To Be Proud: A Story about Gay Pride

Cold Island

~Bona~

While Thwok went to check on Kayna, I had the exciting duty of keeping the skyship straight and prevent nature from wiping us out. Petite kept asking me questions about home and Kayna and other things I wasn't sure about. Watching the waves crashing against the glaciers, I focused on the fog ahead of us and watched out for any large bits of ice.

Eventually, we came across a mountain range larger than the Living Core itself. I could feel my fur turning into ice just by looking at the mountain. Someone, Petite, crawled into my chest for warmth as we closed in on the gargantuan violet-blue spike. Seeing that the mountain went up, I flicked a lever to activate a few wings and start heading up.

      "B-Big Bro? I-It's very c-c-cold," Petite whined. I had to clutch my teeth to avoid the huge clattering from my jaw.

      "It'll be fine, Petite. Just a little further."

Finding the port built for the skyship, I made sure not to hit any of the ice that was sticking upwards. The trapdoor opened behind me, and I turned around as both Thwok and Kayna came up from the lower part of the ship. They had those looks that told me something happened while Kayna "rested" in the sleeping quarters. Growling under my breath, I put the bridge down for them and jumped off the side.

Conveniently, there was a snowy staircase leading up to the island itself so we didn't have to scale the large ice cap of the mountain. I stuck behind Thwok and Kayna and watched them blabber on about random nonsense. They were talking about some fairy island high up in the sky and some of the weird monsters there. My low growling got them to shut up and continue upward.

Once we got up, we were greeted with this familiar yet unusual crowd of monsters. Some of them were from Plant Island, like Mammott and Bowgart, but other than them I didn't recognize any of the others. I looked at Thwok and Petite who were both worried, and then we stared at Kayna who had the entire situation under control.

      "It's okay, it's okay," she comforted them. "They're just new monsters from another island."

There was something about how Kayna was so calm and so relaxed that made some of my bones rattle. This wasn't normal of any monster, I told myself. She can't be from this world...right? As she continued talking, I started debunking my theory that she was from the human world as well. Though she had a big vocabulary, it was still infinitesimal.

As we were introduced to all of the new monsters, Kayna spoke to who I assumed was the leader of this island. Of course the monster was as large as me, or at least seemingly as large as me. The DJ set made him look much larger than he actually was, but Kayna didn't seem to mind him. In fact, most of the monsters were more chill than the first island.

While talking to the monsters, I came across another Bowgart. Unlike the Bowgart on Plant Island, this one was more defensive of his cello in particular. Petite climbed onto my shoulder and hid behind me, shaking from fear. My eyes widened as I stared at him .

His eyes were wicked and his snarl was worse. He had that clenched jaw that said he was done with everyone's nonsense. The yellow glow wasn't there, but it was replaced by the true nature of a monster world Bowgart: snappy and defensive.

Making sure to avoid him at all costs, Petite and I met up with a rather weird duo. First, there was the bird. She was one of those long neck long leg birds with lime and bright green feathers all over her. The top of her head and her tail were poofed up like large cotton balls and her eyes shimmered an emerald green.

Then there was the slime. At least, I thought it was a slime. He was large with puffed out cheeks and a huge leaf on his head. I could tell that he couldn't keep his shape since he was squished at the bottom. His eyes were what got me though. The large, bright blue eyes that told me something wasn't right about him.

Heading up to the two, me and Petite made our introductions with warm smiles. The bird called herself Dandidoo and said that the slime was Spunge. Didn't talk much, she explained, since "he's shy". I nodded in understanding as Petite flew around Dandidoo with interest in her eyes. While they were distracted, I went up to Spunge to talk to him.

Looking up at the large mass of hot air, I calmly waved and tried to seem friendly to him. He didn't like keeping eye contact, I could tell. After a bit, I got him to look at me with these large eyes. They shimmered, and then glowed in response to my appearance. I watched his leaf point towards the back of the castle, and I started heading over.

Walking towards the back, I tried not to mind the small ball of air stuck to my spine. The feeling was enough to make my bones shiver, but not violently as to cause an earthquake. Once we were behind the castle, Spunge got off of me and stared at me in the eye. Staring back, I caught the same glimpse I saw in the Bowgart's eyes back on Plant Island.