Chapter 1.3

                                    

                                          
          "Alright let's get this trade over with."
                          
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           We walked down the cobblestone street, the lights of Endercon blazed around us. I had to admit I was a bit overwhelmed, we never had a festival of this magnitude in Sky City. Mother would have never even entertained the thought of honoring and celebrating heroes who did good deeds for the sake of kindness. In Sky City everyone had a hidden agenda, no one ever did something nice for someone without expecting something in return. It was kind of a breath of fresh air to be honest. This world is definitely different, but a welcome difference nonetheless. I could definitely get used to this; the freedom, the adventure, and especially the people. 
         "So... I've been meaning to ask you," my eyes gravitated to the redhead speaking next to me. "Where are you from?" I looked around nervously, we had made it to the meet up spot. I bit my lip,
         "Umm... far away? I mean, not too far, but far!" I squeaked, trying to control my vocal chords. She raised an eyebrow at me.
         "Well yeah, I had gathered that much. But where are you from. Definitely not anywhere close to here, I would remember someone who looked like you," I furrowed my brow, was that a compliment? 
         "Well... Umm... I'm from-" I stumbled over my words.
         "PETRA! Do you have what I asked for?" A man's voice growled from behind me. I whipped around, a tall skinny man with long dark black hair and matching beard was standing behind us. He wore green robes and had a self righteous scowl on his face. I looked over at Petra, did she really want to give the skull to this guy?
          "Ivor... Do you have my diamond," her voice became monotone, it was shockingly different from the way she talked to me, there was something eerie about it.
          "Yes, yes. Show me the skull first, than you can have your precious diamond," Ivor said impatiently. Petra reached for the skull, I put my hand on her shoulder to stop her.
           "Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked her quietly. Ivor turned to me,
          "How dare you interfere with my private business, you... you..." Ivor's eyes went wide as I turned to face him. Petra raised an eyebrow at the shaken man.
          "Isa?" He whispered, voice soft as the wind on a summer day. I looked at him shocked.
          "How do you know my mother?" I demanded. He looked me up and down,
           "Forgive my mistake princess, you look much like her," I flinched for two reasons; one I was compared to the harpy that birthed me, and two he said princess. I looked over at Petra timidly. The word was not lost on her. Ivor looked at his watch,
            "I need that skull, as much as I would love to talk more, I've got somewhere to be." Petra nodded and pulled out the skull and handed to him. He look at it approvingly.
            "Now my diamond," Petra reminded the strange man.
             "It's in the chest behind you. Pleasure doing business with you," we turned to the chest. Petra bent over and opened it. Inside it was a blue object. Petra pulled it out and snarled,
            "Lapis! He tricked me!" Even being from a different world I knew the difference between lapis and diamond. The fact that Ivor lied and cheated to get what he wanted angered me, no wonder he knew my mother. 
         "Come on, let's go get your diamond," she nodded at me and took off.
          We split up, hoping to cover more ground and find the thief faster. After accidentally finding a women with the same colored clothing and hair (not my fault she looked like Ivor from the back!) I was able to find the tall and bulky boy Petra had introduced me to, Axel I think his name is. He was in front of some sort of chicken machine, in his arms he held Reuben. When the little pig spotted me, he leapt out of Axel's arms. He ran over, squealing happily. Axel looked over and waved at me. I walked up beside him.
           "Hey Jesse! How'd that thing you and Petra had to take care of go?" He asked. 
          "Not good. This guy cheated Petra out of a diamond," I told him. 
          "Yikes, everyone knows you don't mess with Petra," he said seeming genuinely concerned for Ivor.
          "Can you help me look for him?" I asked, thankfully he nodded. 
          After a while of looking we met Petra and Olivia near the stairs leading to where the main event was taking place.
          "Did you find him?" Petra asked hopefully. Me and Axel shook our heads, I looked away from Petra. 
         "Don't look now but here comes trouble," Olivia said, nodding in my direction. I turn around and see four people in matching black leather jackets coming towards us.
          "Well, well, well. If it isn't the Order of the Losers," the one with brown hair and an annoyingly snarky voice taunted. The blond guy next to him cringed subtlety, obviously not agreeing with his annoying friend.
           "It's not, unless your looking in a mirror," Petra said coolly. I looked between the two groups trying to decipher what was going on. Until the rude knucklehead who insulted my new friends looked at me. He seemed to do a double take. His eyes trailed slowly up and down my body, I curled my lip disgustedly. In my peripheral vision I saw Petra draw her iron pickaxe giving the man a death glare. 
         "I'm Aiden, the leader of the Ocelots. Behind me are Gill, Maya, and Lukas," he gestured to the people behind him. The blond boy, Lukas gave Aiden a ticked off look.
          "Why are you hanging out with theses losers? I could show a gorgeous girl like you a real good time," Aiden said, licking his lips. Petra looked about ready to stab his brains out, even I was becoming a bit fed up with him.
           "Listen you sexist piece of donkey poop, I most definitely do not want to have a 'good time' with you. Don't ever call my friends losers ever again or you'll regret it," I glared at him, channeling as much of my mother's icy manner as I could. I walked over to him grabbed his shirt collar and whispered in his ear,
          "Even if you were attractive I still wouldn't be with you, I don't swing that way darling." I suddenly let go of his collar and he fell in a heap. I raised my eyebrows and motioned for him to go.
          "Come on guys let's get out of here," Aiden said shakily. I smirked as I watched them sulk away.
          "Did you seriously just do that?" Olivia cried from behind me. I turned to her confused,
         "What's the matter?" I asked.
         "You just told off Aiden, the coolest person in town! You could have been set for life! Why would you throw that away?" She asked. I smiled at them,
         "Because you guys are worth it!"
                          
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Hey wolf pack, sorry for the delay on this update. If you read my other book "When the Moon Rises", (shameless plug) you'll know I've been dealing with some stuff lately. Anywho, shoutouts of the day are @aestheticsaturn, @Knight254, @Magicpony45, and @Zoebella2006.
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~Wolfe🐺