Family Business

The sun shined down on the town below, birds chirped, flowers bloomed, and people were out and about. Nox stood outside of her home and took in her surroundings. A light breeze blew through the air causing her short hair to wave slightly.

"What a beautiful day," Nox said aloud.

"Yes it is Queen," her father's voice said from behind her. Nox turned to see him with a giant smile and a suitcase carefully held at his side. "It's also a perfect day for business." The large man walked down to his daughter's side. "Ready to make some money?"

"You know it Dad," Nox replied with a thumbs up.

Nox's father playfully ruffled his daughter's hair before the two began to make their way down the small hill the family home sat upon. The duo made their way down the short dirt path until they reached the street at the end. The dirt road connected directly to a much larger dirt road, this one bustling with people.

The two made their way down the busy street before they stopped at an empty stall, the words on the top of the stall read 'Handmade Jewelry'. This stall wasn't the only one on the busy street. Where sidewalks would be on most roads stood stall after stall with only small gaps between them. Hundreds of people swarmed the dirt road, they inspected each stall ready to spend their hard-earned money. Nox smiled knowing the shopping district would only get busier as the day continued.

Nox watched as shopkeeps tried their best to both draw in more customers while also serving the ones that had already started crowding around their stalls. She noticed a common theme among them all was that they struggled to find a balance.

"Lucky for us we can do both," Nox said to herself. She turned back to the stall to see her father nearly done setting up for the day. Out of the suitcase he carefully picked up small pieces of jewelry that cautiously inspected before placing them on the front of the stall for display. After several moments he placed down the final piece of jewelry with a smile.

"There we go," he said proudly, "all ready for work."

"It's hard to believe that we work with the house still in view," Nox stated causing the two to look back towards their home.

"Convenience my dear daughter," He replied with a laugh. "Are you ready to get us some business?"

"You know it," Nox said proudly. The girl turned towards the busy street and observed the potential customers. Despite the large volume of people none of them had seemed to notice the now open jewelry stall. Nox took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Showtime Nox... You got this," she whispered the pep talk to herself. "It's only for a second, nobody is watching, it's gonna be fine."

"You don't have to if you don't want to Nox," her father interrupted. She turned to see his usual smile was replaced with a look of concern.

"No," she quickly responded, "I've got this."

With one more deep breath, Nox closed her eyes and began to lightly turn her entire body. Her arms reached out as she spun, drawing invisible shapes in the air. The more and more she danced the faster and more impactful her movements became. As her dance reached its finale Nox brought her hands closer together with her fingers and thumbs touching to make small circles.

"Bubble," Nox whispered as she completed her choreography. The moment the word left her mouth hundreds of tiny bubbles began to materialize from all around her. The gentle breeze pushed the bubbles down the busy street and towards the many people that occupied it. Children laughed and chased the small orbs trying their best to pop them. Adults stopped and stared in awe at the army of bubbles soaring through the sky.

"Heyyyyyy," Nox yelled as she waved her arms catching many people's attention in the process, "Handmade jewelry for sale, come on down, I guarantee you'll love it."

The mixture of the breathtaking bubbles and the girl's excitement was enough to draw a number of wandering customers to the jewelry stall. Nox's father laughed at the site of the incoming business.

"Good job Qu..." he quickly stopped upon seeing his daughter. Nox was breathing heavily as she clutched her hand to her chest. "Nox," he said with concern, "you wanna go take a breather?"

"No...No, I'm fine, don't worry about me," Nox replied as she forced a smile. Her father's concerned look didn't fade immediately, it only vanished as he was forced to turn his attention to the small crowd that had formed outside the stall. Now out of her father's line of sight, Nox crouched down to the ground and tried her best to catch her breath.

"It's okay Nox, you're fine, you did it," she whispered to herself. After several minutes she had calmed down enough to make herself stand. "Back to work," she told herself. After the words left her mouth she quickly noticed a passerby about to leave the shopping area. "How about you," she swiftly asked the person, "could I interest you in some high-quality jewelry?"

It was then that Nox noticed who she had just asked her question too. She had caught the attention of a young man, probably around her age. His head was covered with messy brown hair and his blue eyes seemed to study Nox. His choice of clothing seemed odd to her. He wore a plain, unzipped black hoodie with a plain black shirt underneath, his legs covered with loose black pants.

"How can he wear all that in this kind of weather," Nox wondered, "and he definitely doesn't look like the type to care about accessories. Prepare to be turned down."

"High-quality you say?" the boy responded, "well I might as well."

Surprised by his answer, Nox took a moment before she replied.

"Well then follow me right this way," she said with a smile.

Nox quickly lead the boy to the stall that now only held her father.

"Did we sell any?" she asked excitedly.

"Afraid not Queen," her father responded with a sigh, "you can't win them all."

"I'm surprised," the boy responded as he carefully inspected a ring, "you'd think stuff this nice would be flying off the shelves."

"Ahhh," Nox's father shouted, "you found a smart one Nox." Her father lumbered around the stall and wrapped his arm around the young man's shoulder. "I wish there were more people like you," he said with a belly laugh.

"There he goes again," Nox said to herself with a sigh. "Luckily he doesn't seem too freaked out by dad's friendliness." She watched as the boy continued his conversation with her dad as if he had known her father all his life. She smiled, happy at her father's joy. "But somebody's gotta make a sale around here," she thought as she made her way into the conversation.

"Is there anything specific you're looking for?" Nox asked.

The boy surveyed the stall, looking at all the different types and colors of jewelry spreads across it.

"Do you have any necklaces, preferably with pink gems," he asked unable to find any on his own.

"I have just that," Nox's father boomed before making his way back around the stall to his briefcase.

As the hefty man looked trough the briefcase, the boy carefully picked up another ring off of the stall.

"How do you guys make these anyway?"

"That's all my dad," Nox answered, "he can use his power to make gems and jewels if he focuses hard enough.

"Wow, that's incredible," the boy responded with amazement, "so why don't you just make diamonds and sell those?"

"Ahh," Nox's father sighed, "I tried to make one once. After three straight days of focusing, I had only a pebble to show for it. Seems that more valuable things are harder to make. But that's alright, just making diamonds wouldn't be as fun as this," he said with a smile. Nox's father closed the briefcase and carefully handed the item he took from it to the boy. In his hand was a necklace with a silver chain, in its center rested a beautiful pink gem.

"Woah, it's perfect," the boy responded excitedly, "I'll take it."

"Excellent my boy," Nox's father said happily, "that will be 700 coins please."

The boy rummaged through his pocket and retrieved several small metal pieces that he placed into the large man's hand.

"Juno's gonna love this," the boy said happily.

"Juno?" Nox asked curiously, "is she a special girl?"

"You could say that," the boy responded with a smile.

"Well, I hope she loves it."

"Let's find out."

"Huh?" Nox said confused.

She watched as the boy wrapped the necklace around his neck backward, the gem dangling over his hood.

"Hey Juno, you awake back there?"

Before Nox could comprehend what was happening a small paw reached out of the hood and gently hit the gem. A moment later a cat peeked out of the hood, its eyes locked on the swaying gem. The small cat was covered in black fur with large patched of white on its back to its forehead and on its underbelly. The cat playfully swatted at the pink gem as it rolled around in the boy's hood.

"Looks like she likes it." The boy turned to Nox with a smile. "Thanks for your help."

Nox didn't respond, she simply watched as he thanked her father before he made his way back into the shopping area.

"Asshole," Nox muttered once she was sure he would not be able to hear her.

"Woah now," Nox's father said, "you don't use that language often. What's wrong Queen."

"That's just disrespectful," Nox said angrily, "you didn't work hard on that necklace just for it to be used as a cat toy."

To her surprise, Nox's father began to laugh.

"Nox, that doesn't matter to me," he said proudly. "That boy is a happy customer," he said as the pair watched the boy walk away, "and that's enough for me."

Nox sighed. "It still doesn't feel right," she said as she crossed her arms.

"Oh no," Nox's father said suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Nox asked.

"Look," her father said as he held out his hand. In his palm lay four coins, each one the same in design, a small metal circle with a hole in the middle. Nox saw two bronze coins worth 100 each, a silver coin worth 500, and platinum coin valuing at 100,000.

"Woah!" Nox said in surprise, "he gave you way to much by mistake."

"Quick, go return this to him before he gets away."

Nox quickly grabbed the platinum coin from her father and began to run after the boy. As she began to gain on him she shouted out to get his attention.

"Sir, you forgot your change!" she yelled to him. She watched as the boy stopped in his tracks and turned towards her, a smile still decorating his face.

As she ran to catch up with the boy a thought crossed Nox's mind.

"Wasn't he leaving the shopping district before?" She wondered, "why would he head back into it now?"

Before she could receive an answer a loud cracking noise echoed throughout the shopping district. The sound stopped everyone in their tracks as they all looked to its source. The boy gazed down at the ground below him as it cracked and splintered and then...

BOOM

Black smoke exploded from the ground as a gaping hole opened in the ground. The sudden impact knocked Nox back and she landed on her back. Nox stared at the smoke that rose from the ground and gasped. Rising with the smoke was several large, pitch-black creatures, each one with sharp fangs and claws.

"Shadows?" Nox whimpered, "Here? Now? How? And... That boy."

Before she could say another word her attention was stolen by a small object landing on the ground in front of her. She stared in horror at lay on the ground before her as she felt her stomach lurched. On the ground rest the damaged remains of a necklace, at its center a pink gem.

...

End of Episode 2