Fourteen Moons

A sharp cold penetrates my body, causing me to shiver. I curl up on the cushioned chair that rests under the window, wrapping my fur blanket tightly around me. Still cold. I stare out of the window and watch as large puffs of white fall from the sky. A thick, cold blanket of white expands over the ground, killing the vegetation by blocking out the sun.

“Revus, what is that?” I ask as I point at the window, turning to him.

“Snōō,” Revus answers with his back turned, his focus on the food he is cooking.

I look back at the falling flakes. Snow. It’s beautiful. I know he said the seasons change every week, and it’s hard to believe that summer was only two weeks ago, but it’s hard to deny the drastic change in weather. I sigh. I miss the heat already.

“Food is done soon,” Revus calls out, “Go sit at the table.” 

“No,” I retort as I rub my hands over my legs to heat them up, “It’s too cold.”

Revus turns his head, glancing back at me, and sighs, “It’s not that cold.” As he returns his focus to his task, he holds his left hand down at his side, “But, if you are cold, I make it warmer.”

If you could, that’d be nice. My attention bounces between Revus and the window for almost a minute. He continues to stand there, cooking, while his left hand idly hangs at his side. Slowly, I start to feel the air in the room heat up. My body tingles as the warmth surrounds me. Is he? I direct my focus at Revus’ hand and realize that his pants are waving slightly as if they are being blown in the wind.

I smile and mutter quietly, “Sleeps.”

“If you are thankful, sit at the table,” Revus states.

I slouch in the chair, burying myself in my blanket, and complain, “Hey Revus, we have lessons everyday. Can we take a break?”

Revus turns his head toward me, locks his sharp eyes onto me like a predator intensely focused on its prey, and curtly answers,  “No. You need to learn.”

“Please,” I plead as I spring from the blanket, my hands clasped together, “No rest. I want a couple days- No, one day. Please.”

Revus closes his eyes, his face softening as he sighs, “One day.” He holds up one finger with his left hand, “One.”

“Yes!” I exclaim as I smile brightly “Sleep you.” Revus stops cooking, turns around to face me, and stares at me for a moment, eyebrows raised. “What?” I ask.

He sighs deeply, places a hand over his face, and asserts, “But you still review.” He then refocuses on the food before him.

I freeze and stare at Revus. “Really?” I gripe in Zoic as I shrink back under my fluffy comfort, before grumbling in Sveltish, “You just couldn’t let me have a single day to rest.”

“Evetta,” Revus snarls, “No Sveltish.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I groan.

“Food is done. Come eat,” Revus announces, before turning around and carrying two plates of food to the dining table. He sets them down, takes his seat, and continues, “I’m sorry. It’s not fair, but we…” Revus trails off, pondering for a moment, “We need to get you home.”

“Get me home?” I ask as I force myself out of the chair, still wrapped in the blanket. I trudge over to the table and sit down, saying, “We are home.”

As I do, Revus pierces the food with his fork  and brings it to his mouth, but stops, “This home is not home. We need to go to Evetta’s family.” He points at me, “To your home.” Revus then starts working his way through his plate, while I stare at mine solemnly.

Go to my home. To my family. So, he wants to take me back to Svelta, to where my family is. Back to Mom, Rafal, Regina… To where they are… Where they WERE. Tears begin to form as I remember how Dad died, how Mom took my siblings, and how I was left alone. Wait. I look up at Revus. No, that doesn’t make any sense. He doesn’t even know Sveltish, so how could he know about Svelta. But what if-

“-vetta.” I hear him call.

“Huh? Sorry,” I reply, “What did you say?”

Revus points at my plate with his fork, then answers worriedly, “Evetta, eat.” His gaze narrows. “What’s wrong?”

“Um…” I hesitate, pushing my food around with my fork before answering, “I no want to go to my parents. I want to stay here.”

Revus sighs, “Evetta no play with your food. Eat. I will explain when you are done.”

“Okay,” I meekly say as I slowly begin working my way through my food. Going back to Svelta, to my family. I’d rather stay here with Revus. He does have his moments but I’ve been having a lot of fun being here. Things are different here, the environment, my body, but even so, it’s still better than before. If I have to go back, what’ll Mom say? Will she even be there? She said she didn’t want me anymore, so… While I lament, my vision blurs as tears fill my eyes and start to roll down my face. 

“I… done,” I cry.

Revus puts his hand on my shoulder and says, “All will be okay. You have a good family.” What? Confused, I look up at Revus, and then turn away, brushing his hand off my shoulder. Rafal and Regina, maybe. But MOM? She left me. I don’t want to see her. I don’t want to go back. I want to stay here. I stand up from the chair, walk over to my bed, and bury my face in my pillow. I hear Revus sigh, and then begin cleaning, but the sounds of him washing dishes do little to stifle my cries.

 

“Urg,” I grumble as I open my dry, heavy eyes. As I dizzily sit up, my wispy hair slowly covers my vision. I brush it behind my ear and place my hand on my head. What happened? I look over and see Revus sitting on a chair next to my bed, his eyes locked on me. I cannot help but jump slightly.

“Sleep well?” he asks.

Sleep? Ah, I must’ve dozed off. I yawn, stretch my arms, and, while wiping my eyes, reply, “No. Bad sleep.”

Revus smirks, then frowns, “Evetta.” He pauses as I look at him, his hands fidgeting with some papers. The nervous-looking fairy passes them to me and continues, “You ask. I answer.” Really. You want to test me right now? I just woke up.

I angrily snatch the papers from Revus and, upon seeing what is written, realize that they are my notes. My momentary fury subsides as I look back at Revus, “You answer?”

Revus nods and replies, “I answer best I can.”

“Okay,” I smile, take a deep breath, and ask, “How did I get here?”

“I bring you here.”

“Why?”

Revus hesitates and looks away, “You are in danger. I will protect you. Bring you here. It’s safe here.”

Okay, that’s good to know but I only have more questions now. But before that… “Why my name Evetta?”

Revus returns his focus to me and states, “Is your past name different from Evetta?

I nod. Did he not understand my question? 

“You remember your past name?”

“N-no.” I hesitate.

“You are different from the past. Your body is different. Your family is different,” Revus explains, “Different you, different name.”

I sit there, mouth agape, as I stare at him. I’m different? Is that why I’m a girl? But my family is also differ- “My parents,” I quickly holler, “What are names?”

“Your parents' names, Vestele and Marth.” Revus answers. Vestele and Marth? Who are they? My parents names were- “and Evetta has more family.”

I look at him inquisitively. “More family?” 

“Yes, I have not met, but you have three siblings,” Revus continues, “You are young, others are older.”

I look down at the white flower petal in my arms. I have new siblings, new parents, a new family. “How?” I ask as I look back to Revus.

“Hmm…” Revus mutters while putting his hand on his chin and looking down, then he takes a deep breath, and returns his intense eyes to me, “Evetta, you die in past.”

My heartbeat increases and my head begins to feel dizzy. “Huh?” I die? Sweat starts to form on my body as it rapidly heats up. I died? My breathing becomes haggard as I gasp for air. Did he mean to say something else? But then how-

“Too soon. I will explain when you know more Zoic,” Revus states as he gently wraps his arms around me, “You are okay. I will keep you safe. For now, no worry about it.”

I sit there, pull the flower petal to my chest, and rest my chin on it. I… What happened to me? I tremble there with Revus hugging me for a while. “Sleep you Revus,” I squeak. He chuckles lightly. After sitting like that for a few minutes, I calm down, Revus lets me go and sits back down, his face wrought with concern.

“Uh-” Revus starts to say something but closes his mouth and looks away, “I’m sorry. You-”

“I’m okay,” I interrupt, gripping the petal and smiling, “My family. We can go to my family.”

“We cannot go yet,” Revus smiles wryly, “You cannot fly, and need to learn more Zoic.”

“Right.”

“You have more to ask?” Revus inquires.

I look down at my notes that are atop my blanket and shake my head, “No. I will ask later. Thank you.” There’s still more I want to know, but… I glance at Revus. …After hearing this, it’s probably better to wait until I can properly understand Zoic. Otherwise I’ll only get more confused.

Revus grabs my notes, stands up, and enters the flower chamber. I lay back down, my head sinking into the pillow as I stare at the wooden-ringed ceiling. The me now is different from before. I was given a new name, and have a new family. I place the back of my hand over my eyes. But how did this happen? There’s practically no similarities between here and Svelta. And how did I get here from Svelta when Revus doesn’t even seem to know the place. Everything’s so… strange.

I sit up and look around the house, then peer out at the white field through the window. This house, and this place… I get out of bed, clinging to my fur blanket, and walk over to the glass barrier separating me from the snow. …there’s so many differences. I glance up toward the frosted canopy.

The moons, the land… I hear the door open from the flower chamber, turn my head, and watch as Revus enters the room. …Revus and I are both fairies. Everything is different, but… I smile at Revus and then turn back to the serene view of snow falling. I think… I like it here. I sigh longingly. I don’t want to go back. I want to see more of it.

“Evetta,” Revus calls out as he approaches me on my left, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I mutter as I look up at him, “Revus, can we go outside?”

“Huh? Why?” Revus questions, “You-”

“I want to see more,” I explain as I point to the vast, white ground, “More of that.”

Revus sighs as he starts to scratch the back of his head, “It’s cold.”

“I know.”

“You still need to l-.”

“Day off,” I smile, interrupting him.

Revus sighs again, looks down and away from me, then looks toward the window and groans. After a moment of silence, he answers, “Get dressed.”

“Sleeps,” I murmur as I look back outside.

“BUT… you study when we get home,” Revus smirks as he turns around.

“Maybe,” I whisper under my breath in Sveltish as I follow Revus over to the dressers to get changed. 

I dig through the drawers searching for whatever clothes might provide the most warmth. Why did Revus mostly make dresses and skirts? Thankfully my pants fit me now. I pull a light-brown pair of pants, a thick, dark-brown, long-sleeve shirt, and a puffy, gray jacket out of the drawer. Both the shirt and jacket have their backside exposed. I hold each one out in front of me. These might be the best. I glance down at the length and see that the pants are not touching the ground like before. Still growing… I glance back to Revus, my height now almost a full head above what I was when I first met him. At least my clothes fit now.

“Revus, can you make…” I pause. Right, I don't know the word for pants. I hold up my pair. “Can you make more of this for me?” I hold up a dress as I shake my head, “Not this.”

He smiles at me, “Sure, later.”

“Thanks,” I reply as I enter the washroom, pants in hand. I begin to change my clothes, removing my pajama-like gown. As I pull my left arm out from the gown, I examine it. I’m really thankful for my body but… I glance down. …why did I become a girl? I feel my face heat up and I quickly shake my head and continue changing.

Once done, I leave the washroom and meet Revus who is wearing a puffy brown jacket that has its back exposed. He is wearing long, dark brown pants, and has heavy-looking boots on.

“Hey Revus,” I call out as he turns to look at me, “Will you be cold?”

“I will be okay,” he answers, then retorts, “Will YOU be cold?” 

In Sveltish, I mutter, “I’m always cold,” to myself as I walk back to my dresser. I pull out a pair of socks that are still too big and, after putting them on, slip into my boots. I stand up, walk over to my bed, grab my blanket, and wrap it around me. “I will be okay,” I answer before I stick my tongue out at him.

He smirks, “You ready?”

“Yeah.”

Together, we walk over to the front door and, upon Revus opening it, I feel a rush of freezing air seep inside as the warmth escapes. The chill creeps throughout the house, climbs up my legs, and pierces my body. I scrunch my toes and my body tenses as the cold spreads over me, my layers of protection seemingly doing nothing to prevent the biting air from reaching me.

“You still want to go?” Revus asks, with this sharp gaze locked on me.

“Y-ye-yeah,” I stutter as I try to adjust to the cold, “I w-w-want to g-go.”

Revus shakes his head, sighs, and then lifts me up in his arms to carry me as we exit the house. Now outside, Revus’ wings appear and he lifts off into the air. As we rise higher and higher, I watch as the white landscape expands. The frozen forest reveals leafless, icy, wooden structures, all of which have a layer of snow covering their dark-brown bark.

As we begin to head further into the winter wonderland, I scan the area. Watching the plants shift through the seasons so quickly was… I’m not even sure what word to use, but seeing this. It really is winter now… There’s nothing out here anymore. I continue to observe the surroundings,  analyzing the environment as we fly. I don’t see any bugs or other animals either. It’s so quiet.

“Where you want to go?” Revus suddenly asks.

Where to go… As we fly away from the house, I hear the faint sound of the river in the distance. “The water?” I mutter.

“Water…” Revus sighs, “Hang on.”

Together, we soar through the frozen woodland and I see the river I previously explored when I first awoke here. From up this high, the other side is clearly visible as the water cuts between the brown and white landscape. The water is now frozen along the calmer areas, while it continues to rush over snow-capped rocks and wooden debris. The snow dances down into the water, and swiftly disappears into the endless stream.

It’s so pretty…

“You like it?” Revus asks, looking down at me.

I nod, “Yeah. I never see snow.”

Revus starts to descend toward a rock that is in the middle of the river. As we prepare to land, Revus conjures wind and blows the snow off the rock. As he lands, he places me down on the freezing cold surface and a strong gust of icy wind blows across the water.

“Brrrr…” I shiver as I wrap my arms around myself.

Revus chuckles, “Cold?”

“No!” I shout as white breath escapes my mouth. I tightly wrap myself in my blanket and crouch down.

Revus kneels down, places a hand on the rock, and, slowly, steam begins to rise from it. Warm air rises from the rock as water forms and rolls off of the top of it. Within moments, the once freezing stone is now warm and radiating heat.

It’s always amazing watching him use the axioms. I place my hand down on the surface. “Ah, warm…” I mutter, then look up to Revus, “Sleeps.”

“You are welcome,” Revus smirks, “But why say… sleeps… when you are not cold?”

I feel my body heat up slightly as I look away from Revus, “Yeah… well. Still sleeps.” I stand up, point down at the rushing water, and ask, “What is it?”

Revus motions over the water with his hand and answers, “Fivis.”

“Feves.” I purposely mispronounce.

Revus sighs, “Fivis.”

“Feves.”

He stares at me and narrows his eyes, “Fivis.”

I grin, “Feves.”

He sighs, “Okay, feves it is.”

I chuckle, “Fivis.”

Splash.

Something drops into the water. I look in the direction of the sound and see a creature I have never seen before. It has no arms or legs, has a white, glistening body, and is jumping out of, and instantly diving back into, the water. Was that a fish?

“What is that!?” I quickly ask as I search for where the creature went. Another pops out of the river momentarily, before arching back down. Splash.

“Hey, hey,” I excitedly exclaim as I grab Revus’ pant leg, “What is that!?”

“Pfft,” Revus starts to laugh, “You have never see that?”

“No laugh,” I retort as I elbow Revus in the leg, “I never see one.”

“Sorry,” Revus exhales, “It’s a foth.”

“Afoth!” I repeat.

Revus stares at me with a deadpan face for a moment, blinks twice, then corrects, “Foth.”

“Foth,” I mimic as I watch the water for another. What a strange creature. “Is it home in water?”

“Yes,” Revus answers, “Foth home are in water.”

I continue to wait, searching for where the next fish will appear. However, after a few minutes of idly waiting, nothing happens. 

“It’s gone,” I frown. A chilly breeze creeps through my blanket as the cold starts to embrace our surroundings. I huddle within it, crouching down to minimize my exposure to the wind. Steadily, white snow falls from the bare, upper branches of the forest, and continues to decorate the barren trees and fluffy landscape.

“You ready to go home?” Revus asks, placing his hand on my shoulder.

I look up at him and shake my head, “No, where river go?”

Revus sighs, “You want to…” he trails off, before resting a hand over his face, “Okay.” You don’t have to make such a big deal out of it. I just want to know where the river goes.

He picks me up, and I hold tightly onto my blanket as we rise from the cold stone surface. Soaring above the flowing water, we fly to and fro, crossing over snow-covered rocks and fallen icy logs that rest partially frozen in the water. It just, keeps going…

I pull my view away from the wintry woodland, look up at Revus, and ask, “River no end?”

He ponders for a bit before answering, “Not sure.”

So there are things that Revus doesn’t know… I chuckle and look back at the wondrous scenery. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was kind of expecting him to know.

We continue on our journey and, after several  minutes of following the river, a large expanse opens in front of us. The river leads into a vast collection of frozen water that goes on for a great distance, with the opposite side of the icy field revealing a barely visible, miniscule treeline. Along the aquatic edge, there is a dense layer of trees that act like a wall preventing the encroaching water from expanding its territory. An islet rests on the left side of the expanse with a noticeably out-of-place collection of vegetation growing on it. The trees, similar to the rest of the forest, are barren, leafless, and snow-covered. However, a soft, orange radiance is emitted from the trunk of the trees.

“Hey, can we go see the light?” I ask, pointing at the vibrant glow.

“Okay,” Revus groans, “but when we are done, we go home.”

“Okay,” I smile.

We exit the woody domain and begin to fly over the frozen field of water. Looking back up at the small island, I realize that the orange lights are actually orange flowers growing on the trunk of the trees. As we arrive at the islet, Revus takes us closer to the bright vegetation. Each flower has five bright, orange petals with a yellow streak down the middle. In the center of them there are several amber tendrils that extend out and end with deep crimson tufts. The flowers are all larger than both Revus and I, and litter the entirety of the dozens of trees that take refuge on this secluded grove.

“Wow,” I murmur in amazement. I pull my hand from under my blanket and reach out to touch one but immediately retract it. This isn’t another bug… is it?

I gulp and begin to thoroughly analyze the flowers, inspecting every detail to ensure that they are safe. I don’t see-

Revus suddenly pulls us away from the flowers. He flies over to a branch, blows the snow from it, and lands atop the wooden structure. Revus sets me down and I feel the rough, gritty, frigid texture of the bark under me. Revus kneels and places his hand on the bark and begins to heat it similarly to the rock, however, it does not provide as much warmth as the stone.

“Sleeps,” I say before I turn and walk over to the trunk to further inspect the flowers. I reach a hand out and touch the petal. An orange mist spreads from the flower and begins to gather around my hand. What’s going on? I pull my hand back and the mist follows, slowly converging on it before disappearing. That was… strange. “Revus…” I call out, staring at my hand.

I hear Revus walk up behind me. I look up at him and he is furrowing his brow and staring at my hand. “Uh…Revus,” I repeat, “What is this?”

“This is…” Revus pauses, “I cannot explain. You need to know-”

“Okay okay,” I interrupt, knowing what he is going to say. So it’s something I haven’t learned yet… I pull my hand away from the flower and ask,  “Is it safe?”

“Hmmm…” Revus ponders, “Yes and no.”

“Can you explain?”

“Too much can be dangerous,” Revus elaborates, “but little it is safe. This is safe.”

“Okay,” I reply as I start to play around with the flowers. Orange mist appears from each one I touch and, like before, the mist gathers around my hands, but then vanishes. I turn to Revus and watch as he places a hand on a flower that I have not touched. The mist spreads from the flowers and gathers around his hand. However, the mist clings to him and does not disappear. That’s strange. I look back at my hand. The mist lingers for a few moments before fading away. Why does it disappear for me… I glance back at the other fairy. …but stay on Revus?

CRACK. A loud crackle echoes throughout the land. What was that? A different, yet familiar noise follows. The sound alternates between a mixture of two different pitches, one higher, the other deeper. Is that talking? Are there people out here?

“Revus,” I quickly turn to him, his face tense, “Um, hey, can we go see the sound?”

“No,” Revus refuses harshly, “The sound is bad.”

“Please,” I plead, “I want to see…”.

“No Evetta,” Revus furiously interjects, “That is danger. No, we need to go home, now.”

“Hmph,” I huff as I feel my blood start to boil, and then bark in Sveltish, “Fine, then I’ll go myself.” I remove the blanket from my body and place it in my arms, revealing my exposed back to the raw, frigid air. The light breeze sharply pierces my skin as the cold digs into me. With my back no longer covered, I evoke my wings.

“Evetta, what are you-”

“I go!” I shout as I start to flutter my wings. I know I still can’t fly, but if I can just get to where the people are then that’s fine. I can do this. I increase the speed of my wings and slowly feel my torso lift into the air. As my feet escape the shackles of the ground, something grabs my arm and pulls me back.

I look back and see Revus holding my wrist, anxiety written all over his face.

“Let go,” I roar in Sveltish, “I just want to see-”

“Okay,” Revus looks down, and then relents, “I will take you to see it.”

I glare up at Revus’ defeated expression and sigh, expelling some of my built of rage. If you’re going to make a face like that… I flutter down back onto the wooden surface. …how am I supposed to stay mad at you? I pull my arm free from Revus’ grasp and stare at him for a bit.

CRACK! Another large crackle resounds throughout the area, but louder than before. In the distance the two voices become much louder, one of them practically screaming. Despite the voices being closer, their words are still hard to make-out.

“Revus?” I call out.

He shakes his head and blinks, and then looks at me, “Sorry… You ready?”

“Yeah,” I reply, dispelling my wings. Then, I wrap myself in my blanket and Revus picks me up.

Together, we head in the direction of the yelling. As we fly across the islet toward the frozen waterfront, the yelling grows louder.

CRACK! Sploosh!

Suddenly, a third crackle and a loud splash of something dropping into water rings out. High-pitched screams follow and I feel my heart start to race. Something bad just happened. I look up at Revus, his face even more anxious. Does he understand what they’re saying? 

“Hey, can we go fast?” I ask, “It sound like it is bad.”

Revus glances down at me, gulps, nods. He grips me tighter, leans forward, and starts flying quicker in the direction of the screams, which have grown more hysteric. As we round another tree, the edge of the islet appears and in the distance are two people.

The people are gargantuan; they are dozens of times my size. One, is standing near the water and is dressed in a heavy, dark-brown coat that extends past their waist, just below the knees. They are wearing high-top boots and dark pants. The hood of the long coat is up, obscuring their face. Sitting next to the individual is a large, open pack with several items sprawled out on the ground. They are screaming with a high-pitched voice while holding onto a rope.

Large cracks now splay the frozen water near the islet, separating the ice into large slabs. The second individual is in the water, surrounded by the sheets of ice, and splashing about as they attempt to climb up onto the ice and out of the water.

That person’s in trouble! I glance up at Revus and see his nervous face. “Revus,” I call out, trying to get his attention, but he continues to stare at the struggling people. I pull my arm from the warmth of my blanket, grab Revus’ chin, pull it down, and shout, “Revus!”

“What?” He bitterly asks as his eyes slowly drop to meet my glare.

“Help them!” I order as I look back at the two people. The one on land throws the rope into the water, but it fails to reach the one drenched in the icy prison. This is bad. Slowly, the one in the water tries to make their way toward the rope but is separated from it by ice. “Revus please, help them,” I cry, tears starting to fill my eyes.

“I can but I-”

“Help them!” I scream as I slam my fist against his chest. Please… do something.

Revus stares at me for a brief moment, gulps, and then exhales, “Okay.” He flies toward a branch, removes the snow, and places me down. He looks distraught as he stands up. Revus turns around and dashes off toward the person in the water, the light flap of his wings are drowned out by the desperate screams of the trapped person. “Hurry Revus!” I wipe my eyes and watch as he reaches the flailing person. Now that Revus is right next to the thrashing person, I see the size difference more clearly, with the small fairy not even the size of the giant’ hand.

Revus holds out his hands and the water surrounding the trapped person is lifted up with them in it. The person immediately goes silent as the realization of what is happening sets in. The one on land also falls silent as they stare in the direction of Revus. The water slowly starts to drift and carries the stunned individual toward the land next to the other one. He did it. The water suddenly drops from them and I exhale relievedly as I watch the water retreat back into the massive pool. 

As the drenched person lays on the solid ground the other one drops the rope and quickly runs toward them. With the two people next to each other, I see that the one originally on land is a bit smaller than the one that was in the water. Quickly, the larger of the two stands up and they both start to remove the heavy, soaked coat that the larger one is wearing. Revus gently hovers near where he rescued the panicked individual. I hope that person’s okay.

The two giants look about until their gazes lock onto Revus. He remains still as they start to speak to him. I wish I knew what they were saying. After a brief conversation, the smaller individual gets up and approaches the water, attempting to take a step onto the ice, but they are immediately grabbed by the larger person. Are they trying to get over here? The two start yelling at each other as I watch Revus begin to make his way back toward me. 

As he approaches, I smile, “Sleep you.” Revus’ face is stone-still as he, without so much of a glance at me, flies past, back into the heart of the islet. Where’s he going? 

The shouting from the two people escalates, causing me to look back at them. The larger person, who I now realize is an elven man, is almost naked. Without the large coat, I can see he has short, dirty-blonde hair, a distinct lack of facial hair, has long pointed ears, and a well-toned, yet slender physique. The man is holding the smaller person’s arm as he yells at them. A high-pitched shout responds and echoes throughout the area. Is the other a girl? But what is she trying to do?

Out of my peripherals, I notice something orange move. Turning to see what it is, I watch as Revus is making his way back toward my direction with several of the orange flowers hovering in the air around him. The contrast between his deep-black wings and the weightless dance of the orange flower’s amber mist, set to the vast, white landscape, is breathtaking.

“Wow,” I mutter as I watch Revus fly past me and soar back toward the two giants. Wait, is he bringing them the flowers? I turn around and look back into the grove, seeing the orange glow from the flora. Right, this is the only thing here, so they must’ve been trying to get them. I look back across the water.

The two people continue to yell at one another until the man pauses, now wrapped in a large thick cloth. The man stares up at the wondrous sight of Revus and the illuminated flora orbiting him. The smaller person pauses, turns around, and goes quiet as they both gaze in Revus’ direction. Revus arrives in front of them, lowers the flowers, and hovers in place for a moment. The smaller individual runs over and grabs the gently hovering flowers and puts them into her pack. She then runs over to and hugs the giant man. The man appears to say something to Revus before lowering his head.

After a brief moment, Revus flies back toward me. I watch as the two giants hug one another and I smile. They look happy… Wait. As I compare the giants to their surroundings, I realize that the trees around them look to be normal sized. I turn to look at the tree I am standing on, then back toward the people. This pretty much confirms it… I guess I am small now. As Revus arrives next to me, I watch as the girl starts to collect their things while the man gets dressed.

Revus turns to me and glumly states, “We need to go home.” He has a sullen look on his face.

“Okay,” I smile hesitantly, “We can go home.” I wonder what’s bothering him?

Revus picks me up and, as we lift off from the branch, I glance back at the giants. The smaller one is waving in our direction. Looks like they’ll be okay. Together we start to fly back across the islet, and then over the frozen body of water, toward home.

I look up at Revus and say, “The sound is not bad.”

Revus glares down at me piercingly and mutters something under his breath. 

My eyes narrow. “You say that the sound is bad,” I state, “That it is danger. Why?” Revus looks back up as we continue on our way. “Tch,” I click my tongue as I bury my face under my blanket. What’d I do to make you make you mad this time? All I did was ask you to help them… and nothing bad happened. I peek out from under my blanket, and see Revus’ stern face.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur, “and… sleep you.”

Revus, without glancing down, softens his look, and sighs, “I will keep you safe. No need to say sorry.”

“Sleeps,” I whisper under my breath as I take refuge under my blanket once more.