In The Woods ➳ H.S.

☙ s e v e n

Crying bc of the pic but yeah okay go on

❦

With both my bow and my arrows swung around my shoulders, I stood up on the branch. I wrapped one of my arms around the trunk as best as I could and blindly claw at the air in front of me for a different branch.

The tight dress that had been given to me did not help my efforts. The moment I stretched my arm, I instantly heard the fabric rip.

It didn't affect me as much, but I was worried that the sound might have been heard by other creatures in the woods with me.

Once my free hand got a hold of a branch that seemed thick enough to hold me, I started to shuffle my feet to inch closer to it without falling off the branch I was currently holding on to.

This was a lot more difficult than I had thought. I was good with my hands, of course, but I was always better with my feet due to all the running I do.

I was good at aiming and being able to hit what I was aiming at, but even that ability of mine is useless if I'm going to have to do this in the dark of night.

I finally grab one branch, but to my dismay it wasn't strong enough and immediately snaps when I tried to pull on it.

I didn't dare let go of the half that snapped off. Who knows how much noise it would make if falls down through the other branches.

I decided to add it in my case of arrows, maybe Christian can make something out of it when I get back home - seeing as I never was able to retrieve the arrows I had used on the wolves.

I start to blindly look for another branch again, my hand successfully grabbing onto something . I pulled, testing its strength. Fortune must have smiled on me this time because it didn't break.

I prepared myself to swing onto it, hoping against all odds that I'd have enough energy in me to keep doing this all night.

I was left dangling on the next branch; my hands holding dearly onto it while my entire body hung down like a limp doll, the tight dress was only making this harder.

I started to pull my body up, my arms screaming in protest as I did so, but I managed to get myself stable on the branch.

I looked around, seeing nothing but more branches and darkness. I was completely clueless on how I was going to look for fireflies here, and how I was going to manage to swing from branch to branch when I had not eaten for so long.

"If I get out of this," I muttered "I'll start burning sacrifices to whatever god helped me."

And as cliche as it sounds, just as the words leave my mouth, I spot a firefly, its light being the only thing that broke through the darkness.

I was frozen in shock and all the same time I wanted to curse Liam out. Follow the fireflies? It took me ten minutes just trying to swing from one branch to another, and I'm supposed to keep up with this one little insect?

Just as the question and will to laugh at this weird situation arouse in me, another firefly popped up near it. Then two appeared. Followed by one more, then two. More of them suddenly came up and they were forming a line through the thick forest.

I was never a fan of insects, but god bless these little creatures.

They were all buzzing around, but they never truly left the line they had formed. It was long, that even in the distance I can see their line lighting up.

The sight alone was actually extremely breath-taking, but knowing that it'll take me back home made the whole thing ten times more beautiful.

The wave of relief that washed over me had refreshed my determination, and therefore my energy as well.

And there I went, going from branch to branch. Following the fireflies.

On my way home.

~*~

It was barely the break of dawn when I saw the bodies of the wolves on the ground, their gray fur wasn't what gave them away, but rather the rotten stench and the low growl of another animal feasting on it.

I didn't want to tempt fate any further but there was no way I was going to waste this catch of mine that brought me so much trouble.

I quickly shot down the animal - that seemed to be a bear, and climbed down from the tree I was on.

I knew I couldn't lift the entire bear, and the body of one of the wolves was underneath it, so I decided to leave both behind and just carry the other, four wolves with me.

They weren't very heavy, meaning they too must have been starving when they were chasing after me. Then again, it wasn't their weight that bothered me, but rather the stench that was emitting from their slowly rotting flesh.

I sighed, figuring that I couldn't bring their bodies up a tree either, so I continued to follow the fireflies on foot, hoping that the world was kind enough to let me go on without any more troubles.

I saw the first sign of dawn when the fireflies had started to leave their neat line. The sky had started to be streaked with an orange sort of tint as the fireflies all started to go their own ways. This action of theirs would have made me confused if I haven't spotted my mark on one of the trees.

It was my thirty-fourth one, seeing as I didn't see any marks before it. At the sight of the small marking, my heart swelled up with undeniable hope.

I continued on walking, my body more than exhausted. My mind was too busy as well, all my questions rushing back in a frenzy of words and phrases.

This had to be the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me, but I'd be lying if I said I liked it. This whole experience was horrific and never in my entire life would I wish for something like this to happen again.

Maybe these wolves can keep us on our feet for long enough for me to find an actual job, one that doesn't involve going into the woods again.

It seemed impossible, and imagining myself working with other women sewing cloth made a heavy weight settle on my shoulders.

I never loved the woods - even more so now - but it had always been my escape. I had made my own system in here. I had so many memories, both good and bad.

I will never forget the day I had first successfully caught a deer for my family. The amount of pride that surged through my body was completely unforgettable, and of course the smiles on Christian and Lea's faces were permanently burnt into my mind.

We didn't starve for once when I caught it, and I was sure they were thankful that I got more than just birds and berries that time.

And then more time past and the more I stayed in the woods, the less nights came when we would be staring at an empty table.

But now, the woods had become more of a curse than a blessing. And as much as it pained me to do so, I was quite ready to leave it behind - along with the story it now held.

❦

Really short chapter and a filler too but really early update woop!

Maybe I should just throw my update schedule away since I seem to update whenever I want anyway.

I AM STILL SUFFERING FROM PCD OMAYGOD.

And there's been so much drama in the fandom lately like jesus christ we all need to calm down for a bit before this destroys us!

Just remember that the boys love us and care for us and it is about time we repay the favor, don't you think?

aND LIAM OMAYGOD MY BABY YOU SLAYED TODAY.

No offense to some justin fans, honestly it's not your fault, just that one girl who's an embarrassment to the human race.

I JUST REALIZED THAT PEOPLE READING THIS IN THE FUTURE WILL BE SO CONFUSED SO I'M SORRY TRY TO IGNORE THIS PART BYE.