Chapter 7

When the light went away, we were standing under what looked like an orange canopy. Soft, blue fuzz lined the ground.

"Where are we?" I asked stupidly. 

"We appear to be in Swaya," the star Tobeke said. 

Slowly and carefully, I ducked down to the ground and crawled out from under the orange thing. Then I looked up and couldn't believe my eyes:

The orange thing was a leaf on an incredibly tall tree, except the trunk was twisted like licorice. Each of the orange leaves were huge. Many more surrounded us like a forest, which it appeared to be. The sky was purple and red-tinted bubbles filled the air. Yellow vines hung low across the trees. It was unlike anything I had seen before or even imagined!

"Woah!" I said softly. "It's amazing."

Tobeke crawled out from under the leaf and looked out at the scene. "They say Swaya is a representation of the things that are in a human's mind. The gods used to try to harbor them themselves, but.... it didn't work out. They decided to make a sanctuary for them instead, and let them work their course while keeping them in control." he explained. Then, with a more worried tone, he said, "Be careful. Monsters could be anywhere."

Preparing for anything, I started to wander around the strange, colorful forest. Tobeke followed, and I heard him gulp and nibble his fingernails. I wondered: Tobeke was a star. Wasn't he supposed to be brave and fearless? At least, that's what the legends said. This worrying, finger-nibbling boy wasn't very fearless. 

Then I heard a loud lurch and screamed. Tobeke gasped. It was coming from above. I looked up and saw a huge, monstrous green caterpillar slithering down from a tree. It's blue eyes bulged from its large head. It gargled. I screamed and fell on the ground. The monster crept toward me. I shut my eyes and prepared for the worst. 

Instead of pain, I felt his head nuzzle mine. I opened my eyes, and the caterpillar was smiling a silly smile. 

"He's.... friendly!" I said. I got up and the caterpillar slithered around my feet. It tickled. 

"Let's go. We have to go east if we want to go in the direction of the mountain." Tobeke said. "And east would be... that way." he said, pointing.

"How did you find that?" I asked. There seemed to be no sun in the purple sky.

"Stars have natural navigation abilities." Tobeke replied.

We started walking in the direction he pointed, and all around I saw wonders. Tiny fuzzballs popped out of small holes in the blue ground, giant flying lizards flew overhead, and the earth below me seemed to hum, just a little bit. It was amazing.

Not wanting the entire journey to be awkward, I asked Tobeke, "What's it like to be a star?"

"For my brothers, great. People wish on you, and you can ask the gods to grant their wish. For me, not so much. I'm much smaller than the rest. Everybody wants to wish on the big, shiny ones. I'm just a small, dim one." he sighed. "Sometimes I wish to be a human. Then you have at least some control over your fate. As a star, I just shine all the time and hope someone wishes on me."

Oh. I had never thought of that. 

"So what's it like to be a person?" he asked. 

I laughed. I never thought someone would ask me that! "It depends on what type of person." I said. "As a servant, I just have to do what I'm told. It's how I get a place to sleep and food to eat. But at least I have those things. I have it good compared to some."

Throughout the journey, we shared more about our lives. I noticed that although he wasn't a strong warrior, he was quite intelligent. He told me all about the antics of the gods, things the legends never told. 

The journey didn't seem so bad so far, especially with a companion like Tobeke. It wasn't until we reached the next section that I really had to try to live up to being "strong and intelligent".

Reviews

[nightshade]

I love how your two characters are both trying to be brave for the sake of the other. also contrary to the opinion of Sabrina I think that this story doesn't need to be a romance. that is just my opinion though. I think that the two should become friends and have friendly banter. god how I love banter

[Sabrina]

I love this. I for some reason, knowing you, this might turn out to be a romance. I love the part about the caterpillar. That seems like so much fun.