Spyromancy

Zaiku had to admit, while it had seemed like a good idea at the time, he kind of missed the warm, cushy mansion that he was altogether supposed to have been staying in, on this babysitting job. In all honesty, at least conceptually, he wasn’t sure why a kid would ever want to leave a huge house with all the fancy food you could want, other than the fact that it was utterly sad and empty and… oh, well, he supposed that was a good enough excuse. But it was cold outside—freezing for autumn, tonight, as he stood at the back of a long line filing into the back door of Chantilly’s Bakery. At least the little featherball on his shoulders seemed to be having a good time. Nena bounced up and down excitedly, her small tail slapping his back each time as she hummed some rock-n-roll cartoon theme song to herself, slapping Zaiku’s scarf-covered neck to the beat with small paws. She had surprisingly good tempo, for a little kid. “Hey—you nervous at all?” Zaiku asked, figuring he’d make

Cloud stepped out of the lighthouse door and into the chilly evening air. With the sun dipped down over the horizon, the air would fast be losing any amount of warmth it once held, but Cloud could hardly mind it. As he stood on the precipice of the short staircase down to the ground, he looked out over the beach, at the starry sand littered now with patches of gleaming white snow. He hadn't been living there long. A few years by now, perhaps—but it was long enough to know that this sort of weather was a rarity, here. Some townsfolk in the tiny village that his lighthouse sat at the edge of were delighted by the sight of it. Some others, usually the more elderly ones, complained about aching bones and joints and the like. Cloud himself was one of the former, and no matter how many times he exited his odd place of residence, he'd never get used to the sight of such a beautiful thing. But today's venturing outside had a purpose. Cloud pulled his wool cardigan a bit better around his

"Are you sure your neck is okay?" Akira carefully held some cornstalks at bay so that Aubrey could walk through, eyeing his friend with a concerned tilt to his brow. "That pumpkin was heavy... and... I probably did a little bit of a number on you trying to pull it off. Maybe we should let Dr. Juniper take a look at it?" "I-I don't... I don't think she's... that kind of doctor," Aubrey stuttered softly. They rubbed at their neck slightly, brushing long ears out of the way and peering around with the flashlight. Akira stepped out after them and dusted off his clothes of cornhusk threads. "You've got a point... well, I'm sure we could put some ice on it later. Right?" Akira blinked when nothing but silence came in response. He looked up to stare at Aubrey, their white fur visible even so late at night by way of the moon, and followed the flashlight beam with his eyes. Unfortunately, it was moving around a bit too much for him to discern what had spooked his friend. "Aubrey?" he

The greenhouse was even more impressive in person. Reed had been expecting something grand, but nothing like this, all towering glass windows and multiple-chambered rooms, filled with the most beautifully exotic plant life he’d ever seen—but then again, he supposed that Juniper had always been something of a savant back in university when it came to botany. Reed adjusted the straps of his backpack with a shine of boyish excitement in his eyes. How many years had it been since he’d gotten to work with an old colleague? “Wooooaaah!” Reed’s wide-eyed wonder flatlined into a furrowed brow as the tiny voice beside him shattered the silence. He glanced down at the small Chimereon at his side, and forced himself to put on a smile. “It’s cool, isn’t it?” he said, shifting his weight on his paws. “Now, remember—you either play outside, and stick close to the greenhouse, or you come inside with me. And—” He held up a finger as the smaller, froggy-clothed Chimereon inhaled to answer. The

"Aaand another brilliant goal scored by Gregory of the Team Ocean Blue. He is just unstoppable tonight, isn't he folks?" news announcer Wolfgang's voice rang out smooth and eternally mildly-impressed over the intercom, somehow managing to rise above the noise of the crowd. "Is there no one on Team Coral Pink's side who can stand a chance?" "The game's not even halfway over, Wolf!" Emett chided back, his microphone buzzing with a few electronic chirps from the little robot on his shoulder, Blu. "Watch closely--I think Pink Team can come back swinging!" On paper, Lockstep was a part of the Ocean Blue team, but his team loyalty only went as far as showing up to the event. Normally, competition tempted him more than any amount of frisk-worthy valuables--that is, until actual valuables were concerned. The trophy that would be awarded to the most valuable player after this round of matches was a pretty shoddy-looking thing, covered in fake gold paint and engraved by some