Almanzoz City

Chapter 4

A/N: So this was the train that both Rai and Citrus rode, it was the best pic I could find lol

3 years later - Present

Rai's POV

"Almanzoz City?" I asked.

"It's about time you guys went to see the main city. I've already registered you both to this new school as well." Mother said.

"Oooohhh that's amazing!! I've always wanted to go to Almanzoz City!" Citrus said in excitement.

I recalled the moment when mother inquired about our choice of schools once we reach the age of 13. However, Citrus was chattering incessantly about each school she dreamed of going, making it challenging for me to discern the distinctions among the various schools she mentioned.

So I simply said I would be okay in any school, as long as I was with Citrus.

There seem to be many schools in Almanzoz. If I was still in Exalos, I would've been stuck in learning basic survival techniques at a low-level education centre by now-

"What are you waiting for? Go pack your bags! We're going next week."

"Oh, okay!"

For three years, I've shared a home with Citrus's family, and it feels surreal. It's also about time we enrolled in a school.

During those three years in Caspian, I've been honing my cooking skills, while Citrus has been mastering the art of hunting. Together, our skills ensure a constant and diverse supply of food!

While inspecting my belongings in the cupboards, a crimson glow emanated from one of the drawers.

Over the past three years, the gem has exhibited peculiar behavior, deviating from its usual steady glow. At times, it radiates an intense brightness, while on other occasions, it dims significantly, accompanied by a slow, enigmatic luminosity.

I'm still confused by how it works though.

I decided to bring the red gem with me anyway stuffing it in my bag.

Only Citrus knows about it, although she thinks it is a "lucky charm" I should bring with me wherever I go anytime.

After a while, we finally finished packing our bags.

~~~

A week later, we went outside of the house that I'm probably never going to see again, until we get a holiday or whatever they call it to take a break from school.

"OMG! It's the train station! Dad, please tell me we're going to go on that train, we haven't rode it in years!"

"That's right honey, we are!"

It still looks like a humongous black caterpillar.

Before Citrus's family met me, they all worked as animal caretakers and went all over the world to take care of animals that were hurt in the middle of the woods.

For some reason, they stopped working as that a few months after they took me in, my guess was they were going to focus on only me and Citrus from now on.

We placed our bags in the train while our parents gave the tickets to some guy on the train who wanted to check for confirmation.

Its initial movement made me jump for a second, beginning at a leisurely pace before accelerating towards a destination that we all are headed to.

"Next stop, Almanzoz City."

~~~

It was silent.

I looked around, noticing Citrus was already asleep lying on Father's shoulder.