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Duck isn’t sure how he feels.
His mom’s been pushing him to make decisions about stuff he’s clearly not ready to decide, he’s not even managing to stumble his way through his last year of school anymore, and, on top of all of that, there’s her.
He’d refused her last night. Refused to be part of her crazy plans. Refused to risk his life for a mysterious magical force. Refused to be her “chosen one”.
Last night, it’d felt good. Great even. To finally be able to refuse something imposed upon him, God, it was so gratifying.
But now, with his mouth and head filled with cotton from a high that hasn’t quite managed to fade yet, surrounded by the darkness of the forest and whatever creatures inhabit it, Duck’s not sure how he feels.
There’s guilt and relief and dread and just a drop of fear all tangled up somewhere between his heart and his heavy head.
It’s nothing he’s going to fix right now, especially not in this sorry state, so Duck closes his eyes and lets the forest envelop him.
The wind rushes passed him, across his bare arms and into his already tangled hair. With the wind comes the rustling of the leaves, accompanied by the sounds of the many critters that live in the forest. Some soft chirps, some crunching leaves and they skitter about. But what really gets to Duck is the smell. It smells of pine and old leaves and Kepler.
The smell fills Duck’s mind and he stands there motionless, his mind totally clear, for hours, or until Juno calls out to him and he snaps out of it.
As she calls out his name, Duck’s eyes snap open and he lifts his head which he hadn’t realized had started slowly sinking downwards.
“Duck!” she continues from a few feet behind him, “I’ve been lookin’ for you. Dan says he’ll give you and me a ride home, want in?”
As he’s processing what Juno’s just told him, Duck spots something moving in the shadows. Something big and humanoid, but definitely not human. There’s just something about it, Duck doesn’t know what, but he’s sure it’s not like him or Juno.
Instantly, his heart moves up into his throat. Stress, and fear trying to take over.
Duck takes a deep breath, and forces it back down. He turns around to face Juno and starts to walk towards her, and away from the creature.
Whatever it is, it’s not his problem. He refuses to let it be his problem. It’s none of his business.
“Yeah, sorry I didn’t mean to stay out this long. I’m coming”