Phantoms and Otherworldly Beings
Chapter 1:
DEORCON
<Greetings. It is a nice day, is it not?>
Indeed, a nice day it is. With that gentle breeze and a sky lacking in clouds, this is not a day to stay cooped up inside your houses.
A gust of wind blows by.
Personally, though, Henrietta found it a little brighter than she would have liked. The sunlight feels a tad too hot on her skin, and the air is a little more humid than she would have liked. She’s also feeling a tad awkward standing next to a sign in the middle of the road, and not just because of the clearly human...being standing on the other side of the sign.
A gust of wind blows by.
“Ah, yeah. It’s not bad I guess,” the girl replied, “I...uh...like the breeze.”
<Indeed! The breeze is of a very high quality> the being with a singular vision started <Gentle and cool. Not so violent as to blow away one’s articles, but strong enough to take with it the heat on our bodies. And, of course, I enjoy the contrast between the cool breeze and the humid sunlight. My colleagues disagree, but I guess that is all subjective...>
If only her teacher didn’t send her on an errand to meet up with this Mr. Rodney for a package...Henrietta naturally soldiered on, but it would be great if this Mr. Rodney would arrive soon. One can only listen to the ramblings of another for so long, even from a clearly (not) human cyclops. Just seeing the light in that singular vision aim at her is enough to shake her nerves.
A gust of wind blows by.
<...and so I declare this weather to be ‘Very Nice’!> the being finished <Well, thank you for listening to my ramblings, but would you mind listening to what I have to ask?>
“Hmm? Uh...sure.”
<Well, you see, my good friend Helen wants this...package here delivered. But she can’t come today, so her apprentice Henrietta is supposed to come get it in her, but she isn’t here yet. >
“...You’re Mr. Rodney?”
<...>
“...”
A gust of wind blows by.
They quickly got down to business.
“...So yeah, here’s the money from Teacher.”
<The payment has been received> Rodney declared, and they stored the money away in higher space <Thank you for your patronage>
“Uh, what’s in this package anyway?”
<I am not in the habit of revealing the contents of my client’s package, so you should ask Helen about it>
After waving Rodney goodbye, Henrietta made her way back into the forest where her teacher lived.
Who would’ve thought that she would meet one of the very rare humanoid deorcons during a simple errand? Those variations that only number in the double digits worldwide are the kind of beings one would consider mythical! As she thought, life had become a lot stranger ever since she became Teacher’s apprentice.
As Henrietta observed the package in her hands, she can’t help but be curious as to what lies inside. At first glance, it seems to be a stack of books? As much as the girl wanted to see what kind of books her teacher reads, though, something told her that might make the teacher mad.
So, ever so slightly, she sped up her walking pace in hopes of asking Teacher faster.
However, a small pack of wolf-like deorcons disagreed with that plan, as they approached her with every intention of having a feast.
“Tch, Of course something would attack me now.”
While perhaps not the most dangerous of beings around, the various predatory deorcons are well known for being numerous, abundant, and everywhere. The extreme adaptability of a deorcon allows them to thrive in any environment, so travelers can always expect to meet a deorcon variation no matter where they go.
While a pack of predatory deorcons spell big trouble to a lone traveler, they are but a pest to someone like Henrietta. Thanks to her training under Teacher, the girl is more then suited to handle a pack of smaller deorcons.
“Go away. I have a package to deliver,” she said as she brought her Higher Space Body down to the observable universe and punted the small fries around.
Upon realizing that their prey can fight back, the deorcons promptly turned tail and fled. No point in fighting a stronger prey when they can go subdue weaker ones instead.
“Seriously, they’re everywhere...” the girl muttered to herself as she went on her way.
Eventually, she arrived at her teacher’s abode.
When she entered the house of her teacher, the first person she saw was a void shaped like a lady...the one she refers to as Teacher.
“I’ve got your package, Teacher,” Henrietta announced after a short greeting.
<Thank you, dear Henrietta> the void replied as she got up and received the package.
“Do you mind if I ask you what that package is, Teacher?”
<Oh, no problem> Teacher said as she held the package in one hand and inserted the other hand through the cover <It’s not exactly a secret item or anything>
She then pulled the mystery contest through Higher Space...and out came a stack of comics.
“Hmm? Isn’t that the latest three volumes of Idolon Ex Corpus?” Henrietta observed, “Didn’t know Teacher is also reading that series.”
<What can I say? I got hooked the moment I opened the first volume after I found the series at the local book store> Teacher explained as she got back on her chair and opened the earliest of the three volumes <Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the latest three volumes, so I got Rodney to buy them for me>
“Heh, only Teacher would ask a rare deorcon to buy things for her,” Henrietta joked, “Speaking of which! Why didn’t you tell me Mr. Rodney was a deorcon? I would’ve liked to take a picture with...uh...him.”
<Huh...must’ve forgotten that he’s an unusual sight>
“...Of course.”
<But hey, that’s on him for working as a delivery person. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll see him again somewhere else> Helen assured her apprentice <Now why don’t you run along and go play with Ishva? I’ve got some comics to read through, so consider this a free day>
“Alright then...guess there’s nothing else to do around here.”
Henrietta said her goodbyes and left to find her partner, Ishva. Maybe another interesting thing will happen.
