Summer Fumbles, Tumbles and Rumbles

Mythal had a family.

It was an unexpected, completely uncoordinated and certainly unplanned development in his life but there was no denying the obviousness of it. Serilda and himself, along with Xiuhco and Gren, had already fit the bill of a family before they had happened upon the Exceed egg in the storage room of the Rune Knights. Two fateful touches of their hands had awakened Grappa and Jellisha; two Exceed twins who had been left behind for reasons unknown. The two had quickly formed a connection with the two God Slayers and for their own part, it was impossible to not enjoy their company. They had become their companions, more like daughters in a strange way. It had been wrestling around in the back of his mind for some time but now that he was here, at the beach, on a literal family getaway, it was undeniable. There was the degenerative part of his psyche that railed against the knowledge; demanded that he run away and put as much distance between himself and this light, airy happiness. But the days of that controlling his actions had been long gone. The truth of the matter was he was happy how his life had turned out. It made things… especially his future… a lot clearer.

He’d never planned on having kids, having a lover, having this kind of life. He had expected, at one point or other, he would wind up dead in a gutter or killed during some mishap on a job. His very existence had been a farce, his body meant to encase a goddess and his own soul reduced to ash. And he had lived his life with that knowledge for the longest time, believing himself worthless, along with the rest of Earthland’s residents. It was true irony for him to be here, on the waterfront, playing in the water alongside the two Exceeds that had become, essentially, his children. He didn’t voice it to anyone, even Serilda yet, but it truly filled a part of him he thought would always be empty.

While Serilda was taking it easy on the beach, Mythal was in the thick of the mess that was the watery fun. Grappa and Jellisha had taken off running to the water and Gren and Xiuhco had followed right after, each hound just as excited to jump and play in the ocean water. Mythal had come up close behind, chuckling to himself as he watched the foursome play in their own unique way. After the two transformed Exceeds had made it into the water, he was there to coach Grappa alongside her sister, helping her to find the confidence to swim on her own. But before they could even properly get into it, a loud screech tore through the air. Many of the beachgoers stopped in their tracks and turned towards the source of the sound, a fiery plume drawing everyone’s gazes. Food was being knocked all over as the customers ran for their lives. As he watched, Mythal caught sight of four glowing sources of light moving about the flames, performing some kind of tribal dance with the very laps of fire.

A flash of light to his left didn’t distract him as Lux appeared. “Ugh finally something to break this ridiculous outing. I was going to throw up if you all got a big head family portrait,” the Lightbringer complained.

“You’re more than welcome to lock yourself away then,” Mythal replied easily as he followed after Grappa and Jellisha. “I’m sure there are other stands with food. Just… looks like we’ll have to do a little work on our vacation.” The absolute last thing he wanted to do was Rune Knight work when they were supposed to be taking it easy but there was no denying the situation needed rectifying.

“More like bug zapping. Those little pixies think their ‘light’ is all that? Time to show them what the Lightbringer can do,” Lux said, flexing his fingers as he disappeared in another flash of light. Mythal stared at the spot for a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly. It was odd but… Lux actually looked more tangible during this instant than any other time before. To add to that, ever since they had come to this beach, really since the summer air had set in, Mythal had felt his powers take a step back. It wasn’t enough to alarm him but it was enough for him to notice. Perhaps there was something about the summer that weakened his powers. Longer days, shorter nights maybe.

But he couldn’t worry about that right now. As Serilda was taking care of the fire, Mythal raced down the corridors of tents and food stands, looking around for any sign of the pixies. Movement to his left brought his attention to two of the pixies, whistling in front of another food tent in preparation to attack. As he marched towards them, he spotted more movement to his right. “Girls,” he called out to Grappa and Jellisha, nodding towards the two pixies that were idling nearby. He knew the two Exceeds were perfectly capable of handling them themselves.

As for Mythal, before he could even think of an offensive spell to halt the two pixies in front of him, Lux appeared in another flash of light. His hands snapped out and grabbed at the two balls of flames, his fingers squeezing each one tight. He grinned a malicious grin as he squeezed with all his might, resulting in two fiery pops, followed by a low sizzling. He opened his hands, releasing the ashes of what was left of the pixies. “That’ll learn ‘em,” he said, brushing his hands off.

“Really? When there’s people around?” Mythal asked, disgusted.

“Oh sorry, was I supposed to capture them in jars and use them to bring me back to life?” the Lightbringer asked sarcastically, scoffing. “Give it a rest, Myth. They’re fire sprites – they live only as long as their fires burn. Squelch the fire, no more pixie. Then no more carnage. If anything, I did you a favor.”

But Mythal wasn’t listening anymore. He had turned and headed back in the direction of the other pixies, wanting to check on Jellisha and Grappa.

Oh hell no.

Mythal had all but ignored Lux’s blithering to turn back and check on the girls and see how they fared. It was an oddly satisfying moment to see them bond together and stop the other two fairies from causing any more destruction, a smirk on his face that many would have called father-like. While still young in certain mannerisms, the two Exceeds had taken up their positions within the Rune Knights with a serious sincerity that had made a lot of their number proud. It was also amusing how well they worked together when they weren’t bickering or finding ways to tease and joke with one another.

But much like Serilda, his enjoyment came to a quick end when the goat-headed creature appeared directly on top of them. The towering giant was large even by Mythal’s standards, meaning that he was practically a skyscraper compared to the two Exceeds. He watched in horrified disgust as it hit Jellisha first and sent her flying away then grabbed Grappa and unleashed a devastating, if not nightmare-inducing roar. Serilda reacted quicker than him, possibly because she was closer. In a snap she was hovering before the creature, her own anger seeping out of her like a fragrance. She roared back at the goat creature and he watched as the magic imbued in it seeped into his flesh and cut off his ability to breath. It freed Grappa as it clawed at its own neck and chest, trying against hope to find some way to breath once more. The Voidwalker ordered the Exceed to check on her sister, creating the opening that Mythal needed.

In rush of movement, he was crouched right in front of the creature. Upwards he fist rose, striking the struggling creature in the jaw and sending him flying up into the air. As he spun head over tail, the Darkness King turned to Serilda. “They alright?” he asked, more concerned about the Exceeds than the creature spinning in the air. He extended his arm outward and then pushed it up, causing the shadows from the tents to jerk upwards and take the form of massive fists. Each one slammed into the goat, one after the other from different angles. The last one came down as a strike to the stomach, sending the creature soaring down towards the ground. Where Mythal had set his first served as its landing spot, a posed arm that the creature crashed into and bent over. The air and determination it had showed to yell at the Exceeds left it in that moment and it went completely limp as it laid on the extended fist.

Mythal glanced up at it and then dropped it off to the side. Lux appeared on top of it, crouching on its back and bouncing a few times. “Phew. He’s not getting back up. But looks like you got two more challengers!” He said with a laugh as he pointed past them. Mythal glanced over as two humanoid creatures burned into existence from a flash of light. They were female in shape, with hair that was glowing as bright as candles. Several swirling symbols were on their flesh and magic was pulsating off of them. “Want me to have a go at them? I’m feelin’ pretty spry right now.”