NightinKites

Chapter 2: Quest

Apo was excited. He had a Kite ship, the Nightingales understood that he would always be a Kite at heart, and best of all, he would go questing with Reddoons, a fellow Kite. Apo giggled as he waited.

"Hey," he heard Reddoons say.

Apo jumped off the fence he was sitting on, wings automatically flaring for balance. "Hi! Ready?"

Reddoons nodded. "Where are we going, Apo?" he asked, following Apo up to the quest board.

Apo stopped and looked up. "Let's see what we got. Uhh, we could do a mob kill quest, or there's some exploring quests, or-" Apo craned his neck to read the notice at the top. "Oooh, this one sounds dangerous. Let's do that!"

Reddoons leaned over Apo, looking down. "You can't even reach the quest, how are you going to complete it?" He laughed.

Apo frowned. "I can!" He heard Reddoons scoff and frowned. He wasn't sure he liked being looked down on. Apo ran around to some barrels and hopped up. He swung an axe at a mock foe. "I'm a Kite!" Apo reminded Reddoons.

"No you aren't," Reddoons reminded Apo. His four wings flared, caught the light, then folded again.

A flare of jealousy washed over Apo. Reddoons was so lucky. He didn't even know how lucky he was. "Yes I am! This is just temporary. I'll be a Kite, you'll see."

Reddoons leaned back, raising his forearms, and laughed. "Sure, Apo," he said, then mimed being afraid.

Apo slowly lowered the axe he'd been brandishing. He didn't like being laughed at. He gritted his teeth into a rictus of a smile. He would just have to prove it to Reddoons. "I'll fight you." He raised the axe.

Reddoons looked back at the board, dismissing Apo. "We're here to do a quest. Let's pick an easier one," Reddoons dodged.

Apo lowered the axe again. "Okay. Well which one?"

Reddoons tapped his chin thoughtfully, then tapped the board. "I don't know. A Nightingale one. Here, this one's an exploration quest. Let's do that one."

Offended, Apo jumped off the barrels. "No way, Red! I'm doing this one." He reached for the quest, hopping up to snatch it. Reddoons laughed again and Apo burned with shame. He didn't notice the strain in Reddoons' laugh.

"No, come on, you can't even reach it, Apo. Let's do something a little more," Reddoons paused a moment, "a little less dangerous."

Apo stepped back from Reddoons. He was starting to actually get angry. "You don't think I can do it," he stated.

Reddoons didn't even look. He just kept reading quests. "No, that's not it-"

"Well it's too late! I've already accepted the quest. So now we gotta do it." Apo grinned as fiercely as he could at Reddoons.

"I don't have to do shit," Reddoons corrected him, folding his arms. Apo's mouth fell open. His friend really didn't care all that much, did he. "It's not my fault if you pick a quest out of your league."

"Out of my- Redd! What's gotten into you?"

Apo waited patiently while Reddoons looked at him. Apo wished he could see Reddoons' face. "Fine," Reddoons snapped, "Let's go. But don't blame me if you get hurt... or dead. Kites have to watch their own backs, you know."

Apo grinned from ear to ear. He didn't notice Reddoons' mood shift from agreeable to surly.