Quackerdrill
say yes to love
Hello, 'tis the Quackerdrill again, and for those who read "Destined Flames" (It's in Completed Fics for your info), this is the semi-sequel. I say semi because it is completely different in style and ideals to the true sequel, the third in the trilogy that is coming soon. But this needed to be written because of the way it bridges the gap between the two and answers some questions you may have had about the ending of DF. So, enough of my blather...
1
The summer sun shone down on the shores of Mikan Island like it had not in six years. Children were lining up for ice cream, people were walking their Poocheyena, and the waves crashed on the sand with a renewed sense of purpose. This sense found residence in most of the people on the island, except for one.
Lance sat on a bench, with an unkempt dark colored cape wrinkled under him, wearing a hat that just covered his head enough to shade from the sun. He watched the shore and the people running by with quiet attention, as people sat down on the bench next to him, and then quickly left. He thought that this stream would never end, as it seemed that he could time it to five seconds for each person, with seven minute intervals. He was obviously bored to death, and was hoping that sometime, someone would actually have a purpose to their arrival. Everything was viewed a bit off-kilter in his mind at the time, however, so in those five seconds, purpose may have been closer than he thought.
Lance tilted his hat up and gazed at the clouds. It had taken him a very long time to earn this kind of relaxation. Whether his mind determined this as his gift was doubtful. He was going through a time where everything was about self doubt; the kind of time where anything that went wrong could be easily assessed by becoming the cause. He had made a decision that even after one excruciating year still had him guilty, and yet, satisfied. This ambiguity was not a great feeling, but one that needed to escape.
A young girl came quickly up to the bench at this moment, paused, and collapsed in the seat. Her jeans were ripped and her shoulders revealed by a strapless top were a bright burnt red. She sighed and looked over to Lance.
“You trying to see pictures in those clouds or something?” the girl asked, getting no reaction out of him. He simply paid no attention and tried to use the girl’s suggestion. He found a cloud that looked like a Pikachu, and was too interested to bother keeping it in.
“That one’s a Pikachu, if that’s what you’re waiting for.” He pointed to the sky, his hand followed by the girl’s eyes.
“You don’t… look all that comfortable, I mean, you don’t see people wearing dark clothes that much in the summer, you know,” she said, examining Lance. “Are you okay? Seems like something’s really troubling you…”
Lance gave in again. “You have some guts to talk to strangers. I’m sure your mother would be glad to hear what you’ve been doing. Besides, you look pretty down, too.” He finally looked down at the girl. She was slumped and her black hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in days.
“You shouldn’t pry into the life of a stranger, you know,” she said sarcastically. “No, it’s just… life’s been tough. You know, school, training, family…” Lance raised an eyebrow.
“Come on, that’s just your teenage instincts kicking in. You won’t have any real problems until you’re older,” he said with a smile. “You have nothing to worry about.” The girl leaned her head on her hand and stared angrily at Lance.
“Nothing? Are you kidding me?” she shouted. Lance was taken aback. “I have so many darn things going wrong in my life, and you’re saying that this… this is all nothing?” She stared down at the sand beneath the bench and moved her bare feet across it.
“You have to realize something,” Lance said, looking down at her feet. “There was a time where I would have said that all the problems in life were trials meant to test you, and that you are not able to stop them, but now I’m not sure. I wish I could help. I really do, it’s just that I was a teenager once, and I thought I had problems, too. But now… I don’t know.” The girl looked up at Lance and brushed her bangs away from her green eyes.
“You do sound really… affected, to say the least… but I think that if destiny really existed, I wouldn’t have taken these things so hard. I see why you’re so confused… there’s a fine line between predetermined paths and human decision. I think of the latter to be true, myself.”
Lance couldn’t believe that he was slightly agreeing with the girl. His life had always been centered on a belief in destiny, and now it became an incomprehensible figment of imagination. How one decision can change a life was a question of importance to him, and he wondered about how this attitude would have changed if it hadn’t occurred.
“Life…is weird, I’m sure you don’t have to have a lot of coaxing to believe that. Destiny is more of a choice than something that already exists. If you believe, it seems like it happens. I should know…” Lance wearily told the girl.
“You don’t seem like that kind of person. I mean, if lame stuff happens, it’s because you brought it upon yourself. Stuff like fate is just the self-esteem saving chicken way out. Just my opinion, you know…” Lance found himself offended.
“What? Chicken… believing in destiny is not weak… wait, what am I doing?” Lance had realized that he was much more undecided than he thought. He never thought he would question his thoughts and beliefs like he had. He realized for the first time that there was a chance that he had been hypocritical for most of his life, saying that his life was guided by fate while making questionable decisions.
“Well, that doesn’t matter,” he said finally, “I guess I don’t exactly know where my life is leading, either…” The girl stood up, grabbed her belongings and smiled for the first time since Lance saw her.
“Well, I guess I should be going, I now realize that maybe there is some stuff I have to do, whether I like it or not.”
Lance watched as the girl walked away towards the shore, saw a young man by the waves and hugged him. They both then looked at the clouds, the girl’s finger pointing straight up. Lance thought about her words, and then, for the first time in weeks, a name came to his thoughts. Flannery.
1
The summer sun shone down on the shores of Mikan Island like it had not in six years. Children were lining up for ice cream, people were walking their Poocheyena, and the waves crashed on the sand with a renewed sense of purpose. This sense found residence in most of the people on the island, except for one.
Lance sat on a bench, with an unkempt dark colored cape wrinkled under him, wearing a hat that just covered his head enough to shade from the sun. He watched the shore and the people running by with quiet attention, as people sat down on the bench next to him, and then quickly left. He thought that this stream would never end, as it seemed that he could time it to five seconds for each person, with seven minute intervals. He was obviously bored to death, and was hoping that sometime, someone would actually have a purpose to their arrival. Everything was viewed a bit off-kilter in his mind at the time, however, so in those five seconds, purpose may have been closer than he thought.
Lance tilted his hat up and gazed at the clouds. It had taken him a very long time to earn this kind of relaxation. Whether his mind determined this as his gift was doubtful. He was going through a time where everything was about self doubt; the kind of time where anything that went wrong could be easily assessed by becoming the cause. He had made a decision that even after one excruciating year still had him guilty, and yet, satisfied. This ambiguity was not a great feeling, but one that needed to escape.
A young girl came quickly up to the bench at this moment, paused, and collapsed in the seat. Her jeans were ripped and her shoulders revealed by a strapless top were a bright burnt red. She sighed and looked over to Lance.
“You trying to see pictures in those clouds or something?” the girl asked, getting no reaction out of him. He simply paid no attention and tried to use the girl’s suggestion. He found a cloud that looked like a Pikachu, and was too interested to bother keeping it in.
“That one’s a Pikachu, if that’s what you’re waiting for.” He pointed to the sky, his hand followed by the girl’s eyes.
“You don’t… look all that comfortable, I mean, you don’t see people wearing dark clothes that much in the summer, you know,” she said, examining Lance. “Are you okay? Seems like something’s really troubling you…”
Lance gave in again. “You have some guts to talk to strangers. I’m sure your mother would be glad to hear what you’ve been doing. Besides, you look pretty down, too.” He finally looked down at the girl. She was slumped and her black hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in days.
“You shouldn’t pry into the life of a stranger, you know,” she said sarcastically. “No, it’s just… life’s been tough. You know, school, training, family…” Lance raised an eyebrow.
“Come on, that’s just your teenage instincts kicking in. You won’t have any real problems until you’re older,” he said with a smile. “You have nothing to worry about.” The girl leaned her head on her hand and stared angrily at Lance.
“Nothing? Are you kidding me?” she shouted. Lance was taken aback. “I have so many darn things going wrong in my life, and you’re saying that this… this is all nothing?” She stared down at the sand beneath the bench and moved her bare feet across it.
“You have to realize something,” Lance said, looking down at her feet. “There was a time where I would have said that all the problems in life were trials meant to test you, and that you are not able to stop them, but now I’m not sure. I wish I could help. I really do, it’s just that I was a teenager once, and I thought I had problems, too. But now… I don’t know.” The girl looked up at Lance and brushed her bangs away from her green eyes.
“You do sound really… affected, to say the least… but I think that if destiny really existed, I wouldn’t have taken these things so hard. I see why you’re so confused… there’s a fine line between predetermined paths and human decision. I think of the latter to be true, myself.”
Lance couldn’t believe that he was slightly agreeing with the girl. His life had always been centered on a belief in destiny, and now it became an incomprehensible figment of imagination. How one decision can change a life was a question of importance to him, and he wondered about how this attitude would have changed if it hadn’t occurred.
“Life…is weird, I’m sure you don’t have to have a lot of coaxing to believe that. Destiny is more of a choice than something that already exists. If you believe, it seems like it happens. I should know…” Lance wearily told the girl.
“You don’t seem like that kind of person. I mean, if lame stuff happens, it’s because you brought it upon yourself. Stuff like fate is just the self-esteem saving chicken way out. Just my opinion, you know…” Lance found himself offended.
“What? Chicken… believing in destiny is not weak… wait, what am I doing?” Lance had realized that he was much more undecided than he thought. He never thought he would question his thoughts and beliefs like he had. He realized for the first time that there was a chance that he had been hypocritical for most of his life, saying that his life was guided by fate while making questionable decisions.
“Well, that doesn’t matter,” he said finally, “I guess I don’t exactly know where my life is leading, either…” The girl stood up, grabbed her belongings and smiled for the first time since Lance saw her.
“Well, I guess I should be going, I now realize that maybe there is some stuff I have to do, whether I like it or not.”
Lance watched as the girl walked away towards the shore, saw a young man by the waves and hugged him. They both then looked at the clouds, the girl’s finger pointing straight up. Lance thought about her words, and then, for the first time in weeks, a name came to his thoughts. Flannery.