Aspire Arcadia: Chapter 3: Let the Games Begin
With the exception of the calm, trickling water, a few singing birds, and the annoying buzzing of insects, the forest was rather silent. Patch glanced around at the trees, the sky... the untouched beauty of the hidden bay where the pirates made their base. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through the tip of his muzzle as a narrow switched whipped him on the nose. "Ow!" He growled, glaring at Reka who had been watching him carefully. "Raise your arms higher," she said, stepping back. In Patch's paws was an iron, long sword which was lent to him by one of the pirates. His task was to hold it up in a 'ready' position, both of his paws on the hilt of the sword while he held the blade up and away from his body. His arms had to be perfectly straight, and his elbows at least a few inches away from his body. Every time he lowered his arms or bent his elbows, he was met with a sharp whip on his nose. Patch's arms trembled with fatigue as he struggled to hold the blade in that position, knowing well that if he didn't, he'd be hit with the switch again. It had only been a few days after Captain Keira agreed to help train Patch and Juniper in preparation for their departure... and it certainly wasn't an easy start. "Ouch!" Juniper yelped as Patch heard the twitch bite her nose as well. They were back to back, both doing the same task while Lieutenant Reka monitored and Captain Keira spectated. "Is the switch really necessary?" Juniper complained, wriggling her nose in pain. "Yes," Reka replied, sitting back in her chair, which was positioned right beside them, "what motivation, other than, pain would get you to stay in the right position? If you do it correctly, you'll build muscle mass in no time." "When you said to 'get stronger' this isn't exactly what I had in mind..." Patch sighed, staring at the tip of the sword. It trembled slightly as his arms did. "It's effective," Reka replied, "it also helps to take your mind off of the task and think about other, more pleasant things." She glanced around. "Listen to the birds," she said, closing her eyes, "listen to the river and the wind. The gentle rustling of the leaves." "Ah!" Patch cried as another whack on his nose caused him to twitch. "And stop lowering your arms!" Reka growled. "You two look cute together," Captain Keira said, taking a sip out of a coconut. She had a lounge area set up on the uppermost deck of the ship, where Juniper and Patch were receiving their first iteration of training.
"How long has it been...?" Patch asked, noticeable strain tightening his voice. "Don't worry about it," Reka replied, "you don't have much time left to go, just focus on finishing." He leaned his head back against Juniper's and sighed. "Not what you had in mind huh," Juniper whispered, trying to take her mind off of the pain in her arms. "Not at all," he replied with a small smile. "Me neither," she replied, "I thought only you would have to do it." Patch chuckled, causing his arms to drop a bit and Reka to smack him on the nose again. "Think about all of the muscle you'll have," Captain Keira teased, "hey, maybe one day you'll look back, remember this, and realize how much it helped you on your travels." "Holding a sword up for hours?" Patch replied, "no way." "You never know," Captain Keira replied casually, "at the very least, your attacks would actually hurt someone instead of uncomfortably tickling them." "Ouch," Patch sighed. "Alright, time," Reka said, causing both of them to drop their swords and fall to their knees. "Oh that was horrible..." Juniper whined comically, lying on her side, "I can't feel the entire top half of my body..." "That's the muscle building," Reka replied, picking the swords up, "just wait until tomorrow." She dropped the swords in a pile nearby and turned to them. "That's enough training for today," she said, "go see if Hallow has anything for you." "Aww..." Juniper sighed, laying her head on the ground, "he's always got something for us..." "Look on the bright side," Patch said, pulling himself up, "it's been a slow day. Maybe everything is already done." He helped her up and they headed back to the pier, where Hallow waited. He was a tall, slender wolf with a shiny, black coat and piercing yellow eyes. He was a bit older than Patch and Juniper, but not by much. Thankfully, he was the last one they had to see before their training day was over. If he didn't have any work for them, they'd be free... at least until the next morning. "Hey, there you are," he said as they approached, "looks like you guys had more fun time with Lieutenant Reka." "Of course," Patch said, "what gave it away?" "Your front legs are trembling," Hallow replied, glancing at a clipboard he had sitting beside him, "you're not the only one that had to do that training you know. Juniper should know." "It never gets easier..." she muttered, "every time I got caught sneaking out, I'd have to do this early in the morning..." "I remember those days," Hallow replied, "almost felt bad for you." He stood up. "Look, I hate to pile more work on you guys, but I've got to get these crates loaded onto some carts to take to the market," Hallow said, glancing at a pile of crates, "all of the others went off to help with the market over in Eidous." "That's fine," Patch replied, glancing at all of the cargo, "a little more exercise can't hurt I guess." There were only six crates waiting on the pier to be loaded. Each of them had the popular mark of Veridian merchant ships along with the Veridian flag. A few warnings were indicated on the side. One in particular read 'Keep Dry'. "What's in these anyway?" Juniper asked, glancing at one of the crates. "Ever heard of Voltrinite?" Hallow replied, attaching a harness to one of the crates, "the element that naturally produces electricity when purified and exposed to water? It's that. It's a pretty lucrative export." "Is it stolen?" Patch asked, glancing up at him. "We're pirates, kid. Of course it's stolen," he replied with a small smile, "don't worry though. No one on the ship was hurt, if that's what you're worried about. The Captain made sure of that, so your conscious can stay clear." "If you say so," Patch replied. They helped load the crates on the carts, painfully dragging each one across the bay and lifting them up on the carrier. Their arms were sore from earlier that day, and their entire bodies ached from the training on the day prior. "My arms are going to fall off," Juniper muttered, pushing one of the crates onto a cart, "I haven't worked this hard since..." "Forever?" Hallow replied, handing her another box, "it's good for you. It hurts now, but you'll feel a lot more nimble and healthier after making a habit of it. Plus, it'll hurt a lot less." Patch pushed over the final crate and Juniper heaved it up and slid it on the cart. "That's it," Hallow replied, as he shut the gate on the last cart, "you guys are free to go. Try not to get yourselves into trouble." "I doubt we have the energy for that," Patch replied as Juniper hopped off of the cart. "No kidding," she replied, "I need a nap..." After a short rest, the two headed up the path towards the main road that Patch usually took to head home. "What a day..." Juniper sighed, following him up the path, "I don't even want to think about how sore we'll be tomorrow..." "I know right?" he replied with a small smile, "not to mention we get to do the entire thing again." "I can't wait," she replied sarcastically. "I don't know, I think it's fun," Patch replied with a smile, "when we start doing the useful stuff, like escape and evasion training, with just the two of us... I think it'll be even more exciting." "I guess that's true," Juniper replied, glancing at the ground, "I am having some fun with it at least..." They eventually reached the end of the path where Juniper stopped. "You can find your way home from here, right?" she asked as he stopped and glanced back at her, "the main road will be right on the other side of the forest." "Yeah... I think I'll be fine," he replied, nervously glancing at the ground. "Don't get lost again," she teased, poking him on the nose, "I don't want to have to go through that training alone tomorrow." Patch nodded slightly. "Okay," she replied with a smile, "see you tomorrow then?" "Actually, I was thinking," Patch quickly replied, glancing up at her, "why not come over to my house for dinner? O-or whatever... my family would love to put a face to the name I always mention..." Juniper's face reddened. "Oh... I-I don't know," she replied, nervously stepping back, "I'm not really good at meeting new animals Patch..." "It'll be fun," he replied, with a smile, "it's not like they're mean or anything. I think you'll like them. I know they'll love you." Juniper glanced at the ground nervously. "They won't think it's weird that I'm related to pirates?" she asked quietly. "You don't have to tell them if you don't want to," Patch replied, "they wouldn't hate you or anything for it. We're very receptive to new animals." "O-okay..." Juniper said reluctantly, "I guess it would be weird if we never met at least once..." "I promise, you have nothing to worry about," Patch replied, "I know you'll like them. They're pretty lively." "Oh I know how that is," she replied with a small smile. "I couldn't imagine being stuck on that ship all of the time anyway. You've got to get out more," Patch added, glancing back at the path. "There aren't many places to go," she replied, "I spend most of my time out at sea or here in the hidden bay. Every now and then I'd go to Eidous for a break, but that's pretty much it. Hopefully that'll change soon." "It will," Patch replied with a confident grin, "so long as we survive the training." They reached the end of the dense forest, which led to the main road, and headed towards Patch's family's den, which was only a few miles away. Since it was nearing the end of the day, the road was filled with animals leaving the city to return to their dens in the plains. Massive herds of grazing animals crossed into the forest for shelter during the night along with smaller groups of predators. "Have you ever been to the capital?" Juniper asked, glancing around at all of the animals near them. "I go there all of the time," he replied, "why?" "I don't know," she replied, lost in thought, "I've been there once before, when I was a pup... I don't remember a lot about it though..." They made a turn off of the main road some time later and headed down another path towards his den. "It's pretty busy sometimes, but there's a lot to see and do," Patch replied, "Whenever we get to leave, I can take you there, if you want." "That'd be-" Juniper started to say before a random wolf jumped out of the bushes and blocked their path. "Where the heck have you been?!" He growled, glaring at Patch, "we almost started without you!" He was a younger wolf, probably only a couple of years older than Patch. He had similar black and orange markings as Patch, along with white hair and bright, green eyes. "S-sorry," Patch replied, glancing back at Juniper, "oh and... This is Juniper, the girl I've been talking about. We just got finished with our training for the day." "Oh... hi," the wolf replied impatiently, "I'm Titanium." "N-Nice to meet you," Juniper replied quietly. "Anyway, we're doing another game of capture the flag," he continued. "Another one?" Patch sighed. "It was Pepper's idea," Titanium replied, "like hell we're going to lose to her again. We need all of the help we can get..." "Ready yet? Titanium?" a female wolf asked, approaching them from the forest nearby, "we don't have all night you know." When she noticed Patch and Juniper, she smiled. "Oh, hey Patch," She said with a gentle smile, "who's your friend?" "Juniper," Juniper nervously replied, "w-we were training together..." "Nice to meet you, I'm Pepper," she replied replied with a kind smile, "thanks for taking care of Patch. I know he's kind of a loose cannon at times." "Loose cannon?" Patch asked with a small smile, 'I-I'm not that bad..." Pepper glanced at Titanium, who stood by impatiently. "And you certainly are going to need all of the help you can get," she teased, "though I doubt that'd help, considering we were outnumbered last time and still came back and won." Titanium growled at her. "I know this is random, but do you want to join in on our game?" Pepper asked, glancing at Juniper, "It's Capture the Flag. Girls versus boys. I know we've only just met, but I think it'd be a good opportunity to really get to know us. You don't have to play if you don't want to." "Um... s-sure," Juniper replied with a nervous smile, "I'm not familiar with the rules though..." "It's easy," Pepper quickly replied, "we have two flags on opposite sides of the area. Our mission is to capture each other's flags and return it to base. It's usually the best two games out of three wins, but we're on a tie breaker right now. First to score gets the championship." Pepper glanced at a red ribbon she wore around her neck. "You'll be able to tell who's on your team by the ribbons we have. Obviously, we're the red team. Anyway, if a member of the other team pulls your ribbon off, you're out for the round." "We're losing daylight Pepper," Titanium growled. "Easy there," she replied with a grin, "patience is a virtue." She then returned her glance to Juniper. "Its girls versus boys, so you'll be on our team," Pepper continued, "which is good for you, since we're the winning team. You don't mind an extra on our team, do you? Titanium?" "I don't care," Titanium replied, rolling his eyes, "let's get this going already..." "O-okay," Juniper replied, "I don't want to old you guys back or anything... I'll do my best." "No worries, you'll do fine," Pepper replied, turning towards the forest, "follow me, I'll let you know when we're ready." She glanced back at Patch. "We'll take care of her, so don't worry," she said with a small grin, "Focus on not losing okay? Losers go out and hunt for dinner, winners eat first." "I'll try not to," Patch replied as Pepper and Juniper disappeared on their side of the forest. "Do you get that we cannot lose to them again?" Titanium growled, grabbing Patch's arm, "don't go easy on them because your girlfriend is on their team! I don't want to eat last again!" "G-girlfriend?" Patch asked as Titanium dragged him into the forest towards their base. The game was set in a huge patch of grassy plains with occasional, thin forest covering. Each of their bases sat atop large hills, which overlooked a central valley where their den was located. Titanium dragged patch to the top of the easternmost hill where all of his brothers and his father hung around a large, blue flag. "Look who I found wandering around with his girlfriend in the midst of a war," Titanium said, approaching them. "Done with training for the day?" Kodiak, his father, asked, "Hope you're ready for more." He sat back against one of Patch's brothers, who squealed at the weight pressing against him. "Patch has a girlfriend? No way!" Silver, another one of Patch's brothers, said, crossing his arms. "Do you have a girlfriend? Silver?" Cobalt asked, glancing at him with an evil smirk. "No. Do you?" Silver replied sharply, causing the two of them to glare spitefully at each other. "That's wonderful Patch," Howell replied kindly with a smile, "I'd love to meet her." "W-well I don't think she's my... girlfriend or anything..." Patch replied nervously, "we just train together..." "Isn't that the one you're taking with you when you leave here?" Carbon asked, leaning against the pole of the flag, "sounds like a girlfriend to me." "Enough!" Titanium commanded, "We've got a strategy to determine!" "Easy tiger," Cobalt muttered, "we'll do what we did last time. It almost worked." "Almost," Titanium replied, glaring at him, "ALMOST is not good enough!" "Come on, they got lucky last time" Bolt pointed out, "Puzzle captured the flag, for crying out loud. I know snails faster than she is." "You're just mad because you got tagged out by mom," Argon said, "don't take it out on us." The other laughed while Titanium shook his head. "She's faster than... well she's practically... never mind," He muttered, "we should keep more than one of us here to defend and the rest can go encircle them." "We should wait for them to come to us," Howell said calmly, "that way, we can pick them off and then move in to capture their flag." "They'll take forever to move," Titanium said, approaching them, "Forget it. I've got a better idea." On the other side of the field, Pepper approached her team, consisting of Patch's mother, Copper, as well as all of his sisters. "There you are," Puzzle said, standing up, "I thought Titanium may have kidnapped you or something. He always takes things to the next level." "He wouldn't dare," Pepper replied with a smile, "Anyway, this is Juniper, Patch's girlfriend. She's going to be on our team." "G-girlfriend?" Juniper asked nervously. "Oh, how exciting!" Decibell cried out in excitement, "I thought I'd NEVER get to see you! I'm Decibell!" "You have pretty eyes," Arianna said quietly with a nervous smile. "H-hello..." Alex said, staring at the ground in front of her, "I'm... A-Alex..." "It's nice to finally meet you!" Copper, Patch's mother, said with a kind smile, "honestly, I didn't think we'd ever get to see you, since Patch kind of does his own thing. But I'm glad you came." "Y-you too," Juniper replied with a nervous smile. "The game shouldn't take too long," Peppered reassured them, "they're very predictable. We'll just keep doing what we've been doing." "Leave the flag to me," Cinder said, confidently brushing her hair from her face, "they won't catch me." Pepper glanced at Juniper with a smile. "I promise we'll get a chance to get to know each other better. After this of course," she said, "how good are you at fighting?" "I'm... decent," Juniper replied. "Then you can defend with mom," Pepper replied, "all you have to do is keep the others from stealing the flag. No doubt they're going to send one or two of them around the back of the field to try and surprise us. Draga and Cinder, you two can go for the flag while the rest of us deal with them head on." "Whatever..." Draga replied, rolling her eyes. Before Pepper could continue, the distant howl of one of Patch's brothers rang out from the other side of the field. "So impatient," Pepper muttered, "you guys know your roles?"
They all nodded. "Alright then, give them the signal Deci," Pepper said, glancing back at Decibell. "Okie dokie!" She replied excitedly before lifter her head up and sounding off a loud, melodic howl in response. "Okay, we're starting," Pepper said, standing up, "do your best and we won't have to hunt today." Juniper nodded as the rest of them headed off into the field. On the other side of the hill, Patch and his brothers just finished discussing their strategy. "Patch, you and I will go around back towards their flag," Titanium said as the others headed off. "We do this almost every time..." Patch replied, "won't they anticipate us doing it again?" "This time, it's you and I on flag capture. They won't easily be able to catch us, especially if the others stick to the plan." Titanium led Patch down the side of the field and into the forest. "So what's the story huh? About this girl?" Titanium asked, "You mentioned her a couple of times, but no one really knows anything about her." "Well, that's why I invited her," Patch replied, "So we could all get to know each other. I didn't expect to drag her into our sibling wars." "At least you can test her skill," Titanium replied, cautiously navigating the forest. "Heh, it's all about skill with you isn't it?" Patch replied with a small smile, "but I guess you're right. I've never actually gotten into a fight with her yet." "You might get the chance," Titanium replied, "there's no way Pepper would put her on the front lines after just getting here. You know how ugly that gets. It's likely that she'll be on flag defense." They snuck around the back, passing by their den which was nestled in a patch of thin forest. A wide stream that cut through the valley flowed behind the den and separated the field in two. Patch followed Titanium across the wide stream towards the girls' side, carefully remaining in the cover of the forest to avoid being detected. Patch could hear his siblings in the distance fighting, having finally met each other in the center of the field. "I hope they stick to the plan," Titanium said, picking up the pace, "If we lose again, I might lose my shit." "We'll be fine," Patch replied, "I don't hear anyone nearby, so we're in the clear." As they approached the hill (where the females' base was), Patch and Titanium crouched lower to the ground. "Try not to make too much unnecessary noise," Titanium whispered, "starting up the hill." "You mean like you are now?" Patch replied, following him, "I hear mom up there. You'd better be careful." "Shut up," Titanium growled. "I think they've finally made contact," Copper said, listening in on the action. It was just her and Juniper now, as all he others left to fight. "Y-you sure have a lot of pups," Juniper said nervously, unable to find anything else to say. "Oh yes," Copper replied with a smile, "if you would believe it, all twenty of them came in only two different litters." "Wow," Juniper said, glancing over at her, "I didn't know litters could get that big." "Inarians are pretty fertile, like my mother used to say," Copper replied with a smile, "raising them certainly was an experience. Before you know it, they're grown up and ready to go off on their own." Copper wiped a tear away and smiled. "I'm so happy for you two," she said, glancing at Juniper, "I can't wait for you to experience all kinds of things together. It's a big, beautiful world out there." "I can't wait either," Juniper replied with a small smile, "I'm so happy to have the opportunity." "I'd really hate to ruin this moment," Titanium said, approaching them from behind and pulling Copper's ribbon from her neck, "but I don't want to lose today." "You'd use your own mother's feelings against her? Who knew that I raised monster..." Copper muttered, glaring at him. "Forgive me," Titanium said, tying her ribbon around his arm, "but you're out." He glanced at Juniper with a smile. "The games usually take forever, but somehow things are moving pretty quickly," he said, "I know it's your first time and everything, so I'd hate to be the one to ruin the fun for you. But it is what it is." "I see where Patch's confidence comes from," Juniper replied with a grin, crouching low in a pouncing position, "it's dangerous to underestimate your enemies you know." Titanium rushed at her, aiming for her ribbon. She gracefully avoided his jaws as he bit at her, all the while wearing a big smile on her face. "Teeth and claw are my specialty," she warned as they fought. Patch watched as she turned the tide and fought back. Having only known each other for a few days, he had never saw Juniper fight before. Though it wasn't real, he could see how vicious she was trained to fight by the pirates she was raised with. Titanium could barely avoid her string of attacks as she went after him. Teeth bared and ears flat, Juniper didn't let up either. In a swift motion, she clamped her jaws around his neck and tackled him to the ground, snatching his ribbon off at the same time. Titanium, staring wide eyed and speechless at his attacker, was in utter disbelief. "Very nice!" Copper said as Juniper helped Titanium up, "where did you learn to fight like that?" "I was raised around a lot of guys..." Juniper replied, careful not to show off, "I just learned a thing or two." "N-nice..." Titanium replied, sitting down, "that's definitely more than a thing or two... I underestimated you..." "And you underestimated us," Patch whispered, approaching Juniper from behind. She quickly whipped around and pushed him away from her ribbon, which he had been reaching for while she was unaware. "Almost!" Titanium cried as Patch landed on the ground a few feet away. "You're fast," Patch said, picking himself off the ground, "and our training is already making you stronger." "And you're pretty stealthy," Juniper replied, assuming the same stance from before, "and I've always been this strong." "Don't you dare lose!" Titanium growled, pointing at Patch "We need to get that flag! It's all on you!" "No pressure," Juniper whispered with a smile. "Of course not," Patch replied confidently. In an instant, they ran at each other. Teeth bared and ears flat, they scratched and bit at each other, trying desperately to get ahold of the other's ribbon. Juniper was hard to land a hit on. She was rather fast and avoided very efficiently. Patch was the same. "Finish her already!" Titanium demanded, "get that ribbon! Stop playing around!" "Those two are almost exactly alike aren't they?" Copper said, carefully watching their technique, "I see how they can get along so well." After a while an opening came up, allowing Patch to seize the back of Juniper's neck in his jaws. He bit down, twisted and threw her to the ground. She landed on her back with Patch standing over her, both nose to nose. Immediately Juniper's eyes widened and her face reddened. "U-um..." Juniper said, nervously tucking her paws in closer to her chest. Her tail wagged nervously at how close they were. As soon as Patch noticed the affectionate position they were in, he quickly hopped off. "S-sorry!" he said, his face igniting in embarrassment. "No! It's... it's okay!" Juniper replied, quickly standing up.
Both of their faces were red and neither one of them looked each other in the eye. "Patch!" Titanium shouted as Patch felt his ribbon slip off. "Gotcha!" Decibell announced excitedly. She proudly held up his ribbon, "This means we win right?!" "Every time," Titanium muttered, rubbing his forehead angrily, "you ask that every time. The rules haven't changed. Unless everyone on the opposite team is tagged out or a flag has been captured, the game is still on." He glanced at Patch. "I don't know how you managed to screw that up, but we've still got a chance," he explained, "assuming the others-" "Ahem," Cinder's voice called to him from the edge of the woods. They all turned to see her carrying the males' blue flag in her mouth. "What the-" Titanium growled as she dropped it near their flag. "That's game," Cinder said with a smile, "you guys should pay attention more." Decibell howled excitedly, signaling the end of the game. "How the heck?!" Titanium barked, as they all met in front of the den, "how did we lose?!" "You wanted us to tag all of the girls out," Cobalt muttered, "That's what we did." "You missed the ones capturing the flag!" Titanium cried, "They literally walked in there and walked out without a problem!" "Draga is a ghost," Kodiak shrugged, "didn't even see her coming." "Save your energy for the hunt," Pepper said with a grin, "we'd like elk for dinner by the way. Shouldn't be too difficult for you guys." "Let's get this over with," Silver muttered, standing up. "While we're at it, we should vote for a new team leader too," Cobalt added, trying to set Titanium off. "He got tagged out by Juniper," Patch whispered to Cobalt, offering him fuel to add to Titanium's anger. "The new girl?!" Cobalt cried, glancing at Titanium, "You got tagged out by the new girl?!" "She was no joke," Titanium said with a tired smile, "Patch, you got yourself a monster. Be careful with her."
"Like father, like son," Kodiak pointed out, with a grin, "don't get on her bad side. You'll never win, trust me."
That night, after the males returned from the hunt, Patches entire family and Juniper all gathered in the dining room for dinner. The room was alive with activity and hearty conversation. Cobalt and Silver arm wrestled each other while Titanium angrily listened to Pepper tease him about yet another loss. Carbon stared quietly out of the window while Argon stared blankly into a violent-looking book. Luna explained the contents of a new comic book while Lithium listened quietly. Alex quietly drew in her sketchbook and Abigail ate while Decibell and Arianna took turns singing a song they both made up. Trixie showed off a design she had created to Bolt, who pointed out the flaws and offered suggestions. Howell showed Kodiak and Puzzle a magic trick while Draga (who appeared annoyed) stuck her muzzle in a book. Steel and Cinder threw sharp, but clever insults at each other while Patch and Juniper sat right in the middle of all the action. "So are you from here? Juniper?" Copper asked, setting fresh meat on the center of the table. "I was born in the center isles," Juniper replied, noticeably more comfortable speaking around them, "I spend my time on the mainland when our ship is docked here." "You know," my father used to be a sailor, Copper began explaining before she was cut off by the others. "Can you play an instrument?!" Decibell asked, loud and excited as usual. "I played the piano for a little bit... I'm not very good..." Juniper replied with a small smile, "I'd be embarrassed to show you." "Arianna can play the guitar," Decibell said, shifting the subject once more, "show her Ari!" "Now?" Arianna replied nervously. "May I have everyone's attention please?" Pepper said, standing up in her chair as everyone dug into the fresh meat, "I would like to formally welcome Juniper, our twelfth capture the flag teammate, to the Central Veridian Capture the Flag Female's team as an honorary member!" She glanced at Titanium with a grin. "Because we're still the Central Veridian Champions." "Bite me," Titanium growled. "Okay, okay, she's going to play," Decibell said quickly as Arianna tuned the strings of an electric guitar she seemed to have acquired out of nowhere. "Wait, my amp is broken," Arianna muttered, right as she almost began to play. "So you know how to fight right?" Cinder asked Juniper, leaning back in her chair, "How many animals have you beat up? Other than Titanium I mean." "How many times have you been suspended from school?" Titanium muttered. "She doesn't know. Nobody knows," Kodiak answered, shaking his head, "she was probably out of school longer than she was in." "You think you're cool, but you're not," Steel muttered to Cinder with a smirk, "it's pathetic to see you try." Cinder glared at him while Trixie place Arianna's amp on the table to try and fix it. "Don't hurt yourself," Copper warned, watching nervously as she worked on it. "I can name all of their personalities exactly," Patch whispered to Juniper, "I know it's hard to get a fix on all of them." "No you can't," Trixie, replied, sticking her paw inside of the amp, "you always say-" She quickly pulled her paw out after receiving a minor shock. "Crap," she muttered, sticking her paw in her mouth. "Told you," Copper said. "Watch," Patch said, standing up, "Titanium is competitive and I guess is the leader of the males..." "You guess?" Titanium replied without looking at him. "Pepper is the leader of the females. As you can tell, she's equally competitive," Patch continued, "Bolt and Trixie are engineers, Alex is a shy artist, Steel and Cinder are delinquents..." "Heh," Cinder replied, with a cool smile. "Luna is a nerd, Lithium is quiet, Argon is... dark..., Carbon is the smart one, Puzzle is ditzy, Decibell is loud, Arianna can play any instrument, Abigail eats a lot, Howell is flighty, Cobalt and Silver are competitive against each other, Draga is... dark too...?" "Don't categorize me..." Draga muttered, glaring up at him from her book. "What does 'ditzy' mean?" Puzzle asked with a stupid look on her face. Abigail glanced up from her plate with a mouth full of food, unaware of what was going on. "I'm the adventurous one, dad likes to help others, and mom loves dragons," Patch finished, sitting down, "that's everyone in a nutshell." "Okay, okay, she's going to play for real now!" Decibell said as Arianna turned the amp on with a loud, but brief screech. She began to play a fast-paced, melodic guitar solo in the midst of the dinner. "Where did that guitar come from?" Titanium asked, peeking under the table, "do you just, carry that around with you?" "Nice..." Draga muttered, listening to Arianna's song. "That's a sick guitar rift sweetie," Copper said, with a smile, "do you have to play it now? At the table?" "Don't try and stop her," Kodiak warned, "Once she's on that thing, I swear a demon takes over." The amp cut out in the middle of the song. "Awww, you said you fixed it!" Decibell whined, glancing at Trixie. "I never said that," she replied, shrugging, "I shocked myself, so I gave it back." "Do it again. Whatever you did, just do it again," Cinder said. "Don't," Copper replied, "or you'll electrocute yourself." "So Patch is about to leave here and travel the world," Pepper said, directing the attention towards him, "anyone got anything to say before he leaves for good?" "You're leaving for good?!" Puzzle asked, sitting up. Causing the rest of them to glance at her. "W-well, I'm going to stay where I'm being trained right now..." he replied quietly, "after that, we're going to set off." "Can I have your bed?" Arianna asked, raising her paw, "I want to make mine bigger." "Called it already," Trixie quickly replied. "Stop dividing all of his belongings up!" Pepper demanded, "don't do it in front of him! That's for us to decide after he leaves!" "It was a pleasure sharing a room with you bro," Steel said, nodding, "I'm going to miss writing on your face when you pass out." "You talk in your sleep," Patch muttered, causing everyone else to laugh at him. "I want to say something," Carbon said, standing up. "I, for one, am happy for you," he said, "as the first of us to go off on your own, you're encouraging us to follow our own dreams, wherever they take us. Just like you're doing now. No matter how far you go, or where you end up. You've always got a family waiting to see you again." "Don't come back without souvenirs." Copper joked, causing the rest of them to laugh. "In all seriousness, we really are proud of you, Patch. Both of you," Kodiak added, "ever since you were a pup, even before your eyes opened, you'd always be the one to explore. I knew from early on that you'd be the adventurer out of all of them. Now the time has come for you to find your own way. Your mother and I, your teachers, your brothers and sisters have taught you everything we could. Now it's time for you to apply it in the real world. I know you'll be able to handle it. If you run into trouble, you're always free to come home to rest and refit. Just don't come back without souvenirs." "I want a snow globe!" Puzzle said, raising her paw. The rest of the night calmed down a bit after dinner. A few of them fell asleep while the others moved all of the activities to their own rooms. Patch and Juniper sat alone at the table, the dim lamp above illuminating the dark room. "I love your family Patch," Juniper said with a smile, "everyone is so lively, I bet having so many brothers and sisters is so exciting! I'm glad I came with you." "It is, most of the time," he replied quietly, "it has its ups and downs. And I'm glad you came too." The two sat in silence for a little while longer. "I think we can do this," Juniper said seriously, "It might be hard... but I think we can handle it." "Where's this coming from all of a sudden?" Patch asked with a smile. "I don't know," she replied, "hearing your family ready to support you as you set off... it feels like we have a serious purpose, other than chasing dreams and adventure. It's weird..." Patched chuckled. "I feel it too," he replied, "and I know we can. Together." He sighed and stood up. "We've got training early tomorrow..." he said, stretching, we'd better get some sleep before then. "Yeah," she replied, following him to his room.