To Be Proud: Revamped

Chapter 20: Nightmare Before Spooktacle

~Bona~

When it came to conversing with other monsters, Thwok had always been one of the best monsters I knew that possessed such a skill. He always found a way to make any monster smile, no matter who he was talking to. Without Thwok, Petite was always the runner-up when it came to conversation. A bit on the energetic side, but she knew how to entertain a crowd. And then there was me, shy to interact but friendly in a small group. I was mainly avoidant, but I knew how to hold my peace.

While Petite played around with smaller monsters like Furcorn and Potbelly, I focused my attention on some of the other monsters that took an interest in me. A small circle had formed around where I was sitting, with questions upon questions being thrown at me by the very curious natives. I answered only the questions I was comfortable with, such as "what do you do for fun?", but Galvana forbid I even thought about questions such as "are you and Kayna a thing?"

After a while, most of the monsters that I was speaking to left to inspect some other part of the island. A smaller group stayed, one that I assumed was close-knit enough to follow each other wherever one went. The "leader" of the group was an average tree monster, one that looked as if they had been around since the Dawn of Fire. They were accompanied by a timid cymbal monster shrouded in a purple pelt and a blue four-armed monster with a cello, two bows, and a thick accent.

We all took turns telling stories about our past adventures, talking about different islands and events that we'd seen and experienced in our lives. As time swiftly passed I had grown to like the members of the small group, feeling as if I could trust them and open up to them more. Though, as I had learned from years of living on Wublin Island, trust was a strong tool that could easily be broken. I made sure to keep my wits and remained wary around the three, not only for my sake but for Thwok's and Petite's.

      "So, ya tellin' me that y'all absorbent enough to take on a 15-volt?" the four-armed monster, Bowgart, asked. "Unbelievable!"

      "Yeah, only tried it once. Didn't like it. 12's as far as I'm comfortable handling. Go over that, then you lost me."

      "Oh, that's a load of root sap," joked Oaktopus, the tree monster. He had gotten the nickname "Elder Oak" from the other monsters, and it was clear as day as to why.

      "I'm not kidding."

      "Ya mind if, y'know, I try a lil' of that 'tricity y'all yappin' about?" Bowgart held his free hand out, two of his hands holding his cello and the third holding both of his bows.

      "Alright, just gotta see if I have enough of a charge built up." 

Taking my hands, I quickly rubbed the fur on my arms together at such a speed to generate a lot of friction. Once I started to see the small white flicks of electricity, I separated my hands and looked up at Bowgart who was watching me in curiosity. Locking hands with him, I watched as Bowgart jolted and fell back, letting go of the bows and the cello and allowing them to fall around him. After a moment's silence, he sat upright.

      "That...was...'MAZIN'!" He jumped up and clapped his hands, his fur sticking up from all of the static. I glanced over at Elder Oak and Clamble, who were both staring at Bowgart in shock—no pun intended. I smiled, enjoying some of the praise.

      "Say, sonny, you from Wublin Island right? The stormy place?"

      "Yeah, that's right. Though, the storm technically surrounds the island. It doesn't really affect anything though, just helps to generate lots of electricity. You know, with the wind and all?"

      "Hey, I dunno if this is a touchy subject, and stop me if I get into personal territory," Bowgart started, "but how exactly did you end up here? Y'know, meetin' Kay and everythin'?" I wanted to avoid the question entirely, but something in me refused to ignore the question and I started to let out everything.