After: Mist (5) | Keita

We gather ourselves on the side of a path away from Kistern. We turn around, out of breath, and I fall back. Home.

"What do we do?" I question Trix as we struggle to maintain our heartbeats.

She doesn't respond. Sniffle.

"Well," I throw over some clothes. "We get dry first."

I stress to my feet and cross the path to the other side, allowing her privacy. I unravel the wraps bundled in my hands and get to dressing myself.

"Okay?" I call out.

Sniffle. "Mm," I hear a quiet whimper.

"Okay." I finish changing.

"Done?" I call out.

I gasp.

I hear the sounds of an animal's footsteps in the distance.

No answer.

I rush toward her, empty-handed, and slow down next to the path between us.

Walking tall, trotting closer, is a horse of pure white. Even through the darkness of the night, its body is clear as day.

I manage to move a branch above the horse to scare it back.

The horse rears back into a neigh as I sneak on by to join Trix.

I hope the fog is thick enough to cover my movements. I look back at the horse and watch as it looks to the side for predators.

"Easy," I whisper out into the woods. "I'm closing my eyes, okay?" I whisper as I move forward. I can feel the roots and wood around to watch my step.

A warmth.

I feel her hand press against my chest, causing me to stop.

"Oh," I jolt back. "Shh," I gesture to her, crouching down.

The animal comes close and fades into the distance.

I let out a breath and regain my posture.

"What now?" I ask her.

She sits back against the base of a tree. "What can we do?" she asks me.

I take a seat next to her, against another side of the tree. "You're right," I tuck my arms around my knees.

Over the next while, I focus and try discretely tilt the trees nearby to cover our position with their branches.

I only manage a few and half of our position remains uncovered.

Which seems to do the trick, until we're disrupted by an incoming force.

A thundering rumbling rushes our way.

Trix and I brace our ears, and I coil us with roots to keep us from moving.

A thump, a bump and a crash head past us as a giant Giant comes blasting through the forest.

I can only manage a silhouette as the thing passes, causing us to deal with its earthquakes. A frog-like titan hops past with great speed, obliterating the forest as it lands.

"I got ya, I got ya," I assure Trix as our world continues to shake about.

The giant clears some distance with its next jump, leaving an imprint in the ground.

"We're all right," I tell her. "We're strong."

I cool off from the close call.

"We can't stay here," I fall back. "I don't know what to do."

Trix pulls herself up and offers me a hand. "Let's find somewhere safe."

I accept her offer and look down at where the giant came from. Down one end, I still hear and feel the giant making moves. Down the other, not a thing.

"We could go either way right now," I sigh.

"Let's try the path," she suggests. "We can stay behind the trees and maybe find a village."

"Yeah," I join her side. "Let's try it."

We walk back across the path and follow it away from Kistern, looking out for a signpost. I've never left the village. I'll have to be brave for us.

In the dead of night, it was not an optimal time to be moving outside of village walls.

"We could have gone to my home if I knew where that was," Trix apologises. "I'm sorry. I should've paid more attention."

Her sniffles have died down.

"That's okay," I speak, but my words are whisked away in a gust of wind. We need to get out of this as soon as possible. I'm more than tired, scared and stressed.

I should have paid more attention to classes as well. Knowing which way to go would be helpful right now. 

Trix yawns, which sets me off. I look at her with a smile. "We're okay."

Just as I send her assurance, I find my lungs working overtime. I cough and notice it's harder to breathe.

Not smoke. The fog's getting heavier. Well, it kinda feels like smoke.

Trix trips over a dead branch and stumbles to her knee. She snatches my hand to save herself. "Sorry," she smiles up to me.

She catches a whiff of the funny texture in the air and makes a noticeable gesture. "Bleh," she coughs before holding her nose and holding a hand up to me.

The air becomes a lot more clear.

"Thanks." I bend to help her up.

"I'm okay," she responds in a whisper. "Just a bit cold."

"This fog will help," I joke. "Smells like heat. Maybe it's a heat cloud."

At least the fireflies came out to light the way.

We walk through the mist, not getting any warmer.

"Purple?" Trix starts. "It's got a purple tint," she laughs. "So cute."

The fog engulfs the two with another gust of wind.

"Ooh," I sound as we rub our arms and run on the spot. "Yeah, I feel it too."

An unusual sound comes from a distance. A sort of crackling with a thud and soft growl.

Draugar? Damned? Zombies? My thoughts taunt me.

"We'll be okay," I assure my friend.

"It sounds like it," her thoughts answer back.

From the glimmer of our crystal moon, we see humanoid shapes appear within the woods - although, very dark in stature.

"A tree", I hope.

Following that sentiment, a second figure begins to climb out of the ground from the path.

I can barely see, but I still feel the potential threats grow from my connection to nature. I have that sense to thank for how quickly my reactions kick in.

I grab Trix's hand and take off along the path.

The sound of a third. A fourth. A fifth. I couldn't possibly count the amount as the sounds blend into an army of threats.

Trix catches on quickly and keeps up with my pace. In fact, she passes me. However, she keeps looking around for any incoming attacks. She takes my hand and leads me back onto the road.

In the distance, a figure stands against us and raises a weapon. A second raises a weapon from a tree.

What're they going to do from there?

I realise too late.

An arrow is sent toward us.

It's as if I feel myself die at the sight of it. The feeling of helplessness. If I were to die, then my friend is likely to follow.

At that moment, a beam of light flashed from above to the ground ahead of us.

My sight is drawn away as he's caught by temporary blindness.

Trix dodges swiftly and drags me around the oncoming threat.

I look back and an Elf of light had appeared from the lightning bolt. Holding an arm ahead of it. The Elf was gripping the arrow. The arrow that was shot at me.

It was staring ahead at the fiend lurking ahead of it. Fearless.

Almost as if choreographed, fireflies begin flashing to the floor and facing off against the shadows.

Never did I think I'd be thanking a firefly.

We'd just come from a battleground and now we're in another.

"Come on!" Trix calls to me and breaks me out of my trance.

I catch up with her pace and she turns me down a fork in the road.

Heading in this direction, the war we'd come from quiets down. But it's still active

I have to pull away to regain my breath.

Drawing my hand from hers, I slow down and eventually come to a stop at a signpost.

"What was that?" I hunch over and grip my knees.

No answer as she does the same. "New to me."

We fall to the base of the signpost and regain ourselves.

As I lean against the post, I could almost fall asleep. "Keep looking?" I ask, ready to pass out.

"We'd better," she adds.

I didn't want to hear that. Well, I kinda did. Maybe.

| Author’s Notes |

~ Glossary ~

Wild Hunt: typically involve a ghostly or supernatural group of hunters passing in wild pursuit. The hunters may be elves or fairies or the dead, and the leader of the hunt is often a named figure associated with Odin. In this story, the hunters consist of the Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar. (plural: Wild Hunts) [European]

Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar: Two contrasting types of elves; the dark elves dwell within the earth and have a dark complexion, while the light elves live in Álfheimr, and are "fairer than the sun to look at". (plural: Dökkálfar/Ljósálfar) [Norse]

~ Happenings ~

The purple mist is a warning of a Wild Hunt. The elves of black and white are - and -. The fireflies are but a personal spin on the mythology.

The horse of pure white.