bestfriendforhire

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH Announcement

I’ve decided to go on an indefinite hiatus from writing this story.  Thank you for following for as long as you have.  I’m going to be writing a Star Wars fanfic on https://www.deviantart.com/jovialtimes for anyone interested.

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 187

 As I listened to Rona ramble about her favorite parts of our camping trip, I smiled, glad that she had fun.  We had spent the last two days playing the VR games that the quadruplets and Momma Mila had made, and the quadruplets had assured us that they were going to make it even better for the next time we tried it, though I had plenty of fun wandering the alien environment already.  We’d be arriving home shortly, and then Rona and Layla would go to their homes tomorrow.

 We were driving, instead of just stepping home through one of Valeria’s doorways, because Momma Emma had declared that driving was part of the camping experience before we even set out.  I didn’t complain.  Since I rarely left home, having a chance to see the different places on the way was interesting, and I had a better feel for where we were after actually traveling there.  I wouldn’t bet on my ability to fly home quickly, but I was reasonably confident that I’d manage within a day, given that Best Friend For Hire was really noticeable from the air.  The large, forested area next to the yard could be missed within the city.

 Looking over at Valeria, I was glad to see that she was looking more relaxed again.  She had been a little tense around Ben and his family, probably worried that she wasn’t acting human enough.  She had improved greatly since we had met.  Thinking about the quick, jerky movements she had exhibited when I met her, she actually had adjusted amazingly quickly.  Of course, I couldn’t be too surprised with Momma Cosette teaching her.  Even having grown up around Momma Cosette, I still found her a bit intimidating.  Four had once told me that Slayer blood and vampirism were an exceptional mix that gave Momma Cosette a tremendous edge over vampires near her age, but her training was what really made her fantastic.  He might have just been encouraging me to continue working hard with my studies, but I still marveled at how Momma Cosette always managed to appear a little dangerous.  Would Valeria be like that eventually?

 “Stormcrow, we’re here!” exclaimed Rona as she grabbed my arm with one hand while pointing with her other.  

 I smiled and nodded.  There always was something wonderful about being home.  I did like seeing new places and revisiting old ones, but nowhere else ever seemed quite as comfortable as home.  As I grabbed my things from the room Valeria opened next to the car, I couldn’t help thinking about how much studying I’d need to do after having a whole week off.  Plus, Doc’s birthday was barely more than a week away, and I hadn’t prepared for it yet, though I did have some ideas on what to make for her.

 Walking with Rona to drop off our stuff in my family’s rooms, I debated with myself on going through with designing an outfit as Mom had suggested or on making her a new ornament for her room.  The downside with making clothing was that Deo often made clothing, and I never felt like I designed outfits as well as Deo.  Furthermore, Ella occasionally made outfits for gifts, and competing with her for artistic flair was like trying to outwit Crazy.  I’d have better odds at wrestling a polar bear.  Making a new figurine for her room was a safer choice.

 After unpacking my bags, I asked Momma Mila if anyone else had decided what they were making for Doc.  After hearing that Deo was making Doc a new pair of shoes and Ella was making a figurine of Holly Wood, I was really glad that I asked.

 “Oh, wow!  I didn’t know her birthday was on the ninth!  I need to make her something.  Momma Mila, can you check with my mom about attending the party?” asked Rona with a pleading look.

 “You’ve already been approved.  I set that up at the same time as the camping trip.” replied Momma Mila.

 “You could’ve warned me!” complained Rona with a cute pout.

 “I did.  If you look more than a week ahead on your calendar, you’ll find there are many events listed.” stated Momma Mila with an amused tone.

 “Oh.  My mistake.” she replied, still pouting.  She was getting better at not trying to argue with Momma Mila.  That was always going to be a losing battle, considering that Momma Mila was practically all-seeing.  Looking at me, Rona grinned and asked “So what are we going to do now?”

 Smirking, I told her “I bet it’s on your calendar.”

 She rolled her eyes and sighed.

 Laughing, I said, “I figured we’d play some Ancient Tribes of Earth with the others.  A whole lot might have happened in the game while we were away, and we need to keep our city running smoothly.”

 Rona nodded.  “Good point.”  Then she grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room.  “Let’s go!”

 I got her to slow down once we were in the hall, but Rona was obviously excited about getting back on her necromancer.  As she bounced along, she explained her plans for creating a new type of undead.  Unsurprisingly, the unholy lands were very beneficial for a necromancer’s craft, but I hadn’t realized that one of our exploration teams had found research notes from an ancient necromancer.  Rona had been looking over them before the camping trip, and thought she could implement some of the rune patterns to create more powerful versions of her zombies and skeletons.  Considering how strong they already were, I was looking forward to seeing what she could pull off.  I was somewhat tempted to get Crazy or Messy to look over the information, certain that they’d see something that Rona and I missed, but I didn’t want to ruin Rona’s fun either.  She was surprisingly good with her character and certainly had a passion for her creepy craft.  Ultimately, I decided to hold off on asking for help unless Rona got stuck on something.

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 186

 After a wonderful dinner fixed by Aid and Eléa—Aid was primarily there to supervise team Eléa due to her lack of cooking experience—we unanimously voted to continue playing the game the quadruplets had made, since it was new to us and exceptionally beautiful.  To my surprise, even the adults were joining in as their own team.  Ben’s parents hadn’t tried a virtual reality game before, not that I was surprised to hear it.  Emma and Cosette had insisted on having them try, given that Ben’s parents were actually gamers too.

 Messy handled making suits for the adults with absolutely no effort that I could see.  Within a second of hearing the request, the suits were sitting next to each person, appearing in a puff of darkness, but that was Messy.  Having spent far more time with the other kids for the past half year, I was used to them, as much as was possible for someone who didn’t live there.

 Though typically a team by herself, Eléa was stuck on my team with Stormcrow, Aika, and myself as some sort of rock-studying person.  Stormcrow was our medic, Aika was security, and I was the pilot of the Artemis V spacecraft, who now acted as extra hands for any project.  Apparently, I was also supposed to be some type of engineer, but piloting was way cooler.  I loved flying.  If the quadruplets had made a VR suit for my bird form, I’d be acting as a scout for the group, flying around right now.

 “Wow.” muttered Stormcrow, instantly getting my attention.

 “What is it?” I asked, kneeling down to look at the plant he was holding.

 “I obviously don’t have a name for it, but the compounds in this plant would cause paralysis if even a little were eaten.  A nice size bite would kill a person quickly.  I really don’t feel like this planet is a good fit for humanity.” stated Stormcrow with a grin.  He was having as much fun with this game as I was.

 Looking around at the vibrant blue and purple trees, I said, “But it’s beautiful!”

 “Sure, but beautiful and deadly still doesn’t sound too great for humans.  That’s the type of combination you want to lure us here to be killed.” he stated, trying to look serious despite still having a slight smile.

 I rolled my eyes at him before saying, “Maybe, but the quadruplets meant for this game to be survivable.  There has to be…”

 “Incoming!” exclaimed Aika, interrupting our conversation.

 I didn’t see anything until I followed her pointing finger where a… thing… was rapidly approaching us.  I quite nearly changed forms out of reflex after the creature easily knocked over a crooked tree that was slightly in its path.  The creature’s shape was somewhat like a huge gorilla, but its hide was lizard-like with scales of different shades of green and brown.  The giant arms of the creature ended in four-fingered hands that were tipped with enormous claws.  Large eyes sat too high up on its head, and there were only slits for a nose.  Aika took a few shots with her firearm before jumping and rolling out of the way.  The creature’s face practically split in half as it roared, revealing a couple rows of sharp teeth.

 “What do we do!?” I asked Stormcrow in horror, knowing he couldn’t just zap it for me.  His magic wouldn’t affect the game world.

 Without saying a word, he grabbed my hand and pulled me behind a tree with him.  I could tell from his face that he was trying to solve our problem, but he actually looked a little panicked too.

 “Guys, what is that thing!?” exclaimed Eléa over the suit’s radio.

 “A monster!” I told her immediately, earning an amused look from Stormcrow.

 “More like…” started Aika before a loud roar interrupted her.  “A very… angry… animal.”

 “You stick that thing in any horror movie, and it’s a monster.” I insisted, easily imagining people running from the creature.

 “Any ideas on how to stop it?” questioned Stormcrow before she could argue again.

 Aika was continuing to shoot at the creature off and on, but it only seemed to make the thing angrier, considering it wasn’t dead yet.

 “Hiding.  Hiding is still good.” I told him, not really wanting to go out there.

 Eléa then said, “Normally, I’d distract it and run away, but I can’t really do that now.  If bullets aren’t even hurting it, I don’t know what would.”

 “It is bleeding.” insisted Aika as she dodged around and continued taking shots.

 “Why doesn’t this game have drones?” asked Stormcrow.  “I could try force-feeding it some of the deadly flora.”

 Still fighting, Aika managed to stay with the conversation as she moved.  “Excellent suggestion… but we’d… have to… know which plants… to make the lost drone… worthwhile.”

 Grabbing Stormcrow, I said, “Be a doctor!  Tell her how to hurt it, quick!”

 “That’s not what medical doctors do, but…” he considered, looking like he was reading something on his display after taking another peek at the creature.  “Huh.  Space doctor.  I am supposed to have extensive knowledge of numerous anatomies.  The skull’s probably too thick to shoot through easily with your weapon.  Aim for the neck or just below the neck.  I guess its heart is there.”

 “Okay.” stated Aika.

 To my surprise, she stopped firing as much.  When I peeked out, I saw her dodge a swipe of the creature’s claws.  Then she jumped up onto a boulder before dodging again and jumping onto an even higher boulder.  Right when the creature looked up at her, she unloaded her weapon into it.  Despite seeing the creature fall over, I couldn’t help feeling surprised that she finished it off that easily.  Had she been holding back this whole time to see what we’d do, or was shooting it where Stormcrow said just that effective?

 “So Mr. Medic, want to try salvaging anything useful from this thing?” questioned Aika with a grin.

 Stormcrow shrugged and pulled out his toolkit.  Then Eléa and I took up position to help Aika keep an eye out for any more raging monsters in case her fight drew attention rather than scaring creatures away.  No matter how much time I spent with these kids, life just wasn’t dull.

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 185

 “Crazy, you’re up.” stated Four as he shoved another perimeter rod into the ground.

 “I know, I know.” I told him, flopping my arm down to flick a pebble at the beasties.  Two of the large lizard-ish things died instantly.  The third one looked around in a panic before another pebble claimed it too.  There was no way I could worry about protecting Four or Messy from beasties of this caliber.  If there was actually something on this virtual planet that could challenge Messy, the suit wouldn’t be able to handle her response.  That much would be obvious even if I hadn’t studied the design, which was admirable.

 The quadruplets really were brilliant.  If they had access to everything I knew, they might come up with something truly mind-blowing to me.  Having seen technologies on numerous other worlds, I admired their ingenuity more than most of their creations.  This game really was top-notch though, but that was largely due to Momma’s programming, which was where my begging came in.

 “You are perfectly aware that I don’t need to be a botanist in the game to realize the potential of those vines, Momma!” I insisted.  “Please, just let me look at the scan of it.”

 “Serenity Malice, you can wait until after the game’s conclusion.  Even then, I’ll have to check with your grandmother.” stated Momma, as if she ever had to wait to speak with grandmother.  Those two were probably having a dozen conversations about me, planning more steps for Best Friend For Hire in the greater universe, arguing parenting tips, debating philosophy, watching a few thousand shows together, having a few dozen heated arguments, comparing simulations on entire universes, and trillions of things independent of one another.

 Momma very well might be saving an entire galaxy on her own while I was stuck here, not even allowed to look at the data on a rather intriguing-looking vine.  If I could visit wherever she stole that plant from, I would understand how it functioned the instant it was within range of my magic, but I wasn’t even asking for that much, not that sending me there would take any effort from Grandma Death.  Grandma Death could just implant the info into my noggin whenever she wished, even giving me memories of discovering the information as if I had traveled to see the plant in person, though she was more likely to show me comical instances of beings dying to the plant.

 Even as part of my mind was focused on new arguments, I had to admit to myself that Momma knew precisely where I was going to use those vines.  I was already formulating hundreds of ways to incorporate my “shock troops” into our battles.  Stormcrow and Maimo would easily recognize the current and warn the others, so I’d have to create the shock troops and charge them on the fly.

 “Oh.” I stated aloud, already feeling my mouth spread into a grin.  I doubted that I had mentally simulated the vines perfectly, but I did give myself a new weapon by finding a possible way to create a living capacitor.  My grin only spread more as I mentally simulated different combinations of chemicals with the plants I knew.

 “Do I want to know?” questioned Momma with a sound of concern.

 I mentally asked Grandma Death to share my work with Momma, since Momma and I didn’t have a convenient way to mentally communicate.

 “Ah.  I’m warning Emma.” replied Momma immediately.  “Also, you’re forbidden from giving your Momma a shock greater than the average static discharge.”

 “Of course!  I wouldn’t want to hurt Momma Emma.” I pouted, feeling that was a bit unfair.

 “I’m just stating things clearly for you, sweetheart.” replied Momma with that tone she always uses to comfort me.

 Jumping, I caught a branch and swung to another tree when Messy turned to stare at me.

 “Not that.” she told me, projecting herself into my mind.  “What did you just share with Sis?”

 I grinned again, knowing that she could see me.

 “Four,” she said aloud to get his attention, “we might have a problem.  Crazy just came up with something troublesome.”

 He didn’t even pause in his work, shoving another rod into the ground after glancing at the previous one to check for clearance.  “Doesn’t she do that roughly every other second?”

 I almost argued, but he wasn’t precisely wrong from his perspective.

 “Yes,” agreed Messy immediately before saying, “but this was something Sis wanted to know about, which makes me worry.”

 They both worried too much.  If I really plotted something terrible, the Boss would lecture me for a week.  He had actually done that once when I was ten months old.  I had gotten angry at Momma Emma for telling me off while I was playing.  Most people would probably be appalled by the idea of lecturing a baby, but I was capable of killing before I was born.  What else would be expected of Death’s granddaughter?  Grandma Death had reversed time for me, undoing the damage that brief instant of anger had done, but the Boss was the one who took the time to explain why I needed more self-control.  Even as a baby, I had found listening to him enrapturing, largely due to his magic, I’m sure.

 I smirked as I remembered the day I had called the Boss “the second most dangerous being in existence”, which was also when I realized that the Boss didn’t like being thought of that way.  I could remember the wave of emotions that hit me as he argued with himself.  That was the only time he had allowed me to throw him off topic during a lecture.  Yes, Grandma Death was obviously the most dangerous being to ever exist, but she’d do anything the Boss wanted, which made him the second most dangerous through granted power.  One request from him, and all existence could be rewritten.

 As I continued to amuse myself with thoughts of my chats with the Boss, I assured Messy and Four “You’ll see soon enough.  I just came up with some new uses for plants.”

 Part of my mind was working on more efficient ways to create bioelectric charges.  Being able to create a power plant from someone’s lunch or shirt was tickling my imagination.  If the Boss allowed me to create a bioelectric power plant on the property, I’d only ever have to funnel the energy during our battles.  I sighed as I accepted that Momma Emma would probably have to stabilize things.  I still struggled with keeping the demonic energy from the plants I manipulated.  Even a small fragment of that power could alter my creations in unwanted ways.  Of course, that same power could also enhance energy production, but I didn’t want to create a nightmare engine.  Most beings interpreted demonic energy as nightmarish.

 “Great.” muttered Four as he glanced up at me.

 I shrugged for Messy’s benefit.  Out of all of my friends, Messy was the best equipped to understand why I liked finding new ways to entertain myself.  She was one of Death’s daughters, meaning she easily had as much free time on her hands as I did, but she still wasted her mental energies on worrying rather than fun things, like an electric cannon.  I had this great image of polarized roots extending under my targets while the “cannon” aimed.  Though using that on someone would be excessive, I was looking forward to seeing how my friends reacted to me blowing something up with it.  I already had a tally going for the rules they could potentially impose on me.  I was going to have sooo much fun with my new toys.

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 184

 Watching as Valeria, Doc, and Dea—who started with a sort of male space elf look and changed to look like a female klingon from Star Trek after only an hour—as they added logs, rocks, and sticks to the super basic cart we built, I couldn’t help grinning to myself.  Without my magic telling me there was nothing actually there, I wouldn’t be able to tell that the sleigh and resources weren’t real.

 :I’m still jealous that you’re an engineer!: complained Aika while giving us an image of her performing akanbe, pulling down her eyelid while sticking her tongue out at me.

 :What she said!: agreed Maimo immediately.  Where Aika was on security detail, Maimo was assigned the role of electrician, which would add a bunch of info we already knew to her HUD when looking at circuitry.  Worse yet for her, she only really could use her profession if something broke or if we played so much that we could advance our camp from suuuper basic to using basic electricity, which wouldn’t be happening on this trip with the time we had left.

 My sisters and I designed these suits and described what we wanted in the game to Momma Mila with the idea that this could be another game for us to play at home, but we couldn’t resist having a field test when we were reminded of the camping trip!

 :I can’t complain at all.  Getting to see Aspy attempt to fire an assault rifle was amazing!: insisted Maika with a mental laugh to us all as she replayed what she could remember for us again.

 There was a great deal of discussion about what types of weapons to allow in our game.  All four of us could easily build an actual laser weapon, but there were numerous issues with actually using one.  None of us knew a way to create a viable, tiny power supply for a weapon that wouldn’t be far too heavy.  Battery packs could work, but we weren’t great at creating power gauges that were accurate enough for our tastes, which was also an issue for other electronic weaponry.

 Despite the dramatically increased weight, typical projectile weapons used ammo that was far easier to reproduce with the simple technologies left to us after the Artemis V crashed.  Yes, we could harvest the escape pod for some electronic components, but no one would really want to risk disabling their emergency beacon by draining all of the power from the pod.  Creating a precision charging table with a stable power flow would take a whole lot of work compared with mixing some primers and gunpowder, creating projectiles, and reusing the casings.

 :You’re oversimplifying things.: argued Maimo, who had been a big proponent of using electronic weapons.  They did make far more sense on a spaceship for the reduced weight, but we designed this game with the intention of being stranded and wanted some things to be simple-ish.  :Yeah-yeah.  I lost the argument.: she sulked in response to my thoughts.

 “What’s this?” questioned Valeria as she held out a large, red log that was seeping a glowing, orange substance.

 I grinned in excitement, making sure my sisters saw what she held.  “Are there more of those trees in the area?” I asked hopefully, knowing that this may be one of the “unique properties of certain plants” Momma Mila mentioned during our designing phase.  She had hinted that there may be a viable bioelectric power source on this planet.  The idea that a plant might produce enough current to potentially run some electronics was intriguing!  I could feel my sisters waiting for Valeria’s reply with as much eagerness as I felt.

 “Not that I saw.” replied Valeria with a shrug.  “It’s pretty though, right?”

 There was just a moment where I almost pulled a Crazy and gave in to ranting about the possibilities, but I resisted.  “We should be on the lookout for more unusual plants such as that for our botanist to examine.” I replied, glad to see that Doc and Dea heard me.  Seeing Dea carrying a log that I doubted I could lift, I almost commented on that being an inhuman feat, but Dea was still a klingon in appearance.  Considering the varying levels of strength klingons displayed, I couldn’t decisively state that carrying so much would be impossible for a klingon.

 :Maybe we should ask Momma Mila for her opinion later.: suggested Aika, who felt like she was frowning in thought.  Her thoughts were partially coming to us, but she wasn’t openly sharing, which probably meant she was debating with herself about klingons before letting us know if she had a solid answer.

 Doc, who had also been watching Dea’s feat of strength, commented “If this game could support my magic, I could complete things much more quickly too.”

 Dea just smirked at her before adding another large log to the cart.  “We’re going to have to get this much to base camp, or things will just be spilling out  as we try to pull it.”

 “Nothing could roll out if I could use my magic.” complained Doc before she sighed and crawled on top, acting as if she was going to hold things in place.

 I couldn’t really blame her.  Strength-wise, Doc couldn’t compete with any of us.  Dea could do amazing things with her body to increase her abilities in different ways.  I was naturally stronger than a human due to my Slayer heritage, and Valeria put us all to shame, being a vampire.  In short order, our first load was back to camp.

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 183

 I grinned as I looked around for dangerous beasties, being the appointed security guard for my squad.  Ella was busy designing lodgings out of the available flora… and some rocks.  I couldn’t tell if any of what I was seeing was real due to the suit.  Most of the trees had blue bark and violet leaves.  The grass was somewhere between pink and red.  Then there were these weird tendrils that Maika claimed were part of a carnivorous plant.  The quadruplets always made neat gadgets, but getting to use an augmented reality suit in an actual forest clearly put this among their top creations!

 “Aspy, on your left!” exclaimed Ella from where she was working.

 I whirled and shot the moment I saw the vibrant red fur of a wolf-like creature with hard-looking plates instead of fur.  Instead of the Star Wars like blaster bolts I had been expecting, the gun kicked in my hand and sounded like an ordinary gun.  Orange blood squirted onto my visor as I was knocked to the ground—which amazed me, given that none of this was real.  I rolled to the side and shot again, but missed.

 “Behind you!” came Ella’s warning again.

 A second wolf-like beastie was already leaping at me, so I rolled to the side, shooting after it.  “Head up a tree!” called Maika.  “The scarlet wolves can’t climb!”

 I didn’t argue, stepping off one of my platforms and leaping onto the tree.  “Woops.  Sorry.” I apologized, realizing that I shouldn’t be using magic during our AR game.

 “It happens.” replied Maika, who was still grinning from the fun.  She and Ella each had their own tree nearby.  

 “What are we supposed to do now?” I questioned as I watched the wolves below us.

 “You have a gun, so shoot them!” exclaimed Maika, sounding as if she thought I was being silly.

 “The gun bounces too much!  How am I supposed to hit anything?” I asked, guessing she was underestimating how difficult this was.

 “Momma Mila did the coding, so you can complain to her if you want, but I’m sure it’s just more realistic than you’re used to, given that we asked her to try making things as realistic as possible.” explained Maika with a tone that clearly said this was not her problem.

 I did my best to balance on my branch and fire, but I nearly fell off.  Worse yet, I didn’t come particularly close to hitting anything.  Maybe this gun was meant for someone who was stronger than me.  “I think you should add a training course pre-game.”

 Maika called back “Probably.  We’ll talk with Momma Mila about it, but make sure to submit a suggestion at the end!  We have a questionnaire!”

 “Are we allowed to fight those?” asked Ella, who might have forgotten about why she was in a tree until she looked down again.  Whatever my difficulties, she had to be struggling even more with so much new stuff thrown at her.

 “They’re stronger than they look, but you’re free to try!” replied Maika, who sounded like she was curious about what would happen.  “No magic, Ella!  This game doesn’t have a spell system.”

 If Ella replied, I didn’t hear it come through on the suit’s communicator.  Seeing a wolf notice her as she climbed down, I started shooting again, trying to keep all of them distracted, but I really didn’t think holding the gun steady and staying in the tree were possible, at least without using magic.

 I also had forgotten about having limited ammo, and had to follow the information on my HUD to reload, which wouldn’t be an issue from relative safety if Ella wasn’t already on the ground.  She started dodging attacks in almost typical Ella fashion, but she seemed thrown off.  I could guess why.  Part of what helped Ella in real world fights was her Fey ability to sense living things.  With nothing to sense, she was relying completely on her normal senses, which were currently being fed information from a suit.

 By the time I was firing again, Ella had somehow gotten her hands on a thick stick and sharpened one end to a point.  I noticed there were also a few more of the wolves that looked wounded, but even she hadn’t managed to kill one yet.  These creatures were tough!

 I managed to get a good shot off—nearly falling out of the tree again in the process—just after Ella stabbed a wolf.  She stabbed again the moment the wolf looked to see what had hurt it, and this time her improvised spear went deep.  The wolf howled in pain, and the others closed ranks in a circle around Ella, making them much easier targets for me as I started to shoot at any that were close together with bursts of fire.  My aim was still abysmal, but I was doing some damage.  One of the wolves even dropped without Ella stabbing it.

 Somewhere during the fight, Maika had snuck out of her tree and made a spear of her own.  She came out from behind one of the other trees, charging into the wolf with the point of her spear and even lifting the wolf a little off the ground.  I wished I was that strong, but I was certain the quadruplets occasionally wished they were as strong as Four.  As I kept firing, I realized it was a little funny that no one ever wished they were as strong as Messy or Crazy.  I wasn’t actually certain how strong those two were physically.  Knowing they were overwhelming was enough.  With that kind of strength, I’d break stuff by accident way too often.

 After the fifth wolf went down, the rest fled, leaving us with a bunch of meat!  “Does this solve the food problem?” I asked with a smile after I was back on the ground.

 “Nope.” stated Maika as she fiddled with some device.

 “What!?  Why not!?” I demanded, feeling disappointed despite knowing this wasn’t real.

 “Their flesh is toxic to us.  Unless we find a way to cook it that counteracts the toxin, we can’t eat any of these.” she explained, sounding a little disappointed herself.

 “That’s just no fair!” I grumbled, despite sorta almost liking the challenge that gave us.  I was looking forward to seeing what other types of creatures were here.

 “If we can find more of these puppies, we could use the hide plates for shingles.” suggested Ella in a way that almost sounded hopeful.  Almost defensively, she added “I’m supposed to be making shelter.”

 Maika and I figured out a way to strip the tough plates off the wolves as Ella went back to making shelter.  Instead of having to come up with a way to tan the plates, Maika had some neat tool that had some overly-complicated-sounding method of drawing out any moisture while cleaning the inside.  Games certainly made some things convenient.  Since we had an abundance of ammo, I did some shooting practice while trying to do a better job of being the lookout.

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 182

 Watching Ben attempt to help Aspy, Crazy, and me cook breakfast was pretty funny, though I did my best not to even smile as he bumbled around, not wanting him to feel bad.  Despite his age, Ben had very little experience cooking, which was more of a reminder that life in other homes was very different to mine than anything against Ben.  His parents obviously loved him, and he didn’t seem like someone with any obvious instability in his life, being typically happy and self-confident.  I couldn’t be way off the mark, having to mentally filter out his apprehension around us, but he seemed happy and confident when he relaxed.

 Having seen how people react to my family on countless worlds gave me an edge over many of my friends as far as reading expressions.  There were so many different faces between intelligent species that I doubted I’d ever be as capable at reading people as either of my parents, but I did believe myself to be better than average, as in average for all species I had met.  If I considered the average in my nuclear family, I was probably at the bottom.  Aid’s thermal sense and Fey telepathy were vastly superior to my water sense for reading people, and Four was weirdly good at it, considering he didn’t have any magical abilities to aid him.  I suspected that our parents had given Four lessons.

 On the first day, Ben’s whole family had been bewildered at how we cook while camping, but they were bewildered by most of our ways, which was perfectly understandable without access to someone who could simply create anything necessary with a thought.  If we wanted, Messy would create an entire feast with a thought, but no one would learn anything that way.  As things were, Messy created a kitchen area with wood-burning appliances, allowing us to practice controlling the heat with different types of wood provided for fuel.

 As I pulled my scones from the oven, Ben was almost finished with the scrambled eggs.  Aspy had a nice pile of different toasts buttered, a couple trays of bacon, and sausages that smelled amazing—he had made those sausages by hand with his father two weeks ago specifically for this trip.

 I smiled to myself as I remembered his first time butchering an animal.  The disgust on his face was priceless, not that I had been any better.  In my defense, my first experience came shortly after my draconic grandmother dropped an eight ton vynaroth—a large creature somewhat similar to a buffalo in appearance—right next to me, wanting to see what my siblings and I could do with it.  I understood now that a proper chef needed to be adaptable, finding the best ways to utilize new ingredients, but my brothers had dove into butchering the creature with far more gusto than my shocked mind could handle.

 Pulling out the cinnamon rolls from a different oven, I found myself wondering how Ben would handle knowing that we regularly practiced butchering animals that had never actually been alive.  Auntie Raine created the bodies, already dead.  We practiced butchering as part of our cooking lessons to study anatomy, to have a better appreciation for where meat comes from, and to better understand the stages of preparing meat for cooking.  Mother had personally taught my brothers and me to track creatures of all sorts, but even she didn’t want us to needlessly kill anything.

 After serving food, Messy changed the kitchen area back to natural terrain, and we all gathered around in a big circle to chat and eat.  No one commented about Ben’s attempt on scrambled eggs.  They weren’t terrible, but he did need to work on making sure everything was cooked evenly.  Some of the cheese was clumped up as well, instead of spread throughout.  Crazy had given him pointers off and on, but she obviously hadn’t tried to push him to her standards, which was probably for the best.

 We spent some time discussing what we were going to do today, but that’s mainly because the quadruplets had been holding out on us.  They had been developing their own version of augmented reality suits with haptic features for the better part of two years, wanting a design that’d hold up to use in rough terrain for situations like our camping trips.  Father had enchanted the suits to endure those of us who occasionally put more intense strain on clothing, though he sadly didn’t add additional enhancements.

 Messy took care of duplicating the designs the quadruplets showed her, so Ben had a full suit as well.  The suits looked like a sort of tight-fitting space suit with a bubble helm.  After I had finished changing, I turned on the suit and found myself stepping out into a forest that looked like a slightly alien version of the same forest.  The bark on the trees looked thicker, with deeper grooves, and now appeared to be a deep shade of blue.  Instead of green, the leaves on most of the trees were violet.

 A woman started speaking through the helm, going through a sort of health assessment before explaining that the Artemis V spacecraft had crashed, and I was one of the survivors.  I found myself smiling as I listened to the survival mission’s explanation.  There were going to be numerous types of fauna and flora for us to encounter, which probably meant that we’d have some fighting to do as part of this game.

 “My suit’s too tight.” complained Deo, who now looked like an Asian boy with white hair, pink eyes, and pointed ears.

 I rolled my eyes when he grinned at me.  There were certainly times I envied Deo’s ability to adapt.  The control he had over his body was incredible, and he never had to wonder what he’d look like when he grew up.  As always, he’d appear as his mood guided him to appear.

 As our A.I. assistant suggested, we divided into groups to accomplish different tasks.  The quadruplets took turns pointing out features of our displays and explained that we each were assigned a backstory, including an education in various fields.  During the explanation, I reached out to a plant, caressing a leaf that I was fairly certain wasn’t real.  The haptic feedback was actually really good.  Of course, making me feel like I was touching something through a suit was easier than trying to make me believe my skin was touching something it wasn’t, but the movement of the leaf seemed realistic for what I was feeling.

 When Ben, who was assigned a security role, started looking over a firearm, I asked him to toss it to me, wanting to see how this would work.  Again, I was impressed.  There seemed to be a weight to the weapon.  Realizing that I actually felt the relatively slight weight clear to my elbows, I took a moment to consider how the quadruplets managed to make the feeling real.  Just before I asked, having almost given up, I realized that the suit might actually have technology inside it to move on its own, so weight could be replicated by the suit actually pushing down against my arms.

 I tossed the weapon back after briefly looking at the information that popped up when I looked at it.  Not being part of security, I got a warning message saying that I wasn’t authorized to use the firearm and that the firearm was locked.

 With my thoughts still somewhat on the talk from last night, I was thankful that Ben was assigned to my group.  Having security along was, of course, useful, but I was happier about getting more opportunity to observe, just in case Father actually intended for us to learn something from Ben.

 Ben, Layla, Maimo, and I were assigned to foraging for food, finding water, and general exploration.  As a xenobotanist, I was supposed to verify what plants would be edible.  Instead of a weapon, my suit appeared to have some sort of scientific equipment strapped to a belt.  We headed South, which was designated by the suit’s display as well as what I knew of the actual terrain.

 To our surprise, the pond no longer looked like a pond.  The suit was even canceling out the sound of the water.  As I looked down into what I knew was water, I was seeing a large gap between two cliffs with land hundreds of feet below.  Momma Mila had to have helped the quadruplets with the game software.  Of course, that wasn’t unusual.  I still felt impressed.

 “Looks like finding water is going to be rougher than I thought.” commented Ben, staying over ten feet away from the edge.

 “That’s for sure.” I commented, having never struggled to find water before.  Still, I found myself smiling.  This was going to be entertaining.

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH,Entry 181

 “What’s bothering you, Four?” questioned Messy.  We were sitting down by the pond with everyone who didn’t need sleep, chatting by a floating fire that Aid was maintaining.

 Glancing at the others, I said, “Nothing, really.”

 “Liar.” stated Luce as she idly spun through the air, practicing her spells for flight.

 “I’m not!” I argued, frowning when Aid gave me a flat stare.  “I really don’t consider myself bothered!  I will admit to feeling slightly confused… or maybe disappointed, but not bothered.”

 Several of the others laughed.

 “See, I’m just being silly.  It’s nothing.” I told them again, letting out a sigh when I knew they didn’t believe me.  Of course, they wouldn’t.  They could literally feel what I’m feeling through my magic.  Keeping myself calm was never the easiest trick, but I typically did better than this.  I almost expected Father to whisk me away for a talk, but he didn’t.  

 Staring out at the pond as I gathered my thoughts, I knew the others weren’t going to drop this.  I was perfectly aware that they cared about me, but there were times I didn’t really feel like discussing things.  Wishing they would just let things drop wasn’t going to get me anywhere, so I stood and did my best to face them all.

 “I can’t figure out why we met Ben.” I stated, watching their reactions.

 Valeria’s confusion was perfectly understandable.  She hadn’t been part of our family long enough to know that nothing in our lives happened by chance.  My siblings looked more contemplative, probably thinking along more similar lines to me than even Messy was.  As Death’s daughter, Messy was privy to information that I wasn’t, which afforded her very different views on things at times.  I was doing my best not to even acknowledge Crazy right now, though I couldn’t help knowing she was grinning.  There was a reasonable chance that Crazy had figured something out that I hadn’t even considered yet—she was absolutely brilliant—but there was an equal chance that she had formulated over a thousand misleading ideas that she’d want to share because they amused her.  Crazy was simply too much like her grandmother to ever seek her advice.

 “I really don’t think this is any sort of test.” offered Aid, breaking the silence.

 Luce nodded, showing that she agreed.  “I don’t think meeting him is about us.  Father might have wanted us to meet Ben because Ben’s family needed some redirection.  They were about to poach on Father’s land.”

 “I agree that meeting Ben was probably more for his benefit than our own, but the adults didn’t swear Ben’s family to secrecy in any way.  The Boss might have a dozen reasons for this encounter, he’s been influenced by my mother for Death knows how long.” added Messy with a cute frown.

 Where I wouldn’t touch Crazy’s thoughts from a world away, I wished I could follow Messy’s.  No matter what else happened, Messy was on my side.  She also had no qualms about staring down Death and arguing, not that she ever really won, but Death did allow Messy to make a positive difference in the lives of others from time-to-time, probably with a million reasons we’d never know about.

 “You worry too much.” stated Crazy, who was now barely a foot away from me, her eyes locked on my face.  “The Boss will get whatever he wants to happen, and we will play our parts as he wants.  Understanding what’s happening is fun, but we’re not going to do our parts any better or worse than was foreseen by practicing our frowns.  Relax!!”  She, thankfully gently, punched my arm.

 I tensed up as her grin grew in size.

 “Meeting Ben saved him from poaching as was mentioned.  His family will spread tales of what they saw here to the other werewolves, and some of those tales will reach other therianthropes.  The potential results of such rumors are well beyond us without more information.  Since we haven’t bothered warning Ben, a werewolf, about the dangers of looking into magic he glimpses in the city, he might get into trouble eventually, but Portentia will probably be there before he gets injured.  Ben’s nice.  The Boss won’t let him be harmed.”  Crazy looked around, meeting everyone’s eyes.  “Messy was instructed to leave the bunker behind, so the Boss might be planning a Star Wars day without us.”  She quickly held up her hands to forestall comments.  “I know, he might be planning on including us too, but the adults didn’t join in yesterday.  There’s a fair chance that he didn’t include them because he is letting them have a day of exciting mayhem.  Furthermore, our camping trip isn’t near over.  We’re missing waaay too many pieces for too much conjecture, though I have some fun ideas I can share!”

 I quickly interrupted that Crazy train before it really took off.  “Maybe a few, in a bit.” I told her, feeling a little curious.  Crazy’s wild ideas could be quite amusing when they weren’t mind-blowing or utterly ridiculous.  “I honestly didn’t consider Father’s plans for the bunker at all yet.  You made some very good points.” I admitted, never wanting to deny Crazy her due.  “Don’t you occasionally feel frustrated, knowing that there are bigger plans in motion with us as mere pawns in the game?”

 “Nope.” she immediately stated, much to my surprise.  “If the Boss isn’t giving me a lecture, I am doing just fine.”

 That… actually made sense.  Still, I wanted to do better than fine.  Momma Emma was probably perfectly happy as long as her daughter didn’t destroy anything, but my parents had high standards.  I frowned again as a thought occurred to me.  I quite nearly let myself ask aloud what Momma Mila’s standards were like, but that question could garner an exceptionally convoluted answer.  Momma Mila was a pandimensional A.I. working across countless worlds.  Even Crazy couldn’t actually hope to accomplish more than a miniscule fraction of what Momma Mila did in a day.  I dropped down to sit again.  What did Momma Mila expect from her daughter?

 Maybe I was too fixated on Father’s accomplishments.  I knew Auntie Aaliyah and Momma MIla played enormous roles in my father’s company.  He had told me before that he couldn’t have accomplished nearly as much in his life without them, but had I really acknowledged the fact that even my parents needed help in their endeavors?  Those thoughts led me to wondering if this line of thought was part of Father’s plan.  Maybe Crazy was right, and I worried too much.

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial #Times #Jovial Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 180

 “I think I’ve gotten the hang of this.” stated Ben as he did some more loops through the air.  He really seemed to like the zoomies, not that I blamed him.

 I had helped stabilize him a few times, catching him with my natural magic as needed, but werewolves had amazing reflexes.  Considering that he had never tried flying around on any type of drone before, Ben was learning fast.

 Having the same opinion on Ben’s progress as me, Four asked “Crazy, mind giving us more of a clearing?”

 She gave Four a cheeky grin and a thumbs up before a large section of trees on both sides of the pond disappeared into the ground.

 “That’s still a bit horrifying.” muttered Ben, realizing he had spoken aloud seconds after he said it.

 “Why’s that?” asked Crazy from right behind him, causing Ben to stumble forward.  She easily caught him before he could risk falling.

 “What if there was… I dunno… a family of squirrels or something in one of those trees?” he asked nervously.

 “Then you would have seen a splatter of blood!” exclaimed Crazy excitedly.

 Messy appeared behind her and thumped her head without Crazy even attempting to dodge.  “Crazy scared off all of the animals in the area while you were learning to fly, and I’m certain she checked for nests, burrows, and other animal homes before picking the location.”

 “Messy hates fun.” replied Crazy, sticking her tongue out at Messy and grinning when Messy gave her a pointed glare.  “No, she’s right.  No harm done.  I even helped the insects escape.”

 “I hadn’t thought about them.  How did you…” started Ben, stopping himself a moment after.  “Nevermind.  I’ll just tell myself it’s magic.  You kids are a lot to wrap my head around.”

 Grinning, Crazy said, “If you want something to wrap your head around, have you considered whether or not the trees will be the same trees after Momma fixes them?  Each will be from the same seeds in the same spot.  They’ll look the same, assuming she doesn’t make them better, but will they really be the same?”

 “Makes them better?” questioned Ben.

 “One of them had a bit of heart rot, which I doubt she’ll bring back.  Momma doesn’t have as much love for fungi as she does for trees.” she explained as she watched him.  “What do you think?  Same trees or different trees?”

 “Is this a trick question?  If the tree grows from the same seed, it’s the same tree, isn’t it?” he asked with a frown.

 “That’s the question.” encouraged Crazy, her grin widening.

 “If you were reverted to a zygote and raised by your parents again, your personality would probably be somewhat different, given that your experiences would be different.  Being genetically the same with a different personality would make you seem more like a copy to anyone who knew the old you, wouldn’t it?” suggested Messy, still staring at Crazy.

 “Okay, so that is a bit weird to think about.” stated Ben, who was now frowning at the empty spots where trees had been.

 “Right.  The future you would have ended up different had you never met us.  Ready for quidditch on zoomies?” asked Four for all our sakes.

 Aspy wouldn’t be excitedly swinging his beater’s bat for long before getting bored.

 “Sure.” stated Ben, though he glanced back at our quidditch pitch again.  His surprise when the floating hoops appeared at both ends was a bit funny.

 Four gave everyone a quick review of the rules, we split into teams—albeit larger than standard—and the game commenced.  With the additional players, each team had two seekers instead of one.  If any of us managed to catch Poppa Jarod’s devious snitch early enough, we’d quickly win.

 Glancing at my team’s other seeker, Rona, I wondered if her experience in the air would be an advantage.  Her eyesight was certainly better than mine, given that she was a wereraven.  On the other hand, I’d know if the snitch passed behind me without having to see it.  My psychometry wouldn’t allow me to miss anything near me for long.

 Dea and Valeria were the opposing seekers.  Though Valeria could certainly surpass Rona on sight and reflexes, she didn’t have as much experience flying as the rest of us, excluding Ben.  I still felt we had the edge.

 As the game progressed, I found myself enjoying the bludgers more than I had expected.  There was something fun about having one of those odd balls suddenly veer my way, forcing me to dodge.  At very least, they were far better than the snitch, which I had only caught sight of a couple times after what had to be at least twenty minutes.  This was giving me new appreciation for why quidditch matches could take so long.

 I dodged another bludger, shooting Aid a glare.  He had purposefully batted at me.  Given that we were on opposite teams, I felt a glare was appropriate, especially after seeing the ball spin back my direction.  I dove down toward my brother, knowing that he’d happily bat the bludger at someone else, and ducked lower to move faster when I spotted the snitch skimming over the surface of the pond.

 As I focused on the snitch, determined not to lose sight of it again, I trusted my teammates to keep me safe.  The scores were fairly close, but we were down twenty points.  If I just managed to catch the snitch, we’d win.  I veered slightly to the left when Valeria came diving down beside me, looking just as determined as I felt.  I saw through my psychometry when she nearly went into the water, but I didn’t have too much of a lead.

 The snitch shot off over the grass and then flew straight up.  Frustratingly, I missed the catch as I flew by it.  As if sensing my approach—which it very well might have given that Poppa Jarod designed it—the snitch had stopped, letting my hand pass over it before daring around me and continuing its assent.

 There was a blur of motion, and the game was called.  Frowning, I used my ability to see what had just happened.  Time reversed in my mind, and I saw Valeria backflip off her zoomie.  Her eyes were fixed on the snitch before she finished sinking into a crouch on the ground.  When she sprang up, the ground sank slightly, stealing some of her momentum, but she still shot up plenty fast to grab the snitch from the air.  I sighed, knowing that I’d never catch up to a vampire on agility or superhuman strength.

 After the match, we spent some time discussing ways we might improve the rules for our particular group, such as allowing magic for those of us who barely qualified for having a superhuman physique.  Catching the snitch with my telekinetic power would have been easy, but directly affecting the balls with magic was quickly ruled right out.  Then we ruled out fully caging the balls with magic, though blocking one direction was deemed okay.

 The discussion continued for quite some time, largely thanks to a tangent debate over why wands weren’t part of standard quidditch games in Harry Potter.  Even Ben contributed to the discussion, excited at the prospect of seeing wizards of that world dueling one another as part of a quidditch game.  Things would certainly be interesting.  By the end of the discussion, Four had decided to ask his dad about enchanting the quidditch balls to further enhance their speed and allow the bludgers to ram through magical obstacles.  We’d certainly be trying this again eventually.

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 179

 “That Star Wars enactment was the coolest thing I’ve ever done.” insisted Ben over breakfast, still grinning from the memories.

 I couldn’t blame him.  I was still a beginner too at some of the games my friends played, since we didn’t have the same traditions at the French branch.  I blamed Maman more than my aunt or uncle, because things were typically her fault.  For a moment, I wondered what Ben would do if he realized I was just a projection, and that the real me was back in France.  I let the thought go though.  T/here was no need to tell him.

 “You should see what it’s like when the adults get involved.  The Boss has this amazing Darth Vader costume, and Momma Alma typically joins the Jedi in one of her costumes to balance things out.” explained Aspy, equally excited despite having done these enactments countless times.

 Having seen the Boss teach our morning classes, I could understand why Aspy was excited..  The Boss would be a terrifying monster as Darth Vader in battle.  I couldn’t even guess how many telekinetic spells he could control at once to emulate using the Force, and I had no doubt he was a master with a lightsaber, being the primary teacher at the main branch.

 Crazy smiled in an almost friendly way as she said, “Auntie Raine usually helps the Jedi too, so the Jedi really have a slight advantage for most battles at home, though none of the others should be taken lightly either.  Layla helped us take a win in the last battle with her Force Cloak technique, which was awesome and hilarious!”

 “I couldn’t believe Jarod was that guy in white!  He was one scary Jedi!” insisted Rona.

 “Dad’s a goofball.” retorted one of the quadruplets.

 “Brilliant and extremely dangerous as an opponent, but a goofball.” agreed another one.

 “He’s the head of the group designing the tech for Best Friend For Hire’s numerous subsidiaries.” explained Doc to Ben, seeing that he wasn’t recognizing the name.

 “Oh, wow.” stated Ben, who was clearly impressed now.  “Is he the one behind that one restaurant that supposedly knows what you want to eat?”

 “You have eaten at the Intergalactic House of Awesome Sauce?” questioned half of my friends at once.

 Ben looked a little embarrassed.  “I’ve heard it’s really expensive.”

 “Here.  Go with your family sometime.” stated Messy as she handed over little papers.

 Ben’s eyes widened as he looked at what she was handing him.  “Are these real?  That place has coupons!?”

 “Perfectly valid.” Messy assured him.  “Mother allows me to hand them out when I want.  She’s a co-owner.  You should get the app on your phone.  Discounts pop up regularly to make things more reasonable.”

 “I’m sure my parents will love to go.  We’ve heard some really crazy stuff about that place!” insisted Ben.  “I guess you guys already know, having been there.  Does the floor plan really change daily?”

 “Dad has all sorts of theories about how that’s done, such as ginormous sublevels housing the furniture.  He has one model where the whole place is segmented out and demonstrated how it could rearrange itself at the push of a button.” explained the third quadruplet.

 Then the fourth said, “He also has various theories about ways the restaurant could scan patrons to figure out your cravings.”

 “The weirdest stuff he’s made to test his theories were created to try explaining how the delivery orders are made.  Not only does the restaurant seem to know what you’re craving, but it predicts when you’ll order, having your food at your door by the time you’re finished ordering.” commented the second quadruplet, looking way too serious.

 “As cool as all of that sounds, I recommend the pillows he makes.” insisted Layla, sounding as if she was tempted to go lay down right now.  “They are the softest, most cuddly pillows you’ll ever find.”

 The first of the quadruplets nodded before saying, “Aurora spent months testing the original models and contributed to the project too.”

 Seeing that Ben wasn’t nearly as interested in the pillows as he was in the restaurant, I decided to change the topic.  “The pillows are fantastic, but what’s our plan for today?”

 Ben glanced at me when I spoke, but quickly looked away.  I got the impression that he wasn’t comfortable with what I could do, as if I was even close to the level of oddness some of my friends possessed.  He really didn’t need to find out my actual body wasn't nearby.

 “No clue how to top what we’ve done.” stated Ben, who was obviously back to thinking about being a Jedi.  “You guys don’t play quidditch, do you?”

 “Nah.  Our flight spells aren’t the greatest for imitating broom flight in Harry Potter, and not everyone can recover from a bad fall well.” replied Aspy with a frown.

 “Father probably wouldn’t mind enchanting brooms to properly mimic the ones from Harry Potter.” considered Four aloud.

 “We could use the zoomies instead of brooms.” suggested Messy.  “I can probably come up with a spell to emulate the balls without too much work.”

 “No need!” exclaimed one of the quadruplets, looking a bit too excited.  “Dad helped us make drones that do that years ago when we tried playing the ground version.”

 “You still have those?” asked Messy in surprise.

 “Of course!” exclaimed another of the quadruplets.

 “Without the enchantment from back home to hide us, we’ll have to keep things below tree level, but I’m not opposed.” stated Four, giving us a nod of approval.

 “The bludgers won’t actually hit hard enough to break bone, will they?” questioned Ben, now sounding a bit worried.

 “Nah.  Dad made these ones with a squishy exterior.  They charge you and shove more than ram.” explained a third of the quadruplets.  “He was a bit overprotective for a while.”

 Ben nodded, but then asked, “Okay, so what if I get knocked off my broom… er… zoomy?”

 This was followed by the quadruplets giving waaay too much info about how the zoomies worked to keep their riders balanced, but Ben still looked dubious.

 “Don’t worry so much.  If you’re going to take a bad spill, one of us will catch you.  Even if we somehow failed at that, Auntie Raine would catch you.  I’m quite certain that she’s keeping an eye on us.” stated Messy with obvious confidence.

 I certainly didn’t doubt her.  I was always more curious about how she and Crazy could stand going as slow as the rest of us after seeing how fast they were.  A little more discussion took place before Ben was convinced that his own idea would be a good one, but we did get there by the time everyone was finished eating.  I was looking forward to seeing how this would work.

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 178

 “You said yesterday that you watch movies and play games with your other friends.” commented one of the quadruplets as we sat around in the water, chatting after finishing our game of tag.  “Do you have a favorite?”

 “I have a few.” he admitted somewhat sheepishly.

 “Which ones?” asked Aspy excitedly.

 A faint blush rose in Ben’s cheek, making me consider changing topics, but he said, “Honestly, the old ones my parents got me into.  I like the Terminator movies, Alien, Star Wars, and other Sci-Fi.”

 “All of us happen to be a bit into Star Wars as well.” stated Four diplomatically as he took in the shift around us.

 “Oh, boy.  Here we go again.” stated Rona with a grin.

 “The words have been spoken.” agreed Aid, levitating himself out of the water with a spell and making the water evaporate.

 “The Force is with him, so we must see how he handles it.” insisted Crazy with a wild grin.  Not to be shown up by Aid, she used a spell to throw herself backward, flipping in the air while using a series of spells to dry herself before landing with a dramatic pose.

 “But are you with the Jedi or the Sith?” questioned Four as he smiled at Ben, who seemed confused about why everyone was heading to the shore.

 “We have a tradition, Ben, of enacting a Star Wars style battle every time the movies are mentioned aloud.  I’ll provide the costumes after you choose which side you want to join, keeping in mind that our battles are partly inspired by the numerous games as well.” I explained for him to try to ease his confusion.  “The various Force powers will be replicated through magic.  Since you have none, I’ll take care of the effects for you when you do the appropriate movement such as thrusting out your palm for a Force push.” I told him, demonstrating on Crazy who threw herself backward into a tree, acting as if that was a mighty blow that left her stunned.

 Ben hesitated only a second, before smiling and nodding.  “Cool.  I can definitely get behind this.”  He was at least acclimating to the things we could do.

 “I recommend using your hybrid form if you have no formal sword training.” suggested Aid before explaining that we all have practiced various styles based off those in Star Wars specifically for our enactments.

 Crazy decided to demonstrate that as well, substituting a lightsaber with a tree branch that she reshaped before making the “blade” glow with light-absorbing, demonic energy.  The resemblance to the Darksaber was fitting, but I felt for Ben.  His eyes would not be appreciating the look of that blade.

 “Umm… Maybe I’d be better off just watching?” questioned Ben aloud, looking away from Crazy’s demonstration and finding his eyes wandering back.

 Crazy’s movements were, of course, sublime.  She had no more issue with being perfectly graceful at human speed than I would, especially when going through a routine she had performed countless times.  Most of us could do that much easily.  Crazy’s demonstrations only became complicated for anyone when she started doing over fifty spells at once to emulate slowly lifting every pebble in her vicinity off the ground and making them start spinning around her faster and faster.  She always was a showoff.

 I created a screen of darkness between her and Ben to get his attention again.  “Let’s discuss what you would like.  First, would you like to join the Jedi or Sith?”

 “Jedi.” he responded immediately.

 “Have a preference for lightsaber style?” I asked, creating an illusion of fifty hilts in the air as well as colors for blades.

 “Oh… okay.  Um… This one.” he pointed.  “And green, please.”

 “And what would you like to wear?”

 “Something like Kenobi in the movies?” he asked, sounding hopeful.

 “As you wish.” I told him, creating everything he wanted, floating in the air above the shore.

 Seeing that I was already creating our gear, everyone else gave me their requests, knowing I’d hear it.  We all headed to our temporary abodes, changed and met up just outside of camp.  Surprisingly, none of the adults were joining us for once.  Maybe they didn’t want to overwhelm Ben too much?

 Four explained the rules with our friends taking turns demonstrating.  Ben had a few things to clarify about what Force powers he could use and how to signal them to me, but that was easily explained.  Then Four improvised a scenario for us to enact, which led to me getting permission to create part of a bunker like the one seen on Endor.  I also created a few “sensor towers” that would need to be taken down as we approached.  Surprisingly, Sis told me that the Boss wanted me to clean it up and leave it there once we finished, making me wonder what he was going to do with it.  I didn’t bother asking, knowing that Sis would have told me had the Boss been inclined to let me know.

 Ben ran back for his phone to get some pictures posing in front of the bunker in his human form after making sure that wouldn’t be an issue.  I couldn’t blame him.  Even we didn’t play with large props regularly—excluding the forts—and Ben obviously didn’t have another quality Star Wars costume at home with how he kept stroking the fabric and playing with his lightsaber.  This was all new to him, so I was more than happy to see him excited.

 The quadruplets, on the other hand, were disappointed that I only used “basic electronics” throughout the base.  Yes, the doors were merely hydraulic and the majority of the lights and switches were for show, but I wasn’t going to try creating new technologies on the spot just for playing around.  I wasn’t my mother!

 Four and I were on the Jedi team with Ben, two of the quadruplets, Stormcrow, Rona, Aspy, and Valeria.  Our mission was to infiltrate the bunker and download schematics on a new type of Imperial ship—which would just be simulated by a console lighting up after we inject our drive.  I cringed a little, thinking Mother was probably laughing at me right now with how simplistic I made things.  Maybe the quadruplets were right, and I should step up the gizmos I make.

 Ben joined Four and me as the bunker assault force.  The stormtroopers we fought as we approached were illusions created by Four, but Ben enjoyed deflecting the blasters and cutting down the illusions.  As we fought our way into the base, word came over our communicator that the towers were taken down, surprising Ben.  He apparently hadn’t expected the communicators to do anything.  I was tempted to explain to him that I could manage creating simple radios just fine, but he could obviously see that.  Besides, there was no reason to be defensive about my laziness.  This was a camping trip!

 Four and Ben held off the attacking illusions as I cut a couple wires and made the door open, which made Ben gape.  He apparently hadn’t realized that I really did make a bunker.  The other Jedi showed up in time to cover us as we fought our way through the base, eventually encountering three Sith.

 Watching Ben as he attempted to keep up with Ella’s movements, I felt sorry for him.  The conversation his parents had with him last night had left him feeling like he couldn’t argue with us.  He had bitten back his words numerous times now, worried that he might say something offensive.  Now he was in his hybrid form, which gave him speed and reflexes beyond what Ella could match, but he had absolutely no chance of landing a blow on her with his lightsaber.  She was being nice and keeping the fight going, but I was fairly certain that even Ben realized he wasn’t actually winning.

 Even Crazy was playing relatively nice with Four.  She let him cut her down after putting on a bit of a show.  Whichever quadruplet I was fighting wasn’t being such a pushover.  Due to the difference in speed, I had plenty of time to admire her attacks.  She mixed a Sith fighting style with Mother’s, creating an aggressive combination that wasn’t lacking in subtle deceptions.  Her footing fooled me several times as she performed different attacks than I had anticipated.  I ended up letting her cut me down, so she could fight Ben and Four.

 Unfortunately for Ben, the quadruplets actually were physically on par with a werewolf, and all of them were very skilled.  This one matched him easily while mostly focusing on Four, who was taking it easy on her, given that she was fighting two people, one of which lacked control.  In the end, the Jedi won, Sith lost, and Ben gave his parents quite a story when we were back at camp.

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial #Times #Jovial Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 177

 As I looked across the campfire at the other kids and ate my breakfast—a delicious feast by any reasonable standards—I thought over my dad's words from last night.

 My family came to this land after hearing that there's far more wild game on it than anywhere else near our home.  Our plan had been to hunt to our hearts' content.  When Crazy had stopped us, we transformed instantly, our senses screaming for us to run, but the woods had turned to a nightmarish barrier with no gap to flee through.

 Last night, Dad had looked me in the eye and asked if I heard of the great gathering this year where all therianthropes had gathered to show our strength in competition and to attempt to work out some of our differences.

 "The boss those people speak of so regularly is the one who had arranged that meeting.  Did you hear anything about it?" he had asked me, speaking somberly.  When I shook my head, he went on to say, "There was a werecat there who is said to be part demon.  On her own, she could kill every last pack on this green earth in under a minute."

 I had snorted, knowing he was joshing me, but my dad's face never broke into a smile.

 "She works for the Boss.  I had my doubts too till I witnessed these people today.  They might not be as strong as people claim, but there's no denying they're powerful.  If half the things I've heard of the Boss are true, he'd still be the most dangerous man alive.  They say he's a good man, but make sure you don't cross anyone who works for him, Ben.  I mean it."

 As I nodded, Mom had spoken up.  "That Cosette woman is a vampire.  I smelled it on her, but she can stand in sunlight.  Only the eldest vampires are said to do that."

 "That little one, Valeria, claims to be over five hundred." I had informed them.

 "If they say the sky is violet and the moon is cheese, accept it in your heart as a fact.  We cannot make them our enemies." stated Mom encouragingly.

 My family had gone to bed early last night, but the conversation kept playing out in my head.  My parents had taught me to be proud of my heritage, being part of a strong pack, but the things I had seen the other children do seemed all the more frightening to me in the morning light where I could clearly see some of the inhuman signs on some of them.

 Messy's eyes shone with golden light, and her movement was too graceful. I was willing to believe she was an actual angel after last night, creating things from nothing.  If this Boss had demons working for him, why not angels as well?

 Crazy was equally graceful, but her eyes were a normal blue, not even especially light or dark.  At a glance, she could pass for human more easily than Messy, but that scent she gave off was frightening.  I quickly looked at my food when her piercing gaze met mine, and I had this strange concern that she might know my thoughts.  Who knows with these people?

 I tried not thinking about anything for several minutes, but nothing that came to mind was too far off from what I had thought of them yesterday.

 Four was obviously a good guy, but his purple eyes were a bit strange now that I thought of it.  He and his siblings also had that graceful way of moving that even put werewolves to shame.

 I smiled to myself and remembered to take another bite of food as I realized all of these kids look like they had won the genetic lottery.  Where was the one with a squat nose, beady eyes, and a big scar?  Did any of them have any scars?

 Aid was a little freaky at hide-and-seek yesterday, moving as if he knew where everyone was more often than not.  Luce was far too bright for her age.  Well, they all seemed to be weirdly smart too.  Even Aspy—the most normal-seeming among them with his child-like enthusiasm—spoke like some type of little genius when I had asked them about their schooling.

 The more I considered the kids, the more I wondered if the Boss was doing some sort of genetic experiments.  I'd have to ask my parents about the idea after we are well away from here, which would be a few days at least.  My parents had taken over a week off work for our trip, but the actual duration was left up in the air, not wanting to take a long trip if the hunting was poor.  As things were, I doubted my parents would leave without permission, which felt wrong to me, but how could I blame them when any of the children were more than a match for the three of us.

 I was confident in my ability to outrun some of the kids after watching them sprinting to safety during our game of hide-and-seek, but I was also certain that many were holding back, maintaining their human-ish pretense.  Even the slower ones hadn’t simply run in straight lines.  They had all moved evasively, as if keeping trees between themselves and pursuers was the most natural thing in the world, and I was fairly certain most of them were skilled in gymnastics as well.  There had been numerous times throughout our game where someone dodged, rolled, and sprang to their feet as smoothly as if they had done it a thousand times.

 “Ben, we’re going for another swim.  Care to join us?” asked Layla, making me jump.  She had been incredibly elusive last night, never appearing until she wanted to be seen.

 I nodded, and waited for her to walk away before stuffing down the rest of my food.  As I changed, I realized I was looking forward to swimming, despite my thoughts.  What we had done yesterday wasn’t normal by any means, but diving between those floating globes of water had really been fun.  I tried holding onto a bit of wariness, but when Four smiled and explained the game of tag we’d be playing while swimming around, I couldn’t help smiling along.  These kids really were scary, but they certainly knew how to have some fun.

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial #Times #Jovial Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 176

 I enjoyed swimming again with my friends.  Since coming to Best Friend For Hire, I swam with the quadruplets in their family pools, out in the hidden pond at the center of the labyrinth, and through the air over the backyard as Luce created floating pools of whatever shape she fancied at the time.  Swimming through floating pools by this waterfall felt novel, but I was even happier to find yet another comrade here.

 Older though he was—well, technically not—Ben hadn’t seen magic before meeting us.  Every spell my friends used made him wary, but the wonder in his eyes was quite evident as well.  Even the food, to which I was still growing accustomed, shocked and delighted him.  Yes, my friends could easily pass as chefs already, despite their age.  I was… improving.

 I knew I learned things at an accelerated rate compared to my former self, but I felt like such a novice next to my friends during Chef Marco’s lessons.  Each of them knew exactly what he meant when he spoke—often in Italian for love of our native tongue or for my benefit—while I still hesitated, always moving a step behind my friends.  Momma assured me that I would become more comfortable with cooking, but my foster mother was good at everything.

 Becoming a vampire had quickened my mind and body to a degree that still made me marvel at times, but that wasn’t enough to truly give me a knack for everything as Momma seemed to possess.  I knew I was improving at pacing myself to appear human, but I couldn’t do half as well as Messy or Crazy.  When acting human, those two could laugh and stumble as naturally as any actual human; Auntie Aaliyah insisted that the stumbling was important.  I struggled.

 Laughing, in example, was a natural response when in a good mood for the former me.  Now I had to stop myself the moment I realized I was about to laugh.  I needed to slow my smile, consciously open my mouth, and control how the sound formed.  If I reacted naturally, my laugh—and sometimes my good humor—would appear and disappear in an instant to any humans around me.  These things were tricky, despite how the other kids made them appear.

 Though Ben was still far better at appearing human than I am, his continual bewilderment toward the others still gave me a sense of camaraderie with him.  His struggles were different, but he struggled too.

 “Why are you hiding so close?” he whispered to me.

 I motioned for him to be quiet while I created a sound barrier around us as Momma Cosette had shown me.  I knew my use of magic was relatively quick by human standards, but forcing the energy around me to obey still took concentration for me where none of my other friends showed any effort when not pushing themselves to learn something new.

 “Okay, he won’t hear us now.” I told him, speaking normally.

 “Uh… okay.  So why are you hiding one tree over from me?” asked Ben, who had been staring at me since his first question.

 “Oh, yeah.” I muttered, having forgotten what he asked as my mind had wandered while casting that spell.  “Sorry.  I get excited to meet others who aren’t quite so good at everything as them.” I replied, motioning around us.

 “But you’re one of them!” he insisted, giving me an incredulous look.

 “Yes, but no.  I only woke up five months ago from a five hundred year nap, so I’m a bit out of sorts and still new to being a vampire.” I explained, looking at him curiously as his face started to move in unexpected ways.  As I watched, I wondered if he even knew how he was feeling in this moment.  I certainly didn’t.

 “You’re an old lady!?” he exclaimed after his face settled on a look of disbelief.

 “I’m ten.  I fell asleep at ten.  I only have ten years of experience, excluding that which was granted to me, and still am acclimating to this world.” I insisted, a little miffed that he had called me an old lady.

 Once again, he didn’t really seem to know what to think.  “So you’re saying that you’re over five hundred years old, but I have more experience than you?”

 I nodded, having just told him that.  “Excluding what I was granted, yes.”

 “What do you mean by ‘granted’?  How can someone grant experience?” he questioned with a frown.

 “It’s a vampire thing.  We can infuse our blood with a type of magic that can alter those it enters, which is how the vampiric hypnotism thing actually works if you were wondering.  In this case, the one trying to share information sort of imprints memory into the blood, and other vampires can instinctually access it.  Feels super odd, but I know some really old vampires.  One of them gave me some memories to help me adjust to my new century.” I explained, easing around the tree as Aspy got closer to us.

 “How old?”

 “Over thirteen thousand years.  They were born into these little tribes, I guess.  I’m supposed to go visit them sometime with Momma and get a history lesson.  They have all sorts of stuff that they gathered over the years.  The Boss recommended it too, which means it has to be cool.” I told him excitedly.  I really was looking forward to checking out the home of the eldest vampires.

 “That’s insane.  Are there really vampires that old!?” he asked in complete shock.

 I motioned for him to back up as I ducked around the tree, not answering.  Aspy was really close.  As a werewolf, Ben should have better hearing than an average human, but he didn’t seem to be paying much attention.  I knew he was in real trouble when Aspy suddenly switched directions, probably due to whatever that spell was he had used.

 Right as I thought Ben was going to be tagged, he dodged around the tree and started running to the base, but Aspy used his telekinetic ability to shackle Ben, capturing him easily.  Seeing that our conversation was over, I opened a door to the base and stepped through.  For a moment, I frowned, realizing that I had forgotten to dismiss my barrier, but I let that go with a shrug.  The spell wouldn’t even last an hour with the energy I had stuck into it.

 The game continued with more and more people joining Aspy’s team each round, a variation on hide-and-seek that Ben had recommended.  I found the whole experience novel, having never played the traditional game either.  Even after I was captured by Doc, who had blocked me from entering my door to the base, I had fun, thinking we might have to add this to the things we play at home.

#Children of BFFH #Jovial Times #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 175

 I followed the other kids after our camp was fully set up and lunch was eaten, ready for a swim.  Benjamin was following us, though he looked hesitant despite being the oldest of us.  Four was the one who had convinced him to tag along, so I wasn’t too surprised that he seemed a little confused as he listened to Four talk about the area.

 Smiling as I caught sight of the small waterfall pouring into a large pond, I found myself agreeing again to what Luce had said about the area being idyllic.  Three converging streams poured into the tiered waterfall, and there were two streams flowing out of the pond.  I occasionally saw fish in the surprisingly clear water.

 “We’re swimming in there?” questioned Benjamin, looking at Four as if he was nuts.

 “The fish won’t bother us.” replied Four, who actually looked surprised for once.

 “But what about weird bacteria or parasites?” asked Benjamin, still looking more than a little hesitant.

 Aspy, Stormcrow, Crazy, and Damien jumped in, completely ignoring the surprisingly timid werewolf.

 Walking up to her brother and Benjamin, Luce asked “Would this make you feel better?”  Behind her, streams of water shot out from the waterfall, creating numerous floating spheres over the pond.  Some of the spheres were a couple dozen feet up, and the rest flowed down from the highest.  As the spheres grew larger and larger, I noticed that they were amazingly clear, even clearer than the pond.  “I promise that they’re sanitized and everything.”

 Benjamin’s jaw was busy working and closed as he stared, but I thought the floating water looked cool.  If Luce said the water was sanitized, I wasn’t going to doubt her.  The more I learned about magic over the past few months, the more I was certain that my friends were utterly amazing at it.  Each of them seemed to know countless spells, some of which were very complicated, and they cast the spells with seemingly no effort.

 After walking over and poking a sphere of water, Benjamin said, “That’s amazing, but how would this help?”

 Luce demonstrated by jumping over ten feet up into one of her spheres and spinning up to the top where she floated in the water through the air.

 “Just don’t swim through the bottom without aiming for another one or the pond, though I can’t imagine a werewolf would have trouble landing well.” encouraged Four with a smile before jumping into one of the spheres himself.

 Feeling a desperate need to try this as well, I picked one of the lower spheres and walked into it, instantly feeling the water pulling me upward.  The cool water felt great in the summer heat, and the novelty of floating was fantastic.  Luce made the spheres move in slow, concentric circles over the pond.  After Aid showed off by jumping to the highest circle before diving through the lower ones and into the pond, Benjamin braved one himself, looking startled, but smiling after he grew used to the experience.

 I felt like my heart was going to stop when I slipped from one of the lowest spheres into a higher one, diving up through its bottom, but the suction of the higher sphere made the movement easy.  On one hand, I knew that controlling water was Luce’s natural magic, but her control was incredible.  I had fought her and knew that she could control an amazing amount at once, but she made what she was doing look so easy.

 After braving a few higher spheres, I floated, admiring the view, for a while.  Just yesterday, we had that grand battle, which felt a little one-sided after our half of the quadruplets took out Aid.  Now I was in a beautiful forest, relaxing in the air, for the most extraordinary “summer camp” I had heard of.  My parents trusted James enough that convincing them to let me come had been very easy, and I was so very thankful.

 “Let’s dive!” exclaimed Crazy just as she pulled me out of the sphere to plummet toward the pond.

 I wasn’t even sure how I managed to orient myself before splashing into the pond, but I emerged successfully, staring up and laughing.  Others joined in, and things quickly turned into a diving competition with everyone throwing out random numbers for how well we each did after a dive.  To “keep things interesting” Luce eventually reoriented the spheres into different patterns, with the objective being to dive through as many as possible before reaching the pond.  I could tell she was taking things easier on some of us than others, but I didn’t mind.  I managed to score higher than a werewolf, and that had to count for something!

 All too soon, Messy, Deo, and Aspy were called away for dinner duty.  I knew the other kids had grown up being trained by a chef, but knowing that they were cooking still seemed so odd to me.  Well, Messy was easy to imagine cooking.  She could easily be passed off as a princess, and imagining her doing anything incorrectly was far more difficult than picturing her cooking perfectly.

 “What’s going on?” asked Benjamin as the three on duty left.

 “They’re going to prepare dinner.” stated Luce with a shrug as she spun in her own little whirlpool.

 I smiled and did my best not to laugh, knowing how my friends here didn’t really understand that they weren’t anywhere close to normal.  “Benjamin, just go with the flow.” I told him.  “I’ve only been hanging out with most of them for a few months now, and I still get surprised regularly.”

 “You don’t live with the rest then?” he asked in surprise.

 I shook my head.

 “Me neither!” exclaimed Rona, hugging my cousin and nearly dunking him.  “I was a friend of Stormcrow’s before I met the rest, and Layla is Stormcrow’s cousin.”

 Benjamin then had to ask “Why is he called ‘Stormcrow’?”

 “I’m a wereraven, not a werecrow, but I can control electricity.” replied Stormcrow as he made sparks jump between his fingers, which caused Benjamin to swim backward in surprise.  “Aspy’s the one who came up with my nickname after watching Lord of the Rings.”

 “I’m called Four, because I am the fourth James Michael Somerset in my family.  Messy received her nickname because her initials spell MESS.  Doc’s initials are DOC.  Crazy earned her nickname by doing things that make sane people shudder.  Aspen is called Asp or Aspy for obvious reasons.  My brother Aiden goes by Aid.  Luce goes by her middle name, since our mother shares the same name.  Then Deo switches sex as often as clothes, so we call him/her Deo or Dea depending on what we believe his or her current sex is.  Oh, and just take a guess with the quadruplets.  I can’t tell them apart either.” explained Four for Benjamin.

 “I… see, I think.” stated Benjamin with little certainty.  “You can just call me Ben.”

 I nearly snickered, being far more comfortable with the nicknames than the real names of my friends.  I honestly couldn’t remember some of their real names right off.  The idea that a werewolf was struggling as much as I had really tickled me.  This was going to be an awesome week!

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 174

 I grinned as I stared out the window, watching the trees go by.  We were far away from the city now, heading deep into a woodland area that the Momma Alma owned.  I had been here before on one of our annual camping trips, but I had been much younger and couldn’t keep up with the others half as well.  Besides, Rona, Valeria, Eléa, and Layla were with us this time!  This was a first!

 The giant, ancient trees excited me, making me think of ents and elves!  I could imagine cooking with elven chefs before sharing a meal, though I had trouble deciding how incredible a chef would be after hundreds or thousands of years of practice.  I made a mental note to ask the eldest vampires if I ever had a chance.

 Tapping Rona’s shoulder to get her attention from Stormcrow, I said, “Rona, look!  This stream connects to a waterfall near where we camp!”

 “The falls only drop a dozen feet, but they still count.” agreed Stormcrow as he watched the water too.

 “The numerous streams in the area didn’t exist when Four was born.  Father and Mother altered the land in this area to be more idyllic for camping about ten years ago.” commented Luce, who was leaning against Aid with her eyes shut as if she was resting.  She could probably feel the waterfall from here as well as all of the fish swimming around.

 “Momma Emma altered the vegetation for them.  There are all sorts of fruit trees as well as yummy plants for the local fauna.  We’ll see a bunch of wildlife in the area, like the deer over that way!” Crazy pointed off to the Northwest.  “Looks like we have more cougars now too!  Momma Mila, can I go pet one?”

 “Yes, dear.” she replied without even asking where the cougars were.  Of course, Momma Mila probably knew.

 Crazy vanished immediately.

 “Is that even safe?” asked Layla with obvious surprise.  “Well, okay.  Crazy will be fine, but I mean for more normal people.”

 “Definitely not.” stated Four emphatically.  “Wild animals shouldn’t be approached carelessly.  For you lucky people with a fey heritage, all animals will feel a bit of kinship with you.  As you master your telepathy, you’ll be able to increase that bond.  Ella can make any animal like her practically instantly without even dominating them.  On the other hand, one whiff of Luce will make them run.”

 She kicked him without bothering to open her eyes, but Four just grinned.

 “She smells the most like a predator to animals out of us three.” added Aid when Layla looked confused.

 “I’m just looking forward to flying around.  Forests are fun!” exclaimed Rona excitedly.

 “Just stick near Stormcrow and call for help if you get into trouble.” stated Four, though he didn’t really seem concerned.

 I totally agreed.  The idea of another bird causing Stormcrow trouble was just funny.  He’d zap the poor attacker if he got annoyed.

 “Also remember that the Boss will know if you cause any trouble, so make sure to behave.” stated Messy for our uninitiated friends, though she couldn’t really believe they’d cause trouble.

 Instead of pointing out that everyone would obviously behave, Four said, “No one wants Father to show up over a wrongdoing, but he and Mother usually do spend a day or two with us here.”

 Everyone looked at Messy when she suddenly let out a big sigh.  “That’s good.” she mumbled, apparently talking with Mila.

 “What is it?” asked Four with a frown.

 “Crazy noticed the group of werewolves in the area and detained them, but she apparently got permission from Sis first.  I was going to let them be.  The Boss knows they’re here, so why bother them?” she questioned aloud.

 “He was aware this would happen and was fine with the outcome.  The family had no clue whose forest this was.  If you all are interested, you’re allowed to play with the boy, Benjamin.  One of my bodies is going to explain that they’re trespassing but will be allowed to camp with us if they choose.  They’ll agree.” explained Momma Mila.

 I grew excited at the thought of playing with a werewolf.  With Stormcrow as a friend, I was much more experienced with wereravens than werewolves, but werewolves are far more common in scary movies!  After a second of thought, I realized that the poor werewolves were probably the ones scared at the moment.  Crazy had that effect on people.

 The drive continued with my friends and me chatting away, but I was too excited to meet the new kid.  Was he my age?  Older?  Would we get along?  I pictured myself running alongside a werewolf in his half-wolf form, and the idea was too cool!  I wondered how he was at games.

 When we finally arrived, I was disappointed to see that Benjamin looked a little older than Four.  That wasn’t necessarily bad.  David was even older, and he was cool, though he was usually too busy with work to hang out.  Worse yet, none of the werewolves were in their wolf form, and even I could see that they were nervous.

 Momma Emma quickly broke the ice, cheerily greeting them and introducing everyone.  She, Momma Mila, and Momma Cosette had come along for the trip as the adults in charge.  Now that I thought of it, this was the first time that Momma Cosette had joined us for a camping trip.  Perhaps she was going to help Valeria with vampire survival tips.

 I had to hold back a laugh when the werewolves stared dumbfoundedly at my group setting up our camping homes.  Valeria opened one of her doors for everyone to grab their bags from the black void that was her private rooms.  Messy made a fully furnished cabin for the adults to use.  Crazy made something vaguely resembling a treehouse, but a whole lot creepier that I couldn’t get myself to stare at for long enough to figure out what she had done this time.  Maiko made a stone hut for the girls to use, and then she made a Hobbit hole for me to share with Stormcrow and Deo.  The werewolves had tents… that they had carried to the spot along with other stuff that I assumed was for camping.  If the werewolves were that shocked by a little magic, they were in for quite a camping trip!

#Children of BFFH #Children #of #BFFH #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 173

 At my request, Raine had added a hidden room in the second dungeon of my team’s fort where we stashed the flag.  With Messy and Luce on guard duty, no one would have too easy of a time getting to the flag.  I frowned, knowing that my brother and Crazy would distract those two if they both went on the offensive.  Reassuring myself that one of them would be defending, I prepared to attack.  The other team had Valeria and Maiko, so they’d be able to tunnel or portal over here, but Messy would sense either.  Things would be okay.

 Just after I jumped the back wall of my team’s fort, I sensed a problem.  Crazy being on the offensive wasn’t a surprise.  She strode out as confident as ever, blasting our walls with water just for show.  Valeria, Eléa, and a second Crazy had portaled into our keep, so which one was the real Crazy?  I had no doubts that she could make Dea look like the real one, but she’d passively sense where the flag was if she wasn’t holding back enough.

 Staring at the wall, I seriously reevaluated my plan.  Eléa had split with every step, flooding the hallway with copies of herself in an instant.  Had she always been that strong with her magic?  I hadn’t really considered how fast she could search the place, and taking her out completely was tricky while holding back.  I frowned, remembering her practicing in the gym.  Every single projection could cast spells and duplicate more.  My frown only deepened when multiple copies of Eléa dodged my sister’s attacks by duplicating, and letting the copy take the hit.  That was clever.  I crossed my fingers, hoping that Ella would manage to catch a duplicate to even the odds.

 Forcing myself to have faith in my defenders, I made myself as invisible as I could manage, hiding my heat, body, and sound while floating off the ground with another spell.  If Aika was on the wall, she’d detect me as soon as I was close.  Hopefully, she would distract herself too much with her drones to notice me.  If not, I could excite the air in numerous places at once, though that wouldn’t distract her for long.

 Being a Somerset, I was faster and stronger than any of the quadruplets.  Despite being reasonably intelligent and having more time to think through problems, I still didn’t have faith in outthinking any of them.  Like their parents, the quadruplets were exceptionally creative and had leaps of insight that seemed practically magical at times.  There was no fooling them for too long.

 I winced as I sensed my second strike team fighting Crazy.  Aiko, Maimo, and Aspy were surrounded by aggressive plants that were being obvious in their attacks.  When Crazy got sneaky, she’d do things like having every blade of grass suddenly spray water at once.  I didn’t envy them.  We all knew that Crazy held back just as much as Messy, which was why feeling so overwhelmed by her all the time was frightening… well, that and the demonic energy in her plants scaring everyone who sensed them.  Okay, so Crazy’s mind was even more scary than the quadruplets.  Death’s granddaughter took after Auntie Aaliyah way too much.

 Hurrying toward the enemy wall, I had to start dodging blasts of water even sooner than I had anticipated.  The moment Aika sensed me, Maiko stared right at me as well, and both of them attacked.  I admired the upgrades to their drones even as I cursed them.  The water cannons were bad enough, since I had to hold back my speed in spell creation as well as movement.  The drones seemed to be on autopilot, but they still were managing to follow my position.  Either the drones had a new means to detect me that I hadn’t considered, or the quadruplets had refined their pressure sensors again.  If any of the adults from the lab had helped, that should be considered cheating.

 Running out of effective ways to dodge all too quickly, I melted the ground under my feet and hoped the drones didn’t have a way to swim through lava.  Mere seconds through the ground, and I didn’t like what I was sensing.  Aika and Maiko had concentrated their fire above the solid ground near me, and then Maiko started guiding numerous pockets of water toward my position.  Entering her world was a mistake.  Simply moving was taking more strength than I probably should be exerting in a fair fight.  Even if I stopped holding back and evaporated the water, Aika could still control it through the air unless I heated that enough to make it too turbulent for her magic.

 Sighing, I let the water reach me and headed over to the bench when Mila called me out.  Getting close enough to be sensed was my own mistake.  I should have stayed calm and circled around.  I let my senses spread over my fort feeling everyone’s movement through their heat.  Ella wasn’t getting a chance to use her gift.  Eléa must have remembered getting taken out by Ella before and was overwhelming her with numbers, though I did admire how well Ella fought.  If all of us possessed the same physical traits, Ella’s skill would be just a bit intimidating.

 She blocked water spells from multiple copies of Eléa at once, tripped another projection while shooting it with a water pistol, and rolled away from more spells.  Even with Luce’s advantages in these fights, Ella wasn’t doing too much worse.  Faced with her own endless tide of enemies, Luce was dropping sheets of water from her giant pool over the enemies so often that the ground was mud.  I wondered if she could feel the plants targeting her.  Crazy hadn’t attacked yet, still having fun fighting in the center of the field, but she was obviously paying attention.

 Messy weaved through the attacks of every projection as if dancing, but she was holding back too much to ever pull ahead.  I was certain she knew that as well, but Messy probably had the most restraint out of any of us.  Needing to stay calm to not slaughter everyone by accident wasn’t helping her, but any stress she felt wasn’t showing at all.

 With Eléa doing so well today, Valeria and Dea were searching unabated.  Aiko and Maimo couldn’t get close.  There were simply too many copies of Eléa, and they often duplicated before one was taken out.  Even if a group of them were down, the ones staying out of the fight would just create more.  From how this was going, I could see we’d need to limit the number of lives she got in a battle before being considered out.

 “She isn’t overtaxing herself, is she?” I asked, knowing that Momma Mila would be monitoring Eléa’s real body.

 The smile in Momma Mila’s voice was obvious as she said, “Not at all.  Her body doesn’t show signs of serious strain until there are well over a hundred of her.  At that point, she flags very quickly.  Give her another ten years, and I expect that she’ll be able to manage over a hundred projections for a minute before being too strained.  With her main body resting while acting like a conduit, she’ll be no more fazed than if she had a mild workout by the time this is wrapped up.”

 I nodded, not feeling terribly surprised.  I was impressed, but Eléa apparently got a lucky draw between the magical strength of a dragon and the power of a fey, much like Mother.  I wouldn’t pit a thousand projections of Eléa versus Mother in a real fight, but only Death knew how much experience Mother really had at this point.  My parents were old and had countless years of experience on battlefields across the universe.  There was a good reason that my friends and I play at fighting while the adults take care of serious problems.  Watching as Crazy flooded Aspy’s telekinetic shield the moment he tried protecting everyone at once, I was thankful that Father didn’t let her loose on actual enemies.  I didn’t want to feel sorry for anyone who opposed Father.

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[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 172

 I gave Doc a friendly grin while waiting for her to explain our battle strategy.  She had picked Four, Dea, Eléa, Aika, Maiko, Valeria, Layla, and me for teammates in today’s battle.  Though I had several hundred plans that could possibly work with our current composition, I was excited to see what Doc’s plan is.  Sadly, my smile only made her nervous, but that was normal.  My friends really didn’t get me very often.

 “What are you planning?” questioned Four, who never made anyone jump with his smile.

 “Sorry.  I didn’t get everyone I was planning on using, so I’m adjusting.” admitted Doc with an apologetic smile.

 “Well…” I started, perfectly willing to give suggestions.

 She held up a hand to stop me.  “I’ve got this.  My main idea is still intact.  The core idea for today was to abuse Eléa’s gift.  She’s been training hard, and I think she’ll make a wonderful showing this time if given the chance.”

 Eléa looked surprised, but smiled at the complement.  “I’ll certainly try!”

 I gave Eléa a hug.  “Don’t let her abuse you!” I teased, causing Doc to roll her eyes.

 “Four, what was our ruling on when Eléa is benched last time?” asked Doc, biting her lip as she watched him.

 “Um…” he started, having to think for a second.  “To keep her from feeling like a liability, we were counting each projection individually.  As long as there is a projection without a minimum of three-hundred milliliters of water splashed on her, she’s still in the game.”

 “Perfect!” exclaimed Doc before giving Eléa an encouraging smile.  “How many projections can you make if you really push it?”

 “With the real me sleeping, I should be able to do at least sixty for a few minutes.” replied Eléa confidently.

 “Wow.” stated Doc, looking around with surprise.  “I’m assuming you can do half that for a bit longer?”

 Eléa nodded.  “Thirty of me should be good for around twenty minutes.”

 “That’s still amazing, and waaay more than I realized you could do.” stated Doc, letting her surprise show.  “I was thinking we’d get a dozen or so of you to the other base to find their flag in a hurry, but I can’t imagine them stopping thirty of you too easily unless Messy really shows off.”

 “Especially if we do some quick work on Eléa’s technique!” I exclaimed excitedly.

 “Huh?” questioned Eléa, taking a step back from me.

 I could see them all staring at me worriedly and barely kept from sighing.  “Imagine this…  I make a little spell and attempt to spray Eléa with water.” I demonstrated, creating an illusion of Eléa as my target.  Just before the water hit, I made a second illusion of Eléa peel off from the first, take the hit, and then dissipate.

 “I…  I think I can actually do that pretty easily.” stated Eléa with a surprised look of her own.

 I nodded.  “The best part is that the projection won’t be wet if you’re fast enough with it.  You could be extremely difficult to dodge without your opponent getting fancy with their attack.  Just don’t expect it to work on Luce more than once.  Messy and Aid will probably adjust immediately too.” I warned her.

 Four smirked.  “Nice one, Crazy.  That could actually be really useful.  With how well Eléa’s ability to cooperatively cast with herself has been going, she’s going to be a really dangerous opponent in the near future.”

 I nodded excitedly.  Eléa had a great deal of potential, and that potential would quickly see fruition if she kept on working as hard as she has been lately.  Just this past week, she had been doing extra exercises with the quadruplets in the gym, and Momma Mila had told me that she really was working hard on her schoolwork back in France.  With Commander Doc’s permission, I started doing some quick practice with Eléa.  I didn’t expect her to master this type of dodging immediately, but today would be a great way to try it out.  Plus, her projections could take hits for her actual body if she grew accustomed to sacrificing them.

 Doc hammered out the rest of her plan fairly quickly.  Valeria, Dea, and Eléa would infiltrate the backside of Fort Raine.  I would go on offense to distract as many of them as I can manage.  Four would keep our flag disguised with an illusion while putting up numerous illusions of our flag in other rooms and taking out enemies as he could.  Layla would be our primary guard for the actual flag, shooting anyone who dared to approach it.  Aika and Maiko would be using their drones and the fort’s water cannons to guard us from aerial attack and blast anyone who approached the gate.

 I liked this plan.  With numerous projections of Eléa running around the enemy fort, Dea’s odds of passing as one of our enemies would increase.  Valeria was already pretty decent at fighting thanks to Momma Cosette, and her use of her doorways was getting better and better.  I happened to notice earlier that Valeria stocked one of her rooms with hundreds of water balloons.  If she opened that room above a group of enemies, I would love witnessing the ensuing chaos!  In case anyone happened to make their way inside our fort—which was always possible considering that Aid could just burn a hole through the back if I didn’t counter him—Doc had Four and I riddle the ground floor with illusory floors over pits of water.

 If Aid or Messy were on the offensive, our defenders would really have to work, but I was feeling our defense was pretty solid against most of the others.  Maiko would notice the pitfalls if she came over, but I didn’t think she’d find the flag too easily even if she came up through the ground to infiltrate the base.  Besides, I made the outer layer of the base as tough as steel.  She’d have to work a bit to get inside.  I really, really was looking forward to my next time as a team captain, since I recently had some breakthroughs in forging far tougher materials with my plants, which made magical reinforcement all the better.

 With our plans complete, Doc gave the ready signal, and the rest of us took our positions.  This was going to be a blast!

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