Aurin and Luna departed from Luna’s house, bidding her parents farewell as they walked down the garden path. It had been a nice family dinner and Aurin was grateful to have been invited. He got along with her family; he always had, but he was paranoid that they resented him somewhat for always getting Luna into trouble or whisking her away to Ludonia and beyond. Today, however, things couldn’t have gone more smoothly.

  “I couldn’t eat another bite,” said Aurin, massaging his stomach as he opened the gate for Luna.

  “Shall we go get dessert?” Luna asked him.

  “Gladly,” replied Aurin, his stomach suddenly feeling empty again.

  “I knew it,” giggled Luna, poking his shoulder with a sharp finger. “You can eat as much as the Minakai, can’t you?”

  Aurin shrugged. “I train hard, and I need the calories.”

  Despite being ambushed by Heart that very morning, Aurin was in good spirits. While he was still none the wiser about what The Blackjacks wanted, he had successfully defeated two of them so far. There was no doubt that they were skilled tamers, but being skilled tamers was not enough.

  Kyle had requested to be kept abreast of any other attacks, should they occur. He was determined to find a pattern, agreeing with both Aurin and Luna that there would be at least two others coming for him sooner or later. What bugged Aurin the most, however, was the combat suits. They could simply have worn masks to disguise themselves considering how handily they could escape him, even if he sent a Minakai charging for them the second the battle was over. There were so many missing pieces and, next time, he would pry a few of them from his next assailant and build up the puzzle.

  It was a frosty evening as Aurin and Luna walked through the town. They had no real idea of where they were going, simply opting to wander along until somewhere caught their eye. There were no shortage of cafés and restaurants open in the evening, meaning one of them would attract their attention eventually. Knowing that Shamtile and Innogon would demand milkshakes if they were present, the duo summoned Chopchop and Rabbafat to accompany them. While it would have been nice to have some time to themselves, they thought it better to be cautious.

  As they walked through the town square, they saw a small gathering by the fountain. Curious, they approached and spotted Rick, Holly, and Nolan along with some of the other tamers from the Underground Dojo. They were watching as two Driftseed hovered in place, a few feet off the ground.

  “What’s happening?” asked Aurin.

  “Oh, hello,” said Holly, smiling at the two newcomers. “Nolan and Benson are having a float-off.”

  “What’s a float-off?” asked Luna. It dawned on her as soon as she said it what it was, her face turning red from embarrassment.

  Holly giggled. “Whoever floats the longest wins. We like to do silly challenges like this every now and then. It’s still a form of training and pushes our monsters to utilise their elements for endurance training.”

  “And makes us a little bit of cash on the side,” said Rick, rubbing his hands together greedily. “My money’s on my boy, Nolan.”

  “Shush,” said Nolan, staring at the opposing Driftseed. “Don’t throw us off.”

  “Like he’s really doing anything to help,” murmured Rick.

  “You’d be surprised,” said Aurin. “Sometimes in the heat of battle, you get so in sync with your Minakai that it’s like you can read their thoughts, and they yours. Do you never wonder why you can give them commands without saying it aloud sometimes?”

  Rick raised an eyebrow, pondering for a minute. “You know, I’ve never actually thought about it like that before. I suppose I’ll shut up then.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  He chuckled, but Nolan shushed him again.

  Nolan’s Driftseed wobbled, sinking a foot lower before regaining its height. Both of the little brown seeds were narrow-eyed as they watched each other, the small leaves sprouting from their heads wriggling every now and then to keep them aloft.

  As the float-off continued, the crowd grew increasingly silent, watching intently as the monsters both started to waver. The two Driftseed continued to sink lower, finding it more and more difficult to stay above the cobblestones. It was going to be close.

  “Yes!” cried Nolan, pumping a fist in the air. “Good job, little man.”

  “Dammit!” spat Benson, reaching into his pocket and handing Nolan a couple of silver coins. “I thought I had you this time.”

  “I am the reigning drift-off king,” he said, jamming a thumb into his chest.

  “And I’m glad I backed the king,” said Nolan with a grin that was asking to be slapped off. “Pay up, folks. Pay up.”

  “I want to play too!” said Luna excitedly.

  Aurin frowned at her. “You… you don’t even have a Driftseed!”

  “I know, but this makes me want one.”

  “Come on,” he said to her. “Let’s go and get our dessert before you decide to buy a Driftseed egg just for this.”

  “It’s all good,” said Holly. “We’re done for the night anyway. Home time for me.”

  Nolan sighed. “Back to training for me. This was my break rather blowing off steam at the end of the day.”

  “He’s been training hard lately,” said Rick, slapping Nolan on the back. “Says he’s going to beat you one day.”

  “Shut up,” said Nolan, furrowing his brow. “I just said it would be nice to get to the level where I’m capable of it.”

  “Hey,” shrugged Aurin. “I always like a challenge, so bring it on. Train hard and then slap me across the face with a glove or something. A true gentleman’s duel… but with Minakai.”

  “Alright, he’s lost his marbles,” said Luna, grabbing Aurin by the hand. “Goodnight, everyone.”

  “See you both later,” said Nolan, and the others also bid Aurin and Luna farewell.

  She dragged Aurin away from the departing group and brought him over to a small dessert shop called Huckleberry’s Dessert Bar. The two ordered ice creams with Aurin requesting extra marshmallows and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

  “You glutton,” said Luna, sticking her tongue out.

  “And for that,” replied Aurin, shoving his spoon into the ice cream, “you can’t have any of my marshmallows.

  “That’s not fair!”

  “You should have ordered your own. I knew you’d want to take mine.”

  “But you have so many.”

  Aurin smirked at her. “Am I still a glutton?”

  Luna sighed while rolling her eyes. She knew exactly what he wanted to hear. “No, you’re bulking as part of your training.”

  “Too right,” said Aurin, gesturing towards the ice cream. “That earns you one marshmallow.”

  Luna reached over and took five. She stuck her tongue out at him again before taking a spoon of her ice cream. The finished their ice creams in minutes, but sat and talked for half an hour. Luna was itching to get back into Harmony Tower, still harbouring a smidge of jealousy that Aurin had reached the top and she had not. Aurin had to remind her that the goal right now was to train, not to shoot for the top.

  The night sky was pitch black by the time they departed, with the many streetlights and faintly illuminated windows of Hazelton keeping the town bright enough to see. There were precious few people lurking about the town square now, with the majority of the locals having retreated to their homes, restaurants, and bars.

  “Come on, you two,” said Aurin to Chopchop and Rabbafat who had been waiting outside.

  Chopchop had been showing Rabbafat how far his stances had come along, with the rotund rabbit caring not one bit. She was much too busy with the three bags of cookies Luna had passed her a few minutes prior.

  “It’s such a beautiful night,” said Luna wistfully. She smiled up at the sky. “Even with the lights on, you can see the stars. It’s all so clear.”

  “It’s nice, isn’t it?” said Aurin, also looking up.

  “Positively delightful,” came a robotic voice, and Aurin’s good mood was instantly ruined.

  “Show yourself!” he demanded, looking around.

  There came the clink of a crystal bouncing across the ground. It shattered, unleashing the now-familiar dome of energy that encapsulated a large chunk of the town square. Aurin and Luna were trapped within and the two Minakai took their places in front of their tamers, looking around to see who dared ambush their humans.

  “I’m not hiding,” said the man. He wore an outfit identical to the Club’s combat suit, but his helmet bore the deep purple diamond.

  “Diamond of The Blackjacks, I presume,” said Aurin, ready to take on this latest foe.

  “You’ve got me pinned already, Aurin,” said Diamond, stretching out his arms. “Can’t get anything past you, yeah?”

  “Do your worst,” said Luna.

  “Oh no,” said Diamond, rotating his arms and then twisting at the waist several times. “You’re about to see my best. There’s just one small problem…”

  Aurin knew what was coming. “You’re not fighting Luna first. You either take on both of us together or neither of us.”

  Diamond laughed. “Well, my friend, you just read my mind. Taking on both of you is exactly what I was going to suggest.”

  He raised his hand, and two of his summoning stones began glowing.

  right here.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: