That day after school when Kenta had found Shay, she showed him her secret place above all secrets. It was her payback for the necklace he had given to her the night before. She had made him swear several times over that he would never show this place to anyone.
The girl had led him through the forest to a large, sharp shrubbery. It looked to be a bush, but as she pulled him further in through the tangle of thorns and harsh leaves, they came upon a decent-sized hole, hidden by more plants and weeds. Had she not fallen through it so long ago, she would have never even know it was here. The hole was a gradual decline into a small burrow, small enough that in a few years they'd have to sit, but, for now, Kenta would could, at least, half stand in the den.
Shay's backpack was a little thicker today than he might have seen it before, and when they were settled in the hideout, she took it off her back and placed it in front of her, rummaging in it until she pulled out a blank white box, coloring material, things for arts and crafts, and blank cards.
"Do you like it?"
Kenta seemed a bit out of it today, which was most apparent on the trip here. He would often stumble and get tangled in things he would normally have no problem with. He sat down soon after their arrival and let out a yawn. It was simply more comfortable for him to sit rather than stand bent over. He smiled and nodded, but was picking a few clingy thorns and leaves from his tails. "I love it, Shay-shay! Its like a secret base! Now I know why you made me promise so many times." Once he had finished cleaning his tails, he became interested in the art items she had brought. "What are all these for?" He asked excitedly.
Shay had since given up on stopping him from calling her that ridiculous name. She found it just didn't annoy her as it used to. She looked at the supplies she brought along with her when he did and smiled proudly. "I was going to suggest we make a board game together. I've always wanted to."
Kenta looked both excited and intimidated by the idea. "Can we actually make one? They've always seemed really complicated... Laetus and I played Monopoly once... His pet drake Zippo beat us both if that puts my understanding in perspective."
"Drakes can be pretty smart," Shay laughed. "And monopoly is a complex game; ours doesn't have to be that bad. Plus, it'll be fun, we get to draw all the pictures and make cards or action figures. First, though, we have to determine what kind of board game we want to make. I was thinking some kind of battle card game. What about you?"
"Battle cards?" He questioned. "That sounds fun! And figures too... I wanna make both! We can make a game for both right? Like... Maybe the figures can battle the cards or something..." He started thinking really hard on this
"We could make a mixture of figures and battle cards sure." Shay pulled out some construction paper and held it out to him, opening a rather impressive sized box of different markers and colored pencils. "We should each make a sketch of what we want the board to look like." Shay thought about it, already preparing a pencil and eraser to begin drawing. She continued speaking to him as she did so, "I like cards. One of those fun things to collect."
Kenta nodded and took a red crayon, quickly getting to work on his idea. While he worked, he would grab a blue and yellow as well. "You said battle cards like they were already a thing. Do you collect from a game like that?" He asked, part out of interest and part to inspire the game.
"Uh, no, but there are plenty of cards people use to battle with. World of Warcraft, Pokemon, Digimon, stuff like that. World of Warcraft was a pretty cool card game, I saw a few kids with that at school, but I've never had any myself. For the best, because I wouldn't have anyone to play them with."
Shay pursed her lips, intent on whatever she was drawing. She was only using the pencil, for now, moving slow and deliberate. Careful in every stroke. Her hand was light, trying not to push down hard enough that she couldn't erase anything she drew.