A Little Girl Named Shania

Lo woke up bright and early in the morning. Squiggle was already up, playing with some toy figures Lo had brought with him. After a bit of a kerfuffle between the two on whether or not to leave, Squiggle finally hopped onto Lo's hat, and the two set off. They had heard whispers of a train to the next region, and they just knew they needed to catch it.

"Thank you for staying at Olive Inn!" Sonja exclaimed on their way out. "Oh... wait up! Before you go, someone would like to talk to you."

"Who's that?" Lo asked, stopping. A short girl in pink polka-dot footie pajamas walked out from behind the front desk. She kind of looked like Sonja. She had the same eyes and ponytail. Lo was much taller than her, and he wasn't even necessarily tall for his age. "Oh, hey, kid." Lo said.

"Hey! Don't call me kid!" The little girl shouted in a fuss. "I mean, it's true! But don't say it!"

"This is my little sister, Shania," Sonja stated. She then looked at Shania, angrily. "Shania, don't be rude to these gentlemen!"

Shania crossed her arms. "Hmph..."

"What would you like to say to these young men?" Sonja asked Shania comfortingly, kneeling down and putting an arm on her shoulder.

"I heard you two are adventurers," Shania mumbled. Lo could hardly hear her from across the room. "I'm coming with you. I've always wanted to go on an adventure, but I'm not strong enough yet... I need to build experience so that I can go on my own adventure someday. If it means tagging along with some random kids, so be it."

"You're coming with us?" Lo asked. Squiggle shook his head, looking down at Lo. "Oh, be quiet, Squiggle." Lo groaned. "I dunno... you don't look like the adventuring type... you aren't even wearing a fancy suit!"

Shania opened her mouth to yell at them, but Sonja put her hand over her little sister's mouth, much to Shania's struggle. "W-why don't you all discuss it over breakfast?"

"I have my own food though," Lo replied.

"Please, I don't want to deal with her throwing a tantrum all day if you don't take her," Sonja whispered. "It's on the house. We have many local delicacies exclusive to Victoriaville. I implore you to try!"

"If you say so," Lo sighed.

Lo smacked his hand onto the table that he, Squiggle, Shania and Sonja were seated at. They were all enjoying pancakes. "Alright, so you think you have what it takes to be an adventurer," he chuckled. "What is the first rule of any adventure?"

"The first, and only rule is..." Shania said. She looked directly at Lo's eyes with a sharp glare. "There ARE no rules."

Lo gasped, and Squiggle put a hand over his own mouth. "Correctamundo, my friend," Lo said, accepting the blow, but not yet defeat. "However... you don't quite have the look, as I said before. Adventurers aren't just people, they're legends. Every legend needs a signature... Where's yours?"

Shania gestured towards her polka dots. Lo inhaled sharply, as if he had just suffered an attack. "O-okay, but, where's your hat?!" Lo asked.

With a slow yet strong motion, one that felt like it shook the earth, Shania reached behind her and pulled a beanie hat off of the chair. No way... she had been hiding it there the whole time to make Lo look like a fool!

She placed it on her head. And just like that, it was all over.

"NOOOOOOO!" Lo exclaimed dramatically. He stood up from his chair and slammed his hands on the table. He had... been... defeated...

Sonja looked up from her pancakes. "Oh! So have you two come to an agreement?" She asked.

"I... yes, we have..." Lo sighed, looking at the ground. He really didn't want some random person tagging along. But he had to keep his word. He smirked and looked up. "Alright then... you really DO think you have what it takes! Let's see how you do. Our goal is to get to the treasure at Gold Haven, the northernmost region of this island. Do you hear me?!" This sparked incohesive whispers from their fellow breakfast-goers. "What? What did I say?"

"You're... looking for the treasure?" Sonja asked. She looked very concerned.

"Yeah, it's pretty much the whole reason Squiggle and I came to this island," Lo replied. "What, is there something I should know about it?"

"I don't know much about it," Sonja sighed, putting her hands on her lap. "I'm still new here. But the librarian just East of here should know a thing or two. If you have time before your train ride, I'd recommend going there."

"I don't think we do," Lo said, looking at Squiggle. Lo checked his golden watch. "Speaking of which, we should get going. C'mon, Squiggle and Shania."

Shania smiled, for a change. She jumped off her chair and ran after Lo and Squiggle, who were making their way out of the inn. "Lo! Squiggle! Shania!" Sonja called out after them. "Good luck!"

"Thank you, Sonja!" Lo said, turning around and smiling. "Bye!" They all waved goodbye as they exited the inn.