Starry Misfits

Introduction

"We're all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?"

— The Doctor

Now

"Are you sure about this?"

A group of teenagers and young adults sat around a plain, wooden table in a nondescript room, serious faces on them all. Sheets of paper littered the table in front of them, some covered in writing, some with images that looked torn out of a fantasy novel.

"People have to know that there's still light in this world. We need to give them their light back - if not for our sake or theirs', then for them." The speaker, a tall young woman with glasses, glanced down at a drawing of a pink-winged angel as she spoke, her expression wistful and eyes shining. The black-haired boy in a blue windbreaker beside her nudged her shoulder gently, then turned to look at the rest.

"Ebear is right. They would want us to do this. Despite...what happened, that wouldn't of changed how they felt about the situation. Our world is falling to shadow, and we need to pull it back into light. Right?" He said, looking around at them all - the dreamy girl in a martial arts uniform who rushed here from class; her brother, the young blue-eyed boy twirling a flute in his hands; the teen with a brown and white wolf mask sitting on the side of his head, tense on the edge of his seat; the two of them, sitting together and supporting each other. "I know some of what happened is the kind of thing you don't want anyone to know, but I think everyone needs to know. Nobody but us has realised the danger our world is in, and we can't fix this by ourselves..." He trailed off, staring intently at the others.

The messy-haired boy was first to speak up. "I think we should do it. We can't fight forever, and we're not immortal - when the Darkness takes us, who'll be left to fight unless we tell the world? Drago's right. We need to speak up." He spoke resolutely, affirming his agreement with a nod in the black-haired teen's direction.

The siblings glanced at each other, silent communication passing in the blink of an eye between them. They turned to the other teens, and smiled. "We're in." They agreed, the boy going on to say softly, "We have to do this. We have to make things right." At this, everyone grinned in delight and began chattering cheerfully; it was unanimous. But there was one problem...

"How are we going to do this? How can we let everyone know?" They all quietened and frowned in thought at this. How would they tell the world? None of them were famous, and who would believe their story? If they tried to tell people, they might get locked away in an asylum - what they went through was fantastical at best and ridiculous at worst...

"I can do it." They all turned to the uniformed girl. "You sure, Bree?"

She smiled. "I'm sure. Our story is fantastical; so why not make it fantasy? If we tell our story as just that - a story, then we won't have to worry about sounding insane, because there's hundreds of other stories just like it out there."

"But those stories are fiction. Ours isn't. How will people know the difference?"

"They don't have to. Books are just compilations of ideas, right? If enough people read a book that tells the truth, then they'll accept it, because it sounds so real. So we put in details that make it sound real. If someone who saw what happened reads about it in a book, then they'll realise that we're telling the truth, and that will make them try to find their light. And isn't that what we're trying to do? Help the world find its light?" At this, everybody's face lit up with happiness. They'd found their way to make light. The the blue-eyed boy leaned over and gave his sister a one-armed hug, which she cheerfully reciprocated. The girl in glasses went over to join them, and it quickly became a laughing mess of hugs and stepped-on toes as the two older boys bounced over to add their arms round the outside of the huddle, grinning incessantly. Eventually, the girl in white wriggled her way out of the huddle and bounced back, her face split in two by a wide smile. "I guess I better get started, then. I'll check in with you guys to make sure I get everything right...oh yeah!" Her eyes lit up. "We should change our names in the story. You know, so we don't get bombarded in real life - I don't think any of us can handle the attention." She laughed.

"That's a pretty good idea." The maskwearer nodded. "What do you think we should change them too?" The girl frowned in thought, before pointing at him. "You should be Fenris, like your mask." She gestured to the black-haired boy, then her brother. "You're Leonel, and you're-"

"Furanki." Her brother interrupted with crossed arms. "F for Furanki." The girl in white grinned at him, before tapping herself on the chest.

"I'll be Celani. Which leaves you, Ebear." They all looked at the girl with glasses, causing her to blush at the sudden attention. The newly-dubbed Celani walked over and hugged her, before pulling back to smile up at her.

"You'll be Estella, for star. After all, you brought us all together - you're the Master Starry Misfit." Estella's eyes widened as the others nodded, then she smiled down at Celani.

"Thanks, sweetie."

"No problem!" Celani laughed, before dancing backwards towards the door. "I'll go home and get started. See you later, everyone!" She spun and snatched up a blue sports bag from beside the door, slinging it over her shoulder as she jogged out the door. Furanki grabbed a backpack from under the table as he followed her out, calling back, "I'll make sure she gets home alright. See you tomorrow." as he left. Next, Natan spun round and made for the exit, waving backwards at the two people remaining in the room, leaving Leonel and Estella alone. Estella laughed softly under her breath as she began to gather up the pieces of paper scattered every which way, placing the angel drawing gently on top of the stack and gazing down at it. "I wonder what they would say, if they saw our decision. Would they think we made the right choice?"

Leonel moved beside her and began to help, glancing at a painting of a warrior in blue. "Kess would've been all for going out and preaching in the streets - she was never one for bookwork."

"Heh, you really knew her well, didn't you?"

"Yup. She had a very hands-on approach to her job. And to everything else."

"Didn't she force you onto a loop-de-loop rollercoaster once?"

"Yeah. Worst day of my life; I was scared out of my mind."

They grinned at each other, before stacking the sheaves of paper into a box. Leonel picked up the box while Estella grabbed a heavy-looking bag, and they left, reminiscing about times long gone.

Author's Notes:

Hey, everyone! Aerda here to start off this story with a few quick things. There's the usual disclaimer stuff first that I need to say - 'This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental' blah blah blah. That's all a lie. What I ACTUALLY want to say is this - 'This is a work of fiction. However, the individuals cast for this story are real, and some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.' There. Much better. 

Miss Bree said to make sure everyone knows that this actually happened, and we need to take up arms and KICK THE DARKNESS' BUM! So there, I said it. *checks list* Um... I also need to say thank you to ebearskittychan, dragonfire535, COOL1nate and FunPak64 for being awesome Starry Misfits, and for agreeing to let Miss Bree tell their stories alongside hers. Thank you, you lot!

This is Aerda, signing out. May the Winds be at your back, everyone!