"All we see is sky for forever."
False was staring at the stars.
She was still severely homesick. On the night that she had fallen from the sky, she'd stormed out on Bdubs, running northwest until a large lake stopped her. All her anger had drained, and she'd collapsed in front of the water and started to sob.
She could still remember all the details of that night. The water had reflected the stars perfectly. Hercules. Serpens Caput. Bootes. Libra. False could hear her dad's voice perfectly. She could hear his laugh and feel his gentle touch as he guided her hand to trace the constellations.
False had reached a hand out into the lake to trace Corona Borealis, watching the water ripple outwards at her touch. She half expected to see Airship Pi float across the sky, but nothing came.
It had been just her and her dad. Now even he was gone. There was no way to contact him. The airship fleet might as well be in the southern hemisphere, staring up at a different set of constellations.
False had let herself get lost in the grief. Bdubs will probably forget about me. He's probably handing out with that other guy who showed up.
All she wanted was to have her dad back. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to be back on her airship, swinging her sword at a target dummy, dealing with petty bullies.
Not here. Not in the middle of a forest, with everything she had lost.
She didn't know how long she sat there, watching the stars through a reflection. It seemed like forever.
Despite the overwhelming sadness she felt, False knew that she couldn't stay here. She wouldn't survive by herself. Bdubs had food and shelter. And, even though she wouldn't admit it, False wanted the company. She didn't like isolation.
The moon traveled across the sky slowly as False had made her way back to the clearing in the forest.
"We let the world pass by for forever."
The night sky reminded Grian of Evo.
He used to sit on a building roof with Taurtis at night, seeing how many stars they could count. They traced their own patterns into the sky and named them.
Time always seemed to zoom by on those nights, like the whole world could pass by in a matter of minutes. Those were the good days. The days where Grian didn't have to worry about Watchers or broken promises or faded memories. The days were hours were spent carelessly goofing around, with no worry about what would come the next day. Days that were spent living in the moment.
He couldn't sleep.
Grian tossed and turned, staring at the grass and flipping over to watch the leaves rustle on the trees. It was another one of those nights.
He quietly got up and walked into the forest, heading southeast. The shadows made by the trees helped hide him from any monster. He kept going until a loud splash of color interrupted the dark muted shades of the forest.
An open field of sunflowers, framed by the trees, stood in front of him.
Sunflowers normally cheered Grian up. They always followed the bright light of the sun, and they seemed so positive. They gave off the message, be happy! There's something in life worth living for.
Now, at night, when the sun was gone, they looked droopy and sad, like the happy things in their life were gone.
Grian pushed through the tall stalks, trying to get to the other side, slightly intimidated by their height. Too late, he realized he should have gone around. He spun in a circle, trying to find his way blindly until he finally found a clear spot in the field. With a small pang, it reminded him of the clearing back in the forest.
He'd better get back soon. He had been gone long enough as it is. Plus, this walk had done absolutely nothing to help.
This time, Grian tried to go in a straight line through the field, hoping he would reach the end. When it finally came, he stumbled over himself, then realized he was back where he started. He mentally slapped himself for nothing bringing at least a map or compass along.
As he walked back through the forest, the image of the drooping sunflowers stuck with Grian.
"Feels like we could go on for forever this way."
The concept of day and night was alien to Ex.
His world had always been dark, gloomy, and dangerous. There was never any true light, just...shadows. The first time Ex saw those dots in the sky, he was entranced by them. How could something so small produce so much light? You could get lost in those dots and be just another speck in the sky.
Ex tried to imagine his brother's reaction to nighttime. Exy, are you seeing this? It's amazing, right? Then he would proceed to study every single aspect of this strange new "night", sharing his findings to Ex.
Where was he now? There was still no sign of him.
The moon cast a faint glow over the landscape. From Ex's mountain view, he could see everything from large groups of the substance called water to trees much taller than him that crowded areas of greenery. He could see all of this, but no sign of his brother anywhere.
If Ex's family was represented by those dots, he knew who would be who. X would get the sun, the one that appeared in the daytime and covered almost everything in its warm radiance. His parents would be one of the larger dots that appeared at night, the ones that would stick out to you.
And Ex? He'd just be one of the tiny specks. The ones that your eyes just passed over without a second glance. He contributed to the night's light. But he was never seen for it.
Xisuma was probably having the time of his life somewhere else exploring this new world. With a small touch of jealously, Ex imagined X living his best life, free from the clutches of the End, probably feeling less alone than his brother did now. Maybe they were both looking up at the same sky right now.
Or maybe X was asleep, perfectly content, while Ex was living off of half-cooked meat and rainwater.
He looked down at his feet. Don't jump to conclusions. Maybe he's struggling, just like you.
Ex couldn't ignore the grim satisfaction at that last thought. He looked back up at the night sky.
"Two friends, on a perfect day."
"Psst. Wels? I can't sleep."
Wels opened his eyes slowly and stifled a yelp when he saw Stress standing over him. "Don't do that."
"Sorry..." Stress had bags under her eyes.
Wels sat up and patted the grass next to him, motioning for Stress to sit. "You're a mess. What's on your mind."
Stress sighed, pulling at her cardigan. "I've been thinking about my mum and dad. And the ice kingdom in general."
Wels thought about the massive fire that had appeared, and how the kingdom was forced to flee through the mysterious portal in the throne room. He waited for Stress to elaborate.
"I just wonder sometimes...where are they now? Are they doing okay? There's no real way to contact them."
Stress glanced over at one of the newcomers, a girl named False, who was sleeping by the river. "I guess this is how False feels. But she's all alone. At least I have you," she whispered, looking at Wels.
Wels didn't know how to comfort her. He thought about the ice kingdom too, and where the rest of his family was. "Hopefully they're doing okay."
Stress looked up at the stars. She had studied astronomy back at the ice kingdom, so she probably knew these stars like the back of her hand. "Remember when you used to help me study in the library for days?"
Wels smiled, remembering the times. "You always made me remember the types of magic and quiz you on them."
"We would spend the entire day getting lost in the books."
"Um, I think you mean you would spend the entire day getting lost in those books. I would just stand in the corner awkwardly."
"Hey, I tried to include you! We built a book fort."
Wels laughed quietly at the memory. "Oh, gosh, the bookkeeper was so mad. I'm surprised you were still allowed back after that."
"Being a princess had its privileges." Stress trailed off. "I miss it."
Wels pulled her closer for a hug. He didn't have to say anything. Stress understood. At the same time, they wordlessly looked up at the stars.
Both were too busy looking up to notice False turn over on her sleeping bag and raise a hand to trace the constellations. Nobody noticed Grian come back from his walk and quietly sit down, observing the stars.
No one noticed the figure on the mountain, looking up at the same sky, all alone.
(WC: 1528)