That morning, Clover woke up twenty minutes before six AM. She carefully went into her closet and retrieved her bag of supplies as quietly as she could. Without waking her family, she got dressed in some comfortable clothing- a t-shirt and sweatpants, with a sweatshirt over top- and crept downstairs. She didn't want to waste her time eating breakfast, so she grabbed a few granola bars from the cupboard and put them in her sweater pocket to eat later. She made sure her wings were hidden- as she always did. Then, she quietly exited the house, sped down the steps, and began to run away from home.
• • •
Clover jogged to Astrid's house to meet her friend. She prayed that none of their neighbours where watching her- she didn't want anyone nearby to witness them before they went missing. She stopped in front of Astrid's house, slowing to catch her breath. She saw her best friend creeping down her driveway, glued to the side of the house in a suspicious-looking manner. Clover could almost laugh- which she didn't, for obvious reasons. Astrid snuck down the driveway, meeting Clover at the end.
"You eat yet?" they whispered, standing closer to Clover.
"Nope, I brought some granola bars for later, though," she answered, quietly.
Astrid hummed, "I brought some crackers," they replied.
The two silently walked through the neighbourhood, both hoping that no one saw them. They noticed a few houses had lights on- probably people going to work on that early Monday morning.
"You're wearing all black," Clover brought up, still being as quiet as possible.
Astrid nodded, "Yeah, I thought it would be smarter," they told her.
"It is, I should've worn darker colours too."
"Well at least you're comfortable," they responded, gesturing to Clover's easy-going outfit.
Astrid was wearing dark gray overalls with a navy fleece sweater underneath, as a shirt. The colours went well with their dark hair, dark skin, and dark eyes- although it wasn't the most comfortable thing to be wearing right now. They walked in silence for a little while longer, before turning the corner, and heading away from Astrid's block.
"Should we run?" Clover asked, hands stuffed in her pockets to keep the granola bars secure.
"Yeah, let's get out of here," they replied. "Just make it look like we're on a morning jog."
She snorted, "You think people will believe that?" she asked. "I haven't gone on a morning jog since- well, ever."
"Me neither, really. At least you go adventuring and run through bushes or whatever. That's your exercise," they responded.
Clover laughed quietly and nodded, "True."
"Besides, no one will find it strange if they can't tell that it's us."
Astrid then began to pick up their pace, their walk turning into a jog. Clover followed her friend's lead, jogging beside them. They ran together, all the way until they reached the next block.
"Where do we go now?" Astrid huffed out, slowing down their steps.
Clover looked around, searching for something- what it was, she didn't have a clue.
"Out of this town? Head to that forest that has that other town on the other side? Then we can go through that town and away from the streets into the countryside up there," she suggested, breathing more heavily than usual.
"Okay," they agreed. "But what if we're going in the wrong direction?"
"We aren't, don't worry. I searched where that cave was that they got the footage from- it's more up North, past the town I was talking about and in that space behind that big area of land and trees and stuff up there," Clover explained, hoping it made sense to Astrid.
They seem to understand, nodding in agreement to her instructions. She gestured for them to follow her, waving her hand towards her. The two began to run again, going past many houses as they traveled down the sidewalk. Both of their bags were heavy and difficult to carry- let alone run with them. They were heading for the forest- one that was a few more blocks away- so they could take rest there, set up their tent, and figure out what exactly to do next.
• • •
Thirty-five minutes, three blocks, four short breathing breaks, and one granola bar later, Clover and Astrid could finally see the cluster of trees up ahead that was their destination.
"Are we just gonna go into it?" Astrid asked, warily.
Clover hummed, "I guess so," she replied. "I've been here one time before, and I remember that there was a little clearing part somewhere near the middle. It was closer to the other side than over here, though."
"Oh okay," they responded. Then they groaned, "Ugh, more moving. My legs are already killing me- how are we supposed to do this?"
"Oh, don't be such a baby, asteroid," she teased. "But same- my legs are tired."
"When we get to that clearing you were talking about, we're going to rest, right?" they asked, hopeful.
Clover nodded, "Yeah, we can set up our tent and stuff," she said. "Now c'mon, we gotta get in the cover of the trees before someone comes looking and finds us."
They went up to the edge of the forest, Clover took a quick peek inside before fully entering the world of trees. Astrid wondered how their friend wasn't afraid of the bugs or poisonous plants, although they were pretty sure they already knew the answer to that one. Clover wasn't at all afraid because this was her safe space- the forest was a place of comfort and exploration for her. Astrid understood completely- they also had a comfort zone. Their's was the outer space section at the city museum that their family had been visiting since they were eight-years-old. That spot, even before they had obtained their stellar manipulation powers, was soothing and nice because it was a place for them to relax and learn about something that they had an interest in.
"Okay, good thing there's a trail we can follow," Clover mentioned, following the dirt pathway through the woods.
Astrid knew she was going to start speaking out loud about all the different features of the forest and other stuff that they didn't really understand. They were willing to listen to their friend ramble about this place though, it's what made her happy.
"Now if we follow here... then we should come right to the clearing just by staying on this path... Yep, good- we're on the right track still... Let's keep walking for now... and wherever the trail goes, we go, alright?" Clover spoke, rambling a bit.
"Um, yes," Astrid agreed, not exactly sure what she was asking them.
They ventured on for a little while longer, Clover mumbling about various plants they passed, and how they should follow the trees and remember them when they came back- while Astrid agreed with whatever seemed agreeable and followed the other through the trees.
"Aha!" Clover announced, stopping in her tracks.
Astrid lightly bumped into her, having been studying her feet as they walked and not paying attention to what was in front of them.
"Hey, watch where you going, asteroid," she whined, playfully.
"Uh, right- sorry."
Clover waved them off, "It's fine," she spoke, almost carelessly. "Anways, look! I think we made it."
Astrid looked to where she was pointing, seeing a small clearing in front of them.
"C'mon," she said, tugging on their sleeve and dragging them along.
They stepped into the clearing in the space in the woods together, looking around at their new surroundings. Clover went over to a bush near the edge of the tiny clearing, admiring the plant and its features.
"This bush is really healthy- wow," she said, speaking a bit breathlessly.
"Okay, Mother Nature," Astrid teased. "Stop being such a plant nerd for one second and come help me put up the tent."
Clover rolled her eyes as she walked back over to where her friend was unpacking the tent. She helped them take it out, her eyes widening in surprise as to how they ever managed to fit the tent inside the bag in the first place.
"So..." Astrid began. "Do you know how to put up a tent?" they asked.
She nodded excitedly, "Yup! I learned when I went to wilderness survival camp that one summer."
Astrid didn't know what she expected, but of course Clover had been to a wilderness survival camp at some point- how could she not have?
She helped them put the tent up, and it surprisingly went well- not including their first attempt, which had failed and fallen down almost immediately. When they were finished for the second time though, the tent stayed up.
"This is a big tent- are you sure it's not going to collapse...?" Astrid asked, hesitantly.
Clover waved her hand as if that question was ridiculous, "Of course, silly asteroid," she answered. "I'm practically a professional tent-putter-upper at this point."
They raised an eyebrow, "Putter-upper?" they asked.
"Yes, that's what I said. What else would you call it?"
"Maybe a... tent builder? Maker? Nevermind- yours makes way more sense."
Clover grinned approvingly, "I know," she responded.
Astrid opened the tent flap and crouched down to get inside. They sat themselves on the opposite side of the tent, watching as Clover crawled in behind them.
"Wow," she said, examining the inside of the tent. "This is a big tent."
They nodded, "Do you want to have some water or something? Have you even had breakfast yet?"
"I had that granola bar, remember? When we stopped for a few minutes," she told them, opening another compartment in her large bag and pulling out two water bottles.
She tossed one to Astrid and opened the other one for herself. She drank a few sips, wanting to save a majority of it for the rest of the day.
"Just drink some of it- not even half, just a little," she advised her friend.
They drank some of their water in silence and closed the bottle, making sure it was secure. The two sat in silence for a moment, giving themselves time to let their minds catch up to what they were doing.
"Holy shit," Clover suddenly said.
Astrid shot her a questioning look, one that asked her what was so shocking.
"We ran away from home," she said. "I mean, we actually ran away."
"Yeah, it's kind of insane- I never thought I'd ever run away from home, like- ever," they replied, staring at the tent's ceiling.
Clover hummed in agreement, "Me neither," she responded, lying down on the slightly uncomfortable surface and stiffening at the feeling. "We should set out some blankets so it's more comfortable- because, right now- it's not cozy at all."
"Good idea," they agreed. "How about I do that while you go examine the plants, or whatever it is you like to do out there."
"Really? Okay," she answered, keeling to leave the tent. "And it's not examining the plants, asteroid," she told them, before exiting the tent through the front flap.
Astrid laughed to themself and began to get the blankets from their big, stuffed bags.
• • •
Clover was examining- yes, it was examining as much as she told Astrid that it wasn't- a nearby tree with cool-looking bark when she saw it. A beautiful orange bird sat on a branch of a tree- the same one she was looking at. Clover's attention was immediately captured by the bird. Never, in all her years of being interested in the world of nature, had she seen a creature that looked like this one.
"Woah... Hello there, beautiful," she greeted, looking up at the bird, trying to see it better.
The bird was looking at her now, tilting it's head as if to ask her who she was. In that moment, Clover really wanted to show this gorgeous creature to her best friend. So, she carefully backed away from the being in the tree, making sure it wouldn't fly away. She then briskly walked back to the tent, turning back to keep an eye on the bird.
"Astrid!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I like what you've done with the place," she added, looking around the one smaller sector that they had put the blankets and pillows in.
"Thanks," they said, sitting up from where they were lying down and resting. "Did you want to tell me something? Did you find something?"
"I found this bird-" she began, hurriedly. "It's really pretty and it like- glows kind of, and it's in a tree out there and I want to show it to you-"
Astrid laughed, "Okay, okay. Bring me to the bird," they said, getting up and following Clover outside.
They walked back to the tree that she had just seen the creature in. She pointed up at the tree for them to see and smiled happily when her own eyes found the glowing bird once more.
"Do you see it?" she asked, still pointing at the bird in the tree.
Astrid nodded, "Yeah," they confirmed. "Wow, it's stunning."
"Mhm, I wonder what kind of species it is- I don't think I've ever seen one like this before," Clover spoke, curiosity in her tone.
Just then, the creature came down and flew in front of the two friends, leaving them both in awe.
"Did you see that?" Clover asked, shocked. "It looked like it was on fire or burning or something."
"Woah, yeah," Astrid answered, just as much shock in her voice although with less excitement.
"We gotta see where it's going!" she demanded, looking for the bird again.
"What about our stuff?"
"No one's gonna come here, no one ever does- Oh, I found it!" Clover said, beginning to follow the bird to the very edge of the clearing.
Astrid really had no choice but to follow along. They didn't mind though- Clover was excited. Plus- they were sort of curious too.