Eliatrope

Let the Gaming Begin!... Or Not?

~Astred's POV~

I was already extremely nervous being around this group of people. Being in a huge unfamiliar city near the water didn't really help either. Well, at least I had my older brother; older by one minute to be exact. He was always so kind to me and mostly everyone else, although he hadn't quite matured enough to understand that some jokes he makes, might offend others. Oh well, I mean, I wasn't going to complain about it to him, it's not like he's bothering me.

There was a gentle breeze blowing in the wind this particular evening, it was almost calming; being me though, nothing could calm me down here. Anyway, as soon as Ruel had an idea I got a bad feeling that it would involve either theft, or something crazy that we'd all have to get involved in. I'm not to partial to that.

However, he mentioned betting on some sort of game I had never heard of before. At least it was just placing a bet, meaning I wouldn't have to get involved. I very quietly sighed in relief at his words, but my sigh was so quiet, none of them could hear it. I bet if Kaido were here, she would have heard it. Wait, where is she anyway? I thought she went with Eva and Amalia... Oh well, I'm sure they know where she is. (Heh, little does she know, right Reader-Sama?)

"So you know of Bowfball, huh?" Being the quiet listener I am, I overheard Yugo say to Ruel.

"I may have had a run in with it when I was a kid." Ruel replied with a very cocky smirk on his face. He seemed rather... proud of himself.

"So that was a while ago then huh?" Amalia asked him in a teasing manner. Has she never heard the words, "respect your elders?" Oh well... Strange though, I expected that more from Aster. Why is he being so quiet?

"There has to be a better option than betting on that Bowfball game..." Eva said flatly.

Dally was flipping the pages in his magazine and looked rather useless but, who am I to judge someone? I mean, I'm probably the most useless person here. Then Grovy all of a sudden seemed to get more excited. "Oh look! There's a Bowfball final tomorrow!" He proceeded to explain which teams were going against each other which seemed to perk an interest in Ruel.

Ruel snatched the magazine from Grovy and yelled, "Reial who?" As he scanned his eyes across the pages nimbly in hopes of finding his answer. "No, it can't be! Gobbly?! Huh?" He then snatched up his shovel and quickly ran away as we all stood up.

"Gee, didn't think an old man could run so fast!" Aster teased. Finally, he said something. I was beginning to worry about him. He began to chuckle a little too.

They all let out small giggles as well, but being as discouraged as they were, it was going to take a while before they would actually start joking around a lot. We all began to take small steps to follow Ruel, surprisingly not losing him in the crowd and walls of the buildings by the time we made it to a massive gate. Ruel stood in front of us as we all gaped at the long length of the walls and doorway standing proudly in front of us. Seriously though, where's Kaido?

"Whoa!" Aster said breathlessly. "These walls are huge! I've never seen something so cool before!" I could tell he was purely amazed by the intricate design that was carved into the stone walls. Yugo's little Tofu seemed to also be in awe as he was flying up the the very top, being sure to take in every small detail. The building looked fairly new, with little to no cracks in it as well.

"The Bowfball academy?" Eva asked seeming a little disgruntled.

Ruel stretched out his arms to show how magnificent it truly was as he said, "one of the most beautiful buildings in the city!"

"Wowee!" Amalia smiled, "it makes me feel a little strange. It's been years since I've been here!" She didn't even stop to take a breath, "do you remember Eva?" How does she talk so long without taking a break?

"Yes. Unfortunately." Eva answered. Why unfortunate? Did something bad happen here? I was beginning to become even more stressed out and slowly moved behind everyone, no longer liking being that close to the building. Kaido was missing and no one else seemed to notice, was I the only one? Had I just imagined her? No way... Something bad is going to happen, I can feel it.

"Umm... G-guys..." I stuttered quietly, too nervous to speak any louder.

"Hey what's wrong lil' sis?" Aster questioned with a concerned expression worn on his face. I could tell he was being sincere because he focused all his attention on me and walked back to where I was.

"I don't like this..." I spoke somehow quieter. "I'm scared big brother... and Kaido's gone missing..."

"It's okay Astred!" Aster said as he smiled at me, "I'm sure she's okay! We're gonna have a lot of fun in here!" He was trying to be supportive. I simply shook my head.

"Huh? Kaido?" Yugo asked. "Eva, Amalia, wasn't she with you?"

"Oh yeah... Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her since the store problem." Eva said and then gave Amalia one of those stern mother looks, "thanks to someone."

"Hey! That lady ripped us off! It's not my fault!" Amalia exclaimed defensively. Eva rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Maybe she got lost! Don't worry! I, Sir Percedal of Sadlygrove shall find her and save her at once!" Dally yelled optimistically as he drew his sword and raised it in the air. At least someone can be optimistic though, we need more of that.

"Why don't some of you stay here with Astred while we go find Kaido?" Yugo offered.

"I'll help too! I can heal if she needs it, Ruel stay here with Astred..." Aster said, although he could tell I was uncomfortable. But I knew if I went with, I'd only be a burden. They can handle it anyway. I suppose Ruel isn't that bad anyway.

"Here I'll stay too!" Amalia said, "besides, we don't want to leave the poor girl trapped with a smelly old man."

They all nodded and then Eva, Yugo, Dally, and Aster all took off running towards the shop where Kaido went missing at. I simply sighed and the smiled at Ruel and Amalia, it was nice of them to stay here with me. I guess The Brotherhood of the Tofu is just like family.