"Where are you headed?" Her mother asked, spotting the backpack on Y/n's shoulders as she headed down the stairs and into the living room. The h/c-haired girl smiled.
"Just a small hike...more like a nature walk, actually," she responded, her heart twisting at the lie she was so easily telling her mother, "I won't be long." Y/n's mother narrowed her eyes worriedly, her arms crossed over her chest, sighing in the end as she turned back to the kitchen where she had been washing dishes.
After opening the door and stepping outside, the refreshing smell of damp grass and earth filled Y/n's senses. She shut the door carefully before scurrying down to the lake's edge. Narrowing her e/c eyes, Y/n scanned the area where she saw the entity move about before (or what she believed to be the same); the small cliff that overlooked the lake. From where she was, Y/n couldn't exactly see anything notable besides the same pine and oak trees that lined the whole forest, but maybe if she was up there herself she would find something.
That encouraged the girl's journey, so she quickened her pace towards the vast forest that surrounded the lake. She decided to enter the forest where the door of the loge faced as the lake wasn't as rounded on that side; it would take her longer to climb the slope to where she was headed if she chose the opposite area. Speaking of which, the area she was heading to she and Jerry hadn't explored yet so this was going to be a new experience.
So far, the scenery hadn't exactly changed. Y/n used the more open areas in the forest to travel, but stuck close to the bank of the lake so she could determine how close and how far she was to her destination; at least, she kept it in view. Then came a point in her trip where the shrubbery and earth had created a slight incline. There was a large, fallen pine tree in the center of where she needed to climb.
Y/n stretched, then lifted herself on the fallen trunk of the tree. Dead pine needles littered the dirt floor; this tree must've fallen a long time ago and hadn't been cleaned up. Finding the top of the dirt incline, the female gathered as much strength as she could in her arms and attempted to pull herself up. She could feel the cold dirt press against the front of her shirt, but her backpack weighed her body backward, creating even more of a struggle. In one fluid motion, Y/n pulled off her backpack and swung it upwards, onto the dirt area she would pull herself onto moments later.
Didn't think I would exert myself this much, Y/n thought, dusting her dirtied shirt off after making it up. She grabbed her backpack and kept on making her way through the forest, and finally, to the overlook of the lake. Y/n noticed the bank of the lake had disappeared even before climbing upwards; the land didn't even look like it had a tilt to it, but here she was.
Breaking through the line of the forest, Y/n noticed how dangerous this situation looked. A small cliff that shadowed the murky lake, that being said, nobody knew that she was there. This position also felt slightly familiar. Y/n breathed a sigh of short-lived relief while she was up here; the view was pretty nice if you liked looking at trees for miles on end.
"Y/n!" A chipper shout pierced Y/n's mind as a cold presence appeared suddenly behind her. The human girl jumped from her spot, startled, but she wasn't in any danger to be pushed off on purpose or on accident Y/n whipped around, her e/c eyes wide as she first stared forward, then up upon realizing it was the same entity from earlier.
Smiling sheepishly, Y/n stepped back after making sure she wasn't close to the edge, "uh, hey," she still didn't know this guy's name, but she could only make an educated guess that he was related to Slenderman in some way because of the tallness and the...almost face-less part of him.
"So, did you want to show me something or...?" She trailed off, the polka-dot-clad entity not really reacting in any way to Y/n's venture up here. He was seemingly scanning over her figure for some reason and stepped back after assessing her. Said being nodded cheerfully, clapping its snow-white hands together happily.
"Yes! Yes! Here, hold my hand!" One hand was quickly jutted forward for Y/n to take. She laughed warily and only half held up her hand.
"Thanks, I can walk on my own tho-"
Before Y/n could finish her sentence, the entity took her hand and the world around her immediately became warped and fuzzy. Subconsciously, her grip on the entity's hand became tighter as she felt she could be pulled away from him any moment now, but the world slowly became less of a jumbled mess and more of a desolate clearing. This clearing was just as grassy as the path she traveled on which grew a variety of flowers that stood tall even as she and the entity stood among them.
Yellow, white, and pink flowers.
"Please," she released her tight grip, moving away, "please tell me when you're going to do that again." Y/n's head spun for a few moments, an after-effect of the quick teleportation. The girl plopped down on a soft tuft of grass in the center of the field; flowers and strands of longer grass tickling at her exposed skin.
"Oh, I'm sorry.." He trailed off, lowering his head while clasping his own slender hands together, "I do get told that I get easily excited like that..."
Y/n nodded in understanding, humming in thought. She shifted her shoulders, making sure that her backpack and items had also come along during the almost magical teleporting. She should be used to this by now, all this supernatural stuff...but a part of her was still unsure.
"So, um," she began to twirl a blade of grass around her left pointer finger, "why did you bring me here exactly?"
As far as she could tell, this place was farther from the lake and it was mid-day, so Y/n would most likely need to be back by sunset before her mother got worried and decide to go look for her daughter herself. Y/n's mother wasn't very great at directions either so she would get lost the moment she stepped off the path.
"To get you to remember, silly," the not-so-faceless creature practically beamed down at her, "we played hide and seek here all the time!"
So... Y/n had been here before is what he was saying. She glanced around the clearing, eyeing the oak trees that lined the perimeter, then back at the entity with creased brows and a small smile.
"Sorry, I-"
The female stopped herself, wincing as a memory forced its way up to the forefront of her mind.
"Friend!" A young girl cried, crashing into the tall entity's legs with a hug. A long hand reached down to ruffle the girl's hair, being gentle as can be. The girl glanced up, a toothy smile shining brightly at the entity, "daddy left me alone again! Let's play!"
Y/n inhaled sharply, her mind pounding as she vividly remembered the scene while being inside the eyes of the child. She gripped a handful of grass with her left hand as her right gripped at the center of her shirt. The sides of her torso were sore, as if she had just collapsed after running for an extended period of time and needed to catch her breath.
A smooth and familiar sensation ran across her back, slowly rubbing in circles to ease her breathing, "are you okay? Did you remember?" This entity seemed so eager on wanting Y/n to remember that Y/n just now realized; she had no clue what his name was.
The female got to her feet and turned towards the tall creature. A tendril with a bell attached at the end that retreated back behind him did not go unnoticed and only proved her theory that he was related to Slenderman.
"J-just who are you?" She had her guard up, her eyes narrowing at the creature who stilled, not exactly expecting this response so soon, but visibly relaxed. He made no move to grow closer to her but instead relaxed.
"You may call me Splendorman," he placed his right hand against his chest and bowed, carefully making sure that his hat did not fall with his other hand, "or Splendor! That works just as fine!"
Splendorman, Slenderman, Offenderman. The three had the same vibe, the first two more than the last. Y/n began to chew on her lip nervously.
"Then...Splendorman, can you tell me how you know my name?" She quickly added after Splendorman had spoken his name. "And why do I remember something that doesn't even make sense?"
"It's been so long....so of course, of course you forgot.." He murmured, "we were friends when you were thiiiiiis tall!"
Splendorman had to bend down just a bit in order to explain with his left hand. He motioned to the area at least right below his knee, then straightened up once more, "you always visited me when you were out camping with your dad." At the mention of him, Y/n's face visibly soured. She huffed.
Of course, she wouldn't remember those kinds of things. Any memories she had of her and her dad together were the most recent events; but before that... She couldn't think of any, other than that, they were either forgotten or repressed. There were even things from the maze she had forced herself to forget.
"You do realize my dad wasn't a good person, right?" Her voice had grown quiet now as the two of them stood in the vaguely familiar clearing, "you know what I had to do, right?" Silently, Splendorman nodded, his rosy face lowering. Even if he had a somewhat permanent smiling face, it didn't make the guilt any less hard to bear.
"I guess what I'm saying... Memories with...him, they're hard to remember. I didn't even know who the man was until I was told who he was. Even then, the horrible things he sat through and watched, orchestrating it all from the sidelines.." Y/n was clenching her hands into fists now, digging her nails into the skin of her palms, "I couldn't stand it. He was hurting so many people."
Y/n smiled solemnly, a bitter look crossing her eyes, "I hurt so many people."
The short silence that lasted after Y/n's last sentence was broken by Splendorman moving down and onto the grass, crossing his legs as he watched her with a ghostly worried expression.
"You're still a good person, Y/n," Splendorman's cheerful voice barely reached her ears, "there are people who want to help you. I want to help you too! You're not alone."
Wow, Y/n thought, sniffing once before smiling softly at the entity who sat before her, that was...actually really nice.
Splendorman seemed to straighten up and practically radiate like the sun, "aww! Thank you! You're really nice too!"
Oh, right. They can read her mind.
Y/n snorted, her spirits lifted after that whole shebang of emotions and short rant. Splendorman jumped to his feet, which was quite frightening due to his height.
"Let me show you one last place!" He held out his hand again, which Y/n was hesitant to take, but had to in the end or they'd get nowhere. This time she prepared herself for the warp, her mind buzzing and spinning once she felt solid ground settling beneath her feet.
The area that Splendorman had teleported the two of them two was not as big as the clearing. The area was still quite vacant of trees, but there were pines that surrounded them and the soft, brown dirt in the area was smoothed out pretty suspiciously. Y/n turned her head and spotted an old, rusted grill built into the ground, then turned her head up to Splendorman.
"Is this a campsite?" She asked, releasing his hand once she felt fine enough to stand on her own. There was no trash littered or caught in the grass that edged the campsite (as the floor around them was mostly cushy dirt), which was pretty surprising considering this was a nice place to spend the night if you were prepared for it. Y/n also noticed that the pine trees had lined a path to her left, but none to her right.
"Yep! The area you used to come camping at!" Splendorman nodded, "when your dad left you alone here, we'd play together!"
Grimacing, Y/n nodded. If Y/n couldn't remember coming to this campsite with her father, then she was probably, what, six or seven years old? Maybe a bit older, but other than that, she couldn't even remember what her father's face looked like at that time; all she could vividly remember was his soulless gaze staring up at her when she murdered him with her own hands.
"What kind of dad leaves their kid unattended in the woods?" Y/n muttered, pausing, "well, mine, I guess."
Y/n suddenly had a thought. Her mom never talked about her husband, Y/n's father, at all. Sure, it was a taboo topic even before the maze, but now that the teen had experienced all that was to offer of it and had collected all this mind-breaking information, shouldn't her mother come clean about all this? Why did M/n leave in the first place? The times she had her father had come to the campsite...it must've been when he was still married to M/n; so it was either somewhat before or after S/n was born.
S/n. Thinking of the younger sibling's name made Y/n's heart twist again and her lips tugged downward. Experiencing and thinking about all these things again didn't exactly seem like the best thing for her at the moment, so she glanced around the terrain one more time in order to gather her senses.
Y/n traveled over to the other side of the campgrounds to peer at how far the forest went until there was another opening or path. Surprisingly, it wasn't that far as the path to her left was a zig-zagged slope, four lines of the path growing lower and lower until it led off and out of her vision.
"Actually, this campsite isn't that far from the lake either!" He chimed, tapping a white finger on his chin, "I'm pretty sure that's where we also met him the first time too..."
Y/n turned to look at Splendorman when he said this, "wait...you guys met my father before? Like, before the maze?"
Splendorman stared at her. If he had eyes, she was sure he'd be blinking them over and over in surprise.
"Oh! You didn't know that! Well...of course she didn't.. Maybe he didn't want to tell her yet? Would he tell her?" The entity began to mumble, trailing off as he did so. Y/n looked around again, desperate to find something she knew about this place.
Nothing.
Nothing.
There wasn't an item, a sign, nor a clue on how she could remember this place. It had been pretty easy remembering so far so Y/n was at least hopeful in remembering at least one thing. The girl sighed, stumbling over to a large tree and leaned against its trunk, exhaustion written across her face. Right now, all she wanted was to lie down on a comfortable, warm bed and fall asleep.
Y/n closed her eyes for a moment, just listening to the forest life around her. She allowed her head to fall slack on her shoulders, h/c hair dangling downwards as she faced the floor, then opened her eyes so she could ask for a quick teleport home from Splendorman (as much as she despised it, teleporting was much faster than walking a random direction and hoping for the best). But, something interesting caught her eye.
White flowers grew around the roots of the tree, some even curling up the base of the trunk in a lively fashion. Y/n lifted her left foot, finding a few that were crushed under the weight of her shoes. She tilted her head up to spot the speckles of light peering through the many needles of pine that grew from the long branches.
"Oh! I'd always meet you at this tree!" Splendorman had moved over behind the tree, now peeking his head out from behind the large forestry. His smile just seemed to widen even more as she met eyes with the smiley creature, "you're so tall now...but you're still the same Y/n!"
That made the girl smile softly and nod, glancing down at her feet again. Y/n stepped away from the roots of the pine tree and stretched, then yawned right after. The sun had disappeared somewhere behind some of the trees even though the sky was still a baby blue, this didn't cause her mother to usually worry any less.
"I think I should get back home," she focused back on Splendorman who stepped out from behind the trees. A faint jingling could be heard as the entity moved closer to her.
He nodded, "yes! Maybe then..." Maybe then, you'll remember.
It was easier this time for Y/n to know when to take Splendorman's hand. She always expected his hand to be cold, but it was rather warm...which she didn't necessarily dislike; it was a pleasant surprise. The world shifted around her for the third time today. Y/n had braced herself this time, shutting her eyes just as the world became distorted. She only opened them after waiting a full ten seconds.
The spot where he had teleported the two was a dense area just by the path that led to the house, the one she and Jerry walked on just last night. Y/n released Splendorman's hand and stepped back, smiling up at him while adjusting her backpack; she was glad she didn't have to use anything inside of it, more specifically, the knife that was clipped onto the backpack's exterior.
"Thanks for talking to me today, Splendor," she shortened his name down as it was easier and quicker to say this way, "it's the same scenery and activities every day so...your presence today was a nice surprise."
Ah, the next thing Splendorman did she was not expecting.
Y/n heard the jingle of two bells this time. Two, black tendrils sprouted from the tall creature's back and pulled the girl upward so it was easier for Splendorman to reach her and give her a big, bone-crushing hug.
"I'm so glad!" His cheerful voice met her ears and she let out a breathy exhale of a laugh, "I'll come by and visit more often then!"
He had released her from his hug and settled Y/n back onto the earth, "m-maybe when nobody is around...and not directly in the house since I dunno if you'll fit," she had to quickly set some boundaries before he one day teleported directly into the living room when everyone would be watching TV. That'd be a horrifying experience and a long discussion with her three housemates.
"Of course!" Splendorman reached down and patted the top of Y/n's h/c hair while the two tendrils made their way back behind the entity, "goodbye, Y/n!"
Splendorman disappeared quickly after he said this, the plants he stood near whipping in the air as if they were in a wind storm before settling down. Maybe it was the distractions that she had experienced all day or maybe it was her just trying to ignore it, but Y/n felt tired. Her feet were sore and the muscles in her shoulders were getting limp.
Y/n hurried out of the dense greenery and onto the path where she could see the house up ahead. The girl turned her head behind her(a habit she had picked up on), then focused forward again, her steps quickly approaching the house. The boat was still tied to the post of the dock in her attempt at a knot.
After entering the house, she made her presence known as her mother wasn't in the kitchen or living room, probably upstairs reading or doing laundry in the back room downstairs. Y/n pulled off her shoes and took them upstairs and to her bedroom. When she entered, Y/n found her bed had been neatly rearranged to be clean and tidy. The e/c-eyed girl smiled and slipped the backpack off her shoulders, looped it around the small hook at the end of her bed, dropped her shoes below it, then quickly got changed into more comfortable attire.
The day had been long, but worth it, but now, all she needed was some downtime.
Powering on her phone, Y/n couldn't believe the first notification she saw.