Radiance

The Port

A/n: Sorry for my upload schedule being so wonky as of late. Life :') btw, for how to pronounce Ysitlc: Yeh-Sit-Lick. For Xaxa: Zah-Zah. Enjoy le chapter! :D
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|Sabre|

"This way, great heroes!" The Violet kid shouted to us over the crowd. We had found Xaxa easily enough. Sure as the Violet who had accidentally thrown the ball at Tewtiy, had said, he had a patch of blue skin against his lavender complexion. The description made it easier, as well as he was spoken well of, around the kingdom. Though I had to say, the patch of blue skin along his jaw, up his cheek, and across the bridge of his nose, reminded me of the elite, Grace. It just seemed similar to his eye patch. I know it wasn't a vitiligo condition, cause it seemed Derri, the other Orange Elite that I met at the Dinner, had vitiligo which made his skin lighter, and for sure it was very different from Grace and Xaxa's skin condition... I may want to ask later.

Lucas kept pace with the young Violet as Tewtiy dropped to by my side. "Surely energetic," he comments to me. It took me a bit to understand it cause of the crowd, but I nodded in understandment. "Yeah, agreed." I keep pace with him, then see the ships ahead of us. One was just docking from the look of it, while other majestic naval craft sat moored in place. It was surely a sight to see.

I glance up in time to see Tewtiy's eyes light up in amazement. I honestly didn't blame him. What the Steves have managed to do in six years time was impressive. A lot of work must have been done in order to expand to this level of things. As we near the ships and Xaxa, I notice a gleam of silver coming down from one of the recently docked ships along with a familiar Yellow haired steve. As soon as I saw him, I ran to him. The familiar leather chest plate sat proudly with silver platting coating one arm.

"So that's what I've heard, from some of the men at other ports already. I was hoping on getting into contact with the Yellow Leader's assistant to confirm-" I grin and shout as I got closer to the familiar friend, interrupting his conversation with a fellow Colorless Guard. "Yellow Steve in the Leather Chestplate!!" His head whips around and shock fills his face as I get to him, leaning over a bit to catch my breath.

"SABRE?!?!" He backpedals a bit in shock for a moment, his eyes wide. Buutttt as he does so, he bumps into the stack of crates behind him. I make to shout a warning, but he moves quicker than I can blink and stabilizes the stack. "Whew- close." He breathes out, then looks to me. "Where in the sun's name did you come from, Sabre?! I didn't know you were still here at the Violet Kingdom!!" He grins, then crosses his arms. Xaxa, Lucas, and Tewtiy come over not long after the commotion.

"Well, haven't really gone anywhere else besides here and the Red kingdom soooo... Yeah! Anyways, how are you doing, chief?? Looks like your style hasn't changed much!" He laughs at my quip and sighs, giving a smile. "I've been alright, Sabre. Just have been out on the seas and just got back from an exploration trip. Oh! Are these the two other non-steves I've heard about? Word on the ports says there was two unidentified non-steves who came here." My old friend asks and his eyes go to Lucas and Tewtiy. I nod then look back at them.

"Yeah- Guys, this is one of my old friends who helped me during Nightmare Steve's reign, LC. LC, meet my friends Lucas and Ryan!" I motion to each person as I talked, smiling. LC just laughs and extends his hand out for Lucas and Tewtiy to shake. "It is a pleasure to make acquaintances of some of Sabre's friends. I am Ysitlc, or LC for short." Lucas shakes his hand first, nodding. "Same to you as well, Ysitlc. I'm Lucas Le'Spike."

"Ryan Nebula," Tewtiy says as LC shakes his hand next. "It's always a fun time meeting all of the people who Sabre knew from his time here." He adds after, then looks to me. I nod, then look back to LC. "Yes, it very much is. It wasn't overly long that I knew him, but he still is a character!" LC smiles and looks at all of us. As I make to ask him another question, a call catches LC's attention from the ship and he looks behind us in the crowd.

I turn to try and see what he is looking at, then spy the familiar fluffy silver hair coming to us. I give a wave to Time as he spies us. "Ah, Lieutenant. Didn't know you were coming to greet me at the port." LC's voice has a note of joking in it as Time comes over. "Well, you just docked and it was only fair for me to do such since I was present in town," Time pauses to look at all of us, then back at LC, "Do you all mind if I debrief Ysitlc back up at the sanctuary? I didn't meant to interrupt the reunion, Sabre." I shake my head. It didn't bother me. They had work that needed to be done and I wasn't going to interfere.

"Eh, you're fine, cheif. Go do what you need to," I say which allows the tall Steve to nod. Lucas adds on a moment later. "We'll see you back up there later if you aren't already gone by then." With a silent nod, Time and LC disappear into the crowd. The CG who was with LC clears his throat and nods. "If you will excuse me, sirs, I need to oversee the unloading of the ship's old supplies."

I nod, then look to Lucas and Tewtiy. "Alright, go do your duty. We will be out of your way." Lucas says with a nod, watching the guard walk away.

"Uh- So... I have one question, Great Hero. If you don't mind answering." Xaxa finally speaks up, having been respectfully quiet during our conversation. I turn my head towards him to show he had my attention. "Uh- Yeah, Xaxa?" He rubs his neck, then stuffs his hands into his trouser pockets. 

"What's it like to be a non-steve? I mean, you all don't have the long ears we do, and I'm betting you sunburn a lot differently than we do, so I'm just curious. How- Different is it?" He tilts his head and I chuckle, then look to my two friends. "Uh... Well it's about as normal as it would be, I guess. Well, except for the ears. Smaller ears means it's easier to slide on shirts," I say as I turn my head back to look at the young kid. He nods and smiles. "Gotchya. Well, glad I've got that question off of my bucket list! Just need to pass the training test for the guard next!" Xaxa gives a happy grin and glances to the ships where the guards were unloading supplies.

I follow his gaze, then ask a question that pops into my mind. "You want to join the Colorless Guard, Xaxa?" I ask and draw his attention back to me. He gives me a confident nod and crosses his arms in front of his chest with his smile still plastered on his face. "Yep! It seems like it would help me explore this world more! I've always wanted to become a guard and see the world, as well as train with some of the Elites! Especially Grace, because he's like me! It's my dream!" 

My mind instantly ticks in and I rub my neck. "Like you??" 

"Oh- Yeah! He has the same off colored skin condition I do! I've always been kinda insecure about it, but seeing Grace be such a strong Guard that he became an elite, is such an inspiration to me!" Xaxa's face is beaming with happiness. He really did look up to Grace, which was a nice thing to see. "Well, you ready for the hard work that comes with with being a guard, Xaxa?" Tewtiy asks and draws his attention. The kid nods enthusiastically and grins. "I've never shied away from hard work! If it means I will be able to live out my dream, I'd do it!"

Lucas gives a nod to Xaxa, showing his approval. "Respectable thing, Xaxa. Keep that fire." After that, Xaxa looks at a clock on his wrist and flicks his forehead. "Shoot! It's past 4! I gotta go back home before my brother gets on my case, but I hope to see you three around again!" With a grin and a wave, Xaxa takes off into the crowd, leaving all of us to stand there, taking in the views all around us.

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|Lucas|

I was so relieved that Sabre didn't notice the look on Time's face. Once Time had left with that LC Steve, I had turned to look back at him. It was just in time to see him glance back with the look of pure pain and defeat in his eyes.

Nobody wanted to break the news to Sabre. Not yet, at least. Which reminds me... I need to go see that M, again, in order to keep tabs on when they plan on holding the funeral. Was best for me to be in the know...

About ten minutes after Xaxa left, I turned to look at Tewtiy and Sabre. Might as well ask... "Well, should we walk around to see more of the town, or head back up to the Sanctuary?" Tewtiy looks to me and shrugs. "I'm down for anything. Either way, it's exploring a new place." I look to Sabre, who turns his head to me. "Well... I'm kinda feeling a bit tired, so I'd like to lay down a bit." Admittedly, I did notice he seemed a bit tired. So probably would be best to head back to the Sanctuary.

"Well, looks like it's back to the Sanctuary then. I know the direction from here, so I'll lead the way," I say as I clasp my hands together. My two friends nod, then follow as I turn and lead the way back.