Doodle Champion Island Journeys!

Special 3: Dear Little Wayfarer (short sequel)

Time wasn't about to pause anytime soon. That was, sadly, the cue for Lucky to return home.

After leaving Champion Island and parting with Symphony at the little port town, the cat had wandered on her own for another while. The forests and towns beyond the skyline beckoned her, as did rumors of competition. She met many creatures, some wholesome while some were ruder than necessary, some brimming with hopes and dreams like herself while some were shrouded in doubts. She lent a hand wherever she saw fit, regardless of whether her presence was at all welcomed.

To jump right in the middle of people's problems without being asked was what she was good at, after all. The traveling athlete firmly believed that there was no harm in helping strangers - if anything, she wished to be a spark lighter, like her big sister. With both strength and words in her arsenal, Lucky knew that she, of all creatures, would be more than able to do just that.

On that short journey before the summer ended, she happened to stumble upon a cat her age in an average city.

There was no contest being held at the time being, so she simply thought of venturing through its streets for a day before exiting on the other end, probably finding sleep amongst the natural canopy along the road, and setting foot on the next place by tomorrow's dawn. What else, because during the short of a month or so in the wild, she had come to be known as a wayfarer - those who travelled far and wide on their feet alone. Lucky, who held the record of making a fifty days' worth trip in less than a month - that included an entire night out at sea, and she still landed safely and healthily on Champion Island - was exceptionally good at such sort of journey. That was her plan, making use out of the little time she had left before returning home to view the world, until she met a cat named Axol.

Light grey fur - unlike Vanille's coal-grey, which displayed perfectly her assertive charisma - highlighted by a pair of clear teal eyes, he took Lucky's extended hand as she helped him up his feet, and immediately realized that she was an ear taller than he was.

"Are you okay?" she asked, tilting her head so innocently that he almost did not want to figure this as the same creature who singlehandedly punched robbers twice her size, all three of them, to help him retrieve his valued camera. Seeing his hesitation, however, she once again proved to be quite a pure soul despite her strength, as her expression contorted to that of worry:

"Um, is it alright to hit them like that? I saw you were in trouble, so I did what I could, but I'm not sure if this is how it works... I'm not from around here."

"I can tell," Axol shook out of his shock, regaining his ability of speech, "And no, you're not in trouble or anything. You just helped me. Thank you."

"Oh, really? I'm glad then!" she grinned, "My name's Lucky. What's yours?"

"It's Axol. Axol Feles," he nodded in response.

"Yorushiku, Akuseru."

The strange term and the word resembling his name sounded so foreign, and it suddenly dawned on the grey cat that the kin facing him was speaking in a funny accent. He brushed it off as cultural different - reasoning that perhaps, she had come from a rural area, hence the manner of speech and her raw strength.

She must've noticed his stunned state - he froze a second too long that even someone without trained sense like Lucky could take note of - and chuckled, breaking the awkward silence that was threatening to emerge, with one hand tugging at her red scarf:

"That means 'Nice to meet you, Axol'," she repeated, trying to pronounce his name more clearly this time, "It's my local accent. You haven't heard someone like me before?"

She raised her voice at the end, making it a question.

"N-no, you're the first," he shook his head, "Anyway, I need to go somewhere. You better leave this area as well, or those backstreet creatures will come back for you. No matter how strong you are, you are still a cat. If you're a visitor, I advise you go to the fountain downtown. It shouldn't be too hard to spot."