"A dodo bird?" Selene asked. She was a petite little Clavat, with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes, dressed in a baggy dark brown robe decorated with intricate symbols that even she didn't know what meant. Like always, she was holding a thick diary in her hand. Standing across from her was Elric, who was a little shorter than most Yukes, but still far taller than any of his companions. Like all Yukes, Elric was a living suit of armor, that looked vaguely like an anthropomorphic bird--the visor of his helmet pointing down like a beak, and a pair of small bat-like wings on his back. His armor was mostly a bronze color, interwoven with thick robes of blue, and red. "Yes, a dodo bird." Elric confirmed. Selene's head tilted to the side in confusion. "What's a dodo bird?" "I think he's just making up words, now." Kaz Yui said, lounging in the hill not far from the other two. She was a Selkie, and looked very much like how you'd imagine a Selkie to look; long greyish-blue hair, with a pair of greyish-blue eyes to match. She wore a fur trimmed black top, that didn't cover her midriff, alongside a green skirt and black leggings. She didn't seem particularly concerned with the conversation at hand, laying on the grass with her arms behind her head, and her eyes closed. "I very much am not." Elric said. "According to our client, dodo birds can be found on Mount Vellenge, and we are being offered a very large sum of money to go get one." "Aren't you already rich?" Selene asked. "What do you need the money for?" "My father is rich, but not so much myself. And since the miasma is cleared, my previous plan as making a life as part of a Crystal Caravan isn't going to work anymore. However, with the sum we're being promised for this bird, none of us would ever need to work again!" "I'm in! This sounds like fun!" "No, this sounds like a scam." Kaz said. "Don't worry, I did the proper verifications. This deal is completely legitimate." Elric said. Kaz sat up, and walked over to the other two, scooping up her wooden racket as she did. Defiantly planting it on the ground, placing her free hand on her hip, she stared down Elric right where she imagined his eyes would be, were his head not a helmet. "Oh yeah? Who's the one asking for this doodoo bird, anyway? Princess Fiona?" "[i]Dodo[/i]!" Elric barked. "And no, it is not Princess Fiona. Our client is Jack Moschet." "Jack Moschet!?" Kaz yelled. "Should I know who that is?" Selene asked. "Yes!" Kaz snatched Selene's diary from her, and turned to a blank page, where she drew a crude drawing of a giant monster holding stick figure versions of their old caravan in a poorly drawn frying pan, which she then showed to the other two. "Last time we met Jack Moschet, he tricked us into staying the night at his mansion, and then he tried to eat us!" Elric stole the book back from Kaz, and then handed it back to Selene. "If you recall, Kaz, last time we met Jack Moschet we also effortlessly defeated him in combat. He's no threat to us." "If [i]you[/i] recall, Elric, it took all five of us to take him down! And that was before Selene lost her memory, she can't even fight anymore!" "I can fight!" Selene yelled. "Think fast." "Wha-" Selene promptly found Kaz's racket swinging into her face, and she was sent tumbling down the hill, screaming all the way. "Kaz, that was completely uncalled for!" Elric snapped. "Oh please, she'll be fine!" "Whether or not she'll be fine isn't the point!" ----- As the two argued up at the top, Selene continued her tumbling descent downwards. Her screams were soon heard by Ben Jo--Kaz's brother--but before he managed to do something about it, she tumbled right into him, sending them both rolling across the ground before coming to a painful stop. "Sorry Ben..." Selene said, in a dizzied voice. "Don't worry about it..." Ben said, not faring much better. He managed to steady his wobbling head, and help Selene to her feet. "Why were you rolling down the hill?" "Kaz smacked me." Ben let out a loud laugh. "Guess she's got to hit [i]somebody[/i] when I'm not around!" "It actually really hurt." Selene said, rubbing her cheek where she was hit. "Eh, don't worry, she'd never hit you hard enough to really hurt you! What'd she hit you for, anyway?" "Elric asked us to help him look for a dodo bird for somebody named Jack Moschet, and I guess that made her mad." "This the same Jack Moschet that tried to eat us, like, 3 years ago?" "Uh.. Maybe?" "Oh yeah, guess you wouldn't remember, huh? Man, well don't worry, that's one memory you shouldn't be upset about losing! It was a pretty horrible day! Well if Elric thinks it's fine, I'm sure it's fine! What even is a dodo bird? Jack trying to eat that, too?" "I dunno. Elric says we can find one on Mount Vellenge." "Mount Vellenge? Oh, hey, I think I've seen one, then!" "Really!?" Selene asked excitedly. "Yeah! Back when you lost your memory! I saw a whole bunch of them up the mountain, and took them all home with me!" "Wait, really?" Selene asked, confused. "Yeah, c'mon, I'll show you!" Ben led the way across town, to a large hole he dug in the ground. Inside were at least two dozen grey birds, with large beaks and small wings. "How did you sneak these all on the caravan!?" Selene asked. "Or into the town for that matter!? How has nobody noticed this giant hole for an entire year!?" "I have my ways!" Ben hopped into the hole, and snatched up on of the birds, before climbing back up the wall. "Ta-da! One dodo bird!" "Haha, yes! Thanks, Ben! Let's go tell Elric!" Selene and Ben ran back across town, and Selene held the bird high above her head as they got close to the hill. [i]"Elriiiiiiic! I got a dodo bird!"[/i] She sang at the top of her lungs. "Truly!?" Elric asked, flabbergasted. "How on earth did you-" And then the ground shook with the thud of a heavy footstep. And then another. And another. Soon enough, a giant monster rose over the horizon. It was a gigas, a huge gorilla-like beast, with massive horns, beaming red eyes, and large fangs shooting up from its lower jaw. This one in particular was wearing an ornate purple outfit, and had his horns decked out in gold and jewels. He slowly approached Selene, his shadow quickly consuming her, and soon enough he towered over her. Lowing his eyes to her, he let out a low growl. "So.." He said in a deep, gruff voice. "You have a dodo bird?" "A-A-Are you Jack Mos-Moschet..?" Selene stuttered out, holding the bird tightly. The monster's face curled into a sharp toothed grin, and he took a step closer. He lunged for her, and she snapped her eyes shut, bracing herself for whatever was to come, but a few moments later it seemed nothing happened. Opening her eyes, she found Jack Moschet on his knees, his hands clasped together. "Please, let me have that bird!" Jack pleaded. "You see, it's my wife Maggie's birthday in a few days, and I promised I'd get her one! And if I don't she'll be very upset, and when Maggie gets upset, she gets very, very upset! I'll give you anything!" Selene paused for a moment, as she looked over the gargantuan beast in front of her. And then her eyes lit up. "Anything!?" "Anything!" Jack confirmed. -------- "Weeee!" Selene yelled. "Hahahahahaha! This is amazing!" She was perched up on Jack Moschet's back, as he ran around the nearby field leaping and bucking around like a bull. "Hahaha! Hold on!" Jack yelled. "This time I'm going to jump really high!" "Woa-aaaaaaaaahahahahaha!" Selene screamed as they leapt into the air, which soon transformed into a laugh as they came back down. Across the way, Ben Jo, Kaz Yui, and Elric all stood watching, Ben holding the dodo in his arms. "Did she really trade the dodo bird for a piggyback ride..?" Elric asked. "There goes our money.." Kaz said, her head hanging low. "Well if you didn't spend so much time arguing with me-!" Elric said, before letting out a defeated sigh. Ben turned towards them with a big grin on his face. "Do you think he'd let me have a turn, next? That looks pretty fun?" Kaz gave him an annoyed glare, before shooting her fist into his face, sending him tumbling down the hillside, screaming all the way down.