“Be there quick, Abigail!” Alex shouted down the hatch as he clicked his lamplight around his belt loop. He began descending on the ladder with deft careful precision, skipping a few rungs as he went.
Down deeper at the mines, Abigail pushed to her feet, rising.
Pierre had been frozen, awe-struck at what’s inside her pack. “Garrrrrr?” He rumbled, the sound gritty like garbled gravel.
Confusion stopped her from whistling another call for help. That didn’t sound like her dad.
Pierre adjusted his eyeglasses as his eyes went fully red. Skin darkening to a purplish shade of blue then the edges of his body turned phantasmagoric as he shrank down and down to the size of a basketball. “Gar! Gar! Gar!” It turned to a strange purple creature, babbling excitedly with a Cheshire grin. Her backpack had dropped to the floor and was strewn open haphazardly. Then the creature climbed into it, giggling as he went.
The grim atmosphere soon shifted the moment the shadowy animal was gone out of sight. In a heartbeat, Abigail rushed forward and zipped up her pack in record speed, flung the front flap to strap it close and looped the laces around it over and over again until the knots coiled tight.
Right in time, Alex jumped from above causing bits of shale and rocks to fly upon his impact. “I’m here! Where is it?” He pulled a mallet strapped from his back and levelled it in front of him, ready for a fight.
Abigail clutched her backpack close to her chest with both arms, hugging it. “I think I just discovered a new cave monster.” She said breathless and in shock.
“Where?!” He grew alert, swinging his mallet around in anticipation.
“Right here. In my backpack.”
He stepped closer, “Are you good? Are you hurt?”
“Nothing serious.”
“Fa fa fa!” A sweet tune bubbled up from inside Alex’s jacket.
Alex gasped as he carefully extricated a pink cotton candy ball with large perky brown ears. “Starfa.” she sang, blowing on the stray pink curls covering half of its eyes.
“Geezus! What is that?” she exclaimed.
Starfa gave a bigger toothy smile at Abigail’s shock, wiggling one hand in a regal wave. A single hand wave emitted pulses of shiny pink light that dissolved into Abigail’s skin. It had a refreshing effect like she was breathing in clean air into her lungs.
“Woah! That felt wonderful.”
Alex gave a disbelieving chuckle. “It’s a fairy, isn’t it?”
A glint of understanding lighted up Abigail. “Of course! Do you think.. they might come from the comet we’ve just seen?”
“They?”
Curious, she opened her pack tentatively.
“Garr.” it growled, jumping straight out of the pack.
Abigail caught it easily with a sweep of her arm, caging it against her chest in a hug. “I would have thought it was one of those shadow beings but its purple shade is nothing like I’ve ever seen before.”
Alex stepped back, shielding his pink ball of cotton candy “Is it dangerous?”
She pondered over their earlier encounter, “It can shape-shift. Terrified the hell out of me.”
“What do you think it wants? What is it here for?”
The purple monster had its one ear perking slightly but it seemed transfixed by the amethyst it was currently holding. It seemed to be slowly discovering the stone’s refined planes. The shadowy creature was rapt in observing how the amethyst was catching light.
“I don’t know. But Marlon is gonna want to hear about this. Best we get this to him.”
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Alex’s brows almost reached his hairline in surprise, “Abigail I’ve seen the man cage up skeletons for entertainment. Against their will. This monster, if it even is a monster, means no harm.”
“You don’t know anything.” She frowned, “The city’s changed you, Alex. I’ll have you know that we’re far away from a city. Around here, we can’t be complacent around monsters.”
“Yeah? Then why haven’t you cut it up yet with your trusty wicked kris? Why are you holding it like it’s not gonna bite you?”
When she didn’t answer, he continued. “You know there is something different with these... creatures. And it’s not dangerous. It’s special. Are you really gonna give that away to some old mountain man who doesn’t know how to work a radio?”
“Hey. That’s Marlon you’re talking about. He has saved more lives than you care to think. You can’t dismiss his wisdom just because he’s old and out of date.”
“I can.” He said with a hard stare. “It’s long been proven in this century that creatures living here have autonomy on their own, thoughts and feelings. And yet that old man don’t even acknowledge a whack of it.”
“Careful there, Alex. You’re starting to sound like a Gotoro sympathizer.”
He leaned back, shrugging off a shoulder. “I refuse to have any more killed tonight. Monster or not. Even so, these monsters.. these creatures that live here, this place is their home. And we’re trespassing. We should go.”
“Gar! Garr!” Said the purple creature excitedly, red eyes glowing stronger as he nodded at Alex with a grin.
“He knows what I’m talking about.”
She gritted, “He?”
“He doesn’t seem to deny it. What’s his name?”
“Does he need to have a name.” She said, rolling her eyes.
“Starfa seems to love it.” He patted a clinging cotton candy-sized ball to his green jacket. “She lights up. Go on. Try.”
Abigail slanted her eyes and stepped forward. “Starfa?”
Starfa bounced in delight, landing on Abigail’s shoulder.
“Oh geez!”
“Chill!” He chuckled, “She’s completely harmless.”
Starfa started tutting at her with authority, making disapproving noises as she wiped Abigail’s dirt-splattered cheek.
“That won’t be necessary. Thank you, Starfa.”
“Fa fa.” She sang with a graceful nod.
Alex plucked back Starfa to his shoulder, “It’s almost like she understood you.”
She levelled her gaze at Starfa, “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Her stubby legs flailed wildly when she jumped, seeming to float as she came back down “Fa fa.”
Then Abigail lifted up the purple creature and levelled her gaze at him. “Can you understand me?”
A laugh full of mischief bubbled out of him.
Alex said fondly, “That laugh reminds me what a prankster Shane used to be when we were little.”
She didn’t break her stare and continued, “Were you about to hurt me?”
The purple creature looked genuinely surprised and shook his head.
“Well that does it.” She mumbled.
“What are you gonna do?”
Sighing, “I just want this night to be over and done with. C’mere lil’ monster, gimme back my amethyst and we’ll be out of your smooth shadowy hair.”
He appeared affronted, hugging the amethyst and treating it with a reverence usually reserved for religious sacraments.
“That’s my amethyst.” She seethed, pointing daggers at him.
“Abigail, just let it go. You can get another one.”
“No it’s mine. I worked hard for it. And he’s taking it away.”
The purple creature released his purple jaw, elongating it to a wide stretch until his tongue whipped out lashing at Abigail.
With a turn of her head, she dodged it. “What the fuck?”
Starfa quickly sang a merry tune that took the creature’s attention away from Abigail then with her sweet voice, she chilled it down to a lulling tune, effectively putting him to sleep.
Wordlessly, Abigail began gently setting down the creature on the floor. “I’ll just set it down and go.” She plucked the amethyst back to her pocket with no resistance.
“Uh, Abigail. You can’t do that. Other cave dwellers might eat this one alive.”
“So?”
Alex gave her a chastising look.
She raised her arms in surrender, “Fine! Fine. We’ll take the purple monster back to base level where it’s safe.”
“Where Marlon and other guild fighters will likely find and hack him to pieces in the morning? You gotta give him a better chance than that.”
“Easy for you to say. Your newly discovered creature is as harmless as a fly while mine scared me halfway to death.”
He shrugged, “So he’s a little bit of a prankster.”
“Prankster?” She said, incredulous. “He shape-shifted into my dad!”
His eyes narrowed, “Why is that a bad thing?”
Her shoulders drooped, sighing in defeat. “Nevermind. Let’s just go.” Picking up a sleeping lil’ prankster off the floor, she put him back to her pack. “I want this night to be over with.”