XII

For the first few weeks of the year, we were given the full selection of subjects that Luka offered, so we would make our choice on our subjects for the rest of the year. We had to do Mathematics and Pandoran, but the rest were up for grabs.

Fortunately, all the Dryad students of my year level had their classes together during this time, and I would sit next to Nase, getting to know each other in the process. He was an only child and lived in Pandora City after moving from Southtown a few years before coming into Luka. He had moved because his father worked for a global insurance company and had been posted in Pandora. His mother didn't work - this intrigued me, and his reply was a shrug and "She didn't want to."

I gathered that Nase had some wealth, and when I was invited over to his house for an afternoon early in the year, my thoughts were concluded. He lived in a nice house, with an in-ground swimming pool and a large porch, out in the richer suburbs of Pandora City. He had a big bedroom and his own large-screen television. Naturally, I was envious, which Nase had picked up but put to rest with, "It's all nice, but I wish I had a bar and a cellar."

Looking at the list of subjects, I was daunted by the amount of choice I had - six subjects on top of the Mathematics and Pandoran had to be chosen. I took the list home and discussed what to study. Our seemingly ad hoc schedule provided a taste of all of the subjects, so I had likes and dislikes. It was then that my parents asked, "What do you want to do after school? What job do you want to have?"

People had asked me question before, however I always replied with a shrug and a "I don't know". It was then that I realised what I wanted to do with my life.

"I don't know," I said, "but as long as it can help in finding Ark, that's all I care about."

"Dy…" my father warned.

"He's alive! He's out there…somewhere, and I'm going to find him."

"Dy," my mother sighed, fed up, "how many times have we told you…"

"Many times! But, I still believe it, and I still will."

With that, I took the list, put it in Storage, and stormed up to the pool.

The next day, in Pandoran, I asked Nase if he had decided.

"No, not entirely," he replied. "I'm doing Great Forest Languages, though."

Matangese and Moogle were combined into one class, Great Forest Languages. The teacher was Syare Pogos, who was the type of young, female teacher who gave out lollies and other such rewards for good work. As I had the sheet where you put down your choices with me, I put it down as one of my choices, partly on that basis and also because I wanted to learn another language, inspired by my warp-pipe ticket.

"Anything else?"

"Music," he smiled knowingly. Syoro Ariupos taught it, and had complimented us both. I had already had this in the back of my head, so I put it down.

The next class was Yamauchian Studies, a class that hadn't been in our schedule. I was looking forward to it because of what it seemed to entail - I wanted to learn about my family's homeworld as Syoro Yarapren never taught us about it.

We went into the classroom, and as I saw the teacher, I realised why I had received not nearly as much flak as Kippo.

The teacher was a Yoshi.

His name was Syoro Ki. He had green skin and piercing blue eyes.

"Ahhh!" he cried as I entered. "Here's the Yoshi I've heard about."

I was taken aback and only gave a brief nod as a reply.

"Don't be shy," he smiled.

He then leaned closer to me and said, "If anyone gives you trouble, come and see me, I'll sort them out."

The main reason as to why I wasn't picked on greatly was due to the fact that Syo. Ki was a disciplinarian and gave out detentions that were of the type that you didn't want to be punished with. The rest of the staff basically gave their students time-wasting detentions, i.e. sit in a classroom on a Sylphidsday afternoon after school for an hour. Some of the things Syoro Ki had his students do were to scrub the toilets, clean any graffiti around the school or made them run around an oval, keeping pace for an entire hour (while throwing psychological demoralisers at them). With this fear at the back of everyone's minds, I wasn't going to be given that much flak.

I sat down next to Nase, who was surprised with Syoro Ki's race.

"Relation of yours?" he asked.

"Don't think so," I replied.

"Alright, everyone," Syo. Ki raised his voice above the din, "I see that I'm causing a bit of a stir here. Well, I'd better introduce myself."

He cracked a few jokes as he did so. It always surprises me that the strictest of teachers are, more often than not, the funniest and whose classes are the most enjoyable.

Syo. Ki had been in the War, and was more supportive of Koopas than I was. He saw the disdained look on my face and asked me what my problem was.

"Well…Syoro," I replied, being timidly polite, "I've been told that the Koopas are evil and that if I ever go and live on Yamauchi, I should eat any that I come across."

The notion of eating Koopas caused a bit of a stir in the class, and after subsiding it, he said, "It's not the Koopas who are evil, it's who commands them."

Over the years, I've started to see the good side of Koopadom and I'm quite tolerant of them. That thought is what started to change my thinking. My parents will never change theirs, though, having grown up during the War.

The rest of the lesson was really good, and I was left wanting to know more about Yamauchi. I was glad over the next few days of more lessons, so I put it down on the list. Besides that, I gathered Ark might have gone to Yamauchi, so I could be requiring knowledge about it.

So, I ended up with Great Forest Languages, Tasnican, Empiretongue (encouraged by Nase especially), Yamauchian Studies and Music. The last was Mana Development, as determination willed itself inside me, originally instilled by Syoro Yarapren, wanting to be able to get every spell I did right.

It was during the first set of holidays that Nase came over to the Navel Falls View to spend the night. He knew before he came that the subject of my brother was a very touchy one, and he would be going right into the very heart of it. I sensed an anxiety within him as he arrived - he didn't want to hurt my feelings or my parents' by saying or doing something that could trigger something.

We swam at Yoshi Bend, and he was shocked by the fact that I swam naked.

"If those Yoshies could carry Baby Mario in the snowy peaks of Yoshi's Island without any clothes, then surely I can swim without any," I told him.

"Yeah, but it's…"

"It's alright for a Yoshi to go around without clothes. I mean, Syo. Ki told us that heaps of Yoshies never wear a stitch of clothing in their life."

"But…you're naked."

"It's not sticking out, is it?"

He shook his head.

"Good. So it's alright, then?"

Nase nodded warily. Syoro Ki had taught us elementary Yoshi biology by this stage, so he knew what I was talking about, thank Lumina.

I took him up to the pool. As we arrived, he was awestruck by how beautiful it was.

"I come up here often," I told him.

"I can see why."

I sat down where I usually did, Nase beside me. It was the first time, to my knowledge, that someone else had entered that place, save Ark.

"So…what do you do here, usually?" he asked.

I got out my potosa, and replied, "This, to get away from the world."

Nase laughed, and I sighed as I recalled how many times I went up there to calm myself down.

"Do you have a middle name?" he asked, abruptly.

I was between a rock and a hard place. I didn't want to lie to my friend, nor did I want a repeat of the past.

"Er…yes…" I said, shyly.

Nase cocked his head at my reply, and said, "What is it, Dy?"

I took a deep breath or two, Nase picking up my reluctance as I braced myself. The look in his eyes forced the dreaded word out.

"Th-th-tha-nat-os," I stuttered as my lips tried to clamp themselves shut.

"Thanatos?"

With that, Nase smiled - it wasn't the smile of superiority and impending hardship, but a friendly, innocent smile.

"Good name," he said. "Wish I had it."

I looked at him reproachfully.

"Nono! I mean it!" he defended himself. "What's wrong with it?"

"You know your Resurrection history, don't you? About Dyluck and Thanatos?"

"Well, yes, Thanatos killed Dyluck…no, the Dark Lich inside Thanatos killed Dyluck to take over his body…So?"

"Well…" I started, jerking a thumb over my shoulder, "down there they call me Lich for that reason."

"So?"

"I hate it."

"Why?"

That question pulled out a foundation stone or two in the wall I had put up against being called that.

"I…I don't know…" I said, amazed at my own ignorance.

Nase put an arm on my shoulder.

"Before I moved to Pandora, my best friend was called Geshtar."

I looked up at him jokingly.

"Serious. He didn't care about it and how it matched up with the Mechrider. His parents aren't into evil stuff, nor's he. Dy, being called 'Lich' doesn't make you him. I don't see why you don't like it. I'd be honoured to be named after a powerful sorcerer, even if he was evil."

Yes, Nase, you had a habit of expressing wisdom beyond your years.

It took a while for everything that Nase had said to sink it - it was a few nights later as I lay in bed when it struck me.

We went back down to the Bend, as it was starting to get late, and went back home.

Returin had never been over to the Inn for dinner, so it was the first time that my parents were entertaining a friend of mine - a native friend, at that. So, my mother decided to cook Archipelago food for dinner. I was used to it, naturally, but as we walked in, the aroma awoke Nase's curiosity.

"What's that smell?" he asked.

"Dinner," I replied.

"It sure smells…different. Kind of…fruity. Yoshian?"

I nodded.

"Never had Yoshian food before," he said, as we climbed the stairs.

"You're probably the first Pandoran to try," I smirked.

It came around, and we sat at the table in our kitchen. We always had it early before the crowd began - Nase was surprised. Everything was a surprise for him, he had said.

One of the biggest was grace - not only did we pray to the Elementals, but there were a few Yoshi Gods we gave thanks to - Luna and Markior in particular.

"Who's Markior, and why did you pray to Luna twice?"

"Yoshi Gods," my mother said. "Luna's the Chief Goddess, and Markior's the Guardian of all Yoshies."

Nase nodded as he took aboard new mythology.

Dinner was Wiggler in Four-Fruit Sauce - the meat bought from a store in Pandora that sold Yamauchian food. Nase was wary at first as he ate, but he discovered that he liked it, and was very satisfied, as I recall.

Nase slept in Ark's bed, and his breathing in the darkness brought back the painful memories. I wept. Although I was buried under the covers, he heard me and laid a hand on the blankets. He didn't say anything as he remained there until I had cried myself to sleep. That gesture still touches me today. Although I could never call Nase my brother, he stepped into Ark's place, but wouldn't fill it.