Oh boy. Seiji talks about eating at his favorite diner before we go to the cliffside behind the Famine castle. That place is off-limits to the rest of the world, unlike other waterfalls in the kingdom, because Seiji doesn’t allow random people near his sanctuary.
I’m surprised to see a celebration already taking place when we reach the diner for lunch, and I don’t argue when Seiji proposes we join the festivities instead of eating alone.
Class five of adorable little earth fairies completed their plantation class with remarkable success; hence, the diner is filled with fairies ranging from age eight to ten, including the owner’s little girl.
Needless to say, we pig out on the food like it’s our last meal, celebrating our future food providers.
Thanks to the preceding leaders agreeing to allow other supernatural species to live in the kingdom, we haven’t had to look elsewhere for food because of the earth fairies, construction work is handled beautifully by the centaurs, and banks are in the care of leprechauns. Not to forget the delicious dessert treats curtsy of elves.
When the idea was initially proposed, unsurprisingly, my father opposed mudding our bloodlines by inviting other creatures since he detests the idea of our inter-species mating.
Thankfully, Seiji’s dad, Horseman Famine, has continued to be the loudest voice in the room when it comes to equality among species.
After we stuff ourselves like a Thanksgiving turkey, Seiji warns me to buckle up for an adventure. His adventures are fun,no doubt, but they always come with a sprinkle of risk, and my thoughts are confirmed when he parks at the edge of his cliff.
Thankfully, Seiji doesn’t suggest we dive down with the car like last time. For the longest time, Grace was worried Seiji was suicidal before we eventually concluded he was just a reckless knucklehead.
Exiting the car, Seiji retrieves an enormous picnic basket from his trunk before placing it near the edge, along with a blanket.
So, he wants an innocent picnic by the Cliffside.That’s completely safe. Nothing to panic about, Anxo. Opening the basket, he reveals dozens of snacks, ranging from sugary to spicy, like we didn’t just eat two days’ worth of food an hour ago.
Fishing out a packet from the basket, Seiji hollers, “Special leaf!”
Narrowing my eyes on the fool, I ask him if he paid the full price this time. Last time when he took this stuff from Pixies he failed to mention he didn’t have what they wanted in return. Let’s just say I had to fix his mess before the pixies decided to build tiny bombs in their backyards and rain them over the Tetrad kingdom.
Ignoring the food before I throw up, I happily accept the puff pass. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to escape the stress of my reality, so I’m glad for the break, even if it won’t last long.
“You know cannibalism can solve both the hungerand
overpopulation problem among humans.”
“You know, I’m starting to see how you would make a fantastic Famine on doomsday.”
If Harvey is agreeing with Seiji, it proves these fools arehigh. Looking at my friends on the verge of incoherence, I realize the amount of trust I have in them to sit on a cliff edge andnotjump.
The three of us smoke and banter about fate knows what until Seiji stands up on trembling legs and starts undressing.
“Dude! Not a bathroom. What are you doing?” I cover both mine and Harvey’s eyes when he strips his pants, leaving him in just his boxers.I think I jinxed myself.
“We’re diving!” he whoops, throwing his clothes in my face before running back to create a little distance for his run-up, and I stand up to stop him, ignoring how the world beneath me keeps shifting.
“You’ll die, you fool! And if you die, who will feed us?” I try to reason with a half-naked and crazed Seiji.
“Really, Anxo? That’s all I’m worth to you? My finger-licking recipes?”
“No, that’s just the surface reason, man… You’re my best friend and—”
“Anxo. My brother. I love you, but I’m jumping.” He takes hold of my shoulders, attempting to shake me, but we’re both too stoned to use our muscles in the way we want. Who expected pixies to come up with something this strong?Not me.
“Me too!” I hear another voice and turn to find Harvey almost naked like the other high peabrain.Oh,my eyes!
Am I the only one with working brain cells? How much did we smoke?
I quickly let go of Seiji and run towards Harvey— who is seconds away from jumping and barely catch him before he can. I’m too high to be babysitting these morons from killing themselves.
“Anxo, it’s okay to be afraid. We all have our fears.” Seiji comes up to hug me from behind and pats my head, assuring me that ‘it’s okay to be a scared little puppy’.
Maybe I should let him jump.
