it's hard to say that i'd rather stay awake when i'm asleep
'cause everything is never as it seems
❖
She smiles and it makes me smile back. I'm hoping I've just made a new friend because she already seems so nice. She must live here since she calls this the "autumn trail" and that it's all everyone talks about. I tilt my head.
"I'm not from here," I confess, almost with a frown. "It's pretty though." I wish I lived here, but Momma would never go for it, at least not Momma Morr. She never leaves Denocte for anything, which is a shame because I would love to show her this trail.
I had forgotten for a moment that I had been scared of this place until the girl nudges me forward. I'm a mix of emotions really. I'm excited to be embarking on this unknown adventure with a new friend, but also nervous about what we might find. At least neither of us will be alone now and there's always strength in numbers, right?
She introduces herself as Maret and my eyes are shining brightly up at her. I literally have to look way up- I'm so short compared to her! I hope my legs can grow quicker so I'm not so tiny compared to everyone.
"I'm Maeve!" I say excitedly, feeling proud of my name. In all honesty, I love my name a lot. "I'm from the Night Court. I came here with one of my moms, so normally I'm not so far but it's really nice here!"
We walk onward and the forest becomes more alive. A few butterflies fly through my feet and they are the brightest shade of blue I've ever seen. I gasp at the sight of them and almost get distracted by wanting to catch them, but I stop myself. We need to stay on track to see what sort of treasures the old guy was talking about. Maybe the butterflies will come back later.
Slowly, the distant sounds of Dawn's festival drift away and all I can hear are the sounds of the forest. Birds are flying overhead with their chattering, but there's something else. I almost feel like I'm being watched, but I can't see any extra eyes anywhere as I look around. Weird.
We are getting deeper into the woods now, so much so that the sunlight is being swallowed up. We have to rely on the light of the lanterns to make our way and I look up nervously at Maret. Something about her seems more confident than me and I hope to be that strong some day. For now, I'm stuck feeling the anxiety creep in even more. It almost sounds like our footsteps are echoing, or someone else is following us for a moment. When I turn though, there is still nothing to be seen.
"Did you hear that?" I ask her, my voice but a whisper. I move aside and press into her in hopes that it might calm me down.
As I turn my head back, I notice now that we are accompanied by fireflies, or as I like to call them, light-butt bugs. My fear slips away and I'm giddy again as my entire face lights up with happiness. I've fallen in love with them since coming here and I hope Maret likes them too. All I can focus on now is following them.
I move away from Maret's side to try and chase them, laughing as I go. It almost looks like they had formed themselves into the shape of a horse, but it's gone once I blink my eyes. They just keep fluttering further and further out so I follow them. I still want to catch one to bring home and show Momma, I just needed to -
I realize I've taken a few steps off the path and the old man's words play back in my head. He said to stick to the path… but these fireflies almost seem like they want to show me something. He did say treasures, so maybe sticking to the path would lead us away from it? All I ever want is to be more confident and less scared, so maybe this would be my chance to show someone that I'm strong. Maret would be the perfect one to prove that to.
"I think we should follow them and see what they want to show us! You know this place right?" I'm assuming she does since she knows that so many talk about it. I figure she could show us the way back if we get lost or if I happen to be wrong and the fireflies aren't leading us to something. I hope they are though, it would be cool to be the only ones to discover something special.
I take a few more steps, letting the fireflies brush across my mane. My feet are now fully off the path and on the forest ground. I'm not sure how we'll see, but it's worth a try. I can practice my night vision!
Before I continue, I turn to Maret and wait for her to follow (hopefully she does).
@Maret @Official Dawn Account
Maeve has made the executive decision to follow the fireflies (naturally haha)
<3
