Fugitives

Unwanted Company

A few minutes later, we separate and Leafy gives me a satisfied smile of appreciation.

"Thank you, Yogurt Cup. I just can't describe how much I needed that hug. What would I do without you?"

"I don't know, but one thing's for certain: I'm just glad to have you at all," I chuckle. 

"Yeah... you could say that again."

As she says that, Leafy's expression seems to sadden and she looks down, rubbing my hand between hers for a little while before letting go with a heavy sigh, and we continue on our way back into the forest through a different path than the one I came from.

And to think that all Leafy wants is a friend when all her old ones have rejected her. I'll always be Leafy's best friend, no matter what.

The afternoon slowly rolls by into evening, casting thick, gloomy shadows over the the flora and fauna of Yoyleland, and Leafy and I are exhausted from the day's stressful and dangerous events. As we're walking aimlessly through Yoyleforest, I sigh and start talking to Leafy.

"Well, I guess now we have to try to find a way out of this place to get back to Goiky. We can't stay here forever, after all...", I note.

Leafy just sighs heavily and turns away from me for a few moments.

"Yeah, I guess you're right...", she mumbles, playing with her hands.

We eventually find ourselves at a fork in the foliage, separating the pathless forest into two different passages. One seems to be blocked by impenatrable walls of thorned vines and small budding flowers.

"Well, I guess the only way to go is through there," I point out at the open path. "Are you sure? I can't see much down that path, and what about the other one?..."

"That other passage is blocked! The dark path is the only way we have left to go, and our only chance at getting back home to Goiky. We have to take it."

Leafy sighs heavily and we reluctantly set off into the dimly lit path to continue our journey.

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As we wander slowly through the dark, dense forest path, we eventually find our way out of it only to end up terribly lost in a new location; I'd never seen this part of Yoyleland before.

Thick, monstrously tall evergreens surround us on both sides of this new path, and even thicker clouds suddenly blanket the sky, both elements making the setting incredibly bleak.

The fog shrouding the air is also incredibly thick, making it more difficult to see, and the vibrant purple grass is gone, replaced by only dry, dull dirt lining the ground.

I whimper worriedly and try to turn back, only to see that the way from which Leafy and I came is suddenly completely closed up, as if some manevolent force preemptively closed off our only hope of escape.

I shake my head in perplexity and we turn back around to our original direction to continue on our way.

It's awfully chilly out here in this neck of the woods, and I start to grow anxious, rubbing my arms . 

"This is horrible, just absolutely horrible. What have I done with my life? And I thought things were already bad for me before today..."

Suddenly, I feel something unusually cold graze my back for a split second. It felt as if dry ice had been swiped across my body.