Adaptation Problems

I woke up super early the next day and went to the middle room in the chariot, too excited about going to the Tower of Heroes. We were not moving and I went to the window to see a shining river close to us.

Markus Terracota was going to the river, carrying a bag of clothes. He entered the river and started cleaning the clothes that were not only his but also from his apprentices.

“The perfect moment to help my new family!”

I went to the rooms making sure not to wake up my new friends and grabbed all the clothes I could find and went outside feeling the nice breeze of the morning on my face. With all the clothes I entered the river joining Markus Terracota.

“Good morning, Nina, up this early?”

“Good morning! Yes, I wanted to help you clean the clothes. Maybe after I can make breakfast for all.”

He smiled at me, making me so happy, as I helped everyone.

“You are so helpful! I’m sure the others will be grateful”

But just after a few seconds he looked startled at me.

“Where did you find those clothes?!”

“I went to your rooms and grabbed all the clothes I could find.”

“Nina, those are our clean clothes! I already took everything that needed washing!”

“What!”

...

I was on the ground, saying I was sorry to Agnes Stein and Reikokuna Takai. Their clothes were all hanging between trees, waiting to dry in the light of the sun while the teens were wearing nightgowns as their only dry clothes.

“I’m so sorry!”

“We know you were trying to help, but please, don’t start doing things like that without asking us first,” said Markus Terracota with disappointment in his voice.

“I know, let me make the breakfast as an apology!”

“Somehow this just made me even more worried,” said Reikokuna Takai but it was already too late. I entered the house and started using their kitchen, making eggs and sausages for them all.

Once ready, I served my new family breakfast. They seemed apprehensive as I waited to see their reaction. Agnes Stein was the first one to try it and she looked surprised when she tasted the food.

“Well… it’s not bad…”

The next one was Reikokuna Takai, eating the food like he was testing her companion’s words.

“Actually… it’s just a bit bland.”

I fell to the ground.

“Yeah, it’s not bad at all. With a little more training I’m sure you can become a great cook” now it was my new dad trying to cheer me up.

At least the trio was eating everything.

“So, why did you decide to become Heroes?” I asked the two teenagers.

“My brother!” answered Agnes Stein with a literal spark in her eyes. “He was the best Hero there ever was! He died defeating the Yellow Demon all by himself… although with you here that doesn’t sound that special…”

“Of course it was! My Void power is terrible, I’m just lucky the demons are all made of the power of Stanzas, or my bubbles couldn’t absorb anything.”

Then I looked at Reikokuna Takai who was trying not to make eye contact with me.

“It’s none of your business,” he said.

I approached and started poking his cheeks.

“Tell me, tell me, tell me.”

“Stop it!”

“Wow, you are very angry for someone with the Ice Stanza.”

“Yeah, it takes a lot of me to reach my ideal of restraint, and you are disturbing me!”

That made me a little confused.

“But I thought the Stanza had to resonate with your essence, it’s part of who you are, so you cannot reach another Stanza with effort, or I would already be someone different.”

“It’s complicated, Nina Nune. But you want to get rid of Void and connect with another Stanza?”

“Yep! I want to know who I really am and which of the true Stanzas I can be a part of.”

Now that he finished eating, it was Markus that continued the conversation.

“It’s not impossible to change your Stanza. People change and that is part of the beauty of it all. Forcing this change is hard, but going on missions with other Heroes and knowing their visions can open your eyes to certain things. There are even people who can use more than one Stanza at the same time.”

We finished eating and the three of them wanted to do the dishes since I had cooked, but I stayed around talking.

“By the way, why were you on Hilston? Did you know the Red Demon would appear?”

“Actually, it was a big coincidence. I was training these two by hunting Hurricane Frogs in a swamp close by. We were returning to the Tower when the Demon appeared. That makes me question why they appeared but at least is good to know that the Red Demon is no more.”

Hearing about Hurricane Frogs and Hero’s missions I got all pumped again.

“Now that I’m free to explore the world, I will find my Stanza! By the way, what are your signatures? Markus can make a moving house, what about you?”

“That is not even his only signature,” answered Reikokuna Takai, “but, as for me and my Ice Stanza, the more I wait to draw my sword in combat, the stronger the attack will be. That is how I use my restraint.”

“So, if you wait a whole day it would be a super-duper attack!” I said.

“Not really, if I could survive a whole day in a battle before drawing my sword, sure, but my signature just starts working when I actively restrain my moves in combat.”

After that I changed my focus to Agnes Stein.

“I follow my instincts to hit my enemies until I find the perfect place to strike!”

“She just keeps punching until her opponent is unconscious. There is no us of inspiration in that,” said the swordsman.

“Of course there is! All my punches are very inspired!”

“Okay, children, the powers and signatures all come from the interpretation of each individual, that’s why they are all unique in some way. Our clothes should be dry by now. Let’s return to our journey?”

Our family’s dad started the car again with his powers after the clothes were gathered and turned to me with a big, dumb smile.

“I think Ember is in the Tower of Heroes. She can tell you all about her passion and the multiple interpretations of Stazas.”

“Who is Ember?” I asked.

“My girlfriend, hehehe.” I had never seen someone smile the way Markus Terracota did while talking about Ember.

“She is, like, the fourth strongest Hero we have. Believe it or not, Markus here is the third” said Agnes Stein.

“The strongest is Elvira Erskeine, with an Alchemy Stanza, and the second is Fardos Vermel, he uses of the Wind Stanza. But someday I’ll be the number one.” Reikokuna Takai was very determined when saying these words.

This conversation didn’t change the lovestruck behavior of my new dad who was dancing by himself thinking about Ember.

“You really love her?” I asked.

“She is the love of my life!”

“I never loved someone before… what about you?”

I stared at the two teenagers who immediately looked at one another and turned red.

“Heroes don’t have time for love,” said the swordsman quickly. “And look, after that hill we’ll reach the Tower of Heroes, it is really impressive.”

I ran to the front window with high expectations, but something was wrong. We all felt the floor shake, even though Markus Terracota’s power should have prevented that from happening.

After the hill, we saw nothing but destruction as a monster three times the size of the Red Demon punched the ground where the Tower of Heroes should be.

The monster looked like a bigger version of the Red Demon, but made entirely of stone, with the curved horns that looked a little like bunny ears. The only difference was that they didn’t have legs, his body was connected directly to the ground. Even though it looked like it couldn’t walk, their size alone was enough to spread fear, and each punch made the whole area shake like an earthquake.

“Ember…” said Markus as he saw all the destruction.