—---------------------------------

  Later in the evening at Uli’s house Ray and Thoma Ahad are already asleep. The guildmaster then approaches Sher Aka and John who are sitting outside in the garden.

  “Are you two settling in well?”

  “Yes, very much so. Thank you for inviting us guildmaster.”

  “Yeah, I’ve never been in a pce as nice as this before.”

  “I can imagine. I did a background check on you two. It must have been tough…”

  “It has been…Yes.”

  “Wait, hold on. Aren’t you taking this a bit too easily Sherry? When did you make a background check of us and why?”

  “When you registered for Thoma Ahad’s party and because I was worried.”

  “Okay…So, I have to ask. Do you have anything to do with his curse? Did you know him before or something?”

  “John! You’re going too far.”

  “Don’t you wanna know too? It’s extremely suspicious that the Dancing Ballista is randomly taking in a cursed human as her disciple. I’d like to know the answer.”

  “It wasn’t exactly ‘random’, nor was it pnned. I met him when he joined the guild because he said his name was ‘I want to go home’. I thought he was just some kid that picked up the words and thought it sounded cool but I then found out that he lived in the slums and that they named him ‘I want to go home’ because that’s the only thing he could say when they found him. I also did a background check on him and found nothing. It’s like he appeared out of nowhere two and a half years ago. I grew especially suspicious of him because he casually called me aunty the first time we met then the next day didn’t know he said it nor what it means. I then tested this further and figured out both that he was cursed and that he is fluent in Elvish. Because of his personality he grew attached to me quickly and I allowed him to talk to me because I wanted to see if I could find out more about his history. Then before I knew it he came by every day and we would spend hours talking, he’d tell me how his day went and showed genuine interest in me as a person with both the mannerisms and speech pattern of a child. He treated me like family and I got attached. When I found out his curse could have changed his race I became convinced he is an Elven child and ever since I have treated him as such. If I thought I’d be a good parent to him I would adopt him.”

  “Wow…”

  “So you really do see him as your son…To be honest I believed Ray to be speaking a bit hyperbolically when she mentioned it.”

  “Seriously, is there something wrong with elven women past a certain age? You treat him like a kid and now THE Dancing Ballista is talking about wanting to adopt a random cursed human that’s a grown ass man. Is there some sort of weird maternity instinct I don’t know about!?”

  “Eeew…John don’t say stuff like that again. I know you’re into men but you shouldn’t talk about women like that regardless.”

  “Oh come on Sherry, don’t make this weird. It was a serious question.”

  “I know and that worries me.”

  “Well, perhaps you are somewhat correct John. It is common to venerate the old and cherish the young in Elven culture. We do have stronger parental instincts than Humans would but that’s neither a ‘woman thing’ nor is it so strong that our judgment is clouded. I would advise you not to speak without thinking about matters you are not knowledgeable in.”

  “If Elves are like that then perhaps that human blood of mine is useful for something after all. I’m going to bed. You guys have fun pying house with a grown ass man.”

  “My apologies guildmaster. My brother's behavior is unacceptable.”

  “Don’t worry about it, he’s obviously in his rebellious phase. Don’t be too tough on him or he’ll turn out crooked.”

  “Thank you for understanding.”

  “Unlike your brother you seem to have simir views to me on the issue of Thoma Ahad. Is there anything you noticed?”

  “Actually, I think I discovered something that could be nothing but it could also be a breakthrough.”

  “Oh? Please do share.”

  “Well…When we were still in the vilge I told him some stories…”

  —--------------------------------------------------

  It takes me five more days until I fully recover. Miss Nekara came by to visit a few times during that time to check up on me, she seemed very worried. We then spend another week training during which Ray learns three new spells, Sand Bst, Whirlwind and Ignite, from the Spirits in Uli’s garden while I learn the basics of the Fire ritual. John has also been working hard on learning new spells after studying books on Dark and Light Magic in the library. As such, feeling confident in our abilities again, we march to the guild counter, new quest in hand.

  “Alright, I’ve written you down for it, is there anything else you need?”

  “Yes, please put this name down as our new party name.”

  “Shooting Stars, huh? I like it, how did you come up with it?”

  “Actually it wasn’t me, it was Thoma.”

  “Oh? Can you tell me the meaning behind it?”

  “Well, we all have dreams we want to come true, so I thought it would be nice to have a shooting star for each of our wishes.”

  “Daaw, how wholesome. I wish you best of luck with your dreams, I hope they come true.”

  “Thank you! I hope your wishes come true as well, see you soon!”

  To be continued