Appalachian Morning

~eight-ish years before the events of Chapter 1~

The cool dawn's breeze whispered softly in the distance. Leaves rustled, gently and delicately.

The floor was rough with dirt when Creamy opened his eyes. His face was touching it, cold and hard.

He blinked, where is he? 

White trees surrounded him, their leaves were a pretty green, but not visible yet in this pale dawn light. Birch. He recalled. The forest was full of birch. 

He stood up. "Hello?" His cry for help was answered only by fading echoes.

Where's... where's the... his head hurt. 

There was clearer light on one side of the forest, and gradually as he approached it, chatter. He came into a plaza. The floor was gray stone, but decorated by strings of pastel concrete powder. Hesitantly he joined the crowd of people he saw gathering there, hoping to blend in.

His hopes failed him the moment he did so.

"Hello, Strange boy! Glad you come! " A tall guy greeted him cheerfully.

Creamy awkwardly smiled back. "What's happening?"

"How come you haven't heard? We're all preparing for the Festival of Marigold."

What? Creamy frowned.

"It's the anniversary of Hive District's creation!"

I'm at... Hive District? That's so far...

"Wrong!" Next to him, a girl corrected, "it's the anniversary of Hive District receiving the Marigold. Honey Marigold will be making an appearance once the sun rises fully."

Creamy backed away from the crowd of people. What? 

As the day brightened, more people showed up. They set up a gorgeous red carpet through the middle of the gray plaza, leading to the grand gate of a castle. 

Creamy watched people make way for a man wearing a pair of 3D glasses to walk through the carpet. He disappeared behind the castle gate. 

"Come join the celebration!" Someone else called to him. 

He turned. It's a boy perhaps a couple years older than him, walking up from stairs right behind him. He wore gray and not another color else. 

"I'm not from here." Creamy finally said, after an awkward five seconds of staring at the other boy. 

"Come celebrate anyway." The other boy was cheerful, taking his hand and dragging him to the crowd. "The sun is up, Honey Marigold should come through any moment now."

Creamy listened to the buzzing passing ahead of him on the red carpet. "That's Honey Marigold! That's the Guardian and Wielder of the Marigold." The other boy pointed to something. "She's got pink eyes."

I'm too short! Creamy thought. The buzzes faded and he saw nothing.

Strangers engulfed him, and lost, he pulled away from the other boy. I have to... I have to get back to... 

"Hey, where are you going?" The boy in gray called, catching up to him. 

"I have to find..." What do I have to find? Why can't I remember? "My home."

"Well, I can help you, I know the island pretty well."

"My home... isn't on the island."

"Don't you remember?"

Creamy shook his head. 

"Well, where do you remember entering the island at?"

"I know that." Creamy looked away.

The plaza looks different now in the gorgeous morning sunlight. The birch forest glimmered in the distance with it's cheerful looking leaves, a different sight from this morning. "There."

Creamy led the boy through the twists and curves of Hive District's roads, wading through one of two clear streams flowing down from the mountain behind the castle. 

"What's your name?" The boy asked.

"Creamy." I think. "You?"

"Mine's Othr. There isn't an E in it, if you're wondering."

Creamy blinked, "it's okay, I can't read."

"Wow. Well, I will teach you that sometime."

They arrived at the glistening birch forest. "Somewhere inside this. I don't think I remember the exact spot."

"Well, mysterious Creamy boy, maybe we will find some clues in it." Othr said, "come on!"

Creamy followed Othr into the forest, quiet except for the occasional bird chirps at this hour. Othr ducked through the undergrowth swiftly whereas Creamy had to stop to free himself from them at every turn.

Eventually they arrived into an empty glade in the forest. "Would it be near here?" Othr glanced around at the trees circling them.

Dappled sunlight poured in from the loosely covered roof of the forest, Creamy blinked. "I don't know."

Silence lingered in the air as Creamy and Othr observed their surroundings more. "I think we should sp-" Othr started saying.

"Why is it you again?" A new voice sounded from deeper in the forest.

Othr sighed in a somewhat exasperated way. "Stand behind me, Creamy."

Shaking, Creamy watched the bushes shake until a boy about the same age as Othr emerged from the shades. He looked a lot stronger.

"Othr." He hissed, heavily emphasizing the second syllable of his name. "How many times have we gone over this? No one not a part of ConCraft is allowed to step into this forest at any time."

"Conhadda." Othr hissed back. "How many times have we gone over this? The birch forest is a public space, just like the plaza, and the paths, and the streams are. No one is allowed to claim it for oneself, especially not a kid like you."

"Actually, I'm allowed to if I'm building houses here. Splodger said so himself."

"Oh, so you're building a house?" Skepticism sizzled through Othr's voice.

"Already done." Conhadda said proudly.

"Well, take me to see it then."

"Why should I?"

"Because I doubt you can do it."

"Hmph, well then, come along."

Creamy stood in place, hesitant until Othr turned around and gave him a smile. Then, he followed.

The surroundings never changed even once they left the glade. It's only birch trees, light green and beautiful in the spring morning light. Creamy was careful to stay behind Othr.

They arrived at a much bigger glade, much deeper into the forest. 

Conhadda did indeed have a house. It was medium-sized, made of nice, dark wood, calm and beautiful against the white branches of the birch trees. "There."

Othr stopped in his tracks, forcing Creamy to stop too. "Hmm."

Conhadda smiled like he'd just emerged victorious in a long-established rivalry.

Abruptly, some sort of creatures chirped from above, and all three turned to the sky. "They aren't very common here at Hive." Othr observed.

Parrots! Creamy realized. "They never travel in flocks either."

The parrots are all yellow or lime, making a pretty lemon-lime tornado as they swooped down. 

"Wait, my house!" Conhadda yelled, stepping in the way.

He was nothing compared to the storm though. Creamy watched as the tornado swept through him, and, eventually, knocked him down to the ground. The parrots landed on his house, pecking at it like woodpeckers would.

"My house!!" Conhadda was trying to get up.

"They can't do much." Othr shrugged.

Creamy stepped closer to the house, ignoring Othr's call from right behind him. He stopped once he was right under them. 

"Do something!" Conhadda called. He's sat up now, but some of the parrots had turned to land on him.

"What's going on?" Creamy called. The parrots looked down at him. 

"Look, I know you guys probably don't like this house or whatever... but it's just one. Perhaps you could appreciate how lovely it looks against the white branches, and let it go?"

The parrots stopped. Then, one, two, and gradually, all of them except one, rose into the sky and never looked back.

Conhadda blinked, "that was really fast."

The only remaining parrot was a small and lime colored one, she landed on Creamy's shoulders.

"What's your name?" Conhadda asked.

"Creamy." 

"I'm making a town. I'm calling it ConCraft, and I'm officially inviting you to be its first member." Conhadda was confident.

"Hold up." Othr stopped him. "You can't just take up space in the most important main island for a town that you're making, this stuff requires more planning and sorting out properties and whatnot."

"Yes I can and I'm not inviting you." Conhadda said. "However, Creamy here is welcome to stay with me."

Othr frowned, but his unsatisfied expression disappeared almost a millisecond later. "Okay. Creamy, you can stay here." He winked.

He gave a little wave, and backed out of the glade. Watching his figure slip through the green leaves of the birch trees, Creamy made a promise to find him later.

"So, Cream man, wanna help me make a house for you, too?" Conhadda's sudden voice scared him, and at the same time, the parrot that was still on his shoulders.

Creamy looked at her lime feathers. And to Conhadda, he replied, "sure, let's get started."

~two days ago~

A gray sky stretched from one end of sight to the other. Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed. The ocean was the opposite of what it was yesterday: angry. Waves whipped up and a particular big one swallowed the ship whole.

Mel shivered once it had stopped wrecking the ship. "Do we have any idea which district's ship is approaching?"

"No, captain." Her first mate, José, said, right before another wave crashed over them, heavier than the last one. "The ship won't be able to hold on for much longer. There's this weather, plus we can expect them to send another cannon our way any second now."

Land slipped into view. "Hive?" Mel asked. Less than a question, it was more of her asking for confirmation.

"That's the main island." José said with a nod.

"Take Creamy and the rest of the crew. Make sure he's safe." Mel said, making her way up to the ship's wheel.

"Why won't you come with us?" José drew the conclusion from Mel's words.

"I'm going to go up to them and make them pay today."

The pirate ship awkwardly crashed into the beach at the back of Hive's main island, and José helped the still-asleep boy down the side, where they both collapsed into the sand. 

"Wait." Mel said. She put her hand on Creamy's, silently reciting the ancient chant that she had seen in the temple such a long time ago. This is better for the both of us. "There. Now go!"

The few of the crew still remaining fled from the useless ship. With that, Mel turned back to the angry ocean. The other pirate ship is coming her way.