The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

Away We Go

[Apollo]

Teri analyzed anything and everything there was to find inside the tree house. She found the switch to the book lamp that was clamped to the side of the desk, flicking it on and off eagerly as Apollo explained what it was and how it worked. She picked up the rusty paint cans from the shelves, shook them around and pulled everything out from the old pennies and paperclips to cool-looking rocks that had been collected over the years. She managed to shake out all the dust and dirt inside of them as well.

Apollo was enthusiastic about answering all of Teri's questions, but after a while, he began to get tired of talking. He let Teri explore as he sat on the platform outside the tree house and tried to relax, keeping an eye on Teri to make sure she didn't wander too far. He checked his phone. Still nothing from Sophia. Apollo wasn't sure how long Teri was gonna stay. His concerns were beginning to turn to worry. He hadn't seen Sophia all day and he was afraid he'd have to spend all evening for her if this radio silence continued.

He continued to watch Teri as she approached the little pond again, kneeling down by the edge and sticking her head into the water. It made Apollo laugh. She was probably trying to see if there was anything in it, but there was nothing. Not a single fish. Just dirt, some rocks and a bit of algae. Apollo jumped off of the platform and approached Teri to see what else she was up to. They continued to explore and survey the area together. Every time Teri turned her back, Apollo checked his phone.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Teri asked, catching Apollo off guard.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. What is it?"

"I was just thinking... you and your friend. You said you both look out for each other. But... what about your families? Do they not live around here?"

Apollo nervously reached over and pulled on his long strands of hair away from his shoulders.

"Ah... well, no. See, the thing is... we... we don't actually have... any family."

Teri shot a look at Apollo.

"What? What do you mean you don't have any family?! Neither of you?"

"Uhh... yeah. When I said it's just us, I mean, it's just the two of us. We... we're the only two people who were born with wings. Or... different colored eyes.

"Different colored eyes? What does that mean?"

"Oh, well, humans aren't born with... eyes like ours. Or... well... it's difficult to explain, but in short, no one has purple eyes like me."

Teri took a step closer to Apollo and made direct eye contact with him, which unnerved Apollo for a moment.

"Wow, your eyes really are purple. I don't know how I didn't notice that."

Apollo's cheeks felt warm.

"Okay, but, if humans aren't born like that at all, you... you just can't be the only two people of your kind. You have to have family out there somewhere."

"Well... that's the other thing. The both of us have absolutely no idea. We don't even remember anything about them, and we've tried. For... our whole lives it's just been... us."

Teri was looking at Apollo with a very worried look on her face and Apollo couldn't ignore it.

"Are you really saying that the both of you grew up alone like that? Even just the two of you, no one else looked after you? You both lived here your entire lives and had to fend for yourselves all this time?"

"Well... yeah. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Sophie and I weren't actually... 'born' together. We were both alone for a while when we were really young until we just... ran into each other. And when we found out that we were... the same, we knew it'd be better for us to stick together and we've been friends ever since. I know that sounds... really, really, sad, but... that's just how it's been."

Apollo glanced at Teri's face. She almost looked like she wanted to cry.

"You know... I think you're the first person I've ever told... any of this to."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We can't let any other humans know about us and who we are. It'd only put us in a lot more danger. Because we can't trust them. But... since you're not human... um..."

A smile grew on Apollo's face as this realization came to him and he let Teri see it.

"I think I can trust you with it. I guess it just feels better to say that out loud to someone who isn't... y'know... I... I dunno. I forgot what I was gonna say."

Teri reached out and put her webbed hand on Apollo's shoulder, which made him stiffen in surprise.

"It's okay, I get it. It's like you said. If we're not human, then maybe it's better to stick together." Teri said with a warm smile. Hearing Teri say that made something in Apollo's chest lift, like a big weight had disappeared.

"Um, one more question?" Teri asked.

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever thought about looking for your family? I mean, if you don't know if you have any or not, have you ever thought about that, maybe they're out there somewhere looking for you? Or, even if they don't know or remember you, wouldn't it be nice to know there are more people like you out there?"

"Well... yeah, both me and Sophie have thought about that a lot, actually. We definitely can't say for sure that we don't have family, or even just anyone else born with wings or... or powers like us. Neither of us have any memory. Not even just... just a feeling that someone might be out there somewhere, looking for us. I don't know how much you know about the world, Teri, but it's a pretty big place. And we've kept our entire existence hidden this whole time, and if there are others like us, they'd probably be doing the same thing and it would just be impossible to find them. It's also... not something we can risk doing."

"What do you mean?" Teri asked.

Apollo had Teri sit down by the pond where he tried to give a short explanation about human nature and history. For someone who knew nothing about... anything about humans, it was a lot more difficult than he'd imagined. He managed to explain to Teri that humans are the dominant species of the earth, and their societies are built everywhere. Even just beyond the boundaries of the tree house, they're actually more surrounded by humans than nature itself. He and Sophia have had to hide their existence because if anyone knew about them and who they really are, their lives would be ruined. They'd be taken away to be studied, experimented, and taken apart. To be understood how and why they even existed at all. Even if the majority of humans fought for them to live normal lives, it'd be anything from normal. All eyes would be on them, probably made to do stuff they don't want to do in hopes of benefiting themselves, but would actually be benefiting somebody else. Profiting off their mere existence, but giving no thought to how they feel and who they really are as people. Even if they wanted to go searching for anyone like them, the various rules, laws and regulations would make it impossible for them to go anywhere, as if hiding their entire existence wasn't difficult enough.

Teri could tell Apollo was trying his best to help her understand how things worked up here, and how he and Sophia were forced to adapt. It was tough for her to comprehend, but she could tell Apollo was being honest. Even though she hadn't even met this... Sophia yet, she pitied both her and Apollo for everything they'd been through. Apollo even added that while Sophia had fully accepted that she might not have any family and was perfectly fine living alone, Apollo would on occasion like to think about what it would be like to live with a family and have people like him actually care for him. It was even harder for Teri to accept this, but if this was the only way they could go on living peaceful lives... then perhaps the mystery of their lineage, or how they really came into being... should remain a mystery.

Teri took a moment to digest all this information. Apollo quickly glanced at his phone, checking the time, but still no word from Sophia. He sighed.

"It's starting to get late. Sophie should've been back sooner. I think I'm gonna have to go find her," Apollo said as he stood up.

"Is she usually gone this long?" Teri asked.

"Not usually. I mean, she does tend to wander sometimes. But she won't go anywhere without telling me first. Or at least, let me know when she's on her way back."

Teri also stood up and glanced at the sky. It was partially hidden by the trees. She couldn't see the sun, but the sky was growing dark as twilight approached.

"I... I think I should go too. I've been gone too long," she said as she began walking away into the trees. Apollo quickly turned around as she stepped off and went after her.

"Wait, hang on! I don't want you to go all the way back by yourself."

"It's okay, I know the way back. You should go l took for your friend, she couldn't have gone far."

"I know, I know, I'm sure she's fine, but... let me just walk you back. It's... gonna get harder to see as the sun sets."

Apollo took the lead as he and Teri began walking back to the direction of the lake. He glanced nervously at the sky. If they stayed out here any longer, they'd only be in more danger. Apollo tried to think of something to break the awkward silence.

"So... how far do you live below the lake?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"I mean... are there really... more of you that live down there?"

"Oh, yes of course. For a long time, I thought that my home was all there was. Until, that tunnel I told you about, it turns out my home is just... situated in this... hmm, what would you call it..?"

"Like... a sub-terranean area?"

"Yeah, something like that. Just a big area below the lake. I don't know how we never knew about the tunnel, but it definitely looks like... like it was made to go between your home and ours. I'm not sure how, but I thought it was worth exploring."

"Yeah, that does seem... kinda odd, actually."

"You know, if it's okay... I wouldn't mind coming up here again sometime soon. Maybe next time... you could introduce me to your friend?"

"Yeah! That'd be totally cool. I knew Sophie would love to meet you-"

The sound of something rustling in the distance made Apollo stop. He thought he saw something move.

"What are you looking at?" Teri asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I just... thought I saw something. It's fine, it could've just been..." Apollo trailed off as his eyes picked up something in the distance. He almost missed it at first, but all of a sudden, the feeling of dread began overtaking his senses. Teri paused and looked around, confused.

"Is something wrong?"

Apollo stared ahead, his eyes locked onto a familiar shape hiding in a tall bush in front of them.

The creature raised its head, making itself known. There was no point in hiding now that Apollo had spotted it.

The sudden movement made Apollo flinch.

"Teri... stay close to me."

"...What?"

Teri looked at Apollo, only to finally see what he was looking at. The creature was stepping out from its hiding spot and slowly approaching them. Teri gasped at the sight of it.

"W-what is that?"

"Don't move. Just stay quiet," Apollo urged.

Another creature jumped from the shadows in front of Teri, making her scream. She grabbed Apollo's arm out of fear and they stood close together. The creature growled at them and Teri shivered.

"Apollo... what are these things..?"

"It's okay. Just... just stay calm..." Apollo spoke quietly. He was just as afraid as Teri was, but they had to stay calm. Two more creatures appeared from the darkness. Both Teri and Apollo glanced around in every direction, keeping their eyes on the creatures. They were surrounded. Neither of them were sure about what to do. They couldn't run from them.

Teri began to notice that Apollo's arm began to feel cold as she grasped it tightly. Almost unnaturally cold. She let it go, her webbed hand feeling clammy.

"Hey... your arm is really cold. What's happening?"

"What?"

Apollo looked down to realize that his entire left arm was losing color, as if all the blood had rushed out as his fingertips curled and started turning blue. That's when Apollo got an idea.

"Okay, Teri... whatever you do, don't run. Don't make any sudden movements. When I say 'get down' you get down, okay?"

"Y-yeah... okay."

He and Teri stood back to back, staring at each of the creatures as they continued their steady approach. Their eyes glared straight through them. The approaching twilight made the surrounding shadows rise as everything slowly faded closer to darkness. One of the creatures barked at Apollo and made him flinch.

"Get down!"

Teri ducked for cover as all the creatures roared and leaped towards them. Apollo slammed his blue arm into the ground and multiple trails of ice shot out and enveloped the creatures in a prison of ice before they got too close to Teri and Apollo. There was a perfect ring around Teri's feet where the ice avoided her. The air around them turned cold and Teri shivered.

"Wha... what– what happened?"

"Teri, hold onto me, now!"

"What?"

Apollo wrapped his arms around Teri, forcing his wings to shoot out from his back and pushed down hard. Teri cried out in fear as she quickly held onto Apollo. The frozen creatures around them began to c***k and break open as the ice melted and lost its strength. Teri slipped from Apollo and they quickly grasped each other's arms as Apollo lifted them out of the trees. Teri was yelling the entire way as the ground beneath her got further and further away.

"It's okay! It's okay, I got you– I got you!" Apollo yelled back, trying to get her to stop screaming. Apollo couldn't fly any higher above the treeline with Teri's added weight, but as long as they were off the ground, they'd be okay.

"It's okay, I'm taking you back to the lake. We need to get out of here!"

"Okay, okay! Just don't drop me! Please, be careful!"

Apollo was able to drag the both of them over the cliff and slowly dropped altitude as the lake approached. Teri screamed again as they went over, piercing Apollo's ears. When they started gliding over the surface of the lake, Teri began to calm down.

"Okay, I'm gonna drop you here! You should go home!"

"I will, but what about your friend?"

"She'll be fine, I'll go look for her after you're gone! Don't worry about us, we'll be fine! You sure you wanna come back and visit?"

"Uh, yeah! Maybe! You can drop me here, just go find your friend! It was nice to meet you!"

"Uh, yeah. You too!"

Teri and Apollo loosened their grip and Teri dived into the lake. Apollo fixed his position and began to fly away from the lake and headed back towards home. After that ordeal, Apollo was even more worried about Sophia. But was also worried about having to explain everything that just happened if Teri ever decided to come back. He tried to push that thought out of his mind and focus on Sophia.

He really hoped she was okay. Wherever she was...