I really don't want to go in here, I don't know what to expect at home on party nights. Rumala might even have magick set up this year.

Over the last 200 years, Rumala has been picking up on magick bit by bit. For an elf, she is disappointingly bad at magick.

Crossing my fingers as I stepped through the door—

Sssssshhhffsssss

Damn that door! So much for sneaking in. It was a simple magick, just an motion alarm really. Maybe I should start learning some detection incantations?

"Danos! Where have you been, I've been waiting forever for you to get back here!"

No peace tonight I suppose, “Hey Rumala, you’ll never guess what happened toni—”

DANOS! THIS IS LYIR, I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT YOU CANNOT TELL ANYONE ELSE ABOUT OUR MEETING TODAY!

What the? Long distance telepathy? Just how powerful is Lyir?

That caught her attention. "Oh? What happened?"

"I was just..." I need a topic changer and fast! "...I was just wondering why my last name is Echee when my parents' last names are Eillynkash." Well it doesn't really suit the situation but I have always wondered it myself.

She looked genuinely surprised at that. Fair enough, I would be too if my son had not asked about his name when he is several thousand years old.

"We never told you? We didn't give you our last name as well because we had... how would you say it... a premonition that you were special somehow. We felt that you had to have a surname unique to only you."

Wow, I'm glad I thought to ask that. Premonition huh? Maybe she is right considering what happened tonight.

“So did Emcess come over with the ingredients?"

"Oh yes he came a while ago, thanks for getting the stuff."

Disaster averted! I don’t want to imagine what Lyir would do if I told someone regardless of his warning.

"Anytime Rumala. I'm going up to my room now so push the buzzer when you want me to come down."

Ah I love being able to use short distance teleportation. Being the only one in the family that can use magick at a reasonable skill level is great! This way I can have peace and quiet because my room can only be entered through teleportation.

Fuoosh! Now then time for a nap in peace and quiet until the party starts.

***

BZZZZZZZZZZ!

I bolt upright ready for battle. Oh, just the alarm. Jeez, why did I install such a loud buzzer? “I'll be down in a minute Rumala!" I guess it's party time.

I’m really not one for parties of this sort. Lots of people. Lots of noise. Lots of bad decisions; I remember a time that I drank a bit to much and set a load of traps all over the estate. Traps that I had set to detonate on anyone who came across them. What a mess there was when I tried to get to the toilet. Then there was the foyer, the dining room, the garden, the common area. I think it took me until late that evening to find them all without destroying to much of the estate. That reminds me, will that girl Lyir told me about really coming to our place tonight?

"Danos it's about time ya got down here! Hurry up or yer gonna miss out on the Waiss!"

Noisy. "Shhh not so loud Emcess, I just woke up."

"Nonesense! Have some Waiss to wake yerself up!"

"Fine give me some before you drink it all!" I should have some before it's all gone, Rumala only makes it in bulk on my centenaries anyway.

"Hey Danos, ya don't mind if I go roam around a bit do ya? I wanna see if that new girl is here."

"Naw I don't mind." I couldn’t help but notice a wry smile form along Rumalas face after hearing Emcess is looking for a girl. Again.

"Thanks! I'll see ya later then Danos!"

People were starting to flood into the estate we call home at an alarming rate. Everyone wants to have some of the legendary Waiss. For free of course.

Now then, time to go into stealth mode. "Din dae!" Thanks to my self-induced magical training I can hold this stealth spell for hours. Time to get out of here once and for all; I'll just have to use a bit of teleportation magick though because of the crowd.

"Yes I'm out! Now I can go investigate that girl who whipped her freaking apple at me. She was up by the park when she ran off, I'll look up there first.

"Ok now I'm here what am I supposed to do... this was a pretty stupid idea coming out here with no course of action. “I guess I'll just hang here until the party is starting to wind down." I can practice my stealth spell at least; who knows, I might have to use it for longer than hours in the future. I wonder if I can..

Din Dae. Yes! I can use the spell just by mental incantation now! I'm making much faster progress than usual... maybe it is just because it's my centenary. It might be like one of those things where your power is strongest on a full moon or something.

Ugh this is hard to maintain after a few hours, but I must move forward! No pain no gain! Looking forwards I notice something unpleasant.

Oh no. I might get even more pain if this spell cuts off now. Why does that girl have to be the one to find me? I was supposed to find her! Wait this is a good opportunity to practice my breathing while using the spell next to someone.

"Whoo! I got that dope dead center in the forehead! Hah, and he couldn't even keep up with me! Hahahahaha.”

It's to bad that I couldn't stick around and tease him some more though hehe. That would have been fun. I had to leave and find my 'companion'; ugh, old geezer man even sent me a telepathic message that led me to this park bench. But, what do you know, he isn't here!" I wonder if he sent me here expecting me to be slow because I'm new to Shedeth... maybe.

"One thing I don't understand though is that Lyir guy said that Danos Echee would be having a party sooo why did he send me to a park bench?"

"Huh what was that? I could have sworn I just heard someone breathing behind me... oh well I don't see anything. I suppose I have to wait for that idiot to show up... I wonder what type of traveling I have to do with him anyway. For just the two of us to show up in all the doyen visions and for them to have all had the same vision... we must be pretty important!"

I hope it won't be dangerous... I specialize in healing and backup magick. If it comes to fighting I'm running for it... Danos better know some decent magick!

Thump.

What. In. The. Fuck?!

So she finds it funny she hit me in the forehead; I'm tempted to hit her right now... but then my cover is blown.

Wait Lyir is involved?! Who the hell is this girl?!

I couldn’t help letting out the breath I was holding while trying to hear what she was mumbling to herself.

"Huuw" Crap she definitely heard that. But me, I'm her companion?! This is so no ok with me! When Lyir said a girl would be coming to meet me I never expected a hot-headed brunette that is prone to violence! I should stay and find out what exactly Lyir told her.

So, we have to travel together with this... where we will need to use magick. Which means we will have to be traveling out in the wilderness stopping in at towns for supplies. Uh oh my spell has about five minutes left, I have to get out of here!

Opportunity shines for me tonight! I don’t know where this staff came from but it’s begging me to smack her with it! Let’s get this show on the road!

Picking up the staff with a face that carried the weight of the world on it, Danos swiftly swing it in a wide arc above his head like an axe.

Thump. The staff brought up solid in Josays skull. Surprisingly, it had a dampened effect on her. Why did that feel like it didn’t hit as hard as it should have? I was hoping that would at least knock her off the bench.

“Ooowwwooooooooo” She let out a loud moaning noise while holding her hands on the top of her head.

"Uh hi, soooo your the girl Lyir said would be coming to meet me huh?"

"When did you get behind me? You’re Danos Echee? You’re the guy I hit with the—"

She didn’t even finish her sentence out of what I can only imagine as embarrassment based on how red her face went. Conveniently, she also forgot that I had even smacked her with a staff that..vanished? Where did that go? Whatever.

"Yes. The apple. The partially eaten one." My anger began to resurface after remembering that event. “Do you treat everyone you run into like that?”

Bingo. I struck another nerve.

Before speaking again, the girl—now standing—turned around and stammered “n-no. I j-just got excited that I had seen you again b-because there was no-one else I had seen on more than one occasion since coming to Shedeth.”

That’s a fair argument I suppose? I would likely attach myself to someone I had seen multiple times while in a strange, new environment. How about we not make a habit of throwing partially eaten food at each other?”

I got a smile out of her with that. Looks like I can actually be friends with her. Ah, we should probably discuss our—

Before I could even finish my thought process, she cut me off.“So! You and I will be companions in some grand adventure with no set destination in mind? By the way, my name is Josay Pial.”

I already knew that “and mine is Danos Echee, I am sure Lyir mentioned that much to you.” Why is she fidgeting?

"Yeah. In the meantime, since it is your birthday, can you show me around Shedeth a bit more before we have to start traveling again? I have only been here since this morning and it would be a shame to not see the place fully.”

Is she serious? Ugh although I really don't want to she said that so cutely.

"Alright I'll show you around just stick close to me."

"Yay! Thank you so much!" Wow she just jumped, wait!

Somehow, I had ended up with this cute girl I had only just met, in my arms. And, she is surprisingly light now that she is in my arms.

I must have contorted my face strangely because she looked up at me like there was something wrong with me.

“Sorry, I am just surprised at how light you are. That robe of yours hid how small you are.”

Ah! There it is! Cute girl blushing in my arms!

"Hehe thanks. Now then can we go as far away from the square as possible?"

"As far away? Um, alright that just means that we will go towards my house." Hah I bet Lyir said something offensive again, he always does that to the newcomers; I swear he enjoys it.

"Ok lead on chauffeur!"

At that comment, I dropped her on the ground at me feet. "Do not refer to your new partner... er I mean companion as your chauffeur." What a nuisance she is, I hope her personality is just one of those traits that are hardwired into her from the ancestors of her race. Speaking of which "hey, you never told me your race yet."

“Ow! Some warning next time you drop someone would be nice!”

Chance!

“Some warning next time you jump into my arms would be nice!”

Josay started to pout but quickly got up and twirled around. “My race is a s-e-c-r-e-t!”

Huh? So, that means that despite looking human, she is not human? “Eh? So your hiding your true colors? I won’t pry, elves are quite patient and I fully intend to find out at some point.” Naturally, I cannot be traveling with someone who keeps something so basic a secret from me.

"Hey Danos! Is that your house down there?"

After walking for thirty minutes or so, we had finally reached the edge of my estate. "Yeah that's my house... Rumala has a party every year on my centenary."

Flipping around faster than I thought was possible with her size, "who's Rumala?"

"You'll find out soon enough Josay." I just hope she doesn't interrogate her like she does with all the newcomers.

"Uh Josay before we go in you wait here, I have to warn Rumala of something..."

"Can't you wait till we get in?"

"No, this is for your own safety so just wait please."

"Okay, just be quick."

"No problem! Lhûg laer." Although I haven't mastered this spell entirely, I am a least able to use dragon speed. I noticed her face was that of one in awe. Thinking about it as I opened the front door, it makes sense because Dragon Song is a hard spell to master. Anyways, there is no way I can let Rumala interrogate her, the last newcomer was in shock for 2 days! I'll just warn Rumala and be back for Josay in a less than 5 minutes!