MagiStream

The Often-Ditzy Adventures in Cerealia
(a.k.a.: Aarvik's Diary Journal)
Dear Journal,13:51:15 | 06/12 | year 4511 | Jaszceeyya, Kluyysm, Hyykoshji When I first picked you out, I knew that you wouldn't take kindly to being called a diary. So I'm calling you a journal now. It's not perfect, but I guess it will have to do. For now, at least. I don't really have much time left right now to think of a new name for you, because I'm packing now. I have to leave in an hour to Cerealia. I know, weird name, right? But it makes sense. The World of Breakfast. I like breakfast. I had pancakes and eggs for breakfast just a couple of minutes ago. I hope there are lots of eggs and pancakes in Cerealia. Egs Benedict said so in the letter he sent to me after I registered.

Why did I register? Gosh, I don't know. I mean, to be honest, I need a little bit of excitement in my life. The life of Aarvik right now is not so great. I flunked out of secondary school, which here in Hyykoshji (my planet) means the school that kids (me) ages 15-18 go to before they go off to other planets to further their studies. I can't stay here forever. My mom is eager to kick me out, and my dad is already making plans to do so. Then I'll have nowhere to go. Except maybe my aunt Krawvenne's house. But she's a little insane. Okay. Very insane.

Anyways, back to the question that I pretended you asked me so I could tell you the answer without it being too awkward. I needed to leave. However, you can't go to another planet from here without a diploma from secondary school. I'm nineteen. They gave me one chance and I failed it. There's no way they'd give me another. So that rules out thirty-seven planets in our solar system, leaving us with two. Hyykoshji and Cerealia.

Cerealia was only recently discovered, which is why there's such a rush to get there. I mean, aside from the fact that it's the freakin' land of breakfast. I mean, how perfect could it be? There totally aren't any gross schools there, which makes it all the more appealing. I'm sure they're marketing to drop-outs like me, and I'm totally wrapped around the corporation's metaphorical pinky finger. So to make a semi-short story even shorter, my parents paid the fee for me to go as long as I stay there for over a year. Not like I'd have a problem with that. Something tells me that I'm going to be staying there for the rest of my life.

Ack! I've taken too much time writing! That's one of my problems. My mom says I'm too ditzy. That means scatterbrained, which is probably true. I go off-topic a lot, and I'm kind of forgetful. We'll see how much that helps me in Cerealia. Haha. Until then, so long!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Journal,17:17:45 | 06/12 | year 4511 | Interplanetary Travel Vessel J5-77 Well, I'm not late. Actually, I ended up being just on time. That must be a good sign. If I was late for my trip, that would seriously suck. Especially if they left me behind. That's happened before on school transportation and stuff, but this is so much more important. If I think about it, this is the most important day of my life, besides the day I was born (for the record, that's 09:35:55 | 08/25 | year 4491). I mean, I'm starting a new life now. I said bye and stuff to my parents, but I couldn't cry over it. Isn't that weird? It's like I wasn't meant for that life. Cerealia speaks to me more than all of the other thirty-eight planets in our solar system combined. Isn't that weird?

So, anyways... Here I am on Vessel J5-77, totally traveling through space for the second time in my life. The first time was to get to Igropikr (another planet in our solar system, where a lot of students come to train to be pilots and engineers) to board the vessel. It would be an understatement to merely say that I'm excited. I actually feel bad for the person next to me who I completely poured my heart out to. I don't she she wanted it, but oh well. Now she knows, like, everything about me and my innermost desires. I still don't know her name. Oh well. I kind of gave her a break to write in you (oh dear, that sounds really awkward, let's forget I ever wrote that now).

I'm actually kind of hungry. It doesn't help that I'm salivating over the endless breakfast-y possibilities on Cerealia. I've already been visualizing some of the landmarks that might be there. Maple syrup rivers? Pancake plains? Sweet roll hills? I'm drooling right now. Poor girl-sitting-next-to-me. I mean, it's not like I'm literally expectorating on her. That would be awful. But she has to witness me. Oh well.

Oh, I'm sorry. I guess you can't really visualize my surroundings. The vessel is very slim and elegant on the outside, although the inside is quite plain. There aren't any classes, so everyone is traveling with the same quality seats, service, etc. You just walk in through a door near the back, and there are rows and rows of plain, red seats. I mean, they're comfortable enough, but they're not over the top. There are pillows and blankets (again, not luxurious, but good enough) for those who want to sleep. The rows have six seats each, and there's a left section, a middle section, and a right section. The left and right sections have the window seats, which are really neat (I have one of these). Everyone else has aisle seats, and they are separated from the next section over by an aisle that stewards[esses] walk through to check on the passengers.

Most of these passengers are my age, while some are old people who probably retired from their jobs to find excitement or something like that. There are a handful of people who are middle-aged adults who probably quit their jobs to come here. I don't blame them. I mean, who can resist?

I actually managed to have a conversation with the person who's across the aisle from me. She's a pretty petite girl with long blonde hair and light skin with freckles mottling her nose. I was actually quite captivated by her eyes, which were a light brown that reminded me of milk chocolate. Her voice was sort of calm and soothing, and not too high-pitched or deep. The exchange of words went a little like this [me in italics, dialogue bolded]:

"Hello, what's your name?"

*odd stare for a second or two* "Uh... I'm Khyria. Hi."

"Can you spell that for me? I'm keeping a journal. I'm Aarvik, by the way."

*another odd stare* "K-H-Y-R-I-A. Nice to meet you."

"That's a pretty name."

*flashes a quick smile* "Thanks..."

"Where do you come from?"

"Gjaaruamis." *this is a planet near Hyykoshji that highly values education, which is why I was surprised*

"Really? Wow - I would have guessed kids from there would stay in school."

*a tinkling chuckle, not loud or obnoxious, but it did make her eyes light up and add to her delicate beauty* "Well, yeah. My parents..." *pause* "Were not so happy."

*empathetic smile that I hoped wasn't too creepy* "Yeah, I get it - my parents weren't too happy that I flunked out of secondary school, but I think they were glad to finally get rid of me." *laugh*

*more of a laugh than a chuckle this time* "I didn't flunk out per se, but I just... I didn't want to stay in school. I couldn't imagine growing up and working for the rest of my life, you know? This is definitely the best option. I can't wait to get there."

*nod* "Yeah, I understand. I can't wait either. I don't even know what to expect - we're one of the first visitors, so... Where are we going to go?"

*pause for thinking* "Well, I haven't though about that. I kinda just want to go, you know? I don't want to have to think anymore. Just... Do."

"That sounds awesome. Maybe we could stick together?"

*smile (she has nice teeth)* "Sure! I guess I could use a friend here." *wink*

*laugh* "Awesome. Well, I'm going to get some shut-eye. See you there!"

"Yeah, me too. See ya!"

And thus, Aarvik made a friend. Isn't that weird? I thought it was just going to be awkward and stuff at the beginning, but then she totally opened up. I was actually kind of surprised - I'm usually one of those kids who hides from everyone else and keeps under the radar. That's at school, at least. Maybe I can make a new Cerealia-Aarvik. That would be cool.

I hope she wasn't flirting with me. She's good-looking, but she's definitely not my type. Well, not like that. She's a sweet girl, and I'm sure we can be good friends. But I'm looking for... You know. Males. Yeah. I mean, you might not have guessed from the way I was describing Khyria. You might have thought that I "liked" her. Well, I do, but not like that. Back at home, we call that "homosexuality". It's not unusual in most planets, although some people look down on it because we don't procreate. I personally couldn't care less what other people think, but I don't flaunt it anyways. I also don't like talking about it, either. So... Yeah.

Well, I should keep my word and actually get some shut-eye before we land. We have been in space for a good three hours, and my eyes are getting a bit droopy. Good afternoon, Journal!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Journal,23:25:07 | 06/12 | year 4511 | Temporary Residential Center, Cerealia Okay. So we actually landed two and a half hours ago, but I haven't been able to write until now. Right now, I'm in the Residential Center in Cerealia, which is the place that all of the new Cerealians (me, Khyria, etc.) go before they head out to make their own in the world. It's basically a crudely made house where most of it is the "bedroom," where there are just rows and rows of bunks where people sleep. I'm on the bottom bunk, and a kid named Zhontak is on top. We're supposed to be sleeping, but I'm not that tired, and I want to write while the events of the day are still fresh.

Heh. He's actually pretty cute. Zhontak, I mean. That's pronounced "zhon-tock" where the first consonant sound is kind of like a J with a softer sound. He's a little taller than me, but since I'm so thin, he seems to tower over me. I mean, he's not a total hunk, but he's not fat or skinny either. He has brown hair, kind of like mine, but cut shorter in a sort-of buzz cut style. His skin is light like Khyria's; lighter than mine. Also like hers, his eyes are a strange light brown. His voice is really deep and sexy. Yeah. No regrets saying that. Our initial conversation went a bit like this (again, me in italics):

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Don't even bother talking to me, you creep." *narrowed eyes, deep, menacing voice*

*very taken aback, cowering* "Sorry, man."

*bursts out laughing - deep, hearty laugh that made me feel a lot better* "Just kidding. I got you there, didn't I? I'm Zhontak."

*sigh of relief, not exaggerated* "You really did! Can you spell that for me? I'm keeping a journal." *I figured that if that ploy wasn't too weird to Khyria, it wouldn't be weird to him.*

"Z-H-O-N-T-A-K. You can call me Tak, though. Don't worry, my parents apologized soon enough." *another laugh*

*more laughing* "I think it's a nice name! I'm Aarvik, by the way."

And thus, a new friendship blossomed. I hope. He's still really cute, especially when he's sleeping. Not like I was being creepy or anything. ...Okay, maybe a little creepy. But when he's sleeping, his face looks younger and more innocent. It was how I'd visualize an angel. Not to mention the fact that I wanted to get into that bed with him and cuddle. I hope no one was looking at me looking at him. But enough about me.

So Zhontak is also from Gjaaruamis, and he dropped out of secondary school. It's not like he's stupid like me; he's just too free-spirited and happy-go-lucky for school, and he's also a little lazy. I think his sense of humor is hilarious, and he had me laughing after almost everything he said. I told him about Khyria, too. They don't know each other, even though their planet is pretty small. I guess it's still a planet - the chances of them knowing each other would be pretty slim. He hadn't met anyone on the flight - apparently, the people who he was next to didn't look friendly.

So Aarvik is two-for-two. Isn't this great? Oh, I forgot to mention that I really didn't get to see much of the planet we're on. It was pretty dark when we'd landed, and the whole area didn't seem like it would be very breakfast-y anyways; it was mostly concrete where we walked. The suspense is to be left for the morning. I don't know if I'm going to get very much sleep tonight. Expect a layer of saliva to be coating my pillow as I dream about the possibilities in Cerealia. Good night!


Dear Journal,09:11:45 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Temporary Residential Center, Cerealia Okay. I just woke up after getting very little sleep. As predicted, my pillow is a disgusting mess, and I hid it under the bed from any onlookers. Boy, did I have great dreams. Of course, they were all food-related, hence the slobber-encased headrest. I cannot wait to go outside. We are all going to go out at the same time - 10:00 - to make sure it's all coordinated. I'm waiting for my new boyfriend Zhontak to wake up. I haven't seen Khyria yet, but not many people are even awake. I'm wondering if I should wake him up so I don't die of boredom and eagerness and anxiety and stuff like that.

Well, while I wait, I guess I could tell you some more stuff about myself. I just realized that I haven't even told you my full name. I'm Aarvik Gekquaes (jeh-quay-us). I'm about mid-to-above-average height (that's about 5'10). My hair is dark brown and cut short, but not that short, and my skin is fairly tan. I have a discoloration on my neck where it's slightly lighter than the rest of my body. My eyes are also a boring dark brown, and I'm pretty thin. I'm not freakishly skinny, but as you travel up my arm, the thickness only changes a bit. My eyes are sort of close together, and my nose kind of points up near the end. If you can visualize me, good. If you can't, too bad. I don't want to describe myself anymore.

40 more minutes. I really don't think I'm going to survive. I'm going to see Khyria. I'll write more once I venture out into this world (*gasp*).

Dear Journal,09:45:58 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Temporary Residential Center, Cerealia I lied. I just couldn't resist writing right before we leave. I'm still currently freaking out, now with Khyria and Tak sitting and talking on my bunk. It's not like they've excluded me - that would be horrible. Nah; I'm just writing now, so I went on the top bunk to fill you in.

So Khyria was literally just waking up as I walked to her bunk. It was kind of funny how confused she was. She kept squinting at me and saying "Mom?". I thought it was hilarious, but she wasn't as amused. I told her about Zhontak, and she immediately wanted to meet him. So I led her to our bunk, which was a couple of beds over. He was still sleeping peacefully, and I watched as this mischievous look spread across Khyria's face.

I'll spare you the details, but the prank had something to do with my spit-pillow. It was actually pretty funny, and he was freaking out after he realized what was happening. We were dying, not even bothering to hold in our laughter. I'm sure his shrieks woke up the whole Center. Anyways, after he had washed himself thoroughly, we started talking and stuff. I introduced them and we started talking about what might lie beyond the walls of the Residential Center. I shared my predictions with them, and soon enough, we were all drooling on my bunk. Gross, right? There's no way I'm sleeping there ever again.

At about 9:30, everyone else in the Center was woken up, and we were all told that this would be our last time in the Residential Center. The new vessel would be coming in at the same time as ours had the previous day, and they'd obviously be sleeping where we had. Even though the sheets and pillowcases would be washed, I felt bad for whoever was taking my covers.

I'm actually kind of anxious about not spending time in the Center. I mean, where are we going to sleep? It is a planet after all; there are likely to be dangers involved, and we're going to have to make do with what we have. I'm so glad that I actually have people with me. I feel really bad for those who don't have anyone else to be with. I don't know if we're going to recruit anyone else into our little group. We'll see.

Ack! We're leaving in five minutes. We're all freaking out on my bunk now. We get to take a map and a guidebook on the wildlife and landmarks in Cerealia, but we can't open either one until 10:00. I can only imagine what lies beyond until then. Bye!

Dear Journal,11:25:44 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Frootamon Forest, Cerealia ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod OH. MY. GOD.
This place is amazing!

Okay, first off, I'll tell you a bit about what happened at 10:00. Everyone was watching the clock, and as soon as it struck ten, you could seriously hear a pin drop. It was amazing. Then, something extraordinary happened. In the Residential Center, all of the walls folded out, as did the roof. All that was standing was the foundation, and of course, the beds and floor didn't move. Everyone stood still for about a minute and absorbed the surroundings.

It was just awe-inspiring. I mean, around the Center, it was mostly dirt and concrete. But past that, it was absolutely incredible. There were a couple of very white clouds in the sky, but we could see our two suns beating down on us. The trees that we could see were enormous, and many of us began to flip through our books to see what they might be. Some of them had cinnamon-stick trunks, while others were regular fruit trees. We were in a deciduous forest, it seemed. The shrubs and smaller plants were oddly colored, and many seemed to actually just be giant loaves of sweet bread.

After overcoming the original shock, we began to slowly make our way out of the Center and into the wild. Someone gasped and pointed, and everyone's gaze followed the outstretched finger to the most ridiculous animal I've ever seen in my life. It was literally a walking spoon, about the size of one's forearm. There was actually a large group of these ludicrous creatures, and they were scooping up food from the ground. I saw in my guide that they had their face in the spoon part of their body, so they closed their eyes, scooped up some food, and let it slide into their open mouths.

The ground was very flat, so we could see as far as the forest. There were random pancakes and slices of French toast on the ground, and a couple of adventurous new Cerealians (Tak included) bent down to rip a chunk off. As he chewed, Tak's face lit up, and a large grin spread across his face.

"Try this, guys!" he proffered with an outstretched hand holding some pancake.

I immediately grabbed the piece and shoved it into my mouth. It was delicious. There was a perfect amount of doughy parts and well-cooked parts. I wasn't going to question the physics of cooking pancakes on the ground, but that's how it tasted. It had a hint of vanilla and buttermilk, and I could clearly see some pancakes with blueberries and chocolate chips in them.

As Khyria chewed wistfully, she said absentmindedly "Could use some maple syrup."

Then, I could swear a light bulb appeared above my head. I snapped my fingers. "Maple syrup!" I exclaimed. As the other two looked at me with puzzled expressions, I whipped out the map and looked for a maple syrup river. "It was in my fantasies, it has to be here somewhere..." I muttered, half to myself.

Tak and Khyria helped me look on the large map. It wasn't very detailed, understandably, but there were important landmarks. After about ten seconds of searching, Khyria pointed a finger at a spot and screamed "There!"

Tak plugged his ear with a finger. "That's my ear, woman," he complained with mock anger. We all laughed, but the fact still remained that there was indeed a river/stream/body of water maple syrup. That in and of itself is incredible. I just hope there's some water, because we wouldn't live long on pure maple syrup.

"We should get there soon, so it's not too crowded. How far away is it?" I asked.

Khyria examined the scale, and used her fingernail to make an estimate. Then, she gulped. "Uh... We have to cross that."

"What!?" Tak and I exclaimed. We examined the map, and she was right. The closest river of maple syrup was about twenty miles, but looking at the key, the Waffle Mountains stood between us and sugary goodness.

Tak snorted. "Waffle Mountains? How hard can it be? We can just eat our way through." I gave an obligatory chuckle and smile, but I was sort of anxious. I'd never done any serious hiking in my life, and twenty miles was a lot.

Khyria examined the map some more, and then looked at the Residential Center, which was reverting back to its original state. "According to this map, the river is this way," gesticulating with her finger to indicate the other side of the Center opposite to where we had walked out.

The three of us began to push through the ogling crowds to reach the other side, and when we did, we were treated to an interesting sight. Most people followed the crowd around the other side, so there were only a couple of people. The people that were there were all watching the same scene, and we joined in.

There was a big fight going on underfoot. Apparently, as well as spoons, there were little fork creatures. They were currently engaging in a battle, clashing heads and trying to spear each other with their tines. The interesting parts is that when a fork died, it didn't bleed or twitch. When a fork impaled another fork, the dead fork immediately froze up, its eyes and mouth shut tight, and the fork that killed it simply removed the dead fork from its prongs with its hands to continue fighting.

While Tak and I were enthralled, watching the twenty-or-so forks fight each other, Khyria was reading from her guide. "Forcs are a very territorial species, and they often engage in brutal brawls that result in deceased forcs littering the area. They live in groups called pools, and each pool has about ten to fifteen members, usually involving an equal ratio of males and females. All members fight and defend their young during these brawls. The deceased forcs have an adaptation that makes them very light-weighted so other forcs can use them as weapons to fight enemies. Huh. That's interesting."

Soon after Khyria finished speaking, the forcs left, one pool looking triumphant as another group slunk away, collecting their dead to use later. However, they left some of the forcs that they couldn't carry. The three of us crept forward hesitantly, and then took a forc each. Sure enough, they were light enough to carry easily. To test it out, I stuck my forc, which was about a foot long, into a pancake on the ground and cut off a piece. Sure enough, I was able to eat the piece as if it were a fork at home, but bigger. "That's wicked cool," Tak said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Well, let's go already! I exclaimed, trying to sound eager. I guess it was convincing enough, because we began our hike in that moment, forcs in hand and pancakes in stomach.

And thus, we began our journey through the forest to the Mable Sirrup River. Currently, we are taking a break and eating some fruits off of the trees. This place really is incredible. I'm getting kind of tired from walking, and we've gone about 2 miles so far. I'm not really used to this at all. I think I'll just stare at Tak for a while. Sweat is plastering his shirt to his torso. Pretty hot, I say.

Dear Journal,13:50:19 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Frootamon Forest, Cerealia I think I'm seriously falling in love.

Dear Journal,14:02:22 | 06/12 | year 4511 | Frootamon Forest, Cerealia I'm not joking - this is serious.

Dear Journal,14:05:41 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Frootamon Forest, Cerealia Okay, let's calm down a bit and ask a couple of questions. Hmm... You there. Yes, you. Ah, with whom am I falling in love? Tak, duh. And it's not just because he's good-looking. I mean, that's definitely part of it. He's really funny and awesome to be around, but that's not all of it either. He's just such a good person, and I like that a lot. Most of it so far has been little things like offering to hold our forcs and bags (oh yeah, I forgot to mention; we were all given bags with rope and sheets and necessities), and helping someone up if they fall. But since he's so transparent, I can tell that he'd probably do something much greater to help someone in need.

As we walk, we talk, and I've found that his at-home situation is fairly similar to mine. His parents wanted him to leave, but he couldn't because he didn't come home with a diploma. Like I wrote earlier, he's very free-spirited, which is why school didn't work out for him. To be honest, some of the time I zoned out and just listened to his voice, which is really amazing. It's really deep, but it comes out very clearly when he talks. I just love listening to him talk. So much, in fact, that I walked straight into a cinnamon tree, and as it shook, cinnamon sugar fell all over us. It took all of my energy to not lick it right off of him.

But what on Cerealia can I do? I'm not going to ask him and be all awkward. No. There has to be some meaningful time. I just met him last night. Not even 24 hours. Now that I think about it, it sounds really stupid. But at the same time, I'd love to spend all of my time on Cerealia with him. Forever.

Wait, what on - Is it raining? Hold on, I need to cover you up.
For future reference: ---> ☉ a circled drop (of what?)

Dear Journal,15:10:28 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Frootamon Forest, Cerealia Okay. The rain finally subsided about twenty minutes ago. That was really, really weird.

So when we started to feel the first drops, we looked up immediately. There hadn't been any dark clouds lurking when we'd left, so we were all very confused. We couldn't see very well through the thick trees, but it seemed very light. So we ran with our stuff until we reached an area where there weren't as many tall trees. There, we were able to see the thick white clouds. Yes, white. I looked at my friends and saw Khyria wearing a mystified expression. "This isn't water," she declared slowly.

I opened my mouth to get a taste, and it definitely wasn't water. I took out the empty bottle that was part of our "survival kit" bag and held it out. Soon enough, it was filled with a creamy white liquid. As I took a sip, my suspicions were confirmed. Dramatically, I made my verdict. "This is milk."

The other two widened their eyes in surprise. "What?!" Khyria yelled, partially because of the loud downpour that we were caught in and partially out of sheer disbelief. "But milk comes from -"

"Screw logic," Tak cut her off abruptly. "We're in the land of breakfast, woman. Anything is possible." Khyria began to protest, but she couldn't help herself and burst into laughter. Soon, we were all hysterically dying and opening our mouths and bottles to try to catch some rich milk.

About five minutes ago, when the milk rain subsided, Khyria pulled out the trusty guide and read about what had just happened. "On Cerealia, nature's purest form of water is found in milk. This milk is cycled through nature through the milk cycle..." Suddenly, she struck the book with a hand, a useless act that did nothing but express her distaste. "The milk cycle? What is this garbage? Milk can't -"

"Shut up, woman," Tak said again, grinning at her mockingly.

Khyria raised her fist and made to scream at him, but sighed and continued. "...through the milk cycle, where the milk evaporates from lakes and some streams, where it condensed into puffy white clouds and falls in downpours. Thus, plants are able to receive essential nutrients and hydration. The plants that benefit most from this precipitation are the Serealus genus, see page 143 for more information on the Syriul plants." She paused. "Do you want me to read about it, or do you lazy boys actually want to look for yourself?"

"Read to us," we both said in unison.

Khyria sighed again, and shook her head at us in disapproval. She found the page and raised one eyebrow. "The Syriul plant is by far one of the most unique organisms on Cerealia. There are over a dozen known species, and each one looks very similar on the outside. They are all green and round, with a small hole in the top when it is dry. As soon as a drop of moisture hits the plant, the hole widens until the plant looks almost exactly like a bowl. Their height varies, although they never reach higher than the waist and never have a diameter of over five feet, although there may be exceptions. They are often found in forests and areas with lots of other vegetation.

"Once the plant gathers enough milk in its body, it releases a series of small edible objects called syriuls, hence the name, which float in the milk. The syriuls release a very sweet odor that attracts animals of all species. This odor varies depending on the species, as do the appearance of the syriuls. The scents contain a depressant that makes those who breathe it in very woozy. If one breathes enough of the gases, they start to lose reasoning skills and venture closer to the bowl. Many try to retrieve the syriuls, but as soon as the inside of the bowl is brushed up on, the hole immediately closes upon the victim, trapping them. It is not determined exactly how strong the hole is, but an average person cannot free an arm or leg from a Syriul plant, even when not intoxicated. The victim remains there until the trapped body part is fully digested, after which the victim will find that they can simply pull away from the body part. For human arms and legs, the digestion can take up to 24 hours - the depressant will usually wear off within an hour, and the digestion process is excruciatingly painful for individuals that are fully aware of their surroundings. Unfortunately, that body part will remain inside the plant until it disgorges it back up, so the organism will be without an appendage, and most die from blood loss, infection, or the digestion of a vital organ... Oh my. Well, the syriuls are edible as long as you don't touch the inside," Khyria finished, trying to sound positive.

For about twenty seconds, we sat in stunned silence. "This isn't all sugar and spice and everything nice after all," Tak declared. No one laughed.

So now, I'm writing with my shirt tied around my face to act as a breathing filter for my mouth and nose. Yes, Tak is shirtless. Yes, Khyria has a bra on. I was actually very amused when she said "Don't look" when she took her shirt off. It's not like I'd want to look. I for one am not attracted to lumps of fat on a woman's chest. What made me pretty hopeful was that Tak didn't seem to care either. Maybe he was being a nice guy and not looking because she said not to. However, I don't think any heterosexual male would be able to resist - leaving one other option. *crosses fingers*
(Speaking of which, I don't think any homosexual male could resist looking at Tak shirtless. My god.)

Dear Journal,17:34:30 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Frootamon Forest, Cerealia Fatigue is getting to me. I didn't get much sleep last night, and the fact that I'm getting limited oxygen through this shirt isn't helping. I wonder when it's safe to take it off. I really don't want to take any chances. We should be nearing the mountains soon. I think I'll hold out until then.

Dear Journal,18:25:13 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia Tak was wrong. This is definitely going to take a while to conquer.

We're at the base of the Waffle Mountains right now. As we were walking, the trees started to appear farther apart until there weren't even any around us, besides the odd one or two. We could see the fantastic mountain range that lay before us. And boy, did it look odd. It literally looked like someone had carelessly tossed pieces of waffle on the ground. Well, a giant someone.

There was one section that seemed to be an entrance, because it was a valley between two waffle "walls". They were really tall, but as Tak took an experimental prod with a forc, it went right through. "I guess we could eat our way through," he suggested, stroking a nonexistent beard with fake craftiness.

Khyria slapped him lightly, not even considering the option. It seemed fairly reasonable to me. "Let's keep going through here. Maybe someone's been here, and has made a path." Sure enough, as we walked another half mile, there were practically steps to get onto the top of one of the waffles. "See?" she said with a smirk.

"Ladies first," I retorted, ushering her forward. "It was your idea."

She gulped audibly and looked up. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that these steps are very steep; almost a completely vertical wall. It was very daunting. The wall was a good 80 feet high. But suddenly, I had a brilliant idea. "Why don't you use the forcs to get a grip? Try it."

Tak handed her two forcs, and she stuck them into the wall. Then, she stepped up using one of the footholds and stuck her right forc into a higher spot. Stop, rest, repeat. After a while, she was pretty high up. At the halfway mark, she looked down at us and whimpered. "I'm scared," she moaned.

"You're doing great," Tak said reassuringly. "This is a lot better than eating our way through." I could see her smile, chuckle a bit, take a deep breath, and continue with renewed vigor. I looked at Tak with admiration. He is such a sweet guy.

I think it's going to be my turn next. When she gets to the top, she's going to toss the forcs down. If they break... That would suck. A lot. But they seem really sturdy, and they're light, too.

When the forcs came down, Tak came over to me and looked deep into my eyes, and just said "Be careful." It was like looking into a fiery chocolate storm. Butterflies, go away.

Dear Journal,19:31:27 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia So I'm at the top. Tak is currently climbing, and he's doing so a lot faster than me. I'd like to say it's because he got more sleep than I did, but let's face it; the boy is physically fit. Anyways, up here it's amazing. We can literally see the milk storm that got us, and there's so much landscape around us. We can also see the river, which is a big driving force.

Of course, there's the problem that we actually have to climb the mountain.

Now, do you know how a waffle is shaped? It's pressed, so there are many square indentations with thin walls that separate each one. Each indentation is about twenty feet down - it is pretty well-cushioned and doughy, but if one of us fell, that would definitely mean broken bone(s). Each of the thin walls is about one and a half feet wide. Yeah, you heard me; only sixteen pancake-flippin' inches.

We could walk around the circular wall, which is a little thicker, but that's dangerous as well, and also slower. Honestly, it's getting late and I need sleep. I don't know where we should do that, though. Should we slide down into an indentation to gain protection from the wind and other elements? Should we brave the climb and see what other options lie on the other side of this waffle? So many choices.

Khyria and I have decided to wait for Tak to get up here before we make any important decisions. I think it's in our best interest to get some sleep and then do the trip tomorrow. We are spending our whole life here.

Dear Journal,19:49:38 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia Okay, Tak just got up. We're going to have the discussion now. I really hope there isn't a big debate. Something tells me that Tak will want to keep going, but I don't know if that's possible for me. I just think it would be a lot safer on rest, and it might get dark in the middle of one of us climbing, which could mean disastrous.

Dear Journal,19:56:08 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia Well, after a small debate, we are in favor of an edited version of my idea. Huh. They both were surprisingly willing to compromise. The only problem that remained was how to get down from the waffle wall, because both of them wanted to rest. Tak suggested sliding, and I thought that sounded reasonably safe. The difference between the climb that we all just did and the climb down an indentation is that it's a little less vertical to get down the indentation. It's more like a slide, and the wall doesn't meet the ground with a corner or anything like that; it's a clean ride down.

At least, that's what it looks like. Khyria is convinced that it won't simply be that easy, and that to be safer, we should climb down using the forcs. But then, the issue remains of getting them back up to those who are waiting on top. We can't throw them, because a) they're dangerous and b) our aim could not be that great, and we could end up losing them.

Then, I had another brilliant idea. "We can all take a forc each and slide down, and if we start going too fast, we can use the forc to slow down," I suggested eagerly. It did make sense, and as Khyria nodded wistfully, Tak declared "This one has a brain after all!" We all laughed despite ourselves.

Dear Journal,20:17:54 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia I have no regrets when I say that sliding down that wall was one of the funnest things I've ever done. That was really awesome - having the sugary air fly through my hair as I'm sliding down a giant waffle. I mean, come on. You haven't done that, and you're jealous.

But I think the best part of the whole thing was when I was getting ready to go first ("It was your idea after all," Khyria joked). Tak comes up to me as I'm just about to slide down and does the same thing as he did at the base of the mountains. "Be careful." If I had stared into his eyes for any longer, my mouth would have been agape for so long that some of the butterflies would have just flown right out. They really are incredible. It seemed like there was a lot more that he wanted to say. Or I'm just biased, and that's what I want to be the case.

We're all down here now; the ride was really quick, and took a lot less effort. I have to admit, I might be more energized than I was before the climb because of all of the adrenaline that's now pumping through my bloodstream. It's kind of early, but the sky is slowly darkening, so we're eating some of the fruit that Tak kept in his backpack from the forest.

There doesn't seem to be any wildlife down here. At least, I can't see anything. I don't know the wildlife too well, obviously, but nothing's in plain sight. It is getting dark, though, so it would be wise to sleep soon. I don't know - I just feel that the night could hold some dangers.


Dear Journal,20:28:20 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia I was wrong. I was very, very wrong. There is wildlife around here.

When we were done eating, there was still some leftover fruit. Tak left it in his bag and we got out our sheets to go to sleep in. It was fairly warm, so that was all we needed. However, we started to hear a buzzing in the air, and it slowly got louder and louder until we could see where it was coming from. It looked like a dark cloud moving towards us, and I realized when it was too late that these were bugs of a sort.

They flew straight for Tak, who was extracting his sheet from his bag. They closed in on the bag like a falcon preying on a mouse. Khyria acted quickly, flipping through the book to find what they might be. After about thirty seconds of Tak yelling, me trying to bat them away, and Khyria frantically flipping pages, she finally reached a page of interest.

"Frootflis always travel in large groups called flocks. About a hundred of them are in a flock, and each frootfli is about the size of one's fingernail. They are relatively harmless, but supremely annoying to have to deal with. If they find a victim to assault, it usually means that they have fruit of a sort on their person. To get rid of them, toss the source of the fruity smell as far away from yourself as you can," she read quickly but clearly.

The message was clear. After Tak retrieved his blanket and took out his empty bottle for good measure, he tossed the bag, fruit and all, to the other side of the indentation. He was about to toss it all the way over the wall, but it was too high. Immediately, the frootflis followed the bag to the opposite wall. Some of them lingered, for we had recently eaten them and some of the scent remained on our person. However, most of them went away simply because the fruit in the bag was more promising.

"That was really, really weird," I declared after a couple more seconds of stunned silence.

"This place is incredible!" Khyria exclaimed. "I personally can't wait to read more. Maybe I could be a Cerealian scientist. This is really cool, and there's probably so much more."

"You'd probably be good at that. But tell me when you have any lectures so I can get as far away as possible," Tak said. Khyria slapped him again, but we were all giggling, then guffawing into the sugarcoated night.


Dear Journal,21:25:30 | 06/13 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia I haven't been able to sleep because of that irritating buzzing, but it's finally stopped. It's really dark, and the sounds here are really neat. I'm sure there are lots of ridiculous breakfast-y birds around here making those noises. I think it's like an orchestra, with every creature participating. It's quite beautiful.

Well, this is a lot more soothing than the frootflis buzzing. I'm going to nod off now. Good night!


Dear Journal,10:23:16 | 06/14 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia So Tak got up last again. I guess he's a heavy sleeper. We didn't prank him or anything. There weren't many supplies we could use anyways.

We discussed the possibilities of each option in the last ten minutes or so. I think it's a lot safer to go around the waffle, because we literally have all the time in the world. Tak doesn't think it makes much of a difference. Khyria agrees with me to a certain extent. She took it even further, stating that we should crawl or scoot across so we don't fall.

The waffle has a diameter of about 200 feet. Scooting across on the wall could take all day, and it's not like this is the only waffle we have to conquer. So this time, Tak was the one with the idea. He molded the ideas into one. We could scoot across the thin wall that forms the diameter, minimizing time and allowing us to rest when we get to the thicker center where the radii meet.

We all agreed to this, to Tak's glee. We ate some of the waffle from the bottom, and then made our way up. Since there were no footholds, Tak volunteered to go first. He's really strong; going up without being able to use your feet much requires a lot of upper body strength, which I lack. He made footholds for us with his forcs so it would be easier for us to make it up. He really is such a sweet guy.

Dear Journal,11:11:16 | 06/14 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia So. I'm alone on a ledge in the middle of a mountain range. With Tak, of course, to whom I am deeply in love. It sounds so corny, but I do believe it's true - he's everything I'd want in a partner for life. Not to mention that it doesn't seem to be so one-sided; he's still gazing at me with that fiery-eyed look, although he makes it seem... Cool, in a way. In an oxymoronic, physics-defying way, he cools the fire in his own eyes. It makes more sense in my head. Shut up.

I'm just wondering if I should make a move. He hasn't done much, besides if you count the fiery-cool looks and the "Be careful"s. I count those in a subtle sort of way, but they aren't direct. It has been 24 hours since I've known him. I think it's perfectly alright to get something started.

I think I'm going to say something to him now so Khyria won't watch me get embarrassed. Did I mention that I'm usually awkward around people? I have, like, no social experience whatsoever. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Wish me luck. Here I go. *deep breath*

Dear Journal,11:19:50 | 06/14 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia Well, I think that went pretty well. Well well. Haha. That's not funny. Seriously, the butterflies could rip my stomach open, that's how fast they're flying. It could have been better, but... I thought it was great.

Let me write our dialogue down (the usual bolding and italics deal):

*scoots over closer and closer*

*notices, appraising me or something*

*looks into his eyes* (butterflies start here)

*gazes back, a small smile playing on his lips*

"Hey, Tak, uh -"

*puts finger on my lip, cutting me off* "I know."

*opening and closing my mouth like a dying fish, then finally I nod and give up, looking away* (success?)

*reaches over and touches my cheekbone lightly*

*flinch at first (IDIOT, YOU IDIOT AARVIK), but then relax and look back at him*

*comes really close*

*closes eyes, waiting* (no kissing experience with anyone except mom, mind you, and there was zero romantic action going on)

*pauses* (I think, because I couldn't really, you know, see)

*waits, then feels it. IT*

(yeah, his lips are on mine at this point)

*doesn't know what to do, confused, kind of just sucks his upper lip lightly* (shut the hell up)

"HI GUYS!" Oh yeah, Khyria decides to finish climbing right about here. "Oh. Is this a bad time?" *ducks behind wall*

And Tak bursts out laughing. Like, really hard, and I'm afraid he's going to fall and there are too many butterflies in my stomach for me to laugh, but eventually I can't resist. And we're all laughing. And I think that was the best moment in my life. Ever.

Dear Journal,16:43:22 | 06/14 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia After the best moment in my life, we just went on and did what we had to do. I didn't write during any breaks because we were too busy talking about stuff. It turns out that Khyria initially had a crush on Tak as well (I mean, who wouldn't?), but realized that she had no chance early. I was kind of confused as to how she'd known, but she just said "Women's intuition" and winked at me. Tak groaned. I laughed so hard that I started tearing up, partially because it was funny but mostly out of sheer joy.

So now we are officially out of the Waffyl Mountains. Oddly, on the other side of the big waffle, it was much different than where we had entered. As we climbed, the waffles got smaller and smaller until we were just walking instead of crawling/scooting because there would be no danger if we fell anyways. There was always plenty to eat, of course. It was actually kind of fun, and I didn't even get fatigued. We were going nice and slow, and the conversation never ceased, which was great. Now, we're on our way to find my river.

Dear Journal,17:02:35 | 06/14 | year 4511 | Waffyl Mountains, Cerealia The time is now 17:02:39. We have found my river, and it is everything I've asked for and more. Not only is it serene, it is beautiful. As the suns shine down on it, the beams reflect off of the lazy syrup, matching with Khyria and Tak's eyes.

As soon as we got there, I dropped everything and ran to it. Tak ran next to me. Shirts and pants came off (underwear stayed on, ya perv) and we just jumped in. Syrup is very viscous, and we found that it was easy to swim in because there was so much we could push off of. I didn't go undersyrup, because that would be too much. But it was enough to swim on the surface, drinking it up sparingly so I didn't get diabetes.

All I could think was that this was all mine. Tak was mine. The river was mine. Heck, the planet was mine. I could do anything. And in that moment, resting on the surface with Tak, I felt at peace for the first time.

Cerealia: A Land Lost in Syrup

I shrieked in horror as my guide screamed, "THERE'S A LEEK IN T' BOA'!"

"WHAT!" I shouted, as I drop kicked the protesting vegetable past the thicky, syrupy river and into the surrounding overgrowth on the river banks.

"How is a LEEK here? Leeks are not breakfast foods! We're supposed to be headed deeper into Cerealia, not passing straight through into Brunchina!"

The guide helplessly shrugged his shoulders and flicked at a mosquitoast resting on his ratty coat, the shade from his sombrero making me envious in the muggy heat that plagued us, or me, because of my thick woolen robe and heavy black, braided hair.

"It mus' 'ave snu-ck aboar' las' res' statio'." He reasoned in his heavily slurred voice.

I hesitated before finally agreeing, "That does make sense." Finding nothing else to complain about, I seized upon the first thing that came to mind.

"But sheesh! Don't you make enough money to learn how to speak properly?" I grouched. ( So polite, I know) The guide remained silent as he continued slowly paddling through the river, the harsh egg-yolkey sun beating down on us in the crystal clear sky.

I sighed, already realizing I wasn't about to get a good fight out of my guide anytime soon. Why had I even come out here in the first place? Why didn't I just turn back? Of course, this was all wishful thinking. I had no choice. Stupid king.

"If I don't have my super special rare egg for breakfast, I'll chop off your head with my own fat, bloated, meaty little hands! After all, you're the kingdom's cook!" I mimicked King Meal III's voice in a high, squeaky imitation under my breath.

"Who gives a rat's behind about whether I'm the cook or not?" I asked the guide, knowing full well I would get no response. "If the king wants the rarest egg in the world, he can go send a knight! Being a cook has nothing to do with adventuring! And of course, he just has to choose the only rare egg located in the middle of freaking, stupid, CEREALIA!"

I stopped as my voice echoed back from the distant Bacon Mountains, not realizing how loud my private rant had gotten. To hide my embarrassment, I turned to glare at the guide.

"And now we might be headed the wrong way! There was a leek in the boat!" I shouted.

The guide shrugged and said in a slightly exasperated tone, "Now listen youn' missy, I tol' ye tha' t' leek mus' 'ave snu-ck aboar' las' res' statio'. " We rode in silence for a while until the tip of the small canoe nudged the bank.

To answer my questioning glance, the guide gave another of his incessant shrugs and muttered something that sounded like, "We nee' more su'lies tha' I thou' we woul'. I'm goin' to sto' up."

"Hmph!" I grunted and leaned back into the boat to rest a while. When I opened my eyes again it was pitch black.

Instantly I shot up. How long had I been asleep for it to be dark already? "GUIDE!" I shouted, a tremor of fear in my voice as my eyes adjusted to the dark. Where was he? I stumbled out of the boat, my heavy boots crushing the hash brown grass beneath my feet. As I walked into the forest searching for my guide, I began to hear a soft, wet, chewing sound coming from my left. Apprehensively, I slowly pushed aside the leaves guarding the entrance to a small clearing.

I gasped as I saw a Pan-cake within. Pan-cakes were incredibly rare, believed to have only one exist at a time. Many people thought that Pan-cakes represented peace, love, and prosperity. Momentarily forgetting the quest for my guide as I relaxed, my gaze wandering about the clearing, my eyes finally settled on an unmistakable sombrero, soaked with blood.

I yanked my stare away as fear began to tighten its hand around my heart and saw at the Pan-cake's feet a pile of freshly chewed bones. My eyes darted up as the chewing continued and saw the Pan-cake finish stripping off the last piece of meat with its razor sharp teeth from a bloody stump before tossing it on to the bone pile.

To my growing horror, the Pan-cake slowly raised its blueberry eyes to look at me and let out a scream.

The Panic seized me immediately as my eyes rolled back into my head with fear and I fled shrieking further into the forest, the Pan-cake thundering after me, crashing through the underbrush. At last I reached a hole pocked cliff appearing to be made of Swiss cheese. As the Panic's affects began to die down, I regained rational thought and dove into a shallow cave.

The Pan-cake, blew past as I watched, oblivious to its vanished prey. Shuddering, I drew further back into the cave until my back touched the soft wall and attempted to sleep in preparation of my trek out of this horrible place tomorrow. Against all odds, my eyes finally drifted shut, and I only awakened once to the Pan-cake's scream of Rage, this time too far away to affect me.

The next day I snapped awake as soon as the first mosquitoast bit me, soon followed by a swarm of his comrades called in for reinforcements. I burst out of the cave, my arms wind milling in an effort to scare off the cursed bugs.

Thus began my miserable day. After hours of hiking, I was exhausted, but knew I could not stop. Allowing my eyes to drift close for a minute, I trekked on. Abruptly, the ground gave way beneath my feet. I let out a startled scream as I slid down a muddy slope, my face constantly scratched by branches whipping into my face.

At last I came to a stop in a sunny clearing with a single still pool in its center. In it floated a small violet egg with shiny purple and blue scales. Previous aches and pains gone, I hesitantly picked it up and closed my eyes. Could this be the egg? A voice suddenly reverberated through my head, sounding both male and female, young and old at the same time.

Yes, it is I, the egg located in the middle of freaking, stupid, Cerealia. I blushed as the voice quoted my earlier rant. Only the worthy will be chosen for this task.

"What task?" I asked, alarm racing through my mind. The task of starting a new race, one superior to all others. But heed my warning. If the people forget the mortals beneath them, they will become twisted and evil. I nodded, hardly believing what I was hearing.

The people you will found will have powers never before seen, and they will become leaders in times of prosperity and protectors in times of darkness. They will be known to all as mages. Open your eyes. As I cracked open my eyes I gasped as I saw the land around me. Gone was the wretched Cerealia.

I stood in a lush meadow, surrounded by song birds, a small stream bubbling in front of me. Again the voice spoke. Place me in the stream, where I shall await the next worthy one. As I moved to follow the egg's instructions, I hesitated, the egg's bottom barely brushing the trickling water.

"How will I do all this?" I asked. Spread the word of the koi, of a new people, of a race that will change the world forever. What is your name? I blinked, startled.

"I-it's Hecate" I whispered Thank you Hecate. Farewell. Finally, I placed the egg in the stream, and watched as it was swept along with the current. I blinked once, and found myself again transported, this time to a village shrouded in gloom. The atmosphere failed to affect me as I felt a new power buzz within me.

Slowly I lifted my hand, palm up, and conjured a flickering, dancing, flame.

Dear Diary: 00/00/0000 Why, I ask myself, do I write in you? Why?

There is an answer.

To keep myself sane. (even if it is only for one more deathly hour)

I am currently the most sensible person in Cerealia, the world of breakfast. I assume that Cerealia means 'the reality of cereal' but that does not make any sense. Why would cereal have a reality?

That I do not understand.

Now, I am sitting here, writing furiously, and entrusting all my secret debates in you.

This is what happened today.

I sat in a Cheerio ring, cheering halfheartedly for the two lucky Charms wrestling angrily in the Roman-styled cerealoseum. Our teacher required us to stay and cheer (although I think it is merely yelling) for the two clover-shaped Charms, but she, being an insufferable hypocrite, left us in order to relax.

Now, I do not wish to write sound effects, so I will just say that the two wrestling breakfast cereals broke apart and suddenly began shooting Cheerios at the audience, crashing into the walls and ricocheting off the surfaces.

I heard the crowd begin to roar, and I quickly vaulted off my seat...only to meet face-to-face with the Lucky Charms, whom had somehow managed to make themselves look like the superior master of the screaming mass of insane people.

Meaning that they were now gargantuan.

Overbearing, dark, and huge, they lowered their less-than-magnificent sugar petals on us as more screams split the tense air.

And with one swipe of their leaves, they struck.

I dropped to a knee and avoided the attack. Obviously, the others were being swatted down like flies.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small figure dressed like Superman heading toward us. I used to hate Superman, but who cares? Help.

Lo and behold, the Savior of our Holy Land arrived. I was once again crouching behind the Charms' feet, and could not see the 'assumed' hero. I hoped beyond hope that he would be able to save us....without breakfast.

With a mighty flap of his cape, the shadowy figure opened his glorious mouth and shouted...

"BREAKFAST ATTAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!" An old man, several teeth missing and hobbling rapidly toward the Lucky Charms, was waving his candy cane in the air.

That was our savior. An old man.

I sighed, but was interrupted by my vision.

It was a faint cloud of sugar. Perhaps my mind was deceiving me...

Sadly, no. It wasn't.

Pancakes, still dripping with maple syrup. Eggs, carrying sharp shards of shell. Bacon, brandishing a red-hot arm newly cooked. And various species of fruit, all punctured with forks stuck in the wrong way, marching determinedly toward the Lucky Charms.

I was sweatdropping. The only reason I was here in Cerealia at all was because of a school field trip, but no, I had to get involved in this stupid food fight. LITERALLY.

If I get out of this alive, I'll become the newest person in the land of insanity. Cerealia.

END OF ENTRY
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Diary, 00/00/0000 I am still wondering why I wrote down the date, as this world does not allow me to scribble anything other than food-like symbols.

All of the words I am writing now look like various breakfast foods, namely the ones that were led by the toothless old man. Fruit, pancakes, maple syrup, bacon, and eggs.

Even right now, as I am sitting in the egg-shaped bus, nearly out of Cerealia, I cannot stop writing food symbols. For some strange reason, I also feel very hungry.

Okay, the bus just stopped. I don't really know why, but...

END OF ENTRY
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

I stand up, tuck away my journal into my backpack, and heads outside to investigate. Everyone else is already there.

I freeze instantly as I see a sleeping loaf of bread snoring loudly on top of our egg shaped bus. This is just great...

"Mmm...Jam would feel sooooooo good right now..." It mumbled, rolling over.

SLAM!! It just narrowly missed us, but crashed our egg shaped bus. We were screaming again.

As we wait, a small cloud of sugar rises up. Is it my imagination?

No. No, no, no.

"SPECIAL ATTACK!! CALL OF THE PANCAKES!!"