The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

#71 Group Up

As Teri takes the lead, the Twins follow her from behind. It was a little difficult for them to keep up with her as the clouds in the sky began to cover the light of the sun. And with all the trees around, it was beginning to feel darker than it actually was. The Twins did eventually called out to Teri and ask if she could slow down, but Teri refused to give up. Apollo and Sophia had to be out here somewhere.
"Wait, stop." Teri halted, finally letting the Twins catch up to her. Teri looked around and listened. They flinched when they heard a loud screech coming from the sky, but they couldn't see what made it.
"This way." Teri bolted towards the noise and the Twins ran behind her. The dirt beneath their feet began to turn to grass and shrubs and rocks ceased to be seen. They froze again when they heard another screech, but it sounded closer this time. They all ran faster until they finally reached the clearing and gasped at the scene before them. They found Apollo hovering in the air as the ground beneath him was surrounded by strange black, bird-like creatures. None of them seemed to be alive, but Apollo looked exhausted. He whirled around and spotted them.
"Get back!"
One of the creatures tried to pick themselves up and attack, but Apollo finished it off with another blade of ice. The creature yelled and finally ceased to exist. It's body beginning to melt into a thick ooze. Apollo gasped heavily as he tried to regain his breath and he lowered himself to the ground. He was clutching the side of his arm and his wings dragged behind him on the ground as he walked towards Teri and the Twins. They rushed up to him and were worried that he might collapse any second.
"Apollo, what happened? Are you okay?" Teri asked worriedly.
Apollo breathed and look up at her, "Y-yeah... I'm okay. I..." Apollo gripped his arm which was bleeding and the Twins went over to his side and examined it.
"That looks bad..."
"Can you walk?"
"Guys," Apollo suddenly coughed, "It's fine, I'm alright."
"Apollo, what happened here? What are these things?" Teri asked.
Apollo wiped his face. "I was trying to get Sophie, but I got attacked by... whatever these are."
"Where is she?" the Twins asked.
"I dunno... I couldn't get to her in time..."
"Then we have to go find her! Before it gets dark and we'll all be in danger!" Teri exclaimed.
"Teri, Apollo's hurt. We shouldn't go with him like this." said the Twins. Teri looked at Apollo. His arm had been scratched pretty badly and had blood dripping down it. His face was also pretty roughed up and the feathers on his bluebird wings looked ruffled and out of place. The Twins were right, Apollo shouldn't go on in this condition.
"Think you can make it back?" the Twins asked.
Apollo nodded, "Yeah-yeah. I'll be fine."
"I'll go then." Teri spoke.
Everyone looked at her in confusion.
"You guys go back to the tree house and rest. I'll go on ahead and look for Sophia. She might still be out there."
"Teri..." Apollo started.
"It's alright, I'll be fine. I can go back and get my weapon so if I get attacked, I can fight them off. This is what we trained for, isn't it?"
The Twins looked at Apollo, then at themselves.
"Teri, maybe we should stick together. We don't know what else is out there."
"But Sophie's still out there! She might be in trouble, we can't just give up on her! She didn't give up on us when Apollo was taken. We just have to re-group, I know I can do this!"

They all stared at her again for a long moment.
"Okay... are you sure you can handle this?" Apollo affirmed. Teri nodded, not a note of hesitation in his voice.
"I'll be okay, I promise. If I don't find anything I'll come right back and we can make another plan."
The Twins sighed and finally gave in, "Okay, we trust you. Just be careful out there. We'll make sure Apollo gets back safe."
Teri smiled triumphantly and they all began to walk back to the waterfall together. The Twins would take Apollo back to rest and recover while Teri goes out, weapon in hand and continue searching for Sophia. They hoped that Teri would be okay on her own, especially since it was going to get dark soon. As Teri watched the Twins help Apollo walk, she began to think if there was a chance that she'll be successful in her attempt to find Sophia. But if her friends believe in her, then she can believe in herself. She will prove to herself that she can become a strong princess to her people and her friends. And she'll start by saving Sophia.