Lucas groaned as he sat up and faced the morning sun. The rays of light peeked through the forest's foliage. Now that it was daytime, Lucas noticed that there were much less trees surrounding the area than he once thought. The young man heard his stomach growl dully, so he decided that it was time to find something to eat.
"Jalen, Sophia. Wake up! What do you guys want to eat?"
"Agh, I don't want to eat! Just let me sleep," Sophia grumbled.
"Too bad." Lucas threw some sticks and leaves at his companions. "You're getting up now."
"Mm... Can we have bagels?" Jalen asked while rubbing his eyelids.
"Sure. I think I saw a bagel tree back there yesterday."
"Oh. Whoops."
"We can try to find some rabbits and eggs," Lucas suggested. "No bagels, though."
He stood up and began scanning the trees for any bird nests. As he walked by each tower of wood and leaves, he tried working out his legs into springing into their usual fully-awake bounce. Unfortunately, that just ended up in him tripping over a tree root.
"AH-!"
Lucas tumbled into a bush. Thorns pricked him all over and wrecked his already soiled clothing. Everything except his left shoulder got scratched up. Lucas once thought that holding onto a shoulder plate from his time in the military was just him being stupid and sentimental, but it turned out to be a little useful. The plate's rusty and dull colour on top of some worn-out leather hardly made it the flashiest part of Wanumonian armour, but it was the one thing that didn't make the Lyrin Desert's heat any harder to endure.
"BAHAHA!! I- I'm sorry! That was just-" Sophia paused to breath. "- really pathetic..."
"Lucas...," Jalen said.
"I'm fine!" Lucas crawled out of the bush. Amazingly enough, when he emerged from the prickly shrub, he wasn't met with more acres of wood.
Lucas stood up and brushed himself off. Behind him was a densely-packed forest of green and brown, but ahead of him was an endless stretch of yellow brushing at the bright blue skyline. It wasn't a blinding yellow; it was a soft, warm shade being radiated from stalks of wheat. The wisps of golden grains swayed gently in the wind and tickled at Lucas' bare ankles. Lucas felt like he could simply close his eyes and let the warmth of the field consume him. He hadn't felt tranquility like this since... he couldn't even remember anymore.
"Lucas!" Jalen called out again, disturbing the peace.
"Not now," Lucas grumbled while removing the meagre remains of his boots.
Careful not to trample too much wheat, Lucas placed his feet in the rich, loamy soil. It wasn't scalding like the sands of the Lyrin Desert, and it wasn't like it was threatening to pull him in and swallow him whole into a freezing abyss like the waters of the Stygian Sea. It was comfortable and comforting, and he simply let his feet sink into an embrace he had never felt before.
Lucas lifted one foot and brought it forward. Before it sunk into the dirt completely like the other one, Lucas leapt up into the air. He did it again and again until he was leaping throughout the expanse of the field, away from the forest. The shadows being cast to the ground where tree roots gripped onto faded far away. All that was left was Lucas, the field, and a sky that was too blue.
"Lucas!"
Jalen's voice faded far away. All that was left was Lucas, the field, and a sky that was too blue.
YOU ARE READING
𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃
Fantasy✦✧✧✧✧✦ ❝ i've been lost my whole life . this . . . this doesn't make that much of a difference . ❞ ✦✧✧✧✧✦ multiple teenagers were thrown out of their kingdom due to their unusual powers. many try to start new lives, but some wish to go ba...
