Nono Nexum

Lux

Star of dream, bright in gleam,
Soar, and let them see.
<Starla>

~

When Starla comes to, the Luxoar is pacing around frantically, claws retracted so as not to scratch the floor.

When the Luxoar notices that Starla is awake, it bounds over to her.

"What did I say about not freaking out? And I'm tiny for a Luxoar! I don't even know why I am a Luxoar!"

Starla blinks.

"But...you can talk."

"Wait, you can hear me? I thought humans couldn't understand Loomian!"

"I don't speak Loomian but I hear you just fine!"

There comes a worried call from downstairs. It's Starla's mother.

"Dearie, are you alright?"

"Sorry mom. Just...a Twittle fell through the window."

"Okay."

Starla drops her voice to a whisper.

"What are you doing here in my bedroom of all places? Don't you have a trainer?"

"No! But everyone's been awfully wanting to catch me these days, can you do it instead?"

"Of course a lot of people would want you. A tiny talking Luxoar would theoretically be rarer than a Gleaming variation of your kind."

"They can't understand me. You can."

"I don't have a license!"

"You have a disc!"

"Can we not talk about that?"

Their conversation goes back and forth for a good while before Starla's mom calls, "sweetie, we're heading to the Archais' soon. You done up there?"

"Um! Nearly!" Starla calls back, startled.

She takes a look at the pacing Luxoar.

"Fine. I'll catch you."

Starla tramps over to her closet, and opens the door.

"Aagh, so bright - wait what?"

She backs into the light.

There, on her hand, clearly glows…a bunch of golden words.

Which honestly shouldn't make sense, considering they're written in literal gibberish, but Starla's brain easily picks apart the strange syllables and identifies:

"O Nexum great, your journey begins
Fila Re Chosen, of bad light will rinse
In the stony heart of the Verdant Gale
The Guardian awaits, begin your tale."

Starla gapes, and squints at the Luxoar.

"Do you perhaps…know about this?"

Luxoar shakes his head. His ears wiggle, nose twitches, and he shivers.

"I dunno. But…there's something weird about this. Like, I should really respect you kind of weird."

Starla takes a deep breath, then two.

She reaches inside her closet, grabs her one Loomidisc, and chucks it at the Luxoar. He goes inside willingly, the small ding signifying a successful capture.

She throws on a black vest, a red skirt, and pulls on a grey bolero, and flicks her auburn hair back.

Jumping into her pink Mary Janes, she whispers to the Loomidisc, "until I figure out whatever the heck is on the back of my hand, you're coming with me, okay?"

The Loomidisc, now returned to her hand, vibrates slightly. A voice carries from what seems to be inside it.

"Shouldn't you hide what's on your hand? Everyone can see it you know."

"What have I to hide? I'm quite literally a nobody."

"You might not be anymore."

Starla sighs. "Good point. Now that people probably think I'm hallucinating."

She grabs a pair of lilac gloves, and slides them onto her hands as the Luxoar berates her, something about being perfectly normal?

"There."

Starla shrinks the Loomidisc and attaches it to the necklace it came with.

"Mom, I'm coming!"

She bolts down the stairs.

In a low voice, she mutters, "oh yeah, what's your name? Do you have one?"

The voice is silent for a good while before it answers, "Lux. My name is Lux."

Light, her brain automatically translates.

Shut up, the other part of her brain complains.

"Okay, Lux, you're staying with me," she hears herself say.

When she finally gets to her mother at the door, she has already acquired a Loomian, a quest, and confusion.

However, the same could be said for most 13-year-old nearly-trainers, no?

◇◇◇

The Fila Re have spoken true
The lines have begun to weave
If the tapestry completes, evil will rue
The day their souls decided to leave