"Oh! It's you two again! Came back for more fish?" The old man asked.
Hunter nods. "Yes, same as last time," he stated.
"Of course. I told you you won't regret it!" He exclaimed.
"I never would have imagined that we'd come back here," said Petra. She turned to the dark-haired boy. "You still haven't told us why you need all this," she said.
"In a minute." The teal green-eyed boy turned back to the marketer. "Sir, is there anywhere close by that I could get some fresh milk?"
"Are you looking to buy some?"
"... Yes."
"Well, you're in luck. My wife, Fiona rears some cows on our farm back at home. Are you two married?"
"No," Petra replied shaking her head.
"That's a shame. My wife Fiona is the reason I wake up from bed every morning. She is the reason I come to the market every --"
"We get it, you love your wife," Hunter interrupted. "Where can I find your wife?"
The man frowned. "Why are you looking for my wife?"
[Yes Hunter, why are you looking for his wife?]
The teal green-eyed boy rubbed his forehead and sighed. "For the milk?"
"My wife doesn't sell the milk, I do," said the man.
"I -- How much is it?"
"How many jugs do you want?"
.
.
.
"So we have the milk and the fish, what now?" Petra asked.
"I'm starting to think this guy had no plan whatsoever," said Joe.
"The main ingredient ... This thingy," Hunter said holding up a long, thin, cone-like object.
"A toy trumpet?" asked Yui.
"Hey! That's what I said too," said the teal green-eyed boy.
"What even is that?" Alice asked.
"I'm starting to think this guy had no plan whatsoever," said Joe.
"Yeah, no. We heard you the first time, Joe. No need to repeat yourself!" said Petra.
Joe frowned. "Well, no one answered, how was I to know?!"
Hunter turned to Alice. "I'm surprised you don't know what this is; I took it from the Guardians' storage."
"I'm pretty sure no one except Alex and Richard knows the things in there," said Alice.
"I know what he's holding," claimed Joe. "I'm just waiting to see if HE knows what he's holding."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
[...]
Hunter shakes his head before placing the cone-like object on the ground. "This is the sprite finder ninety-nine hundred and I know what you're thinking: Yes, it's just a children's toy, and yes, its power level is over 9000!"
"That's not funny," said Joe.
"I thought it was," said Yui.
"So did I," Thomas agreed.
"The sprite finder ninety-nine hundred is a ... Screw it! Just watch." Hunter poured a jug of milk on the cone-like object and there was a small explosion followed by a small cloud of smoke.
"What's happening?" asked Oliver.
"Should I get the fire extinguisher?" Joe asked.
"No, I think I see something," said Alice. The smoke began to disperse and the cone-like object was gone and its place was a white horse with a single, straight, spiraled horn projecting from its forehead.
"Woah!" said Oliver.
"Oh. My. God!" Yui exclaimed.
"Wow," said Thomas.
"Is this ... Am I looking at unicorn?!" Alice exclaimed.
"No, this is a sprite finder ninety-nine hundred!" Hunter exclaimed.
"Stop trying to make people call it that," said Petra. "This is a unicorn."
"Meh. I've seen better," said Joe.
"Can you stop being you for a second? This a unicorn. It is a mythical creature. We are probably a select few in our generation that would see it. You are impressed and that's fine."
"This is actually a sprite finder ninety-nine hundred," said Hunter.
"Can I touch it? I want to touch it," said Yui.
"Um ... Go ahead?"
Yui places her hand and gently rubs the beast's face.
"So what exactly are we supposed to do with a unicorn?" Petra asked.
"Sprite Finder," Hunter corrected. "And as the name implies, it finds a sprite."
"That has to be a lie," said Joe. "How would that even work?" He asked.
"Joe calm down," Alice said. "Let Hunter do his thing."
"Thank you, Alice, and erm ..." Hunter turned to the white beast, using his index finger to scratch the back of his ear.
'I don't know what to do next.'
[Just tell it what to do]
"Alright buddy, time to find some sprites!"
The beast stares at Hunter for some time before eating the fish laid out in front of it and then walking to Thomas's side.
"I think she likes me," said Thomas rubbing the sprite finder's back.
"How do you know it's not a 'he'?" Oliver asked but Thomas only responded with a shrug. Hunter moved to the front of the beast. "We know everyone here is a sprite, I need you to find other sprites," he said.
The sprite finder neighs before galloping towards the gate. "Um ... Hunter? Shouldn't we try to hide it? I don't think non-mystics would just ignore a unicorn running around town," said Alice.
"It's the sprite finder ninety-nine hundred ... But yes, I agree with you."
.
.
.
After a while of following the sprite finder ninety-nine hundred, they arrived at a valley where they saw a woman wearing a chef uniform consisting of a tall toque, sky blue leggings, long sky blue gloves, a white chef jacket, and a sky blue waist apron.
"A unicorn!" The woman exclaimed.
"This is actually the sprite fin -- why do I even care? Release our friends, now!" said the dark-haired boy.
The woman furrows her eyebrows. "What makes you think I have your friends?" She asked.
"Because I can see one of them behind you," Hunter said pointing behind her. She turned and saw a spiky, red-haired boy with yellow eyes who was seated on a chair.
"You're with the Sprite Guardians!" She exclaimed. "I knew it would take more than a crowd of possessed non-mystics to take you down," she said. "I was disappointed when I sent my brother the other night and you didn't get the clue."
"I'm confused," said Petra.
"Me too," said Hunter. "This is normally the time the fighting begins."
"I'd rather not fight you," said the woman as she began plucking some of the leaves from the ground. "I'm still working on my dish," she said placing the leaves in a basket.
"I have no idea what's happening right now," said Joe. "Did she take those people or not? Also, I hope my Lexa bear is not under the sun like Alex is right now?"
"What's your name?" The woman asked.
"Joe."
"I don't care. I meant him," she said pointing at Hunter.
"Hunter Heffernan." The teal-green-eyed sprite replied. "You?" He asked.
"Rana Baci but you can just call me Chef Baci," she replied. "These guys over here are my siblings; Yun, Fren, Echu, and Misan." She pointed to the guys as she called their names, one of them was the same one that had been watching the guardians' villa from the dark.
"Oh, look! It's the creepy guy!"
"I asked him to watch you guys when I found out you guys were asking about the missing people," she revealed. "Here's the thing, Hunter Heffernan: All those people I took, they are alive and well, healthier than they've ever been even but I wouldn't let them go," she stated.
"Then you leave us with no choice," said Joe.
"We're still not fighting," said Chef Baci.
Petra frowned. "Then what is the point of all this?"
"Yeah," Alice agreed. "This sort of confrontation normally leads into ... something."
Chef Baci smiles. "I was getting there. See, even if you were to beat me and my brothers here, you would never find all those people but I could release all of them to you for a price," she stated.
"The Sprite Guardians does not negotiate with kidnappers!" Joe yelled.
Petra placed her hand on Joe's shoulder. "Pipe down, buddy."
"What do you want?" Hunter asked.
"The last dinner!" said Chef Baci.
"What's that?" Yui asked.
"A cooking competition," said the chef. "If you beat me, I release your friends and every other person I've taken. Otherwise, I --"
"What's to stop us from beating you now and setting them free?" said Thomas.
"You're welcome to try but do you even know where they are? Sure, you're seeing one of your friends here, and sure, the others are in that shack over there but what about the River Pot citizens I've ... gathered?"
"We can take them out, just say the word," said Oliver.
"We are not savages, Hunter Heffernan. We are civilized people. There's no need for us to fight to get what we want," said Chef Baci.
Hunter looked at the other sprites. He could see it in their eyes that they were eager for the fight but the last thing he was looking for at the time was a fight so he only shook his head at them before turning back to the Chef.
"How would this ... Last dinner work?"
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