For a better read, listen to the song Dear Fellow Traveler by Sea Wolf. It set's the mood.
(Colt's Pov)
The day was coming to an end. It was around eleven o' clock, the moon shined bright in the sky. I was standing on my porch, listening to the wind and creatures that graze through the night. An owl flew across the sky, screeching as it flew past. I sighed and looked to the full moon with a tired expression. I always did the same thing all day, everyday. I wished for excitement, something new to see. Where could I find that?
I looked up and down the road of the town, other than a rabbit dashing across the dusty ground, nothing was happening. Everyone was asleep at this time, I should head that way also.
I held a hand up to my mouth and squeezed my eyes shut, letting out a yawn, a strong breeze blew by as I did. Maybe I should go to bed. I opened my teary eyes and saw a dark figure with a glowing crescent moon necklace on the other side of the road, watching me with glowing (favorite color) pupils.
They weren't there before, were they?
I looked them up and down. They had a black cloak on and their face was covered with a dark scarf. The only thing visible were their glowing eyes. I stood up with a serious look, They leaned up against the wall of the shop across from me and crossed their arms.
"It's late. You should be in bed, citizen."
They didn't respond, they watched me unblinkingly. I was starting to get a little creeped out by them. I put an hand on one of my pistols and walked over to them cautiously.
"I'm going to have to ask you to move along citizen. I don't know what you are doing but it's certainly is strange."
They held their hand up and I stopped walking towards them. I didn't even want to stop walking, why did I stop?
Oh no.
I can't move at all.
They finally looked to the forest not to far from town and back to me. They pushed their foot off the wall and started coming towards me.
I couldn't move a mussel, I couldn't even speak! They stopped right in front of me and looked deeply into my eyes. Their hand was raised to their scarf and, with a single finger, they pulled down the cloth, revealing a pair of grinning lips.
"Come with me, boy. I want to show you something new."
They walked past me, brushing their hand across my hair, sending chills down my spine. Once their hand left my head, I could feel my body again, I could move.
I looked back to the figure as they walked to the forest. Their cape blew in the wind as the walked on.
I was afraid if I didn't go with them, they would return and hurt my family, my friends, the town. I kept a safe distance behind them as we went into the forest.
We walked for about twenty minutes until we reached a cliff. I didn't feel safe about this at all. There was a large precipice that circled around a giant hole. I heard a waterfall in the distance. They stood at the edge and looked back to me.
"Come have a look." I started walking backwards. "Are you kidding me? I'm not going anywhere near that edge!"
They quickly extended their arm towards me, their palm was open and their fingers were bent, as if they were about to grab a door knob.
I stopped walking once again, my body went numb. I tried to shout but, I couldn't, I was stuck once again.
They pointed a finger at me and motioned to come closer. My body, not responding to my plea, walk to them on it's own.
I closed my eyes tightly, waiting to feel the earth escape from under my feet but, I stopped walking before I did.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, a finger tapped against me.
"Open your eyes, boy. Look out to the sea."
The sea? I slowly opened my eyes and couldn't believe what I was looking at.
I huge hole in the earth, there were hundreds of waterfalls pouring into the shimmering waters that were in this trench. Millions of different colored lights danced in the waters below. It looked out of this world.
I heard a chuckle next to me, I turned my head to the figure. They no longer had their hood or scarf on, instead, they had a soft smile on their face and were looking to me.
"If you wish to leave this place then, I will not stop you. You can return to your town, governor."
I laughed at their words. "A-Actually, I'm the sheriff." I sat on the edge and they looked down to me. "I think I'll stay for a bit longer." They continued smiling as they sat next to me, watching the lights in the water.
"What's causing those lights to flash?" I questioned. They chuckled once more and looked to me. "Those are fish." I looked back down and saw some of them hop out of the water occasionally.
I was absolutely amazed by the sight before me. "Are... Are they always glowing?" "Only on full moons like tonight."
I turned to the figure once more, looking at their features. I've never seen them before, have they always been here?
"I never got your name." They looked at me, their smile faded slightly.
"I'm (Y/N)."
I've never heard of a (Y/N) in Brawl Town. I wonder if they were new to town. My biggest thought was why they looked so disappointed when I asked their name?
I looked to the east and saw the sun rising. I spent my whole night here!? I'm going to have a rough day.
I got to my feet and looked to where (Y/N) sat. "Will I see you again, (Y/N)?" They were a bit surprised by my question but, smiled warmly.
"All you have to do is write 'Dear Traveling Stranger, under the moon, when shall you return, will it be soon?' on a piece of parchment. Pin it to the wall of a building you wish for me to return to and I will show at midnight."
I looked back to the rising sunbeams strike the clouds, lighting up the area. "I'll do that. Sounds like a weird way to-"
When I turned back to them, the giant precipice was now completely gone, along with (Y/N). My eyes widened as I whipped my head back and forth, scanning the area.
I fell to my knees and put my hand to my forehead. Am I... Was it all a hallucination?
I heard the roosters call and looked back to the direction of town. I got up on my feet and walked shakily back to town.
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The whole day I was out of it, what was all of that about from before? I wasn't asleep, I'm actually really tired right now. Who was that (Y/N) person and how did that humongous trench disappear in the blink of an eye?
"Colt!"
I was brought back into my thoughts by an annoyed Shelly looking at me. Poco and Rico were sitting in the seat in front of my desk.
"Were you evening listening to what I was saying?"
"I-I-Umm... No, no I wasn't. I'm sorry."
Shelly looked away from me, closing her eyes and massaging her temples. "You don't look so good Colt." Poco stated. "Did you get any rest last night?" "No I didn't. I couldn't sleep at all."
"ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ɪᴛ's ɪɴsᴏᴍɴɪᴀ?" Rico questioned. "No, I just have a lot on my mind is all."
Shelly looked back to me and sighed. "If you need a break, you can take a week off. You haven't time off in a while, you don't even take off for holidays."
I looked up to her and she gave me a reassuring smile.
"You deserve one."
I gave her a quick smile. "Thanks guys. I'll try to get myself sorted by the end of the week. I just need time to think and get my facts straight." "We're always here for you, buddy!" Poco chirped.
I got up from my desk and walked to the door. I turned to all of them, giving them one more smile. "Thanks again guys." I exited the sheriff's office and made my way home.
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I was ready for tonight. I was behind my house, leaning on the wall with the note on the wall. I checked my watch one more time.
23:58
It was almost time. I had many questions for (Y/N) if they showed up again. I don't even know if they were real honestly.
I looked to the bright moon in the starry night. It was bright enough to cast my shadow across the ground. I sighed to myself, I don't know if I'm losing my mind or if this was all real. It couldn't be real! Could it?
I felt a rush of wind fly past me, the breeze messed up my hair so I quickly grabbed my comb and fixed it up. When I looked back up, I saw that familiar figure with (favorite color) eyes, gazing at me from under their hood. Their dark cape flapped in the breeze.
They walked up to me, waving their hand slightly to me. "Good evening, sheriff." They spoke in a soft tone. "Heh, y-you can call me Colt you know. I don't mind." They stopped and looked at me, not blinking once.
"Colt. Interesting name, I've never heard it before... I like it."
I blushed at their comment and rubbed the back of my neck. "Thanks (Y/N)."
They looked to the forest then back to me. "Shall we be on our way?" I blinked curiously.
"What do you mean?" "I have something to show you."
They walked off towards the forest just like they did yesterday. I sighed, knowing they wouldn't stop for me so I jogged over to them to be by their side.
We walked through the forest but we went in a different direction. I looked over to them and decided to start my long list of questions.
"I have a couple of things to ask you about." "Ha. I knew you would. I'm sure you want to start with where I went yesterday yes?"
I nodded, they lowered their scarf and removed their hood, letting their (hair length + color) hair fly in the breeze. I never noticed how mesmerizing they were until this point.
"I'm not a fan of the sun, I like to stay in darkness." "Are you a vampire?" They laughed at my remark.
"No, no! I'm just not a fan of the warmth of the sun, I also don't like how bright it is."
"Where did the giant lake go?" "It's a magical lake that only appears in full moons. It's very interesting actually. Swimming in the waters is a blast." "Y-You've swam in those waters?!"
They laughed once more at my remark. I don't think they realize how crazy this is.
"Yes I have. There are many special ways to get out and into the lake."
They went silent as we continued walking.
"Why did you want me to write that note? How did that let you know where I was?" "I don't know if you got the hint but, I have special powers that let me do certain things. Like how I made your limbs move at my command."
I knew magic existed, I was never a witness to it before though so I always thought it was a myth.
"I guess you can teleport too?" "What?" "When I'm looking forward, nothing is there but, when I look away, you appear out of nowhere. Is that teleportation."
They giggled and smiled to me, their crescent moon necklace glowing bright. "You're getting a hang of this!"
I lifted a brow and was about to question them further until they stopped me. I looked forward and saw that we were at a small opening where there was a weeping willow growing in the middle of the grassy plain.
(Y/N) skipped over to the weeping willow and waited for me at the front of it. I walked over and stopped in front of them.
They looked from side to side, as if to make sure nobody was watching us and parted the vines of the large tree.
Under the large vines, neon colors flashed underneath the tree. The neon lights flew around like kites that were lost in a windy storm. I walked under and looked all around at the lights that flew by.
Each light looked like a different animal and each animal had a moving image in the trail they left. It was like each animal had it's own story to tell, like they had memories.
Maybe they were memories?
(Y/N) stood where we entered and watched the lights go by with me. One animal flew towards me and spun around me. The animal was a (favorite animal) and it stood in front of me, letting me view the memory it held.
I saw two little kids playing around underneath the moon in a wide plain...
...
Next to a weeping willow tree.
One of the children pulled out a wooden box from their satchel and opened it, revealing two crescent moon necklaces. The child with the box pulled out one of the necklaces and placed it on the other child.
Then the other child did the same ting to the other. They sat in the field facing each other, holding out their pinkies to each other. They locked pinkies and smiled brightly to one another, heading to the weeping willow where they laid down to rest.
I turned back to (Y/N), I couldn't find the words to say. They were looking down to the ground, their necklace glowed brighter and brighter with each passing second.
"Was... was that you?"
They smiled widely to the ground, tears ran down their face as they started laughing quietly to them self. They looked up to me, their eyes were glowing just as bright as their necklace.
"I think it's time we head back to your home, don't you think?"
"Wait, I want to know what happened next! Are you okay!? I want to help you!"
They held two fingers to me as they fell to their knees. The tips of their fingers glowed brightly.
"Thank you for spending this time with me Colt..."
Before they tried to do whatever they were doing, I ran to them and fell to my knees in front of them, giving them a tight hug.
"Please, I want to help you. I don't want you to cry."
I pulled away slightly to look at them. The emotion in their eyes was painful to look at, tears continued to fall from their eyes. I cupped their cheek and wiped away their tears.
"I want to help."
They didn't say a word. Instead they leaned closer to me, locking our lips together. I was stunned. I wasn't expecting this but, I accepted it and held them close.
I felt two fingers touch my chest and looked down to their hand. I looked back up to them with guilty eyes.
"T-Thank you Colt... I won't forget you..."
With that I heard a ringing in my ears and my vision went white. When I was able to see again, I was in my bed, looking up to the ceiling.
I shot up from my pillow and looked around. The sun was out and the night was gone. I looked to the clock on the wall.
17:45
I hopped up from my bed and rushed down stairs. When I got to the bottom of the steps, I spotted Shelly and Poco talking to my mother, Pam.
"Hey Colt!" Shelly walked over to me, she stopped before she got to me. Her expression went from a kind smile to a worried look.
"Oh my word, are you alright? You look so pale!" I felt my forehead and I was sweating like crazy. That wasn't a dream. It wasn't a dream. That couldn't have been a dream!
"I-I have somewhere I need to be!" I rushed past Shelly and to the front door. "Where are you going, boy?" Pam questioned. All the thoughts of (Y/N) were running through my head like a broken record.
"I need to look for answers."
I ran out of my home and darted through town, quickly making my way to the forest. I sprinted past multiple shops until, something caught my eye. I saw someone in a dark cloak. Their hood was up and they were look at jewelry from the local accessory store. I rushed to the dark figure.
"Hey! You have a lot of explaining to do!" I grabbed the shoulder of the figure and they quickly turned around with a worried expression. This wasn't (Y/N), it was a random person.
I quickly moved my hand from their shoulder, my face flushed red with embarrassment."Oh god! I'm so sorry! I thought you were someone else."
The person relaxed a bit and smiled lightly to me, they turned to face me."O-Oh, you're fine sir! We all make mistakes." I examined their outfit and spotted something very familiar hanging around their neck.
It was a crescent moon necklace.
My heart skipped a beat but, I kept a calm composure and pointed to the item. "Might I ask where you got that? I... like it quite a bit."
They held a hand up and grabbed the moon. "Oh, this old thing? An... old friend of mine made a matching set of moon necklaces when we were kids."
My heart was beating a mile a minute. I needed answers.
"May I have your name, citizen?" They blinked a couple of times and faintly smiled to me.
"My name is (Best friend's name, aka B/F/N)"
I looked around and spotted a bench not to far from where we were. "Can we sit down for a minute? I'd like to ask you a couple of questions, (B/F/N)."
They quietly nodded as we made our way to the bench. We sat down and they looked to me. "W-What is it you would like to know, sir?"
"I'd like you to tell me about this friend of yours." They looked down to the carved moon and frowned.
"Their name was (Y/N)..."
I almost squeaked when I heard that name. I let them continue.
"We were best friends when we were younger. We made these as a reminder, knowing no matter where we were, no matter what we were going through, we would always be under the same moon and stars. We would always look up to the night sky, knowing our friendship was far greater the stars and galaxies."
Their words got shaky, a single tear ran down their face but, they quickly wiped it away.
"One day, we were in our secret hang out spot alone when we were attacked by wolves. (Y/N) stayed and bravely distracted the wolves while they yelled to me, saying to escape. I-I didn't want to but, I had no choice. I ran and came back the next day, s-seeing... seeing their torn body laying lifeless on the ground."
My eyes grew wide at their words. That's impossible! (Y/N) couldn't be dead, I saw them before! I met them!
"I couldn't leave my best friend's corpse to rot so I dug a grave under our favorite tree and buried their body there. Every night ever since that moment, I look to the night sky and know that they're still there, watching over me."
They covered their mouth with a hand and began to weep. I panicked and rubbed their back as I tried to comfort them.
"I-I'm sorry I made you bring up that terrible moment." I looked down to my watch.
18:23
I looked back to (B/F/N) and frowned. I'm such an ass. "How about I treat you to dinner. I suppose I have a bit of explaining to do."
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"That... That sounds like (Y/N)." They looked down to their plate of finished food, thinking over the story I told them about meeting (Y/N).
"They've been dead for years now though, I don't know what this would mean exactly." I sighed and got up from my seat.
"Well, I'm terribly sorry to dig up your past like that. I just wanted to know what was going on." They waved their hand back and forth with understanding eyes.
"You're fine! I'm honestly glad you told me about this experience." I nodded and paid for our food. "Stay safe (B/F/N)." "You too Colt." I walked out into the night, looking up to the moon. The fullness of the shining moon was now beginning to fade.
I looked towards the forset and back to the town. I took a deep breath and made my way into the forest.
I knew what I had to do.
I walked to the opening with the weeping willow. Looking over the land, it seemed more depressing now.
I walked to the tree and moved aside the vines. All the colorful lights were gone now and there was nothing but shade. I walked around the tree trunk and spotted a grave behind the tree.
There was a dead bouquet of flowers and carved in the willow's trunk were a few words.
Here lies (Y/N), The Traveling Stranger
Our friendship exceeds the galaxies as we rule over the stars
This traveling stranger, underneath the moon
This brave warrior rules this land and shall be met again
I looked down to the grave and sat down next to it. I placed my hand on the root of the tree, closing my eyes and thinking of the past two nights.
I felt a strong breeze, it messed up my hair but I didn't dare move. I kept my eyes shut , holding back the tears that I felt burn within my skull.
The strong breeze ended and I felt a pair of soft lips meet mine. Without opening my eyes, I kissed back. A pair of hands met my face, pulling me closer. I held onto the wrists of the hands, not wanting to let go.
They pulled back and let go of my face, the wrists in my hands disappeared. I opened my eyes, tears now fell from my eyes as I looked to the ground in front of me.
I spotted a necklace but, instead of a moon, it was a sun. It glowed a heartwarming red as I grabbed the item. I put it around my neck and held the emblem close to my chest, listening to the wind rush by. I could hear a faint whisper in the breeze.
"We share the same moon and sun my love, we will meet again one day."
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! I really enjoyed writing this one! It was very fun. Thank you once again for reading! :)