The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

Suspicious Activity

[Sophia]

I woke up that morning, remembering the dream for a moment until I pulled myself out of bed. I forgot the details, but I remembered what happened. Although, I bet that I would forget it by the end of the day. I heard sounds from downstairs and knew that everyone was awake. Usually everyone is awake before me. I was a little disoriented that morning and almost went downstairs in my pajamas until I faced the door and realized that and then immediately turned away and went to find some clothes. I walk downstairs absentmindedly as the Twins greeted me. I didn't say 'hi' back, I just went "Mmh."

Probably because I was still sleepy or my mouth was just being lazy.

After all that morning stuff, me, Apollo, and the Twins all went back to the tree house. I think Apollo was saying something to the Twins, but I don't remember what they were saying. They all go off and talk and I remain as silent and stoic as ever. I pull my stuff out of my bag and sit below the tree and continue my sketches. I wasn't really paying attention to what they were doing. I could hear them, but I was so focused on my own thing that everything they said was just a little noise to me. The sunlight moves through the trees and I can feel it's warmth around my legs and it falls upon my shoulders. There's hardly any wind, in fact it's not even a light breeze.

Soon I hear footsteps coming towards me and I look up. It was the Twins, and they asked me what I was doing.

"...Nothin'" I reply. I can only reply in one-worded answers.

"You don't talk much, do you?" the Twins said.

Does it usually take this long for people to notice that?

Kinda quickly, their presence was beginning to annoy me. Until Apollo walked over because she wanted to show the Twins something and they went with her and I continued on. Until I heard something and looked up, Teri's head broke the surface of the water.

"Hey!"

We all gathered around to greet her, although I was sitting a little out of view.

"So, how are you all doing? Did you guys find any clues?" Teri asked, smiling up at us. We told her what happened yesterday after she left that morning. We didn't find much that helped, we only discovered more questions, but found no answers.

"But do you know what they were?" Teri asked.

"No, we've never seen them before. We didn't even know they lived there." the Twins explained.

"Yeah, they attacked us too. I almost fell into the abyss, but I'm just glad we got out of there alive." Apollo added. I stayed silent, but nodded along with what they were all saying. I mean, I was listening, that's like the one thing I can do in a group conversation, but don't expect me to say much in return.

"So, you found the source of what killed the Moonflowers, but not as to why. That is very strange." Teri thought to herself.

"Yeah, and there's no way we're going back down there," the Twins said.

"That is actually very interesting actually, because lately there have been many dangerous creature sightings that I've had to take care of recently..." Teri explained.

"Really?" Apollo acknowledged.

"Yes, that's why I've been a bit busy lately. I had to take care of them to ensure the safety of the kingdom. But I've seen these creatures many times before. I haven't seen anything new."

"That is strange." Apollo turned his head and thought.

"Is that all that's been happening up here?" Teri asked. When I finally started thinking, I noticed something I hadn't realized before.

"Well, I've noticed that the creatures up here have kinda been more frequent lately. The ones that I've fought." I finally spoke up, but my face doesn't change.

"You mean those terrifying creatures that attacked us the other night?" the Twins recalled.

"Yeah, these creatures are the main ones that try to attack us. They don't usually show up that much until now. I didn't actually notice it until now." I said.

"What are these creatures?" Teri asked. I looked at Apollo.

"We call them Shadovians. They're like, these dark, shadowy... um, wolf-like creatures that try to attack us." Apollo explained.

"You mean those... things that tried to attack you and I before?" Teri pondered.

"Yeah, they're mean and scary and they will try to kill you no matter what." I added. I didn't mean to sound scary, but they really are. I was just stating facts.

When we first saw these things, we really feared for our lives. They were the first things we've seen that made us afraid to die.

That was before we attended school. Nowadays, they're just annoying. And scary.

When they appeared out of nowhere to try and kill us, all we knew was just to run. Escape. And over time, we started to notice things about them. And the more we realized, the easier it was for us to defeat or evade them. But of course, they always came back. I gotta admit though, I admire their determination to kill us, but they never gave up.

Usually when they attack us, they manage to get a few scratches on us. And bruises. But they are capable of inflicting real damage. We're just lucky we haven't died from blood loss. And we are definitely grateful for it. But when we get seriously hurt, we have to take care of each other. If Apollo gets knocked down, he'll turn defensive and use his powers until he can find an opening to escape. But his wounds take some time to heal. I always try to make sure he's feeling alright. I mean, I never usually ask if he's okay, I just get concerned when his wounds prevent him from doing things he normally does. Like, if we're out somewhere and he tells me he needs to sit for a second and rest, I'd say he can take all the time he needs until he gets back on his feet. I'll do whatever I can to make sure he's okay, but I also wanna be sure I give him some space for himself.

But when I get knocked down, I'll do whatever I can to fight back or flee. I usually get a few wounds here and there, but I don't actually feel the pain until much later for some reason. I think it's because I have a high pain tolerance... I'm not 100% sure.

I get knocked down a lot, but somehow I'm able to tough it out. Apollo worries a lot about me when I stagger or if I'm sore and I always assure him that I'm fine. Which I am, but he can't help it. And I can't blame him.

But seriously though, I'm perfectly fine. I'm not the type of person who tries to tough out pain behind a smile. I'm just tougher than most people think, so why worry? I can handle myself.

After some thought, we all agreed this was really strange. I didn't speak much after that, but we all figured out that these creature attacks weren't so frequent until after we all met. When we all realized this, we all looked at each other for a moment.

"If that is the case then... I think we should look into this a little bit more," Teri said.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Apollo asked. Teri looked down for a moment.

"I might have a plan. We should split up and survey our territories for any more of this strange activity. If we find anything strange, we'll meet back here and discuss it. How does that sound?"

We all listened intently and understood her instructions. We couldn't think of a better plan, and there was still enough daylight left anyway, so it seemed good enough.

"Yeah, I can do that." Apollo said. I nodded and the Twins smiled. Teri explained that I would go with her and check the perimeter of her kingdom since I have better vision. She had guards around her castle, but there were still plenty of places that were unguarded. Apollo and the Twins would wander around the forest and explore the area. Since it's two to three, they can cover more ground and look for clues faster.

We didn't argue, we all thought it was a good plan.

Teri would wait for me so I could get ready and before I left, I gave Apollo my bag just in case. I know he has his own bag, but that's for his own stuff. But I always have stuff packed just in case something happens. Mostly, stuff for wounds. Anything that can patch up little scratches and whatnot. And bandages. Lots of bandages. Because the wounds we suffer from are too great for tiny band-aids. No really, they don't make them as big as we need them to be. Because we're hurt more often than you think. But we always get the time we need to heal.

Apollo assures me that he'll be fine, but he takes the bag anyway just in case. Apollo and the Twins head off together and I quickly went back to he house to get ready as Teri waited for me to return.