Mystia

Chapter 4: Not Strong Enough

Chapter 4: Not Strong Enough
Nerine ran fast all the way back into the deep dark forest. She finally stumbled upon Wraith who was still sitting on the mossy log. "You're back!" Said the Wraith, happily as he flew over to Nerine. There was a sad look in Nerine's eyes and she didn't say anything. She sat down by the pond and stuck her webbed feet into the cold water. Wraith looked at Nerine worriedly. "Are you alright Neri?" He said flying over to her. "Yes- I just." Nerine said with her voice breaking as she held back tears. Nerine paused and wiped her eyes and sighed. "I was just having a disagreement with my father but it's fine really." Nerine continued. "Oh. I'm sorry about that. Is there anything I could do?" Asked Wraith with a whispery sounding voice. "No. No. I'm fine." She said and grabbed the Wraiths hand and smiled at him softly and then let go. "Is it ok if I live here for a while?" Nerine asked. "Of course I would love to have you here! For as long as you'd like. It's probably not the most comfortable place but I like it here. Perhaps you can sleep in the pond." Wraith offered cheerfully. "Sure. Thank you." Nerine replied. Nerine still looked sad. "I have to go visit my fae friends. The mist fairies, dark forest fairies, and the cloud fairies. Those and some other fae live around here in the Dark Forest. Would you like to come with me?" Wraith asked. "No thank you. I think I'm going to sit here for a while." Nerine said as she dipped her webbed fingers into the pond and stared at her reflection. "Alright. I won't be gone too long. Don't go too far from here." Wraith said as he flew away. Nerine watched as he flew until he was too far away to see because of the fog. The sky was growing darker and the air was getting colder. There was a full moon which was covered partially by the fog. Nerine looked up at the stars. It was hard to see everything now that it was pitch black. Nerine was starting to feel a little scared until she saw light spirits flying above her head. The light spirits like to come out at night in the forests and light the way for any travelers who are traveling during the night or anyone who needs some light. Nerine sat in the pond which was very shallow like a bath. The water was very chilling but Nerine liked it. She prefered saltwater over freshwater but she didn't really mind that much. There were freshwater spirits swimming in the pond but they didn't bother Nerine. Nerine fell asleep and slept through the whole night. She awoke and climbed slowly out of the pond. Nerine looked around but Wraith was nowhere to be found. "Wraith? Where are you?" She called out. He didn't answer. There was absolutely no one around. The air was still foggy like it was the day before. But there was something else in the air. It smelled like smoke. All of a sudden out of the corner of Nerine's eye she spotted a swift fox looking creature. But this wasn't a normal fox, it was one that has nine tails. A Kitsune. He had shiny silver fur and bright green eyes. Nerine was startled by this majestic creature. Then she watched as the kitsune transformed into a normal human boy. He had the same silver color in his hair that was on his fur and the same beautiful green eyes. "Sorry I didn't mean to startle you!" The kitsune apologized in a kind, cheerful voice. "Oh it's ok." Nerine said, taking a breath. "My name is Milo and I'm a kitsune! What's your name?" Said the boy. "My name is Nerine. I'm a sea nymph." "Huh what's a majestic colorful creature like you doing in a gloomy forest like this. I mean it's nice, just very sad and gray. The dead trees are a nice touch I suppose... Uhm there's lots of rocks." Said Milo, confused. "Oh well I was sort of- kicked out of my kingdom I guess." Nerine admitted as she stared shamefully at the ground. "Huh really!?" Milo chuckled. Nerine half smiled and sighed. "Wait, I have to introduce you to uhm... Wait hold up. Lau!!? Lau!!? Where are you!??" He said, looking around the forest. "Where did he run off to?" Milo mumbled to himself. "Uhm, who are you looking for Milo?" Asked Nerine. "A wind spirit named Lau. He's my uhm close friend. He's always running off. Can never keep track of him." Milo sighed. Then all of a sudden a see-through figure flew next to Milo. "Oh there you are Lau! I thought I lost you for good!" Milo exclaimed. "Hah, you couldn't lose me if you tried." The wind spirit said in a calm voice. Lau was a majestic looking boy with wavy hair. It was almost impossible to see him since he looked mostly translucent. Almost like a ghost. He looked like he was shades of gray, white, blue, and some purple. Lau looked at Nerine, curiously. "Hello it's nice to meet you Lau! My name is Nerine." She said to the wind spirit. Lau waved awkwardly and smiled. "Sorry Lau's a little bit shy!" Said Milo. Lau felt embarrassed and teasingly whacked Milo in the face with a gust of wind. "Hey!" Milo scoffed, folding his arms. Lau smirked. "It's fine." Nerine said laughing. Nerine was glad to have met these two creatures; they seemed extremely friendly. "Well see you around Nerine we gotta go home now. Come on doofus." Milo said and motioned Lau to follow him. "Wait!" Nerine said, stopping them from leaving. "I'd like to introduce you to my friend." "Uhm hun is this friend real because I don't see anyone." Milo said in a soft voice. "He's real, he's a ghost." Nerine said, laughing, "Oh a ghost so he's invisible... Uhm are you sure he's not imaginary because there's no shame in that it's just kind of uhm depressing." Said Milo, frowning. "Uhm no he is a wraith." Milo's eyes widened. And Lau gasped audibly. "A wraith! You mean a soul eating monster?" Milo whispered, looking like he was scared and grabbed Lau's hand. "No a vordr. A nice wraith. He protects me." Said Nerine, realizing she probably should've led with that. "Oh." Milo said and let go of Lau's hand which he had been squeezing very tightly. Lau shook out his hand because it was in pain from Milo's tight grip. "Oh sorry hun." Milo apologized and patted Lau's hand. Lau smiled and rolled his eyes. "Well Wraith left yesterday to visit his fairy friends but he still isn't back yet." Nerine explained. "Oh should we be concerned?" Milo asked. "No I don't think so he should be back soon I'm just kinda bored and lonely." Said Nerine. "Oh ok well I guess we could stay here a little longer. Is that alright with you Lau?" "Yeah it's fine." Said Lau who hadn't really been saying anything this whole time but he didn't mind being quiet. They sat down in the grass and played magic, magic, in a glass which is a game that mythical creatures made up which was inspired by bubblegum, bubblegum, in a dish. "Magic, magic in a glass how many spells do you cast?" Said Milo. They played this for a few minutes and laughed and joked around. Even Lau was talking a little more now. The three magical beings then heard the booming footsteps of what sounded like a dragon. All of their hearts sank. Lau began hyperventilating and Milo grabbed onto his shoulder trying to calm him down. Nerine was shaking nervously. Nerine sighed in relief as she saw a familiar figure fly over to her. It was Wraith who could protect them if there was indeed a dragon nearby. An evil dragon of course. There were nice dragons and they were really hoping it was a nice dragon. "Hey, get away from my Nerine!" Wraith said to Milo and Lau. They both had puzzled looks on their faces. "Wraith calm down, these are my friends Milo and Lau." Nerine said, pointing to Milo and then Lau. "Oh hi sorry. I'm wraith." He said softly. "Sup." Said Milo. Lau just waved. The group was then interrupted by the dragon's footsteps which seemed to be getting louder. "Oh no. Said Wraith. They all looked up at the sky and saw a gigantic dragon with red scales and bat-like wings. She had sharp teeth and claws and red glowing eyes. This was indeed an evil dragon.