Frog Girl

The next morning came, and Theo, Leo, and Cleo had to decide what do next. “Alright, so clearly we can’t stick around here.” Said Leo, sticking a fork into a sausage. “Not necessarily. We need to wait for Teo’s messenger anyway, and I’d rather deal with this cult sooner than later. Might as well try to take them down while we’re waiting.” replied Theo. “I agree. We still need to come back here eventually.” said Cleo. Leo shook his head “I would agree, but once we gather the other relics, we may be in a better situation in order take on the cult. From what I can tell Theo, you’re still getting used to your powers, and you don’t exactly wield that heavy staff gracefully. As we journey and you carry that thing, your Strength stat will probably increase. I think we should wait and give you some weapon training. You’re pretty agile, but you may need to learn how to fight with the staff later down the line. You currently aren’t fit to fight a lot of the creatures in this world.”

Theo frowns but soon sighs and leans back in his chair. “You’re not wrong. I have some basic defense training and escape tactics from when I was a security consultant, but I have no idea how to wield a staff like some martial arts master. Especially with a lightning rod that almost weighs 30 pounds against monsters and people like the Titanos.” He let out another heavy sigh. “Speaking of, Cleo, why did you seem to hate the colors on the Lava Boar clothing back at the Sanctum so much?” Cleo frowned “Well...they were just an ugly color combination I guess...maybe…” she trailed off, seeming uncomfortable. The door to the inn opened, and three girls walked in, seeming to be nobles wearing gowns. Two with black hair and brown eyes, one with long hair, and another with medium hair, and a girl with short brown hair. The long black haired woman approached their table. “Hey. You’re the Rain Wizard right, I just wanted to let you know I thought your speech was pretty cool. Everyone was expecting you to try and be heroic but you sure ruined that idea.” She said in a friendly manner before looking over at Leo and Cleo. “I’m surprised that the king didn’t assign you better guards though. Choosing the fallen scholar and the frog girl.”

Cleo glared at the woman, while Leo smiled. “Ah, hello Clarice. How are you doing today?” he asked calmly. The woman called Clarice narrowed her eyes with a calm demeanor before her lips curled into a smile. “Still unaffected by my teasing I see. You always did have a calm head Leo, and admirable humility as well.” She looked over at the glaring Cleo. “And you still have an annoying attitude as always. Life still hasn’t humbled you yet frog girl?” Theo closed his eyes in exhaustion “Are you too old to be acting like children? You all appear to be in your 20’s. I know what it’s like to be labeled something you don’t want or didn’t choose. Please cut that out.” The woman clicked her tongue before backing away and performing a curtsy with her dress. “Pardon my manners. My name is Clarice Alexandria. These are my sisters. The one with the black medium length hair is Carla, and the one with the brown short hair is Clarissa. We’re childhood friends of Cleo.” Theo rolled his eyes “Sure you were.” he replied before sitting up and resting the staff on his shoulder. “Well as much as it was nice meeting you, we have Rain Wizard business to take care of.” he said dismissively, standing up. Clarice calmly looked at him “Are you sure? We heard you’re waiting for someone to arrive here. But the Rain Wizard has enemies. We came to offer shelter, if you would accept it.”

“Not interested.” Theo said without hesitation. “Come on, Leo, Cleo. We’re leaving.” Leo and Cleo looked at each other, standing up and leaving their food on the table and following Theo. Clarice spoke as they left. “If you change your mind, head to the other side of the castle in the area where the nobles live. You’ll see a mansion with a tower that has a black roof. It was nice to see you again Cleo.” Theo waved his hand, not turning to look back at them. “Thanks, but no thanks.” he said calmly as they left the inn. “So people who never left their teenage mentality exist in this world too, huh? What a nuisance.” Leo smiled “True. But that’s just another flaw ingrained in society. As long as someone has it better, you’ll have people who think they’re better as well.” Cleo was silent as they talked but spoke up “Aren’t you going to ask me why they called me frog girl?” Cleo asked nervously. Theo kept walking ahead “No. I figure if it’s important you’ll tell me on your own time. We’re still getting to know each other. You have no obligation to tell me. Same with Leo.” Cleo bit her lip, going back to silence. Leo shrugged “Well as for me, it’s no big deal. I was set on a path to be a scholar, but found someone I looked up to who inspired me to be a knight. Many nobles don’t understand why I would intentionally leave a life of luxury. It’s not uncommon for those with privilege to look down upon those who openly choose not to live the good life themselves. People just tend to mock or fear what they can’t understand.”

Theo nodded “A lot like my world then. I guess no matter what world or dimension, the flaws of humanity will follow.” Leo looked to the castle “I haven’t asked yet, but that staff...does it do anything?” Theo chuckled “I remember the Titanos asking me the same thing before putting a knife to my throat. It does. It says it will open new paths and allow us to teleport to other locations that have a lightning rod. Is there anywhere in the city that has a rod that looks like this ‘staff’?” Theo asked. Leo nodded. “Yes there is now that you mention it. I’ve seen two. One outside the dome to the north that can release prongs, and is operated from inside the generator room under the castle. There’s another inside the generator room.” Theo nodded. “Let’s head to the generator room first then. Is that where the controls are for the speaker system and the artificial sun?” he asked. Leo nodded back “Yeah. You got it. It’s the control center for a lot of the technology responsible for Sol City.” Theo rested the lightning rod staff on his right shoulder. “Time to head there then. Let’s go.”

Cleo followed closely behind “Hey Theo?” she spoke. “Yeah?” Theo replied walking in the direction of the castle. “...Thank you. For standing up for me. I still haven’t come to terms with a few things but...maybe you are different from other Rain Wizards.” Theo smiled to himself. “Don’t worry about it Cleo. You’re strong. Besides, I’m not used to seeing you vulnerable. You’re strong, and you don’t need me to tell you that.” Cleo huffed a small bit of laughter. “Right.”