Chapter Text
“Where... Am I?” Ebbe looked around the abandoned castle, electing to ignore the fact that their hair was longer than normal and no longer a platinum blonde colour. They also elected to ignore the outfit they were in since it wasn't their normal one... Though it was beautiful.
Still... It was strange to be in a place they didn't know with totally new looks that almost felt... Natural. Freaky-deeky, as their little brother called it.
‘‘‘Ebbe...’’’
“Wh—"
‘‘‘Ebbe... You gotta remember. Ebbe...’’’
“...EBBE!"
"OOF!" Leave it to their brother, Aster, to hit them hard in the stomach with a plague doctor squashmallow. They shot a glare at the younger, huffing. "Dude. How could you hurt Dr Fred Plague, MD, PhD like that?"
"Oh, is it a full title for your toy kind of day," Aster asked genuinely. Ebbe sighed.
"I was napping."
Aster frowned in response. "You were calling your own name out in a different voice, that's what you were doing. I don't think you can add ‘voice acting while asleep’ to a job resume and get one."
Ebbe grabbed a smaller cat squashmallow and hit their brother back, who laughed with them. "A shame too. Imagine if my acting was better when I was unconscious."
Aster smirked. "It sorta is. I really thought you were possessed by a ghost or something." Aster squeaked as he became assaulted by a pillow.
"Lil' brat!" Ebbe laughed. "Ugh... What time is it?"
"Uh, like... 10 am. Why?" Aster stole the pillow from their hands.
"Ah. Out, out. And gimme my pillow. I gotta change." Ebbe smiled. "Nathaniel asked me to stop by for an hour every day this week so I can get a small feel for the job before my first day." Aster beamed wide. "...Yes, I will buy you a smoothie." Watching their little brother cheer in excitement, they chuckled as he ran out after tossing the pillow on the bed.
Never a dull morning. Truly.
Still... As they prepared their being for the day, the vividness of the dream they'd been having filled their mind. What was that castle? Who had called their name? Why did it feel oddly familiar? Those, plus way more questions, caused them to run into the front door. "OOF!"
"...You good, Ebb? Quit abusing my house like that." Ebbe laughed as they turned to face their guardian.
"I'm fine, Uncle Remel. Just in my head."
"Heh... Well, get out of there. I don't need you getting run over or anything." They nodded and left, grabbing their fanny pack as they exited the house.
On their way to the Smoothie Shop, Ebbe couldn't help but once more appreciate their hometown of Sunny Bay. The fresh air, the sounds of all the happy kids and buzzingly excited adults. Even the wild animals that frolicked. It was all home to them.
...They did not, however, expect an animal to leap onto them to dive into the fountain. They gasped and turned as the creature splashed in, almost giddy.
"Oof— Hello—" Ebbe looked at the creature, smiling a bit as it cheered. "I'm honoured to be the best launchpad." The little creature looked at them and once again launched at them, nuzzling them. "Ahhh, now I'm all wet! Goofy lil'—"
"Selkye! You need to stop running off near water!" Ebbe looked at the girl running up, eyes wide. Turning as she ran up, they gave a small smile. "I'm sorry about that."
"You're totally fine. This lil goof is adorable, and the sun's bright enough that I'll dry off fast." They smiled, handing Selkye over.
"I'm glad you're not mad at him... I'm Cordelia." The now-not-a-stranger held her hand out, Ebbe chuckling as they took it.
"Ebbe. I gotta get moving, but! Nice meeting you. And nice meeting you," they booped the little creature, "Selkye. Later!"
They watched Cordelia wave and walked off. It was a nice change of pace, not having an issue with a stranger. Online school made a lot of things awkward.
•••═══•••
"— and that's it. You learned that menu fast." Nathaniel smiled, causing Ebbe to smirk.
"Faster than you taught it, Mr ‘staring-at-my-boo’." Causing the younger to blush and give a playful glare, Ebbe considered her job done. "Seriously, you sure you don't wanna just let me start early and hang out with her?"
"Not! My call." Nathaniel laughed. "Thank you for the offer though." Ebbe nodded.
"She's the lead of Lolirock, right? Love their music." Nate nodded. "Sweet. I'll make sure to definitely embarrass you by playing their music sometimes."
He groaned. "How could you—" They both laughed. "Seriously, though, I already do that, so that isn't gonna work."
"Dang— I thought I had an easy way." They smirked. "Guess the babysitting stories will just have to appear then."
Nathaniel seemed almost nervous at that, before noticing Ebbe's look. "Oh, ha, ha. Nice one."
"I know." She glanced over as the blonde singer dropped off the cups. "Sup, Iris."
"Ebbe! Haven't seen you since you left school. Did you..." A faltered tone let Ebbe know the concern Iris had.
"No, just swapped to online. Going in with all those students became way too scary." Embarrassing, but the truth. Besides... Iris was a good kid. "Not you and Nathaniel, of course."
"Yeah... Since the middle school combined with your high school, it sure got... Uh... Lively." Iris laughed.
"More like an overall abyss of anxiety." Ebbe laughed. "You'll be seeing more of me, however! As of next Wednesday, I will officially be working the Smoothie Shop." The younger girl smiled.
"Really!? Awesome! I'll have to visit more often just to say hi, then!" A surprised grunt left Iris as an auburn girl tackled her in a hug. "Auriana!
"Iirriiss! I wanna see that one cool thing you said you could get me shoooooown." Auriana whined softly, hanging on the darker blonde.
"Gimme a sec, gimme a sec, geez." Iris laughed and sighed. "Ebbe, this is Auriana."
"Nice to meet you, Auriana. Ebbe Foseta."
"Hi!" The tone shift from the girl gave them a shock. "Waiiiit... You're the gi—"
"Person. Agender, Auriana." A calmer girl walked up, sighing with a smile. "Iris was talking about your talents. I'm Talia."
"Nice to meet you too, Talia. And, uh, what talents?" Ebbe blinked.
"Ooooh, like your singing skills and your ability to make up choreography to a song if you hear it 3 times, OOH, and your really cool flipping skills!"
"Ah. Okay, uh, where is this going, Auriana?" They sort of gave a quizzical glance to the auburn, as if they knew this question was going to be her fault.
"Can I please, please, please, pretty, pretty please see you dance and sing?!" Auriana moved closer with almost puppy dog eyes. "It would be soooooo nice of youuuuuu...!"
Ebbe blinked. Normally they wouldn't be willing to, especially in front of people they didn't know. Taking a glance around the shop, they noticed it was a slow day. Most of the people they knew, or at least had good meetings with. And knowing Iris wouldn't let her friends bug them if they messed up... "Mm... Alright. But the song is my choice."
"Deal!"
A sigh and a hook up of their phone later, they were on the small stage of the shop and giving Iris the okay to hit play on the song they picked.
〝 Kitto te o tsunagu dake de zotto sareru
Ratto reesu ichinuketara tsuuhou sareru
Jyuutanto janai tada no boku sa
X toka Y toka
Beki ronja-sama wa zen'aku tatougai
Boku ga kimi o "shingai" suru tte iifurashiteru
Oh...
Mr. Crazy Villain Villain yakousei no hanabira
Chigau fuku kite kimi no mae de wa danshi no furi suru
Haikei Dr. Duran Duran mukae ni kite kudasai
Kao mo shiranai dareka ni totte boku wa mou villain
Villain, villain
Villain, villain
Villain, villain, villain, villain
Dakatsu raifu dakatsu raifu
Ageku no biran
Subarashiki akutou-domo ni sasageru uta
Hone made enjikitte yare akuratsu ni
Zankoku na machi hodo kirei na niji ga tatsu
Waizatsu koukoku ni odoru popputai no ai
Oh...
Mr. Crazy Villain Villain yakousei no hanabira
Chigau fuku kite kimi no mae de wa danshi no furi o!
Haikei Dr. Duran Duran koko da yo!
Kao mo shiranai dareka ni totte boku wa mou villain
Villain, villain
Villain, villain
Villain, villain, villain, villain
Dakatsu raifu dakatsu raifu
Ageku no hate no biran. 〞
Honestly, Ebbe was a little shocked that they remembered all the correct Japanese lyrics — let alone that they were able to make the choreography as nice as it was given the small space.
But given the cheers from the whole shop... Well, it must have been at least a passing grade. A timid bow before hopping off the stage and—
"OOF—"
They immediately got tackled by Auriana. "That was SO COOL!! What language was that?! How did you get those wrist movements down so well, OOH! Can you teach me?!"
"Auriana! Calm down. You're overwhelming them." Iris sighed. "But, Ebbe, seriously! You've gotten way better than a year ago! And I thought you were a professional then!"
"Pro, absolutely not. I'm still not even there. But not having to sit during classes and being able to listen to music while I think definitely allows for more practice." Ebbe admitted. They smiled at Iris, before getting a confused look. "... Did... Your necklace always glow?"
The younger blonde gasped and gripped the pendant. "Uhhh yeah! It's, uh, old tech! Just figured out how to use it! I gotta go! See you later!" The Lolirock trio ran out, leaving a stunned Ebbe in their wake.
". . ."
"Go after them, I can see you want to," Nathaniel asked. "Just on the offhand chance that Iris is getting into trouble."
And that let Ebbe launch into a run after the trio.
They did not expect to see what they were greeted with, or what just barely missed them.