[center][img]https://images-ext-2.discordapp.net/external/ykMJ2vk1ilQp8QV1z-CruoKZw5xQwX4ZKW50d7a4Fwg/%3Fcb%3D20190222195549/https/vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/fantendo/images/f/f1/Sakura_Spirit.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?width=138&height=300[/img] [h3][color=fff79a]Kasugano Sakura[/color][/h3]
Level 2: 3/20
Location: In Lumbridge, collaboration with Lugubrious
Word Count: 3,062
Points Gained: 3
New EXP Balance--- Level 2: 6/20 [/center]

	For one of the few people in the whole town devoid of Galeem’s influence, Michael did not look comfortable. The expression on his face suggested that he didn’t expect in a million years to be addressed by either Curly or Sakura, and in a billion years to want to answer back. Now that the girl could get a closer look at him, ‘gentleman’ was a more polite than accurate way to think of him. His clothing was quality, but neither up to date in terms of fashion nor well maintained. His stubble, his hairline, and general manner all spoke to a former big timer grown old and fallen on harder times, which a jaunt through the World of Light probably didn’t help. The way he tended to avoid people’s eyes suggested a reluctance -or inability- to come to terms with all of the weirdness that surrounded him, and a desire to keep it at length.

Still, when Sakura spoke to him, he got her meaning quickly enough. Glancing around, he scratched the back of his head. “Yeah. Should be fine. The people just behave like themselves, as far as I can tell. Just don’t start any fights, ‘cause they sure as hell don’t back down from a fight, no matter who they are.” He went quiet and looked over at the pig merchants, making it clear that the burden of continuing the conversation lay on Sakura’s shoulders.

Sakura nodded, relaxing a little bit. Still a bit uncomfortable, but this person definitely seemed like someone she would pass in the street. Or at least give her weird looks when she was practicing her moves in public. [color=fff79a]"Okay, then, well...pleased to meet you!"[/color] She said, doing a polite little bow. 

Sakura decided to just ask the big question first. [color=fff79a]"Is there any way to get things back to normal? Mister…?"[/color] She trailed off, giving the man a little room to answer her question and then fill in the blank with his own name. 

“Uh, Michael de Santa,” the man replied, recognizing the prompt. In remarkable alignment with Sakura’s thoughts, he’d given her a brief but still visible look when she bowed. Evidently the gesture featured neither in his culture nor any he was familiar with. “And yeah, this guy called the…’Master of Masters’.” Michael recited the name as if it was ridiculous, which it was. “He told us when we arrived here that if we beat the champions of that angel ball thing, we can fight it directly. Once it goes down, things should go back to normal.” Now that he said it out loud, he didn’t know if he exactly believed it, either. At least in this world, though, it seemed like anything could happen.

A racket drew his gaze. Some ways down the town’s road, another pair of wooden carts pulled by cats approached the guild hall from the same direction as the bridge Sakura crossed earlier. A blonde teenage boy rested on both, one in blue and the other in red. At least one of them Michael recognized, and he pulled in a breath through closed teeth.

Sakura had listened excitedly, now that Mr. Michael de Santa had actually outlined a plan. Defeat the champions, then beat the final boss. It was like one of those video games her little brother played! 

Sakura was about to ask another question when he turned to look at something. Her big brown eyes followed his gaze and she saw the carts. Being pulled by cats, again.

 [color=fff79a]"What’s wrong? Are those good cats or bad cats?"[/color] She asked, looking back and forth between Michael and the strange sight. But Sakura had seen weird stuff in her time, so she was already becoming acclimated to this entirely new level of weirdness. Right now it was just inexperience and still some shock that was keeping her a little detached. Like some part of her was still holding onto the idea that this might just be a very vivid dream.

 Michael shook his head. “I dunno about the cats, other than there’s a bunch of ‘em in this town here and they seem okay. But one of those kids went out with the others to take out the boss of this region this morning.” He frowned, his forehead creased with concern. “Must have gotten hurt. But it doesn’t make sense. There’s this...robot lady who was with them who can heal anything. And they went out in a monster truck. They must have been hauling him a long time.”

Sakura looked at the cats and the people they carried, and then back to Michael. Overall her head seemed to be going on a bit of a cycle. After a moment she raised a finger in the air, and then pointed it the cats. [color=fff79a]"Oh! I know. I saw them poof."[/color] She made a little poofing motion with her hand. She remembered them appearing on the outskirts of town with a robot. At the time she hadn’t thought much of it because at the time her brain decided to just skim over the bizarre occurrence.

[color=fff79a]"I dunno what I thought it was but, maybe those cats can teleport? I know like, three people who can teleport. Never any cats before, though. But I guess anything is at the table now."[/color] Sakura said with a shrug. She also noted him saying something about a robot lady and a monster truck, and a boss.

[color=fff79a]"So there are people trying to get things back to normal, though? Do you know when they’ll be back?"[/color]

An embarrassed look fought for control of Michael’s face. “Uh...yeah. The team I’m with. A bunch of us met over in another region, and then more came along as we went. I...well, me and Franklin, we...had some other stuff to do, but the others went across the plains this morning.” Regret tinged Michael’s voice. “I’ve got no idea when they’ll get back. They might just keep going in that direction when they finish. If, I mean. Last time we fought a boss, well...a couple of us didn’t make it. But I’m sure they’ll be fine. This time.”

As Michael spoke, Sakura glanced over her shoulder at Curly. Maybe she was being a bit presumptive, but from the way Michael spoke it sounded like he was one of the ‘amazing adventurers’. That’ll show her for judging a book by it’s cover! She assumed he was some American guy who lived in a big house in California and did nothing all day long, but it turned out he was actually an adventurer! What didn’t sound quite as good, though, was his mention of people not making it. He looked worried about them.

[color=fff79a]"Oh, well... You guys are pretty strong, huh? Do you think I could join? I could help!"[/color] She asked, preemptively adding on a bit of defence on her part since most a lot of people somehow got the impression that she wasn’t actually that good at fighting just from looking at her. Even if it was really dangerous, these people were the first path she had come across. If there was a fight to be fought she couldn’t just sit on the sidelines the whole time and do nothing. Maybe they could find her family along the way, too, if they travel great distances.

Michael nodded. “The others are strong, I’m just good with a rifle. But yeah, I’m sure they’d be glad to have you. I bet you have crazy powers or something, huh?” He only guessed, but by now he felt pretty confident in such guesses. In this world, anyone who didn’t fade into the background for sure had some kind of special ability. Normal people getting by with just their skills and some guns were a rare find. In a way it made him feel special, but the damage he’d done to his enemies so far had been with borrowed power. Michael the man was just a man who’d lost his edge. Trying not to feel inadequate, he told Sakura, “If you want to join the team, you’ll have a tough time catching up to them. They drove. There’s these Sesame Street-looking birds here that the people here ride called Chocolates...or something, but you’d need a car. Unless you can fly. It’s a big world. The kid who got sent back might be more helpful to ya.”

Above Michael’s head, off in the pristine blue sky, a wandering eye might catch sight of something out of place. It looked like a bird at first glance, but the shape wasn’t quite right. And with almost imperceptible slowness, it was getting bigger.

Sakura nodded along, her smile growing a little bit. She did have some pretty crazy powers! As he spoke though, she wondered how she was going to find these people. Let alone catch up to them. Still, it seemed like some of the travelling adventurers had returned somehow, so she could probably find out from them. Maybe finding a Chocolate bird would help? 

Sakura chuckled a little bit.[color=fff79a]"No, I can’t fly. Not yet, anyway!"[/color] She said jokingly, raising an eyebrow knowingly. [color=fff79a]"Well, thank you so much, Mr. de Santa. You..."[/color] She narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of the thing as it got bigger. [color=fff79a]"Do you see that?"[/color] She asked with a squint, pointing above his head at the encroaching shape. 

What the girl said seemed like a joke, but Michael found himself half-believing it anyways. He didn’t get much time to think about it, though, as she seemed to spot something behind him. Desperately hoping he wasn’t falling for the oldest trick in the book and about to get punked, he looked over his shoulder. When he followed Sakura’s finger he saw that she wasn’t him for a fool. “Huh, yeah. What [i]is[/i] that?” He narrowed his eyes, determining that whatever it was seemed to be getting closer. “Some kind of eagle maybe. Or a-”

“DRAGON!” Came a full-throated yell from one of the Lumbridge watch towers. The [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/fireemblem/images/3/35/Donnel_%28FE13_Artwork%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20130509152851]sentry[/url] waved for the villagers’ attention, pointing at the thing in the sky. “It’s a doggone fire-breather, dangit! Someone git over t’the guild hall ‘n holler at the adventurers! This ain’t a prank, folks!” A chorus of chatter and outcries rose in response, with a few of the townspeople making a beeline down the road for the castle situated there. The adventurers already out and about took to their heels, rushing to gather and equip their gear while heading toward battle positions. All the while the [url=https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/dragalialost_gamepedia_en/thumb/c/ca/210002_01_portrait.png/420px-210002_01_portrait.png?version=69dd729a103dbf74dcbbe50b683b29c5]dragon[/url] got closer, descending straight for the town.

Sakura had startled, reeling back from the fact that she and everyone in town was about to be attacked by a dragon. Everyone was taking up their battle stations! 

[color=fff79a][i]Oh, my gosh! Should I fight? I should fight, right? I should help! I’ve never fought a dragon before![/i][/color] Sakura looked around, whirling to try and find the right place to be. Eventually she tried to find Curly with her eyes and follow her, or failing that, look back to Michael for help. [color=fff79a]”What should we do!?”[/color] She shouted, looking ready to zip off in any direction at any moment. 

Everything was happening too fast. Pigs were panicking. Curly had already disappeared, having forgotten all about her new acquaintance out of panic for the townpeople’s safety. Adventures were pouring and stumbling out of the guild hall. But it was too late. The dragon hit the ground a little way from the town’s edge and slid for a short way. After coming to a stop, it sat back on its haunches and looked over the assembled people. Sakura narrowed her eyes and de-tensed a little bit. Not what she expected. 

“Hello!” She exclaimed in a loud but distinctly feminine voice. “Sorry to disturb you folks, but have any of you seen my dear, sweet prince? Just a few moments ago I received this awful sensation, like something terrible happened to him…”

Sakura smiled, a little embarrassed for getting so worked up over nothing. The blonde-haired boy Sakura saw earlier stepped out from the baffled ranks of adventurers. He looked less confused, more embarrassed. “Mym?”

The dragon’s face lit up with joy. “Darliiiiiiiiiiing!” Power welled up within her and her body was consumed by flame. It blazed for a brief period before beginning to shrink, growing smaller and smaller. After a second it condensed into a beautiful [url=https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/9f8788ae-e8f6-426d-bd6f-3ba0da520d49/dd4iq1t-f4971df3-0098-41cf-9751-a14bab91ac49.png/v1/fill/w_1039,h_769,strp/mym_by_pinklefairy_dd4iq1t-pre.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0xMTg0IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvOWY4Nzg4YWUtZThmNi00MjZkLWJkNmYtM2JhMGRhNTIwZDQ5XC9kZDRpcTF0LWY0OTcxZGYzLTAwOTgtNDFjZi05NzUxLWExNGJhYjkxYWM0OS5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTYwMCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.0D1ILAErF8vRunllYU1hDCW0RsSInga7sQOnhLVKGVc]woman[/url] in regal garb, bearing horns and a tail very much like the dragon who sat there a moment before. Without hesitation she launched forward onto her feet and sauntered straight to the prince, her tail swishing behind her. Before he could object he disappeared into an overaffectionate hug. “Oh, darling! For a moment I thought something bad happened to you, but here you are, safe and sound. As if the flames of our love could die!”

Euden worked to extricate himself. He tried to say something, but [url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/Shulk.png]another boy[/url] beat him to it. “Euden, you didn’t tell us you had a girlfriend!” he ribbed him good-naturedly. His tease helped break the tension filling the scene, turning pent-up apprehension into relief as people realized that they weren’t due for a dragon fight after all.

[color=fff79a]”Don’t we feel stupid now, huh?”[/color] She said aloud to everyone nearby rubbing the back of her head. [color=fff79a]”It was a nice dragon lady the whole time!”[/color] Sakura stated the obvious, shaking her head with a grin on her face. She felt rude, but it seemed like the dragon lady didn’t care much. 

After a moment, Sakura realised she would probably have to go talk to that boy named Euden since Michael had indicated him as a member of the adventuring team. So she slowly made her way closer to the conversation, kicking at dirt with her sneakers and trying to subtly detect if the dragon lady or the two boys had creepy red eyes or normal eyes. Or normal creepy red eyes. When she got close enough, she could see without much trouble that the older boy and the horned woman both had Galeem’s red eyes, but those of Euden -as his friend called him- were blue.

As Sakura closed the distance, she looked over at Euden. Trying not to interrupt- but also, really wanting to talk to Euden- she spoke up. Here goes nothing!

[color=fff79a]”Uh, hey, hello. My name is Sakura, and I heard you were an adventurer?”[/color] She asked, her voice trending upward in pitch as it turned from a statement into a question. She made eye contact with Euden, and then brought her finger up to her cheek and pulled on the skin to emphasise her natural eye color. She did that a couple times, leaning towards Euden. 

The crowd was starting to thin, its members going off to resume their own business since what was going on between the prince and the dragon was clearly none of theirs. For his part, Euden blinked at Sakura repeatedly, his expression quizzical. It took him a few moments to understand. “Oh! You’re also…?”

He put that on hold a moment to try and push his admirer off him, “Mym, please! Not in front of everyone!”

“Oh, of course, dear!” She hopped backward, clasping her hands together. “I will happily save all my love for when everyone’s gone.”

“Thank you,” Euden breathed. He turned to Sakura, sheepish. “Pardon us. I’m Euden, and this is Mym. She’s a friend I haven’t seen in a while.” The shapeshifter waved, winking as though saying the prince surely didn’t mean just ‘friend’. “I’d love to chat, but my friends are in danger. They’re fighting the zone boss right now, and I need to hurry back.”

Mym brightened up. “Do you need to go somewhere, darling? I would be overjoyed to carry you!”

Sakura also brightened up, glancing at the dragon lady, Mym, and Euden, her friend. [color=fff79a]”Oh, wow, you know that’s perfect because I- I want to come with you! I’m a fighter! I want to help turn everything back to normal, so could I come with, please? Euden?”[/color] Sakura asked excitedly, stumbling over her words a little bit. Truth be told she probably needed to do a bit of preparation, like going back to her room and grabbing her student bag. But if he was in a hurry because his friends were in danger, then this was her only chance. No way he would wait just so she could get a water bottle if lives were on the line. Sakura took more steps forward as she talked. [color=fff79a]”Uh, Mym, too? Could I come with you guys please?”[/color]

Mym crossed her arms, looking put out. "I only wanted to carry my darling! To allow a human rider is a very serious act for a dragon. An intimate one, even!"

Euden have her a plaintive look. "Couldn't you make an exception? She can help us. We can't just leave her behind to walk the whole way."

Putting a hand against her cheek, Mym sighed. "Oh, dear...if you ask me like that, I just can't say 'no.'"

"Thank you, Mym." Grateful, Euden looked between the two women. "Let's get going."

After reaching a safe distance Mym transformed again. Almost tenderly she allowed Euden to climb aboard and take hold of her neck. When Sakura approached, however, Mym reared up and held out her clawed hand. "I'll carry you," she explained. "And don't worry, I'll be careful not to hurt you." 

This was the first time Sakura had ever been talked to by a dragon. She felt like she was in a fairy tale or something. She looked a little apprehensive at first, looking at the clawed hand. Still, if riding on her back was offensive, it really was the least she could do. 

[color=fff79a][i]Not like I’m afraid of heights or anything…[/i][/color] Sakura reassured herself.

Sakura did another grateful little bow.[color=fff79a]”Thank you, Miss Mym.”[/color] She said, swallowing and letting herself get picked up.

Sakura was bad at lying though. Or concealing her true feelings. [color=fff79a]”Just don’t drop me, please? I care about that more than I do about getting poked a little bit.”[/color] She added with a little bit of nervous laughter.

"You are welcome, and please rest easy," Mym assured her. "A dragon always appreciates someone with manners." Once her passengers were as ready as could be, she put her powerful wings to work and took to the sky.