their grandmother never read anything that wasn’t printed on paper.
Elseleyda took their now empty plates, handed them their lunches and patted them on the heads. “Don’t believe everything you read.” She rotated her wrist and a magical green aura surrounded the twins, lifting them from their seats and towards the door. “Good luck on your presentation. Be sure to smile. Everybody loves pretty and handsome smiles.”
The twins forced themselves to smile and waved farewell. “Yes, Abuelita,” they stepped out sight, manifested their wings and took to the air once more.
“Smile! Everybody loves a pretty smile!” Kymera said, mimicking her grandmother’s thick Guaninan accent. “You think we don’t try?”
“She’s only trying to help.” Griffin said, but he was never really good at hiding his emotions very well. Kymera could always read the melancholy behind his attempt at nonchalance. She gave Griffin a bump on the shoulder.
“Hey. No big whoop, right? I’ve got you and you’ve got me. That enough.”
*******
Good luck.
huh. putting the story on here. interesting.
Nice job. Good luck
Great job!
Amazing work with this lass, I look forward to reading your story.
A strong follow-up to the prologue that continues to explore the world our protagonists are involved in. The lush landscape that offers where they reside in will undoubtedly be pleasing to the eye, putting the imagination of individuals into such a world that is seemingly away from it all. We are also given a further sense of the Twins' family (With an indication or two). Continue to put together the great work as I am sure the fans will become invested in these characters.