The Vision and the Circumvention: Chapter Two

Chapter 2:
Novitious Awakens

Something wet and cool touched his face, sliding across it delicately. Somewhere in the darkness of his sleep he could hear whispers and giggles. They slowly became clearer as he began to wake.
“Asio really did a number on him, poor thing…” A soft, feminine voice said.
“You know Asio. He’s always thinking with his fists.” Another sighed. This one also sounded feminine, but it was slightly rougher. There was the sound of something moving through water, then dripping, then that cool, soothing feeling again.
Halian made a small sound and forced his eyes open. One opened completely, but the other was still swollen. He stared up a bit dazedly at two, blurry faces. The forms leaned over him, peering back.
“Oh! He’s awake!” The sweeter voice cried. Halian reached up and rubbed at his good eye, trying to clear his vision. The blurriness soon subsided and he found himself in the presence of two females. One looked to be around eighteen. She had long silvery hair and kind blue eyes. There was a strange sort of lump on her forehead though that seemed out of place. It was quite large. The other woman seemed to be somewhere in her mid thirties. She was slightly plumper and her eyes were dark and hard. She looked as if she’d experienced far more in hardship than her companion had. There was a scar over her left eye and a slight frown on her face.
The girl with silver hair leaned closer to Halian, taking up his vision.
“Good morning!” She said, smiling. “My name is Yale, and this is Elise.” She said, motioning to the sulking woman. “How are you feeling?”
Halian stared up at them in confusion. Who were these two? Where was he? He tried to sit up, but Yale pushed him back down.
“Ah, ah, ah~! You can’t go moving about, not until I know you can handle it.” She chided, smiling so brightly that it almost made Halian’s stomach turn. Something about that smile felt familiar to him. It was sitting at the edge of his mind, like a word on the tip of the tongue that refused to be spoken. The fact that this stranger seemed so familiar was beginning to disturb him. He didn’t know her, he knew he didn’t, and yet he could feel something pressing at every corner of his mind, begging to be remembered. Shaking the feeling loose he scowled. He was really beginning to lose his patience with these strange kidnappers.
Halian forced himself up, standing and wobbling a moment as he glared down at Yale and Elise, who were beginning to rise as well.
“Halian! Halian please lay dow-” Yale was cut off when Halian snapped.
“Don’t tell me what to do! Now, where the hell am I?! What do you and that sick freak with the feathers want from me, eh?!” He demanded, grabbing her by the arm. Yale’s eyes went wide as a look of fear manifested over her face. Before she could answer Elise grabbed hold of Halian’s hair and yanked, causing him to loosen his hold on her arm. The woman then tucked Yale under her arm and dashed out of the room, closing and locking the door behind her. Halian growled and ran over to it, pounding on it and trying to yank it open.
“What the hell’s going on?! Let me out of here right now!” He shouted, continuing to pound and ram himself into the door. After about ten minutes he finally surrendered to the fact that it wasn’t going to budge, at least not before he’d broken every bone in his body trying to break it down. He heaved a sigh and slid down to the floor, his back pressed against the rough wood of the door. He had no idea what was going on anymore. Who were these people? What did they want with him?
Halian allowed his eyes to wonder over the room he was currently imprisoned in. It looked like a bedroom. There was the sleeping mat in the corner which he had been lying on previously, and across from that were two windows which were currently covered with thick, red drapes. The floor and walls were made of a rich, honey-brown wood that vaguely reminded him of the desks at school. As for furniture, the only thing besides the sleeping mat was a desk sitting against the wall to his left. There were papers strewn across the top of it, lots of papers. Curious, Halian stood and wondered over to the desk, peering down at the sheets. He was surprised to find that the papers were blank, just like the paper in his room, just like the paper in his father’s house. He’d sworn that he’d become a better artist than his father, that he would make something of himself, and yet his paper was just as white and empty as the paper his father had. The ivory sheets seemed to glare back at him blindingly, almost filling his vision.
Overcome with the sight of the paper, Halian swiftly turned and marched back to the mat on the floor. He plopped down and covered his eyes with his hands. He could still feel the burning white in his irises. It haunted him.
It was a while before he heard the lock turn and the door open. He looked up to see Asio standing in the doorway, silhouetted in sunlight and looking just as sour as he had back in his dorm room. Halian jumped to his feet, instantly on the defensive.
“Don’t you come near me! Stay back, you hear?!” He shouted, glaring at Asio with his one good eye. The owl smirked amusingly in response. He obviously found Halian’s unnerved manner comical in some way. There was an awkward silence before he released a bored sigh.
“If you’re quite finished, I’d like you to come with me.”
Halian stared, not having moved an inch in the last few minutes. He definitely felt skeptical of Asio’s request.
“Where to? I’m not doing anything until you tell me what the hell is going on.”
Asio narrowed his eyes a moment before glancing back over his shoulder. He then walked towards Halian, arms crossed.
“You have been brought here out of necessity. I don’t like it any more than you do, believe me, but we need your power.”
Halian blinked, looking utterly clueless and confused.
“My power? What do you mean? Where am I?!” He demanded anxiously.
“You’re in Nowhere. Halian Stratton’s Nowhere, to be exact. And as for your power, that will be explained shortly.” Asio said bluntly as he reached for Halian’s arm. Halian had no idea what the strange being was telling him. Nowhere? His Nowhere? Nothing was making sense! In a flurry of panic, he shoved Asio back and ran out of the room into the daylight.

Halian panted as he ran down the dirt road that wound around and down the small cliff his prison had been sitting on. He noticed a small town nearby and hoped that he could find safe haven there. It wasn’t until he reached the first few houses that he realized the inhabitants of said town were just as abnormal as Asio and his horde. There were creatures that floated through the air like bubbles, talking animals, people with all sorts of weird abstractions and some that he couldn’t find the correct words to describe. Filled with both confusion and terror, Halian rushed between two of the houses and crouched down behind some bushes. What was going on? How did he get here? How was any of this possible? He closed his eyes tightly and panted, hoping that when he opened them again he’d be back safe in his bed at school.
“Um…..excuse me…”
A timid voice reached his ears and he opened his eyes to see not his bedroom, but a small boy with strange petal-like hair and vibrant purple eyes. Halian stared at the tiny creature with a bewildered look, taking in its snow-white skin and flower-petal locks.
“Y-Yes?” He asked finally, catching himself. He wondered if he should be talking to it.
“Um……my ball….”
It pointed to a small round ball sitting near Halian.
“Oh! Uh, sure.” Halian responded, handing the ball to the child if for no other reason than to get him to go away. There was something about this creature that confused him, though. He felt once again as if he’d seen it somewhere before.
Upon receiving its toy, the child smiled happily, its big eyes brightening.
“Thank you.”
It looked like it was about to turn, but then paused, glancing at Halian again.
“….Do you wanna play with me?” It asked sweetly. Halian didn’t know what to say. He was trying to hide from Asio, so he couldn’t really just go out into the street and start tossing a ball around.
“Sorry….I’m busy right now. Maybe later.” He said, hoping that the kid would take the hint. The child’s expression sunk a little and he nodded before toddling off back to the front of the house. Halian sighed and thunked his head back against the side of the building. He had to figure out a way to get back home…where ever that was.
Not five minutes later the escapee heard Asio’s voice from nearby.
“Where the hell did he get off to?! I’m gonna wring his skinny little neck!” He hissed. Halian could only imagine what he looked like at the moment. It was going to be bad when he found him.
“Asio, you shouldn’t say things like that…I’m sure he’s just frightened.” Tupin’s voice responded quietly. Halian peeked carefully around the bushes to see the two of them coming his way. Indeed, Asio looked as if he was about to molt all of his feathers. Their eyes met and the owl jumped.
“There he is!” He shouted. Halian gasped and jumped up, starting to run. It wasn’t even ten seconds before Asio had jumped him, again. He grabbed his hair and sat on his back, giving painful yanks every time Halian tried to resist.
“Get off of me! Let me go!” Halian shouted, cringing.
”I don’t think so.” Asio snarled, baring his sharp teeth. “I’m tired of chasing you. Are you going to comply or do I have to tie you up and drag you with me?”
“Asio!”
The owl-boy turned his head to see Yale standing nearby, next to Tupin. She had her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.
“What do you think you’re doing? Stop hurting him!” She demanded, marching over and picking the creature up off of Halian. Asio growled and flailed, obviously unhappy at being lifted in such a way.
“Put me down woman!” He screeched angrily. Yale huffed and dropped him before helping Halian up.
“I’m so sorry about that….Asio has a bit of a temper. Are you alright?”
Halian brushed her off, backing up from all of them. He didn’t trust a single one of them.
“No, I’m not alright! I want to know why I’m here, and I want to know right now! Who are you people? What is this place?”
The group looked at eachother nervously, heads lowered a bit. Asio was the first to speak up.
“As I mentioned before, we’re all your creations….your characters.” He started, keeping back so as not to make the other too anxious.
“This place is where we exist. It’s the place you brought into existence the moment you began to invent us and shape us.”
Halian didn’t know what to think of Asio’s explanation. Could this place seriously be something he’d created? Were all these creatures really his? But….if so, why couldn’t he remember any of them? Asio drummed his fingers against his bleached-bone mask a moment before continuing.
“As for bringing you here, it couldn’t really be helped. Something beyond our control has been taking place, and only you can stop it.”
Halian’s ears perked up at this.
“Why only me? What exactly is going on here? I can’t remember any of you…how do I know you’re not lying?”
Asio had opened his mouth to speak when bells began ringing in the distance.
“Oh! They’re here!” Yale cried, putting her hands to her mouth anxiously. Asio growled and turned to look at her.
“Get inside. I and Tupin will handle this.”
The girl nodded and ran off, leaving just the three. Asio looked at Halian again, his gaze intense.
“We don’t have time to explain right now. Will you trust us?”
Halian wasn’t certain why….but something about the way Asio looked at him made him feel as if something bad was about to happen. He had no idea what would occur if he went along with them, but it seemed to be the only way he’d ever get to the bottom of this.
“Fine. I’ll go with you. But you better not try anything fishy!”
That was enough for Asio. He grabbed hold of Halian’s arm and started running alongside Tupin, whose large feet shook the ground a bit as he wobbled down the street.
The threesome soon came upon a large stone building circular in shape. It looked ancient, and was chipping and bleached from the sun. Asio pulled Halian inside quickly, glancing over his shoulder every now and then as if he worried they were being followed. It was dark inside, very dark. The only light came from a large hole in the ceiling, faintly illuminating the stone pillars and statues inside. There was something mystical and almost spiritual about this place. Halian got the feeling that it had been waiting for him for some time.
Asio shuffled past Halian to an especially dark part of the room while Tupin stayed at the human’s side. There was the sound of something being opened, then lifted before Asio came back into the light. In his clawed fingers he held a long, wooden case. It was so large compared to him that Halian wondered how he had the strength to carry it.
“Go ahead. Open it.” Asio said, holding the case up towards Halian. The young man hesitated a moment before reaching out and opening the lid. Inside there lay a simple but immense brush with a handle about twenty-three inches in length, and bristles nearing ten inches long. Halian stared at it in wonder, his mouth nearly hanging open. He’d never seen a brush so large before! It looked like it would be quite cumbersome to use, too.
“Take it.” Asio pressed, holding the case just a little higher. Halian ran his fingers lightly over the smooth wooden handle before taking it from the case. It was strangely light for something so large. It felt light enough to be a normal-sized brush.
“Its name is Novitious.” Asio explained, eyeing the brush. “When the creator of its Nowhere holds it, it has the power to make anything possible.”
Halian turned the brush a bit in his hand, looking at it. All of this felt crazy to him. An imaginary world, living creations, magic brushes? He had no idea what to think. He felt a bit shocked, to be honest.
The sound of screaming reached Halian’s ears and he turned quickly towards the entrance. Asio growled, grabbing hold of Halian’s wrist and pushing him into the shadows.
“Stay here. I mean it.” He ordered before letting go of the young man and heading for the exit, along with the clumsy Tupin.
“What’s going on?” Halian asked, watching them head outside. Asio glanced back at him, his yellow eyes keen and intelligent.
“We have some unwanted visitors.”
With that he turned and followed Tupin outside and out of view.
Halian wasn’t sure how long he stood there before he became too anxious and curious to wait any longer. He crept sneakily to the entrance and peered out. He could see a large group of what looked like soldiers standing in the street just a short distance away. One of them sat on a horse, his face mostly covered with a large helmet. A plume of vibrant red hair flowed from the back of it and cascaded down his back and over his shoulders. In his hand he held a weapon similar to a yari-a spear/lance-and his body was protected with armor. The other soldiers were all pointing their weapons outward, towards the small crowd of imaginary beings that had gathered in the last minute or two. Halian couldn’t see what was going on, at least not until one of the soldiers shifted a bit, revealing a small creature that seemed to be struggling against their grasp. It was the little flower boy from before! He felt his heart leap in his chest and his grip tightened on Novitious without his realizing it.
The imaginary beings surrounding the soldiers and their captive were showing a variety of emotions. Some were teary-eyed, others looked raving mad.
“Let the child go! Please!” Someone nearby shouted. Halian saw some of the soldiers chuckle as a response. The helmet-donned figure raised the yari up, until it was pressing against the small creature’s back. The captive froze up as a response, its eyes wide and startled. Halian thought he heard someone mention something about food, about something tasty. The very thought of it made his throat tighten. He felt the sudden urge to do something, anything, to get that innocent child out of their grasp.
I shouldn’t get involved…. He told himself. This has nothing to do with me.
He wanted to believe that, but deep down he knew that he couldn’t just stand there and watch them hurt that kid.
There was a sudden rustling of feathers and flapping of wings before Halian saw Asio shoot up out of the crowd and dive toward the soldiers restraining the flower child. The sea of imaginary beings started surging forward and the soldiers began swinging their weapons in defense. Halian felt torn. If the beings were indeed his own creations it was his responsibility to protect them, right? And yet what could he do? He was a useless artist, and he didn’t know the first thing about fighting. What good could he do with nothing more than this oversized brush in his hands? He clenched the brush tightly, biting his lip a little as he wrestled inside himself. What if he ended up getting killed? Could he die here? Probably.
His feet hit the ground with loud slaps as he flew into the swarm of angry, dueling imaginations. His body was moving faster than his mind at the moment, though the latter was beginning to catch up.
Damn it, damn it, damn it! Halian thought as he dodged out-swinging arms and fierce teeth. He had to be some kind of fool to go rushing into a fight like this! He held Novitious tightly in his hand, looking this way and that. It was hard to tell who was who with all these creatures shifting and lunging and running about! He heard a small shriek and turned to see the helmet-wearing figure raising the yari up, preparing to strike the flower child from before. Halian was there in a flash. He screamed and rushed the helmet-donned soldier, who quickly averted his attention from the child to the opponent rushing towards him. Halian did the only thing he could think of and swung the brush at him, feeling a sudden and searing heat in his chest. At that moment, just as the brush made contact with the yari, it burst into a brilliant glow. The bristles shifted and waved like flowing water.
Halian stared at the brush in shock. How was it glowing? Why hadn’t it broken when the yari hit it? His opponent looked just as shocked, but it didn’t last long. As Halian was distracted the horseman swung again, knocking the brush from his hand. He then sliced Halian across his chest, causing him to cry out in pain and collapse to the ground. The horseman pointed the yari at Halian, pressing the very tip of it into the young man’s flesh.
“You do not belong here, boy.” The horseman growled. He looked strangely amused as he said this, however. It made Halian shudder in disgust. Before the stranger could do anything more, Asio suddenly jumped up at his face and clawed at him. Halian watched the two of them struggle until the horseman managed to throw Asio off of himself. The man looked enraged, and he had scratches all along the lower half of his face. He stared down at Halian a moment before putting his fingers to his mouth and blowing a sharp whistle.
“This isn’t over!” He shouted, turning his steed and rushing off down the road and out of sight, his surviving men running after him as the imaginary creatures hurtled whatever they could find at them.
Halian could feel something warm running down his chest, but he couldn’t bring himself to look. He tried to pick himself up, but it hurt to move. Asio got up and hurried over to him. The owl looked a bit beaten up himself, some of his feathers missing and a little blood on his partially-exposed face.
“Halian. Halian, don’t move.” He said, his voice starting to sound muffled and distant. Halian blinked, it was starting to get darker, like shadows were pressing in from every corner of his vision. He saw Asio turn his head towards someone, his usual piercing gaze now replaced by concern.
“G…t…som….ove….h…re!”
All sound faded, as well as vision, as Halian slipped once more into unconsciousness.

The Vision and the Circumvention: Chapter One

Chapter 1:
Dysphoria Leads to Trouble

He held the pencil with a vise-like grip as it hovered over the blank sheet of clean, white paper. He’d been sitting like this for an uncertain amount of time, hunched over his desk and staring down at the sterile whiteness with an intense air. His entire body was rigid, almost as if he was expecting something. All about him were crumpled papers, lying scattered about like white leaves. The only light in the room was a small lamp on his desk accompanied by the faint, blue moonlight filtering in through his balcony doors’ windows. There wasn’t a sound to be heard, especially the scratching of pencil on paper.
Halian Stratton released a frustrated jumble of grunts and curses, tossing his pencil across the room and running his pale fingers through his fiery mane in quick, agitated circles. Nothing would come to him! No matter how he stared, no matter how he thought, the image just wouldn’t appear!
He huffed and stood, going to his bed in the corner and flopping back on it carelessly, his legs hanging over the side. He’d been going to this school for just over a year now, and yet it felt as if a lifetime had passed since the time he first stepped foot inside. He recalled the day as if it had happened the week before. He had been so happy, so full of energy and ready to learn. He’d come to this academy to better his artistic skills. He’d always wanted to be an artist; to create things that no one had ever seen before, things that did not exist. However, it felt the longer he was here the less energetic and artistic he became. Every time he lifted a pencil his instructors’ words flew through his head: too sketchy, to bland, too light, too dark, more chroma, less chroma, be more realistic, be more creative! He could no longer just sit and enjoy the raw energy of creating without cause and without thought. Why, it had been months since he’d been able to draw something for his own enjoyment. Everything he produced seemed bland and dull to his own eyes. He didn’t even want to call it his own.
Halian was beginning to drift to sleep when a rattling sound reached his ears. He fought it at first, thinking it was coming from the room next door. His neighbor tended to have overnight company quite frequently, and the sounds of their wailing and tussling could be so overbearing that it was as if they were romping about on his very own floor. Halian grumbled in annoyance and tried to block out the unwanted sounds with the sheets of his bed. However, the sudden jiggling of a handle caught him off guard and he stopped pressing the thick cloth into his ear canals. Was that the balcony door he heard? He blinked a moment with a befuddled expression before he sat up and looked towards it. Just at that moment, as his attention was wholly centered on the large panes of glass, something bashed into them, knocking them open with a crash loud enough to rival his neighbor’s common lustful endeavors. Halian screeched and fumbled with the comforter, throwing it over himself like a child during a thunderstorm.
The something that had smacked into the doors picked itself up clumsily, rubbing its rounded, orangish head with a groan. It was large, larger than Halian anyway, and it had a long scaly body and short, stubby limbs which didn’t seem to help it balance any. There were two wings on its back, which looked more like bird wings than the usual leathery-looking wings one would normally associate with such creatures. Its eyes were big and dumb, but cute. Even though it was such an enormous creature it didn’t exude feelings of danger or ill-will, or at least not at the moment. It looked down towards the floor, tiny pointed ears perking and twitching.
“Are you alright, Asio? I hope I didn’t crush you too badly…” It murmured shyly, craning its neck a little further forward to get a better look at whatever was below.
A much smaller figure uncurled itself and rose from the floorboards with an agitated air, it’s bright, yellow eyes focused intensely on the gentle giant. This second creature somewhat resembled the shape of a small boy, but it was covered in owl feathers from nearly head to toe. It wore what seemed to be some type of bird skull on its head, the sharp beak nearly gleaming in the faint candlelight. It flapped its arms, which were also wings, in a frustrated manner before kicking the large beast in its rounded belly, causing it to topple like a deck of cards before curling in on itself with a groan.
“Next time warn me before you go flying into doors, you idiot!” He hissed, shaking his fists at the downed monster. The angry creature then turned his attention to the bed, where Halian was still cowering under the sheets. He marched right up and grabbed hold of the unwilling host’s soft shield, yanking it off and tossing it across the room. His yellow eyes fixed on the horrified human, piercing him.
Halian let out a shriek and grabbed the nearest object, a pillow, and bashed the tiny, feathered boy across his owlish face.
“Who the hell are you?! What are you doing in my room?!” He shouted, swinging again and again as he nearly beat the owl figure into the floor boards. The creature let out a hiss of annoyance and, while Halian was in mid-swing, struck his hand out and grabbed hold of the young man’s wrist with clawed fingers, holding it back as he dug his sharp nails into the artist’s skin. Halian cringed and tried to yank his arm free, but the other only dug in deeper.
“You would do well not to strike me again.” Asio growled, showing his sharp teeth under the beak of his mask. He then released Halian, who drew his arm to his chest and rubbed his scratched-up wrist with a disgruntled and degraded look.
“Your name is Halian Stratton, correct?” The owl asked, yellow eyes narrowed with impatience. Halian paused in doting on his throbbing wrist and looked at the stranger in confusion. How did he know his name? Should he even answer him? He thought about it for a moment but decided it would probably be best to comply for the time being.
“Yes, and who might you be? You look…….different.” He muttered at the end, letting his eyes wonder over the other’s tiny form. For such a small thing it sure was strong. The other stared back a moment before sighing.
“I figured you wouldn’t remember.” The small owl creature said before straightening a little.
“My name is Asio Featherhyde, and the brainless sack of meat back there is Tupin.” He said, jabbing his finger back at the large beast that had recently picked himself back up. It shuffled over on its short little legs until it was standing near Asio, but not too close. It obviously knew better than to infringe on the other’s personal space. Halian stared at it. This thing was even stranger than the other one! What in the world was going on? This had to be a dream!
“You’re no doubt confused.” Asio murmured as if to himself, crossing his feathery arms over his chest. He seemed to ponder something a moment, his yellow eyes boring into Halian’s skull. He then shrugged and motioned towards Tupin.
“I would have thought you’d remember him, at least. Seems I was mistaken.” He huffed. Halian raised his eyebrows.
“And why would I remember either of you? I’ve never seen the both of you in my life!” He insisted, a bit of frustration beginning to rise in his tone.
“Oh, but you have!” Asio shot back, his beady eyes intense.
“You’ve just forgotten! It’s probably their doing…” He muttered bitterly. Tupin shuffled just a bit closer to the bed, craning his long neck to get a better look at the red head.
“He certainly looks older, don’t you think?” He asked as he shifted his silvery gaze towards Asio, ears perked. The owl shot Tupin a look before returning his gaze to Halian.
“I suppose so…”
Halian looked between the two of them. He was beginning to feel quite uneasy. They were talking about him like old friends! Surely he would recall meeting two characters as odd as them. He glanced towards the door, the one that would lead out into the hallway. If he could just get over there then maybe he could get away from these two! Without a word he jumped up and made a run for it, his heart quaking in his chest.
“Damn it!” Asio hissed before leaping and diving right into the human, knocking them both over onto the floor.
“Help! Someone help!” Halian shouted, flailing about frantically under Asio. The bird-boy clamped his clawed hands over Halian’s mouth and dug his knee painfully into his back.
“You’ll stop that right now, if you know what’s good for ya!” He snarled. Tupin wobbled nervously back and forth behind them, his eyes wide.
“Asio….aren’t we being too hard on him?” He asked anxiously.
“Too hard?! He forgets us, forgets his own creations, and you say I’m being too hard?! I say I’m not being nearly hard enough!”
Halian paused in his frantic movements when he heard Asio. What was that? His creations?
Halian began to shake a little, then laugh. He was laughing so hard, in fact, that Asio was forced to remove his hands from his mouth in fear of suffocating him. The young man’s laughter was almost manic in nature; both disturbing and disturbed. After a minute or two he began to calm enough that he could speak.
“Creations you say? That’s a riot! There’s no way this is real! I must be dreaming!” He cried, laughing and shaking. Asio’s eye twitched as every feather on his body ruffled and he let out a screech of anger before flipping Halian over and punching him square in the face, earning an eek from Tupin and a pained wail from Halian.
“Think you’re dreaming now?!” He shouted, giving him another, then another. Tupin’s long lizard-like tail wrapped about Asio’s middle and yanked him off, keeping him from hitting the boy a fourth time.
“That’s enough, Asio!” He cried, his big eyes looking misty. The owl panted a moment and then growled, swatting Tupin’s tail off himself before standing.
“Pick him up. We’re leaving.” He grumbled, marching stiffly towards the balcony. Tupin watched him a moment before looking again at Halian. The young man’s face was already swelling in some places, and there was some blood smeared on his lips and across his cheek too. He wasn’t laughing now.
Tupin sighed drearily and wobbled his way to the artist’s side, using his strong tail to pick him up and place him right between his wings.
“I’m sorry.” He murmured shyly before shuffling after Asio to the balcony. The owl took off first, leaping off the side of the steel railing and catching the wind in his feathers. Tupin beat his large wings to lift off the ground, then pushed with his tiny limbs against the railing for momentum. He struggled for a moment before catching himself and flying after Asio.
Halian lay limply against the silky-smooth scales of Tupin’s back. He could feel the cool, salty air in his face, could hear the crashing of the waves below. His eyes were heavy, his face swollen from Asio’s abuse. He had no idea where they were taking him or why. All he knew for sure was that this was not a dream. As he felt himself slip into the darkness of his own mind he wondered vaguely if this would be the end of him.

The Day the Last Tree Dies

There was brown in every direction; dirty, murky brown that soiled shoes and ruined clothes. Only a single speck of white stood out against the seemingly-endless sea of sepia hills and sorrel valleys. The figure lay silent and still, only his soft golden-blond hair stirring with the gentle afternoon breeze. His limbs were spread like tree branches; twisted bent and broken, and broad smudges of red tinted his otherwise-pale skin. He was dead by the looks of him, freshly dead, and yet if one was to look closely enough one might notice the subtle rising and sinking of his chest and the slight twitching of his parted lips. His slender fingers stretched then drew back in timidly, like a hermit crab in its shell, as his body began to stir. His lashes fluttered, looking like two little birds, before spreading open hesitantly like the bud of a leaf, revealing two dim, deep green orbs inside.
The first thing that seemed to flash through the little beads of green was shock, perhaps confusion. The lids closed again, and then reopened, as if he thought things might change the second time. Then came the first signs of pain: a creasing brow, fingers tensing and curling stiffly, trembling, aching breath. The creature went from still and seemingly lifeless, to writhing and contorting in moments. He took in a few gasps of air, his eyes now wide. He resembled a fish out of water, gasping for a few more minutes of life. His expressive, frightened eyes shifted about himself, and he seemed horrified to learn that he was the only living thing in sight. What had happened to him? Why? He couldn’t recall how things had come to be like this. All around him were hills of dirt and the others, but they weren’t alive anymore. Their bodies had been uprooted and they were now sprawled on the ground, rotting like fallen soldiers.
The young-looking man tried to pick himself up, tried to move so he could find help, but he hardly made half a sit up before he cried out in pain and lay back again. It seemed he wouldn’t be going anywhere. He panted for air and stared upwards at the sky above, knowing that soon he wouldn’t see it anymore. His life was bleeding out fast; already he could feel himself getting numb. As he lay there, waiting to die, memories began to flood his mind. Maybe it was his neurons firing in his last moments, or maybe he just didn’t want to die feeling so alone. No matter the reason the sounds, images and emotions of the past came rushing through him once more, playing out before him like a dream which he had no control over.
It was the first day of many days that he could remember. The sun was especially warm and the air was thick and moist. He was standing at the top of a hill, his hill, with the grass and the living others all around him, a blue sky above. He could hear the Ash and the Beech whispering sweetly to eachother nearby, and he could see Cedar on the other hill, brooding as he usually did. Robins and Red-Winged Blackbirds fluttered overhead and in between, chattering and chirping gaily to one another. It felt like a day full of magic, where anything could be possible. This hill that he had lived on all his life was his favorite place in the world. He didn’t need to be anywhere else, see anything else, hear anything else; to him this hill was his existence. He wasn’t certain how much time had passed while standing on that hill, looking out; only that everything seemed to move slower when he heard her laugh.
A little girl, no older than twelve, stood before him, looking up at him with vibrant, green eyes. She had red hair that sloped and curled about her young face, nearly hiding it in a fiery sea of crimson. The sunlight seemed to catch in her hair, making it seem like many, shimmering strands of gold woven atop her tiny head.
“Hi, Nys.” She smiled, her voice reminding him of Honeydew. She had named him that, though he had no idea why. They had met a few weeks before. He was standing on the hill looking out as he often did, and she had seemingly come out of nowhere; like an idea. She thought he was beautiful, the way he stood there so resolutely, and had no qualms saying so directly. Nys, however, was a very quiet, timid speaker. In fact he spoke so quietly it would be hard to hear unless you listened with every portion of your being. His voice was a whisper rustling through the tree branches. She seemed to understand him well enough, however, and he found her to be a good companion. It made this hill seem a little less empty, somehow. He wasn’t certain, but from what she told him she and her parents had moved somewhere nearby. There was nothing but country all around, at least as far as he could see, so he supposed this made him one of her only friends.
The girl, Lucina, plopped down at his feet, staring out like he did. This was his favorite time, where they could simply bask in the freedom and complexity of nature. There were no words that needed to be spoken; everything was said through the stirring of leaves and the chirping of birds. There were a few minutes of silence before her voice stirred again.
“Nys, I like sitting out here with you. I’d stay here all the time, if I could.”
He couldn’t see her face as she spoke; he only noticed the subtle hints of blues, greens and purples that dappled along her thin arms. Lucina didn’t speak much of her home or her parents, but he could always feel this sense of his stomach tightening and a heat in his face when he saw her as she was now. She was frail, like the Monarch and the Orange Tip, and she was the only friend he had too.
Lucina came and sat at his feet almost every day that summer, and each day she seemed a little less like the girl he’d seen the day before. The confusing and concerning abnormalities of color seemed to spread further over her small body each time he saw her, until finally he saw that color that he both did and did not understand; that color similar to the sky at sunset, or of Maple leaves in the Fall. She was crying then, sitting with her back against him. The Maple-leaf-colored sap was sliding down her arm, much as the rain was dribbling from her chin. He wanted to reach out and touch her, sing to her, anything to make the rain stop running from her face, but he couldn’t. It was his burden to never move, to never speak the words of men.
The young girl wept a little longer, hunched over as a Weeping Willow might with her hair spread across and down her face. She then slowly picked herself up and turned, so that finally he could see her fully. One of her eyes was dark like soot, and one side of her face looked larger than the other; puffy like a cloud. Nys felt that powerful heat coming over him again. It always made him wish he could move, so that he could stop these things that were upsetting her so. The girl put a soft hand on him, running her fingers over his rough-but-silky skin. She looked a bit distant, a bit sad.
“Nys….I’m going away. I can’t stay here anymore.”
That was all she said to him, all she needed to say. That pain in her eyes told him the rest. He couldn’t stop her, and even if he could he wouldn’t try. As much as he felt for her, as much as he’d miss her, he knew that the Lucina he knew would only continue to fade away the longer she stayed near. He watched with a heavy feeling as she turned and walked back the way she usually did, somehow knowing this would be the last time he’d hear her voice.
Moments shifted and moved and flew past like birds. The touch, the embrace, the sorrowful goodbye. Time flowed endlessly on, never stopping, never slowing. The land began to change. Less others, less birds, more flowers, unknown sounds, homes erected in the far off distance. Of the world around him, he was the one constant. However, after her no one seemed to notice him. He was no more than a single, unimportant figure on a single hill among many hills. Those who ventured to come from their far-off homes never cared to ask who he was or what he was doing. Perhaps he didn’t even know. He simply stood there day by day, staring out into the distance as if waiting for something. What that something was he had not the faintest idea.
Seasons passed and people came and went, leaving trash scattered across the landscape he loved so dearly. In the distance black clouds rose into the sky like pillars of shadow, filling the air with a sickening smell and turning the sky dark. He could feel in his gut that things were changing for the worst, but no matter what he said or how loudly he spoke no one seemed to hear him. They continued on with their lives, ignoring how their actions hurt the environment around them.
Time flowed faster, almost desperately, before him, flickering like a flame that could die at any moment. More people, less sky, less stars, less everything, more something. Plants began to wither, sunlight became stronger, whispers of an end drifted from the Earth and through the air, brushing his face and sifting through his hair. He could feel that soon everything would end, that this hill and his existence would crumble into nothingness. His calls became more desperate, his attempts to get people to listen more earnest. No matter how he tried, it was for nothing. They only continued living in their ignorant bliss, paying no mind to him and his ramblings of life and death. It wasn’t long after that he began to hear the machines.
They rumbled in the distance like thunder, and they shook the Earth below his feet, sending tremors through his body. He could see the small streams of black smoke in the distance, moving back and forth like guards on patrol, then slowly he began to make out little dots of yellow. Suddenly the distant screams of his kin reached him as they were trampled, torn up and eaten, then spit out. He felt a rush of terror overcome him at the realization that they were being killed and he screamed in a panic, his voice rustling with muffled, indiscernible words. The green that once made up his horizon began to turn brown. He knew then that his days were numbered. As each day passed he watched the yellow forms get closer and louder, and the screams of the others never ceased. They cried out in fear, then pain before being helplessly swallowed. The yellow figures moved all around him like vultures, circling him like prey until, finally, he was the only standing thing in sight. The Ash, the Beech, and the Cedar were all gone now as well, lying silent on the sea of brown which spanned out in every direction towards the cities that would soon spread themselves to this place as well. He began to tremble in fear, eyes wide as he watched one move toward him, its sharp, menacing teeth rotating rapidly in its open mouth, ready to consume him. He called out loudly, screamed, begged with tears in his eyes for it to stop, for it to spare him, but the machine was not moved. He stood like a statue, unable to move himself, until finally he felt the first row of teeth scrape and dig into him. He screamed and toppled, trampled over and crushed until…
He stared up at the sky, what remained of it. How was it things had come to be like this? Was he not needed? He felt the stickiness of his blood on his skin, and the splintered bone beneath it. These were the last things he would feel. He heard sounds in the distance, muffled and quiet at first, but then growing louder. His gaze shifted slightly to the side and he saw a wave of people coming. They were wide-eyed and walked as if disoriented, stumbling over the remains of the others and him. They stopped in different places, looking down and putting their hands to their faces as if in shame. Some stooped over him, crying. He stared up at those unfamiliar, differing faces and slowly the features became muddled and blurred until suddenly they were all her. A sea of red hair and smiling faces stirred about him, and he couldn’t help but feel as if all the previous horrors had been nothing more than a nightmare.
“Lucina…” He whispered before his eyes rolled back and he was consumed in the dark of nothingness. It was only her now, her and the faint memory of the green that once covered the Earth. A green that would surely be forgotten.