Winged Falls

//Chapter Four//

Ford and Wendy were out of sight when Mason turned back to the path, and a quick glance behind him showed that Mabel was gone too. A shiver ran down the back of his neck as he stared into the trees around him, alone in the suddenly quiet forest. It felt like… like something was watching him— and in these woods, that was definitely possible. Whether it meant him harm or was simply curious, it was better not to take chances. 

Mason took off running along the path, turning to look behind him. He didn’t see anything, but— 

Smack! Mason stumbled backwards from something green and flannel-looking. What? A plaidypus, or—

Wendy turned to look at him. “There you are, dude! What took you so long?”

Mason could feel heat burning in his cheeks as he stumbled backwards, adjusting his glasses as he went. “Oh, uh, nothing.” He straightened his vest— what he thought of as his “adventuring outfit”— and tried to regain his composure. “Wait, I mean—”

“Ah, Mason, there you are,” Great-Uncle Ford said, turning to look at him. “Nothing wrong with a little independent study, but next time try to stay where I can see you. Stan would have my head if you got carried off by a monster.” 

Mason nodded as he lengthened his stride to keep up with the others. He soon fell into step next to Wendy as Ford strode on ahead. Wendy was mostly quiet, occasionally spinning her axe around to chop down vines or branches hanging into the path. For a while they walked in silence, Mason searching for something clever to say. Something smart, to impress Wendy with his knowledge— but not too smart. He didn’t want to bore her. 

In the end, Wendy was the one to break the silence. “So, how’re you liking your first trip to the forest? Seen anything creepy?” She grinned, wiggling her fingers at him. 

“Uh— well, I haven’t seen anything.” Mason hesitated. “But— Wendy, you’re out here a lot, right?”

She nodded, slicing her axe through a vine dangling down. “Yeah, why?”

“Have you ever felt like— like something was watching you? While you’re out here?” Mason’s cheeks burned red. She probably hadn’t, and now she would think that he was just a paranoid little kid who was super lame and she wouldn’t want him to come with on any more explorations and why had he said that he was an idiot—

“Oh, yeah, all the time.”

Mason did a double take. “You— what?”

Wendy shrugged. “There are tons of creatures out here in the woods. A lot of them are curious and like to watch us, and anything dangerous won’t mess with you when you’re with me and Ford. Anyways, you get used to it pretty quick.”

Mason let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. “That’s— thanks.” He was just being paranoid. 

“No problem, dude. I was pretty creeped out my first trip in here, too.” Wendy wrinkled her nose. “Actually, you’re probably handling it a lot better than I did.” She paused, looking up at the conifer trees looming up around them before she continued speaking. “Now, though, I like the forest a lot better than most places in town. No one to judge you, I get to fight monsters— or, well, study them.” Wendy sighed. “I don’t get to do nearly as much fighting as I’d like.”

Ford turned his head, raising an eyebrow at Wendy. “I can hear you, you know. You do plenty of fighting, and besides, we don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Psh, I could take the monsters in here any day.”

Mason laughed. “Is that why you have your axe? To fight monsters with?”