The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

#145 Think About It

[Sophia]

When I awoke the next morning, my mind refused to wake up with me. I just lied there in the warmth of my blankets for a while, barely conscious. Until I reached over and unplugged my phone from its charger and looked at it for a while before setting it back down and getting out of bed. My arms felt sore and my back ached as I stretched it. The pain from coming back from a fight isn't usually very prominent until the day after. I pulled my long blue blanket over my shoulders. The ends of my wings dragged across the ground as I walked towards the door. When I trudged downstairs, from the corner of my eye, I could see Apollo's door closed. He's probably still asleep. I made breakfast for myself, thinking of nothing. Went back upstairs, lied back down in my bed, but I didn't get under the covers. I looked at my phone for a long while, just until my mind finally woke up and I started remembering the thoughts I had last night, among other things. Certain thoughts were what made me put my phone down and start organizing the things on my desk. I swiped away a pile of eraser shavings and moved a stack of blank paper on top of my dresser, because I didn't have anywhere else to put it without all the papers falling over. I went over to my old bookshelf and crouched beneath it, picking up a few old notebooks until I found the right ones and setting the rest back where they were. I took the notebooks over to my desk and sat down in my chair. I swiveled around for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts before scooting in and looking for my black pen. Before I started writing, however, I rolled over to my bed, picked up my phone and plugged them into my headphones. I took a moment to decide what I wanted to listen to before I actually got to work.
I opened the composition notebook that had most of my notes and flipped to a blank page. I made an entry about the shadowy bird creatures, among the other entries I made about the other dark, shadowy creatures we encountered. I'm not the best at drawing creatures, or animals in general, so I just began scribbling away and hoping that I could get it to look as accurate as possible. I switched to my red pen to fill in the eyes, then switched to my favorite writing pen and started making notes. I named the bird creatures "Screechers", and I named the big one "Shriek".
I wrote a note off to the side that read, 'Couldn't think of a cooler name for them and this was all I could think of. Because these things won't shut up!'

When I finished making that, I flipped back to the timeline of attacks and found another blank page to make a new entry. I added the one where Teri and I fought the Shriek. I decided to leave out the bit where I went out by myself and got attacked by Screechers. I actually meant to add it, but I already inked everything in, so... adding that now would've been a little confusing to read.
The notes and illustrations weren't my best work, but I knew they didn't have to be. I just needed a detailed recap of events, along with whatever clues we discovered. I wrote about the Demon, the creatures it makes to send after us, my gem and whatever theories we had thought of about it. Every now and then, I got lost in my thoughts and the music I was listening to. Gazing out the window near me or spinning around in my chair, before I found the will to focus again and continued my notes.
When I finished them, I looked back at everything I'd done, making sure I got everything and it was all correct. I flipped all the way back to the first entry I made and went through the whole thing. As I looked at my work, I realized... that it had almost been a whole year since this crazy adventure began.

At first, it was just me and Apollo, doing everything we could to stay alive and happy. We depended on each other. And then we met Teri and the Twins, we fought against new creatures, explored new places we hadn't known were just outside our home. Managed to walk away cut up and bruised here and there...
I started thinking back to everything else that happened in between. Has it really almost already been a year since this whole thing started? How could so much have already happened?
When that big Shadovian took Apollo... for a while, I really thought he was gone for good. The Twins were living all alone and the only remnant of their true home was almost brought to extinction. If I hadn't found them, they probably wouldn't be here with us now. But even then... they were forced to leave the only place they had known all their lives and venture into a world where they knew nothing about. And Teri... She had everything she needed to live. Until her Mother disappeared without a trace... leaving her to run an entire kingdom by herself. And when it fell under attack... we weren't quick enough to come help. And she turned out to be the only survivor..... All she has left is pieces and memories and us...
And when I thought about it, even Apollo and I had to make a living from scratch. We didn't have anyone to take care of us or tell us what to do. We had no real place to call home, and with our... physical attributes and abilities, we couldn't just go looking for one by ourselves. But... we had each other. Our support for each other is probably what got us through everything up until now. But really... the only reason we were able to have all this and pass off as normal human beings at the same time is because of... because...

My eyes suddenly widened at the thought and I quickly stood up, finding my satchel on the edge of my dresser and I looked through one of the pockets inside until I pulled out my paintbrush. I walked over and flumped back down into my chair as I stared at it.
The power to create anything... anything I could think of...
For years, I had been contemplating the origins of this paintbrush. And for years, I've yet to answer any of my own questions.
I was the one who found this. Both the crystal and the paintbrush. I was the one who found them and they are mine, and mine only. I'm the only one who knows how to use and wield them. And now that we've figured out that the Demon of Shadows has been watching us this whole time... it knows what I'm capable of. It has to.
I've used the crystal sword as my main weapon of defense, but I've also used the paintbrush for the most dire situations. I only ever use the paintbrush for big emergencies, or when we really need something. I've made food and ingredients to keep our kitchen stocked. I can easily make cash for me and Apollo, so we can actually go out and buy things for ourselves. I've made furniture for both our house and the tree house so we can actually live in it and be comfortable. Without it, neither me or Apollo would've made it this far. I've made that point clear that the use of this paintbrush is strictly for emergencies only, or when we really need certain things without having to make other humans suspicious of us when we go out. Our exposure to the outside world cannot be risked.
I really don't like to use this thing as often as I'd like to, but I know better. I can't just swish it around and make whatever I felt like just because I wanted to. I know that this kind of power in the hands of someone else would drive them absolutely mad. I may be crazy, but I'm not selfish. I'm smart and careful, and I don't always have to rely on the brush. However... admittedly, without it, I probably wouldn't have lived this long myself. I wouldn't have been able to hide myself from the world and help my friends do the same. We keep to ourselves and make sure that no one knows we exist. Despite everything that happens within these walls, within the forest, none of us can risk having ourselves be known by humans. Otherwise, they'd be a threat to us.
If anyone knew what we were, what we can do, what we've already done, what lives in the forest...
We wouldn't be safe anywhere.
We wouldn't have anywhere to hide ourselves.
And if we weren't here, there would be nothing to stop the Demon or the monsters it creates.
We really are the only thing standing in its way.

I didn't realize how long I had been sitting here, dazing through my long playlist and spinning around in my chair. When I came back from the depths of my thoughts, the notebooks on my desk were still open. I didn't think I had anything else to add to them so I put them away and cleaned up all my tools, putting them back in their proper places. I organized and cleaned a couple other things within the room before sitting back down in my chair. I picked up the paintbrush and studied it again.
Something about this whole thing just felt... off.
Something didn't make sense.