Oceanum Collis

•Chapter 60• The New Society

"Are you sure about all of this?" Misty questioned. Asher watched as Serena stood with some other elves and his father speaking about replanting the dry lands around Andillar. "She knows what she's doing." He assured his best friend. "I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about her." Misty said and nodded her head in Serena's direction. "What are you getting at?" Asher chuckled. "Well, I thought you were flirting with her to get closer to her brother because you are madly in love with him," Misty said sarcastically. Asher glared at her. "Wait, what?" He chuckled. Orlando walked up to the two werewolves. "What?" He spoke, also joining in on the conversation. Misty looked up at the young man. "Did you know he wasn't flirting with Serena to get to her brother?" She questioned. Orlando turned to Asher, pretending to be shocked, and placed his hand on his chest. "Is that true?" He asked in a dramatic tone. Asher rolled his eyes and pointed at Serena. "I'm gonna go over there now. You two have fun together." Asher tells them. "Go, run off to your loved one," Misty called after him dramatically. "You can't hide your love forever, mate," Orlando added. They then started giggling as if they were five years old again. Misty looked at Orlando as she laughed. "She might still be available for you, man." She giggled. He shook his head and runs his hand through his hair. "I'm good." He chuckled in response. He turned to her. "I actually have something I wanted to ask you." He tells her. Misty gave him a kind smile. "You're not asking me to go on a date with you, right?" She questioned. Orlando laughed and shook his head. "No, I wasn't going to ask you out." He chuckled, "I wanted to ask you a big favor." He continued. Misty folded her arms over her chest as she turned to him completely. "I want to introduce the people who were hidden behind walls for so long to your world, let them be a part of it instead of hiding from it." He explained to her. "And you want me to teach them?" She asked him. "Well, I want you to take the kids under your wing. Teach them everything you know." He answered.

Misty narrowed her eyes at him. "The kids?" She questions. Orlando nodded in response. Misty thought about it for a minute. She paced back and forth a bit, only taking a few steps before turning around again.  Elliot's mother peeked over the young man's shoulder. Her eyes widened when she noticed the group he brought along with him were no humans. Elves, werewolves, and even a mermaid. "Don't worry," Orlando tells her, "They're not here to harm us. They're here to help. They saved me." He assured her. It didn't take long for the survivors to join Elliot and his mother. They were all very excited to see Orlando again. Most of them thought he was dead. Some children also joined in. They all gathered around the mystical creatures. Serena slowly knelt down as Elliot jumped up and down in front of her. "May I?" He questioned. Serena noticed him looking at her ears. She hesitated for a moment before she gave him a slight nod. The boy stepped forward and touched the she-elf's ears. "They're so pretty." The little boy smiled. A little girl ran past them. She stood in front of Asher. The tall, brunette werewolf looked down at her. "What?" He said. Misty, who stood beside him, slapped the back of his head harshly. "What was that for?" He asked her. "Be nice!" She snapped at him. "Are you a pirate?" The little girl asked him. Asher looked at the little girl again. He knelt down in front of her. "No, I am a werewolf." He answered her honestly. The little girl's eyes widened. "Really?" She asked excitedly. Asher was slightly taken aback by her reaction. She wasn't scared of him? He turned his head to look at Misty again. She shrugged in response. "Is it true that you can make your eyes glow?" The little girl questioned. Asher turned to the little girl again. His eyes lit up in a bright golden color. "Cool!" The little girl smiled. "And you're not scared I'm going to eat them all alive because I'm a big scary wolf." She teased. "No, of course not. And the kids will love you." He assured her. She tilted her head slightly and looked straight into his eyes. "Why me?" She asked him. "Would you rather have Hayes look after them and lecture them all the time?" He replied. "You're right those kids need me." She said. Orlando chuckled again and placed his hand on her arm. "So, you'll do it?" He asked. Misty nodded with a bright smile planted on her lips. "Yeah, I do it. I could teach you. How hard could it be to teach a couple of kids, right?" She giggled. "I don't know if I should be offended or not," Orlando replied. Misty laughed and patted his shoulder. "You'll figure it out." She tells him.

Serena and the other elves all stood in one line next to one another. She turned her head to look at her brother who gave her a slight nod. She then looked at Remus. "Go ahead." He tells her. The elves then all knelt down and placed their hands on the dry, rough land, and closed their eyes. They all whispered the elfish words and repeated them over and over again. It wasn't long before the earth was no longer dry and yellow. It slowly became a healthy brown color that you also had in the elven realm. Plants came up from the ground and the grass grew again. A number of young trees also grew on the land. After a few minutes, it was as if nothing had ever happened there. The elves were all looking at each other. It was almost as if they erased history. Orlando's eyes widened as he walked up to them. "So, this is what it looked like before he came?" He asked. "Aside from the broken stone empire in the back there, yeah," Serena tells him. Remus walked up to her. "I hate to say it, but I am impressed." He admitted. Serena gave him a kind smile. "It's the least we could've done. It is time that we all put our abilities to good use again instead of fighting others." She mentioned. The alpha werewolf gave her a slight nod. He then turned to Orlando. "I trust that I won't find any dead wolves in my forest again." He said sternly. "No one shall be harmed anymore." He promised the elderly wolf. He gave him another nod before the alpha walked away to stand by his son. Serena looked at Orlando. "So, have you picked your crown yet?" She teased him. "I'm not a king." He chuckled. She giggled and nudged his shoulder gently. "You're not gonna go all Adelio up our asses after a couple of weeks, right?" She asked him. Orlando shook his head and made a little bow. "I promise you, oh high queen of the elves, I shall never let my bloodline take over my mind." He said dramatically. Serena laughed and pushed against his shoulders. "I'm trying to be serious." She laughed. "I'm not!" He replied. 

Remus walked over to his son. Asher stood with his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet as his father approached him. "Are you going to kick my ass now?" He asked. Remus let out a chuckle and patted his son's shoulder. "No, I wanted to tell you I'm proud of you." Remus tells his son, "You managed to get past your anger. That's something I never could." He added. Remus was a cold, bitter man that wasn't known to show his emotions. But he had a proud look in his eyes and his lips formed a small smile. Asher returned the smile. "Your mother would've been proud of you, son." He tells him. Asher's smile grew bigger when he thought about his mother. He shot a quick glance at Serena standing a few feet away from them. His mother would've adored Serena. Remus noticed his son looking at her. "I know you probably won't understand-" Asher started. Remus holds up his hand to stop his son. "I understand. Love is strange." He said. The older werewolf then looked at Serena who was now talking to Misty as well. "Besides, she's not so bad." He admitted.

Orlando watched as Asher walked up to them after his chat with Remus. "We only have one issue left," Serena said. Everyone turned to look at her. "The merfolk probably won't cooperate. Especially after what happened with Valeria." Serena pointed out. "They never truly cooperated with anyone." Hayes reminds his sister. "Do we risk sending someone there to speak with the fish?" Asher asked. Serena shook her head as she looked up at Orlando. "No, I'm not putting anyone's life on the line. They won't speak with us, they will kill anything that moves that isn't part fish." She answered. No one could disagree with that. "Do you think they'll turn around someday? To finally unite with us again?"Orlando asked her. Serena shook her head. "Probably not. They are stubborn and very fond of themselves. They won't turn around for the next hundred years." She said. "Luckily most of us won't be around by then." Orlando joked. The others laughed at his comment. "So? What now?" Hayes asked them. "Well, now that he's the emperor, she's the new queen, and no one is fighting, I say we celebrate with a hot meal and maybe a bath, because one of us is smelling, and I don't like to point fingers but-" Misty started and nodded her head towards Asher who was standing next to her. "Hey!" Asher complained and slapped the back of her head with his hand. "Ouch," Misty complained. Everyone chuckled again. "So, who's cooking dinner?" Orlando asked. Asher turned to look at Serena, which she immediately noticed. She shook her head while glaring at him. "No, way." She said. "What? We're already acting like a married couple." He joked. "Well, that's awfully stereotypical," Misty complained and Serena agreed with her. "How about we all cook," Orlando suggested. "Like you know how to hunt." Hayes chuckled. This went on for a while, a lot of back and forth talking about food and celebrating their newly build society. After that, months passed by. Their home has been restored and everyone was living in peace. Misty became somewhat of a school teacher to the kids and Hayes would help her out a lot. Turns out, he's actually a much better teacher than you would expect. Less boring than you'd think. Serena and Orlando try their best to rule. They do most of it together, but they also try to include the people. And Asher... he's just Asher. He's the head of the hunting pack. It was as if Basil Adelio and Erix never set foot on these grounds. As if they never existed. And with that peace has been restored in Oceanum Collis.