Sky City.
A city founded by 'The Founder', floating up in the sky over an endless void. The large island was one of many that seemed to defy gravity itself, suspending itself in mid-air among the white fluffy clouds of the sky. The island itself was a rather spacious, and almost futuristic in its way due to the lack of organic materials being used. Although the city was more than big enough for its residents, after living on the island all of one's life it can grow to be more cramped then spacious. Not only because space would always be limited, but also because of the rules.
It was a blessing that the Founder was able to create Sky City, but the cost was that many rules had to be implemented. No one could waste resources, and therefore if you wanted to create or build anything you needed a permit. If you needed to use the furnace or crafting table for anything, even something as small as making a button or making cobblestone into stone, you must schedule to use it beforehand. There was only one garden that the city uses for food, and if you so much as drop the tiniest bit of dirt over the edge, you were violating a rule. And if you violated any of these rules in Sky City, you would be arrested, and then sent to jail. Whether or not it was an accident, breaking these rules was forbidden.
Even though life in the clouds was peaceful in its way, saying that you were really 'living' would be an overstatement. If anything, staying there was more constricting then it was relieving. But it was either living without freedom, or dying with it. It sounded harsh, but that was the reality when living in Sky City. You either lived under the strict Founder, or you fell into the void.
And you were no exception.
CHAPTER 1. THE WAY THINGS ARE
> Y/N's POV
As usual, I woke up to the sun shining directly in my eyes, giving me a small moment of blindness before I sat up to start the day. Every day felt the same, from the moment I woke up to the moment I fell asleep. Tedious, restricting, hardly anything is more than what it seemed. Between the time the sun rose to the time it set, I could practically give a good idea of what the day would be like, down to the t. It was like everything on this island was just set on repeat, with only the slightest changes and nothing more.
Standing up from my bed, I ran a hand through my [h/c] locks, and let out a slight yawn while looking out at the seemingly endless sky. The lovely blue hue combined with the off white clouds was beautiful from this height, but everything beautiful tends to get boring over time. It wasn't that I hated Sky City. Truth be told compared to the endless void, it looked pretty good. But everything just felt a little... plain. Even my room hardly had any uniqueness to it. One bed pushed in the corner, one decently sized window with a small pot, a medium-sized wardrobe, and one small table next to the door. By this point, having a chest would be useless considering I can't even make anything. Not that anyone would show me how it wasn't exactly appreciated when people used materials to make things.
" Maybe I should get a flower.. or just a dead bush. Might spruce up the place a little. " I told myself, speaking to no one in particular. Then again to get one, I would need to go to the Founder and request if I could even have a potted plant, then probably wait a few days considering everyone on the island needed to schedule appointments with her and get requests for materials. I let out a sigh, somewhat coming to the acceptance that my potted plant request probably wouldn't be granted even if I asked. C'est la vie.
Figuring it was probably best to get a move on rather than sulking about a flower in a tiny box, I changed into the one other outfit I had aside from the plain pajamas previously worn. Incidentally, I was probably a little luckier than most considering I had the tiniest bit of freedom. That freedom was the garden. And a gardening outfit consisting of a [f/c] shirt, a muddy green apron, and a pair of pants. But managing the garden had its number of rules and regulations. After putting some effort into making sure I don't look like a dead bush myself, I headed out to manage the garden.
To get to the garden, I had to take a pretty long route, while passing several guards. Each one seemed to say hello in the same fashion.
" Morning [Y/N]. Heading to the garden? Just sign in here... fill this out here... and you're good to go. " The guard spoke, before stepping aside and letting me pass. This same routine continued about three more times before I reached the garden and started to do my job.
Managing the garden wasn't too hard, but the rules were very strict. I just needed to check every morning to clean up any materials thrown over the edge by accident, because most of the time people genuinely don't throw things in there on purpose, make sure all the plants were getting enough water, do a small harvest and replacement with anything that finishes growing, and just make a note on anything else the Founder needs to know. Rule wise, I was to always hand over anything I get from the garden to the guards before leaving, never tamper with the garden unless it needs to be harvested, in a sense, never keep anything from the garden in general. If I did, it was goodbye gardener job and hello jail time.
" Hm.. there doesn't seem to be much... " I mutter, looking around the garden and just picking up a block of cobblestone or two, and any small materials that fell over the edge. However while doing the usual routine, I noticed that there was a very small flower that popped up. For a moment I pondered whether or not I should take it. It wouldn't really do much damage if I took this small flower... no one seemed to notice it, and I was pretty much the only gardener...
Against my better judgment of leaving it and keeping my pot empty, I discreetly took out the flower and hid it within the folds of my apron while the guard wasn't looking, before taking my leave out of the garden.
The guard at the exit door held out their hand for the items. I handed them the blocks and materials, minus the small flower I had hidden. " Did you find anything else fallen into the garden, or is that it? " they asked, resulting in me shaking my head.
" No, that's all I found. Can I leave now? " The guard seemed to eye me for a moment, before stepping aside and giving a nod.
" Just sign yourself out, have a pleasant day. "
After managing to go past a few guards on my way out, the last one before my 'freedom' stopped me for a moment.
" Hey, [Y/N]. " I froze in my tracks, feeling my heart stop. Had they noticed I took the flower? Was I in trouble? Well, of course, I WOULD be in trouble, but at this time was I caught?
In a slightly hesitant tone with an attempt at being 'normal', I responded " What is it? "
" If you see suspicious activity make sure to report it. Some outsiders have arrived. We don't have many coming around here, so best to be cautious."
" Oh, alright. Outsiders huh? I'll uh... I'll keep that in mind. "At that moment I felt relief, as well as something I rarely felt. Curiosity. Outsiders in Sky City? That wasn't something that happened every day. But before I could brainstorm some questions, I needed to take this poor flower home. I wouldn't want the flower to turn into a dead bush by carrying it around in my apron all day.
While turning a corner, I found myself running into someone, causing me to stumble backward and fall on my behind. ' I hope the flower didn't get crushed... ' I made a mental note to check on the flower as soon as I got home.
" Hey! Watch where you're... " the man spoke, seeming to pause what I can only assume to be a passive-aggressive sentence once we made eye contact. "Er... I mean... Oh no! I'm sorry I bumped into you! Uh... Here, let me help you up. " They seemed to hold out there hand for me, but I just stood up rather than taking it.
" Thanks but no thanks. It's not... a... problem. " I responded, trailing off once I looked at who I bumped into. The guy I bumped into had a dark brown swept-back hair, olive-colored eyes, with a somewhat pale complexion. Along with him, he seemed to be with a girl with brown hair and pale blue eyes, as well as another guy with a black beard and mustache. But it wasn't that how they looked was strange, but more so what they wore. It seemed to be some sort of black jacket combined with something almost armor like in away. They were nothing like I had ever seen before, and frankly, I've been on this island to know that fashion isn't something that changes around here. " You're not from here, are you? "
The brunette and the bearded man seemed to exchange glances, while the guy in the green shirt spoke, stepping towards me with what I hoped was a friendly smile. " No, we just got here a while ago. This place is pretty big, think you could show us around? " He asked in a friendly tone, almost feeling a little unsettling.
" I'm... a little busy. Plus I don't even know who any of you are. " I took a step back, to give myself some more personal space considering it was about to be invaded.
They seemed to laugh for a bit, before responding " My bad. Allow me to introduce ourselves. We're the Blaze Rods. I'm Aiden, this is Maya, " he motioned towards the brunette, " and this is Gill. " he motioned towards the bearded man. " We're kind of a big deal where we come from, I don't suppose you're interested in hearing some of our achievements right? " Aiden asked in a prideful tone.
" Honestly? Not really. It was nice meeting you uh.. Blaze Rods? But I really should be going. " I was about to walk past him when Maya and Gill seemed to block my way, causing a confused expression to go across my face. " Um.. can I just get past you guys? "
" Not until Aiden says your done talking. " Maya responded in a rather harsh tone before the two seemed to be waved off a little by the man himself.
With a slightly forced laugh, he said " Come on, stop joking around you two! I would never do anything like that! " Clearing his throat his attention turned back to me, while the other two seemed to step aside, a little hesitantly. " Sorry about them, I'm sure we can talk again with you...? " Aiden seemed to trail off, and for a moment I simply looked at them with a puzzled expression.
"... Uh... It's [Y/N]. "
" I'm sure we can talk with [Y/N] another time. See you soon. "
" Uh.. yeah. See you later. " Maya chipped in.
" Later. " Gill added.
Giving a slight nervous nod, I quickly walked past them, wondering what exactly I got myself into. Well, I was glad I was out of there now. Something about those outsiders definitely didn't sit well with me... then again I might just be paranoid. Part of me was glad that something new was happening for once, but that kind of 'new' wasn't the kind I was too comfortable with. Why were they here? Who were they really? Why were they acting so weird? Is acting that way something normal for them?
Part of me felt I probably should ask those questions the next time I saw them, and when I've put the flower away.
It wasn't like any more outsiders were going to show up right?
Right?
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end of chapter
Author Note: Hello! I'm starting this up since fairly my brain has chosen an interesting time to get into this fandom, and I'm diving head first into it. I'll try to update my stories more frequently, but I make no promises.