On October 24th, 2013, Nikolay turns 21 years old, and for this sacred day, Shen has prepared all kinds of exciting events for the two of them. For once, Shen wants to take charge and lead the two of them on a fun little journey. Everything planned for this day remains a secret to Nikolay.
“You know, you can tell me what you’re planning,” he says, only to be met with silence. “Something about ‘showing me something worthwhile’ and ‘not a lot of explanations’.”
“We’re not all that far off from Lake Platzhalter. Should be a nice ten-minute ride and like a half-hour walk. I even packed some lunch boxes,” Shen proposes.
“Or we could take a tram to a nearby park and have a little picnic there.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever gone swimming in this life. It’s bound to be a little chilly, though, but I’m sure you don’t mind since you’re not a fan of the summer heat.”
“Yeah. Heat won’t ever be my thing, and I always sweat like a pig,” Shen replies. “I’m sure you caught me all kinds of stressed out just trying to conceal my sweaty pits.”
“Haha. Kinda like running to the station to catch a bus and trying to conceal your heavy breath.”
“Yeah! Yeah! Like that. I’m a little out of shape, so I’m always worried about looking stupid.”
Though Shen believes it to be strange that Nikolay would know of exhaustion when it’s practically impossible for him to starve, he puts it on the back burner for now so they can enjoy his birthday. It’s such a nice and peaceful day. Not enjoying it to the fullest would be a crime.
“You know, you don’t have to do all this. I’d share my findings with you either way,” Nikolay says. He’s still a little keen on pushing Shen away.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I like hanging out with you because I wanna hang out with you.”
“Oh? Is that so?” he replies, blushing while facing the pavement.
“Look! Our tram!” he adds to divert from his feelings.
Platzhalter, though beautiful, takes a bit of a trek to get to from the station. If you are as directionally challenged as these two lovebirds, you’d probably take some time to get anywhere despite the endless amount of signage. From what little Shen remembers, from the few times his family ever went to the lake, there’s an incredibly scenic route across a bridge taking them all around the lake.
Their journey begins across atop a bridge. Along with a few others, they’re ejected by a horde of others trying to push through. There are four spots Shen would like to visit as they get to their destination. The first spot would be the little touristy shop that would somehow always be closed or too busy to buy anything from. He can only remember always being told to just keep going whenever he wanted some ice cream.
“Are you sure? You know… we could have gotten a decent freezer bag not too far off from here and bought like twenty decent bars of ice cream.”
“Oh, come on. Let’s get into the… lake-going mood? Or something like that!”
Shen is allowing himself to be guided by a false sense of nostalgia and just the need to try out even the most mundane things. But even that weird engagement may be to Nikolay’s liking. It’s hard not to love any aspect of the person you love most.
“Fine then! But you best believe I’m not spending a dime!”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Shen claims.
Almost fifteen minutes are down the drain just for some of the most expensive versions of cheap store-bought ice cream. The orange ice cream Shen had bought for himself immediately sticks to his upper lip as it was kept in a freezer so much colder than the Russian tundra.
“Want a bite?” he almost stammers to Nikolay. He’s barely capable of keeping his composure but manages to maintain an air of coolness.
Though Nikolay attempts to have a bite of Shen’s orange ice cream, Shen pulls away just to mess with him. He’s met with scorn, yet immediately after that, he learns that a troll cannot be trolled as Nikolay runs off with both snacking away till they’re halfway finished. As punishment, Shen hits Nikolay 21 times, which is the number of years the birthday boy has been alive.
“Fine. Fine. I’m sorry! We can share the rest of mine since you’re so much younger than me.”
“Haha. You’re so funny.”
Sarcasm.
They’re already well within view of the majority of the lake. It took them an hour from the start of their journey to get to their second side quest.
“It’s kind of stupid that it took over ten minutes just to be served some shitty ice cream bar,” Nikolay claims. “There was this weirdo being annoying about the prices, so that was great. Do you also have to deal with these kinds of people at your job? At your shitty kiosk?”
“Yep! Constantly understaffed while being swamped with shitty customers demanding you to somehow travel back in time and predict that they MAY have wanted a sandwich they’re asking for. Like, what the fuck do you want me to do? I’m about to clock out in two minutes, and you’re here antagonizing me over a cheese sandwich you could have made at home.”
There seem to be plenty of stories about borderline manic people expecting the world from minimum-wage employees just doing their jobs. Shen has accumulated so many in a span of two years that he has lost track of them.
“I know this is kind of embarrassing, but sometimes, right before my shift starts, I tend to just chill on the toilet and chill my nerves. I’ve also cried and gone straight to bed after some shifts too, so I guess there’s that,” Shen adds.
“You know, when I started off, I had to deal with getting yelled at quite often. The person I was replacing was tired of my supervisor. My supervisor can be a total bitch too. Had to endure all kinds of speeches about how she’d love to keep me but had to put in more effort. Had to deal with that for four months.”
“There’s also her sister being so cunty it’s ridiculous. She’s always looking for a fight. Customer or employee… It doesn’t matter. You will feel like shit after pretty much every shift with her, and you will not leave on time as long as she’s here.”
“But at least-”
“I need you to stop talking because you’re stressing me out.”
Nikolay can’t listen to Shen facing so much more than what should ever have been necessary.
“Why do you even put up with that? It’s not like you get paid well, either,” Nikolay argues.
“Well, I need a job and my parents want me to have one. Looking for a new job is also incredibly dreadful. Rejections even if you’re qualified for those jobs kind of sucks.”
“Then just take a break. It sounds like you need one.”
Shen rummages through his mind before deciding to drop it. It is Nikolay’s birthday. Now’s not the time to bring up uncomfortable topics. Now’s the time for a joyful little walk to their destinations. Spot number two is just a little playground he used to play on as a child. He’d always manage to fall on his face and start whining to his parents, and he’s about to recreate it, yet the weather seems to disapprove of it.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Maybe we should hurry. I feel like it’s about to rain.”
“Well… I guess we should eat before that, huh?”
He pulls out two lunchboxes, and upon popping them open, he’s met with a grim sight. They’re both scrambled and are starting to spoil. Though he’s made them right before meeting with Nikolay, they’re already a health hazard. Shen fights the urge to cry as his eyes well up.
“Well… I wasn’t expecting that. That’s not what I expected at all,” he says, trying to hold it all in.
“It’s okay,” Nikolay says as he embraces Shen.
Shen begins sniffling and crying, unloading pent-up frustrations that had occurred over the past few weeks. He was trying so desperately to just put on a brave front and endure it for just a day. Yet, in his eyes, all he’s doing is bringing about the worst birthday trip ever. They decide to head home for the day before it could rain, arriving just in time to avoid a flurry of raindrops.
“I’m sorry. It’s your birthday, yet I’m just sniveling little-”
“It’s fine. We all have days where we feel off. Yours just happened to be on my birthday,” Nikolay says, cutting Shen off before realizing how that may come across.
“I mean as… like… you know…” he rattles. “Everyone just has those days that absolutely suck. You wouldn’t be mad at me for having one of those days. So why should I be mad at you.”
“I’m also not a fan of those stupid, more traditional dates. Let’s just have fun our own way. It’s not like we’re going on our first date,” Nikolay adds.
“We’re dating???”
“Not yet! So pick another time for your first date, and then we’ll pick off there.”
Shen relaxes and takes a nap as Nikolay rejoices at his perfect response. Borrowing lines from his smoker benefactor, he has managed to quell this situation and put a rest to what could have been a disastrous fire.
“Woah! I said date! I said date! What does that mean?? He never said we’re dating! He just wanted to know more because I can fly!!”
He’s panicking on the inside as he orders a metric ton of junk food. Chicken nuggets, cheese bites, fries, chicken wings, and more…
Shen wakes up to the smell of fried goods assaulting his senses.
“Well, what do we have here?” he yawns while checking his phone. “And you even went ahead and started without me.”
“Well, it’s my birthday. Birthday kid gets the first slice,” he mumbles while he’s stuffing himself with fries.
“Come on! The fries are about to get cold, and they’re always so damn nasty and soggy when you waste too much time.”
After a hearty meal, they both go on another adventure. Once again, they’re facing another monster not too far off from another grand palace of suffering. This time, they’re visiting a pretty run-down secondary school in dire need of repairs. According to rumors, every 20 years, there’s a suicide in this school making the headlines. They always seem to garner the same old responses of condolences and regrets while nothing is truly done to prevent these deaths. The following Monday is supposed to be the next death.
“I never realized how prevalent these things are. Do you think they could be responsible for disasters, diseases, and more?”
“Oh yeah. Absolutely,” Nikolay mumbles. “I have several odd events that align with that, but for my hypothesis, I’d have to get overseas, and I’m not taking those risks. I’ve always had my doubts about using my powers out in the open.”
Now that they’re on the rooftop, they can spot just one lone green cube behaving strangely. It is unlike any of the monsters they’ve faced so far and is spinning on its own axis, unresponsive to any stimuli till they step closer. It immediately rapid fires at Nikolay. Small, identical little versions are fired like pellets, yet they’re incapable of harming Nikolay. Slightly annoyed yet perplexed, he draws closer until it manifests a bigger version and fires it into Nikolay to explode into smaller cubes.
“You’re really annoying and not worth reporting on. I came this far for nothing!” he grumbles as he steps closer.
“I’d appreciate it if you stepped away,” commands the voice of a woman echoing behind them. She sounds playful and awfully casual for being faced with possibly powerful strangers.
“That’s not a demon. It’s just an experiment gone wrong.”
Nikolay backs away as Shen steps aside. Wary, they simply observe her walking to the cube. She skillfully steps between them and the cube, concealing the main event. Before they could turn to watch her deal with this supposed experiment, it had already vanished through mysterious means.
“You’re not territorial at all. I guess there are a few people with heart in Christa’s territory. I’m Evergreen.”
They can’t make sense of her with Nikolay, and Nikolay is even afraid of talking to her. Something about her confidence screams danger. Her black beret is littered with oval green gems. Her biker jacket only has a small golden star on the back of her shoulder, while her plaid layered skirt is decorated with white and all sorts of hues of green. Her purple stilettos could mean that she’s not combat-ready or just so powerful that even the most restrictive clothing allow battles to be a cakewalk.
“Who-”
“We’re not all that well-versed with territories and all that stuff,” Shen claims. He approaches her with tact and caution. He had to cut off Nikolay for a more diplomatic approach.
“This is Sunny, and I’m Selen. I’m sorry. I didn’t quite catch your name. Would you mind repeating it?”
“Well… other Dream Catchers call me Evergreen, but you can call me Alina. We’re all friends here, right?”
Nikolay glares at Shen, waiting for instructions.
“I’d rather not divulge our actual names. We’ve had run-ins with more aggressive fellows before. I’m sure you’ve heard all kinds of rumors.”
He’s gracefully dancing around anything that might give away how much they know while trying to bait her into imparting more knowledge.
She hesitates before answering.
“That’s understandable. Considering you’re so close to Berlin, I can’t help but feel sorry for you.”
“Well, we have to go, Selen. Two more demons are nearby.”
Nikolay seems to have caught on as well.
“I’ll assist you. Being a rookie in these trying times can’t be easy.”
Just a few hundred meters away from this school are two demons inhabiting the same space. It’s so odd that Evergreen has to comment on this rarity. As soon as they enter the space, they’re invited to quite the peaceful view. Mannequins are strung up on crosses lodged into this perfect little flower field. These endless greens, along with the cloudy skies and the warm breeze, are a blessing to all those trying to take shelter from harsh weather conditions.
Nikolay and Shen observe the young woman entertaining the young girl with hand-clapping games one would do in elementary or with young siblings. Standard, the older-looking one, wears a white dress decorated with colorful dots. If it truly were a girl, it would be the prettiest one anyone had ever laid their eyes on. Two-Faced illicits zero hostility. Its frilly dress, the comically huge sunhat, the little pink jump rope tied around its waist, and its velcro sandals are incredibly cute.
Alina takes her sweet time walking towards the two monsters. Her neon green mane sways according to her steps as she draws closer and closer to the two demons. Only then do Shen and Nikolay realize that the mannequins are wearing faces that had clearly been sheared off of victims. They rattle as the older-looking humanoid jumps at Alina. A simple slap is all it takes for Alina to send it flying through several mannequins.
Meanwhile, the little humanoid steps past Alina, joyfully skipping towards Nikolay. Its face still remains entirely covered as it unties the jump rope attached to its waist. Shen remains on guard as it comes closer.
“I don’t think it’s weak. You should probably shoot it!”
“Shoot her? What’s wrong with you?? It’s just a little girl.”
Shen is flabbergasted at Nikolay’s response and watches the two of them prance around till Nikolay shrieks at Two-Faced’s face with utter horror. Meanwhile, Alina is just watching the two of them as she is tearing Standard apart limb by limb till a gem spills out of it. Nikolay is hit by the jump rope that seems to hold enough weight to crack his skull, yet he makes quick work of Two-Faced as he crushes its skull with his hands. The space dissipates.
“You could have shown me your cards,” she sneers, aware that she has gone out of her way to conceal her ability.
“That’s rich coming from you!” Nikolay grunts.
She laughs as they part ways, never to be seen again, leaving them puzzled. The only thing she has left them are two green cubes. Though they’ve gathered lots of information with this little session of oddities, they also have so many more questions, leaving them even more perplexed than ever before. Yet, despite all that, Nikolay is satisfied celebrating his best birthday so far.