"So... what kind of weird aura is it?" I questioned Star as we escaped the stadium quietly.
"Beats me." The bird replies as we all sneak out of the stadium. "Maybe Felix has a better idea..." She starts, but trails off for a moment upon looking in the boy's direction. "...Felix?"
I looked in the direction of the boy. He seemed to be slowing down significantly, maybe even looking a little pale...
I immediately slowed down. "Felix, are you ok?"
"I..." he sighs. "Topaz, let's go." He commands the worried Spiritmal walking by his feet. Topaz didn't waste a single moment transforming into his true form, allowing his trainer to have a ride on his back. "L-let's talk later." The boy finally replies, speeding off on his lionblitz.
"Eh? What's happening?" Richard exclaims as Topaz races past the confused coordinator.
"I don't know..." I replied him.
"Ah well, if Fels wants to race with me, I'm in!" The male grins gleefully, before a look of sadness takes over his expression. "Or that's what I'll say if Jacky isn't injured..." he mutters silently.
"Geez... chaos is going down and I'm missing it." I heard Jacky continue.
"Oh boy..." was all Star could reply me from our mental connection. Winter just sighs, shaking her head silently.
"So how far do we need to run again?" I heard Richard complain after what I think to be exactly 1.3 seconds.
"I don't know..." I quickly reply him, hoping to catch up with Felix soon.
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"Felix?" I called out, wondering where the racer went. At this point, we were a reasonable distance from the stadium, so he would likely be somewhere around here.
"Hmmm..." I watched as Richard looked around the area. "I wonder where he went. It's not too difficult to spot Blue hair." He comments.
"Yea..." Star agrees. "oh! I think I got his trail." The yellow announces. "He's... somewhere behind those bushes!" She puffs out her feathers, pointing a wing to the left of where we are. After performing the action, she immediately took off at a great speed, diving in a straight line towards a certain bush.
"Star, wait—" I tried to stop the bird, only to hear a yelp from the bush and an ice beam shoot up from within the leaves. Star dodges the beam easily, looking down into the bushes. "Found ya!" She announced, before tilting her head to one side. "Oops." She continued, and the rest of us immediately rushed over to see what was happening.
"Star, you have got to stop doing that." Felix finally spoke upon seeing the rest of us.
"Seriously though!" Topaz growls at the bird. "Geez... you're going to give him a heart attack some day."
"Sorry..." Star mutters, actually seeming guilty this time as she flies back to my shoulder. "Are... are you alright?" She continues, shuffling a little as she turned to look at Felix again.
"I think so." He replies, giving Star a stern glance before looking back down at the ground.
I sighed, Felix clearly looked to be in a daze.
"Hey um, Fels?" Richard squats down to his cousin's level. "You sure you're ok dude? You seem a little... I don't know, tired? Did you get overloaded by the contest after all? You did great really!"
Felix sighs. "Richard it's not—"
"Have a bit of confidence! Really! That was great for a second try!"
"Richard..."
"And besides, even if you fail you can just try again! Honestly though, I think you already have this one in the bag..."
"Oh my goodness! Richard, shut up!" Felix exclaims, his cousin going silent instantly.
"It's not the contest ok? I just..." he stops talking, holding his head. "I just... don't feel too well, that's all." He sighs, looking at the ground once more.
"Ah..." Richard replies, reaching out a hand and placing it on his cousin's forehead.
Felix grumbled, pushing his cousin away.
"Hm... you're not running a fever though." Richard comments.
Felix just remains silent.
"Maybe you should rest a little." I finally suggested. "The hostel is nearby."
"Perhaps." He mutters, standing to his feet slowly while holding his head. Topaz immediately transforms once more to support his trainer.
"Thanks." He gently rubs the mane of the lionblitz, who only growls back in response.
"What's wrong with the stadium anyways?" Richard finally asks, looking back at the building in the distance. Nothing seemed strange about it at all.
"I don't know..." Felix grumbled. "I've already told you Richard, it's just a bad feeling. I can't explain those."
"Right." The young man seemed unconvinced, but says nothing more.
I myself sighed at their conversation, following after them back to the hostel.
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"It's really too bad you missed the second half of that contest." I heard Richard grumble once more from across the room. "But I'm glad that you're feeling better now." He continues.
We had spent most of the day chilling after the incident; and Richard being Richard, had been expressing his disappointment nearly the entire time. Luckily for Felix, most of it happened while I dragged his cousin out for a shopping spree in order for him to actually get some rest.
"Well there's always the next one." I shrugged, wondering how many times I've said the simple sentence throughout the entire afternoon. At this point, it might as well be a routine.
"Exactly." Felix agreed. "Plus it'll give me more time to prepare for it if I eventually decide to enter another."
Finally defeated, Richard leans back on his chair. "Fine, fine. I'm just a little disappointed that's all." He admits once again.
"While I'm actually disappointed too, I'm more worried about that strange aura." Star comments. "I've never felt one like it before, and I've no idea what it could be." The bird seemed deep in thought, her head tilted to one side.
"Me too, and I'll like to stay and chat and all, but I think I better get going." Richard says as soon as he looks up at the clock. He stands up, Jacky in his arms.
"Now?" Star seemed confused. "It's like... 9 pm."
"Yea. I wanted to leave right after the contest but... well... stuff happened, as you know. So I guess I'm leaving now." Richard replies. "I've places to go."
Star and Topaz immediately caused a small uproar, Winter being more reserved than the two but still seeming to be just a little upset.
"Fine, I'll stay for five more minutes, ok?" Richard gives in as he looks at the clock again, allowing Jacky to say goodbye to the rest of the Spiritmals. Soon enough, the young coordinator takes his leave, and the room becomes silent once more.
"Richard seems to be in a rush." I commented, looking at the door.
"It's hard to contain him in one place, he just has this perpetual need to bounce around." Felix grumbles. "It's ten times more peaceful when he's not around."
"Ten times less eventful too." Star complains.
"I think I'll have an early night." Felix looks at the clock.
"Sure. You may be feeling better but it's still better to rest I guess." I stood up myself, opening the door of the room.
"Good night." I said, as I walked out of the room. Star flying to my shoulder on cue with winter following close behind.
"Night." I heard a reply as I closed the door, walking back to my own room.
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Author's note:
Ok I know that if you're reading this, you've likely also just read my announcement on Spritmal not updating anytime soon. Well, guess what? I went through my drafts and found 2 chapters ready to be posted alongside another half written chapter. This thing's been in my drafts for months and I honestly thought I've posted it like... half a year back.
So uh... sorry about that and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
Also wow the last I've posted was in 2021?! That's... honestly kind of wild.