Edel's Journey (Side stories)

(Not written by me)

Fuyuki watched the fishing line intently. He was bundled up  in a large poofy jacket that made him look like a walking marshmallow.  The brown hat and snow pants added a bit of silliness to his look. If  you stuck him by a fire, why, he’d look just like a smores. Even though  Wishwings had fur with good insulation, this particular day in Snowdrop  had the lowest temperature in five years. Still, Fuyuki insisted on  fishing. He missed the raw taste of freshly caught fish, and he was  determined to get some. However, the large bucket next to him was  currently empty.

Pouting slightly, Fuyuki rested his chin in his palm. He  made sure to use the highest quality bait, but the fish still weren’t  biting. The bait’s formula was created by Penelope Akker, the eldest  citizen in Snowdrop. Despite being close to eighty years old, the old  woman continued to fish even though her body was wracked with arthritis.  Fuyuki frequently helped her with chores. She still managed to do most  of her chores by herself, but she always appreciated a helping hand.

“Fuyuki!”

Fuyuki looked behind him to see Edel flying before landing softly on the ice beside him. “Hi, Edel.”

Edel looked briefly at the empty bucket and then at  Fuyuki’s sullen expression. Smiling helplessly, he patted Fuyuki’s head.  “Let’s go home. It’s cold out, and you haven’t caught anything for the  past hour.”

Fuyuki immediately burst into tears. “I want fish!”

‘Oh, here we go again.’ By now, Edel was an expert at  coaxing the young Wishwing. “Now, now, there’s no need for that. There’s  fish back home.”

Fuyuki kept crying, “I want to eat raw fish!”

Edel sighed and continued consoling him. “Tama bought a bunch of fatty tuna nigiri. Wouldn’t you like that?”

Fuyuki sniffled and rubbed his eyes. “Y-Yes…”

“Okay, good boy. Let’s go then.” Sighing again internally,  Edel helped Fuyuki pack his things, and they both returned to the house.

 

The small house was cozy and warm with the fireplace lit in  the corner. Tama was busy in the kitchen, preparing the last of the  holiday feast. A prime rib that the butcher prepared was currently being  carved as vegetables roasted in the oven. The earthy and umami smells  mingled, and it’d be enough to make anyone’s mouth water.

Edel brought in a dejected Fuyuki. Edel greeted, “Hello, Tama.”

Tama looked up from where he carved the prime rib on the kitchen counter. “Hello. I see you managed to bring Fuyuki.”

Fuyuki sniffed the air. “Did you bring sushi?”

Tama chuckled, setting the knife down. He reached into the  ice box and pulled out the large covered plate of nigiri, handrolls, and  maki. There was fatty tuna, uni, albacore, mackerel, salmon, and even  more stacked high on the plate. Large roe decorated the tops of some  pieces with small pickled ginger sticking out of the handrolls.

“Waah!” A wide grin splitting his face, Fuyuki immediately took the plate and plopped down on the sofa. “Thank you, Tama!”

Shaking his head with a smile. “It’s no problem, Fuyuki.”

Edel, “Is there anything you need help with, Tama?”

“No, go relax with Fuyuki. It’s almost done.”

Edel sat on the sofa next to Fuyuki who had already started  scarfing down the various pieces of sushi. The end of a handroll stuck  out of him mouth when he turned towards Edel. “This is much better….”

“See? There’s no need to make such a fuss. You can fish on  another day.” Edel patted his shoulder, and Fuyuki offered him a piece  of nigiri with uni on it. “Thank you.”

He ate the nigiri, enjoying the sweet taste of uni with the wasabi burn.

Fuyuki giggled, popping a piece of fatty tuna into his  mouth. Edel had a theory that Fuyuki didn’t chew his food, only  swallowing whatever he ate whole. Wincing internally, he remembered the  time he bought all that fish for Fuyuki when they first met. The child  had broken his wallet so badly that not even dust bunnies flew out.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. When Tama opened it, an elderly woman greeted, “Good afternoon, Tama.”

Tama hugged her carefully. “Hi, Penelope.”

Penelope walked into the house, and when she spotted Fuyuki  and Edel on the couch together, she walked over and patted both on the  shoulder. “Hello, boys.”

Fuyuki was in the middle of swallowing another piece of sushi, so Edel patted her hand. “Hey, Miss Akker.”

Fuyuki swallowed the sushi and grinned. “Miss Akker! Merry Christmas!”

She patted him gently on the head. “Did you go fishing, Fuyuki?”

“Yes, but I didn’t catch anything…” He pouted with a  protruding lip. There were grains of rice around his mouth, but he  didn’t notice.

“Ah, yes, yes, but it seems you’ve been eating well.”

Indeed. Fuyuki had already eaten half of the sushi when  there had to have been over a hundred pieces on the plate originally. He  showed no signs of stopping either. Maybe Wishwings didn’t have normal  stomachs after all.

Fuyuki continued snacking – could it really be called snacking? – on the sushi while Tama announced, “Everything’s finished.”

Edel stood from the couch. “I’ll help set the table.”

Tama thanked him, and Penelope nudged Fuyuki. “Let’s go sit at the table.”

Nodding with his mouth full, Fuyuki dragged his plate of  sushi over to the oak wood table. This table was older than he was, but  it remained sturdy. You could probably drop a dumbbell on it, and it  still wouldn’t crack.

As he set the table, Edel said, “Thank you for the meal, Tama.”

“Of course.” The man chuckled and thumped his back  heartily. “I’m glad you were able to visit for the holidays. Fuyuki was  missing you dearly.”

Fuyuki nodded in agreement. “Without you, I don’t have anyone else to fly with.”

“Yes, I’ve been busy lately, but I wanted to visit you  during the holidays. Snowdrop is the perfect place for celebrating.  You’re all so festive up here.”

Snowdrop had decorated the whole town with strings of  colored lights connecting the streetlamps and homes light constellations  in the sky. Even the normal trees were adorned with ornaments and  lights. At night, the whole town lit up during winter.

Edel had flown over it once, and the sight was certainly breathtaking.

“Fuyuki, um…did you eat enough?” Edel noticed that Fuyuki  had eaten every piece of sushi that Tama had made for him. Fuyuki’s  stomach was bulging slightly as he grinned in satisfaction. The child  would probably fall into a food coma after the meal.

Fuyuki giggled. “Yeah…”

Talking to Fuyuki after a fish binge was like talking to a  drunk person that’d had far too many shots of strong whisky and was  determined to climb up a slippery hill to “watch the view, bro.”

At the very least, unlike a drunk, Fuyuki didn’t throw up  all of what he ingested. Fuyuki waddled away from the table and  collapsed on the sofa. His eyes drifted shut. Having dealt with his  antics enough, the other three let it be and continued conversing  amongst themselves.

Tama asked, “Edel, I heard you went to Entellis. How was it?”

“Complete opposite of here. A friend and I traveled through  the desert to find some ruins.” Edel cut his prime rib and dipped it in  the steak sauce. After eating it, he continued, “The ruins were  amazing! Part of it was buried under the sand, so we had to go in  through a tower’s open window.”

Penelope, “What did you find there?”

“Many, many lost books. My friend, Enzo, said they must’ve  been centuries old.” Of course, Edel skipped over the part where he  discovered he wasn’t a true Lilidae and could shapeshift at will to  different forms. “I ended up learning some magic too. We also  encountered a giant sand worm and had to fight it off.”

“Oh my!” Penelope gasped quietly. “How did you manage against such a beast?”

“Enzo is an herbalist, so he carried some bad tasting  medicine in his pouch. I threw the vials into the beast’s mouth and lit  it on fire with magic. It caused an explosion, so we fled.”

Penelope sighed ruefully. “Stop going on such dangerous  adventures, Edel. This old lady worries about you. Don’t drive me into  an early grave.”

“I’ll do my best, ma’am,” Edel half-heartedly agreed with an ingratiating smile.

Tama passed him more vegetables. They’d been roasted with  sage and basil along with a bit of nutmeg. The strong aroma was  comforting for Edel, always reminding him he could call this place home.

Fuyuki continued snoring on the couch as the three ate, mumbling in his sleep, “Fish….”

            “You should write more often, Edel.” Tama  laughed and looked over at the couch where Fuyuki was napping. “Getting a  letter from you makes Fuyuki’s whole day.”

            “Aha, sorry about that. I’m constantly on the  move so it’s hard to keep sending letters. I’ll try to send more though.  I promise.” Edel traveled all over Atelleon. Before he returned to  Snowdrop, he’d been spending time training with the knights of Veria in  the city of Axliea.

            He couldn’t deny he was more comfortable being  in his Lilidae form, but he’d learned plenty while transformed as a  Dreamy. Still, being without his wings made him feel too vulnerable, so  while in Veria, he’d secretly transform back into a Lilidae in order to  sleep.

            As for the visions –

            Truthfully, celebrating Christmas wasn’t the only reason he returned to Snowdrop.

            After finishing his training with the knights,  he’d received a vision of the library on fire, but since arriving, there  hadn’t been any incidents. He remained vigilant. He could allow himself  to relax just a little bit during today though. He didn’t want to be  tense when the small town was in such good spirits.

            

            Once the meal was finished, Tama, Penelope, and  Edel joined Fuyuki in the living room, gathering around the fireplace.  Fuyuki woke from his nap, wiping away the bit of drool from his mouth.

            Tama handed him a mug of hot chocolate, saying, “I hope Edel will be able to join us against next year.”

            Edel sipped on the hot chocolate. “I hope so too. It’s nice being able to celebrate the holidays with someone.”

            “Ah, I remember when my husband was still  around…” Penelope reminisced, “We’d always invite the children over to  hand out presents, but it’s too hard to do it by myself now. Also, all  the children have grown up. They like to do their own things now.”

            “You always have a place here, Miss Akker!”  Fuyuki’s upper lip was wet with hot chocolate, forming a little  mustache.

            “Yes, I do. Thank you, Fuyuki.”

            Fuyuki giggled more, contently leaning back against the sofa.

            Smiling to himself, Edel allowed himself to  relax, closing his eyes. For him, it was all a beautiful dream he didn’t  want to wake up from.