The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

# 114 Not to Worry

[Teri]

Teri followed Apollo's instructions on how to draw. Learning how to draw certain body parts correctly and other techniques to make it stand out more. By the end, Teri's drawing was definitely nowhere near as good as Apollo's finished product.
"Ah... you make it look so easy. Mine looks so messy." Teri pouted.
"Hey, don't take it so hard. It's not gonna look good the first time you do it. But that's okay, you don't have to make it look good. Honestly, you actually did pretty well for your first try. Your eyes don't look so bad." Apollo admitted.
"Aw, thanks. You think Sophie could give me a few pointers if I ask her?"
"Oh yeah. She could probably teach you how to color it too."

A few more hours passed and they made a few more drawings. Sophia and the Twins still weren't back yet, but there was still plenty of sunlight left.
"Hey, don't you think they should be back by now?" Teri wondered.
"Hm?" Apollo looked up from his phone. "I dunno. It's not that late. I was actually gonna send them a message. They'll probably be back soon."
Teri watched him tap his thumbs against the little screen before sighing and leaning back.
"Welp, I'm getting a little hungry. Here." Apollo set his phone down on the table and Teri looked at it curiously.
"You can watch it and see if Sophia sends a text while I'm gone."
"Oh... okay."
"I'll be right back." Apollo got up and left, leaving Teri alone with the strange square. For whatever reason, she couldn't help but be worried. What if they got lost in the caves? Or something else is going after them and they can't escape? She tried to take her mind off of it and dived into her little pond. Sinking into her room and looking at the pink dresser. The top drawer was filled with seashells that Sophia helped her collect and the rest of them were all empty. She wondered when Sophia would get back to her about the new outfits and what to do with all those seashells.
As much as she really liked her new home, she missed her old room. And the extra swimming room. This pond was a lot smaller than her old room and it almost felt a little cramped, but Teri was content with it anyway. The 'bathtub' thing in the house wasn't very comfy either...

When Teri pulled herself out of the pools, Apollo came back with a bag of chips and as soon as he sat down, his phone lit up.
"Oh sweet, it went through."
"Did Sophia send a message?" Teri asked.
"No, it didn't go through earlier. It's probably because they're so far underground. Maybe by the time they come back, Sophia will see it."
"Oh. So, they'll be back soon?"
"Probably. How about we go meet them by the entrance? You haven't seen the strawberry field before, have you?"
"No, I haven't."
"Cool. Let's go then."
Apollo took of first while Teri scooped up two streams of water and threw them behind her back, lifting herself into the air and followed Apollo. Teri remembered when they told her about the slimeball creatures in the caves, but she hadn't actually seen them herself. Luckily, she wondered what a strawberry field was.

Apollo landed carefully within the patch, making sure not to squish any of the strawberries. Or land on any of the bigger ones. Teri followed a little more gracefully and looked around at all the different sized strawberries that surrounded the field. Until she spotted the giant hole in the ground that seemed to keep going down into forever. Apollo stepped beside her and stared into it as well.
"They're... all the way down there?"
"Yep. I know it looks scary, but they'll be fine." Apollo said blankly.
"And the Twins... lived in there. I mean, living in a cave sounded kinda nice, but I guess I didn't think about how dark it would actually be down there."
"Yeah... honestly it did sound kinda weird from the start. I'm not sure how they survived down there. Like, where did they find food."
"Huh... I never wondered about that either."
They continued to stare into the darkness before Teri tore herself away and started looking at all the little strawberries that grew from the green bushes.
"So, we just wait here?" Teri asked.
"Yep." Apollo sat down near the edge and pulled his phone out again, paying no attention to Teri who lightly stepped over the shrubs and observed the area. She kept her water wings high above the ground so she wouldn't loose them to the plants.
"Hey Apollo?"
"Hm?" Apollo looked up.
"Do you think that- woah!"
Teri's foot was caught on a creeping vine and she began to loose her balance over the hole. But Apollo quickly stood up and grabbed her arm, pulling her away.
"Hey- whoa. You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah... sorry, I guess I wasn't paying attention."
"It's okay. Just be careful."
Teri began to step away carefully from the hole and Apollo followed after her. But instead stepped on a low strawberry and reeled back, about to put his other foot down and instead it slipped right into the mouth of the hole. He tried to quickly grasp Teri's arm, only brushing it and unable to find something else to hold. Teri tried to grab back, but instead fell on top of him. And they both plummeted into the darkness.