Rising Shards

I tried to think of anything I could do to help Arctus as he stayed unconscious on the ground, but my mind was blank.

“That was quite the display of heroics, stranger.” Kiki said.

“AHH!” I said. I turned to see the blue armored Exumi sitting on a tree branch above me with her arms crossed. “Kiki, how did you…?”

Kiki leapt down and landed near me, lifting up leaves from the impact.

“I snuck around to the stairwell and was watching at a safe distance.” Kiki said.

“Thanks for helping.”

“You seemed to have it under control.” Kiki said. “I did grab this, though.”
She held out my backpack.

“Oh, thank you!” I said, taking the backpack and checking its contents for maybe the thirtieth time that day. “I don’t even remember when I dropped it. Oh my god, I can’t even imagine how bad it would’ve been if I left that down there…”

“Luckily, you had me looking out for you.” Kiki said.

“…thanks for helping again,” I said. But like. Not sarcastic this time.”

“You’re welcome,” Kiki said. She looked down to Arctus. “I did not realize you were an Atrian like him.”

“I’m a Cani,” I said. “Though I guess I walk the Atrian path? I think?”

“That’s good,” Kiki said. “And it’s very good you protected our Atrian.”

“Well, I couldn’t just leave him there.” I said. “I managed to get him up the stairs, but he passed out right after…wait, our Atrian?”

“Yes?” Kiki said. “This is Arctus Kathron, one of the Atrians of this place. If you failed, I would have had to step in to save him.”

“Oh…” I said. “So he’s like…the Raina Starlight of this…island? Penninsula?”

“The who?” Kiki asked. “And it’s an island.”

Kiki looked at Arctus as I debated trying to explain the greatness of Raina Starlight to someone who had no knowledge of how awesome she was.

“Is he alright?” I asked, deciding that changing the subject would be best for everyone involved. “He said he was poisoned. But he was also pretty beat up, so he might've just been knocked loopy.”

Kiki continued to look him over. Despite the differences between a Cani and an Exumi, I still assumed Kiki knew better first aid than me.

“He’s not in imminent danger, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it truly is poison,” Kiki said. “The Order is very fond of their poison. You should be careful of it. It affects organics the most.”

“Somehow from the one time I talked to him, I figured Arctus wouldn’t be the type to get hit by anything here.”

“Wait, you know Arctus Kathron?” Kiki asked. “That doesn’t make sense…”

“Huh?”

“He goes to my school. Well, not my school, the boy school right next to it.” I said.

Kiki squinted. Her confusion was making me feel even more confused.

“…what? That makes even less sense.” Kiki said. “We need to get him to my village. Mawiril will know what we should do next and can better interpret your strange claims.”

“Maw…er…what?”

“Mawiril. He’s one of our elders.” Kiki said. “He can also heal Arctus from his dazed state, so we have at least one organic here who isn’t always screaming.”

Kiki quickly fashioned a sled from the nearby wood and plants, impressing me with her crafting skills. We got Arctus onto it and she started pulling him. I wished I had more time to catch my breath, but Arctus needed help more than I needed to rest.

“So wait, is Arctus from here?” I asked as I followed alongside Kiki.

“Not originally,” Kiki said. “He came from beyond the seas. But he has lived here a very long time.”

I tried to piece it together in my head a bit.

“So did he ever leave and pretend to be someone from my school?” I asked. “Or, not my school, like I said earlier, the boys’ school is different from the girls’ school, but they’re neighbors.”

“Your words about Arctus are too confusing,” Kiki said. “Save them for Mawiril.”

“OK…” I said, frustrated at not understanding any of this.

There was an awkward pause then, where the only sounds were the sled dragging on the ground and the wind in the trees.

“That doesn’t mean you have to remain silent about anything else.” Kiki said.

“Alright,” I said. “Oh! Have you seen like a really really really cute girl with short brown hair and fangs like mine? She has a flower in her hair. And she’s really cute?”

“No.”

“Dang,” I said. “That’d be Oka. I think she came here at the same time as me. We’re dating!”

Kiki didn’t answer, making me wonder if Exumi knew what dating was.

“OK, how about a girl who’s got darker skin than me and wavy hair, and is really athletic?”

“No?”

“A girl with glasses, then? Or a girl that can teleport? Oh, or one that’s either about your height or a big wolf monster depending on the situation?”

“I haven’t seen anyone else like you.” Kiki said. “There are few organics in this place that are left after Desola.”

“What’s Desola?”

“A place on this island,” Kiki said. “Where something very terrible happened.”

Kiki looked downward. I felt very bad for asking.

“Oh…” I said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Kiki said.

I didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t be awkward, so I stayed silent.

“I’d be curious to hear more about your friends,” Kiki said. “If you’d like to tell me about them for the rest of the way.”

“Oh, sure!” I said. “Well, I have to start with Oka. I met her over the summer. But back then, I didn’t know it was her…”