Lost | 失われた

Do you ever find yourself wondering... if you're even real?...

A mass of images and noises floods all around me in a great conglomerate of sight and sound, full of darkness and light and every shade and hue of color all swirled together. The sounds rush by me, all mixed up into a low roar like a large waterfall. Even asleep like this, even floating within it in a state of low consciousness, I can feel it all washing around me at a breakneck speed. Even now, after all this time, I don't know if the sights and sounds are the ones moving, or if I am.

I don't know how long I've been here, or how long I've been asleep. I don't know how long this has all been happening to me. It feels like forever, like this is what my life has always been. Maybe it is my life. I wouldn't know otherwise. I don't even know who or what I am.

Suddenly, the sights and sounds finally begin to slow, and it begins to feel like they're streaming by me like a sleepy creek rather than raging past like a mighty river. And then they begin to become more vivid, more noticeable, and so much noisier, even as they slowly start to calm.

Surprised, I stir slightly. I'm beginning to wake up, aren't I? Some part of me wants to be afraid at this sudden change in my state of existence, but I still can't feel anything. I can't even quite bring myself to open my eyes, not yet. I'm still floating. I'm still mostly asleep.

The sounds and images that I can sense and hear and see imprints of even through my eyelids drag on slower and slower until finally, almost all of them stop. But in their place comes a new sort of sensation that overpowers everything else around me.

I'm falling, and fast. And yet, I still can't feel fear. I can't feel anything.

A moment later, I land with a rough bump on a soft pile that crackles as I land. Nearby, I can hear water bubbling along quietly and the sound of wind drifting lazily through trees. The light is dim through my eyelids, but probably brighter than it seems now. But now, I can also smell a crisp, clean smell that it takes me a long moment to place. Pine trees, maybe. But what's a pine tree, again?

Suddenly, just like my sense of smell returned, so does the sense of touch, and for a long moment, I feel like everything is just too overwhelming. I can feel the wind rushing gently over me and the filtered sun's warmth shining down on my face. Underneath me, the pile that I landed on has suddenly become rough and scratchy, hardly a comfortable place to be lying. My side feels dreadfully sore and bruised, not from the fall just now, but from some old injury. And my throat... it feels so dry...

After lying frozen for a moment as I become used to feeling again, I finally get re-accustomed to feeling all the sensations at once, and they begin to fade to a normal level once more. With a weak groan, I blink my eyes open and stare up at the green-filtered world around me.

Yup, there are pine trees, all right. They're everywhere around me; I'm in some kind of pine forest with a stream flowing through the middle of this somewhat-clear area. I'm probably lying on pine needles, too.

After letting my eyes get adjusted to the brightness, I cautiously try moving, attempting to remember what sort of a body I have. I haven't been able to move it in so long; I've very nearly forgotten. In response to my will, I feel two paws clench and unclench one after the other, and then two feet stir at the bottom of my form. That's right. I'm a... puffball. That's the physical form I inhabit.

With another weak groan, I carefully push myself into a sitting position and rub my eyes with my paws. I feel like I've been asleep forever. Part of me wishes I didn't have to wake up. I feel so tired and weak.

My dry throat hurts. The sound of the nearby stream only aggravates the pain. I need water.

Taking my paws away from my eyes, I look down at them. Red-orange. That seems familiar. And my feet are still yellow-orange. That seems right, too. Carefully, I put both paws on the tall, slender trunk of a pine tree beside me, and awkwardly scoot so that I face it. Then, cautiously, I stand up, using the tree as a support and frown over at the creek. It's only ten feet away, probably, but that feels like such a long distance at the moment.

Exhausted, I give a great sigh, only to suddenly freeze when that action brings along with it a sensation that I certainly don't recognize. Something on my face opened. That's not right. Keeping one paw on the tree for balance, I bring the other up to my face and feel around, only to discover an indent on my face that I'm certain wasn't there before I fell asleep. Slightly frightened, I will it to open, and it does.

Bringing my paw away from my face, I stare down at it, but then suddenly rush to the creek with everything in me. I evidently misjudge the distance, because I end up tripping over a stone and landing face-first in the water with a splash. I don't really mind, though, because I push myself up into a sitting position and start awkwardly using my rounded paws to bring water up to my... mouth, I guess. The cool water running throughout my mouth and down my throat brings a welcome sense of relief, and as I continue to drink the sweet, pure water, some of the exhaustion finally starts to subside. I still don't feel quite right, but at least now every movement doesn't feel like a colossal effort.

Once I've quenched my thirst, I sit still until the water's surface has smoothed, and then look down at my reflection quizzically. Most of it seems right; a light-tan, rounded face set against my red-orange body, bland brown eyes framed by short, dark-brown eyelashes, and a peachy-pink blush spot on either side of my face.

But I am rounder than I remember, more of a perfect sphere with paws and feet than I used to be. And most glaringly out of place of all, in between the blush spots sits the line of a mouth. As I frown, my forehead furrows and the corners of the mouth turn down. This is so strange. I've never had a mouth before, at least not that I can remember. I look like... like a Star Warrior. But I don't... I don't think I'm a Star Warrior. I mean, I didn't used to be one, at least, from what I can remember, though from what I can see, I'm obviously one now.

Then again, I can't really remember much of anything from the time before I fell asleep. Most of what I can remember seems like practical knowledge and facts, semantic memories rather than anything episodic. I can't remember who I am or where I came from, or anything about my past. And yet, I can remember things like my proper appearance, pine trees, and something about swords. I'm good with them, that's it. I know how to wield a sword.

I should probably try and find one so I'm not sitting around defenseless like this.

"S toss B-N, ooyo?"

Gasping at the sudden, unintelligible speech that comes from just behind me, I scrabble up onto my feet and grab up a nearby smallish, longish dead tree branch, which I quickly pull into a 'ready' defense position. I may not know who I am or where I am or where I came from, but I'm certainly not about to let anybody mess with me.

Right where I was in the stream a moment ago is a medium blue Star Warrior child, sitting on a silently-floating Warp Star. His face dances between amusement and concern, as if he can't decide what he feels about the current situation. His soft, snowy white eyes are alert and trained carefully on me, tracking my every movement in a mixture of curiosity and caution.

"Too ah-caw-bahs de caw-ere dell C-L-O, ooyo..." he remarks, still speaking in a language I can't understand at all. "S toss B-N? Done de S too fa-me-lee-uh ooyo?"

Frowning, I hold my stick-sword tighter in my paws. "Who are you? What's going on? I can't understand you at all..." Even though he's just a little kid, probably like five or six at the oldest, my voice trembles slightly. I'm not so much afraid of him as of the whole situation. What if I can't understand anyone here? What if they all decide I'm an enemy? I may have the shape and mouth of a Star Warrior now, but if I can't communicate with them... What if they think I'm a monster?

At my words, the kid blinks a couple times and then blushes slightly. Voice friendly, he tells me, the accent from his previous language still carrying into his words, "Sorry, ooyo. I used t'live in Knowledge Province with my Madre— I mean, with my Mother and Father. I used t'know only t'Knowledge language. I know most of t'Chivalrous language now, but sometimes I forget and speak in Knowledge again, ooyo. What I was saying is, 'Are you okay, ooyo? You fell from t'sky. Where is your family?'"

I still can't understand half of what this kid is saying. "I don't have a family. Well, I don't know. Maybe I do. I can't remember. Why do you want to know?" Paws trembling, I grip my stick-sword tighter and stare at him warily, eyes narrowed.

Tilting his head slightly, he repeats, "You fell from t'sky, ooyo. I saw, so I came t'check on you. Are you okay?"

Nodding slowly, I agree, "Yeah," and finally start to lower my weapon-of-sorts some. This kid doesn't really seem to be a threat. "I'm... fine, I think. I'm just... lost. I don't know where I am, or what you're talking about when you say the stuff about Knowledge and Chivalrous and everything."

Blinking, he replies, seeming slightly bemused, "T'Chivalrous language is t'common language, ooyo. Woulda learned it at school in Knowledge Province, but we moved here too soon. Now I have t'learn it good before I can go to t'school here, ooyo."

"What are 'provinces,' though?" I question, feeling so lost. "I don't know where I am at all."

Now he seems a bit surprised, leaning forward slightly so his Warp Star floats slowly closer to me. "So you don't know what Province you're in?"

I shake my head.

"Do you know what Province you're from, ooyo?"

Sighing slightly, still feeling anxious, I shake my head again.

Now he's just a couple of feet away from me. "Do you know what planet this is, ooyo?"

This time I actually answer aloud. "Honestly, I don't even know what Galaxy I'm in at the moment, kid... I'm lost..."

For a long moment, the two of us just stare at each other, but then suddenly he starts giggling excitedly and flying his Warp Star in circles around me, still sitting on it. "So you're a Star Warrior from outer space, ooyo! You've seen all sorts of things, I bet. This is like something out of the storybooks Mad— Mother reads me, ooyo!" Suddenly, he stops again and peers right at me from about two feet above my head. "Are you a hero?" He nods at the stick in my hand. "You're holding it like a sword, ooyo."

Frowning slightly, I eye the stick in my hands and then nod once. "I don't remember for sure, but yeah. I think I'm a hero."

"Cool..." he murmurs in amazement, grinning down at me, before tumbling off his Warp Star, scrabbling up onto his feet, and grabbing a miniature version of my branch. Saluting me with his twig, he then proceeds to jab it at the air haphazardly in a way that would probably end with him unintentionally killing himself were it a real weapon. "I'm gonna be a hero someday, too, ooyo! Gonna kill lotsa bad monsters and save people." As he reaches his twiggy sword out in front of him just a little too far during one strike, he falls over onto his face, tripping over his own round, medium-purple little feet. "Ouch," he mutters into the pine-needle-strewn ground, voice muffled. Pushing himself up, unhurt but embarrassed, he questions of me, "Do you know your name, at least, ooyo?"

Shaking my head, I finally drop my branch entirely and turn away. "No. I don't know who I am or where I came from, all right? I don't know anything like that."

He frowns after me for a second as I walk away along the edge of the stream, only to clamber back onto his Warp Star and float after me. "You're on t'planet Star World, ooyo, the home planet of t'Star Warriors. This is Chivalry Province, and we're close to t'little town I live in, River Village. This stream flows into a river close by, and that's t'river that flows past River Village." After a moment of pause, he adds, "All that's this way is woods. If you want t'find other people, you need t'go t'other way, ooyo."

Sighing, I turn to face him again, not really impatient but not exactly calm either. I'm too anxious. I'm lost, after all. "I don't know if I want to find other people or not. I'm lost, like I told you, uh... what's your name, anyway?"

With a roll of his eyes, he pouts under his breath, "Haven't earned it yet, ooyo." With a shrug, he adds, "Mother used t'call me 'Azure,' but now she wants me t'be a good Chivalry Province boy, so she calls me 'Blue' instead. 'Little Boy Blue' sometimes, ooyo."

Frowning, I watch him for a long second. "Why'd you move to, uh, 'Chivalry Province' if you didn't even know the common language yet?"

He shrugs. "Mother and Father knew it already, so they've been teaching me. It's tricky though, because they switch back and forth between it and Knowledge a lot, ooyo. I should've started school last fall, when I was five, but I didn't know enough of t'common language yet, so Mother taught me at home. Maybe this fall I can go, though, next month. It's summer vacation for everyone right now."

Tilting my head, I question, "So... why'd your parents decide to move?"

He shrugs again. "Father's a doctor, ooyo. Our big town in Knowledge Province had plenty of doctors, so t'important doctor people in Startropolis— t'planet's capital city, ooyo— who are in charge moved Father here because t'old doctor here died. I like exploring t'woods and t'streams, but t'kids here aren't very nice. Used to they wouldn't talk t'me because I couldn't speak the common language good. Now it's because I like books too much, ooyo. I can read some of t'common language, but mostly Mother reads out loud to me." Shaking his head, he looks at me again. "You really don't even know your own name, ooyo? You're big enough you should've earned one already."

His second mentioning of 'earning names' seems to activate some kind of tripwire in my brain, because a bunch of memories start floating around my mind like pesky flies, right on the edge of remembrance but still too far out of reach for me to actually get to them. There's a voice in all of them, the same voice, but it's fuzzy and muffled so I can't tell what it's saying. Finally, as all of the memories start to vanish again, one manages to clear enough to make sense for just a moment, though it fuzzes up in the middle. "It means... blossom."

"Blossom," I whisper softly, but as quickly as the memory came, it vanishes again, leaving me feeling just as lost as before.

"Blossom?" Blue repeats, blinking once or twice. "Your name's Blossom, ooyo?"

It's as good a name as any, I guess, so I nod once and offer the kid a weak smile. "Yeah. I think so." The sensation of smiling makes me feel odd all over again, but not in a bad way. I think I could get used to it eventually.

Blue watches me again before suddenly starting to excitedly ride circles around me once more. "Blossom t'hero! Blossom t'hero from outer space who can use swords!"

I can't help it, I laugh. As anxious as I am, this kid's cheerful demeanor makes it hard to stay worried. "That's about right, Blue," I tell him in a giggle, before growing serious again and trying to catalogue everything I know so far. "So I'm Blossom, and we're close to River Village, a small town in Chivalry Province, which is like a, um, 'world' on Star World."

"It's not a whole planet, ooyo. It's a province... an 'area,' I guess," Blue mutters with an eyebrow raised, before nodding. "But yeah, sounds mostly right. And I'm Blue, ooyo!"

Unable to help myself, I giggle again. "Blue-yo ooyo?"

Suddenly glaring at me, he disagrees with a shake of his head, "No. Blue, ooyo."

"Blue-yo ooyo."

"Nooooo! Blue, ooyo! Blue! Blue! Blue!"

"Whatever you say, Blue-yo ooyo," I giggle, but then grow a bit worried once more. I might have some rough idea of where I am, but I still don't know why I'm here or how to protect myself. Crossing my paws again, I muse to myself, "I need to find a sword, and a shelter... Some gloves would be nice too..."

Blue watches me for a long second before suddenly hopping off of his Warp Star again, twig still held tightly and proudly in a paw. Gesturing for me to follow him while his Warp Star silently tags close behind him, he orders, "C'mon, I'll show you my hideout. It's close by."

Not having any better options, I follow him with an amused sigh, expecting a pile of sticks or something. Instead, he leads me onto a dirt path covered with enterprising little plants here and there, which quickly leads up to a two story, small, square-ish brick building with a curlicue iron-wrought fence running around the edge of the flat roof. "This used t'be t'old doctor's house. No one's been here since before we moved here, so it's kinda dirty, ooyo, but it's really cool. There's swords— my Warp Star never lets me touch them, though, and I can't sneak out without it, even though I've tried— and tons of books. It's really cool, ooyo."

Staring at the building in awe, I follow behind him as he simply opens the unlocked door and steps inside. "T'old doctor didn't have any family, ooyo, so this place doesn't belong t'anybody. S'too bad; everyone should come and read the books. I can't wait till I can read good enough to read them all, ooyo."

"Hoo boy," I mutter as I stare around myself as soon as I've stepped through the door. He wasn't kidding when he said it was a 'bit' dirty. Spiderwebs hang all over the place, and the entire room is coated in dust. Everywhere Blue walks, he leaves footprints of clean floor as the dust sticks to the bottoms of his feet instead. Furniture— tables, desks, wooden chairs, armchairs, couches, you name it— lies toppled all over the place, unbroken and in good shape, but still making a huge mess.

He also wasn't kidding when he said there were lots of books. If anything, that was an understatement. The room is absolutely filled with row after row of bookshelves, all seemingly stuffed to brimming with books, and books of all sorts at that. Stepping over to one shelf, I find all stuffed together in one place a few books about medicine, some history books, a comic book or two, a cookbook, and even a romance novel that looks oddly familiar.

From the next row of shelves over, Blue peeks out at me through a bookless gap. "Everyone in town says Doctor Healmore was a book hoarder, but I think he must've been t'coolest guy ever, ooyo; 'specially if he actually read all these books."

Nodding in awe, I agree, "He wasn't a hoarder; he was a legend, as far as I'm concerned." Frowning at the fact that all the books are stuffed onto the shelf with seemingly no reason or rhyme, I add, bemused and slightly confused, "He certainly wasn't a great organizer, though."

Reaching through the shelf, Blue taps my side once. "You wanna sword, right? Go to t'back of t'room. Meet me by t'staircase."

Nodding wordlessly, I mill through the almost-maze-like shelves until I reach the back wall of the library. There, sure enough, is a flight of stairs that Blue leads me up, up to the second floor.

The top of the staircase is blocked by a door, which seems to be locked when I try it, but Blue gently pushes me off of the top step and then opens the top step up like a secret treasure chest.

"A secret compartment," I grin. Blue nods again. "This guy really was a legend."

"Mmhmm," Blue agrees with a small smile as he shoos a spider out of the mostly-empty compartment and pulls out a beautiful brass key. "Took me months t'find it, ooyo. It's a real good hiding place." With that, he carefully opens the lock— which screeches rather loudly; clearly it needs to be oiled— and shoves the door (which also clearly needs a good oiling) open into the next room. It's too dark to see at first, but then he flips several switches. "They never turned t'power off because Doctor Healmore was the first guy in River Village to ever have power, so his house is directly connected to t'main line and they can't turn it off, ooyo."

It takes a moment, but several lamps come on, lighting the area. It's just as dusty up here as it is downstairs, though all of the furniture is actually upright. One lamp flickers once and then pops as the bulb burns out, and a couple don't even turn on, but it's far better than anything I was expecting.

Coughing, I go over to one window, which is covered with thick, dusty, red velvet curtains, and tug them open. Then, I push open the window— it sticks and grinds but does finally open— letting fresh air and some sunshine in and letting some of the cloying dust air out.

Blue watches quietly as I do this with all of the windows here in the main room. All but one of them have window seats, and once the room is better lit and I can tell Blue to turn off the lamps, I can see that this area is covered with a large, red-with-golden-swirls patterned carpet, and looks like a sitting room, complete with a small brown upright piano up against one wall.

"I've always wanted to learn how to play the piano," I muse aloud, and then jump in surprise at that fact that I actually remembered something somewhat personal like that.

Blue shrugs. "I take lessons with an old lady in town. She's nice, ooyo. All I can play so far is 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and 'Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater,' but it's still cool. This piano's way outta tune, though. I've tried it before." Gesturing to one door on the left side of the room from the entrance, he says, "T'kitchen and washroom are that way, but they're t'biggest mess in t'house, ooyo." Gesturing the opposite way at another door, he adds, "And there's t'bedroom. I used to be afraid that a ghost would be in there, but he's not. It's silly anyway, ooyo; Doctor Healmore moved into t'top floor of t'clinic in town a few years before he died. Father keeps some doctor books and stuff up there now; we live in a house a coupla streets over."

"Wow," I murmur. This place is a small apartment, though not quite as cramped as the library downstairs. It feels cozy. "This really is nice. You're sure it's okay that we're here?"

He shrugs again. "Doesn't belong t'anybody, ooyo. Just sits here empty." Glancing up at me suddenly, he grabs my paw and drags me over to a wooden case with a windowed door. "Here's t'swords."

Giving a soft whistle (something else that feels strange but also kinda fun), I admire the stack of swords, which start with a blunt, small, aluminum practice sword on top and go all the way down to an ornate, gold-hilted, long, silver sword. Leaning close to the glass, I can just barely read 'Captain Healmore, Medic First Class' etched into the hilt in flowing cursive.

Blue notices my interest. "He fought in t'war four centuries ago, t'war with Nightmare and t'monsters, back before General Solar died in a huge battle t'save everyone. Everyone thinks Nightmare's gone now, ooyo."

"The war with Nightmare," I repeat quietly with a shudder. That sounds familiar too, even if the names 'Healmore' and 'Solar' don't at all. Carefully opening the cabinet, I pick up a package of fresh, unopened gloves, dusty on the outside but good as new within. "You sure no one owns this place?"

Blue shrugs. "Nobody does. Even if they did, ooyo, you can get good pairs of gloves for, like, two Stars each. Halcandra makes 'em cheap, ooyo."

The name 'Halcandra' also sounds vaguely familiar, but I let it slide. Opening up the gloves, I slip them into place, feeling rather relieved at having mittens instead of paws again. And then, I take the second largest sword out of the cabinet, a long, straight, double-edged, silver, leather-hilated affair that's a bit shorter than the army sword. Just my size.

For a moment, I simply hold the sword carefully in my glove, but then feel myself fill with a sense of warmth and safety. I'm all right now; now I can defend myself. As a mischievous smirk spreads over my face, I take a 'ready' position, and then gracefully chop and slice through several imaginary enemies, pulling quick spins and even one backflip before pausing to catch my breath.

"Now that's more like it," I whoop in satisfaction, grinning like an idiot. This is my element.

When I glance back at Blue, it's to see him staring at me in awe, snowy-white eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Shaking himself, he murmurs slowly, "You really do know how t'use a sword, ooyo... Whoa..."

Carefully taking the sheath out of the cabinet as well, I put it at my side and and sheathe the sword. "I had a good teacher. I can't remember anything about them, but I know they were one of the best sword-wielders you could ever meet."

Still awed, he tells me softly, "No one really knows how t'use swords anymore. We're too strong for anyone t'challenge us, ooyo, most grownups say. We're like t'rulers of t'Galaxy now. But... I don't think Nightmare's gone. I think he's gonna come back, ooyo, and somebody's gonna have to be able to fight him." Kicking at the ground in frustration, he adds, "Some people think General Solar was t'Warrior of the Stars who was born t'save t'Galaxy from Nightmare, but the Warrior is s'posed t'be pink. That's what all the prophecies about him say. And the history books say Solar was yellow, so it definitely wasn't him, but try telling any grownups that. But it actually means that Nightmare is still alive, but... Nobody seems t'care."

Frowning, I question, "So why do you care?"

He looks at me for a long second, but then diverts his eyes with a shrug. "Dunno, ooyo. Always have, 'guess."

Something tells me he's not telling me everything, but I don't wanna be too pushy. He's just a little kid, after all. Taking the little practice sword down from the top, I blow the dust off of it, sheathe it, and then try to hand it to him, but the Warp Star zips over from the corner of the room and blocks me, still floating silently.

"It can't hurt him," I tell it with a roll of my eyes, and then unsheathe it and try to stab it into the cabinet. Of course, it just bounces off harmlessly; same when I try to swing it against the glass door. "See? Blunt. It's not even that firm; if I hit something with it sideways, it'd bend." With that, I sheath it again.

The Warp Star hovers stubbornly for a second, but then floats back out of the way, seeming to still watch warily despite its lack of eyes (or any other features, being just a golden star).

Eyes wide, Blue stares over at it and then up at me as he reaches up for the sword with both paws.

"Uh-uh," I shake my head, pulling it away again. "You don't reach for a sword when someone else is holding it; you wait for it to be handed to you. Hold your paws flat in front of you, facing up."

Mouth still hanging open in amazement, Blue quickly complies and watches as I set the practice sword down across his paws, the hilt resting on his right paw. Carefully, he holds the sheath with his left paw and pulls the sword out by the hilt, and then then turns it back and forth in the shimmering daylight, filtered to be slightly green by the surrounding pine trees.

"Whoa, ooyo..." he breathes in amazement, and then stares up at me. "I don't inhale it, right? I'm still... not too great at copying t'Abilities. I'm a late bloomer, Mother says, ooyo. Most kids can when they're five, but I'm still not great at it even though I turned six last week. Mother-ooyo says I'll be good at it by next summer though, for sure."

Nodding, I agree, "You don't inhale it. I don't use the Sword Ability; I just use the sword. That's how I'll teach you too." As his eyes grow even wider and he gapes up at me, I add with a grin, "Consider how to receive a sword that's being handed to you and the fact that you won't be inhaling it lessons one and two."

At first, Blue seems too shocked by all of this to respond, but then he gives me a huge grin. "You're really gonna teach me how t'use a sword, ooyo?"

Nodding, I agree, voice serious but face smiling, "The Galaxy always needs heroes, and there has to be some reason why I fell from the sky. Maybe it was to teach you."

Giggling, he swishes the sword once, but then notices my disapproving glance and stops. "I'll wait till I know what I'm doing before I start swinging it, ooyo," he blushes with a giggle, and then grins up at me again. "You're t'best, Blossom-ooyo! Thank you thank you thank you!"

Laughing, I tell him with a nod, "You're welcome, kiddo."

Just then, his Warp Star starts vibrating and making sparkly noises for the first time all day, making us both jump.

Sighing over at it with a roll of his eyes, Blue tells me, "That means Mother-ooyo wants me t'come home. I'll come back tomorrow though, okay? First thing in t'morning." He awkwardly stuffs his sword back into its sheath and dashes over to the buzzing Warp Star, but then skids to a stop before turning around and respectfully, carefully handing the sword back to me. "I can't take this home; Mother'd kill me even though it's a practice sword, ooyo. She doesn't like weapons at all; says they're 'barbaric.' Actually, what she says is 'Solo oon bah-bar-O yeh-var-E-uh S-paw-duhs,' but you get the idea, ooyo."

Having no idea what he just said, I nod anyway as I accept the sword from him and place it carefully back on the top shelf of the cabinet. "I'll keep it safe for you. Have a safe flight home, Blue-yo ooyo."

By now, the Warp Star's sparkling has grown so loud I can barely hear myself think. "That's not my name," he groans at me, before turning to the Warp Star. "I'm coming, ooyo," he whines at it, giving me a 'see what I have to put up with' sort of look that only little kids can make as he jumps up on it. "See ya tomorrow, Blossom-ooyo. You're t'coolest thing that ever fell from t'sky."

I can't help but smile after him as he zips down the stairs and out the front door of the old library. As I watch out a window on the front of the building, he heads down the path that led up to the library, off toward River Village, I guess. I wonder just how far off the village is. I mean, he said it's right next to the river, but all I can hear from here is the stream not too far away, so it can't be too awfully close.

It's kinda surprising that Blue's only six, and especially that the common language is his second language. He seems surprisingly fluent for anybody his age, and has a pretty impressive vocab at that. That's the power of being read to, I guess. One thing's for sure: his mom may not like swords, but her son is certainly as sharp as one.

Closing the sword cabinet carefully, I can't help but marvel at the fact that the swords are in such nice condition after all these years. It's probably 'cause they were shut up in the cabinet and well-cared for up until Doctor Healmore had to move out a few years ago. Giving the long army sword another glance, I murmur with a pensive sigh, "Man, I wish I could've met that guy. He sounds amazing."

With that, though, I turn away from the cabinet and stare around the apartment. As long as no one kicks me out, I have every intention of living here as long as I can. It's perfect. Once I get the library downstairs cleaned and organized, I'll open it up as a public library. Then I'll be adding to the community, right? Hopefully the Star Warriors of River Village will be nice and I'll be able to get along with everyone.

Sighing heavily, I stare around myself for a long moment and then get to work by starting to shove all of the furniture onto the wooden-floored corners of the room so I can roll up the large carpet and push it out the window so it can air out outside. I'll try to get this room and the bedroom cleaned today, and then I'll work on the kitchen tomorrow after training Blue (if he actually shows up again; I hope he will), and then the library downstairs over the days ahead.

I still don't really know who I am, or the full details of where I am, or even why I'm here in the first place. But as long as I'm working on something productive, whether cleaning this place, running a library, or teaching Blue how to use a sword, at least I'll have a purpose. For now, that's enough.

As I shove an empty chest of drawers with a mirror on the back up against the wall, I catch a glimpse of my reflection once again in the dusty mirror. Freezing, I take a long look at myself, now more easily visible than I was in the stream. I definitely don't look quite like I feel like I should, and it's gonna take me quite awhile to get used to having a mouth, but none of this is a bad feeling. Just... strange. New. Different.

Although, for the record, strange, new, and different actually seem pretty nice. Sure, I don't know who I was before, but at least I have some idea of who I can become now.

"Blossom the Star Warrior, a Hero of the Galaxy," I murmur to my reflection, and then add with a faint smile, "Make that a 'Hero First Class' of the Galaxy." With a chuckle, I turn away from the mirror and to the rest of the room, and beyond that, to the rest of Star World.

I have my work cut out for me.