Spiritmal, The Deadly Glow

6. Quest for knowledge

I yawned, looking at the clock.

It was 4 am in the morning.

Well, I guess that was a good thing, considering the fact that I was catching the 5 am train.

I pulled out the cupcake Tim had given me, deciding to eat it as my breakfast.

I sensed movement at the other side of the bed, looking over to see Winter yawning and Star ruffling her feathers. "We're leaving already?" The yellow bird asked.

"Soon, Star, just let me finish up this cupcake and get you guys some food." I replied, taking a bite into the sweet cake. It tasted familiar, and I soon realized that the cupcake was from the bakery I had worked at in Lilywolf Town.

"I ship Timily!" Winter whispered cheekily into my ear.

"Timi who?" Star questioned, apparently having heard Winter.

"Nothing." I replied, finishing the cupcake in a few more bites.

Picking up my bag at the edge of the room, I looked at it a final time before ushering Star and Winter out of it.

"So, what's for breakfast?" Winter questioned.

"Your favorite." I replied, giving the wolfabeast a piece of raw salmon. Her eyes widened, and I nodded in confirmation that it was hers to eat.

"Don't expect to eat that all the time, you know that salmon is pretty expensive."

The wolfabeast nodded, gobbling the fish up while I gave Star a piece of turmeric bread.

Star chirped in thanks, slowly savoring her piece of bread.

"Now, is everyone ready to go?"

"Yep!" The two Spiritmals answered simultaneously. I grinned back at them, opening the front door and heading out of the house.

"Have you been racing recently?" Star asked as I fumbled with the door lock.

"Nope." I replied her, walking towards the gate.

"I thought that was your dream?" Star tilted her head.

"It was my dream, but not anymore." I opened the gate, locking it behind us as well.

"Oh." Was all Star could answer as I asked Winter to transform.

I climbed onto Winter's back, Star still on my shoulder. "To Woodweed train station Winter!" I tapped her back twice.

She nodded in reply, sprinting towards our destination.
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Woodweed Town was... well, you could say that it was a Town in the middle of the jungle. Trees enclosed a wide area, wood houses having been built on the former empty space. On the trees surrounding the houses of wood, tree houses had been built, making full use of the space in that small part of jungle. It was still dark when Winter entered town, making the lively place look more mysterious than it usually was. I slowed Winter, getting off her back soon enough and walking the short distance to the train station.

Woodweed's train station was tiny, a small shelter at the edge of town with a few vending machines and benches under it. At the edge of the shelter was a small ticketing office... and that itself sums up most of the entire train station.

I got myself a ticket and a fizzy drink, sipping the drink while I waited for the train that was due to come in five minutes. I stroked Winter, who had fallen asleep on my lap as soon as I had sat down. I looked towards Star's direction, realizing that she was staring into nothingness once more.

"You've been spacing out a lot lately Star." I commented.

"Sorry..." The yellow bird blinked, returning back to reality. "I was just thinking about life that's all..."

I sighed, throwing the now empty can of fizzy drink at a nearby trash bin. It went in perfectly, and I mentally cheered.

"Looks like Emily scored a goal!" Star joked.

"I guess I did." I answered, glad that I wouldn't have to walk all the way to the trash bin just to throw away an empty fizzy drink can.

A high pitched whistle reverberated through the air. I looked up to see the train rolling in. I shook Winter gently, waking up the sleeping wolf. She yawned slightly, noticing the train and jumping down from my lap. I stood up, following the wolfabeast.

"Tickets please." The train conductor requested. I flashed my ticket, boarding the train right after he approved of it.

"Oh, you're here too Emily." A familiar voice reached my ears. I looked up to see his familiar blue eyes locking with mine. Felix, of course it'll be him. However, why would he be in this empty train car?

"Felix? What are you doing here?"

"Heading to Rockin City of course." He replied. "And that's where you are heading too. Right?"

"How did you know?" I asked, taking a seat beside him.

"It's obvious." He replied as the train started to move off. "After all, as far as I know, Professor Nightshade is the only professor who knows about the true origins of glowstaride. As such, the best place for you to start your journey would be a trip to Rockin."

"And you're heading there too because?"

"I wanted to join you on this journey." He answered.

I was taken aback by his speech. It was an actual sincere reply, something that I wouldn't expect from him.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Why?" I pushed further.

"I just felt like it." He replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Nah... he just wants to get to know you better." Topaz replies. "His way of saying sorry for his rudeness I guess." The Lionblitz growled a friendly growl, squirming around on its trainer's lap.

"Topaz... did you tell Emily?" Felix sighed, looking down at the lionblitz. "I should have been more stern with you when I first had you." He replied coldly, sending shivers up my spine. That one moment reminded me of his past self, the very one that led me to have Star as my spiritmal. Did he really mean what he said? Or was it just something he used to cover up his weaknesses? Was it something he used frequently? Or something he usually did to impress the crowd? No matter the case, I had to admit that Topaz was being nosy.

"Topaz... I really think you shouldn't just say random stuff about your trainer. You know, you should respect his privacy more."

Topaz looked up at me with pleading eyes, eventually giving up when he was sure that I wasn't going to give in.

"Fine... I promise..." the lionblitz answered, rolling over once more.

I looked up at Felix to find out that he was already fast asleep once more. How he fell asleep so quickly, I had no idea. However, i did know that he was an early riser... according to what Star had told me anyways. I sighed, deciding not to think about the matter. Instead, I produced a pack of cards from my bag.

"Hey Topaz, want a game of exploding kittens while your trainer's asleep?"

The lionblitz perked up immediately.

"Definitely!"