The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

Out on Patrol

[Apollo]

Apollo and the Twins started at the waterfall, looking over the edge and seeing the entire lake in it's grand scale. Apollo still had a hard time believing that no one knew this was here. There was just no way...

"So, what do we do now?" the twins asked. Apollo snapped out of his thoughts and looked at them.

"Um... honestly, I'm not sure. Teri just said... we need to look around and try to find out where those creatures are coming from. But..."

"Do you think looking for something that has tried to kill us is a good idea?"

Apollo made a strained face.

"Not really... But, it's kinda the only idea we have. Plus... I really doubt we'll find anything."

"But what if something does show up and tries to hurt us? What do we do then?"

"Oh, don't worry. You got me. As long as I'm around, you've got nothing to worry about. C'mon, let's go this way."

Apollo unfolded his wings and they all took off, gliding over the surface of the lake. They circled around it a couple times, but didn't spot anything out of the ordinary. Sophia and Apollo had been here too many times to count, and not once did anything try to come after them down there. Everytime they came to escape the heat of the summer, swimming in the calm, cool waters, they had nothing to worry about. So why now? Why was it just recently that new creatures decided to make themselves known and try to drown Apollo? If they were coming from anywhere, they had to be from inside the lake itself. Apollo directed the twins to land on the edge of the cliff and decided to walk around it, thinking maybe they should take a slower approach and really take in all the details.

"Hey, Apollo? One more question?"

"Is Sophia like your sister?" the two asked. Apollo shot a look at them.

"What? No. Not literally. I don't think she and I are actually related to each other, but sometimes I do think of her as like a sister. I mean, we've been together for so long she... might as well be, I think."

"Okay, I see. We were just curious."

"Yeah, we tried asking Sophia about that stuff a while ago, but she didn't really say anything."

"Really? Hmm... well she knows about as much as I do, so I shouldn't be surprised. We know about ourselves and each other, but trying to remember who we were or what our lives used to be like before we met each other..... that's still a mystery to us." Apollo explained.

"She doesn't like to talk much, does she?"

"Huh? Oh, Sophie? Well, she does. Sometimes. She's just not used to being around... other people. And I mean anyone, not just you guys. She's always been a bit awkward and she likes to hang out by herself sometimes, but it's not really a bad thing. She's just weird like that."

"Yeah, I guess she is quite weird."

Apollo thought back to the early days of their friendship, when they first met. Apollo was the one that did all the talking, Sophia just like to watch and look at things. At first, Apollo thought maybe she was just shy or afraid, since the two of them were all alone. She barely spoke a couple words a day. It wasn't until they got to know each other better, and when they started reading books did Apollo learn that Sophia actually had a very extensive vocabulary. Or, she was learning to. Apollo always had trouble reading big words and understanding what they meant. But Sophia could pronounce them perfectly. She often didn't know the meaning of certain words either, but her assumptions were never far off. Sophia was a bit of a strange case.

But Apollo guessed... when you live such a young life all alone, and are forced to hide all the parts of yourself that make you different, it was easy to see how much they actually struggled to understand... everything.

When they started attending school, the both of them were excited. Apollo more than Sophia. But while Apollo was learning to get a long with his classmates, hoping to make new friends and spending as much time with them during their breaks, Sophia was still on her own. She was always buried deep in books and her drawings. He tried to include her in his group often, but it didn't seem like... she really caught on. Eventually, they hardly got to see each other during their breaks at all. Sophia was falling behind on her work and most of her teachers made her hang back in class to finish it. Sophia even told hime that she was getting called out so the teachers could talk with her, sometimes do tests with her. Trying to figure out why she wasn't participating or 'behaving'. She never intentionally looked for trouble, but it was clear to Apollo that she was struggling. But there was very little he could do to help. And he was having problems of his own.

It got to the point where Apollo never got to see Sophia until the end of the day, when they'd walk home together. The both of them were exhausted. And Apollo never brought up the fact that he had seen Sophia out on breaks every once in a while, but didn't seem like she was looking for Apollo. He spotted her once reading books, or listening to music without the teachers noticing her. Apollo wondered... was she avoiding him? And why?

When the two finally decided that this just wasn't worth it, Apollo was the one who dropped out first. He needed more time to rest and recouperate while Sophia had to pick up the slack and carried on on her own. Dropping out at the same time would seem too suspicious. And it was her decision. But once again, she was all on her own. She said she was fine, but Apollo couldn't help worrying. Luckily, she managed to make it to the end of the year. But just barely...

The twins had more questions for Apollo as they walked along the edge, following the lake. They had to walk further from it as many trees and uneven ground would've made it more dangerous for them if they continued like that. They were in the forest now, but they could still see the cliffs edge and the other side of the lake before them.

The twins asked about Sophia's drawings. Apollo explained that she's an artist. She loves to draw and make things. Apollo is an artist oo. He also likes making drawings, but he focuses more on music. He didn't explain much as he realized that they needed to stay on track and reminded the twins that they needed to keep looking around. But it wasn't long until the twins started talking again and asking more questions. Apollo was starting to get slightly annoyed by this and tried to reverse the conversation, asking them questions instead.

"So hey... you guys said before that... you thought it was dangerous up here, right?"

"Yes?"

"But... you didn't really know why, and you didn't even have any proof. So... how come you were so afraid of the surface?"

The twins took a moment to think.

"Well... I think... it was kinda like what Sophia was talking about... something... a while ago."

"Yeah, it's just like... one of those things that you... you just know. And you know it doesn't make sense as to how you know it or why, but you do. And you... believe that."

"Like you, we... also don't remember much... about our past. And the only thing we do remember is that... the caves were the safest place for us. And the world above would be too dangerous for us to explore."

"We tried once or twice. To see the surface and to explore just a little bit. But... then we got too nervous and stayed instead. We weren't... couldn't be sure what would happen if we actually tried."

Apollo understood, but questioned it all the same. It seems like Teri is the only one who had her entire life intact, including a mom. And people just like here. The twins, Sophia and himself were the only outliers. No memory of their past, no one to look out for them or guide them. Something about this felt like a coincidence. But... it couldn't be a coincidence. It was just too... odd.

And before another thought could form, they all felt something odd. Beneath their feet, the ground began to shake. The twins glanced at Apollo and at each other. Apollo looked around wildly. The ground shook more. The twins fell over and Apollo quickly leaned on a nearby tree to keep him stable.

And then it stopped.

Everyone breathed heavily, eyes darting everywhere.

"Wh- what was that? What just happened?" The twins sputtered. Apollo regained his footing and reached out to the twins.

"It- it's okay! It's okay! I... I think..... I think that might've just been an earthquake. It's alright, we're okay now!"

Stray leaves continued to fall out of the trees as Apollo tried to calm down the twins.