Kanum was about to run and pull Shry back, but before he could take one step, a familiar hand reached out and pulled on Shry's shirt, preventing him from going any further.
"Be careful," Shelt said in a calm tone.
On the other end of the hand that reached out was Shelt, who was calmly enjoying her breakfast with her right hand and holding onto the hem of Shry's Shirt with her left.
Firmly clasping the hem of Shry's shirt, Shelt slowly retracted her left hand and pulled him away from danger.
Meanwhile, Kanum stood frozen in place as he watched the scene wuth his hand was stuck out, and a barely maintained balanced as he stood on one leg.
"Ah..." Kanum couldn't utter a word in bafflement.
Even though he looked ridiculous, if Kanum had truly been forced to take action, Shry would've been saved no matter what happened. Even if a monster attacked, though unlikely, Kanum would've dealt with the thing with relative ease
(C'mon, didn't you almost fall earlier!...) Kanum snickered internally and smile darky at his son as he began thinking of numerous ways to curb Shry's reckless behavior
Sensing danger, Shry shivered and shakily glanced at Kanum but as soon as he got a glimpse, he quickly looked back right afterwards.
Just by glancing into Kanum's eyes, Shry understood that he screwed up, and in an effort to try to lighten his punishment, he did his best to act like he didn't see anything.
(No way out of this buddy) Kanum's expression turned more sinister as his eyes grew hollow
Not noticing this, Shelt casually handed Shry his breakfast. Unintentionally breaking the tension between father and son
"Hm?" Shry responded with a surprised noise
Shry was surprised for a minute, but as the smell of sausages, eggs, and freshly toasted bread wafted into his nostrils, he quickly took the plate from Shelt's hands and took a bite.
Kanum wanted to pursue Shry for his behavior, but as he watched Shry eat, he sighed, realizing that now is not the best time for him to lecture his son
Feeling that it can't be helped, Kanum hesitantly refrained and began eating as well. Holding his plate with his left hand and a fork on right, He cut both of his sausages vertically and stacked them on a piece of toast. After that, he proceeded to stack the eggs and ham onto it as well until only one piece of toast remained by the side of the tower-like stack of breakfast items.
Stacking the final piece of toast on top, Kanum adjusted the sandwich so it wouldn't completely fall apart when he held it. Satisfied with his work, he held the sandwich with both hands and took a large bite.
Since it'll take the parade a good minute to get here, the family of three relaxedly enjoyed their breakfast together.
While they were eating, Shry began to feel thirsty, so he went to pour himself a cup of water. He walked over to the table and lifted up a jar of water. However, right before he poured the water, he touched the side of the water jar.
Feeling that it's lukewarm, Shry refrained from pouring himself a cup for now. Looking around the table, he located and picked up a small blue mechanical shark. The shark looked very cute; it had beady eyes and a goofy smile, and under it was an openable hatch.
(There it is), Shry thought as he turned the shark around.
Spotting the hatch, Shry dug his fingernails into a gap and pried it open, revealing an empty compartment. Once again he looked back to the table, and after a moment, he spotted the object he was looking for.
The item was a small, glowing, light blue cylinder, not too dissimilar to the green battery that Kanum used before; the only difference is their color and size, but they both function the same way.
Slitting the battery into the empty compartment, the shark's eyes glowed slightly, but it still didn't move. Realizing what was missing, Shry ran to his mother for help.
"Mom! Can you help me activate the Shark?" Shry held out the Shark with both hands, presenting it to Shelt.
*Gulp*
After hearing Shry's request, Shelt quickly swallowed her food before responding.
"Yeah, Bring it here." Shelt held out her right hand.
Just like before, Shelt activated her node, but this time, only her hand glowed metallic.
Seeing this, Shry brought the shark to Shelt's left hand, and just by touching it with her finger, the shark began to come to life.
Light blue light peeked through its gaps, displaying its mechanical segments and indicating that it's ready to perform.
"Thank you, Mom!" Shry expresses his gratitude, running back to the jar
As Shry held onto the shark, it began to get colder and colder, and within seconds, it felt as if he was holding onto an ice cube. So, before it got any colder, Shry quickly and carefully dropped the shark into the jar of water, breaking it's surface tension but without making a splash.
As soon as the shark entered the water, its tail began to wag, and after regaining its balance, it swam around the water in circles.
Seeing that it's functioning correctly, Shry sat back onto his chair and continued eating while waiting for the shark to chill the water
*Wu San Tu Tu* The music from the parade got louder, indicating it's eminent arrival
As a minute passed, the exterior of the jar got cloudy and water droplets began to form all around it's surface.
Shry had already finished more than half of his breakfast by that time, so when finally he noticed that the shark had finished it's job, he instantly stood up and went to pour himself a cup, twice as thirsty as before.
Holding up the water jar, Shry hastily poured himself a cup and proceeded to finish it in seconds. With his cup now empty, he poured himself another cup and took a sip from it.
While he was still pouring, he felt
Without putting down the jar, Shry felt like he should pour a cup for his parents as well. So, he lined two cups next to each other and began pouring into the cup on the left first. Once he was done with that cup, he quickly moved on to the second cup without stopping, which caused him to accidentally spill some water onto the table
"Owh, look, de pawade iz hier." Kanum pointed at the window with his mouth full.
Despite his barely comprehensible mumbles, Kanum's statement quickly got Shelt and Shry's attention. Causing them both to quickly turn to the window
Shry hastily put down the jar of water and immediately ran to the window, reclaiming his spot while also forgetting his half-eaten breakfast on the table.
"My breakfast... No! I'm not missing this!" Shry moaned in regret but solidified his resolve right afterwards.
Shry looked in between the parade and his breakfast, weighing his options. He wondered if it'll be worth it to get his breakfast if it meant missing out on the parade. In the end, he decided that the parade was more Important since he'll only be able to watch this year's spectacle once as it changes every year
"Wooaaahhh..." Shry's eyes sparkled, trying to look at everything the parade had to offer
While Shry and Kanum were distracted, Shelt snuck up behind Kanum while munching on his sandwich. Sneakily, Shelt began to charge up a flick, and right as Kanum took a bite, she released it.
*Pacc!* Kanum's head visibly twitched forwards as Shelt's finger made contact.
"Don't talk with your mouth full." Shelt whispered in Kanum's left ear.
*Mmmrrf mmf*
Kanum was visibly shocked but couldn't say anything in retaliation because his mouth was still full. All he could do was produce a dissatisfied mumble and glare at Shelt.
"Hehe," Shelt chuckled heartily.
Kanum wanted to be mad, but after seeing Shelt's face, he couldn't help but lightened his glare. Kanum attempted to grit his teeth, but he just made himself look dumb, especially while he was trying to swallow his food.
"Mom! Dad! Look at that!" Shry shouted and pointed at something in the middle of the groups performers.
In the middle of the performers was a gigantic glowing orb that spun and is about the same size as a two-story house.
The orb glowed yellow like the sun, and along its body were dozens of beautiful orange engravings that were intricate and precise, following a motif that accentuates the celestial body that it's mimicking.
Not only that, but light coming from inside the orb also seemed to refract through all those engravings, creating a effect similar to a moving halo around its bright glowing yellow body.
Looking beneath the orb, a concentrated body of mist swirled, covering the contraption that is holding it up. Whilst also doubling up as a stylistic choice that made the orb look all the more mystical.
(How did they do that...) Kanum thought in astonishment while looking at the halo of light around the orb.
Shry and Kanum stared at the float with the same intense expression, gawking at it with widened eyes and intrigued faces like they wanted to jump down and take the whole thing apart.
On the other hand, Shelt, who saw the gargantuan orb as well, was also extremely baffled by its mystical elements, though no where near as much as Kanum and Shry.
With their eyes glued to the float, Shry and Kanum failed to notice someone with trickish intent approaching both of them.
The trickster was a female with long brown hair and the same outfit as the other performers, indicating that she is part of the show, though it seems like she's currently acting on her own accord.
(Of course he chose the parade over his food), Shelt thought upon noticing Shry's abandoned plate on the table.
Going over to the table, Shelt lifted up Shry's abandoned breakfast, but right when she was putting it down next to Shry, she noticed the female performer that was floating by their window watching them.
Looking at her, Shelt already had somewhat of an idea of what the female performer was up to, but just in case she was wrong, she tilted her head and stared questioningly at the woman, which then prompted the performer to notice her.
The performer and Shelt made eye contact, staring into each other's eyes. After a moment, without exchanging even a single word, they both understood each other.
(Do it!) Shelt said in her mind and lip-synced to it.
Shelt wasn't very good at lip-syncing, which made her lips nearly impossible to read. But partnered with the context to this situation, the performer instantly recognized what Shelt was trying to say.
(Hehe, what sequence should I use?) The performer silently asked herself
Gaining their mother's approval, the performer smiled deviously and quickly got ready by first disengaging her right hand.
Originally, the performer used both hands to fly, so when she suddenly disengaged one of them, her flying was disrupted for a second, causing her to stumble, but because she was ready for it, she was able to quickly stabilize herself without much effort.
(I should use that!... But I'll have to be careful with it.) Smiling, the performer came to a decision.
Lifting up her right arm, the performer activated her node, and her hand to halfway up her elbow glowed light green.
With confidence, the performer moved her fingers precisely, and with each of their movements, a corresponding windy-ish sound would play, accompanied by some twisty light green effects.
The process was quite slow, so whenever Kanum or Shry deviated from the parade, Shelt had to distract them.
"Did the orb just change!?" Shelt lied in a effort to keep her son and husband's attention elsewhere
Finally, after 2 full minutes, the performer's fingers stopped, and the light green wind effects that gathered around her hand finally left and became corporeal.
*Woooosh wisssh*
Visible breezes of wind blocked Shry and Kanum's vision. But before they could find out what happened, the breezes of wind quickly consolidated, turning into birds, as a therapeutic melody took form, following the rhythm of the wind and the performer's fingers.
The bird flapped its wings and looked around confused, like it was alive. Simultaneously, Kanum and Shry also looked confused, mildly mimicking the bird.
Very soon afterwards, all signs that indicated that the bird was alive hastily disappeared, and the therapeutic music that accompanied it also seemingly lost its life, turning into a dull, mediocre melody with no life behind it.
*Wooooo wuuu* a dull melody played as the bird grew still
The bird still flew, but unlike its formal self, the bird just stayed still in the air like a statue; it didn't even flap its wings to fly. All it did was float in the air and stare at Kanum and Shry with its empty eyes.
(Em... Hello?) Kanum questioned inertly.
After all of that, the father-son duo can't help but stare back at the bird as it floats, mesmerized by its appearance. But suddenly, without any warning, the bird flew straight at both of them without moving its wings, making Shry flinch and causing Kanum to fall backwards. Thankfully, before it hit Shry, the bird immediately dispersed into harmless puffs of wind.
Seeing that the sequence turned out to be harmless, Kanum, who was still on the floor, calmed down and dispelled his black petals.
"You!" Kanum said as he pointed at the culprit.
After realizing that they were being toyed with, Kanum immediately looked around for the perpetrator and immediately spotted the performer who was messing with them.
(Mleh, good luck catching me) The had her teased internally with her tongue out
After being found out, the performer acted like nothing happened and flew back to her position without saying anything.
Shelt walked up close to the window, waving goodbye when she noticed three small metallic objects.
"Huh?"
Before leaving, the performer quickly left behind a present for the family of three on their windowsill.
Three badge-sized trophies were left behind on the windowsill. The little trophies had a fiery aesthetic, and their bodies also somewhat resembled birds.
"Thank you, lady!" Shry yelled out his gratitude as he waved at the departing figure of the performer with one of the trophies in his hands.
Seeing that Kanum was not willing to get up from the floor, Shelt took the other two trophies and placed one of them on Kanum's chest while she kept the other one for herself
*Hhaaaaah* Kanum groaned after noticing Shelt had placed one of the two trophies on him.
*Pfft*
Shelt held back her laugh, but even after trying to hide it, Kanum still noticed it immediately, even if he only saw it in the corner of his eye.
Seeing that Shelt is enjoying herself after the rough start in the morning, Kanum couldn't help but smile to himself.
(What's this anyway?) Kanum thought while scrunching his head trying to see what the thing was.
Kanum removed the trinket from his chest and inspected it by lifting it up against the ceiling light.
While he was doing that, though, Shelt finally joined Shry in watching the parade. And after Kanum decided to get up, they were finally able to enjoy the parade together as a family.
After that, a couple of minutes elapsed with nothing eventful happening, but as it began to feel monotonous, a loud, beastly squawk reverberated through the air, immediately catching everyone's attention.
*Skiiiiiiiiik*
A humongous phoenix made purely out of fire flew in the air, passing by dozens of windows at high speeds.
Beside the phoenix was a specialized group of performers working together to create this spectacle and ensure the safety of everyone here.
These performers wore phoenix-themed outfits with flame-colored tassels hanging all the way from their armpits to their wrists, along with ribbons tied into a braid behind their tailbone that acted as the tail.
"Huh... What is that...?" Shelt unconsciously mumbled as her face filled with shock
Seeing all of this, even Shelt had her mouth agape, because it is simply unbelievable that they were bold enough to pull off something this dangerous in a suburban neighborhood.
*Skiiiiiii*
Another squawk rang out, but this time, some people began to notice something odd. The squawks did not come from the phoenix itself; instead, they were constructed by a group of four performers beneath it.
Two of the four performers clashed earth and metal against each other to imitate the squawk, while the other two used wind to amplify and redirect the sound to wherever the phoenix was, making it sound like the squawks came from the phoenix itself.
"They really went all out this year..." Shelt remarked, gradually lowering her voice with each word she spoke
"Yeahhhh...." Shry replied dazedly as his eyes followed the phoenix in every direction it went.
"Yeah," Kanum showed his teeth as he smiled.
*TAK*
As the phoenix flew around, a sharp snap resounded and overlapped all sounds within the area for a moment.
Suddenly every sound within the affected radius was altered slightly and sounded like they went through a filter.
The change was minimal, so not many people noticed it, though there were some who felt the like something was different, but because the effects were so minor, they didn't think anything of it. Secretly, though, as everyone was distracted, all drinkable water within the vicinity began to change.
*Ah hm* Kanum coughed, feeling his throat grow parched.
Feeling thirsty, Kanum went to take a sip of his water. He held onto his cup with his right hand and raised it to his lips, taking a sip.
At first, he didn't notice anything different about it, but as the taste lingered, Kanum felt like something was different, so he took another sip and as he tasted it again, his face contorted and squinched up.
*Pfffffft* Kanum convulsed and sprayed his drink all over the floor and himself.