(no subject)
When Lucas returned to Tazmily, he was witness to one of Wess and Fassad's arguments. Wess has long since decided that things can't get any worse for him so he might as well make a stand and tell Fassad what he really thinks.
"Fassad!" the old man calls. "Stop it! Quit ruining this town any more than you already have!"
Wess steps closer and adds, "There's something not right about all this lightning, especially today's! I think you guys are behind it somehow! Leave this instant! Keep your grubby hands out of this town's affairs!"
Fassad stood face to face with Wess and replied, "Why, hello there, Mister Wess. You know, if you keep making the veins on your forehead pop out like that, happiness will only escape you. By which I mean your hair, in this case."
The townsfolk softly laughed as a Pigmask came up behind Wess.
"In any case, I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," Fassad continued. "Well, it's been fun. Please be careful not to trip, get hurt, or go bald on your way home."
The Pigmask then tossed a big net over Wess as he began to struggle.
"Cease this violence!" Wess cried as the Pigmask dragged him back to the retirement home. "I'm no bug! I'm an old man!"
Lucas ran up and was about to say something when Fassad noticed him and approached.
"Lucas!" Fassad whispered. "Quit snooping around me! Don't get in my way!" He then spoke up, "Lucas... I really wish you would put a Happy Box in your home already so you can be happy just like everyone else here. I'm always hoping for that day."
At the last part, Fassad turned back to the crowd to continue to peddle his wares. Lucas took this chance to go to the retirement home to make sure Wess was all right.
The retirement home, though being less than three years old, already looked to be in desperate need of repair. Anyone in town who was considered old, whether they could take care of themselves or not, were brought to live in the home. Lucas came here often to visit Grandpa Alec and stops by to see him as well as Wess.
"Oh Lucas. How've you been?" Alec asks as he gets a hug from his grandson. "I was dozing off just now when that really tall fellow at Cross Road appeared in my dream. Do you remember him, Lucas?"
The boy nodded, remembering the tall, mute bell ringer Leder. But it's been a long time since he's seen him around.
"I wonder what ever happened to him," Alec muses. "Where is he now?"
They talked a bit more before Alec decided to get back to his nap and Lucas went to check on Wess.
"I really embarrassed myself earlier," Wess says when Lucas comes to see him. "But curse that Fassad, treating me like a bug! ...Like a stag beetle!"
Lucas waits a moment before he brings up the rumors in town.
"Did you hear about the new band, DCMC?" he asks.
"No," Wess says, still a bit grumpy. "We don't have much here besides those accursed Happy Boxes."
"Well, I heard Mister Jackie and Mister Bronson talking about them at the train station," Lucas explains. "They said the band has a new bassist and he looks just like Duster."
"...What?" the old man asks. "A guy who looks just like Duster? Could that moron still be...?"
Wess turned around for a moment. And Lucas wasn't sure but he thought he heard the old man choke something back.
He then whipped around and said, "Lucas!! I'll now lower my voice and talk to you in a whisper!"
Wess then softly said, "I hate to ask, but could you go and see if this look-alike really is my moron or not? Fassad's cronies are on the lookout for me, so I can't go anywhere or do anything. Please. Go find that moron for me."
The old man then picked up a nearby carrier pigeon in the room and gave him to Lucas.
"If you do find Duster, send this pigeon to let me know," Wess said.
The pigeon cooed in Lucas's hands and thought to his pigeony self, "At long last, my time to be useful has come!"
Lucas nods and Wess smiles at him.
"Thanks Lucas. I'd go myself but everyone's on the lookout for me."
"It's no problem, Wess," Lucas replies. "I'll let you know as soon as I find Duster."
With that, Lucas made his way to the factory, beyond which was the club DCMC was performing at that night: Club Titiboo. Not having the money for the train, he and Boney followed the railways, carefully traversing the tunnels full of ramblin' mushrooms and Slitherhens. (Lucas had a little giggle to himself, thinking back on Lily and their confusing conversation regarding the snakes with chicken heads and her classmates at school.)
After one of the tunnels, Boney runs off and barks, sniffing at a pile of something green on the ground.
"What is it, boy?" Lucas asks, coming closer.
He finds that Boney is sniffing at a green dress and some other girlish clothes. Nearby is a ladder.
Concern is what causes Lucas to climb up the ladder, calling, "Miss? Is someone up there? Are you all right?"
When he gets to the top, he sees a sign that says, "Tunnel Hot Spring," and presumably the owner of the clothes soaking in advertised spring, her back to him.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" he half-squeaks, covering his eyes before she can turn around.
"Aiiiieee! ♥ You caught me stark naked!" the woman squeals as she turns around.
Lucas peeks through his fingers at her face to see that she has a five o'clock shadow.
"Miss?" he asks, unsure and lowering his hands away from his face.
"Oh, aren't you that boy I met at Aeolia's house three years ago? ♥ " she asks.
"Aeolia's house?" Lucas asks, faintly remembering the name.
"Remember? You said you were going to the Drago Plateau to avenge your mother..."
"No," the boy says, shaking his head.
"Huh? That wasn't you?!"
He shakes his head again.
"Really? How odd..."
She shrugs while Lucas, who has found the water to look inviting, takes his shoes and socks off to dip his feet in.
"Anyway," the woman continues, "I'm Ionia, one of the Magypsies. ♥ "
"Magypsies?" Lucas repeats, the memories flooding back into his head.
She nods with a smile.
Well, Lucas supposes, since Grandpa Alec had said Magypsies are neither male nor female and magic to boot, indulging in the hot spring himself wouldn't be too odd. Boney, who doesn't care about nudity either way, has already jumped in and is paddling around.
"This is a Magic Butterfly colony," Ionia explains while Lucas strips down to soak as well. "I often come here to be revitalized after I've worn myself out by overusing my PSI. ♥ Are you here because you overused your PSI, too? ♥ "
"PSI?" Lucas asks as he eases himself in.
"...Oh? You've never heard of PSI?"
"No," he says. "But I'm kind of guessin' at what it is."
"...That's odd. I sense loads of magical power coming from you. ♥ "
That's kind of a shock to Lucas.
"You do? I always kind of thought I was a muggle."
"A muggle? ♥ "
"Oh, nothing," the boy says.
"Anyway," Ionia says, turning Lucas around. "...Wait. Just endure it for a little bit."
"Endure what?" Lucas asks before his head gets shoved down under the water.
"Don't struggle!" Ionia says above the water while Lucas tries to go up and get a breath. "Just endure it for a little bit."
It feels a lot like before and Lucas thrashes his arms in the water, tilting his face upward so that he might at least get a breath.
"Yeesh!" the Magypsy comments about the water splashing everywhere. "Just a little more! OK!!"
Ionia lets go and Lucas surfaces after what felt like an eternity without air.
But once he took that breath, something felt different. He could almost feel it coursing through him like blood and welling up in his heart.
"Oh! My goodness! ♥ " Ionia exclaims. "I can't believe it! You can use PK Love! Not even we Magypsies are able to use it! You sly devil, you! ♥ "
"PK Love? Is that what I feel here in my heart?" Lucas asks, his hand on his chest as he turned to face Ionia again.
She nods and then says, "I don't know where you come from or where you're going, but we might meet again. ♥ So at least tell me your name."
"I'm Lucas."
"......Lucas," she says, and Ionia smiles brightly. "Thanks. I'll remember that. ♥ Now go. I want to boil up, too. ♥ "
"Oh, sure," he says, still a little curious about what's going on but happy enough to dry off and get dressed so that he can be on his way to find Duster once again.
"Fassad!" the old man calls. "Stop it! Quit ruining this town any more than you already have!"
Wess steps closer and adds, "There's something not right about all this lightning, especially today's! I think you guys are behind it somehow! Leave this instant! Keep your grubby hands out of this town's affairs!"
Fassad stood face to face with Wess and replied, "Why, hello there, Mister Wess. You know, if you keep making the veins on your forehead pop out like that, happiness will only escape you. By which I mean your hair, in this case."
The townsfolk softly laughed as a Pigmask came up behind Wess.
"In any case, I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," Fassad continued. "Well, it's been fun. Please be careful not to trip, get hurt, or go bald on your way home."
The Pigmask then tossed a big net over Wess as he began to struggle.
"Cease this violence!" Wess cried as the Pigmask dragged him back to the retirement home. "I'm no bug! I'm an old man!"
Lucas ran up and was about to say something when Fassad noticed him and approached.
"Lucas!" Fassad whispered. "Quit snooping around me! Don't get in my way!" He then spoke up, "Lucas... I really wish you would put a Happy Box in your home already so you can be happy just like everyone else here. I'm always hoping for that day."
At the last part, Fassad turned back to the crowd to continue to peddle his wares. Lucas took this chance to go to the retirement home to make sure Wess was all right.
The retirement home, though being less than three years old, already looked to be in desperate need of repair. Anyone in town who was considered old, whether they could take care of themselves or not, were brought to live in the home. Lucas came here often to visit Grandpa Alec and stops by to see him as well as Wess.
"Oh Lucas. How've you been?" Alec asks as he gets a hug from his grandson. "I was dozing off just now when that really tall fellow at Cross Road appeared in my dream. Do you remember him, Lucas?"
The boy nodded, remembering the tall, mute bell ringer Leder. But it's been a long time since he's seen him around.
"I wonder what ever happened to him," Alec muses. "Where is he now?"
They talked a bit more before Alec decided to get back to his nap and Lucas went to check on Wess.
"I really embarrassed myself earlier," Wess says when Lucas comes to see him. "But curse that Fassad, treating me like a bug! ...Like a stag beetle!"
Lucas waits a moment before he brings up the rumors in town.
"Did you hear about the new band, DCMC?" he asks.
"No," Wess says, still a bit grumpy. "We don't have much here besides those accursed Happy Boxes."
"Well, I heard Mister Jackie and Mister Bronson talking about them at the train station," Lucas explains. "They said the band has a new bassist and he looks just like Duster."
"...What?" the old man asks. "A guy who looks just like Duster? Could that moron still be...?"
Wess turned around for a moment. And Lucas wasn't sure but he thought he heard the old man choke something back.
He then whipped around and said, "Lucas!! I'll now lower my voice and talk to you in a whisper!"
Wess then softly said, "I hate to ask, but could you go and see if this look-alike really is my moron or not? Fassad's cronies are on the lookout for me, so I can't go anywhere or do anything. Please. Go find that moron for me."
The old man then picked up a nearby carrier pigeon in the room and gave him to Lucas.
"If you do find Duster, send this pigeon to let me know," Wess said.
The pigeon cooed in Lucas's hands and thought to his pigeony self, "At long last, my time to be useful has come!"
Lucas nods and Wess smiles at him.
"Thanks Lucas. I'd go myself but everyone's on the lookout for me."
"It's no problem, Wess," Lucas replies. "I'll let you know as soon as I find Duster."
With that, Lucas made his way to the factory, beyond which was the club DCMC was performing at that night: Club Titiboo. Not having the money for the train, he and Boney followed the railways, carefully traversing the tunnels full of ramblin' mushrooms and Slitherhens. (Lucas had a little giggle to himself, thinking back on Lily and their confusing conversation regarding the snakes with chicken heads and her classmates at school.)
After one of the tunnels, Boney runs off and barks, sniffing at a pile of something green on the ground.
"What is it, boy?" Lucas asks, coming closer.
He finds that Boney is sniffing at a green dress and some other girlish clothes. Nearby is a ladder.
Concern is what causes Lucas to climb up the ladder, calling, "Miss? Is someone up there? Are you all right?"
When he gets to the top, he sees a sign that says, "Tunnel Hot Spring," and presumably the owner of the clothes soaking in advertised spring, her back to him.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" he half-squeaks, covering his eyes before she can turn around.
"Aiiiieee! ♥ You caught me stark naked!" the woman squeals as she turns around.
Lucas peeks through his fingers at her face to see that she has a five o'clock shadow.
"Miss?" he asks, unsure and lowering his hands away from his face.
"Oh, aren't you that boy I met at Aeolia's house three years ago? ♥ " she asks.
"Aeolia's house?" Lucas asks, faintly remembering the name.
"Remember? You said you were going to the Drago Plateau to avenge your mother..."
"No," the boy says, shaking his head.
"Huh? That wasn't you?!"
He shakes his head again.
"Really? How odd..."
She shrugs while Lucas, who has found the water to look inviting, takes his shoes and socks off to dip his feet in.
"Anyway," the woman continues, "I'm Ionia, one of the Magypsies. ♥ "
"Magypsies?" Lucas repeats, the memories flooding back into his head.
She nods with a smile.
Well, Lucas supposes, since Grandpa Alec had said Magypsies are neither male nor female and magic to boot, indulging in the hot spring himself wouldn't be too odd. Boney, who doesn't care about nudity either way, has already jumped in and is paddling around.
"This is a Magic Butterfly colony," Ionia explains while Lucas strips down to soak as well. "I often come here to be revitalized after I've worn myself out by overusing my PSI. ♥ Are you here because you overused your PSI, too? ♥ "
"PSI?" Lucas asks as he eases himself in.
"...Oh? You've never heard of PSI?"
"No," he says. "But I'm kind of guessin' at what it is."
"...That's odd. I sense loads of magical power coming from you. ♥ "
That's kind of a shock to Lucas.
"You do? I always kind of thought I was a muggle."
"A muggle? ♥ "
"Oh, nothing," the boy says.
"Anyway," Ionia says, turning Lucas around. "...Wait. Just endure it for a little bit."
"Endure what?" Lucas asks before his head gets shoved down under the water.
"Don't struggle!" Ionia says above the water while Lucas tries to go up and get a breath. "Just endure it for a little bit."
It feels a lot like before and Lucas thrashes his arms in the water, tilting his face upward so that he might at least get a breath.
"Yeesh!" the Magypsy comments about the water splashing everywhere. "Just a little more! OK!!"
Ionia lets go and Lucas surfaces after what felt like an eternity without air.
But once he took that breath, something felt different. He could almost feel it coursing through him like blood and welling up in his heart.
"Oh! My goodness! ♥ " Ionia exclaims. "I can't believe it! You can use PK Love! Not even we Magypsies are able to use it! You sly devil, you! ♥ "
"PK Love? Is that what I feel here in my heart?" Lucas asks, his hand on his chest as he turned to face Ionia again.
She nods and then says, "I don't know where you come from or where you're going, but we might meet again. ♥ So at least tell me your name."
"I'm Lucas."
"......Lucas," she says, and Ionia smiles brightly. "Thanks. I'll remember that. ♥ Now go. I want to boil up, too. ♥ "
"Oh, sure," he says, still a little curious about what's going on but happy enough to dry off and get dressed so that he can be on his way to find Duster once again.