The Exploring Butterfly (Strange World X Encanto)

Chapter Two: Ten Years Later

Ten Years Later

Mirabel Was Now Fifteen Years Old And Ethan Was Sixteen Years Old, Mirabel Lived In A Home For Girls For Ten Years, But She Still Visited The Clades And Started Knowing How To Grow Pando.

"Hey, Guys!" Ethan And Mirabel Hear A Voice Call.

A Floating Truck Stopped At The Farm To Reveal Ethan's Friends, Kardez, Azimuth, And Diazo.

"Hey, Guys, Long Time, No See!" Ethan Called Back.

"Bro, We Just Got Some Of The Limited Addition Primal Outpost Card Packs, They Sold Out Under Fifteen Minutes!" Kardez Replied Excitedly.

"Ugh, We Knew We Should've Camped Them Out," Mirabel Groaned.

"You Really Think We Forgot You Guys?" Diazo Asked As He Stuck His Head Out Of The Back Of The Truck.

"Oh... Hi- Diazo, I D-Didn't See You Over There..Not-Not That You Aren't Noticeable, Just-" Ethan Stumbled Over His Words And He Leaned Onto The Wooden Fence Behind Him. "H-Hi, How Are You Doing?"

Diazo Chuckled At Ethan As He Hopped Out Of The Truck And Walked To Him.

"Okay, Let's Open Them!" Mirabel Squeaked.

Everyone Opened Out Their Packs And Mirabel Stared At Her Card, Not Interested, She Had Planed On Giving Her Card To Someone Else, Anyway, She Wasn't Really Into This Game Or The Collecting Aspect Of It, She Happened To Get An Animal Caretaker.

"A Medic," Azimuth Cooly Said.

"Ooh, A Cook, I'ma Be Making Things With This," Kardez Exclaimed.

Ethan And Diazo Seem To Exchange A Few Words, Before Diazo Gave Ethan His Card, Ethan's Face Heated Up, Diazo Suddenly Snatched His Beanie And Reached It Above Ethan's Reach Playfully, As They Tussle, Mirabel Was Lost In Her Own World.

Mirabel Had A Crush On Ethan, She Was A Bit Bothered By It, But He Was Nice.

Mirabel Realized Searcher Was Talking To Her, She Quickly Snapped Back Into Reality, She Didn't Notice He Was There.

"Aren't You?" Searcher Repeated.

Mirabel Glanced Over At Ethan And He Seemed Embarrassed About Searcher's Antics, She Shoots Him A Glance Of Her Own.

"Sorry, What Did You Say? I Was Stuck In The Clouds For A Second," Mirabel Said.

"You And Ethan Make A Really Good Match, Eh?" Searcher Asked.

Mirabel Looked Back Behind Searcher And At Ethan Mouthing "No" At Her, She Just Smirks, "Nahh-It's Probably Diazo Over Here, Really Kind And Everything!"

Mirabel Heard The Strain In Her Own Voice, But She Doesn't Think Anyone Notices It.

She's Only Been Visiting The Clades For Ten Years, But They Seem Really Outgoing And Charismatic, They Were Extremely Passionate About Work, And She Respected Them For That, And Being Her Boyfriend's Dad...Of Course.

As Ethan Took A Quick Breath Of Relief, He Slouched Over And Grabs Searcher, Who Is Chittering With Diazo And Embarrassing Him Even More.

"Come On, Mira, We Gotta Go Farm Our Pando, See You Guys Later!" Ethan Said As He Grabbed Mirabel's Wrist And Dragged Her To The Fields, Keeping His Eyes Off His Friends, Legend Trotted Beside Everyone, Excited About Something.

Searcher Turned To Ethan And Said, "Hey, Ethan, Your Friends Are Super Cool, Especially That Diazo Guy, You Know, I Had My First Crush Once, She Had Braces And So Did I, We Were Actually Stuck Once, It Wasn't So Bad-"

"Dad, Stop!" Ethan Groaned As Mirabel Giggled And They All Walk Back To Their House To Grab Some Buckets.

Minutes Later

Everyone Grew Pando For A Long While And Stopped Around Noon To Take A Short Break, Then They Pack Up All Of Their Harvested Pods, Mirabel Got To Try Some Of Meridian's Sandwiches And Some Lemonade With It.

Mirabel Looked Over The Freshly Crops And She Noticed Something Strange, A Full Bucket's Pando's Looked Charred And Dead, A Result Of Them Losing Energy, She Quickly Showed It To Searcher.

"Hey, Searcher, Look," Mirabel Quickly Grabbed Searcher's Attention With Her Troubled Voice.

"What Is It, Mirabel?" Searcher Asked, Equally Concerned, Mirabel Handed Searcher The Crate And He Put Them On A Table And Studied Them For A Second.

"Hey, Guys, What's The Matter?" Ethan Asked Walking Over To Searcher And Mirabel, He Lazily Swung His Arm Over Mirabel's Shoulder And She Shuffled A Bit Closer To Him.

"Some Of The Pandos Are Dead," Mirabel Replies.

"Which Should Be Impossible, We Haven't Even Picked These Over An Hour Ago," Searcher Frowned To Himself.

Ethan Shrugged As He Said, "Eh, They Could've Have Just Been A Bad Batch, We've Gotten Those Before, Dad."

Searcher Hummed And Sat Down The Dead Pando He Had In His Hand Down As He Asked, "Well, Mirabel, Were There Any More?"

"No, Searcher," Mirabel Replies.

"Well, Then," Searcher Said As He Dusted Off His Hands Off Before Picking Up The Crate And Continued Saying, "I'll Go Dispose These, Ethan, Grab A Fresh Batch And You Guys Get In The Truck."

Ethan Let His Arm Roll Off Mirabel's Back And She And Legend Follow Behind Him As He Grabbed Another Crate, She Grabbed One As Well Just In Case Something Similar Happens.

Being In The Tiny Delivery Truck Is An Experience, Mirabel Used To Sit Beside Ethan As They Drive, But Now, She Had To Sit In Front Of Him On The Edge Of The Seat, Legend Was Also Taking Up The Floorboard And That Made The Space Even Smaller For The Three Of Them, Somehow, They Manage.

Soon, Searcher Opened The Door, Sat Down, And Started The Truck, They Drive Off, Ready To Deliver Some Fresh Pando.

"Here You Go, Señora Brown," Mirabel Cheerily Said To The Woman Who Took The Crate From Her Hands, She Gave Her A Small Bit Of Cash And She Skittered Away With A Wave.

"Here You Go, Searcher!" Mirabel Chirped To Searcher.

Searcher Divided The Seven Dollars, Giving Mirabel Three Of The Bills, "Here, Mirabel, I Think You Deserve It, You've Been A Big Help On The Farm And It's So Fun Being Around You, You Make Ethan Very Happy, Even If It Means Doing His Chores."

Mirabel Smiled And Quickly Accepted The Cash, Stuffing It In Her Pocket, She Liked The Thought Of Making Someone Happy And Gaining Respect From Not Only Searcher, But A Clade.

Apparently, Ethan Was Jaeger Clade's Grandson, Jaeger Was Supposedly A Hero To The Village And A Great Explorer, Sure, He Could've Been A Traveler, But Mirabel Didn't Think He's That Cool, At Least Not His Statue, But Since People Idolized Their Family, She May As Well Appreciate A Praise.

Mirabel Joined Ethan And Legend As They Play Ball And They All Play Monkey In The Middle (Legend Being The Monkey) As Searcher Finished A Few More Deliveries.

Since There's Now A Bit Of Room In The Back, Mirabel Decided To Sit There As She Didn't Like To Be Squished, Sure, She Liked Ethan, But Her Personal Space Mattered More Than A Boy Sometimes, Other Times, She'd Be Extra Cuddly.

"DID YOU HEAR THAT, MIRABEL?! ETHAN SAID I'M A REALLY GOOD DAD!" Searcher Suddenly Yelled Out Of His Window, Mirabel Covered Her Ears, Not Liking The Loudness, The Same As Her Prima, Dolores, She Still Laughed And Sent A Questioning Look To An Embarrassed Ethan.

Everyone Finished Their Rounds, Eventually, All Of The Pando Is Gone, Done Sold, As It Was Getting Late, Mirabel Walked Back To The Clades' House.

English Translations:

Señora = Lady

Prima = Cousin