The sight of Neverstien never failed to amaze her.

A metropolis spanning miles and miles, beyond the rest of the world’s technology. Huge towers and structures loomed over them, and the entire place was ablaze with light. Rivers snaked through the city, with beautifully constructed bridges arcing over.

Reina sighed. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Her classmates seemed to think so too because they were gazing at Neverstien in awe as well. Reina giggled. She had to admit, she was proud they loved Neverstien so much!

“Okay, kiddos! We are going to reach Neverstien soon!” Xia said, clapping her hands.

One of the kids raised her hands. “What do you mean we’re going to reach Neverstien soon? Do we have to go on the boats again?”

Xia looked taken back. “What? No! The island is moving!”

“EHH!?”

“What’s the matter?” Reina asked worriedly. Did Xia say something wrong? Were they all offended? Or maybe they had a voice sickness!

“You’re fine with this!?” Dawn asked.

Reina nodded. “Of course, why not?”

Dawn spluttered. “Be-because the force to move an entire island-it’s insane!”

Reina shrugged. “It doesn’t seem too weird to me.”

Adam eyed her. “You’re a weird girl, you know that?”

“Thanks!”

Xia chuckled, but her eyes promised pain. “Okay, stop flirting now,” she said in a sickeningly sweet voice. “I wouldn’t want such a handsome young face as yours to never flourish.”

Adam gulped. “Of course not!” He backed away quickly. Reina pouted.

“Xia! I’m never going to have any friends if you keep doing that!”

Xia smiled. “Why do you need friends if you have me?” She gasped. “Are you saying you hate me?!” Tears started swimming in her eyes.

Reina panicked. “No, no! Of course not, I love you!” She quickly hugged and comforted her friend.

Immediately, said friend bounced up, completely rejuvenated. “That’s great! Now, I think we’ve spent enough time here. Let’s go down!”

Cue a lot of groaning and whining. Reina hid a smile. She didn’t want to be mean, but she did like the fact she could stay up however long she wanted. After all, she lived here!

“Down you go! Hop off!” Xia ordered.

All her classmates’ faces began to pale. “Hop off?! Are you insane?” Brandon demanded to know.

Xia scowled. “Guess you want to find out?” Grabbing him by the collar, she threw him off the tree. “The rest of you! Follow him! I need some time! Except for you, Reina!”

Nobody questioned her orders, scrambling to launch themselves off the tree. Reina wondered why they seemed so scared of her. After all, Xia was just joking around!

As she jumped, Dawn sent Reina a look that made her worried. Why was Dawn so scared for her? The only other person here was Xia, and they were friends! She would never hurt her!

Xia sighed once the last of them were off. “Great! Now, it’s time for some-“ Her phone rang and she picked it up. Her face quickly became downcast.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Are you okay?” Reina asked once the phone call was over. Xia shook her head.

“I have to go down and help them find their houses. I mean, they’re not kids!”

Reina smiled. “You’ll help them, Xia! You’re always so nice and kind!”

Her grip on her phone slackened and Xia turned away. Reina heard her whisper, “Not fair, using the cuteness like that.” Straightening up, she said, “Okay, fine. Just settle in, all right? And don’t let anyone else see you!”

Reina’s happy mood dampened a bit. “Why?” Over 3/4 of her plans included meeting up with her old friends again!

Xia shook her head. “Please, just, don’t.”

She looks so sad, Reina thought. “Of course, I’ll stay indoors.”

Xia beamed and jumped off, hollering as she went.

“Wonder what that was about,” Reina murmured to herself. She liked to believe she’d gotten to know when or when not Xia was serious, and that was definitely her serious face.

“Eh, I’m sure it’s nothing,” Reina said and skipped her way to her house. It was a bit hard to remember exactly where it was, but soon she remembered it was near the rock!

“Found it!” Reina cheered herself on as she spotted the slim, smooth boulder sticking up. Behind it was her house!

“Looks like we’re going through the backdoor,” Reina whispered as she shuffled her pockets for the keys. After several minutes though, she looked back up, pale.

“Whoops.” Then her face brightened. “That’s right! I’ll just ask Leo!”

Bounding up to the door, she knocked hard. “Leo? Leo, it’s me. Can you open the door?”

There was some shuffling behind the door and Reina twitched with barely contained anticipation. Finally, a dark mass eclipsed the door windows, and it swung open.

“LEO!!” Reina bounded forward, straight into the fur. She rubbed her face against it, enjoying the unmistakable feeling.

Leo let out a roar and nuzzled Reina’s face. She giggled as Leo, the tiger, licked every piece of Reina, including her new uniform.

“Oh, come on, Leo! I just got that today!” Reina protested, but she was grinning. She couldn’t help it! She’d missed Leo for so long.

Leo took no heed to her fake complaints and nudged his nose underneath her skirt, sliding her down to his back. He shut the door with his paw and made his way over to the living room.

Here, he plopped Reina down onto the carpet and then promptly sat on her, causing her to let out an “Oomp!”

“Leo! Can’t-breathe!”

Leo curled himself up and placed his head next to hers, keeping one eye open as if he wanted to always make sure she was here. Reina smiled and rubbed her face against his.

“All right, all right.” Reina checked her place.

It was just like she remembered, which was a shock, to be honest. It should have been covered in dust!

Her kitchen was blank as usual, never used to cook. Her living room had a huge fireplace in the middle, with an even larger TV resting against the wall. There were three couches, and 20 bean bags, as she was a firm believer in comfort over everything.

Shoved into the corner of an entire wall covered with bookshelves was a winding staircase, that led up to her bedroom. If it was like the rest of the house and in perfect condition, it would have fluffy carpet, a four-poster bed, and lava lamps.

A lot of them.

“Where’s Rabbit?” Reina asked Leo. He blinked slowly in response.

“Ohhh. So he’s hanging over at hers?” Leo nodded in confirmation. “That’s great, I needed to see her anyway as we-Rabbit!”

Rabbit hopped through the doorway (who knows how he opened the door?) and made a leeway straight for Reina. He knocked off her hood and nestled in her hair, making a small noise of comfort.

“Awwwww,” Reina muttered, enjoying the familiar feeling of warmth. “I missed you guys as well.”

Leo rumbled deep in his chest before Reina started making her way out.

“Leo!” Reina gasped as Leo stopped her with one furry paw on her chest. “I need to do something first, all right?”

Leo gazed at her before letting her loose. He still followed her up the staircase, displaying unbelievable agility for a creature of his size.

Reina opened the curved door and entered her bedroom. Yep, everything was just as she left it. Opening her curtain and letting the rays shine through, Reina turned to Leo and Rabbit.

“No peeking, all right?” Leo grudgingly closed his eyes and Rabbit covered his eyes with his ears.

Making sure nobody was there, Reina headed to her bed. On the bed frame was a rectangular sheet of metal, with 8 small bumps; 4 in 2 rows. She headed towards the second to last one on the bottom row and pressed hard.

There was a click and the middle part of the carpet suddenly dropped. Rolling off her bed, Reina moved the carpet aside to reveal an open compartment underneath her floor.

She reached into her cloak, pulling out the box she’d made sure to get from the orphanage. Checking to make sure it was there, Reina placed the box inside the apartment, before pushing the button again. The compartment was hidden once more, and doubly so once Reina pulled the carpet over it.

“You can look now!” Reina chirped, much to Leo’s relief. Reina went to the large painting hanging on the wall and slid it up, revealing yet another secret space. This time, Reina placed the section of the box which contained the weapons and tools. After all, she still wanted to help people with their weapons.

Sliding the painting close once more, Reina dove into her sheets. Leo clambered on, flattening her again, while Rabbit squeaked in shock.

Reina sighed, content, and fell asleep.