tears of blood { bodybagbards, day 2 }

*

It hadn’t been much of a blow, but the create had been so banged up, my blade finally found a vein and took the thing down.

I stood over the mutt as it slumped, the last few twitches of its nose signaling we’d managed to live another day.

For the first time since the morning turned over, I’m struck by the colors surrounding us. Pods of mushrooms line the base of trees, highlighter yellow, tangerine, and neon green to the east, cerulean to the west, and still more southward in all shades of indigo and violet. Trees race up toward the sky where only cracks of sunlight dared to peer through. Tonight’s rest would be under cover of darkness – or would have, if it were for the faint warm lights peering out from the carved innards of the tree trunks.

“Yeah, sure, don’t go getting lost,” I shot at Cor. Little miss tougher than a box of nails needed some space and I wasn’t about to ask why. Probably for the best that I got a chance to soak up the quiet. I nodded to Alpha and started down one of the winding trails.

A gentle echo of my boots against the dirt and moss pierced the forest. The air swam like a blanket over me, and I stretched out a yawn. For a moment I wondered who or what had made their homes here, until I remembered that all of this was by design. A fabrication of someone’s dreamscape, meant to lull us or grip with anxiety depending on the moment (or person). Didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the craftsmanship, though.

“Anybody home?” I knocked along one of the entrances of the trees and peered through the window. They’ve totally got to be gnomes, right? What else would be small enough to fit into them?

I took a seat on one of the toadstools and stared up at the canopy to watch the different hovering lights spiral overhead. Each one a whisp of color, they lit up the tops of trees before fading into darkness once again. Reminded me of fireflies at night back in ten. Holding for just a few minutes in the distance, only to fade away. They could only light up such a small space, but man – weren’t they beautiful?

As the evening started to roll in, I made my way back along the path, and stopped when I saw the rock with the sword handle sticking out.

It’s not like I needed another sword, but –

You know they don’t just giving out free swords if there wasn’t a use to them.

Also, didn’t some king guy get anointed after pulling a sword from a stone?

King Cachi kind of has a ring to it doesn’t it?

And kings get concubines, too.

Fully preparing to make Charlie my concubine, I reached for the sword and gave it a good tug (just like Charlie! Heh).

[Cachi searches]

[Cachi pulls the sword]