Claire returned with only one of Isaac’s plushies, the hat turtle, but ever since then he knew that she was the one. She cared, she was there, and nothing else seemed to matter.
Once the dread of the tide had died down, and everyone peeked their heads out of their shelters and began rebuilding, things started to develop quickly. For one, Isaac was excited to start living with his new fish mom. She was an adventurer after all. And adventurers did all sorts of cool things. He’d like to be like her one day.
That was what he had told officer Theedle, who had asked a lot of questions as they sat in a room with just a table and two squeaky chairs. He had asked Isaac many things, what he did all day, if he had any toys he really liked, what he thought of a bunch of people, what he thought of Claire. Officer Jerkins asked a lot about her, in that way Isaac had asked Uncle Tuttle if he really needed to eat his veggies. Isaac had only gotten to ask one question.
“Do you not like Claire because her skin is blue? It’s not slimy like a fish. I know because I touched it.”
The officer coughed, loud and awkward. “That’s not… She’s just a bit too high Tier. It’s dangerous to have her down here with all of us. And Mer-people have always stayed in the water. They like it better where it’s wet.”
“That’s ok. Our planet is called Wett, with a big W and two t’s. She’ll like it here.”
The officer didn’t ask any more questions after that.
Then he was let into a big room with lots of people sitting in rows upon rows. At first, he thought it was a movie theater, except for people who wanted to watch people doing… people things.
He had to answer the same questions there. Aunt Tuttle was crying, and he thought that it wasn’t fair for her to start caring for him now. For a moment, he thought that maybe he should lie, tell the whole world that Uncle Tuttle hit him with his stinking bottles and that Aunt Tuttle ate all his sweets. But Claire was right there, and so he decided to just tell the truth about the bottles, about the smell, and his allowance, for some reason.
And that was enough.
He was waiting at the foot of the big building with many pillars, looking about at the crowd of people mobbing him and Hammond. The questions and camera flashes practically bounced off of his no-nonsense face. It made sense that the reporters were all here for him, he was after all an adventurer, and Isaac had almost become used to it after it happened every single day.
"Hi, I'm Cammy Hearth from Lavender News. Could we get a quick comment on the recent disaster and your opinion on the adventurer association’s response to it?"
"No," Hammond said. And then continued staring up at the long stairway.
"Is it true that you’ve decided to put down the mantle of duty. Why would two high tiers settle on our quiet little world when—"
There was a crackle and a flash as Claire appeared at the top of the stairs with hands on her hips and a grin like a shark. It was so… weird and funny, as if she was trying to be action figure posing straight out of the box.
I wonder if food gets stuck in between those pointy teeth a lot, Isaac thought as she bounded towards them, skipping five steps at a time, before landing with a flash of fire on her heels.
“Pack your things Hammond. I have bought us an island. And a car.”
“Claar’Rhileigh—”
“My name is Claire. It is official.”
Hammond sighed and before Isaac knew what was happening, the floor opened up and seemed to swallow them. Only deep enough for them to land gently in a large underground tunnel lined with bricks. It smelled like a sewer, it probably was a sewer, and when he looked up the hole had already closed. Since neither Claire nor Hammond wanted to acknowledge that anything weird was going on, he guessed he should try his best and ‘man up’, as Uncle Tuttle always said.
“Claire,” Hammond said as they casually walked alongside a constant stream of rancid sludgy water. “I won’t ask how much you spent after high-tier taxation, but the car…”
“What about the car?” At an intersection, Claire wrapped an arm under Isaac’s and leapt the five meter distance in one casual hop. It was so cool, like flying. “Are you alright, little cuddlefish?”
“I saw a poop floating by,” Isaac said, kicking his legs happily. “Yeah, what about the car?”
Claire rolled her eyes. “It is fine. I have met a trusty supplier. He was very understanding. He smiled a lot, which means he had to have been nice. And I only had to bribe him a little.”
She lifted a manhole cover like it was nothing and in quick procession hoisted him out. There were many cars parked around, but somehow, Isaac knew exactly which one Hammond had meant.
The car was blue, and looked like someone had thrown it down a flight of stairs, then pulled it back up with a steel cord, then thrown it back down again out of spite. The hood had few smooth spots, and overall, it was rather cramped. Its single bench in the back was speckled with unidentifiable stains. She slapped the hood and the entire thing rattled.
It was the coolest thing Isaac had ever seen. He never got to drive in a car. Where would he have even gone, living on an island?
The drive there was filled with giddy feelings and so many sights Isaac hadn’t seen before. The mainland had bigly buildings and great ferris wheels, foods from all across everywhere and fish of all sizes, little markets and winding alleys, skill shops and ice cream stores.
“Ice cream?” Claire asked as she swerved dangerously around a line of pollards.
He got to eat enough to make him sick, an entire bucket’s worth, while they were parked in front of some other place Claire and Otto had to do some things at. It was a place where people dressed like adventurers were going in and out, with swords, staves, and other cool things. One of them was carrying a surfboard on his head, balancing an entire restaurant’s worth of teacups on it. The teacups were on fire.
Isaac waved, but he didn’t notice.
Shortly after, Claire was back, without Otto, but with another kid. He had spiky yellow hair like a dog, flying every which way. It looked like a hairstyle straight out of a movie. Isaac had to make space as he shuffled in the back of the car. Even though the boy appeared older than him, the moment Claire began driving he grabbed the side of his seat as if he was holding on for dear life.
The drive was a bit awkward after that. Isaac was trying to eat his ice cream more quietly while the new boy looked like someone had stuffed him into a tin can filled with worms.
During one cold bite their eyes locked. Isaac didn’t say anything. He was eating. He had an excuse.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
“Have you seen RedRaven Raptor?”
Isaac quietly shook his head.
“It’s a show. It’s on your shirt too.”
He looked down. There was a red splotch of color that could have been a raven, with lines running through like a claw mark.
“Uh-huh.”
“So you don’t know about it. Do you want to?”
He nodded, if only to find out whether it was about a red raven-raptor, or about a red raven who was coincidentally also a raptor. It was neither. The show was about a detective, apparently, who despite being only a Tier 6 mage, was regularly involved in schemes that threatened to take apart the entire empire.
Zach apparently liked his sidekick, Orange Melange, the most, because she mixed and matched colors to all kinds of wacky effects. He could talk a lot about his favorite show, as if he had it all memorized. Isaac’s ice cream was lying half-finished and partially melted by the time he took a breather.
“I’m Zach. And you?”
“Isaac. Want some ice cream?”
Zach scooted onto the seat next to him. “What flavor is it?”
“Green and… orange?”
“Sure!”
+++
Isaac didn’t know why his new home had to be on another island. They were terrible, and surrounded by so, so much water that had a habit of not staying where it should. It took two hours for the ferry to take the last stretch of the way, and Isaac stayed well away from the railing through all of it.
“There’s a pod of burgundy-whales swimming besides us. They’re as large as a humpback and fast as a swordfish in a straight line. You don’t wanna look, Isaac?” Hammond asked.
Isaac shook his head.
“Afraid of the water?”
Isaac nodded.
“Well, I understand that. We will be there soon.”
Isaac was glad to be finally off the ferry as much as he was glad to be away from Kanker Island when they arrived on a different island. This one was much bigger, and it was called Seagull Island, though he could see no seagulls. Green palms and vine-like growths covered it from the beach up to where the island rose many meters above sea level. It was a good place to go on adventures in, or to spot ships coming from far away.
Or to hide during a flood.
The image of an island flooded with monsters as they all balanced on the tippy-top of the hill briefly flashed through his mind.
He shook his head. It was new, and it was going to be great. Since Claire and Hammond were adventurers, they had probably chosen the coolest island in the world. An island filled with treasure and secrets, with wild boars and hidden pirate coves. An adventure island. But when he took his first step off the pier and looked over the old, worn houses, the sand covered in driftwood, and the same palms that grew everywhere else, he felt a little lost again.
It was hard not to be a little bit disappointed.
“So!” Claire clapped her hands together as she and Hammond lugged the last of their luggage off the idling car, which looked like it wouldn’t be driving anywhere anytime soon. “Welcome to your new home.”
The car gave a wheeze and a puff. Blue smoke started spilling from its hood. Claire was still smiling, though she looked a tad more uncertain.
“Hammond?”
“Mana-gas carborator probably gave out. I’ll go check on it out.”
“Ah. Right. So! First strokes - steps, first steps.” She turned to Isaac and Zach with a hands-on-on-her-hips pose and a thumb pointing to her chest like she was saying ‘I am me, here I am, look and see for yourself.’ “I am Claire and from this day forward, I will take care of you both. I do fire things to make people warm and welcome. I am also of merblood, but I am not from the mermen you have here on Wett. I am from all the way up there!” She pointed to the sky. “I am also not the best at Empire Standard, so if you need to learn it, get your languaging from my friend Hammond, alright?”
“Yes, miss Claire,” Isaac and Zack said roughly at the same time.
“Ah-ah, no miss, no misses, definitely no ma’am, sir, or royal titles. I am just Claire. Isn’t that right, Sir Hammond?”
Three pairs of eyes swiveled to the bulky dogman, who was looking at their pile of luggage like he wanted to stack it into perfect checkerboard squares. He was rummaging through them, making sure everything was at its place, and probably looking for car tools or something.
“You’re going to bring that title up forever just because of that one misunderstanding on Arneus, aren’t you?” He sighed. “I’m Hammond. I move dirt. I also make sure Claire doesn’t get you, me, or anyone else into trouble I can’t dig her out of. If you need any help, with fixing things or languaging” — he put that word in air quotes — “then give me a holler.”
“Thanks Mister Hammond,” said Isaac.
“Do we have to call you sir Hammond?” Zach asked.
Hammond sighed. “Just call me Hammond. Now, since Claire likes to forget things as much as she likes to rag on about my accidental knighting, I’ll spell the deal out for you: We’re going to build an orphanage on this island, a home for kids like you. This place used to have a town, but it was abandoned long before you were born.”
“I bet it’s ‘cause of all the floods,” Zach whispered to Isaac. “Did you know that Wett is the only planet that has monster floods like this?”
“It is however not the only one that is dealing with problems caused by monsters coming out of rifts, young Zaccharias,” Hammond said, having somehow overheard them. “I’ll be making a sweep for anything dangerous — monsters, rifts, deep holes or crevices — while you all set up, so no going into the forest until then.”
“Are we going to live in one of those houses?” Zach asked, nodding to an old stone building with a rotting roof.
“Unfortunately, until the carpenters and builders arrive, we will have to make do with the stars as our ceiling.”
“Camping!” Claire did a little air jump. “The important stuff can wait for later. Who wants to help build a fire and make s’mores?”
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Isaac and Zach would have loved nothing more. They had roast fish with some dried sort of lettuce-thing Claire had brought from her home-world as actual food before the s’mores. It tasted like pickles. And when everyone was done eating, and Hammond had made his third sweep of the island, they snuggled up in sleeping bags that felt smooth and enveloping like a tight hug.
“It’s probably high tier wool or something,” Zach whispered as they watched the last embers burn to the ground.
“But high tier stuff is really hard.” Isaac knew that because Aunt Tuttle always complained about the new mattress she had to share with Uncle Tuttle.
Zach, however, seemed to know better. “Higher tier doesn’t always mean harder. It’s just… more. More mana, more magic, more… essence.”
“Essence.” The word felt like a warm breath on a summer night. Like this one, except without the receding towers of stormy clouds on the horizon. “What do you think that means?”
“I don’t think. I know.” Zach smiled. “And I’m not telling.”
“Why not?”
“‘Cause it’s dangerous.” His eyebrows knit together and he lowered his voice like he was trying to imitate someone. “The wrong knowledge at the wrong time will get you hurt.”
Isaac’s brows furrowed as well. “That’s stupid.” And then, at the sight of Zach’s exposed back, he poked his armpit. “Tell me!”
“N-noo!” Zach yelped, squawking as he tickled Isaac back.
“Ahem.”
They froze. Hammond staring at them. A cold shiver went through Isaac’s body as their eyes met. He screwed up. They were in trouble, they were going to leave him—
“Sleeping is generally done with your eyes closed. And quietly.”
“Yes sir.”
“And stop calling me sir.”
“Yes… Hammy?”
He snorted. “Go to sleep. Tomorrow is a big day. For all of us.”
Hammond turned over, tucking an already fast-asleep Claire into the sleeping bag she had wormed her way out of. Then, after some shuffling, all that could be heard was quiet snoring. Despite the lingering feeling of awkwardness, Isaac rolled onto his back, stared up at the stars, and thought he had to be the luckiest kid alive.
Suddenly, he had a family again.
It was a miracle, everything that had and hadn’t happened to him. And as he drifted off to sleep, he did with the bone-deep knowledge that tomorrow was going to be a good day.