Shiko Tales 

WRITTEN BY: SAINT

 EDITED BY: Ronin

Tale 1: 

The Knucklehead, The Carrot Top, and their Furry Friend 

Growing up sucks. That was a thought that echoed loudly through Anna's mind as she laid in Beatrice’s bed trying her best to mentally blot out the sensation of cramps shooting through her body. 

She clicked her tongue, noticing how dry her mouth had become. Despite her thirst, she didn’t want to move. As she laid there her mind drifted to other things. Her life up to this point, the mother she could barely remember and where she could be now, her broken father who turned his sorrows towards a bottle, and when that didn’t work to Marckus, then when that couldn’t sate him…

She shook her head trying to keep those traumatic memories at bay. To try and shift her thoughts to something else. But the memories lingered. They’ll always linger.

Her thoughts then went to Marckus. His smile. The times he took her to watch the birds at a pond they frequented, or the times they walked along the pier, his friendship, his promise that now laid broken and lost with his body. 

Tears started to stream down her face.

“Not again,” she thought to herself in frustration as she greeted her teeth.

“I want to go with you,” she had told him with worried, tear-filled eyes. Her body is laced with bruises from trying to get her father to stop attacking Marckus and his body showing signs of damage from the struggle as well.

“You can’t be seen with me. The neighbors already called the police, they’ll be after me. If they find you with me, they’ll take you away.”

“I don't care! I won’t let you go, I won’t, I won’t, I won’t,” she shouted back. Afraid. Lost. Not wanting to be alone at this point in her life. Not when everything was beginning to fall apart at the seams.

Marckus seemed to contemplate her words before getting up from his kneeling position and going to retrieve something from the home's dining room. He came back and knelt in front of her once more holding out a blue flower. She remembered picking this flower with him one day at the pond.

“Here, hold on to this,” he said, placing it into her hand and wrapping her fingers around it. “So long as you have it I’ll always be with you.”

A knock on the door drew their attention.

“Shiko City Police! We got a call about a disturbance in the area. We need whoever is inside to open the door. We just  have a few questions!”

Anna looked fearfully at the door, unsure of what to do or of what may happen next. Marckus looked back at the girl and picked her up in one swift motion.

“We have to go now, okay? We’ll get to the pier and ride a boat out of here,” Marckus said as reassuringly as possible. Anna didn’t look convinced. Her eyes looked back at the door as the officers outside demanded that someone open the door once more.

“I promise Anna.”

“We hear you in there! Come out now or else we will enter the building!”

Anna looked to Marckus’s face and nodded hurriedly as he began to run towards the back of the home.

Anna held her head tightly in her hands. “GO AWAY,” she mentally shouted towards the thoughts piercing her mind. She hated these moments when Beatrice or Max wasn’t around. With no one to turn to, no source of distraction, the memories she has been trying so desperately to push out keep finding their way to the surface.

Little was she aware of the small furry figure lingerie nearby. 

Spike sat towards the right end of the bed staring up at the girl. A small grumble could be heard from him before he let out a small bark. 

Anna didn’t move. She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t even noticed him being there. Spike let out a small whine before sticking his rear end in the air and leaning back on his paws. 

He pounced upwards just a bit, not entirely leaving the ground. He did this a few times before he was confident in his jump and leaped up onto the mattress. 

Before Anna could react he trouted up the blankets towards her face and started placing wet kisses all over her.

“H-hey, stop. Cut it out Spi…” The girl was momentarily stopped in her whining as the dog punched up on her and placed a kiss across her lips causing her to jerk away and whip her lips frantically.

“Ewwwwwwww, SPIIIIIIIKE!!!”

The dog ignored her complaint as he went prone and tried to slither his way under the palm of her right hand and coax her into petting him.

It was obvious that he wanted attention but unfortunately for him. Anna wasn’t in the best of moods. The girl huffed and picked him up before sitting him on the floor and crawling back in the bed.

She laid down with her back towards him and closed her eyes. Spike was determined though. She felt him jump back into the bed and try and snuggle up with her. She let out a loud groan and picked him up once more before putting him out and closing the door.

Spike tilted his head and stared at the closed door for a moment before scratching at it.

The door remained closed.

He scratched it more vigorously this time.

It still wouldn’t open.

This time he scratched at it like a mad dog and let out a few winds and barks in complaint.

“Go away Spike,” Anna shouted from beyond the door.

After a few minutes of Spike trying to get the girl to open the door the dog gave up and trudged back into the living room where he plopped down on his dog bed near Beatrice's balcony and stared out the main door to the apartment.

And there he waited for something interesting to happen. For a visit from a human friend, for Anna to finally come out of the room and give him attention, food, pats on his furry head, and food.

The dog let out a huff and hopped up out of his bed. He padded his way towards the kitchen and towards the closed pantry. He wanted food.

He scratched at the door hoping that it would head his demands and open to reveal it

It’s content in all of its glory. But it remained closed. He let out a whine and a single bark just as the front door lock was twisted and the door was pushed open.

“Knock, knock. Anyone home,” a familiar voice called causing Spike to bulldoze his way to the figure and immediately pounced on her.

“Aww, nice to see you Spike ole’ buddy,” the woman greeted the small dog in a bubbly voice accompanied by the ruffling of his furry body which he returned with kisses on her hands.

“So where’s the carrot top,” she asked in the same bubbly voice as the dog paws at her excitedly. Spike hoped down and did a little spin, not exactly taking notice of the women's question in his excited state.

The person she was referring to in particular heard her voice from Beatrice’s room. Despite her less than stellar state, she found the strength to get out of bed and drag her way towards the door and out into the living room.

“MaxMax,” the girl exclaimed as cheerfully as she could. She immediately felt her spirits begin to lift at the sight of the woman who became an older sister figure to her. 

“Carrot Tooooop,” Max exclaimed back as she charged towards the girl with outstretched arms and picked her up slightly in a bear hug. The sight to an onlooker would seem quite awkward due to them being fairly close in height.

“I missed you too,” Anna giggled as the girl held her up tightly. “What are you doing back so fast, I thought you went somewhere far away,” Anna asked as she was placed back on her two feet.

“Unfortunately, the cosplay convention I was going to was canceled due to the weather,” the woman replied in disappointment. “Sucks too, I was looking forward to wearing my Battle Star costume.” 

Stars filled her eyes as her thoughts became stuck on the image of her in the red, white, and black knightly attire receiving photos from various people in the crowd along with the gawking stares of many male onlookers and finally winning the best cosplay award.”

Anna tilted her head in confusion as she stared at the woman going through her mental fantasy. After realizing she must look awkward, Max shook her head of the thoughts swimming in them and waved her hand lazily at Anna.

“But never mind that. Is Queen Woe-Is-Me here?” 

Anna laughed once more. She would never get tired of Max’s never-ending list of nicknames for people.

“No, it’s just me and Spikey.”

“Then she won’t mind if I borrow you for a bit,” Max said with a smug expression on her face. Anna looked at her confused.

“What for,” she asked.

“What for!?” Max leaned over to the girl, wrapped her right arm around the back of her neck, and waved her free hand out in front of them in a sweeping motion while looking out at nothing in particular.

“A FUUN day featuring yours truly and co-starring this little Wookie,” she said, gesturing to Spike who twirled excitedly upon being referenced. “So what do you say Carrot Top, you in or are you in?”

Anna looked down a bit apprehensive. Beatrice was adamant about her resting. “W-well, uhm. Mrs. Beatrice doesn’t-,” 

“Of course, you're in! You’re the star of the show,” Max exclaimed suddenly with imaginary sparkles fluttering about the two. She then looked at Anna with a serious expression.

“Now shower and get some clothes on cause frankly kid, you look and smell like a carrot right about now. The rotten kind. Understood?”

“Uh, yes ma’am,” Anna replied.

“GOOD, NOW HURRY UP MAGGOT!”

“YES MA’AM”, Anna sounded off with a salute before heading towards Beatrice’s room to pick from some of the outfits Beatrice had gotten her then to the bathroom to shower.