Chatterbox: Down to Earth

"Diovald's Dissapearance"

June 21st 2017; Cricket Country

They've gotten stronger. I try to push them away, to hide them, anything to get rid of them,  but they keep coming back. Each day, I feel myself slowly slipping into a depression no one can get me out of. I'm at a loss of what to do now. Without her; I'm nothing. *Groans* Oh Elsa, you've stolen my heart and left a hole there. But the trouble is. . . I don't want it back.

-Sincerely, Diovald

Diovald closed his journal and looked forlornly out the window of his bedroom. What was he going to do? "She's gone. There's nothing you can do, so snap out of it," he chastised himself. "Ugh. What's the use? Without her. . . I'm nothing. I have no purpose, and see no reason for living. It gets worse each day."

He sighed. "I need to talk to Joan."

Slipping off his bed, he quietly crept to the other side of the room without waking his siblings, Puck and Ariel. Taking a deep breath, he shape shifted into a mouse and squeezed out the door, into the room Joan slept.

Puck watched with one beady eye open, the other closed. "What's Diovald doing?" she mused, as she swooped down from the rafters, changing from crow to girl.

"Ariel." She whispered, shaking her twin brother's shoulder,

"Hmm. . . "

"Wake up."

"Puck. . . it's 4 in the morning. . . get some sleep, and let others have their peace and quiet."

"I can't. Diovald's gone."  

"Gone?" Ariel sat up in bed. "What do you mean. . . gone?"

"I mean, he's not in his bed. Come on!" She beckoned to the door. "I think he went to go talk to Joan."

"What for?"

"That's what we're about to find out." She giggled and handed Ariel a small pill. "Here; swallow this."

"What is it?"

"My newest invention: Invisipills! See, it's a play on words. Invisible, invisipills. . ."

"I get it. What's it do?"

"They make you appear invisible, like in the name silly! Imagine the possiblites! You could put a sheet over your head, and be a ghost! When people take off the sheet, thinking to see someone underneath, they won't see a thing! You could also whisper lies about other people. . . but that's more mean than mischevious. A great addition to my prank shop, don't you think?"

"Yeah. . . sure." Ariel said nervously. "Have you tried it out yet?"

"Nope!" Puck grinned. "That's the fun of inventing! These pills should work for about 10-15 minutes. However, because I haven't tried them yet, there may be some side effects."

"Such as?"

"Dizziness, nausea, not being able to be seen for a year, (which would be kind of fun),  never be noticed, or. . . "

"What?"

"You could potentially dissapear forever. But anyways, down it goes!" Puck quickly swallowed her pill. "You next."  

Ariel shook his head. "Nuh-uh. Last time I tried something you untested, there were disastrous consequences. I'm NOT doing that again. I think I'll just go the old fashioned way."

"How do you do that?"

Ariel shuffled nervously. "I. . . recently discovered a new ability. I can manipulate myself into air so that I can go through walls, and even hover longer than usual. The only downside is that you can still see a faint outline of me, even though I'm sort of invisible."

"Ok, then let's go! We're missing all the action up there."

"Don't you mean: OUT there?"

"Nope! Up." Puck pointed out the tree in the middle of the room as she quietly opened the door. Diovald and Joan we're talking to each other on a lower branch, where Joan slept sometimes.

"Oh."

"Shh. . . I can't hear!" Puck said.

Diovald was talking. "-Can't live without her. . . feel so lonely. . ."

A pause, then Joan spake. "Like Puck. . . Dev. . . memories erased. . . "

"Ugh, I still can't hear!" Puck said. "Think you can get me up?"

"Why? Can't you fly?"

"Yeah, but my invisipills can only do so much. Otherwise, if they fell into the wrong hands, then we'd have a world crisis to fix." 

"Fine." Ariel sighed. "Hop on."

Puck climbed onto Ariel's back the best she could, as both of them were invisible and Ariel floated them up to a branch just barely below one Joan and Diovald were on.

"You miss her that much?"

"That's Joan." Puck whispered to Ariel.

A pause. "I do."

"And you're sure about this?" 

"Yes." Diovald nodded, which made the branch above Ariel and Puck shake a little bit. "I am."

"Very well. I'll tell Ariel and Puck in the morning-"

"Tell us what?" Puck said a little too loudly. Both Joan and Diovald looked around them.

"Puck, I know you're here."

"Whoops." Puck whispered. 

"You too Ariel. Congratulations on finding your new ability." Joan said as both Ariel and Puck floated up on one of Ariel's clouds. Puck was just beginning to reappear. "Puck, how are you invisible?"

"Um. . ."

Joan shook her head. "Nevermind, don't tell me now. I'm glad you both are here, as we have some family business to discuss. I'm assuming Galahad is still asleep?"

The twins nodded. "He sleeps like a rock. You can never wake him up."

"Just as well." Joan nodded. "Anyways, Diovald has something he would like to tell us. Diovald?”

Diovald took a deep breath as he turned towards the twins. “I’m. . . I’m leaving Cricket Country.”

“WHAT?!?!” The twins exclaimed.

“But. . . but why?” Puck stuttered. “Don’t you like it here?”

“Yes, I love it here, the friends, the memories, everything. Especially you. But. . . I miss Elsa. Joan offered to erase my memories, but I don’t want that. If I stay, my depression will only grow deeper. If I leave, I have a chance of finding her again. It’s a slim chance. . . but I know I can’t keep living like this. I need to find her. Please understand.”

Puck nodded. Crossing the border of Cricket Country was a big deal, once AEs crossed, they usually never came back. If you left for a little bit, you could come back. If you left forever. . . but that was another story to tell.

“We’ll miss you Diovald.” Puck said reaching over to hug him. “I miss Elsa too, so please, if you happen to find her, tell her Puck says hi.”

Diovald nodded. “I will.” He looked over in Ariel’s direction where Ariel was quietly crying.

“Ariel-”

“It’s ok bud. I know, and I understand. I’d feel the same way about Saphira if she left, and I’d probably try to find her too.”

Diovald smiled. “Thanks for understanding. Promise you’ll tell Galahad for me?”

“We promise.” Joan said. “And we’ll be up early in the morning to say goodbye.”  

“Diovald-promise you’ll write to us?”

“If I can.”

“Also. . . can I have your boots please?” Puck asked eagerly. “I’ve been dying to wear them ever since we met!”

Everyone laughed. Diovald smiled. “Of course you can Puck.”

“Alright, family meeting over. Diovald, you should probably get some sleep.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Goodnight guys.”

“Goodnight Diovald.”

Diovald shapeshifted into a crow and swept down into his room. The last thing he heard was Joan talking to Puck about her invisipill.

~4 hours later~

It was a chilly morning as the Black family huddled outside. Chatterboxers houses were  behind them, the Country’s borderline in front.

“Well, I guess it’s time for me to go.” Diovald spoke up.

“Yeah, I guess.” Ariel said as he kicked the dirt.

Puck handed Diovald a couple of her invisipills, and itching powder smoke bombs. “In case of danger.”

Ariel gave him a whittling knife. “To make pan pipes. Just like I taught you.”

Galahad kissed Diovald on the cheek goodbye, and then shyly slunk back to the rest of the group. Hugs were exchanged once more, and DIovald stood back.

“Good luck Diovald.” Joan said gently. ‘We’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

Puck, Ariel, Galahad, and Joan all watched as Diovald took a deep breath and stepped over the country border line, for good.

“Think he’ll find Elsa?” Puck asked turning to Joan.

“Yeah. He’s tough, and determined. When you have that, there’s nothing that can get in your way.”

~A week later~

Diovald was still trekking across a barren desert. There was a hot sun overhead, and earlier he had run out of drinking water.

Ahead, he could see a town. Or was that a hallucination? Nonetheless, he kept going, until he fainted at the front gates.

When he woke up, he saw a girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and cat ears looking curiously down at him.

DIovald smiled. “Hello Elsa,” before he fainted once again.