Inside his room, a young boy leans over in an elaborate gaming chair intensely staring at the monitor before him. His headset sits tightly over his head, slightly pressing against the frames of his glasses.
Knock knock
"Who is it?"
Knock knock
"Who is it?"
Knock knock
Despite the consistent noise of knocking at his door, the boy makes no effort to divide his attention away from his monitor for even a second. However, his annoyance drastically multiplies after each knock.
"Sigh, I said, WHO IS IT?!"
"It's your best friend!"
"Best friend? The only best friends I have are digital or somewhere behind a screen. It's you, Helia, isn't it?"
"Best friend, cousin, same thing. I've been trying to come in, but the door is locked."
"That's for a good reason. Give me a sec."
A second in gamer speak means "when I am finished with the match". I'm playing Super Sister SquallScuffle online, and she expects me to answer the door right away? Not happening.
"Just one more hit…"
A few minutes pass.
Knock knock
"Hey Gene, did you forget about me? It's been way more than a second!"
"..."
That's it, I'm turning up the volume on my headphones to drown out all nonsensical gibberish coming from my cousin. Right now, all that matters to me is getting this last decisive hit!
"The winner is, Empress Blaze!"
"YES, I WON! I FINALLY DEFEATED MY RIVAL! I TOLD HIM THIS MATCH-UP IS EVEN!"
Gene's victory shouting leaks out of his room, startling his cousin waiting outside.
"Jeez, what's got you so worked up in there? Come on, let me in already!"
"Fine, a second has passed now. I'm getting up, okay?"
I forgot that dad said our cousins were coming over today. I was hoping to be left alone, but it looks like they brought Helia this time. Fantastic.
After taking his time, Gene arrives at his door, opening it to the outside world. Standing inside the doorway, a young girl with chestnut hair crosses her arms.
"Hiya cousin, it's about time you let me in! I was getting worried that you were hiding from me."
"Come on Helia, you should know that we are a gamer household. You can't expect us to stop what we are doing immediately for your convenience, you know."
"Ah, of course! You were playing video games. Whatcha playing?"
"It's–!"
Before he could explain, Helia barges into his room and runs to his computer set-up.
"Amazing. Is that the new fighting game, 'Super-Duper Sisters'?"
"It's called Super Sister SquallScuffle…"
"Is that you? Is that your character?"
"Yes, she's my main, Empress Blaze."
"She's so cute! I never knew you had a thing for cute cat girls."
"For your information, she's a beautiful and elegant feline demi-human empress that bears a curse of pyrokinesis that impacts her–"
"How do you play?"
Helia in her giddiness picks up a controller that was resting on the gaming chair. Without hesitation, Gene forcibly snatches it back.
"Hey! Don't touch my stuff without my permission!"
"Oh yeah, my bad. I just really want to play with you. Teach me, teach me!"
"Sorry, but I can't. I only have one controller, and it's optimized for my use only. Casuals can't handle it."
"Liar, I see another one over here!"
She points to a controller that is placed on a nearby shelf full of games. Its box remains sealed.
"That's my back-up controller for emergencies; I can't let anyone use it. Unfortunately for you, I got rid of an old controller that guests were allowed to use a few months ago. The best deal I can offer you is a front row seat to watch me play–quietly."
"Is that so?"
"Precisely. It's either that or you are free to go outside or something."
"Great idea!"
"?!"
Using the same force as Gene did when snatching his controller, Helia drags him by his arm outside.
"Helia, what are you doing?! Where are you taking me?!"
"If I can't play with you inside, then we can play together outside. I know the perfect hang-out spot!"
"Let me go!"
Gene frantically moves his body, but struggles to break free from Helia's grasp.
Drat, curse my lack of physical activity! I shouldn't be weaker than Helia, I'm even a few months older than her. If only strength in video games could be converted into real-life…
"It's fine, Gene. I asked your parents for permission to play with you, wherever I wanted. That includes outside!"
"What about my consent?!"
"I tried to play video games with you, but that didn't work. So it's only fair we do what I want too. It's gonna be fun, trust me!"
"Sigh, whatever you say…"
Gene gives up his resistance, fully understanding the futility of it.. As they head out the front door, Gene's parents, uncle and aunt wave at him with innocent smiles. His mother and uncle in particular mouth the words "good luck". Gene flashes a cold look back at them.
Hmph, you traitors!
___________________________________________________________________________
Gene and Helia sprint through a dense forest. Helia takes the lead as Gene trails behind, barely keeping up with Helia's pace.
"Don't fall behind now, Gene. We are almost there!"
"P-please…s-slow…haa…down…"
I've never been this deep in the forest surrounding my neighborhood. Being this far away is concerning–there's no way my parents would have approved of this distance, right? On second thought, my mother wouldn't, but my father absolutely would. He still doesn't understand the struggle of us gaming competitors!
"Look Gene, here it is!"
Standing on top of a large hill, Helia points to the target of her excitement: a small waterfall that flows into a lake.
"It's beautiful, isn't it? The scent of the waves, the flowers, the sound of the waterfall, the peaceful scenery…"
"It's…not bad. I could see myself reading a book or playing on my portable console here, as long as the conditions are right."
Though I fail to see the point of it since my room is strictly better. Really, any room indoors would suffice.
"We aren't doing boring stuff like that outside–that would defeat the purpose!"
"Then surely you don't plan on diving in the water from that waterfall? If so, you're on your own."
"Haha, no, silly. We can do that during the summer! For now…"
"?"
Helia squints her eyes, focusing on the lake downhill.
"Gene, do you see those animals swimming near the shore? I bet you don't know what they're called!"
"They are yuninae, which are more commonly referred to as horned otters. I'm not an idiot that only has video game knowledge, you know."
"Hehehe, as expected of you, Gene. The little babies swimming with their mother are super cute, right?"
"That's a subjective opinion that I don't share with you. My tastes lie elsewhere."
"That's because you haven't interacted with one in real life. Come on, let's go play with them!"
Helia plucks two among the many flowers growing on the hill. She gives one to Gene, much to his visible confusion.
"Hmm? What am I supposed to do with this daisy?"
"Feed them to the otter babies. Horned otters love eating flower petals. I can't blame them, they taste sweet just a teeny tiny bit."
"You actually ate daisy petals before and didn't see a problem with that?"
"That doesn't matter, let's feed them already!"
They carefully tread down the hill towards the lake shore.
"Ready, Gene?"
"Sure. Here you go."
Gene casually tosses some petals into the water, not giving much thought to his action. Helia looks at him with her mouth agape, flabbergasted.
"What's up with your face? Did I do something wrong?"
"Yes you did! You don't just carelessly toss the petals at them; you are supposed to put the petals in your hand, then they will come to you and eat it. How would you like it if food were thrown at you?"
"My mom does it often, actually…"
Thanks to her curse, my mom can create mini-portals and send snacks as well as all other sorts of small convenient things to places she's been to before. It's very reliable when I don't have the time to stop an intense gaming session for a snack. Unfortunately, the portals are one-way, and she has to be careful not to use them more than 3 times a day. Each portal gets gradually larger, and the fourth one is as big as a house–they double in size from there. I asked mom how she would know that, but she became petrified and promised to tell me when I'm older. I think dad knows, but when he tried to tell me…it didn't end well for him.
"That's not the point! Look closely, watch me do it."
Helia whistles a tune and places her hand near the water. The horned otter babies perk up, becoming aware of Helia's presence. They fervently swim towards her, eating the petals from her hand.
"Hehe, that tickles."
"Impressive. They really are drawn to you…"
"They will do the same to you! Go on, try it just like I did."
After taking another moment to internalize what he was taught, Gene makes another attempt, carefully imitating Helia. Momentarily, in a fashion similar to his cousin, a couple of horned otters swim towards him.
Surprisingly, Helia was right–these little creatures are kind of cute. This feeling I couldn't understand before…
"So, what do you think?"
"This is…a nice change of pace, I guess."
"Come on, don't be shy; you like it, don't you? I can see it on your face!"
"What are you, a psychic?"
"When it comes to you, I may as well be my dear cousin!"
"Eww, gross."
"Hey, don't treat me like a creep! You know what I meant!"
The two giggle light-heartedly as they continue to interact with the wild animal babies.
These horned otters are more fascinating than I thought. They have horns, but are so docile and approachable. I wonder how their fur feels–it looks especially fluffy…
Gene, hoping to satisfy his curiosity, gently picks up the baby otter. It makes a tiny sound akin to squeaking. Upon hearing this, Helia freezes.
"Squwaan…squwaan"
"Huh, I never knew they made that sound–it's cute. This little creature must be happy."
"Gene, don't make any sudden moves…"
"What? Why are you suddenly–"
"SQUWAAAA!"
An adult horned otter three times the size of the babies glares at the two humans, enraged. Her horn charges with energy, directly pointing at her source of anger. Gene and Helia are speaking softly, ensuring that they keep their eyes on the animal.
"Helia, why is the mother pointing her horn towards me?..."
"Gene, you weren't supposed to pick her babies up. Wild horned otters can be softly petted, but they hate being held!"
"So the mother is angry because she thinks I'm trying to take her baby? Then I'll just give it back!"
"Wait, don't–!"
Splash
"!!!"
Gene tosses the horned otter into the water. The moment he does, he sees a horn charging directly at his face.
At this rate of trajectory, I can't evade in time without sustaining damage. Is…is this game over?
"GENE!"
SHOVE
"?!"
Helia dives into the petrified Gene, launching him out of the way of the attack. However, the horned otter drills into her left arm instead. Feeling the weight of the sudden impact, she collapses onto the ground.
"AAAAAA!"
"Helia!!!"
Gene recovers from his fall and tries to pull the horn out of Helia. Despite giving it his all, it doesn't budge an inch from Helia's body.
"Yikes, I can't get it out!"
"I…can…do…it…!"
Helia rubs her limbs on the ground, building up static electricity. She then releases a shock wave throughout her body that forces the horned otter to get out of her arm.
"Squeee!"
Feeling the sting from the shock, the horned otter scurries away into the lake with her babies.
"That…worked! Helia, that was a fantastic use of your curse! Are you…?!!"
"Haaa…haaa…haaa"
Helia's panting cuts Gene's celebration short. The aftermath of the attack became apparent: Helia's arm is an unnatural, sickly color and she has a gaping wound that is spewing blood.
"Helia? No, no no…HELIA!!!"