song of the forest ♪ [OLD VERSION]

ꇙꏂ꒦ꏂꋊ

ρ͢σ͢ѵ͢:
ꋪ꒐꒦ꏂꋊ

It seemed like I'd only slept for a minute before Asiza was shaking me awake again. "Eat something. Then we leave." They slid two plates of food onto the comforter. I sat up– I was absolutely starving– but my skepticism returned when I saw what was on the plate. They'd tried to feed me something they called cowl jerky earlier, and that had tasted like cat piss to my fragile little human taste buds.

"It's junej and apples. I didn't want to culture shock you too much. Tastes a bit like caramel." Asiza explained, referring to the violently purple, sticky mess on the plates. They dug in with no problem, and after a short hesitation, so did I.

It tasted like caramel, but only on the surface. Under the surface, it tasted like... "You good?" Asiza asked, peering at me over his plate.

"Great," I mumbled, swallowing my mouthful of ksfjnrdj or whatever it was called. I scarfed the rest of the plate in less than five minutes, and before I knew it, we were in front of Daisy's door with our bags.

"We're headed for the Tavern still, but we won't be able to stay like I planned. This detour will cost us valuable time, money and information." Asiza said with a grim look on their face.

The watch was around my neck, tucked under my shirt and resting against my chest. I could feel its heat, even through the two layers between it and my skin, and it glowed through my shirt and jacket as well, giving the appearance that I had a flashlight shoved down my shirt. It thrummed with a tone so low that I felt it, felt like it was supporting my heartbeat.

"Should we be leaving without telling Daisy?" I asked nervously while Asiza flipped locks.

"If he wanted to be our friend, he wouldn't have paralyzed and kidnapped us. We're leaving."

I stayed silent. We stepped onto the porch, only to find the bridge... not there. Instead there was a seemingly endless expanse of eerily still water.

"It won't appear without me." Daisy said from the shadows, effectively scaring the schist out of us. He pulled out of the shadows and I got a good look at him for the first time- tall and skinny, folded over like paper and drooping at every place that could droop. He looked like Eeyore, or that comic relief #depressed friend in a Disney sitcom.

"Can you make it appear?" Asiza asked.

"Let me rephrase that. Make it appear or I'll make you wish you were dead." I interceded.

"Hm." Daisy said.

That was when I realized. Daisy lived alone and, from what Asiza had told me, was having difficulty getting around. He was probably lonely and just wanted people to leave his plants alone. But he ended up expressing that in very unhealthy ways.

That still didn't justify his actions.

"I can make you. Please just let us go. If you don't, the world might be in danger."

"I don't believe you." But the fear in Daisy's eyes seemed to drive him to the edge of the porch. The bridge laid itself out before us, and I stepped onto it without hesitation, ready to get away from this place. Asiza, however, lingered for a second, watching Daisy's back as he retreated into his house. He pressed two fingertips to his jaw, which had the aura of a respectful salute.

"Let's go." She hurried past me, stalking along the bridge. Always the leader.

We hiked along a wide packed trail for a while. And that's not me being lazy—it was a while. We took turns overtaking each other, barely speaking to each other. Not that we didn't have anything to say—I could see Asiza bursting with all sorts of anecdotes and questions and explanations. Both of us were too tired to speak.