Eleo, now 12 years old, sat at the kitchen table, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Across from him, Abby and Lucy stared in shock.
"I'm leaving," Eleo said, matter-of-factly.
Silence.
Lucy, eyes wide, slammed her hands on the table. "ELEO, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
Abby's ears drooped. "But… why?"
Eleo stretched, yawning. "I don't wanna stay on this island forever. I wanna see the world, get stronger!" He crossed his arms, nodding proudly. "And besides, I've already spent my whole life here."
Lucy facepalmed. "Eleo, you're literally twelve. That's not a 'whole life,' that's like… one lunch break in adult years!"
Abby gripped her sleeves, staring at the table. "But what about me…? We're best friends."
Eleo sighed. "I know, Abby… but c'mon, I'm pretty sure you can make other friends."
Abby clenched her fists. "But you're my only friend, Eleo! My best friend!"
The words hit Eleo like a punch. He opened his mouth but couldn't find the right words.
Abby's voice trembled. "I remember when we first met… it was snowing. We were both five… and that big jerk Nico was picking on me."
Flashback:
The air was freezing, snowflakes drifting lazily from the sky.
A small, five-year-old Abby stood alone, trembling. Surrounding her were a group of kids, all laughing.
At the front of the group stood Nico, a young wolf kid, with a smug grin plastered across his face. He pointed at Abby, sneering.
"Look at her, all alone! Guess no one wants to be friends with a weakling!"
The kids snickered. Abby's ears flattened against her head.
Then—
SMACK!
A snowball slammed right into Nico's face.
Silence.
Everyone turned.
A short bunny kid with messy fur and a determined scowl stood a few feet away, huffing and puffing.
Eleo pointed dramatically. "HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE!"
Nico wiped the snow from his face, gritting his teeth.
"Oh, you wanna play hero, huh?" He cracked his knuckles. "GET HIM!"
Eleo's eyes widened. "Oh."
A second later—
BAM! SMACK! THUD!
The bullies beat the absolute crap outta him.
The bullies finally walked away, laughing. Nico dusted himself off.
"These two losers deserve each other!" he sneered before leaving with his gang.
Snow continued to fall.
A badly injured Eleo lay face-first in the snow, twitching.
Abby, still stunned, slowly walked over. She hesitated, then reached down and pulled him out.
Eleo's face was swollen, bruised, and covered in snow.
Tears welled up in Abby's eyes. A single drop fell from her cheek onto Eleo's face.
"Why…?" she whispered. "Why did you help me?"
Silence.
She thought he was unconscious.
She sniffled, blaming herself. "It's my fault… if I wasn't weak, you wouldn't have gotten hurt…"
Then—
Eleo suddenly leaped up.
With a big, goofy grin, he threw his arms in the air.
"BECAUSE I THINK YOU'RE COOL~!"
…And then he immediately collapsed back into the snow.
Abby stared.
Silence.
She covered her mouth… and laughed.
For the first time that day, she felt warm.
Back to the Present
Abby wiped her eyes, smiling bitterly. "That was the day we became friends. You were a total idiot… but you were my idiot."
Eleo, sitting across from her, scratched his head, feeling guilty. "Well, y'know… I'm still an idiot."
Lucy sighed. "At least you're self-aware."
Abby took a deep breath. "Eleo… do you really have to go?"
Eleo stood up, putting on his best confident grin. "Yeah. But hey! I'll come back someday!"
Abby clenched her fists. "Promise?"
Eleo held up his pinky. "Pinky swear."
Abby hesitated… then linked her pinky with his.
"Fine," she muttered. "But if you die, I'm gonna find a way to bring you back just to kill you again."
Lucy crossed her arms. "And I'll help."
Eleo laughed. "Hah! I like the confidence!"
But as he turned toward the door, his smile faded just a little.
This was it.
His journey was finally beginning.
"Wait, Eleo!" she called out, running up to him.
Eleo paused, blinking in confusion. "Huh? Did I forget something? My bag? My carrots?! MY EARS?! OH MY GOSH, ARE THEY GONE?!"
Lucy smacked the back of his head. "Your ears are on your head, you idiot!"
Eleo sighed in relief. "Oh, phew! That was close."
Abby chuckled despite herself and held out the necklace. "Here. I want you to have this."
Eleo stared at it, tilting his head. "Is it food?"
Lucy groaned. "It's a necklace, you moron!"
Abby nodded. "It has a little carving of me on it… so you won't forget me."
Eleo grinned and slung it around his neck immediately. "Wow, now I have my own tiny Abby! I'll never be lonely!"
Abby's eyes watered slightly. "Please don't forget me, Eleo."
Eleo gave her a thumbs up. "Pfft! Like I could forget you! I promise!"
Abby sighed, crossing her arms. "Just don't do anything stupid out there."
Lucy muttered, "That's literally impossible for him."
Eleo hopped onto his tiny wooden boat, waving wildly. "BYE, LUCY! BYE, ABBY! BYE, EVERYONE!"
The whole village gathered, waving and cheering as Eleo's tiny vessel drifted out to sea.
Abby and Lucy stood side by side, watching him go.
Abby whispered, "Be safe, Eleo…"
The sun was high in the sky, and Eleo sat cross-legged in his boat, arms crossed, nodding seriously to himself.
"Alright!" he declared. "Now it's time to… uh…"
Silence.
He scratched his head. "Wait… where do I go exactly?"
A long pause.
He blinked.
He scratched his head harder.
Then, with complete confidence, he shouted—
"MEH! I'LL JUST GO STRAIGHT! THAT ALWAYS WORKS!"
His stomach growled.
"Luckily, I have all my carrots in this bag!" He patted the big cloth sack filled with bright orange carrots. "As long as I have these, I won't starve to death!"
He pulled one out, took a big chomp, and grinned.
"Yup! I'm a genius!"
Then—
SPLASH.
A dark fin rose from the water.
Eleo's chewing slowed.
"Uhhh…"
The fin circled his tiny boat.
His eyes widened. "WAIT A SECOND. DON'T TELL ME… OH NO… IT'S…"
A massive BEAR SHARK leaped out of the water, snarling—a terrifying beast with the body of a shark and the massive, furry arms of a bear.
Eleo's eyes sparkled.
"COOL! I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE UP CLOSE BEFORE!"
The bear shark roared, opening its enormous jaws, ready to chomp Eleo in half.
Eleo beamed. "Wait, does this mean I get to fight it?! FINALLY!"
The shark lunged.
Eleo stood up in the boat, cracked his knuckles, and grinned like an idiot.
"INK BARRAGE!"
He started swinging his fists wildly, flailing like a madman.
WHAM! BAM! POW!
His punches landed at random, smacking the bear shark's face over and over until—
BOOM!
The massive creature was sent flying across the ocean, spiraling into the sky like a Team Rocket villain.
Eleo stood on his boat, panting, hands on his hips.
"Haha! THAT'S WHAT YOU GET, YA BIG JERK!"
The bear shark disappeared into the distance, leaving only a tiny sparkle in the sky.
Eleo nodded to himself. "Welp. That takes care of that!"
Then—
CRACK.
His eyes widened.
He slowly looked down.
His tiny wooden boat now had a giant hole in it.
"…Oh."
The boat sank immediately.
A long pause.
Eleo floated in the water, blinking.
Then, grinning like an idiot, he pumped his fist in the air.
"I'M WINNING AT LIFE!"
And then he sank.
Eleo floated in the water, arms crossed, nodding to himself.
"Okay, so maybe punching the bear shark so hard that I sunk my own boat wasn't my best idea… BUT! I won the fight, and that's what really matters!"
Then—
"Huh?"
His ears twitched.
A massive ship drifted nearby, its golden sails shimmering under the sun, its polished wooden hull gleaming.
Eleo's eyes sparkled.
"OH, JUST MY LUCK! A NEW BOAT!"
He grinned, raising his hand. "Time to use my big brain!"
He formed an ink rope, twirling it like a lasso.
"Three… two… ONE!"
He threw it—
THWIP! The ink rope wrapped around the ship's rail.
Eleo grabbed his precious carrot bag and yanked himself up—
"WHOOOOAAAA—!"
THUD!
He landed face-first on the deck.
Silence.
Fancy music played. Dozens of people in elegant suits and gowns were drinking wine, dancing, and laughing.
One man, holding a monocle, slowly turned. "My word… what is that?"
A lady in a luxurious purple dress gasped. "Oh, dear, did a wild animal sneak aboard?"
Eleo pushed himself up, rubbing his face.
"Wow! I've never seen anything like this before!" His ears twitched as he glanced around. "It's so shiny and fancy and…"
He paused, blinking.
Everyone sipped tea.
A man adjusted his perfectly polished shoes.
A lady fanned herself gracefully.
A waiter poured a glass of wine.
Eleo squinted. "…Boring."
The entire fancy crowd gasped.
"HOW DARE HE?!"
"THIS IS A HIGH-CLASS EVENT!"
"WHO EVEN IS THIS RUFFIAN?!"
Eleo, completely ignoring their outrage, turned his head and saw something even crazier.
Another massive ship— but this one was flying.
"WHOA."
The ship hovered in the air, sleek black with blue energy glowing beneath it.
A cannon on the side charged up, glowing bright green—
BOOM!
A massive beam ball blasted toward the fancy ship.
"WOW!" Eleo grinned, watching as everyone else screamed.
"OH NOOOO!"
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
The crew of the fancy ship suddenly sprang into action.
A bunch of men in sleek white uniforms, each one bearing an eagle emblem on their chest, stormed the deck.
One of them adjusted his gloves. "Activate battle protocol!"
Another pulled out a sleek, futuristic-looking blaster.
"FIRE!"
PYEW! PYEW! PYEW!
Bright laser shots tore through the sky, aiming at the flying ship.
Eleo sat criss-crossed on the deck, munching a carrot, eyes sparkling.
"THIS. IS. AWESOME!"