[1/2 Prince x Legend of Sun Knight] fic: Invincible, that is the Legend - Chapter 8
Title: Invincible, that is the Legend - Chapter 8
Fandom: 1/2 Prince x The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 3,708
Summary: On their way to finish the Dictator, the Execution Squad's "invincible battleship" crashes, separating everyone, landing them on foreign soil in the LSK world. "Drizzt-Drizzt doesn't like the name NAP-NAP?" "No, like I said, that's like a synonym for sleep..."
Notes: This was neither what I had planned for Chapter 8 nor what I had planned for Chapter 9. But thank you Aldrizzt, for getting me back to writing this story. You win and get another chapter. (This was kind of my back-up should I ever get stuck. I had the title of this chapter jotted down since the start!) A fun chapter to write. I hope it will prove to be a fun chapter to read. :)
Previous chapter: Invincible Charm; No Matter Your Age or Appearance (or Even Gender, Some Will Tell You), He Will Always Have a Wink Just for You
Chapter 8: Invincible Direction Sense, or Lack Thereof. In Another Story, We Would Have Met Sun by Now, But This Is Not That Story
In another story, Neo and Aldrizzt would have made it to town in time to see an "adventurer squad" powerful enough to slay dragons pass through town. The squad, consisting of several impressive members, would have been led by a warrior who possessed the strength and flexibility of a black panther, and behind the warrior would have walked a holy knight with dazzling blond hair, warm blue eyes, and a blindingly bright smile.
That would have been Aldrizzt's first glimpse of Neo's famous student, but before learning the identity of the holy knight, Aldrizzt, despite being a mage, would have noticed that the holy knight had neither the proper footing of a knight nor a good hold of his sword. His conclusion? The man was not a holy knight. Rather, he must clearly only be masquerading as one and was actually being protected by the adventurer team!
A logical conclusion, though not one that our holy knight would have appreciated.
Perhaps it was a fortunate turn of events for our dear holy knight that Aldrizzt did not yet have a chance to come to this misunderstanding, not that Neo's student would have actually learned of Aldrizzt's first impression of him. On the other hand, it was not so fortunate for Aldrizzt that he, Neo, and their newfound elven companion weren't anywhere near town. They really should have reached town a long time ago... but that wasn't why Aldrizzt was unfortunate. Since they didn't even know that they would have met Neo's student in town, it wasn't a big deal that they had never made it to that particular town.
Aldrizzt was unfortunate because he had been saddled with not one, but two of the world's biggest idiots at directions. In his one hundred and thirty-six years of life, Aldrizzt had never met anyone who could get as lost as Neo before. He had truly thought that Neo was one of a kind in the art of getting so thoroughly lost. Neo would declare his desire to visit, let's say, a waterfall in the Kingdom of Moon Orchid, said to be home to a type of herb used for preserving youth, and they would instead end up all the way in the Kingdom of Kissinger, before a rare stretch of desert without a droplet of water in sight.
That was how bad Neo's direction sense was. Even Aldrizzt, who was new to the surface before meeting Neo, having lived his entire life underground, knew the stars and his way around better than Neo did. After a countless number of times of getting led to a swamp when their destination was supposed to be a meadow, and getting brought to a cliff when they were supposed to be traveling through grasslands, Aldrizzt really had had no choice but to learn his way around, another addition to the many skills he had acquired since meeting Neo.
Unfortunately for Aldrizzt, Neo was not the only one who was so talented at getting lost, and even Aldrizzt's reasonable skills at navigation that Neo had helped him polish were not enough to triumph over the combined disaster that was Neo and Prince together on the same adventurer team.
Sure, Prince could cook and do laundry, but if not for that (and for the fact that Prince was, well, an elf), Aldrizzt might have even wanted to claim that Prince and Neo were long lost siblings. Not only did both enjoy the thrill of fighting, their skill at getting completely and utterly lost was eerily alike.
One night, Aldrizzt sent Prince out for some firewood. Bad decision. Very bad decision. Aldrizzt hadn't thought it would turn out to be a big deal -- he had only sent Prince out for some firewood after all. Not a difficult task... But they had almost lost their elven companion for good because of it. In the time that Prince had been lost, Aldrizzt finished setting up their camp, washing their clothes, and cooking their food... even without firewood. In the end, Aldrizzt had to use the Spell of Flight to elevate himself into the air to search for Prince. He'd done it before Neo could rush off to look for Prince -- Aldrizzt really didn't need another teammate getting lost.
Eventually, Aldrizzt found Prince by the stream with Meatbun, a good half day's journey away from where they had stopped to set up camp. Prince just looked at him sheepishly, a pile of skewered fish by his side. The elf had indeed gathered firewood, but the wood had gone into making fish kebabs.
After Prince had realized he was lost, Prince had thought to use the stream to find his way back (after all, they had set up camp next to the stream). Not a bad idea, and quite a miracle really, that he had managed to locate the stream in the first place. Except... he had chosen the exact opposite direction to head in, taking himself farther and farther away. Meatbun had been no help.
At least they'd ended up with enough fish to last them several meals. Prince might not be good at directions, but food was entirely his territory.
If Aldrizzt only had one companion versed in the art of getting lost, he would not have despaired. Too much. But with two companions who didn't know left from right... It was even enough to make Aldrizzt temporarily forget his worries about how Prince might react upon finding out that he was a dark elf.
It was while they were discussing the name of their squad with Meatbun as their translator that they got lost so badly that they never made it to the town where they would have crossed paths with Neo's student, not that they wouldn't have gotten lost even without the distraction. The distraction just made it happen even more easily, since the only one who did know left from right (namely Aldrizzt) had been so occupied that he hadn't had time to redirect them in the correct direction.
Neo was very adamant about naming them the Dark Human Elf Squad, but Aldrizzt thought it to be a terrible name. He was all for other suggestions and was ready to wholeheartedly accept whatever Prince suggested (surely anything was better than Neo's suggestions), until he actually understood Prince's suggestion after Meatbun translated it for them.
"The NAP squad? Short for Neo, Aldrizzt, and Prince?" Aldrizzt asked. He didn't know about Prince's language, but to Aldrizzt, that sounded unfortunately like a synonym for sleep.
He tried conveying that. "It's like a synonym for sleep," Aldrizzt explained. Meatbun turned to Prince and translated Aldrizzt's words, but Aldrizzt didn't know how well his misgivings had translated over. Maybe he shouldn't have used the word "synonym"... Did Meatbun even know the word?
Prince mulled over whatever Meatbun had managed to tell him, and then unexpectedly, he chuckled before asking if the name would have any unfortunate meanings if the letters were switched around. At least, that was what Aldrizzt thought Prince was asking. Meatbun hadn't actually used quite so complicated a word as "unfortunate."
The conversation went something like this:
"Drizzt-Drizzt doesn't like the name NAP-NAP?"
"No, like I said, that's like a synonym for sleep..." Oh, there he went again with the word synonym...
"Mama says NAP-NAP is a good name! But if Drizzt-Drizzt finds it funny, maybe we should be PAN-PAN instead. Is that better? Not as funny?" asked Meatbun.
"We're not forming a cooking squad here," Aldrizzt tried to explain.
However, Aldrizzt's words seemed to excite Meatbun more than dissuade him. Meatbun hopped up and down on Prince's head. "PAN-PAN! Siay ookingcay quadsay!"
Prince's eyes lit up. "PAN Squad!" he exclaimed, repeating Meatbun's words. "PAN Squad! Hattay siay ustjay erfectpay."
Aldrizzt didn't need Meatbun to translate to know that Prince liked the name. He hurriedly said, "We are not naming ourselves the PAN Squad."
NAP, PAN, ANP, or however Prince wanted to spin it, those names were not much better than Neo's suggestion.
Beside him, Prince was undeterred by his disapproval, not that Prince actually understood what Aldrizzt had said. Prince was already pretending to hold a pan of some sort and was tossing imaginary food into the air.
"PAN-PAN Squad means yummy squad?" asked Meatbun with shining eyes.
"Not...exactly..." Aldrizzt replied. It was a wonder that a food item like a meat bun was so excited about eating food, but Aldrizzt was no longer surprised about it. After all, when Meatbun had first shown up, he had immediately devoured the meat that Aldrizzt had roasted to eat. It had left a lasting impression.
Why isn't Neo saying anything? Aldrizzt glanced at Neo, who was leading the way ahead of them, only to see him holding his stomach. With any other person, Aldrizzt might have had a cause for concern, but this was Neo.
Aldrizzt was unimpressed.
Neo was laughing.
"See, Aldrizzt? What did I tell you? You should have accepted my name suggestion!" Neo exclaimed and turned around, the edge of his lips curving into a smirk.
"Rejected," Aldrizzt declared.
Neo lifted an eyebrow. "Surely you don't like PAN Squad better than my suggestion? My name is not even at the front in that one. NAP Squad would be better if you must choose something so plebeian."
"All of them are rejected," Aldrizzt said. "Also, none of these names include Meatbun in them."
"Is that why you rejected my suggestion? Fine. Dark Human Elfbun Squad. How's that?"
"Neo, you really don't get it, do you... Why do you keep going back to that name..."
Prince, since he had to wait for Meatbun to translate everything, decided to wander ahead of them. He turned left, and the others followed without a second thought, still deep in conversation.
Yet another bad decision.
Although they had not succeeded in coming up with a satisfactory name, they had succeeded in getting thoroughly lost. After all, their only navigator had been busy fending off names and had thus been too slow to realize that Neo and Prince had been the ones leading the way. With the combined efforts of Neo and Prince, Aldrizzt doubted if they were even in the Kingdom of Moon Orchid anymore.
"I thought you wanted to visit the princesses of Moon Orchid," Aldrizzt said while they stood outside an abandoned barn in the countryside. "This doesn't look like the capital to you, does it?"
"Strange, I was sure it was here," Neo replied, hand on his chin.
"Not unless the princess, her sisters, and the entire royal family actually live in a barn," said Aldrizzt.
Right after he spoke, Meatbun leaped across the air from Prince's head and landed on... Neo's head. Neo was the closest one to the building.
"Doll-jiějie is here?" Meatbun exclaimed.
It only took a single glance at Neo's indignant expression at having a white blob land on his head for Aldrizzt to burst out laughing. He looked away, but the image was already imprinted in his mind. At the thought of the look on Neo's face, Aldrizzt couldn't help chuckling again even though he knew it wasn't very nice to laugh at others.
"Meatbun, would you kindly return to Prince's head?" Neo asked in a slow voice. It was most definitely not a suggestion, but rather a command. When Aldrizzt turned to look, he saw the dangerous smile he was expecting on Neo's face.
Aldrizzt could tell that it wasn't going to work. Instead of doing what Neo had "suggested," Meatbun started hopping up and down, sending Neo's golden hair flying. Neo's hair was going to be a tangled mess after this.
"Meat-bunbun likes it here!" Meatbun explained.
"Great, see if you like it here after I split you open--"
"Meatbun, don't translate that," Aldrizzt said, worried that Prince would take offense. He also shot Neo a disapproving look.
Neo rolled his eyes. "Meatbun, tell Prince to tell you to get off of my head."
That's not going to work... Just as Aldrizzt thought this, Meatbun dutifully translated a string of words. Prince spoke, and Meatbun moved... onto Aldrizzt's head.
For a talking meatbun, he was quite heavy. Deceivingly heavy.
"Doll-jiějie?" Meatbun asked again, following that up with a little hop.
Aldrizzt's head dipped in from the impact. How strong Prince's neck must be for him to withstand Meatbun's careless little hops all the time!
The hops were disturbing Aldrizzt's hood, and it was with a jolt that Aldrizzt remembered he was still trying to hide his identity from Prince. He quickly grabbed his hood to stop it from falling, but doing that made his sleeves slip. He hurriedly darted his eyes at Prince. Did he notice?
Prince, however, wasn't looking at Aldrizzt. "Doll?" Prince asked. His eyes wandered around the area in curiosity.
"I'm afraid I don't follow. There are no dolls here," Aldrizzt said, hand tugging at his sleeves.
"Doll-jiějie is not a doll! Doll-jiějie is Doll!" Meatbun said, indignant. His hops grew more rapid, like stomping. Aldrizzt's head dipped further and further until he was looking entirely at the ground.
"Did you understand any of that?" Aldrizzt asked Neo while trying to straighten back up.
"Not a thing." Neo shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. He scowled when he came across resistance, but he didn't dwell on it for long.
"And here I thought our communication troubles were over..." Aldrizzt murmured.
It was not that Meatbun didn't know the language. It was just that his knowledge was often very limited, resulting in strange conversations... This is going to take some work.
After learning that Doll was one of Prince's companions and that she was a princess (it took many questions before they managed to come to this conclusion), Aldrizzt and Neo finally understood why Meatbun had suddenly called out her name at the barn. Unfortunately, the princess that Neo had been hoping to visit was not Doll, and Neo also did not know of any princesses that went by that name.
Both Prince and Meatbun had been depressed upon hearing Neo's words, but hunting down dinner had cheered Prince up, and the food that had resulted from that had cheered Meatbun up.
Eventually, this team that had yet to agree on a name finally reached a small town. Or more like, they finally stumbled upon a small town, as none of them had even known of the town's existence. They had been traveling through some forest whose name they did not know when the forest had suddenly given way to a town. It was akin to spotting an oasis in the middle of a desert, enough for all of them to doubt their eyes and wonder if they were seeing an illusion. After all, why would there be a town in the middle of a forest? The town was completely surrounded by trees!
Prince clasped his hand together and looked toward the skies. "Inallyfay, aay edbay otay leepsay niay!"
"Are you that happy...?" Aldrizzt wondered. He was also glad that they had finally come across a town -- it meant that he could actually send Chasel the next status update and reassure him that Neo had not gotten into any large troubles -- but Prince's elation went beyond that. Aldrizzt had never known elves to be this expressive. Prince was truly one of a kind.
The elf had a wide grin over his face, and he was heading straight for town.
"Wait!" Aldrizzt called out. "You should cover up your ears!" And your hair!
Although Prince was not like Aldrizzt, who would definitely be chased out of town if anyone laid eyes on him without his cloak, Prince's features were still very striking, especially his sharp red eyes. As his eyes were not easy to hide, Aldrizzt hoped that Prince would at least hide his other striking features, namely his hair and ears, since the combination of the three would only serve to accentuate his eyes.
Neo brushed off Aldrizzt's concern. "He's an elf. He'll be fine. He's not burnt like you."
"Drizzt-Drizzt is burnt?" Meatbun gasped and hopped off of Prince's head to land in Aldrizzt's arms. He peered upward with large eyes. "Roasted? Drizzt-Drizzt is not food. Don't get roasted!"
With Meatbun gone from his head, Prince finally turned around. "Siay omethingsay rongway?" he asked.
"It's Drizzt-Drizzt!" Meatbun exclaimed. "Ehay ashay eenbay urnedbay!"
"No, I haven't been roasted..." Aldrizzt tried to say, but Prince had already rushed forward to inspect Aldrizzt's hand while Aldrizzt held Meatbun with his other arm. Aldrizzt flinched, but it was too late. If Prince hadn't already figured it out (despite how long they had been in each other's presence), this would definitely be enough to clue him in.
"I did not mean to deceive you," Aldrizzt said with a heavy heart. Neo came to stand next to him in what Aldrizzt took to be silent support.
"Ou'reyay urnedbay osay adlybay hattay ou'reyay lackbay! Histay siay erribletay. Hyway idn'tday ouyay oday nythingaay boutaay tiay?" Prince exclaimed in a rush, eyes wide. Aldrizzt did not understand a single word, but he knew that they could only be words of rebuke.
See? He's so shocked that he's rambling...
"Mama says that you're burned so badly that you're black! Drizzt-Drizzt needs to take better care of himself!" Meatbun scolded.
And now Meatbun is scolding me... Wait...
"...What?"
That was not what Aldrizzt had thought Prince and Meatbun would say. How could Prince not have noticed that Aldrizzt was a dark elf? How had he come to the conclusion that Aldrizzt's dark skin was because he had been burned? If anyone were burned so badly that their skin turned as dark as Aldrizzt's, then that person could only be a walking corpse!
Neo laughed heartily. "That's right! Before your eyes is a burnt elf."
"Neo!" Aldrizzt admonished, aghast. You're really not helping!
"Aldrizzt, do you think so little of Prince?" Neo asked. "He is not like other elves." His tone seem to imply that since Neo had taken a liking to him, there really shouldn't be a problem.
"I know, but..." Even though Neo was vouching for Prince, and even though Aldrizzt, surprisingly, trusted Neo's judgment of character, he was just so used to having to hide, so used to rejection. He had not dared to reveal himself even to their previous team despite not wanting to keep them in the dark. Could he really hope for another companion who would be willing to see past his birth, to accept him for who he was? Prince was even an elf... but Neo was right. Aldrizzt was giving Prince too little credit, and even if Prince were to decide that he could not accept him, Aldrizzt would not blame him.
Aldrizzt steeled himself, pulling his hand out of Prince's grasp. Then, he lowered his hood, letting it drop against his shoulders. He felt completely exposed. He swallowed and said, "Don't worry. I haven't been burned. I'm just a dark elf."
Prince's reaction wasn't quite what Aldrizzt was expecting, but it wasn't very reassuring either. Instead of recoiling, his jaw dropped, and he stood there in shock.
"Am I so hateful that I've shocked you into silence?" Aldrizzt wondered with a heavy heart.
Prince shook his head, but he couldn't be answering Aldrizzt's question, not when he didn't even know what Aldrizzt had asked. The elf looked like he was trying to clear his mind. Then, he smiled lopsidedly, sending Aldrizzt's heart beating rapidly. Could it be that Prince actually doesn't mind?
Prince murmured, "Ouyay emindedray emay foay omeonesay. Ouyay ooklay aay otlay ikelay imhay."
"Mama says you look a lot like someone we know," Meatbun translated.
Neo raised an eyebrow. "You're acquaintances with a dark elf?"
That can't be possible... Aldrizzt thought, still in a stupor. But wait, if Prince is indeed half dark elf like what I had first thought, then that is not all that farfetched.
It would also explain why Prince was still willing to smile at him.
"Yes! His name is Wicked, and he is very nice," said Meatbun. "But he doesn't like Fire Phoenix's master very much."
A dark elf named "Wicked" who is very "nice"? Meatbun's words were once again confusing Aldrizzt, and he doubted Neo fared any better. Could Prince perhaps be related to this Wicked somehow?
"You've seen a phoenix before?" Neo asked, attention homing in on something completely different from what had thrown Aldrizzt off.
"Fire Phoenix is my wife!" Meatbun exclaimed happily.
What in the world...?
Aldrizzt hadn't ever seen a phoenix before, and he had never thought phoenixes and meat buns could marry. Each other, that was. Or well, he never thought meat buns could even talk. Was he...being too narrow-minded? He'd wanted people to accept him, but if he couldn't even accept...
He looked guiltily at Meatbun, who had returned to Prince's head, only to discover that Prince was now staring at him in a way that Neo sometimes stared at meat when he got really hungry. Aldrizzt was reassured that Prince had no problem with dark elves since his reaction had not been one of disgust or rejection, but...
Aldrizzt suddenly felt the need to pull his hood up again.
Dejected, Prince murmured, "Hyway idehay henway ouyay avehay uchsay aay andsomehay acefay? Iay houghttay ouyay ereway isfiguredday!" Then he looked at Meatbun and said, "On'tday ranslatetay hattay, Eatbunmay!"
Neo guffawed. "How much do you want to bet that he's admiring your looks?"
"What?" Aldrizzt was flabbergasted. He shrank into his cloak even more.
Don't tell me Prince is...checking me out?
"Ah, not used to the attention?" Neo smirked. He shook his head in pity. "So inexperienced and young!"
"I'm already over a hundred years old!"
Once they entered town, which Aldrizzt discovered was named Forest Leaf, they immediately searched for an inn. Even though Prince was fine with sharing a room, Aldrizzt had the fleeting thought that it might be better to book at least two rooms... but surely Aldrizzt was just misunderstanding. It was very possible that Prince just liked to admire beauty, though Aldrizzt had never thought of himself as beautiful. It was a strange thought.
While sitting at the desk in the room they had booked, Aldrizzt began composing a letter to Chasel.
Dear Chasel, Aldrizzt wrote. Remember the adventurer team I mentioned last time? Unfortunately, we have parted ways with our teammates, but do not despair. We have found a new companion, an elf, if you can believe it, like what Neo had always wanted. He has striking features -- hair as white as snow, eyes as red as blood...
He paused. ...and he can even give Neo a run for his money with his direction sense...
Again, his hand stopped. He hesitated before he added, Also, I wonder if he has a thing for Neo or maybe even me...
He stopped once more and crossed the last part out. Surely he was over thinking this.
to be continued
It's been some time! I planned to dedicate another chapter to Storm's side of things, but eh... It refused to get written, so I've moved along. We will eventually revisit Leafblade sometime though!
Next chapter: Invincible Curiosity, Insatiable
Fandom: 1/2 Prince x The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 3,708
Summary: On their way to finish the Dictator, the Execution Squad's "invincible battleship" crashes, separating everyone, landing them on foreign soil in the LSK world. "Drizzt-Drizzt doesn't like the name NAP-NAP?" "No, like I said, that's like a synonym for sleep..."
Notes: This was neither what I had planned for Chapter 8 nor what I had planned for Chapter 9. But thank you Aldrizzt, for getting me back to writing this story. You win and get another chapter. (This was kind of my back-up should I ever get stuck. I had the title of this chapter jotted down since the start!) A fun chapter to write. I hope it will prove to be a fun chapter to read. :)
Previous chapter: Invincible Charm; No Matter Your Age or Appearance (or Even Gender, Some Will Tell You), He Will Always Have a Wink Just for You
Chapter 8: Invincible Direction Sense, or Lack Thereof. In Another Story, We Would Have Met Sun by Now, But This Is Not That Story
In another story, Neo and Aldrizzt would have made it to town in time to see an "adventurer squad" powerful enough to slay dragons pass through town. The squad, consisting of several impressive members, would have been led by a warrior who possessed the strength and flexibility of a black panther, and behind the warrior would have walked a holy knight with dazzling blond hair, warm blue eyes, and a blindingly bright smile.
That would have been Aldrizzt's first glimpse of Neo's famous student, but before learning the identity of the holy knight, Aldrizzt, despite being a mage, would have noticed that the holy knight had neither the proper footing of a knight nor a good hold of his sword. His conclusion? The man was not a holy knight. Rather, he must clearly only be masquerading as one and was actually being protected by the adventurer team!
A logical conclusion, though not one that our holy knight would have appreciated.
Perhaps it was a fortunate turn of events for our dear holy knight that Aldrizzt did not yet have a chance to come to this misunderstanding, not that Neo's student would have actually learned of Aldrizzt's first impression of him. On the other hand, it was not so fortunate for Aldrizzt that he, Neo, and their newfound elven companion weren't anywhere near town. They really should have reached town a long time ago... but that wasn't why Aldrizzt was unfortunate. Since they didn't even know that they would have met Neo's student in town, it wasn't a big deal that they had never made it to that particular town.
Aldrizzt was unfortunate because he had been saddled with not one, but two of the world's biggest idiots at directions. In his one hundred and thirty-six years of life, Aldrizzt had never met anyone who could get as lost as Neo before. He had truly thought that Neo was one of a kind in the art of getting so thoroughly lost. Neo would declare his desire to visit, let's say, a waterfall in the Kingdom of Moon Orchid, said to be home to a type of herb used for preserving youth, and they would instead end up all the way in the Kingdom of Kissinger, before a rare stretch of desert without a droplet of water in sight.
That was how bad Neo's direction sense was. Even Aldrizzt, who was new to the surface before meeting Neo, having lived his entire life underground, knew the stars and his way around better than Neo did. After a countless number of times of getting led to a swamp when their destination was supposed to be a meadow, and getting brought to a cliff when they were supposed to be traveling through grasslands, Aldrizzt really had had no choice but to learn his way around, another addition to the many skills he had acquired since meeting Neo.
Unfortunately for Aldrizzt, Neo was not the only one who was so talented at getting lost, and even Aldrizzt's reasonable skills at navigation that Neo had helped him polish were not enough to triumph over the combined disaster that was Neo and Prince together on the same adventurer team.
Sure, Prince could cook and do laundry, but if not for that (and for the fact that Prince was, well, an elf), Aldrizzt might have even wanted to claim that Prince and Neo were long lost siblings. Not only did both enjoy the thrill of fighting, their skill at getting completely and utterly lost was eerily alike.
One night, Aldrizzt sent Prince out for some firewood. Bad decision. Very bad decision. Aldrizzt hadn't thought it would turn out to be a big deal -- he had only sent Prince out for some firewood after all. Not a difficult task... But they had almost lost their elven companion for good because of it. In the time that Prince had been lost, Aldrizzt finished setting up their camp, washing their clothes, and cooking their food... even without firewood. In the end, Aldrizzt had to use the Spell of Flight to elevate himself into the air to search for Prince. He'd done it before Neo could rush off to look for Prince -- Aldrizzt really didn't need another teammate getting lost.
Eventually, Aldrizzt found Prince by the stream with Meatbun, a good half day's journey away from where they had stopped to set up camp. Prince just looked at him sheepishly, a pile of skewered fish by his side. The elf had indeed gathered firewood, but the wood had gone into making fish kebabs.
After Prince had realized he was lost, Prince had thought to use the stream to find his way back (after all, they had set up camp next to the stream). Not a bad idea, and quite a miracle really, that he had managed to locate the stream in the first place. Except... he had chosen the exact opposite direction to head in, taking himself farther and farther away. Meatbun had been no help.
At least they'd ended up with enough fish to last them several meals. Prince might not be good at directions, but food was entirely his territory.
If Aldrizzt only had one companion versed in the art of getting lost, he would not have despaired. Too much. But with two companions who didn't know left from right... It was even enough to make Aldrizzt temporarily forget his worries about how Prince might react upon finding out that he was a dark elf.
It was while they were discussing the name of their squad with Meatbun as their translator that they got lost so badly that they never made it to the town where they would have crossed paths with Neo's student, not that they wouldn't have gotten lost even without the distraction. The distraction just made it happen even more easily, since the only one who did know left from right (namely Aldrizzt) had been so occupied that he hadn't had time to redirect them in the correct direction.
Neo was very adamant about naming them the Dark Human Elf Squad, but Aldrizzt thought it to be a terrible name. He was all for other suggestions and was ready to wholeheartedly accept whatever Prince suggested (surely anything was better than Neo's suggestions), until he actually understood Prince's suggestion after Meatbun translated it for them.
"The NAP squad? Short for Neo, Aldrizzt, and Prince?" Aldrizzt asked. He didn't know about Prince's language, but to Aldrizzt, that sounded unfortunately like a synonym for sleep.
He tried conveying that. "It's like a synonym for sleep," Aldrizzt explained. Meatbun turned to Prince and translated Aldrizzt's words, but Aldrizzt didn't know how well his misgivings had translated over. Maybe he shouldn't have used the word "synonym"... Did Meatbun even know the word?
Prince mulled over whatever Meatbun had managed to tell him, and then unexpectedly, he chuckled before asking if the name would have any unfortunate meanings if the letters were switched around. At least, that was what Aldrizzt thought Prince was asking. Meatbun hadn't actually used quite so complicated a word as "unfortunate."
The conversation went something like this:
"Drizzt-Drizzt doesn't like the name NAP-NAP?"
"No, like I said, that's like a synonym for sleep..." Oh, there he went again with the word synonym...
"Mama says NAP-NAP is a good name! But if Drizzt-Drizzt finds it funny, maybe we should be PAN-PAN instead. Is that better? Not as funny?" asked Meatbun.
"We're not forming a cooking squad here," Aldrizzt tried to explain.
However, Aldrizzt's words seemed to excite Meatbun more than dissuade him. Meatbun hopped up and down on Prince's head. "PAN-PAN! Siay ookingcay quadsay!"
Prince's eyes lit up. "PAN Squad!" he exclaimed, repeating Meatbun's words. "PAN Squad! Hattay siay ustjay erfectpay."
Aldrizzt didn't need Meatbun to translate to know that Prince liked the name. He hurriedly said, "We are not naming ourselves the PAN Squad."
NAP, PAN, ANP, or however Prince wanted to spin it, those names were not much better than Neo's suggestion.
Beside him, Prince was undeterred by his disapproval, not that Prince actually understood what Aldrizzt had said. Prince was already pretending to hold a pan of some sort and was tossing imaginary food into the air.
"PAN-PAN Squad means yummy squad?" asked Meatbun with shining eyes.
"Not...exactly..." Aldrizzt replied. It was a wonder that a food item like a meat bun was so excited about eating food, but Aldrizzt was no longer surprised about it. After all, when Meatbun had first shown up, he had immediately devoured the meat that Aldrizzt had roasted to eat. It had left a lasting impression.
Why isn't Neo saying anything? Aldrizzt glanced at Neo, who was leading the way ahead of them, only to see him holding his stomach. With any other person, Aldrizzt might have had a cause for concern, but this was Neo.
Aldrizzt was unimpressed.
Neo was laughing.
"See, Aldrizzt? What did I tell you? You should have accepted my name suggestion!" Neo exclaimed and turned around, the edge of his lips curving into a smirk.
"Rejected," Aldrizzt declared.
Neo lifted an eyebrow. "Surely you don't like PAN Squad better than my suggestion? My name is not even at the front in that one. NAP Squad would be better if you must choose something so plebeian."
"All of them are rejected," Aldrizzt said. "Also, none of these names include Meatbun in them."
"Is that why you rejected my suggestion? Fine. Dark Human Elfbun Squad. How's that?"
"Neo, you really don't get it, do you... Why do you keep going back to that name..."
Prince, since he had to wait for Meatbun to translate everything, decided to wander ahead of them. He turned left, and the others followed without a second thought, still deep in conversation.
Yet another bad decision.
Although they had not succeeded in coming up with a satisfactory name, they had succeeded in getting thoroughly lost. After all, their only navigator had been busy fending off names and had thus been too slow to realize that Neo and Prince had been the ones leading the way. With the combined efforts of Neo and Prince, Aldrizzt doubted if they were even in the Kingdom of Moon Orchid anymore.
"I thought you wanted to visit the princesses of Moon Orchid," Aldrizzt said while they stood outside an abandoned barn in the countryside. "This doesn't look like the capital to you, does it?"
"Strange, I was sure it was here," Neo replied, hand on his chin.
"Not unless the princess, her sisters, and the entire royal family actually live in a barn," said Aldrizzt.
Right after he spoke, Meatbun leaped across the air from Prince's head and landed on... Neo's head. Neo was the closest one to the building.
"Doll-jiějie is here?" Meatbun exclaimed.
It only took a single glance at Neo's indignant expression at having a white blob land on his head for Aldrizzt to burst out laughing. He looked away, but the image was already imprinted in his mind. At the thought of the look on Neo's face, Aldrizzt couldn't help chuckling again even though he knew it wasn't very nice to laugh at others.
"Meatbun, would you kindly return to Prince's head?" Neo asked in a slow voice. It was most definitely not a suggestion, but rather a command. When Aldrizzt turned to look, he saw the dangerous smile he was expecting on Neo's face.
Aldrizzt could tell that it wasn't going to work. Instead of doing what Neo had "suggested," Meatbun started hopping up and down, sending Neo's golden hair flying. Neo's hair was going to be a tangled mess after this.
"Meat-bunbun likes it here!" Meatbun explained.
"Great, see if you like it here after I split you open--"
"Meatbun, don't translate that," Aldrizzt said, worried that Prince would take offense. He also shot Neo a disapproving look.
Neo rolled his eyes. "Meatbun, tell Prince to tell you to get off of my head."
That's not going to work... Just as Aldrizzt thought this, Meatbun dutifully translated a string of words. Prince spoke, and Meatbun moved... onto Aldrizzt's head.
For a talking meatbun, he was quite heavy. Deceivingly heavy.
"Doll-jiějie?" Meatbun asked again, following that up with a little hop.
Aldrizzt's head dipped in from the impact. How strong Prince's neck must be for him to withstand Meatbun's careless little hops all the time!
The hops were disturbing Aldrizzt's hood, and it was with a jolt that Aldrizzt remembered he was still trying to hide his identity from Prince. He quickly grabbed his hood to stop it from falling, but doing that made his sleeves slip. He hurriedly darted his eyes at Prince. Did he notice?
Prince, however, wasn't looking at Aldrizzt. "Doll?" Prince asked. His eyes wandered around the area in curiosity.
"I'm afraid I don't follow. There are no dolls here," Aldrizzt said, hand tugging at his sleeves.
"Doll-jiějie is not a doll! Doll-jiějie is Doll!" Meatbun said, indignant. His hops grew more rapid, like stomping. Aldrizzt's head dipped further and further until he was looking entirely at the ground.
"Did you understand any of that?" Aldrizzt asked Neo while trying to straighten back up.
"Not a thing." Neo shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. He scowled when he came across resistance, but he didn't dwell on it for long.
"And here I thought our communication troubles were over..." Aldrizzt murmured.
It was not that Meatbun didn't know the language. It was just that his knowledge was often very limited, resulting in strange conversations... This is going to take some work.
After learning that Doll was one of Prince's companions and that she was a princess (it took many questions before they managed to come to this conclusion), Aldrizzt and Neo finally understood why Meatbun had suddenly called out her name at the barn. Unfortunately, the princess that Neo had been hoping to visit was not Doll, and Neo also did not know of any princesses that went by that name.
Both Prince and Meatbun had been depressed upon hearing Neo's words, but hunting down dinner had cheered Prince up, and the food that had resulted from that had cheered Meatbun up.
Eventually, this team that had yet to agree on a name finally reached a small town. Or more like, they finally stumbled upon a small town, as none of them had even known of the town's existence. They had been traveling through some forest whose name they did not know when the forest had suddenly given way to a town. It was akin to spotting an oasis in the middle of a desert, enough for all of them to doubt their eyes and wonder if they were seeing an illusion. After all, why would there be a town in the middle of a forest? The town was completely surrounded by trees!
Prince clasped his hand together and looked toward the skies. "Inallyfay, aay edbay otay leepsay niay!"
"Are you that happy...?" Aldrizzt wondered. He was also glad that they had finally come across a town -- it meant that he could actually send Chasel the next status update and reassure him that Neo had not gotten into any large troubles -- but Prince's elation went beyond that. Aldrizzt had never known elves to be this expressive. Prince was truly one of a kind.
The elf had a wide grin over his face, and he was heading straight for town.
"Wait!" Aldrizzt called out. "You should cover up your ears!" And your hair!
Although Prince was not like Aldrizzt, who would definitely be chased out of town if anyone laid eyes on him without his cloak, Prince's features were still very striking, especially his sharp red eyes. As his eyes were not easy to hide, Aldrizzt hoped that Prince would at least hide his other striking features, namely his hair and ears, since the combination of the three would only serve to accentuate his eyes.
Neo brushed off Aldrizzt's concern. "He's an elf. He'll be fine. He's not burnt like you."
"Drizzt-Drizzt is burnt?" Meatbun gasped and hopped off of Prince's head to land in Aldrizzt's arms. He peered upward with large eyes. "Roasted? Drizzt-Drizzt is not food. Don't get roasted!"
With Meatbun gone from his head, Prince finally turned around. "Siay omethingsay rongway?" he asked.
"It's Drizzt-Drizzt!" Meatbun exclaimed. "Ehay ashay eenbay urnedbay!"
"No, I haven't been roasted..." Aldrizzt tried to say, but Prince had already rushed forward to inspect Aldrizzt's hand while Aldrizzt held Meatbun with his other arm. Aldrizzt flinched, but it was too late. If Prince hadn't already figured it out (despite how long they had been in each other's presence), this would definitely be enough to clue him in.
"I did not mean to deceive you," Aldrizzt said with a heavy heart. Neo came to stand next to him in what Aldrizzt took to be silent support.
"Ou'reyay urnedbay osay adlybay hattay ou'reyay lackbay! Histay siay erribletay. Hyway idn'tday ouyay oday nythingaay boutaay tiay?" Prince exclaimed in a rush, eyes wide. Aldrizzt did not understand a single word, but he knew that they could only be words of rebuke.
See? He's so shocked that he's rambling...
"Mama says that you're burned so badly that you're black! Drizzt-Drizzt needs to take better care of himself!" Meatbun scolded.
And now Meatbun is scolding me... Wait...
"...What?"
That was not what Aldrizzt had thought Prince and Meatbun would say. How could Prince not have noticed that Aldrizzt was a dark elf? How had he come to the conclusion that Aldrizzt's dark skin was because he had been burned? If anyone were burned so badly that their skin turned as dark as Aldrizzt's, then that person could only be a walking corpse!
Neo laughed heartily. "That's right! Before your eyes is a burnt elf."
"Neo!" Aldrizzt admonished, aghast. You're really not helping!
"Aldrizzt, do you think so little of Prince?" Neo asked. "He is not like other elves." His tone seem to imply that since Neo had taken a liking to him, there really shouldn't be a problem.
"I know, but..." Even though Neo was vouching for Prince, and even though Aldrizzt, surprisingly, trusted Neo's judgment of character, he was just so used to having to hide, so used to rejection. He had not dared to reveal himself even to their previous team despite not wanting to keep them in the dark. Could he really hope for another companion who would be willing to see past his birth, to accept him for who he was? Prince was even an elf... but Neo was right. Aldrizzt was giving Prince too little credit, and even if Prince were to decide that he could not accept him, Aldrizzt would not blame him.
Aldrizzt steeled himself, pulling his hand out of Prince's grasp. Then, he lowered his hood, letting it drop against his shoulders. He felt completely exposed. He swallowed and said, "Don't worry. I haven't been burned. I'm just a dark elf."
Prince's reaction wasn't quite what Aldrizzt was expecting, but it wasn't very reassuring either. Instead of recoiling, his jaw dropped, and he stood there in shock.
"Am I so hateful that I've shocked you into silence?" Aldrizzt wondered with a heavy heart.
Prince shook his head, but he couldn't be answering Aldrizzt's question, not when he didn't even know what Aldrizzt had asked. The elf looked like he was trying to clear his mind. Then, he smiled lopsidedly, sending Aldrizzt's heart beating rapidly. Could it be that Prince actually doesn't mind?
Prince murmured, "Ouyay emindedray emay foay omeonesay. Ouyay ooklay aay otlay ikelay imhay."
"Mama says you look a lot like someone we know," Meatbun translated.
Neo raised an eyebrow. "You're acquaintances with a dark elf?"
That can't be possible... Aldrizzt thought, still in a stupor. But wait, if Prince is indeed half dark elf like what I had first thought, then that is not all that farfetched.
It would also explain why Prince was still willing to smile at him.
"Yes! His name is Wicked, and he is very nice," said Meatbun. "But he doesn't like Fire Phoenix's master very much."
A dark elf named "Wicked" who is very "nice"? Meatbun's words were once again confusing Aldrizzt, and he doubted Neo fared any better. Could Prince perhaps be related to this Wicked somehow?
"You've seen a phoenix before?" Neo asked, attention homing in on something completely different from what had thrown Aldrizzt off.
"Fire Phoenix is my wife!" Meatbun exclaimed happily.
What in the world...?
Aldrizzt hadn't ever seen a phoenix before, and he had never thought phoenixes and meat buns could marry. Each other, that was. Or well, he never thought meat buns could even talk. Was he...being too narrow-minded? He'd wanted people to accept him, but if he couldn't even accept...
He looked guiltily at Meatbun, who had returned to Prince's head, only to discover that Prince was now staring at him in a way that Neo sometimes stared at meat when he got really hungry. Aldrizzt was reassured that Prince had no problem with dark elves since his reaction had not been one of disgust or rejection, but...
Aldrizzt suddenly felt the need to pull his hood up again.
Dejected, Prince murmured, "Hyway idehay henway ouyay avehay uchsay aay andsomehay acefay? Iay houghttay ouyay ereway isfiguredday!" Then he looked at Meatbun and said, "On'tday ranslatetay hattay, Eatbunmay!"
Neo guffawed. "How much do you want to bet that he's admiring your looks?"
"What?" Aldrizzt was flabbergasted. He shrank into his cloak even more.
Don't tell me Prince is...checking me out?
"Ah, not used to the attention?" Neo smirked. He shook his head in pity. "So inexperienced and young!"
"I'm already over a hundred years old!"
Once they entered town, which Aldrizzt discovered was named Forest Leaf, they immediately searched for an inn. Even though Prince was fine with sharing a room, Aldrizzt had the fleeting thought that it might be better to book at least two rooms... but surely Aldrizzt was just misunderstanding. It was very possible that Prince just liked to admire beauty, though Aldrizzt had never thought of himself as beautiful. It was a strange thought.
While sitting at the desk in the room they had booked, Aldrizzt began composing a letter to Chasel.
Dear Chasel, Aldrizzt wrote. Remember the adventurer team I mentioned last time? Unfortunately, we have parted ways with our teammates, but do not despair. We have found a new companion, an elf, if you can believe it, like what Neo had always wanted. He has striking features -- hair as white as snow, eyes as red as blood...
He paused. ...and he can even give Neo a run for his money with his direction sense...
Again, his hand stopped. He hesitated before he added, Also, I wonder if he has a thing for Neo or maybe even me...
He stopped once more and crossed the last part out. Surely he was over thinking this.
to be continued
It's been some time! I planned to dedicate another chapter to Storm's side of things, but eh... It refused to get written, so I've moved along. We will eventually revisit Leafblade sometime though!
Next chapter: Invincible Curiosity, Insatiable