PMD: Stargazer Chronicles

Overlord- Spark

Birds whistled in the bright morning across green lawns of small, cramped houses and trees. Cold shrieks rang out.

An Aipom, Jayden, ran back to them as fast as he could. His parents needed his help.

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In a dark room with his favorite book in his hands, Jayden woke up from his dream. His small, dusty, dim room contained a single bookshelf and a sleeping Cacturne on a hill of dry hay.

He brought himself up to his legs and turned his attention to the leather bound book he fell asleep with over his face. He got used to waking up with it covering his eyes: a story Legendary knight who balanced the world with its power. He read it every night for the last two weeks. He was on his fifth reading.

Cacturne seemed to stir.

"Hey," Cacturne gurgled, facing up to the roof, "kid. Ugh. What time is it?"

"Early," Aipom Jayden said, "I think something woke me up."

"Well, don't be the thing to wake me up, now," Cacturne said. "If you aren't gonna be quiet, go get some air."

Jayden grabbed his book. He turned to a tattered doorway past a field of broken glass and scattered, open letters. The dishes in the kitchen were piled higher than his head, but he didn't feel like dealing with them yet. He pulled open the door slowly to keep it from creaking and making more complaints.

The brown, green grass was still in the process of reviving itself from Verity's long winter. The whole neighborhood was made of one-story, red brick homes that were made specifically for low income groups. Jayden played the part of the neighborhood's "good kid", enough so that he felt more comfortable here than anywhere else. If he went on a shopping trip at a convenience store right now, he'd probably get a one-hundred percent discount. It's happened before, and the owner didn't even get mad.

Today was a Saturday, so he didn't have school. The odds of the store getting robbed were favorable, but he chose to sit out on a single stone step in front of the door and continue to read as the birds and sun started to wake up.

His friend, Chimchar Matt, swung by a little later, but earlier than usual. Jayden kept his eyes down, scanning the pages while Mayy moseyed on the sidewalk and up the cracked walkway up to his door.

"Hey, Jayden," Matt greeted.

"Yeah, hey," Jayden said, "you ready?"

"Oh yeah, uhm... You know, you never really explained what this training stuff is all about."

"You'll know eventually. Besides, we're getting buffer. You don't even have noodle arms anymore. Isn't that reason enough?"

"Yeah, yeah. True. But I'm just curious. I heard there was..." his voice lowered, "something happening tonight."

"Like what?" Jayden whispered.

"Like a fight over some territory," he whispered back, "for the whole street. I don't know who it is."

"Haven't heard about it."

"Dude, if you want to, you can just sleepover at my place. I mean, please. It'd be cool."

"Just relax," Jayden said. "It's a couple of dweebs throwing rocks. We've got something to focus on."

"The offer's here to stay, dude."

Jayden closed his book and left it behind the front door.

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