Mei's Adventures Continue! (P/Naisu)

Mei once again had no idea where she as located. Honestly, Mei disnt care where she was. The child was now used to roaming around random areas and as long as she had Captain Hoppy she was ok. The two seemed to journey anywhere and everywhere. Wether it be dark or light, good or bad, sandy or full of plants, Mei didn't care. Her adventures always kept her mind off the bad things. She only wanted to learn new things and meet new people.

Today, Mei didnt know if she would meet any new people but she may meet some new creatures. The area she traveled through held large trees and a few other types of plants. However, the trees were always what she was most astonished with. Trees were so tall from her 6 year old perspective. They held the homes of so many animals. They gave people food. They gave people air. The girl couldn't help but feel intrigued by them.

Mei would walk with her head looking up, until she came upon a cracking sound. The child would hurriedly look to the ground only to see a bunny. Brown eyes would light up as she stared at it. "Look Captin Hoppy. It's a bunny like you." The girl whispered with a rather soft voice as to not scare the small creature away. Nonetheless, it began to hop away so she would follow it. "Don't you just love adventures, Captain Hoppy?" The girl would giggle and continue to follow the creature.

The small bunny had managed to hop its way to a hole in the ground and disappear. "Aw man." Mei was highly disappointed that the bunny had left. "Now what should we do?" The child would turn to walk away but her dress had gotten caught on some thorns. The girl would jerk forward only to find herself flat on the ground the next second. The girl would rub her chin as she lay on the ground, "Ow. That hurt. Are you ok, Captain Hoppy?" The child would ask as she looked around frantically. Where had he gone? Captain Hoppy had been thrown when the child fell but after a moment she would spot him, then Kay her head back on the ground. "What do we do now? Hunt Pirates? Look for Bears? Oh no. Not bears. Maybe more bunnies. Or unicorns. They're so pretty..." The girl would then begin to mumble as she slowly fell asleep.

The Teelos' Trees. It was a nice location amongst the lands of the vast world of Pandora. They were home to many exotic animal-types such as the Badgermoles and the Platypusbears and the like. Naisu and Natsume were on yet another journey through Pandora enjoying the natural landscape. "Naisu, where are we heading too?" the former Starfall felt compelled to ask him. She wasn't quite used to him and his wayward traveling yet. She wondered what compelled him to travel so much and all over the place. He only offered a smile for a few moments. "To be honest I don't know, Natsume. Wherever our feet take us I suppose," he answered without much thought. He wanted to see all he could see in Pandora. He had visited many places, but there were still many others that he had yet too explore. Fresh air and fresh water, he loved exploring the outdoors. And he still was addicted to the phenomenon known as sunlight. Albeit the Kingdom of Kai was nice, he didn't enjoy staying there too long. He wasn't a fan of the night sky. At least as far as it being eternal and all was concerned.

"Whatever," his companion replied. "Makes no difference to me. I'm just tired of walking." He shrugged and decided that they should take a break. He leaned up against the bark of one of the trees as he sat. It was a bit rough but he thought it was fine. She sat next to him as per usual. He wondered why that was, she could easily sit on the tree opposite him. Suddenly they heard a thump on the ground however and their rest had to end. Naisu sensed some faint magical energy and so he went over to check it out. "Wait here," he whispered to his companion.

He quietly motioned to step toward the sound, making light and careful footsteps. He tried to avoid stepping in any bark or rocks as that would only make noise and disturb the creature that made the sound. By the time he got there all he saw was a little girl with her stuffed rabbit. Well wasn't that cute. "How silly of me to worry," he thought to himself. "I can't just leave her lying on the ground. I'll try and keep her close to us so that we can keep an eye on her. Wouldn't want anything out here to hurt the lil thing." He gently lifted the little girl onto his shoulder with one hand, with the stuffed animal in the other. He knew if he left it behind she'd probably have a fit. He made his way over to Natsume with the sleeping child in tow. The teenage girl was shocked to see what was going on and immediately was about to say something, but Naisu mouthed the signal that she was supposed to be quiet. He would let the little girl sleep. Tiny thing traveled to the forest all by herself. She was probably exhausted.

Once Naisu got within whispering range he filled Natsume in on the situation, "There's no one else out here but us and her. She was obviously by herself and I couldn't leave her asleep in the woods. That would be reckless." Natsume looked at him open-eyed, but didn't say a single word. She just rolled with it.

And so they would all rest.

Dream:
Mei blinked as she looked around at the world inside her small little mind. It was a world made out of candy! Brown eyes sparkled more and more as she took note of everything. There was so much chocolate, candy canes, and colorful treats. The child almost wanted to start drooling, however she was a girl so she wouldn't. Being a girl Mei had to act like one, or so she had bee told many times growing up. Then again, many times she ignored those words. "Mei! You're here!" A familiar voice from behind her would say. The child would turn to see a small pink stuffed bunny walking on two legs, wearing a sailor suit. "Captain Hoppy! Your outfit is so cute!" Mei would surely and clap after speaking. "It's nit cute. It's simply the attire of a Captain." The bunny would reply. "Your words are too big. I don't get it." Mei would giggle back at him.

This dream seemed wonderful and happy. It seemed so calm and fun. It was a great big adventure filled with everything she loved. The child froliced with her pink companion, until they were both worn out. The two lay on a grass of fake green candy grass. Mei would close her eyes and take a deep breath. The air was sweet and fresh at the same time. It held a child's aroma while also holding a smell of longing. Of course, Mei wouldn't notice and just thought all candy smelled wonderful. "Today has been so great right, Captain Hoppy." She would ask with a large grin on her face. "Yes. It surely has." The bunny would reply. "Nothing could ever go wrong! We'll be together forever and nothing will ever get between us." The girl seemed so sure of herself and a little bit too confident as well. Of course, with a bad mindset comes a terrible karma.

"Are you sure about that?" The pink companion would say in a deeper tone of voice, which would cause Mei to freeze. The child lay with her eyes closed as she heard the sounds of ticking and weird noises. She heard the sounds of popping and then the sounds of crawling. Her breaths began to quicken and her body still could not move. The only thing she could move were her eyelids but she didn't wish to do so. Nonetheless, she would eventually have to so she did it rather slowly. When her eyes opened, a giant spider would be staring her straight in the face. The child would look to her side and see a pile of pink and white fluff. "C-Captain Hoppy?" The girl would ask with scared eyes. Then, the spider would hiss at her rather loudly, which would make her scream. Once again, the world went black.

Awake:
Mei would wake up screaming. She had forgotten where she was or what she was doing. Her mind was only filled of thoughts with giant spiders and her stuffed friend. Mei would curl into a ball, where she would continue to scream and cry. The child hadn't noticed the people around her nor what time of day it was. She still hadn't realized that she had fallen asleep either. What she dreamt she believed to be real.

As the young girl slept, Naisu and Natsume were calmly sitting in the forests of Pandora. The girl had slept on a little bed of leaves that the two had set for her so she wasn't touching the dirt and getting more dirty than she had been when Naisu found her. "She's pretty quiet while she sleeps," the young traveler whispered to his female companion. She looked at him with the same wide-eyed stare that she had when she first saw him with the child. "I don't get why you brought her though," she quietly complained. She seemed to have a problem with it, as she made sort of a pouting face. Naisu was curious what upset her so about the whole situation. "What's wrong with having her here?" he asked. She turned away and stared into the distance. Was she jealous or something? He wasn't sure. So he decided to just up and ask, "Are you jealous or something?" He raised an eyebrow because he didn't and couldn't think of a reason why. She stared back at him with a menacing glare. She was a bit scary when she was annoyed. "No. I just don't like strangers," she explained. The notion that she could be jealous seemed to make her more upset. He decided to shrug it off and let it go.

Time passed and all was quiet.

Then that went to shit. The child had dragon's lungs or something because she could scream. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT NOISE!?" Natsume screamed in response. She was not used to dealing with children, especially not little girls. Naisu couldn't verbally respond due to the screaming dragon child but he knew the issue. She had had a nightmare. The way she curled in a ball and freaked out was obviously some kind of sign of night terrors. Could she be only a toddler? That made her being alone in the woods even more dangerous. He searched for the stuff animal that she had carried with her, and attempted to wrap it in her arms to calm her down. "IT'S OKAY CHILD! IT WAS JUST A NIGHTMARE!" he tried to shout through the screaming. He hoped he was doing a good job. But with his luck:

he was probably making it worse.

The child was still panicking. She couldn't hear anything besides the sound of her own screams. She couldn't help but think about Captain Hoppy and the Spider. Why would it do that?! Why would it tear him up?! The child would ask so many why questions in her head that she wouldn't notice anyone else around. She wouldn't look anywhere. Her eyes stayed closed and her mouth stayed open. The sound continued. Then, she felt something fuzzy touching her and something grabbing at her arms. The small child would begin to scream words, "No! No! Please don't eat me too! I- I don't taste good! I taste like salt and ketchup!" However, after a moment she would open her eyes wide.

In this moment, Mei had come to a realization. The girl would look down at her arms and see her stuffed bunny friend. "C-Captain Hoppy?" The girl would sniffle after speaking. The girl would quickly snatch him up and look all over him. "You're ok, right? Was it.. just another dream?" Mei would talk to the animal and she seemed to be listening to it. "That's good. I'm so glad you're ok." The girl would hug the stuffed toy close and smile. Then, her head would turn to the man close to her.

Brown eyes would look up and down him. Her small eyes squinting as she brought them back to his face. "Did this man try to steal you, Captain Hoppy? What was he doing? Is he a bad guy?" Mei's eyes would widen. What if he really was a bad guy? "Who are you mister? Are you here to cook me into your soup? Are you secretly a spider?! I'm not ready to be food! I don't taste good!" The girl would attempt to scoot away from him but couldn't move with the grass beneath her.

Naisu watched the ramblings of the awoken child, and listened to her words to get some context as to what the hell had transpired. His hazel eyes scanning the girl's lips as she rambled on. He got bits and pieces from it as she seemed to talk about things like being eaten and her not tasting good. It seemed she had a dream that something was gobbling her up, and even he had to admit that was scary as hell. He'd probably be a little freaked out in her case as well. When she came too she began to speak to her plush toy, which while seemed crazy to an adult was actually normal for a child. She was still developing and so these kinds of things had to be calmly handled. Natsume seemed incredibly put off by the display, this being her first interaction up close with a child. She continued to give Naisu that silent "what the hell are you doing" look that she normally gave him. Naisu smiled at Natsume for a moment before turning his attention back to the little girl, who was now asking him if he was a bad guy who was going to eat her. He giggled at the thought as he found it quite humorous. "No child, I won't eat you. I eat the same things that you do," he said with a laugh.

"I'm Naisu Shiratori," he introduced himself while placing his hand firmly on his chest. He looked over at Natsume basically prompting her to say hello. She sighed and walked closer to her and stated her name. "I'm Natsume." He grinned and looked back to the little girl and using a soft tone he explained to her, "We're here to watch out for you, and maybe even become friends. If you're willing to have us, that is."

Mei would stare with big brown eyes at the man as he spoke to her. The child would then look between her stuffed animal's face and his. Captain Hoppy seemed to believe him so she would too. The child couldn't help but stare in awe at him as he spoke. He introduced himself and then he looked to a girl. Mei's eyes would light up as she looked upon this beautiful girl. She was so pretty and Mei couldn't help but want to look just like this pretty lady. However, she also noticed the attitude of the woman. What was wrong with Mei? Why would she sigh at Mei?

Brown eyes flickered between the two new faces. They wanted to be her friends?! She was so filled with joy! Mei would smile real big and then try to speak to them, " You want to be friends?! Sure! I love friends! Although, I really don't have many. But anyway.. I'm Mei! Its nice to meet you.. uh..Nai.. uhh I forget.. and uhh... Nat.. uhh aww.. I can't remember. I'm sorry." The child would go from such a happy look to a quite saddened state. Mei was terribly bad with names.

Naisu's smile radiated in the illuminating forest. The little girl was interesting to say the least. She seemed to have gained some level of comfort while around the two older travelers. Naisu was still in his late teens so he wasn't totally adult looking yet. That probably helped him as far as gaining her trust was concerned. Natsume looked even younger than him since she became a human. He reckoned she looked like fifteen in comparison to his eighteen year old appearance. He smiled as the little girl attempted to learn their names. Apparently she was still at an age where she couldn't quite process that much too quickly. "How about we forget the last names?" he suggested. "Just remember that I'm Naisu, and the pretty lady is Natsume. Now try sounding them out with me. Na-i-su. Nat-su-me. Now you try," he explained cheerfully. He was confident that she could do it. Natsume seemed to be amused herself by the event, her eyes studying Naisu's interaction with the little girl. She found it interesting the way he interacted with her. It had the same kindness that he had shown when he found her but it was a bit different. With the child it was more.. familiar to him. He wasn't being kind to a stranger. It was like he was being a big brother.

And that was a bit odd. But it was also a delight to see.

Brown eyes looked at the ground in sadness. Mei could never remember the names of anyone, even her friends. Why was this? She had remembered Yoshi... something. Well, maybe not. She could remember Captain Hoppy... but then again she gave him that name. She couldn't even remember the Ice Dragon's name. Why couldn't she? The little girl's eyes would almost begin to water, until Naisu spoke.

At this point, the child would look up and tilt her head. She listened to him very carefully. "Na-i-su... Nat-su-me..." The girl would whisper as Naisu said the same pronunciation just seconds before her. Then as he told her to try, she would repeat it louder and louder, "Na-i-su... Nat-su-me... Na-i-su... Nat-su-me.." The girl would repeat the pronunciation until she was confident she could say them louder. "You are... Naisu... and pretty lady is Natsume!" Me would grin as big as she could after she spoke those words. "Did I do good, Naisu?!" Mei would say as she leaned close to him. She liked this boy. Maybe, he was sent by the angels to be hers and Captain Hoppy's family! The thought would make Mei gasp and stare at him contemplating on if she wanted to ask him. What if he wasn't?

Naisu watched with anticipation as he waited for the girl to try again. He was doing his best to be as patient as possible in dealing with her, as he enjoyed little kids. He didn't wanna upset the girl by scolding her or making her feel dumb, and so he hoped he could help her learn how to process these kinds of things. When she began practicing it over and over he watched with a feeling of pride over him. He was happy she was making an effort to learn. Eventually she seemed to understand and started using his name and Natsume's name casually. He was confident his trick would help her to remember it. His grin widened a bit at the display and when she asked him if she did good Naisu nodded while extending one of his hands. He placed it gently on the top of her head, patting it as a sign of his pride and her accomplishment. "You did great, Mei," he would say. Natsume gave a polite nod in response to the girl. She was less open when compared to someone like Naisu, but she did consider it a form of praise.

A few moments passed and Naisu soon removed the hand and placed it back by his side, giving a light chuckle as he did so. He had found the girl amusing so far, and totally worth nearly losing an ear before to her screaming. He looked at the girl, with his head cocked to his right side, as he asked the girl a few questions he had been wondering for awhile, "Now may I ask you something, Mei? What are you doing here alone in the forest?" He found it strange that such a young child should be wandering alone. Didn't she have parents or siblings to watch over her? Children normally weren't left to wander alone.

Mei would soon feel a hand upon her head. At this, she would smile and then giggle a little. "I did it Captain Hoppy! Did you hear it?! I remembered! Nai-su and Nat-su.. hmm..me.. yeah.. Natsume! See Captain Hoppy? Are you proud? Naisu says I did good!" Mei would ask her stuffed friend as she hugged it close. All the while the girl smiled at Naisu with closed eyes. So, she wouldnt see ny reaction Natsume had given. In all honesty, the child didn't care so much for Natsume at the time. Natsume seemd mean and scary. Mei didn't like mean and scary. 

After a while, she would notice Naisu was looking at her with a tired head and being the child she was, Mei would tilt her head in the same direction. The girl would nod as Naisu asked if he could ask her something. Then, she would look down at her stuffed friend and smile lightly, "I'm not all the way alone. I have Captain Hoppy. But.." The small child's smile would turn to a frown and her eyes wou grow sad. "Mei doesn't have a mom anymore. Mei didn't have daddy or brothers or sisters. Mei and Captan Hoppy look out for eachother." The small girl would begin to sniffle as she thought about it. "We don't know where Momma is. We don't know how we got here. Mei doesn't like it alone." That's when she would drag the stuffed toy to her face and begin to cry. This place was scary sometimes and sometimes it was hard for the girl to find food and places to sleep. She didnt understand why she was alone or where her momma had gone.

Naisu listened to the girl's story attentively; taking in every detail as he did so. Her connection to her doll and her dependency on it was slightly irregular, but it stemmed from a desperation for the child to connect to something. She wanted so badly to care about something and be cared about that she passed that onto her stuffed animal and pretended it could love. His theory was further proven when she explained that she lost her momma and never had a father or siblings. The poor child had no family, and he could only imagine how long she had been alone. It made him think of himself when he was younger, albeit he wasn't as young as she was. And he had never lost his parents, they had lost him.. or rather they had lost faith in him.

Naisu lied helplessly on the ground in a strange forest in the Kingdom of Kai. He was scared and alone, vulnerable in this kingdom of eternal night. He had lost all will to do anything. He had shed more tears than he could hope to produce with a deadly thirst. He was holding onto nothing but the bag of possessions he had carried before leaving, clutching them close to his chest like a young child would a stuffed animal when they were scared. He had learned many things in the company of his parents. He had read many books. He knew how to wield a sword. But that was all he'd ever been taught. He didn't know what to do to eat without being served a plate. He didn't know how to keep himself warm in the midst of this cold night. He didn't know how to do anything. He just felt so alone. "What do I do?" he thought pleadingly, his hazel eyes staring at the dirt in front of him as if he was asking Pandora itself what to do. "Someone please just tell me what do I do?"

But no one ever came. No one ever told him what to do.

Naisu's face turned to that of empathy for the girl. He frowned at her story and felt even more so when she began to cry. Natsume had never seen Naisu get emotional about something, but in this rare instance he did. Naisu wasn't someone who normally cried, as he hadn't done so since that night staring out into the world wondering what to do. But in this rare instance he shed a single tear, motioning to embrace the little girl and give her a tight hug. He was sure that was what she needed. "Don't worry, child. I can't be a father to you. But if you want, I could be like a big brother," he whispered to the sad child.

"Momma? Momma where have I been taken? Momma where are you? Please.. please.. Momma come for me soon.." This was all Mei could think that terrible day when the child woke up in this new world. She waited and waited and waited but her Momma never came. With every passing moment, her heart broke a little at a time. Soon the small girl would realize, her Momma wasn't coming. It had been two days after she ended up in this world that Mei finally decided to leave her place of arrival. She was hungry and tired. However, she had wrapped herself in a coat of happiness. While she was broken on the inside, any happiness she could conjure up was shining on the outside. The child carried her stuffed toy with love and care. Eventually, it all became normal. Although, she still had her moments.

This was one of those moments and as Naisu hugged her, she would almost fall to pieces in his arms. It had been quite some time since anyone had actually hugged her. The last person to do so was that little boy. She couldn't remember his name, which was quite devastating considering they were friends now, but she hadn't seen him in a while. Besides, she was the one that hugged him and it was only for a quick moment out of sheer joy. The child hadn't realized how much she needed a real hug. She hadn't realized how much she needed actual care and affection. Of course she knew she needed it, she just hadn't realized how much.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around Naisu. Her small rabbit toy was held tightly in one hand. However as Naisu spoke, Mei would almost cease her crying immediately. Brown eyes were wide open and staring off into nothing. "A... B-Big.. Brother.." Mei would whisper after listening to Naisu speak. She had always wanted a big brother. Someone to look up to. Someone to help keep her safe. Someone to do fun things with her and go on adventures when they wanted. After a moment of staring, Mei would pull back to stare at Naisu. Her face would slowly turn to one full of happiness and delight. Soon enough, a small smile crossed her small face. "I would love that the most." After speaking, her face would turn to one of nervousness or slight fright. "And I promise I'll be the best sister ever! I'll... uhh.. I'll always remember your name! And uhh.. uhh... I'll share Captain Hoppy with you! Captain Hoppy Will be really good too! We'll work hard if you need us to! And.. And.. we'll stay out of trouble! I promise I'll be the bestest! And you won't have to get me nothing! And you.. won't.. have to drag me with you always.. I'm good at doing things alone.." the girl would stop speaking after this point. A small smile was evident on her face. It was obvious she was quite nervous. All she wanted now was Naisu to accept her.

And so it was agreed. From this day forth Naisu would call Mei into his own unique little family. There was no history behind the surname Shiratori, as it was a last name he invented after forsaking his name of old. But together he and Mei would create their own line, their own history. He was happy to call someone "sister" once more. He hadn't done so in a long time. Suddenly the child began to ramble as she found herself struggling to gain his approval already. But he could only chuckle at the display. She was a cute little kid. "Alright, Mei," was all he could reply. He gently grabbed her hand and together the thre-err four of them (he forgot to count 'Captain Hoppy') traveled across the forest.

There was more to explore yet.

Mei would blink and stare at her new older brother as he laughed at her. She would tilt her head wondering what was so funny. Then, she would giggle and shrug. She wouldn't put too much thought into it considering she was only 6 and had the attention span of a rock sometimes. After a moment, Naisu would speak and grab her hand. This would make Mei blush a little. She hadn't ever held anyone's hand before, except for Captain Hoppy's but his were different. Mei could feel how warm Naisu's hand was and she felt safer for some odd reason. This would make the little girl smile. 'I'm not alone now, Momma. One day, I'll find you and you can see big brother!' Mei would think as she looked up to him.

They had begun to venture further into the forest. During this trip, Mei would skip, stare at Natsume, skip some more, look at weird flowers and bugs, look at Naisu, play with Captain Hoppy, and basically stare more at Natsume. She didn't know how to feel about Natsume yet. She wanted to figure it out.