[TWWM] Apricity's Origin Stories

The warmth of the sun was swallowed up here, beneath the dense canopy that stilted itself up the mountainside. Roots and stems clinging to the rocky crags, and yet somehow held fast by their own sturdy means. The air was thick with humidity and insects droned loudly. Their chirps and trills however were soon drowned out by a disjointed commotion that only humans could bring. A small group of them were making their way up the mountainside. Their humped backs, made from piles of backpacks and straps, canteens and ropes, scurried slowly and awkwardly through the dense undergrowth.

"Will you hold this back while I climb through?" One of the larger humans said, motioning to an awkwardly placed branch.

"Sure, watch that root, I almost tripped on it." another replied, grabbing hold of the sapling and twisting it at an uncomfortable angle. Ayla winced a bit, but held fast. She knew that the sapling would be fine, she just hoped they wouldn't snap it off completely. The growth on this mountain was dear to her, it was rich with life, full of a thrumming energy that she felt like a heartbeat. She followed the humans at a distance, silently watching their assent, watching.

"Okay, now over this." the other humans nodded and, tired legs throbbing, hopped carefully over a very slick looking mossy log. There were five of them, all different shapes, all different colors. Humans used to frighten Ayla terribly, but over the years she'd grown accustomed to them haphazardly traipsing through even the most remote forested areas. It was tiresome, but at the same time, she didn't wish them harm, and usually watched at a distance in case they needed help.

The help she could offer wasn't always the best however, and so she sighed, just hoping they'd be careful and make it back down off the mountain as soon as possible.

They scaled higher and higher, looping back and forth across its face. The day grew long, and so did their shadows, even more so under the heavy shadow of the canopy above. As they reached yet another rocky outcropping, they seemed in unison to bend over and brace themselves with their hands atop their knees.

"We...should rest here for the night."

"I agree, its way too dark to keep climbing, and I'm exhausted."

The largest of the group shuffled his feet a bit. "We're pretty near the top, are you sure we can't just push on?"

"Nah," a smaller fellow with a grey hat unclipped his backpack and swung it to the ground. "If we try to continue, in the dark, while we're this tired, the chances of getting hurt will be very high."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right then."

They all began unsnapping things and unclipping belts and straps, shedding the heaps and humps that clung to them. It was an annoying sound, all manner of pots and pans and little metal cups began clattering about. Some of them unzipped things and began erecting fabric homes right there on the mountainside. Ayla had seen these before, and although uncomfortable for her, she knew that those homes never stayed very long.

As the humans bustled around their little camp, starting a fire and preparing foods, Ayla drew nearer to them, safe in knowing that she was obscured from their view, and bored of the long day of watching them enough to want to hear whatever they might talk about around the fire. Her long legs padded silently through the leaves, and she drew herself inward, shrinking substantially until she was about the size of a wolf. Tiptoeing she approached the edge of the camp, and when no one was looking, she called upon the growth around her to billow upwards a bit, creating a tiny cave-like tent of her own, made entirely from the leaves and bushes around her. Nestling into it, she tucked her tail around herself like a nest, and crossed her front paws, comfortable and ready to see what might unfold.

The water above the fire rolled to a boil and all sorts of packets and leaves were added, stirred, and then distributed. As they sat around the fire, they began talking about their journey up the mountain. Laughing at things they'd done or said, and talking about the next climb they had planned for the months ahead. Another mountain, another path. The moon climbed high above, and as the conversation began to die down, suddenly the largest human shifted from his seat.

"Oh, whats that thing?" he said, looking past the others into the edge of the underbrush.

"What thing?" they said in unison, turning and scanning the leaves.

"Its like..." he muttered, rolling on his side and climbing to his feet, he shuffled outside the ring of light cast by the fire, into the cold and dark trees.

"Don't wander off, you're gonna fall down the mountain!" one of them called after him, but he wasn't gone long. Seconds later he shuffled back to his spot by the fire, and sat down again. This time, he held something in his hands.

"This! I found a treasure i think!"

The smooth clean glass contrasted drastically against his large dirty hands, rough from the day of climbing. The glass felt cool and kind on his hands, and he grinned as he rubbed its surface. "It was in the leaves just sitting over there!"

"Oh no! Put it back!" one of the humans said, reaching forward. She was smaller, and seemed suddenly upset.

"What? What is it?" he said, pulling it closer to his chest.

"Its a shrine! It would be very bad luck to take that from the mountain."

"A shrine? Like, to a god?"

"No..." she said, shaking her head. "This mountain has many spirits, many of them are lost, and it has claimed the lives of many hikers and climbers just like us. When someone is lost, or has died in a place like this, often, the family or friends will create a special item in their memory, and leave it for them to find in the afterlife."

The man shivered a bit, and held the glass orb further away, staring at it intently.

The firelight flickered through the glass, lighting up the contents inside. There was some soft mosses, carefully placed, and there, within the moss stood several tiny stone pillars, a few coins, and hand-carved wooden cat figurines.

"Oh geez, I didn't know!" he said, scrambling to his feet.

"Be careful, there are several stones in there. I bet that shrine is for that group of hikers who went missing three years ago." the woman said, looking very solemn, she looked around the camp. "To think...they could have camped in this exact spot then... and they still haven't been found."

The man sidestepped around the fire, "I'm going to put it back exactly how i found it, right?"

"Yeah, nothing fell out that opening in the side did it?" she said, glancing at the ground by his feet. "Oh no wait!" she yelled, but it was too late. In the darkness around the camp, a humped root shimmered in the firelight only a little, and they watched in horror as the man's foot caught against it, tripping him only just enough to...

He stumbled, catching himself against a tree as he shied away from the steep drop off to his left. As he did so however, the thin glass terrarium slipped from his grasp. Firelight flickered against the orb, spinning in bright orange glory as it plummeted from sight, into the inky darkness of the mountainside below.