Très Cher Á Toi - (SSO Player + Ydris)

Chapter 3

Summary Of Previous Chapter: When the day arrives to see Ydris, you feel slight nerves, possibly from the long distance or the uneasy quietness on the grounds. A day prior, you catch Xin with himself caught in one of the ropes you swore was tied. When the day arrives, you and Ydris spend some much needed time together and catching up. 

It had been just about two weeks since Ydris had returned and those weeks had been rather some of my favourites. Through working, I was able to attend the Circus most nights and watch as Ydris had cleaned out the tent and gotten things ready for 'future show plans' as he had called it. Afterwards, we had put ourselves down together on the grass and had simply watched the late and colourful summer evenings go by, and attempted to make up for any time that we had missed together. For the most part, the late evening skies were streaked with stretched clouds, a cooler temperature which soaked its way into the atmosphere, and the refreshing breeze which blew in from the coast. I was now, however, back up active again with the Druids. Not that there was much occurring, but it was mostly the sense of where we left things, especially now that everyone was playing their part.

When I brought Blaze back down to a trot as we entered Hollow Woods, I let myself take in the new surroundings. Fresh and lively flowers bloomed from the ground in various colours, making an eye catch from the heavily green coloured floor. The deep brown of the trees stood out against the sun rays which turned the bark into a more of a copper tone, everything having a fresh and warm tone to it, almost as if summer had spreaded itself wherever it could. I slowed our pace even more as I took in it all, the faint and gentle whisper of the river rushing in the distance. Continuing our walk, I couldn't help but notice the change that arrived as I neared the village. I could feel small goosebumps forming on my exposed arms despite the intense heat which cooked down from above. The air felt heavy and wet, old and breath-holding compared to what I had felt before. From the warming summer tones to the sudden sharp and spiteful chill and gut sinking feeling prodded at my chest, making me stop in our tracks. I looked around, the woods seeming colourless now. The warm rays were gone and the colours looked drained and tired, all the energy was seeped out and left them empty and shrivelled. Everything seemed filtered and scared, trying to keep as little movement as possible in fear of threat. I could feel my head starting to get full and disorientated, that gut feeling turning sickly and lurching my stomach the longer I stayed in it. I felt every part of me become weak and helpless, a small ringing feeling working its way into my hearing and sending a haze through my eyes, making me try and clear my vision. I could only hear my breathing which echoed in my ears and took over the obnoxious ring, my body in an uncontrollable hallucination.

Feeling Blaze shift underneath me and starting to walk as soon as I got my focus back, made me pick up on his sudden change too, his body feeling weightless and like we were floating. I gathered up my reins, trying to keep my grip on them as I swallowed, the air seeming to not go down as I breathed it in, having to try again before it stopped clawing at my throat, my legs asking Blaze to pick up the pace which I felt did nothing as I hurried away to the Secret Circle.

***

"Question," I heard Alex say as I walked to Fripps Lare. "Do you just sit here all day every day and keep yourself locked away in here?"

"I think what you may be referring to us keeping our knowledge and well-being active, than yes," Avalon replied, stacking books happily on the shelf as Fripp sat on his bed, reading over some text, both of their postures relaxed and comfortable, possibly a slight warmth of comfort to Avalons tone. The dwelling look of Fripps eyes was gone and entered with curiosity and delight in whatever chugged away in his mind.

I then watched as Alex rolled her eyes and turned her gaze to me, giving me a welcoming grin and a questioning look as her eyes looked over me, making me remember what I was wearing.

"How many hours do you spend out there?" She asked me, pointing to my horrendous farmer's tan.

I smiled, trying to hide my concern from what I had witnessed. "Summer Camp and many afternoons lounging at the Circus."

"So he's back then," Alex said, her voice having that devious and sheepish tone to it, her eyes lighting up. "Keeping you busy."

"Wonderful," Avalon mumbled, his tone cold and brittle. "Surely this summer has been quite relaxing so far compared to this time last year. Last thing we need is a simple occurrence to happen."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the way he described 'occurrence', treating it as if Ydris was a threat to him, not that he exactly cared for Avalon much.

"May I ask what I came here to talk about?" I asked, taking a seat next to Linda on the floor, the coldness of the tiles cooling my body as if it was on fire. She grinned at me, thankful that her spirits had been lifted, especially after accepting the relationship between me and Ydris, if anything, she was slightly interested.

"Well," Fripp said from his perch. "I don't want to keep you all but..."

His voice drowned on as my attention seemed interested in something else. Whether I had just been imaging what I felt in the woods, or I was simply feeling the cause of heat stroke, then I felt no concern in telling them. The only fact that concerned me was the ever so nagging feeling I got in my chest when I felt that atmospheric change, almost like it knew I was there. The area felt like it had stopped all motion and held its breaths like a game of hide and seek, not wanting the counter to find its hiding spot or cause. The game could be harmless, but in an amount of the time, that feeling of pure concern and panic I got was the feeling of not knowing where the player was, or in this case, where it came from.

"In all honesty," Fripp continued, making my eyes jump to him. "There's not much occurrences," he finished, using Avalons tone, tugging a smile at us all.

I watched as the others grinned, continuing their upbeat and bubbly tones as they started to chat, leaving me ticking away at bringing up that concern. I felt guilty of seeing their happiness, and actual excitement which wasn't eaten away by stress or drugged with anxiety that they had, they all seemed pure happy. I held off, forcing a small smile on my lips as I tried to tune into their conversation, trying to keep myself away from my own mind.

***

Once I left, I practically raced back out into Hollow Woods, trying to feel the occurrence I had felt last time. I sat alert and stiff in the saddle as I kept Blaze at a small walk, my mind waiting for the slightest change in anything, except, that didn't happen. I went through the whole woods without feeling that condensed, anxious, and unnaturally cold feeling I got when I arrived. Infact, I was blaming it on the excitement and my over cautious feeling of anything going wrong.

When I reached my dormitory, I laid down on my bed, letting myself relax and trying to wipe my mind away and start a fresh paper, not wanting to cause myself overly stress. I couldn't help but accept that I had felt that feeling before, and if anything, I had hoped I wouldn't have had to ever again.