"Okay, let's see some magic!" I shouted, Maayan echoing my cheer. Azar was standing next to the unlit bonfire in his usual jeans and bomber jacket combo, an okashi dangling from his mouth.

"Guess I'll start?" he said, looking over at the bonfire.

"No!" Maayan cried out. "It's not dark yet; we don't need to light the bonfire. Let Master Enki go first."

"Oh, am I participating in this?" Grandpa replied, sipping from his cider.

"Yes, please," I begged, glancing down at him from my chair.

"I've only ever used my magic for fighting, so I'm not sure what to show you," he muttered, rubbing at his chin.

"Maya said you could summon?" I asked, hesitantly.

Grandpa raised his eyebrow slightly, smiling as he did. "Well, it has been a while since I let the hogs run wild."

He jumped up from the ground, much sprier than other men of his age. Although I never really asked how old he was, truly. I only knew that he pretended to be in his early 60s. I looked over at Maayan, confused by Grandpa's earlier comment. The lunar fairy just grinned happily and pointed over to where he had walked, a good twenty feet away.

I watched eagerly as my grandfather took something out of his pocket, placing an item in each fist. He stood still for a moment, taking in a deep breath as he closed his eyes. His stance widened, and Grandpa clenched his fists, now glowing a bright green. I could feel the ground tremble slightly beneath my feet as he let out a shout, slamming his fists deep into the earth below him. Two bumps appeared in front of him, cracking the ground, a bright glow shining from the darkness. I stood up from my chair so I could see better, watching as two large wild boars exploded from the ground. They took off running, leaving a cloud of dirt around them as they went. The beasts made one large circle around my grandfather before stopping on either side of him, shaking their heads as they snorted loudly. I could tell, even from my spot farther away, that one was larger with longer tusks, probably male. The other was slightly smaller with tusks pointed downwards. It took a moment for me to realize they were made of dirt, vines, and other foliage wrapping around them, giving them the look of muddy topiaries that had come to life. Their eyes shone a brilliant green as they took in their surroundings. The boars came up to grandfather's waist, making them much larger than any normal wild pig I had ever seen. I very badly wanted to get a better look.

"Can we get closer or..." I trailed off, clasping my hands together anxiously.

"Of course," Maayan insisted, grabbing my hand to walk with me toward Grandpa. Casimir and Azar followed, smiling at my excitement.

"They won't hurt you," Grandpa said as we approached. The male boar snorted loudly, and I jumped, clinging to Maayan as I did. Azar laughed, and I shot him a glare.

"They follow Master Enki's will, so if you are a person he cares about, they will not attack you," Casimir explained, reaching out to pet the smaller one.

"Diana, meet Eoforhild and Eoforwine," Grandpa said, gesturing at the smaller boar than the larger one.

"Nice to meet you both," I blurted out, not even sure if they could understand me. Grandfather just nodded and gestured at his summons. I smiled as I reached out my hand, as you would for a dog, letting the larger beast smell me before moving to touch its head. It felt like grass and dirt, but warmer.

"Can they feel this?" I asked, staring at the details of Eoforwine's tusks. They looked like they were made of bone.

Grandpa laughed at my comments, reaching over to aggressively rub at Eoforwine's spine. "Oh, they love getting their backs scratched."

The giant hog snorted, closing its eyes happily as it leaned against Grandfather. Eoforhild did not like being left out it seemed so she pushed herself in between Grandpa and Eoforwine, whining as she did.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Grandpa said, consoling his summon. I giggled along with Maayan, watching as Grandfather scratched both their backs. Small bits of dirt and grass fell off their skin, but the pair didn't seem to mind, both grunting happily as they got their massage.

"They're strangely cute," I admitted. "Do you use them for fighting?"

"Oh yes," Grandpa nodded. "They are quite fearsome in battle."

"This isn't even their real size," Casimir commented, and my jaw dropped a little.

Grandpa's smile fell slightly. "Yes, there isn't a lot of magic here, so I can't make them as big as I normally do."

"They already seem huge!" I declared, throwing my hands outward. The beasts nearly came up to my chest. As I gestured, my hand narrowly missed one of the boar's tusks, but Casimir's arm shot out, blocking me from hitting them. I gasped, and everyone stood very still. I began apologizing profusely, tucking my hands under my armpits. I was sure those tusks were much sharper than they looked, and getting another cut would have killed the party for sure.

I saw my grandfather let out a sigh, shaking his head slowly. "Perhaps it's time to go back to ground." He gave the pair a final pat, whispering something in Terrarish. The light from their eyes vanished, and the boars crumbled to the ground, leaving only a pile of dirt, grass, and tusks behind. Grandpa leaned over to pick up the much smaller tusks, sticking them in a pouch from his pocket. I watched him curiously, hoping for an explanation, but it was Casimir who answered.

"Summons are rooted in this world in special, enchanted objects. You make a pact with the spirit and they will inhabit this object, coming to your aid when you cast a spell," he said.

"So the boars are in those tusks?" I asked.

"Yes, they were passed down through my family as guardian spirits," Grandpa added.

"That is so cool!" I confessed. "Too bad I don't know any earth magic, or you could pass them down to me."

There was a moment of awkward silence where I watched as Grandpa's smile faded before he looked off towards the forest.

Oh god, what did I say wrong? I wondered.

Maayan broke the silence, raising their arms high to catch our attention. "Me next!"

We all settled back in our seats near the bonfire, although I was still wondering why my comment had depressed my grandfather. I could feel his emotions, which were turbulent and full of regret. My brain started clicking, wondering if he did have another family back on Terra or, perhaps, he did once, and they were all dead. I was too afraid to ask for any details, but maybe Casimir would be able to tell me, as they seemed very close.

"Dai-dai, you ready?"

I nodded, my attention back on Maayan, who was standing in front of us. The water fairy had changed from their uniform into a large cowl neck sweater with skinny jeans and boots. They rolled up their sleeves, pressing their lips together as they concentrated. A light blue glow surrounded their hands, and from nowhere, sparkling blue water appeared in balls floating all around Maayan's body. I clapped happily, amazed already at the act of just summoning water from thin air. Then the lunar fairy began to move, their arms flowing around them as they turned, the water following behind their hands like ribbons. To call it a dance was not descriptive enough. I was immediately captivated by Maayan's grace and fluidity. The magic water sparkled and arched all around the air, creating impossible shapes and lines before my eyes. Maayan began to sing, their voice sounding much higher than normal. The melody was so captivating and familiar that I almost wanted to sing along. I gasped as the water droplets began to shine, changing colors. To me, it looked like Maya was surrounded by a thousand sparkling, twinkling lights. The lunar fairy called the water back to them, creating a single large ball. The song ended, and they looked over at me with a grin before pursing their lips to blow on the ball of water. I could feel the icy blast of cold air even from my seat, and was amazed as the water quickly changed to ice. With a large grunt, Maayan tossed the ball into the air, and I watched it rise, panicking about where it would land. The lunar fairy clapped their hands together with a flourish, and the ice exploded, falling softly down upon our heads as snow.

I laughed out loud as I stood up, raising my arms to catch the snowflakes. Maayan rushed over to me, smiling widely.

"You like?"

"Oh my gosh, Maya," I gushed. "You're amazing."

They blushed happily, pressing their hands against their cheeks. "Thank you!"

We all admired the snowfall as the sun began to slip down behind the mountains, twilight fast approaching.

Azar stood up from his chair, sighing slightly. "Of course, I have to follow that, thanks a lot, Maya."

"You're welcome!" Maayan chirped. Azar walked over to the bonfire, tossing his okashi in the pit as he prepared himself.

"I'm guessing what you showed us wasn't for fighting?" I asked, leaning over towards Maayan as I spoke.

"It was a traditional water dance," they explained. "If we were over on Terra, I could have summoned some water spirits to join me in the dance, but they don't like Earth, so they won't answer the call here."

"Aww," I moaned, pouting slightly.

"Don't worry, I promise to show you someday," Maayan whispered, poking me in the cheek. I glanced over at Casimir, who smiled sadly. I was guessing he didn't think I would be going to Terra anytime soon.

(To be continued in Part 3)