Sky Island #2

Carrot sent Archie and Clifford back to watch over the rest of the crew upon reaching the small base of those within the trash island.

They had left the ship for too long and ventured out too far to leave everything behind without any of the Minks on board.

Although the chances of people causing problems onboard were lower since they were in an unknown land and needed to stick together to survive, accidents could still happen if those in charge were gone for too long.

Carrot remained with Tristan and Medea to enter the walls of the small base to provide additional support if anything went wrong.

After being escorted they arrived inside and were able to see those settled there.

Around fifteen children ranging from eight to seventeen were busy waiting to exchange trash parts for some food.

Those that were brave enough to venture outside the walls and collect parts would be able to work for their place among the community so any weaker would form teams.

It seemed that some of them also carried some broken tools that needed fixing by their boss so they could go out again.

Many of the children were dressed up in fixed up and old clothing that were very dirty, all of them had the characteristics of the Skypiea people but the person they queued up to meet had some slight differences.

Unlike the others who had a similar hairstyle like most of their race which looked like antennas, the leader among the group had darker skin with the sides of his head shaved and his blonde hair was styled into dreadlocks that went down his back of his head and stopped around shoulder length.

He had some red tribal warrior markings tattooed on his face which were in the shape of upside down triangles, two thin triangles were tattooed on each side of his face under his lower eyelid going down his cheeks in a straight line and stopped lining up side by side at the bottom of his nose creating two markings on each side of his face, a red line marking was drawn from under his lower lip and continued down in a straight line to stop just underneath his chin.

He was around fourteen years old going by his appearance, like most others of the sky people he had some characteristics that matched many of them like his blonde hair and some facial features that were a little softer but he seemed to also have traits like his darker skin, wild hair, black eyes and his liking for tribal markings like the Shandorians.

He also had a little muscle on his body which showed that he had been able to survive and eat well enough but there was the odd scar on his body from past combat experiences.

The Shandorians have had a grudge with the sky people ever since they lost their homeland so the chances of them developing a love relationship would be small unless they were prepared to face the tribe's criticism or banishment.

It would make sense that a half blood child of both the Shandorians and the sky people would end up in this part of the island as a result of them being abandoned from birth or their parent/s passing away early because of a lack of resources after being kicked out of the tribe and shunned by those who have grudges against the Shandorians.

However someone with his skills could not just appear unless they was some kind of monster from birth, he had to of had some form of a guardian or mentor during the early years of his life so that he could learn and survive long enough to be able to take care of himself and others.

By his side was a girl, she was someone of the same size as him and similar facial features but much softer and girlish.

Unlike his darker skin tone, she had a very pale skin tone with a two red sideway lines on each side of her face going across her cheeks and stopping before coming into contact with her ear or neck.

Like her brother she had black eyes but she also possessed the very uncommon dark red hair within Shandorian tribe and kept it long, the front was left long and straight but also had two sky people antenna on top while the back was braided and went down to her lower back.

The brother and sister seemed to be equipped with their own tools to provide them with better combat.

The brother had a board on his back that looked like a surfboard or a hoverboard of some kind but also a modified dial sword at his waist, while his sister had a pair of guns at her waist and a pair of cloud skating type of dial shoes on her feet.

Upon seeing there were visitors they became vigilant and turned to those leading the hew people inside. "You are making decisions on your own again… one day you are really going to hurt us. Sigh.."

The child that had lead the group of three bowed his head. "Boss, I am sorry but when they mentioned your name they put a target on their backs from our enemies. Some attacked right away but were unable to land a finger on them. I figured it was best to allow them to meet with you and discuss what they want in a peaceful manner."

The sister looked at the two strange looking animal people and also the wingless girl sitting in the wheelchair. "These people must not be from one of the sky islands. Tell me, where do you come from?"

Medea responded calmly. "We come from the blue sea below, we came to explore the sky island but also look for people with talents or those like us that wish to grow strong, travel to new places and experience new things together. We have come to you because we have heard that your brother is skilled with dial technology and wish to recruit him but of course that means the invitation is extended to those around him too."

The sister turned to her brother to see his reaction.

Among the two of them, she was the most vocal and political since her brother was always focussed on the tinkering of the dials and improving their lives.

The harsh environment had shaped the twins to become survivors in their own ways, her brother built and fixed things and fought to survive while she learned to use pistols but she much preferred to negotiate before fighting.

She was usually the one handling the daily things within the base and arranging his time while he was busy experimenting or fighting against their enemies.

However she always made sure to check his opinion before making a final decision on important matters because often a bad decision can lead to them being defeated or driven from their current home.

The brother was deep in thought and then turned to give his sister a look as if to get her to explore further before turning back to his tinkering.

The sister introduced herself and began to talk further. "Hello my name is Aizah and this is my brother Ashwin. Follow me to discuss this further somewhere more private."

Too many eyes were on them right now and it was unknown if there were any spies among those around them so they could not discuss something so life changing in front of everyone so out in the open.

Although everyone was very loyal to the twins, they had experienced many betrayals in the past so they could only remain vigilant at this time.

The three of them joined the sister in a private room which had many types of tools within for various different purposes.

After providing lots of information about the sea below along with many other tales of their journeys, Medea continued. "We will be staying on Sky Island for another week, after collecting enough information and other tools and supplies, we will be moving onto the next island. We will give you this time to think things over, I am aware that you have your own responsibilities but in my own view, it would be a waste to leave you and your brother behind in this place."

Even if they had the technology and strength to protect themselves and the ability to feed themselves, they were still outcasts in the eyes of many on the Sky Island and would be limited in what they can possibly achieve until the two races learn to get along.

The only reason why they were somewhat safe within the trash island was because not many of the children were aware of the conflicts on the outside so were a little more accepting to the twins.

Who knows if their lives and talents will be buried inside this trash island for many years and perish at the hands of their own people, the rival groups of kids or another group of people from outside that begin to notice them.

Medea offered them the chance to explore new lands, no longer face prejudice, an environment they can grow and advance their skills but also to not have to worry about being attacked when gathering food or sleeping.

For people who have little belonging to their homeland, the option to go elsewhere was something that was very tempting so Aizah had to think consider it carefully.

Medea calmly looked at her and continued. "Of course.. your brother can continue with his studies and experiments. We have bought enough scrolls, voice dials and books to provide enough learning materials and we have collected many types if materials needed to continue the experiments. We also have access to other types of information from below which could also be used with your technology so I do not know if this will be able to catch your brothers interest."

Aizah looked at the person opposite her more seriously as she had met someone like herself who was able to hold a conversation well and persuade others to join their side however it seemed that the other party was more skilled than herself.

She was being lead by the nose by Medea upon their first meeting, Medea was able to notice their dire situation and the twins interests, goals and personal feelings towards the other Sky people and make use of that information to gain the upper hand in the negotiation.

Although she possessed the blood of a swordswoman who came from a noble family, she also possessed the blood of a skilled merchant so her observation, deduction and negotiation skills were not low.

All that she needed was the chance to gain a broader outlook of the world and the opportunity to use what she had learned during her rehabilitation and her travels with the crew.

Dealing with an experienced youth, no matter how experienced they had become, she was able to gain the advantage.

"We will be back in a couple of days and before we leave to check on you and find out your decision." She gave Tristan a signal which followed with her being pushed back out of the building and towards the bases exit.