I came to in a field. Trees surrounded me, but this little area was clear. There was a fence a bit away from me that I could make out. I wandered towards it. The spirits were as far away from me that they could possibly be. They were keeping their distance.
I noticed a snake at my feet. I couldn't even recall what had happened before, but one thing stuck with me. Don't follow the snake.
I stayed still. What could I do? Who was this even a message for? What did it mean? I was supposed to be finding someone. Was that what it meant?
My chain around my waist clanged together. I started to recall where I was. It was a mission with...Safari and Haley. I had to get back to them.
The snake blocked my path. I couldn't head back.
The spirits continued to stay away. They kept whispering to each other. They avoided eye contact.
"What?!" I shouted at them.
Their gazes stayed down. I huffed, turning around. The fog was thick behind me. Burned into the trees was the same message. Don't follow that snake. I screamed in frustration.
"Lala?" A voice came through the trees.
"Yes!" I called out. "I'm fucking over here."
"Whoa..." Safari came into view. "What does that mean?"
"Where were you all night?" Haley approached me. The snake slithered away.
"I was stuck here," I touched my head. "I don't even remember what happened?"
"I don't think you were supposed to," Safari shook her head. "Are you okay to continue our travels?"
"Yeah," I didn't see any blood on my fingers. "I'm fine. Let's go."
~*~
"Are we ready?" I hoisted my bag up.
"Absolutely!" Miles jumped up.
Rodam elbowed his side but had a tiny smile. Sam grabbed my hand and kept a smile of her own. She was still adjusting to her brother's sudden friendship, and so was I.
"There are many, many miles before us," I held firm. "I need you all to stick with me until it's over. This is probably the most important mission we will embark on."
"We've got ya back, hun," Sam pulled me close to her.
Rodam rolled his eyes, but he signaled something.
"I am here for as long as I am able," Miles went through all the motions as he spoke. "And Rodam says he's here for whatever we go through, but he's not thrilled about it."
"Then let's go on our stupidly long journey," I laughed.
~*~
"Alcibiades," a huff. "Again?"
I turned to find an exhausted Nox. I glanced around. No avail. There weren't any pixies for me to be worried about.
"You're projecting," I pointed. "Caius said you were good at that."
Nox crossed his arms. "I am not."
"You would rather condemn the world around you than see any wrongdoings from yourself," I laid back in the dirt. "I don't blame you. The world has always pointed fingers at you first."
"Well..." Nox thought for a moment. "At least I don't lock everything away inside."
"Not everything but still a good bit," I patted the dirt beside me. "Why don't we talk about it?"
"I don't want to talk about it," he collapsed. "I'm tired of talking about it. It's all Ana wants to talk about. She keeps getting upset. She asks me to leave her. I could never do that. She's the only one who ever loved me for me."
"The only one," I held his hand.
He was quiet for a few moments. "I think so anyway."
"Natalia?"
"She..." he considered it. "She loved me, but then she changed. She grew into a void rather than staying strong like your mother."
"What about the liar?" I tried.
"Liar?" Nox's beat calmed. I hadn't noticed how erratic it had been. Maybe that's why I didn't hear him approaching.
"With the fake wings?" I rolled over. "His dad ran the place?"
"Fake," Nox waved me off. "Just like his wings."
"You have friends who love you for you," I grinned. "Like Thalia."
"Friends don't count," he sighed. "They have to accept me physically. They like my personality. Well...with an exception for one."
"Which one?"
"Thalia's husband. My adopted brother. We grew up together. He and I fought late last night."
"Were you in the right?"
"Yeah. Well...maybe. He was kind of right too."
"Each argument has truth to it," I agreed. "What are you going to do about it?"
"I'm going to learn my lesson," he grabbed his legs, pulling them to his chest. "I'm going to learn how to move on."
"You're going to break up with your Ana?" I flashed.
"No!" Nox shouted, immediately shutting me down. "Absolutely not. I could never. As much as she wants me to find happiness, she doesn't understand that she is my happiness. I found her. She is my family. No, I'm going to learn how to grow past this."
"We grew through my mother's death, through war, through betrayal," I rested against him. "We can get through anything."
"Wise words coming from such a youngster," he elbowed me.
"Sometimes, wisdom rises from the trenches of me I didn't know existed," I said with a smile.
"I'm glad someone has their head out of the water," he jostled me. "And for once, I'm happy it wasn't Thalia."
I laughed at that. Even though I had only briefly met her, Thalia really did give the impression that she was a know-it-all.
"How's your brother?" Nox changed the subject.
"Prickly as a sea urchin, as always," I shrugged. "He keeps throwing that research he's doing in my face. I'm barely allowed in my own house."
"It's simply his way of handling things," Nox nodded. "He'll finish it one day and see that he needs to move on."
"Onwards and up," I stretched my hands to the sky.
"Indeed," Nox stood. "As we all must."
"Things are changing again, aren't they?" I asked.
"Someone in our care is going to die," Nox shrugged.
"Not Forrest!" I jumped, practically pleading.
"No, no," Nox shook his head. "He will be safe. He's going to be very sad, though."
I relaxed again. "There's going to be another funeral, isn't there?"
"You can come along again," Nox offered.
"I'll go," I pressed my hands together. "I want to meet Forrest again."
"You'll be there through his toughest time," Nox grimly grinned. "That's how love grows."
"I hope so," I whispered.