Stars of Yonder

Prologue

It's nice to meet you.

I'm Bass.

If you were to take a look at me, you would see nothing except an ordinary girl.

Short black hair, light brown eyes, midtoned skin.

You wouldn't ever expect me to be the best friend of Leonid, the legendary designer who created styling power. Leonid, the uncrowned king who dominates destiny and fate.

But I am.

Collarbone-length white hair pulled into a half-up-half-down ponytail, sparkly blue eyes like the Ocean of Memories, cross-shaped scar beneath his left eye, starry cloak, and a mysterious glint in his eye.

We met when I jumped off the Ark and I travelled a long way through the Ocean of Memories until I found something to rest on.

I'd found a glacier and decided to sit on it for a moment. He happened to be somewhere near it with his observatory, and let me in.

It surprised me, because he never let anyone else into his observatory, but I gladly took his offer up.

We got closer over the course of the next few months, but still not enough to consider ourselves friends.

And then we met with land.

"Come with me. I have to do something."

At first, I wasn't sure what was happening, but then he revisited his treehouse.

He placed his hand on the tree.

"It's still sturdy, nobody seemed to tamper with it... I think this is okay to live in for right now," He said.

Then, he led me up the tree, telling me where to put my foot, where to climb, and I followed him into the little house.

"We'll live here for now and dock the boat."

We found something to tie it to, and lived in the treehouse.

He and I tended to the wearing of the wood, repairing what was naturally broken.

And then I broke my leg jumping down the tree.

"Bass!"

I was in a lot of pain, I remember. I screamed.

I knew pain. I'd felt it before. But this was worse than ever. I'd never broken anything in my life, not even a finger.

He jumped down and ran over to me, but I paid him no mind.

I was fixated on trying to endure the pain.

Life had thrown many challenges at me.

I lost my childhood, I lost my friends, I lost my family.

This was minor compared to it.

Surely, it was.

Bass, this is minor. You can do this. Endure. Endure. You must.

Leonid picked me up after examining it.

"I'm taking you to an urgent care. Bass, you'll be okay."

I bit my trembling lip.

Tears threatened, but I shed none.

When we got to the urgent care, Leonid hid his worried expression, replacing it with his emotionless expression, the one he usually has on when studying the stars.

Heads turned, whispers could be heard, and I saw an ethereal glow emitting from Leonid's body.

He brought me over to the counter.

"She fell from a tree and broke her leg. I'm sure you can help her."

They carefully placed me on a stretcher, comforting words leaving the doctor's mouths, assuring strokes through my hair.

They examined my leg, got an x-ray, and ran a few procedures to help with my leg.

They soon sent me to the hospital.

There, they administered some painkillers, and Leonid pulled a seat over, sitting, watching.

Surprisingly enough, this is how we bonded.

I had no other visitors after being admitted to the hospital, so his visits were always something to look forward to.

There was simply nothing else to do but talk to him.

Later on, he sold his crafts from time to time, and eventually found enough money for a real home, and we lived there together, getting closer and closer together.

Keep in mind, I was only twelve, and he was probably over five hundred.

That being said, we developed more of an older brother and younger sister bond.

I would wake every day to the scent of a delicious breakfast, cooked by Leonid, and during the daytime, he would go to his job so the bills could be paid and nobody would suspect that he was, well... Leonid.

Those times would be extremely lonely. I'd have nothing to do, save for watching videos on my phone and writing.

And then, when he came home, the smiles began.

"Leonid!! You're home!!!"

"I was only gone for eight hours. What are you even talking about?"

"You DO realise how long eight hours is, right..?"

"It's not really that long."

"Not to you, but to me it's an eternity! Leonid, eight hours is FOREVER!!!"

I would tackle him to the ground with hugs, and he'd laugh softly before making dinner while I sat at the small table in the kitchen, and we'd tell each other about our day.

"Can you believe it, though? These humans are stupid. Now you probably understand why I ran off to the Ocean of Memories."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Anyway, dinner's finished, let's eat."

And when all's said and done, we watch a few movies before going to bed, and Leonid tucks me in and says goodnight before turning on the lamp beside the loveseat across the room and reads or sketches, saying that he doesn't need sleep like I do.

I don't ever believe him, but I fall asleep anyway.

If you take a close look at me, you'll only see an ordinary girl, short black hair, kind brown eyes, and midtoned skin.

But get to know me, and you'll see so much more.