Chapter One

Sarasa dragged you with her through the heaps of trash until you arrived at a small settlement occupied by a number of elderly women. She explained your situation to her nannies, who simply looked at you with pity in their eyes, offering no reaction that indicated surprise. 
 
When you asked your friend about it, she told you it had to do with the fact this entire place, Meteor City, had been a dumping ground for a long time. Everything, including humans, could be dumped here, which was why your case wasn't news.
 
Regardless, that was now in the past. With you being in Meteor City, you now have only your would-be friends and yourself to worry about.
 
“Whatcha thinkin about there?” A voice snapped you out of your daze. You blinked and stared back at Sarasa, whose eyes curiously searched for an answer in yours. 
 
After an admittedly rough first night sleeping at your new home, the two of you were now on your way to tour the city and get acquainted with everything you needed to be acquainted with.
 
“Your other friends,” you started, making the thick-haired girl tilt her head. “I mean, what kind of people are they?”
 
“Ah, right! I haven't told you!” She snapped her finger before falling in step beside you. She hummed, “Most of the kids here are pretty friendly, but some can be kinda scary when you first meet them.”
 
“Scary, how?” You asked.
 
“When they meet newcomers, they try to scare them off so no one will think to mess with their turfs,” Sarasa huffed.
 
“Turfs?” Your brows furrowed at the word.
 
“That's what we call territories!” She explained, “When we like a spot or place, we call dibs on them, so everything there belongs to us. Honestly, I think it's stupid to claim turf when we all live here, but it's been like this for a long time.”
 
“Huh.” You nodded, agreeing with her thoughts before asking, “Uhm, Sarasa, where are we going?”
 
She threw you a mischievous grin before wordlessly taking your hand and whisking you off—who knows where. Along the way, you passed by a bunch of younger kids looking at you curiously as you guys ran around corners and jumped over hills of waste.
 
Before long, you were heavily panting, worn out from having to keep up with the girl's speed. You've never had to run great distances before, but now that you were doing it, a part of you strangely felt happy despite the difficulty.
 
“We're here at the first stop of our tour!" Sarasa exclaimed as she and you came to stop. She grinned at you, “Welcome to Uvo’s territory! We like to sneak here because he usually gets some pretty good stuff.”
 
“He's away right now, so we can't pass up on this chance,” she said.
 
“Someone's turf?!” Your voice raised by a pitch as you skeptically looked around for an angry face.
 
Your friend simply laughed, waving your worries off by saying, “We'll only be here for a bit; don't worry! After we do what we need to do, we'll run away so Uvo doesn't pick on us.”
 
Hearing this, your worries were partially washed away, and you took the time to finally observe this place she brought you to. In the process, you found yourself wondering, “How do you guys know which turf is whose anyway?”
 
You referred to the fact that this very territory you were stepping on looked no different than the other parts of the place. There were no signs or anything to tell it apart from others, which was why you were confused about how Sarasa could tell it was this Uvo person’s.
 
“You kind of just get used to it after a long time.” A voice suddenly came from behind you, making you jump back in shock, having not realized someone else was there. The newcomer greeted, “Yo! What are you guys doing here?”
 
Thinking he was the owner of the territory, you placed yourself behind a very visibly shorter Sarasa who nearly laughed at your actions. She then answered, “Hi, Shal! I was touring my new friend around the parts and figured we could make a stop at Uvo's.”
 
Hearing the name, you inched away from Sarasa and then scanned the boy. He had a mane of wavy light blond hair, a natural upturn in his green eyes, and a wide grin characterized by a missing tooth up front.
 
“Is that so?” The boy said out loud before introducing himself to you, “Hi! My name's Shalnark, but everyone just calls me Shal. What ‘bout cha?”
 
Glancing back at Sarasa, who nodded supportively, you replied with your name, “...and I, uhm, got here yesterday.”
 
“Really?!” Shal awed at the fact before peeping Sarasa’s expression. You were unsure what he saw, but Shal decided to calm down and tell you both, “Well, I'm not stopping you two anytime soon. Let's get what we need and leave before Uvo comes back to chase us off. Then we can talk more!”
 
“Get what we need?” You echoed under your breath. 
 
Sarasa overheard you and explained, “Yup! It's my first lesson for you! See, this is the only way we get new things for ourselves. Clothing, toys, and more. So don't be shy and just take anything that looks cool to you.”
 
Shalnark walked towards one of the hills and started rummaging through it, Sarasa following after. You stood near them, unsure and still nervously looking out for anyone who might be this Uvo person.
 
“Look!” Your friend called out. You glanced towards her, seeing her holding up a cute dress with strawberry prints all over it. She spun it back and forth and then gasped, “There's no holes in it, lucky!”
 
“Nice!” came a remark from Shalnark. Meanwhile, you clapped your hands at her find, watching as she threw the piece of clothing over her shoulder. 
 
Noticing how you haven't made a move yet, she urged you once more, “Come on! Go get something for yourself!”
 
“Can I really?” You asked, unsure of what she was getting you to do.
 
“Yeah! Go ahead!”
 
“B-But what if this Uvo guy comes back? Won't we get into a fight?” You nervously looked around, shifting to near the girl. 
 
She simply shook her head and told you in reply, “Don’t think about it! Shal’s been here lots of times, even more than his hands and feet can count. He can basically just sense when Uvo will come and warn us!”
 
“Really?” Your voice was filled with awe as you looked towards the boy who, without a worry for the world, just finished fishing out what seemed to be a water ring toss toy with a beaming grin on his face. “That's pretty cool.”
 
“C’mon, take anything you can get a hand on!” 
 
Although filled with doubts, you knew Sarasa wouldn't stop bugging you if you didn't at least try finding things for yourself. You got to work and started fishing out from the pile, thinking of nothing in particular you wanted to find. You saw a bunch of clothes in the process, but unlike Sarasa’s, they were mostly already worn and torn.
 
‘Papa used to wear something like this,’ you thought as you grabbed a dirtied cap from the hill of waste. You gazed at it for a bit before throwing it to the side in disinterest.
 
Next, you fished out a small hair clip with a floral-themed design. It looked pretty neat until you turned it over and felt your disappointment rise seeing its damage. 
 
It seemed you weren't having the best luck with your search.
 
“Do you guys want me to look for anything?” Shal suddenly asked, taking your attention. He raised the toy he found and said, “I already got what I want; hehe~ If you need anything, I can help just name it.”
 
“Then,” Sarasa started, showing Shal a tape she'd found, “Help me find more of these, please!”
 
“I want to surprise Chro with more of that Ge-Gelman lesson stuff,” she explained, mentioning that other friend of hers once again. “And if we're lucky, maybe we can even get something for everyone to watch!”
 
“I don't know how to read the label, but if it doesn't look broken, then I'll take it,!” Shalnark nodded and faced towards you. “What about you?”
 
“Ah,” you trailed off shyly, “I don't need anything for now.”
 
Shalnark shrugged and took your words in stride, heading off to start the search for the tapes Sarasa wanted.
 
You did the same, rummaging through your pile and digging through more trash, until finally you sighted something that drew your immediate attention. You fished the object out not without a struggle, and after successfully extracting it, you couldn't help but be in awe at what you saw.
 
It was a dress, a plainer one compared to Sarasa's strawberry-themed one, but pretty all the same.
 
You eagerly examined the piece of clothing before your excitement was dampened by seeing a gaping hole right at the dress’ midsection. A presence came up beside you, where Shal stood also judging your find.
 
Although the dress was overall a looker, the fact that it marred with such a visible tear made you unsure about getting it. You were just about to lower down the article of clothing in defeat when suddenly Shal stopped you, “Wait! You should take that!”
 
“I think someone at the church might know how to fix it,” he said, referring to the tear on the dress.
 
“They can fix it?” You tilted your head, a hopeful feeling budding within your chest. 
 
“Yup!” Shal grinned toothily, more certain this time. He pointed at his shirt and said, “I remember having this fixed a long time ago when I accidentally ripped it while playing.”
 
“Huh, what do you guys have there?" Sarasa asked, lugging with her a surprising amount of stuff, including what looked to be a few books, clothes, and some tapes. You showed the dress, earning a dramatic gasp from the girl. “Woah! You should definitely take that!”
 
“Right? I told her too,” Shal said.
 
You smiled down at the fabric before saying, “Okay, I guess I will.”
 
“Before I forget,” Shalnark said, and you girls watched as he pushed a tape into Sarasa's hold and then a small box in yours. “Here's what I found so far.”
 
“You're so quick,” you awed at the male, who grinned cockily at your words and remarked, “Of course, you're talking to one of the pros at finding stuff round here!”
 
“Wuahhh!” Your friend suddenly screamed as she took the object in hand and scanned it all over. “I wonder what's inside!”
 
You smiled at her excitement before curiously looking down at the box in your grasp. You didn't ask Shalnark to get you anything, so what could be in this box? 
 
You attempted to shake it, making Shal panic and tell you in a hurry, “N-No don't shake it like that!”
 
“Eh?” You and Sarasa tilted your heads as the boy used both his hands to stop yours from moving. Seeing your confusion, he simply smiled and said, “You can open it once we've left Uvo’s turf; it's my welcome gift to you!”
 
Sarasa’s eyes widened with curiosity, and she nudged you playfully. “A welcome gift? That’s really nice, Shal.”
 
You nodded, still eyeing the box with intrigue. “Thanks a lot!”
 
Shalnark grinned, clearly pleased by your reaction. “No problem! I just thought it would be a nice surprise.”
 
Sarasa suddenly shifted her gaze to a nearby pile. “Oh, look at that! I think there's some pretty hairclips in there. Do you want to check it out?”
 
You hesitated, then looked back at Shalnark. “What do you think? Do we still have time to take a quick look?”
 
Shalnark’s smile faltered slightly as he looked over his shoulder, making you follow his gaze to see nothing. “Actually, if you don’t mind, maybe you can save that for next time?”
 
Before either of you could respond, he suddenly laughed awkwardly, “We really should get going.”
 
“Huh, Why? What's the hurry?” Sarasa inquired, putting the tape she got from the boy inside her bag. She looked around and said, "I don't see Uvo anywhere yet."
 
"Well, its just that... I noticed Machi has been watching us for a while now.” Shalnark sweatdropped, scratching the back of his head as he grinned nervously.
 
Sarasa screamed, “What?! Where?!”
 
“Machi?” You echoed the name, and Shalnark pointed you towards the top of a hill where a head of spiky, pink hair and striking, clear blue eyes peered over your figures. Her lips were downturned, and she had on her outstretched hand a block of wood.
 
“She's usually around Uvo, so her being here...” Shal trailed off, a trace of panic on his face. “We might actually be done for!”
 
“You rats!!” A booming voice suddenly echoed, this one noticeably more mature than Shalnark’s boyish tone. Looking at the top, you saw a tall figure step up, his arms crossed over his chest.
 

“You dare steal from my turf again?!”

Young Shalnark (art by me)

Status : Unedited