A young boy by the name of Jith who originally lived in the town had escaped to a small camp dubbed “New Wysteria” The camp was small and had very few huts but it was sustainable enough to stay in until the castle town was safe to return to. Jith was the son of a blacksmith though he had never actually met his father. He stayed in a house that was left for him by said father. Jith propped his feet up on a nearby rock connected to a larger rugged boulder he laid on to escape the eternal heat of the sun. The large tree above him was verdant green with crystanian buds, though no one had actually seen the fruits grow on the tree, it was still treated nicely and was the only place Jith felt safe in the new world. With the elders of the camp ordering the others to begin constructions on a larger building, it was his only option to escape elsewhere. All eyes were judging him. He not only didn’t have parents to rely on but the elders barely paid any mind to him. He was a lone soul, a lost ghost in the dark. Basking in the warmth of the sun sounded good in theory but the light breezes and crisp rustling of the leaves was the place for him. The only place for him. The silence was broken by a different sound, a disturbance in the bushes. The bushes shook violently. The small patches eaten by caterpillars and glycerin beetles began to expand inside the leaves and a slight few had fallen off. The gray creeping up the leaves and their plant veins had shown its progressive wilting process. Little rain had fallen and the sun had dried everything out but we didn’t have the time or resources to be cutting them down. Something else was amiss. Jith carefully propped himself up upon the rock and put his guard up. Jith immediately fell as a young boy emerged from the bushes. Wearing veridanite padding on his clothing almost like armor. He had a small satchel connected to his waist. He had light blonde hair and golden yellow eyes. Jith, still astonished, nodded with an uneasy look on his face. The boy from the bushes chuckled a little bit then smiled. 

“L-Listen bush boy I don’t know where you came from but what are you doing here?” Jith stuttered.

“Look big man, I’m not here to scare you. No reason to overreact.” The boy said, beginning to smile once again. The boy reached out his hand into the soothing shade under the tree. 

“The names Foliage but my friends call me Lushy, it’s nice to meet you” Lushy explained winking

Jith put his hand out and shook the boy's hand. 

“Uh, well my name is Jith, do you live around here?” Jith asked, confused.

“Nah, I want to but my actual house is in inner Manuela, my parents are always out though so I never get to see them. I’d rather be here with the Wysterian refugees.” Lushy said, stretching his arms out, exposing a scar spread across his hand.

“So that’s what they are calling us eh?”Jith said, looking down into the warm surface of the rock. Lushy shrugged. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened?” Jith hesitantly asked, slightly turning his head away. 

“What happened with what?” Lushy questioned.

“Your hand.” Jith said quietly. Lushy yelped and quickly brought out two gloves which he swiftly slided over his two rugged hands. 

Breathing heavily Lushy turned his head and looked Jith dead in the eyes as if to strike dread into him. “Nothing” Lushy said in a whisper, narrowing his glare.

“I-I’m sorry…” Jith said, astonished at the reaction. I suppose I wasn’t supposed to see that. Jith thought. 

“Look…I overreacted and I am sorry but-” Lushy was interrupted by Jith, who was smiling once again, “A touchy subject?” Lushy nodded and a smile crossed over his face as well. 

“Hey man I know they’ve got pretty strict rules down here but I’ve got a little party set up back at my place if you want to come!” Lushy offered, raising his eyebrows.

“Bold of you to assume I care about the rules set up here, they don’t pay much attention to me anyway. Plus, it's better than sitting here all day.” Jith said laughing.

Lushy gestured to Jith and started walking down the bare pathway. 

“Y'know I’ve never been to Manuela before, what's it like?” Jith asked.

“Well it's nothing special, it's a pretty wealthy town but their military sucks!” Lushy said, looking up at the sky. 

“I mean, it can’t be that bad, ours ran at the sight of a bit of darkness..heh.” Jith explained.

Lushy chuckled and punched Jith in the arm, “I'll race ya!” He said winking. 

Jith tripped and fell. As soon as he managed to catch his balance again he ran after. Lushy wasn’t anything to scoff at though, he ran with excellence almost as if he ran this fast often. Jith ran as fast as he could but he couldn’t catch up, and it wasn’t long before he had to stop to catch his breath. He tried to call for Lush but his throat was too dry and even after Lushy noticed he didn’t bother to stop. He simply laughed and kept going. Jith bit his lower lip and began running again. This time his body felt lighter and his arms were gliding through the air faster. The ground below him became soft and frictionless. He squinted his eyes slightly more than he already had and the world around him became void. All he could see was the path ahead. His breaths almost completely synchronized with his footsteps.

“Hey!” A voice called out, breaking the indefinite silence. The void shattered and Jith slammed their head onto the ground. They almost passed Lushy, but how had they come so far? Had Lushy been waiting? Did they simply space out? Jith looked up at Lushy who was shortly ahead. 

“Hey are you…ok?” Lushy asked, clearly very cocerned. 

“Wh…What happened to me, I couldn’t see anything and I felt great but…not myself at the same time?” Jith asked in a scared voice.

“Well, I saw you coming down the path at an extremely fast speed, prolly faster than me.” Lushy said. “Look, I just met you, I don’t know what your intentions are but..you're scaring me kid.” Lushy explained, taking a large breath.

“Look I’m sorry! I don’t know what happened either.” Jith said 

“Don’t sweat it small fry, we’re almost there.” Lushy said. 

Though it was obvious Lushy was still fairly skeptical they continued on anyway until they were at the gates of Manuela. The large stone doors were just cracked open, all you could see were dull red patterns upon the roofs of houses. Lushy gestured to Jith and they both slid through the doors. Behind the door were fragile wooden supports that had obviously been slightly charred. The ash resided on the finely cut grasses under the door. Jith didn’t pay any mind to the potential story the door stood through. Lushy and Jith weaved throughout the paths and right past the executive building. They ventured into the middle of the large town and there stood a large house, painted with a viscous coat of mallow broth. The house was modern for its time.

“Wow…you, uhh” Jith muttered as he stared at the house.

“I get it, my father was a wealthy man and he never failed to show it off. I never liked the special treatment from the guards but they were always trying to impress him and in turn I got treated like some petty privileged kid” Lushy threw their head to the side.

“I mean yeah but it’s gotta be nice, right?” Jith reasoned.

“Pfft,not even close.” Lushy replied angrily. “But I do get to bring friends in since I have it to myself, I’m pretty sure they’re already here.” Lushy said, and half laughed as he turned the knob and opened the door to his home. Jith followed behind as he made his way inside. Two people sat on cushioned stools in the cooking area. Behind them sat a semi-auto furnace and a large machine made of pure steel as well as the remains of burnt ember runes, almost completely burnt. Jith was astonished, though he didn’t tell the others why it was clear he hadn’t seen so many in one place. They weren’t a complete luxury but they were far from common. Those who tried to mine for them most times would either come back with nothing left or simply never returned from the mines. Though it caught Jiths eye he quickly switched his attention to the two sitting in the kitchen. One was wearing a dark blue, leather hood that created just enough darkness to obscure his face. His arms and legs were covered as well. In the middle of the darkness that obscured his face was one blue slash, running from the top of the shadow to the bottom. The one beside them was a younger girl with red hair. She was wearing a casual leather jacket and black wollenwood cotton pants. Lushy waved his hand to the two and continued to the back of his house where a door led to what Jith thought was the backyard. To his credit, he was correct but he saw something he didn’t exactly expect. In the backyard there were a plethora of people of all different ages cracking jokes and making dares. A small waterfall allowed a few people to slide down it and a natural water spout had gathered a huge crowd. 

“Lushy.” Jith called out blindly grabbing to the right of him. Not feeling a human presence he called out once more. “Lushy…Lushy?” But it was too late, Lushy had left his side and he was alone to navigate this “party”. Jith quietly maneuvered his way throughout the crowd trying to find Lushy once again, but his efforts were to no avail. Knowing his attempt had failed he went to the back of the fence and leaned on the wall. He was hopeless. He had never been around so many people and then again even if he did manage to find Lushy what would he do? It was useless coming here and it was a pitiful attempt at trying to be social. He had failed. But maybe just maybe if he could wait it out he could reunite with the person he was stuck with for an hour whilst they traveled. Time passed and Jith sat in the same spot,a few people even lended their hand to pick him up and include him in the activities but that's not what Jith wanted anymore. He just wanted the “party” to be over. He declined every time but someone always came back to make the offer. He debated leaving but his gut told him to stay. Hours passed and Jith slowly dozed off. Sprawled out, leaning on the oak wood fence with clear burn marks on the front, Jith slept. A crackle came from behind the fencing and the entire crowd had their head turned. In confusion some backed away but more crackles and sounds began coming from the wood. At that point people grew concerned. The crowd knew Jith was there but were too afraid to go wake him. Lushy eventually broke through the crowd, running to Jith but he was far too late. He only managed to take a few more steps before the fence had finally given in and a blast of air and debris blasted Lushy back and Jith too, Jith received several cuts but he was beside Lushy now and wide awake. The creature lifted his head as if it were a chore and roared at those who hadn’t run off. Everyone was too terrified to move. Jith heard a turning noise and realized people were trying to get through the door that led to the backyard. What crazy person would try to come in now? Do they have a death wish? Jith thought. Jith looked back at Lushy and instead of fear he looked determined, he wasn’t intimidated or panicked. He was steady and calm. The two figures who Jith had seen inside the house upon his arrival had busted through the door. They quickly ran to each side of Lushy and Jith. They sharpened their stance and nodded to each other. Jith raised a thumb. The mysterious man's face still was obscured but you could tell he too wasn't going to back down. The mysterious man wasted no time and jumped in the air, leaving light blue marks where his shoes used to be.  From his hand a blue ethereal rope had extended. He whacked the beast with the rope grabbing its attention. Tree leaves shot off the branches and surrounded Lushy. Lushy threw his hand into the air but only a few leaves moved. It wasn’t much but it was enough, preparing an attack he put the leaves on each side of his head and they slowly began lighting up, getting progressively more neon by the second, almost as if they were charging up. Quickly the girl blew past Lushy and jumped high into the air where she landed on the beast's head. The man in the air tossed the ethereal rope to the girl and finally Lushy launched his attack, attempting to make the leaves slice around his eye lids. His shot wasn’t as accurate as he had hoped and only one made a cut on the eyelid. The monster squeezed both eyes shut and the girl used the rope to swing across the monster's neck, wrapping the rope around it simultaneously. It was temporarily immobilized and the rope was tight around its neck yet it was still alive and well. Jith knew they couldn’t keep this up forever, and in a moment of panic he ran up to the giant being and jumped onto it, he snatched the rope and then everything went white. Deafening screams slowly got quieter and quieter. Jith had fallen into unconsciousness. In an infinite white, or so Jith thought, a voice began speaking to Jith. 

A soft but firm voice says, “You are Asr--....” 

The voice was interrupted by the sound of a feminine voice spilling into Jith’s ears. “You just met this kid?” whoever was speaking sounded shaken up. 

Then a more familiar voice started to speak, Lushy. “Yeah, our ‘friendship’ just began,” He said. 

Then the woman spoke once more “So much for timid beginnings”