Skytwister - Heeding the Call

This will be a special entry in my journal. I had the most bizarre day….

☆ I heard the call yesterday morning. It came from the trees, the leaves, the sky itself. I couldn’t make out what it was saying, but I knew it was there. Finding my way through the trees was a the real challenge. The twisting branches deep within Redwick created a maze where the light itself could barely reach. Soft creaking of the tree trunks and the soft whistle of leaves were the only noises she could hear. Where were all the animals? Usually, the forest was bustling with pippetes and creatures of all kinds. Something was wrong. 

☆ I decided to make my way deeper into the forest, following the wind’s trail through the branches. It was like the wind was singing me a song in the way it moved each leaf. It was telling me something was wrong.

☆ Picking up the pace, I stumbled through the branches, perhaps a bit clumsily, and crashed into a clearing. This particular clearing I had never seen before. I really thought I had explored most of the colorful forest, since I’ve been going there since I was just a little geode. (Note to self: recheck the maps!) Instead of being excited like I should have been, I got this feeling that I…shouldn’t be there. The air here felt foul, dangerous…rotten. Something had gone wrong here, and not too long ago.

☆ Feelings of dread and fear had me gripped in place. I could barely even blink. The only thing that shook me from my freeze was the wind, winding frantically around the clearing and through the trees. It wanted me there, I could tell. After a moment, I decided to be brave, and venture out to the center of the clearing, slowly and carefully. Nothing in the clearing was immediately alarming. Let me describe the scene for you.

☆ First thing (well, things)  I noticed: the grass. Most of it was like any grass you’d see in this forest. Except, just behind a fallen log was the imprint of a body, as though someone had been lying there. Faint scorch marks lined the log, and claw marks set off alarm bells in my mind. There must have been a struggle here. 

☆ Second thing (well, again, more than one thing) I noticed: two sets of footprints, one most definitely from a vespire, and the other…I’m unsure. The strange footprints went to the log, but suddenly turned around back out of the clearing. The vespires did not.  One thing for certain, the vespire had come here with a friend, and they left without them. 

☆ The feel of sickness in the air is something I can’t identify yet. Maybe it was just a feeling, I don’t know but…seemed odd with the signs of a fire. Must not have been a normal flame. Either way, I was done with that clearing. Heading out, I made sure to make one last mental note of the scene. This place was important to someone, somehow, and maybe it’ll be useful to keep in my noggin. 

☆ Since the day was still young, I thought I’d make my way home, but it seemed like wind had other ideas for me. After reaching the edge of the forest, the wind swirled in the leaves again. I didn’t want to listen. I had found something I didn’t want to, and I certainly didn’t want to get involved. Whatever happened was far too dangerous for me. But it seemed the wind disagreed. The wind swirled around my claws, urgently trying to tell me something. “Don’t go yet! We have more to show you” it seemed to say. Sighing, I resigned myself to follow the wind. 

☆I had grown up in these woods, and I could have sworn I knew every tree, every leaf and every branch. Maybe that was my mistake. The wind took me through parts of the woods I had never come across. A small creek flowing through a flat, rocky area, forming a multitude of small waterfalls. Huge, fallen trees, long dead, taken over by new growth and the nests of the local wildlife. A Loupine den nestled into a hillside, barely visible between the vines and foliage of the surrounding rock. It was all so magical. 

☆ Eventually I came upon a house. This was the most surprising thing I found. Never have I seen anyone else in these woods that I hadn’t met already. Most people lived at the edge of the woods, and even those deeper in would generally make themselves known to their neighbors. Maybe I was being neieve. Perhaps some people didn’t want to be found. That realization alone was enough to make me turn around and head away from the house. The wind seemed to tug at my fur again, begging me not to turn back. Freezing in place, I figured this is where the wind wanted me to be. I turned around and took a closer look at the house. 

☆ The house itself was nothing too ominous. It had a nice, two story floor plan and a charming, small porch out front. Made of a deep, dark wood, the house stood out in its darkness. The forest here seemed darker because of the house, as if the house reflected its aura to the surrounding trees. Maybe it was the lighting, since the trees themselves were densely spaced, and very little light made it’s way to the forest floor. What really gave me the creeps was the windows. Dark and framed with even darker wood, they seemed as though no light had shown through them in years. All but for one window in a tower-like structure on the second floor. This window was circular, and smaller than the rest. Through it shined a faint, orange glow. Someone was home. This is where I was meant to go. 

☆ Since I sensed this is where the wind had been leading me all day, I figured I may as well check the house out. The sun was low in the sky by now, so I decided to settle down by one of those creeks for the night. Whatever I needed to do can wait until tomorrow, I am EXHAUSTED. So now I’m sitting here by my campfire writing in my journal. I have a feeling whatever is happening here is important, and I’ve got this diary with me all the time anyways. Might as well! I’m nervous, but I’ll update with what happens tomorrow. Peace! 

☆ (P.S: Probably wasn’t a good idea to follow a “wind feeling” deep into the woods far from home, but…ya know! You only live once. Stay safe out there though!)