Oh!" Sunny cried, falling onto her rear as she clutched her frozen feat, the rest of her body shivering because of the bitter cold it produces.
"Yeah.." Cynoce said, rubbing his chin as he watched this. "That's what happens if you're nervous, you get cold feet."
Sunny clutched her feet, her body shivering because of the unbearable temperature.
"We need help!" she winced, her hands already wet and icy-cold because of the barely melting ice. "How do I break the ice!"
Cynoce looked around, there was nothing but forest trees, but a literal light bulb suddenly appeared on top of his head, he had an idea.
"I know what to do!" he proclaimed. "We should find some sticks and start a fireplace!"
Sunny nodded her head with a smile, "Good idea! I don't know what I'd do without you!"
"Hey, it was you who made that hag go away! I owe you one!" Cynoce said, his hands on his hips. "I thought I was the brave one, but you, you were the boss!"
Sunny smiled even more, her cheeks turning pink out of shyness, "I only had enough with her because she harms people. I hate people who do that." she said, saying the last line with serious hatred.
Cynoce agreed, his arms crossed, "Those darn witches, they know nothing but being gluttons! And it's not just them, it's the demons too! They're humanity's number 1 enemy!"
"Demons?!" Sunny gasped, she always considered them folklore, but now that she was in a fantastical, cartoon logic-like world, she knew that they had to be real somehow.
"Yeah, they're big and scary!" Cynoce described, raising his arms and bending his fingers into claws to imitate the horrific claws of the demons. "They use their claws to scratch you until you're down to the bone, and they suck your soul too!"
Sunny yelped, placing her hands on her shoulders and hugging herself. "That's horrible! They sound like dangerous creatures! I don't know what I'd do if a loved one of mine went face to face with one demon and had their soul sucked or their skin torn!"
"Well, that's alright! If we ever even come across one, you can just tell them off!"
"Oh, no, no!" Sunny waved her hand in response. "It can't be just words that'll shoo them! We don't even know what we can do to get those demons away from this! After all, witches and demons are different things!"
"Yeah, good logic." Cynoce said, walking around and gathering some sticks, as well as a few stones so that he could smash them together and start a fire with the sticks.
***
It had been a few hours, and Sunny's legs were still frozen, she still sat on the floor, walking around with ice as her new shoes were painful. She watched as Cynoce grumbled in annoyance as he smashed two stones together, attempting to create a spark that would ignite a small fire for the small bundle of wood sticks.
"Here, let me try." Sunny insisted.
"No!" Cynoce harshly said, still smashing the two stones together rapidly. "Can't you see I'm trying to get this to work?!"
Sunny, noticing two stones, picked them up, and as she watched Cynoce still smashing the stones together and with no success of creating a spark, her innocently curious expression softened into a sad one. She blamed herself for being so frightened and having cold feet, and making Cynoce, who looked like a little boy around the ages of 8 to 10. She sighed, and she looked at the two stones in her hands, rubbing her thumb against its smooth yet hard texture. She then raised one stone, and with one go, she smashed the two stones together, and a tiny, crackling spark appeared, falling onto the fireplace and starting a small fire.
"Woah!" Cynoce gasped, jumping backwards. "Hey, you did it!"
Sunny smiled, her cheeks turning pink again, and for a few minutes, they were comforted by the warmth of the fire. That was when she felt as if something was thawing, and she looked down, smiling even more as the ice melted, sliding off her wet feet. She then took off her shoes and socks, which were damp from the freezing water, and she laid them on the ground, letting them dry near the burning fire.
"Hey." Cynoce said, his stomach grumbling. "You got any food?"
Sunny looked in the basket, opening the lid and revealing apples, berries, watermelons, and more. Cynoce's mouth watered, he stuck his giant, dog tongue out, and he began to pant heavily as he took a berry and devoured it whole, magenta juice dripping down his fuzzy chin.
"You're such a doll!" Cynoce said, his eyes watering with joy and satisfaction. "You must be an angel sent by the Creator!"
Sunny giggled, "I'm just me, trying to help out because it's the right thing to do."
Cynoce continued to devour most of the berries from the basket, tears of joy streaming down his fur. It was a moment of relaxation when they heard screams of rage echoing through the forest, and a herd of demonic and heavily wrinkled witches rushing towards them, ready to devour them.
"Go away!" Sunny yelled, but it seemed to have no effect on them.
She began to panic, her feet starting to freeze again, but thankfully there was no ice.
"I think they're not as sensitive as the other witches!" she realized.
Cynoce reacted quickly, and he reached out for his pocket, revealing a small, stretchable hole. Sunny's eyes widened, her pupils turning into hazel dots, she recognized the hole, and she wondered what Cynoce was about to do with it.
"Is that…Is that a hole?"
"It's a portable hole!" Cynoce said with a grin, laying it down on the floor and placing his paws in, stretching it firmly and turning into a larger hole. "It can stretch and fold like paper!"
"I've never seen a hole like that before! But wait—You never told me that you had that!" Sunny exclaimed, crossing her arms out of annoyance. "We could've been out of here if you brought that out earlier!"
"Well, hurry up and jump in! We don't have time!"
Although she was hesitant and frightened upon realizing that she must yet again jump down another deep, dark hole, Sunny nodded, and simultaneously, they jumped down the hole, hand in hand, her heart racing as she relived the moment she first dropped down one. It didn't take long until all the witches pounced together, ready to take them, only for their heads to get in the way, colliding with each other and resulting them all to fall back, tall red bumps appearing on top of their heads.
"OH!" One witch stomped her foot. "We just lost a human! Now there aren't any more thanks to you girls' stupidity!"
***
It was dark, but Sunny could still hear a cartoonish whistle as she fell along with Cynoce, who was barely visible thanks to the darkness surrounding them. Suddenly, there was a thump, they both had landed. Sunny winced as she knelt up, her abdomen in pain, she began to wonder how deep this hole was.
"Hey!" Cynoce chuckled. "What do you know? We're in Humanica!"
"Humanica? Is that the realm of the humans?"
"The continent of the humans! It's where they come from and most of the population derives there!"
The dog-boy began to look around, rubbing his chin with his paw when the two saw a few, dot-shaped lights that barely illuminated.
"We're in the sewer." Cynoce realized, and he began to jump, attempting to leap up so that his hands could push the sewer drain open.
Sunny walked over, but then she gasped in pain, she looked down, and she felt a warm liquid come out from her feet. She remembered that she had forgotten her shoes and socks, she didn't have any time considering the life-and-death situation they were in, and she facepalmed herself. However, she did not mind the blood seeping out from her bare feet, and she suddenly picked up Cynoce, who was surprisingly light for his weight, and she raised him upwards. Now that he had some support and could reach the drain higher, he shot up his hands, causing the drain lid to fly open. Cynoce leapt out and landed on his feet, but the moment he reached the floor, his heel had hit a tack, causing him to let out the biggest scream of all time. Meanwhile, Sunny slowly got up, her hands on the rings of the manhole, and she looked around in awe at the colorful city that was filled with technology. However, as she observed the street, she noticed how they were living like people from the Medieval era. There were shops for corsets, pimped out dresses, and beautiful pure white opera gloves that mirrored the toon glaves that Sunny saw on the television. Then, instead of automobiles and runabouts, there were chariots pulled by odd horses with the upper body of surprisingly handsome men and carriages pulled by the same species. Not only that, there weren't barely mansion-like houses made out of wood or bricks, but tall skyscrapers that towered over the little stores and medium-sized houses, almost like a border of protection.
"I've never seen a city like that before!" Sunny gasped with delight. "I've never seen tall buildings before, I wonder what they're made out of! The material must be really expensive to be able to make beautiful buildings like these!"
Cynoce snickered, "Welcome to Meimon, the most prestigious of all cities in Humanica! Reminds you of the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz, huh?"
"Ah, yes!" Sunny said with an enthusiastic smile. "My father used to read me that book, it was the good times indeed…Wait, what happened to the lid? Where did it land?"
That was when the two of them yelped as a trail of dust appeared, it appeared that somebody who can't actually be human was running. When the duo turned around to see who was causing the scene, they gasped to see a fiery red and zany bird with long legs, a giant beak which formed a confident smile, and two, googly eyes. It turned around, and it let out a "Honk-Honk!" as it continued to speed down the road, causing a commotion as citizens dodged the upcoming bird.
"Watch out!" exclaimed Sunny as she sped towards an elderly woman carrying a grocery bag filled with goodies. The bird was about to collide with her, but thankfully, Sunny pushed the bird out of the way, saving the elderly from a horrible accident.
"Why, thank you, young lady!" The elderly lady grinned, her voice grouchy yet warm.
Sunny nodded with a smile, before fixing her glasses which began to slide off, and then returned to Cynoce, who's jaw dropped.
However, it didn't end there, a blonde coyote with a long, sharp nose and yellow googly eyes appeared, a napkin tucked against the center of his throat as he held a knife and fork. He gritted his teeth, his eyes literally shooting daggers at the zany bird with great determination and gluttony. It was basically a race throughout the city as the coyote chased after the long-legged red bird, and when he got closer, he raised his utensils, ready to stab and devour the featherly creature. Everyone watched as if it were a chase sequence in a zany movie, except they were a part of it too. However, Sunny and Cynoce suddenly heard a whistling sound in the distance, it was so loud, it felt as if something large was about to land. Meanwhile, the coyote suddenly paused, he looked up, and his eyes popped out of his sockets when he saw the lid about to fall on top of his head. Filled with fear, he took out from his back an umbrella with a tall handle but a tiny panel. Feeling helpless with no other options, the coyote held the umbrella up, ready to face the worst when the lid suddenly rotated and landed on the top of the panel vertically. But because of the impact of the fall, it suddenly snapped in two, and the two broken parts began to slide off of the panel in a tender manner, before out of nowhere, they both landed onto the coyote's giant feet, flattening it like pancakes. Unable to let out a scream out of shock, the coyote revealed a sign that reads, "OUCH!!!" He then flipped it, and it read, "OUCH!!! – Definition: The meaning of OUCH!!! is to especially express sudden pain"
Everyone gasped in shock to see quite a scene, and the bird, who was watching the scene, stuck out its tongue, before turning around and sprinting off, leaving behind a trail of smoke and another "Honk-Honk!".
"Poor guy." Sunny pitied the coyote, who was still holding his scream in a still manner.
"That's alright." Cynoce reassured. "That happens all the time. Oh, let's cover our ears, he might begin screaming."
The crowd gasped upon hearing what Cynoce said, and they all began to cover their ears frantically, and so did Sunny and Cynoce, their hearts racing as the coyote let out the biggest scream they've ever heard.
EEUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOUUUGGH!
In a few seconds, it was over, and everyone unplugged their ears.
"Now I feel even more bad for him." Sunny spoke, watching as the coyote kicked the broken lid pieces away out of frustration, storming off over his defeat.
"Nah, this is what we call entertainment here." Cynoce said with a smirk. "Some people would probably wish he could actually get him already because he's always causing havoc, but a coyote isn't a coyote without his honk-a-tweet."
Sunny giggled, "Yeah, that was entertaining, but still, poor guy. He must be in a lot of pain right now."
"According to Sciencepedia, I heard that their Latin names are 'Stubbornus Coyotius' and 'Honkius-ut-Tweetum.'."
"Interesting!" Sunny said with an enthusiastic smile. "Tell me more!"
"What do you mean? I thought you wouldn't want to care to hear a dog-boy like me recite some Latin just for fun.."
"Latin? That's a beautiful language!" Sunny beamed with glee. "I may not know much, but I would love to learn!"
"I heard Meimon Academy teaches the language, not only that, they also train crusader wannabes!"
Sunny gasped with delight, "I should get a scholarship there!"
That was when the duo heard a, "Come along and roast the Roaster for a scholarship to the Meimon Academy!"
Sunny and Cynoce glanced at each other, they now know what to do to get in. Running over to the contest area, they were met by a buffalo-like man with a nose ring tying his two nostrils together. He was bare chested, and he had a tattoo on his beefy breasts, which said "Roaster!!" There were many contestants, most of them were grown men, and they all had menacing appearances, most of them wearing black or gray, while some of them just didn't have any shirts on!
"Go ahead!" Cynoce pushed her.
"H-hello?" Sunny came over, revealing herself in a sea of grown men because of her small size and colorful appearance. "I was wondering if I could join."
The audience turned to her, and they all began to laugh at her, being in the center of a crowd of laughing grown men with gruff voices, Sunny covered her ringing ears.
"HEY!" The Roaster yelled, his hands balling into fists as he glanced at the crowd. "A contestant is a contestant! Let her in!"
Sunny sighed in relief, and the intimidated audience stopped laughing, letting her in the crowd with them. She was sweating heavily out of anxiety, especially when it comes to being the youngest and colorful of the crowd.
"Alright! Let's see what you all got!" The Roaster called. "If you want to enter the Meimon Academy, then you're going to have to roast me if you want to win it!"
One man raised his muscular hand, and the Roaster nodded, giving him the permission to speak.
"How come you're not going?" The man asked in a gruff voice.
"Because school's for losers!" The Roaster cackled. "Besides, roasting is all I'm for! Not schooling! So whoever thinks that school's cool, you're here for the scholarship then! Let's start with the first contestant!"
The first contestant showed up, he was a buff yet skinny man, and he had a thick mustache but a bald head. He gulped, being watched by the whole crowd.
"You're dumb, you're slow! Brains are better than brawns!"
Everyone was silent, and so was the Roaster, but then his neutral expression cracked into a smile, he didn't seem to be offended at all. The first contestant, assuming that he would be fine, smiled as well, but suddenly, out of nowhere, everyone, except for Sunny, began to laugh at him. His anxiety began to shake him, and he looked around, stunned by the humiliation he was enduring on stage.
"You're going to do better than that! I'm sorry, buddy!" The Roaster said between his laughs. "But you're out!"
The first contestant sighed, shaking his head as he walked off the stage, feeling embarrassed and defeated. The crowd continued to laugh as he stepped off, but Sunny pitied him, feeling horrible that he couldn't win.
"Poor guy." she whispered, watching as he scurried away and bawling his eyes out like a little girl.
The Roaster continued to call out to the other contestants, but none of them could roast him like how he could, his words were poetic, true, and insensitive, they may not be able to land a physical punch on the contestants, but they were smashed to the ground like they had encountered a mean boulder.
Most of the contestants were beginning to run out, and Sunny chattered her teeth, realizing that she was going to be up soon. She remained patient and meek, even though she had an inner turmoil of fear and self-doubt as she watched the contestants run out, with only her left.
"Alright, girlie!" The Roaster gestured for her to come over. "Come over and show me what you got!"
Sunny gasped, her heart skipping a beat, but she took control of herself, and she walked towards the stage, facing everybody.
"Hi, everybody." she said.
"Hi!" someone in the background said.
Sunny gulped, and she said, "I'm so e-excited for t-this challenge."
Everyone, however, laughed at her, even doubting the fact that a little girl like her would be able to join this contest out of nowhere.
"ENOUGH!" The Roaster yelled, before turning to Sunny. "Alright, little doll, why don't you go back to the toy factory where you belong instead of this dump!"
Everyone laughed at the Roaster's roast, and Sunny suddenly felt intimidated on stage, she felt just as humiliated as the first contestant. However, she began to think of this as unfair, they shouldn't be laughing at her, they shouldn't be doubting her at all! She stopped being so shy and timid, instead, she became more confident and independent. She stepped towards the Roaster, who mockingly raised his hands and said in a whiny, girly voice,
"Oh, no! I'm scared! She's going to hit me everybody! The girl's going to hit me!"
"You're the Roaster, huh?"
The Roaster held out his hands, as if he were saying "The one and only!"
"Well, guess what? If you're the Roaster, then you would be a fireplace right now roasting the marshmallows instead of real life people! In fact, why don't you drink some gasoline instead of letting people do all the dirty work for you? Nobody wants your ashes, and neither do I! So be diligent and do your own dirty work if you're so fiery enough to be this strong!"
The Roaster's eyes widened, and he suddenly stopped, the girl in front of him was actually talking back, she was actually being feisty, even though she was meant to be small and shy like how he thought she'd be.
That was when he chuckled, "Hehe…You're something, aren't ya? How about I give you the scholarship so that you can get the hell out of here? After all, it could get you drafted after what you did back there!"
Even though she only assumed that he was mentioning her roasting, Sunny gasped with delight, and the shocked crowd erupted with cheers, they finally had their winner, and the Roaster was proud, because he had found his match.
"Hey, I'll tell the directors about transferring my scholarship to you." he said with a grin as he patted Sunny's head, ruffling her hair. "And remember, if you ever attract some bullies, just keep roasting, hon."