The pillar of flame slowly dissipates leaving yet another large hole in the already heavily damaged docks. There was no sign of the two knights due to them having been lifted into the fire tornado and casted into gods know where.
Alix hovered in the sky with her eyes scanning the docks for something. It didn't take her long to find Alisa but more specifically Mo who was in her hands. Her lips formed a small smile and she flew down toward the two of them.
"Mom! Mom! Look, I found Mo! And Francis but she's bigger than him so I couldn't really bring her over. So I found Mo!!"
"As energetic as always, Alice. And still calling me mom." Alix landed in front of Alisa. The brilliant flaming wings on her back went out and flopped back down into a feather cape. Alix reached out and pulled Mo out of Alisa's hands.
'Wow! Ya look like a freak! Who told ya that you could go out wearing those wings?" Mo folded his fins and turned his head away from Alix.
'Are you mad at me?" Mo shook his head.
'I ain't mad! I'm just disgusted that you would dress up like one of those aerophilic punks!"
"Aerophilic?" Alix found herself once again shocked by Mo's grand hatred toward birds. He was even trying to come up with a new insult for them.
"Is my lunch yapping away over there?" A young feminine voice called out. Alix and Alisa turned to face the new voice. They laid their eyes on a short orange and green haired girl standing beside them with a confident expression on her face.
"I'll gobble him up early if he wants me to! Hand me the fish, Allie!" The girl held out her hand to Alix.
"I'm not doing that Nuka. You can go eat any other fish but Mo's off the table." The girl's mouth gaped open. She frowned and turned her head away similar to Mo.
"Fine! I'll abstain but just because we're sisters!" Nuka puffed her cheeks. Despite the bird's sudden humanoid form, Alix was very calm. Not that this situation wasn't unique but she felt like she'd already known that Nuka could take on this form. Mo, on the other hand, was lost for words as he stared at the no longer aerophilic, light boned, avian.
"You had a sister mom? She doesn't look anything like you though! Is she adopted? Maybe she's just calling you sister like me, Kent and Eric call you mom! Does that mean she's my auntie?!" Alisa's slightly bounced in placed as she stared at Alix in anticipation.
"I'm not your real mother so she wouldn't be your aunt. Think before you assume, Alice." Alisa's head drooped.
"Aw man. I'd always wanted an aunt. We would do aunt and niece stuff. I don't know what kind of stuff that is on account of my never having an aunt but we would've found out and done that kind of stuff if I did get one!"
"We've got an aunt now? And here I had just gotten used to calling a girl that's two years younger than me mother." Kent hobbled over using Colson as a crutch and with Dandelion on his other side.
"Wait, Alix is who you meant when you said 'that's my mother'? Is this some sort of weird pirate kink thing?" Dandelion squinted her eyes at Kent. The boy quickly and vigorously shook his head.
"No no. You've got it all wrong. You see I made a bet with-"
"Oh, I get it." Dandelion said before Kent could finish explaining himself.
"You get what?"
"You gambled. You always lose when you gamble." She explained.
"I do not!" Kent refuted. He turned to Colson for support but the boy was already shaking his head.
"Don't try to deny it, Cap. We both remember that time you bet your snacks on a game of rock paper scissors. You lost so many times that you were in snack debt to that girl for weeks." Kent had his mouth open but no sound came out.
"I-I...I forgot about that." Colson and Dandelion laughed as the boy gave up.
In the area of the new large hole in the Port of Filth's docks, Vance Warren and Rasque Bizen had managed to pull themselves out of the water. They took a moment to catch their breath.
"Well, I guess we can call this retrieval mission a success. What do you think Rasque?" Rasque glanced over to Alix and the small crowd of kids that had formed around her. The woman's eyes naturally focused on Alix and the person that her and Vance had just watched transform from a bird.
"I think that we're going to have more important missions from now on. Especially with that girl attending our school." Vance nodded.
"I think you're right." Alix noticed the two of them staring at her but didn't say anything. She didn't really have anything to say when she'd just spent a few minutes fighting with them while they were trying to kill her and Nuka. Her silence was a peace offering, in a way.
"Reee!" Alix heard the high pitched squeal of Trouler just a moment before he dove into her arms next to Mo. Eric also joined the group a bit after him but he didn't say anything.
"HEY!" Mo shouted as Trouler snorted and nuzzled into him and Alix.
"Mo! Savior! You're back! I'm so happy!"
"It's good to see you too Trouler!" Alix giggled as she pet the peccary.
"Hey! What about me?" Nuka asked. Trouler looked up at her for a moment. He shook his head.
"I don't know you." Nuka guffawed.
"You don't know me? But, I'm your savior's sister." Trouler's eyes squinted suspiciously.
"You don't look like Savior's sister." Mo started to cackle.
"Haha! That's right Trouler! She don't look nothin' like Lexi! How could she be her sister?" Nuka's face started to turn red and her hair started to smoke slightly.
"Stop laughing!" She said with her voice seething. Mo ignored the request and in fact started laughing harder.
"Ooooh!! I'll turn you into a fillet!!" Nuka lifted her hand summoned fire into it and was ready to launch it at Mo. In that moment, Alix and Nuka felt a pulse within their bodies. Alix lost her balance and fell to the ground. She had suddenly become very weak and light-headed. Nuka followed shortly after her feeling the same way.
Everyone around stopped talking and looked at Alix with worry.
"Are you alright, mom? Do you need any help?"
"You look pale mother."
"Are you hurt anywhere, Mama Wolf?" Alix grabbed her head. She felt so hot.
"I'm fine. I just-Urgh!" Alix tossed Mo and Trouler to the side and at the perfect timing as Alix and Nuka became enveloped in green flames the instant after. Everyone took a step back. Trouler pushed Mo away from the fire.
"Shit something's happening again!" Vance rushed over to the kids and stood in front of them with his halberd ready to attack. He was stopped, however, by Rasque.
"Why are you stopping me? We know what these flames can do!"
"They aren't screaming." Rasque held an inquisitive expression on her face.
"What?"
"Alix and that monster. They're complete covered in fire but they aren't screaming. Also look at how it's moving..." Rasque gestured to the fire around Nuka and Alix. The fire wasn't flickering like normal flames but instead seemed to be roiling. The flames were snaking around the two of them to form a pair of small spheres.
"That's...weird?" Rasque nodded agreeing with the man.
"We should wait to see what happens. If anything goes awry, only then will we strike." Vance hesitated for a moment before lowering his weapon. Then they joined the kids in watching the scene unfold.
They watched as a bright green string seemed to materialize out of nowhere and connect the the two flaming girls. The string started to vibrate quickly. It shook so fast that it almost appeared to be two strings. The green light started to grow brighter then dimmed. It then repeated the act a second time.
The third time the string brightened, its light shifted from bright, burning green to a gentle violet. The string then slowly disappeared, the flames followed shortly after. When the flames were gone Alix had returned to her original clothing and Nuka was once again a falcon sized bird.
The two sat breathing heavily. They made eye contact for a moment before Nuka passed out. Alix slowly stood up. She almost fell back down as her legs felt incredibly weak but she managed to steady herself. She stood tall and slowly scanned the crowd of people around her. With her eyes landing on Hedgie, who had just walked up.
"We need to find a place to rest for the night." Alix said with a sigh.
"I am exhausted."
With that, the long day had come to an end. That's right, all of this happened in the course of a single day. It started in the morning and ended in the middle of the night.
What a long day it was.
...
Alix, Hedgie, and Kent stayed at a different tavern that night due to the massive damages done to the Pirate's Worst Nightmare. The next morning, Alix roused from her sleep. She slowly sat up in her bed and went to stretch but winced as a dull pain rang all over her body.
"Last night was tiresome." Alix mumbled. She shifted on the mattress and felt her leg brush against something soft. She looked to her side and saw Mo, Nuka, and Trouler laying in the bed with her. She smiled to herself at the sight.
*Knock Knock Knock*
Alix heard three soft knocks on the door to her room.
"What is it?"
"Mornin' Alix! It's me, Hedgie! I'm gonna go start trying to get my tavern back up and runnin'. You feel like helpin'?" Alix thought for a moment before responding affirmatively.
"I had no other plans for the day."
"Good on you girl! I'll go get that gremlin and meet you at the front desk." Alix nodded, though she knew Hedgie couldn't see her, then went back to stretching her sore limbs out. Yesterday had been much more strenuous than she'd hope. So now she just wanted to-
*BANG BANG BANG*
"KENT! GET YO LAZY ASS UP!!" Alix flinched from the sudden shouting.
"Why are you yellin'? I just woke up!"
"CUZ YOU'RE THE ONE THAT BROKE DOWN MY DAMN TAVERN!! GET UP AND COME HELP ME AND ALIX START FIXIN' IT!!"
"Didn't I tell you that it was the Djinns?"
"WELL THE DAMN DJINNS AIN'T HERE! SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIX IT FOR THEM!! NOW HURRY UP!!" Alix heard Hedgie stomping down the hallway and re-enter her own room, slamming the door behind her.
Alix sat with her eyes wide. She looked over to Mo, Nuka, and Trouler who were now fully awake with their eyes open wide.
"Well, I am definitely awake now."