"I have so much to say. Make my day. Receive this message well. They will tell."

When Alain stepped through the gate, it pulled him inside.

This must've been how a hot air balloon would feel during takeoff if it were sentient. It felt as though Alain was wrapped in a velvet blanket. He was warm, and he was free. He'd been liberated at long last.

He landed on a silver cloud, reminiscent of cotton candy.

He followed the path until he found himself in front of a magnificent stone archway engraved with embers, ribbons of wind, and an engraving of the North Star at its crown.

His birthmark was enveloped in flames as it floated toward the archway.

Of course, a flaming key couldn't be ordinary. Even with those standards in mind, it wasn't ordinary. One would think it belonged to a royal or nobleman. He was neither of those things. He just won the so-called 'lottery' to be born to well-off businesspeople.

A gentle white light filled the archway.

He was returning at long last.

He practically sprinted the rest of the way through.

He was standing on a sand dune. There was sand as far as the eye could see with an odd rock in the distance. Still, he felt a road within walking distance. He could begin his quest at long last.

He blinked. Where had Noelle gone? He took a deep breath and shut his eyes to focus on the ground. He could feel the vibrations automatically, but focusing on his feet made it easier. He gasped. He picked up two vibrations coming from what appeared to be people. The first set reminded him a bit of Noelle's. The other ones were small but not gentle, reminding him of his second cousin, Star. Though, something felt off about them.

'I'm still here,' Noelle said. 'Know I have telepathy.'

'Yeah, yeah. Whatever.'

At the time, he was too preoccupied by the other vibrations to care. Something was going on.

He took off and found the source by a cluster of buildings.

Alain gritted his teeth.

A boy with shaggy hair was picking on a girl a good few inches shorter than him. Strangely, his eyes almost seemed lifeless like he had brown marbles where his eyes should've been.

"Why do you think this is fun?" A squeak escaped her throat.

Alain approached them. "That's what I was wondering."

"And who do you think you are, buddy?" The shaggy-haired boy threw a stone at him.

Alain didn't bother to dodge since he knew the rock would just be absorbed into his body. As far as he could tell, it would just help regulate the flames he had inside of him later.

"I don't like people who pick on little kids." Alain put his hands in his pockets. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

He was taller than the kid, but his point still stood. It wasn't a fair fight.

He threw another stone at me with the same result.

With his bulging eyes and mouth agape, the kid looked like a bug. "Why are my eyes playing tricks on me? What just happened?" He shouted, "I'm outta here!" as he bolted off.

Alain face palmed. "What a coward..."

Something was off, though... His gait wasn't natural. Did he think he was on a catwalk? There was a presence around him. It gave off a sticky or humid air.

The little girl tugged on Alain's sleeve. Her gentle brown eyes trembled. "Why'd ya save me, mister? Dice could've hurt ya."

"That wouldn't have happened." He got one knee to be on her eye level. "I knew what I was getting into. He couldn't hurt me."

She stared at Alain with eyes the size of saucers.

"Are you by yourself?" he asked.

She shook her head and smiled. "I'm supposed to catch up with my friend soon."

A boy with chocolate brown eyes ran up to her. He was about the same size as Alain but seemingly hit the gym more. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Lee!"

"Don't worry about it!" She looked more like a girl than a doll or stuffed animal now.

He got out of their way.

"Those look nasty." The boy got on one knee. "You alright, Lee?"

Alain hadn't noticed before. The kid—Lee—had nasty, red scrapes on her elbows and knees. Most kids would be bawling right now.

"I'm fine." She grabbed his arms. "It wasn't that bad."

The scrapes begged to differ. They looked terrible.

"Ya know he never means it..." she said.

"He never means it"? What did that mean? Did she know why the shaggy-haired boy did that to her?

He sighed. "I wish..."

A teary film covered her eyes when she met his gaze. "I..."

"Hey, hey! It's alright." He ruffled her hair. "Sorry." He rose and smiled. "Thanks for jumping in to save Lee."

Alain waved the thought away. He didn't need the recognition or appreciation.

The nagging feeling hadn't left. The ordeal was fabricated. Alain couldn't put his finger on how. It was caused by some kind of powerful external force.

"The name's Marshall." He kept his hand on her head. "This here is my little friend, Lie." He offered his hand. "What's your name, bud?"

"Alain." They exchanged a firm handshake. Lee put her hand on top of it. "Alain Watanabe."

Marshall cracked a smile. "Nice to meet you."

There was something familiar about him... but, how could that be? Alain had only met three Engrads before this: Noelle and his comrades. There was no chance to meet him back then, either.

"Likewise." He turned to Lee. "Can I ask how you got your name, kiddo?"

"Her real name's Natalie, but she can't stand it," Marshall replied. "She's been called Lee since she was three or four."

She chimed in with, "Three."

Alain preferred Natalie for her. That said, she didn't need to know that.

"You live in town?" Marshall studied his face. "I've never seen you before."

Rats! I should've put more thought into this! Sweat beaded Alain's brow. I've yet to be in this world for an hour. Of course, I could never just say that... Now what?

"Travelers tend to bump into each other a lot," Lee added.

'Tell them you're from Takiran.' Noelle's voice entered his mind. 'I'll explain later.'

If not for his powers, his cheeks would be burning up right now. His chest was tight. "I—I'm from a place called Takiran."

Marshall furrowed his brows. "Sounds familiar..."

"Marsh." Lee broke him from his thoughts. "I wanna talk."

Alain turned his back. "I'll give you some privacy."

He walked away from them until he couldn't feel their vibrations anymore. He didn't want to risk eavesdropping on them.

They were done five, maybe ten, minutes later. Without any clocks in sight, it was hard to tell.

"Ya waited for the dust to settle, didn't ya?" Natalie looked up at him with big eyes that made her look smaller. "Wanna travel with us? It'd be nice if ya did."

Alain should've gotten more information on Engrad culture beforehand. It sounded like a traveler's world.

"Why not?" He cracked a smile. "I could use a hand getting acquainted with how everything works." He also would've liked a wristwatch if those exist here.

Lee jumped. "Yay!"

The boys sealed the deal with another firm handshake. I... I was in good hands with them.

"When were you planning on leaving?" Alain put his hands behind his head.

"Tomorrow morning." Marshall fidgeted with his shirt. "We need to restock. And this might sound silly, but I'd like to sleep in a bed before we leave."

"I'm going scouting!" Lee bolted off. "See ya later, Marsh!"

"Uh..." Alain stared at where she once stood. "Will she be alright?"

Marshall nodded. "She knows what she's doing, but scrapes are inevitable." He drew a long breath. "Wanna join me or meet up later?"

"I'll track you down later," Alain replied.

He waved. "Feel free to join us whenever!"

Noelle walked out from behind a building once he was out of sight. "I'm sorta surprised you took their offer."

He fell to his knees. "I swear to Kayleigh. I have no idea why I agreed to that." He wiped the sweat from his brow. "It could be nice, though. I don't want to depend on you for everything. Even if that is your job."

"Point taken. Still, I want you to know it isn't a bother. I love my job." She put her hands on her hips. "I felt like you wanted to talk to me. Am I mistaken? It was like you could hardly wait for them to be gone so you could ask."

"You saw the boy with the shaggy hair, right?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

"Did you feel that, too?" A chill ran down his spine. Alain rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. "Something was off about him. Like he was some sort of living puppet."

"I didn't feel anything..."

"How did you not feel that?" he nearly shouted. "His gait wasn't exactly natural, either. It was like he thought he was a flashy performer."

Noelle shrugged. "I know for a fact Earth has its fair share of showoffs."

"That's beside the point, Noelle!"

She took a breath. "I get it, Alain. I'll see what I can dig up. I can't promise I'll find anything, though."

"One last question," he said.

"Of course."

He looked at her sideways. "Why did you tell me to tell Marshall I was from Takiran?"

"Because it isn't a flat out lie." She crossed her arms. "You were here once before. That meeting dubbed you 'The Boy Chosen by the Royal Family'."

Alain wanted to laugh. "That's all?"

"I don't understand the specifics of why but along with being, 'Key Keeper of Takiran', you were given another title."

"And that is?"

She turned her back. "It'll sound absurd to you. If anything, you'll think something like, 'That'll happen when pigs fly'."

"Is that the best answer you have?"

"I don't know that many English expressions!"

With that, Noelle disappeared.

She seemingly left a fog in her wake. If you knew nothing else, you'd assume it just or would soon rain.

Alain really didn't know what to make of her after this conversation.

Now, he had to track down Natalie and/or Marshall. This was one time he missed being able to use a cellphone.

***

What did you guys think of Alain here? Thoughts of what's to come?

Got a pretty thing from @emmasgraphics :D

~Shino out!