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"Are you sure it's okay for us to go out like this?" Reiner's words were nervous. He fidgeted with his fingers while he trailed behind his friend. Usually the two of them spent their time behaving. They'd excelled at the activities at camp up to this point, and Reiner had gotten more badges for his scouting sash than anyone else on this excursion. Much to Porco's jealousy, though Porco would never admit it.
"We'll be fine, Reiner. Trust me." Bertholdt was hardly considered the bold and adventurous one of the duo. Reiner was usually more confident, more boisterous. Reiner loved camp and he was always excited to have fun in the great outdoors. He was the first one up in the mornings, ready for the day's activities. But breaking the rules? Doing things that they weren't supposed to be doing? Reiner was nothing short of uncomfortable. Bertholdt might have thought it cute if it didn't mean Reiner was a fidgety mess while they walked.
The two of them both had flashlights and backpacks full of anything they might need to survive if they got lost. Canteens of water, snacks, matches to start a fire, a field guide for what plants were safe in Reiner's backpack... they were fine! Bertholdt was on a mission, one of great importance. A camera was tucked into his jacket's pocket for whenever he found what he was looking for.
He was searching for the legendary Marleyan Moth, of course! Reiner rolled his eyes back home whenever Bertholdt chattered about the Marleyan Moth. Bertholdt was interested in all sorts of legendary creatures: the squatch, a large bipedal creature that supposedly lurked in the Forest of Giant Trees on Paradis. Akkorokamui, which was supposed to live in the waters of faraway Hizuru. Reiner found the stories of La Bête du Gévaudan to be the scariest, and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with any excursions to find it.
But alas for Bertholdt, and thankfully for Reiner, they lived in Marley. The creatures from faraway lands sounded terrifying, at least compared to the ones close to where they lived. God knows when they're adults and have money, Bertholdt will drag him to distant lands looking for creatures that Reiner knows just want left alone. In Bertholdt's defense, he wasn't wanting to bother any of the creatures. He just wanted pictures of them for his room.
That's why Bertholdt made such a big deal about getting a disposable camera with flash on it. The Marleyan Moth was nocturnal, and a regular camera wouldn't be able to get a picture of it. No matter how much Reiner insisted that the Marleyan Moth was just a story, Bertholdt wasn't having any of it. And of course Reiner wasn't about to let his best friend wander off into the forest by himself late at night. When Bertholdt made up his mind about something, he was ridiculously headstrong. And Reiner would never be able to forgive himself if he let Bertholdt wander into the woods in the middle of the night and Bertholdt got hurt.
"Are you sure the Marleyan Moth would even be around here? We've been coming to summer camp for years and we've never found it." Reiner shined his flashlight on a branch and felt a shiver go down his spine when an owl's eyes reflected back. The owl flew away, its wings silent. Reiner was relieved, though the mouse the owl saw was not. They'd been walking for what felt like forever, and god willing Bertholdt would remember the way back to the cabin they were staying at.
"Of course I'm sure! I've been reading about it forever. These woods are exactly the type of habitat it's said to live in. And sightings are way more common in the summer. The only reason we've never seen it before is because we always stay in our cabin at night. You remember it's nocturnal, right?" Bertholdt didn't mean for his words to sound like he was a know-it-all, but Reiner rolled his eyes regardless.
Small beams of light revealed the forest's nightlife while they wandered. The sound of rustling leaves and snapping branches frightened them both, but neither was willing to admit to the other that they were afraid. They had gone further into the forest than they had ever gone before; during the daytime, the camp counsellors were always telling them to stay where they were allowed to go. That nobody was going to be getting lost in the forest.
Maybe it was a wrong turn, maybe it was because it was pitch-black aside from the flashlights, but eventually the pair found themselves unsure of exactly where they were at. Still, both of them were too stubborn to admit anything was wrong. Reiner was sure Bertholdt knew exactly where they were, because Bertholdt seemed like he knew what he was doing. Reiner was walking too confidently for Bertholdt to be worried about getting lost, even though he wasn't sure where they were.
"Does the Marleyan Moth live up in the trees? How are we supposed to get a good picture of it if it's up in the trees?" Reiner shined his light up and looked at the tree branches. They were eerily still, but it made sense. It wasn't a windy night, though it would feel nice with the warm summer air. Crickets would sing on occasion, and the sound brought a vague sense of comfort.
"I mean, it walks on two legs. And it flies, too... so if it can walk on two legs maybe it's walking around down here?" Reiner didn't seem convinced by Bertholdt's words, but that didn't matter. Reiner would see the Marleyan Moth soon enough! And then Reiner could lead them back to the cabin. Bertholdt wasn't ready to admit he wasn't sure where they were. A stick snapped under Reiner's foot, prompting Bertholdt to turn around and shush his friend.
"Ssssh! What if you scare it away, Reiner?" Bertholdt whispered. Reiner's expression was nonplussed. Scaring it away? Wasn't it supposed to be huge? Why would the moth be afraid of them? If it was real, Reiner would be terrified of it! They'd be ridiculously easy prey! Bertholdt picked up on Reiner's mild irritation and felt bad. He looked at the ground and balled up a fist. "I'm sorry, Reiner. This just means a lot to me."
Now it was Reiner's turn to feel guilty. On the inside, he'd been feeling like Bertholdt was dragging him along for some dumb chore. But Bertholdt really did love mysterious cryptids. In his room back home, there were books and posters on legendary creatures. Reiner shook his head and reached a hand out to hold Bertholdt's shoulder. "It's okay, Bertl. I'm sorry. I know this means a lot to you."
"I don't know what the Marleyan Moth is supposed to eat... if I knew, we could use it as bait. I've read all my books, and I can't find anything." Bertholdt shined his flashlight and saw a raccoon looking at him, but it quickly ran away into the dark. "The raccoons out here are thinner... I guess that's because the ones close to camp are always eating out of the trash."
"I noticed that. I saw an opossum that looked smaller than the ones where we've been living." Only a moment after Reiner spoke, Bertholdt yelped and found himself tumbling to the ground after tripping over a large branch on the ground. He dropped his flashlight, then felt his heart pounding as he rolled down an incline. Maybe it was because of how scary it was tumbling down in the dark, but it felt like he'd been falling forever.
"Oww..." Though he couldn't see, Bertholdt could tell that his knee was scraped and that his leg was cut. He sat up and clutched at his head.
"Bertholdt?!" Bertholdt looked to the sound of Reiner's voice and saw two beams of light. Reiner must've picked up the flashlight he dropped.
"Reiner! I'm down here!" The lights quickly shined on him, Reiner able to locate Bertholdt by the sound of his voice. Carefully, Reiner made his way down the incline and sat on his knees next to Bertholdt. Bertholdt winced at the sight of his bloodied leg. No major damage, but the blood definitely wasn't a comforting sight. Reiner quickly took off his backpack and reached inside for his first-aid kit. "Thank you, Reiner..."
"Are you feeling okay? This is gonna hurt..." Bertholdt inhaled sharply and grit his teeth whenever Reiner disinfected the scrape and cuts with alcohol pads. "I'm sorry! It'll be just fine, Bertl." He got the antibiotic ointment and rubbed it on, then gingerly put on the bandages over Bertholdt's wounds. "There, that's better. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay." Reiner stood, then offered a hand to help Bertholdt stand. He accepted the flashlight from Reiner, then the two of them shined the light and looked around. "Uh, Reiner? Can you help get us back onto our path? I think when I fell I forgot where we were." Reiner's eyes went wide, then his mouth hung open in shock.
"What? You don't know where we are? I didn't know where we were going! I was just following you!" Reiner reached his hands up and clutched at his hair. "Oh no, we're lost! We're lost in this forest and we can't even see! How are we going to get home, Bertl?"
"I-I thought you were keeping track of where we were at! Why didn't you tell me you didn't know?" Bertholdt found himself starting to panic. He started pacing back and forth. As though the universe were trying to teach him a lesson of some sort, Bertholdt watched as his flashlight flickered, then died suddenly. "Oh, no... No, no no!" Bertholdt started smacking his flashlight against his hand desperately. "No! Come on, light up! Please!"
"I-I'm scared, Bertl..." It was hard for him to make that admission, but when Bertholdt's light flickered out Reiner was ready to start panicking himself. He snatched the light from Bertholdt's hands and started smacking it himself. "Come on, come on..." The two of them felt pits in their stomachs. Both of them started digging through their backpacks, but despite thinking to pack everything they'd needed they forgot batteries for their lights.
"R-Reiner... I'm sorry! This was all my idea! We shouldn't have come all the way out here." Bertholdt sniffled and felt his eyes start to burn. Before he could even wipe at his eyes, he felt tears start to drip down his cheeks. And now he felt even more humiliated. All he'd wanted was an excursion with Reiner to find a legendary creature he longed to see. Now they were lost, down a flashlight, and he was crying in front of Reiner.
"Don't cry, Bertl..." Reiner bit his lip and fought back the urge to cry himself. How long would it even be before someone noticed they were missing? What time was it now? Would they get eaten by a bear before they made it back to camp? All sorts of terrible things floated through Reiner's head, but worst of them all was something happening to his best friend. He'd come out in part to make sure Bertholdt was safe, and he'd failed at that. "I'm here."
"W-What do we do now, R-Reiner?" Reiner's eyes started to leak tears at Bertholdt's hiccupped words. Reiner looked down at his flashlight. "I want to go back to the cabin, I want to curl up underneath my blankets and just sleep in." Reiner nodded and approached Bertholdt, then pulled his friend in for a hug. Bertholdt clung to Reiner and nuzzled his head into his shoulder.
"They told us at camp if we get lost we should stay put. That way when they come to find us we won't be moving away from them." Reiner glanced around after he pulled away from the hug. "Uh... maybe we should start a fire? I'm getting cold, Bertl."
"Yeah, a fire would be good. I'm getting cold too." The tear streaks on his cheeks weren't helping. It must be getting late into the night for the temperature to be dropping. They weren't in any danger of freezing; it wasn't cold enough for anything like that to happen. But they were uncomfortable, and a fire would make the two of them feel better. They could turn off the flashlight to conserve it as well.
The pair stayed close to one another and gathered some wood and leaves of various sizes to be used as tinder, kindling and fuel. Once they felt they had a sufficient amount to burn for a while, the two of them found a cleared area of dirt on the forest floor so they wouldn't need to worry about the fire spreading. Very carefully, Bertholdt got the small fire going when Reiner got his matches out of his backpack. They quickly got it going with the kindling, then put wood they'd gathered on top to keep it going.
"I'm sorry, Reiner..." Bertholdt mumbled. He was tired and found himself leaning against Reiner's body. Reiner had grabbed a bag of popcorn kernels and the pie tin he'd put in his backpack and started to pop some popcorn for the pair to eat. He hadn't packed it for this trip into the woods, necessarily, but it was nice to have now. Reiner let Bertholdt cling to him while the popcorn started to pop over the fire.
"It's okay, Bertl. I'm not mad. I know you would've come looking for the Marleyan Moth with me if I was the one wanting to see it." Reiner couldn't stay mad at Bertholdt. Bertholdt closed his eyes and tried to relax while he watched the popcorn pop in the pie tin. Once it looked like it would be ready, Reiner glanced at his friend. "Bertl? Will you get the garlic powder and salt from my backpack?"
"Yeah." Bertholdt got the makeshift seasoning Reiner kept in his backpack for the seasoning. As soon as the popcorn was ready, the two of them started picking at it and eating. It was scary, being stranded in the forest. But at least they had one another. "Hmm? Did you hear that, Reiner?"
"The rustling? It's probably just a raccoon, Bertl. Don't worry about it." The rustling continued, and Bertholdt instinctively clung tighter to Reiner. Reiner smiled a tiny grin and closed his eyes. That raccoon was rustling around a lot, but it would go away soon enough. It felt like Bertholdt started shaking against him, so Reiner looked over at his friend. "Bertl? Are you okay?"
"M-M-Muh..." Bertholdt's hand was shaky when he brought it up and started pointing. Reiner followed Bertholdt's finger and froze. "M-Marleyan... Moth...?"
Two large red eyes were staring at them, and two large black hands were holding the bushes open. The creature didn't seem to have a visible mouth, but the light of the fire made it obvious that two large and fluffy antennae came from its head. Bertholdt started squeezing Reiner against him, but he noticed that Reiner was starting to shiver. "B-Bertl...? W-what do we do?"
Bertholdt was silent while the creature stepped out of the bushes. Its legs were long and covered in the same black fur that covered the rest of its body; there were large talons on its feet. It would be ridiculously easy for the creature to rip them both apart. Two large wings were tucked behind its back; they could only imagine what sort of wingspan the thing must have.
"I don't think we should r-run... they said to never run from things because t-they'll chase you..." Reiner hated that he knew Bertholdt was right. If they ran away, they had nowhere to go. The monster would give chase and capture them in an instant. And then what would happen? Would they be eaten? Dragged away into a cave, never to be seen again? The thought made Reiner shiver. He wanted his mama to give him a hug.
They both found themselves petrified whenever the creature started to walk towards them. The monster, the Marleyan Moth, seemed to approach slowly. The two of them trembled when it stood across them at the campfire and stared down at them. It cocked its head curiously, then looked at them up and down. Once it noticed they were both sitting cross-legged on the ground, the Marleyan Moth sat across from them at the fire. Reiner and Bertholdt watched incredulously while it crossed its legs.
"Is it... friendly...?" Reiner glanced down at the pie tin full of popcorn. He carefully reached over and offered it to the Marleyan Moth. It cocked its head as though it were confused. Reiner laughed nervously and took a couple of pieces. "You eat it, like this..." Reiner ate the popcorn, and the monster got the hint. Its large hand scooped most of the popcorn out of the pie tin.
Bertholdt and Reiner nearly fainted at the sight of its mouth. It ate almost all of the popcorn in a single bite?! As soon as it closed its mouth, it went back to looking like it didn't have one at all. Bertholdt and Reiner couldn't tell in the darkness, but both of them were completely pale. The Marleyan Moth seemed to enjoy the popcorn and scooped the rest of it from the pie tin and finished it off. Reiner looked sadly at the empty tin and put it back in his backpack.
"Do you understand us?" The monster stared vacantly at Bertholdt after he spoke. Bertholdt swallowed. It wasn't trying to hurt them, which was a relief. His whole life, for so many years here at camp, Bertholdt had wanted to find the Marleyan Moth. Now that he was looking right at it, he wanted to run. What did he expect? It was so big! If only his dad was here to scare the creature away...
"I'm going to get closer to it." Reiner stood and found that his legs were shaky. He was terrified as he approached the monster, but as he approached it almost seemed like it was afraid of him. Reiner carefully reached his hand out and approached slowly. His hand was shaking whenever he finally touched the monster's shoulder. He was surprised to find that it was very soft and fluffy to the touch. "H-h-hey there..."
Reiner wasn't able to mask his fear. He was shaking whenever the creature reached out and touched his shoulder too. He relaxed at the touch and smiled, albeit uneasily. Not one to feel left out, Bertholdt stood and approached the Marleyan Moth as well. It seemed less frightened of Bertholdt after it was apparent that Reiner wasn't going to hurt it. "Why are you so shy? Are you afraid?"
"I think I see a scar on its back?" Reiner noticed the monster became defensive when he started to look at its backside. "I'm sorry!" The creature calmed down when Reiner stopped trying to look at its backside. Bertholdt adjusted so he was sitting in the Marleyan Moth's lap, then leaned back into its torso. It did nothing to stop Bertholdt from getting comfortable. Reiner decided to settle in next to Bertholdt so that they were both in its admittedly huge lap.
"Did someone hurt you before?" The Marleyan Moth made a bizarre sound, but they could both tell it was a sad one. The two of them leaned into its torso. "We won't hurt you. I promise. You're okay." It didn't react, but the two of them felt far more at-ease than they had a few minutes ago. The Marleyan Moth's body was warm and fluffy. They could fall asleep in its fur if they wanted to. Reiner got up and trotted to the other side of the campfire to get their backpacks, then came back over.
No sooner than he was comfortable in the Marleyan Moth's lap again, Reiner opened his backpack and got a granola bar. "Do you want a snack?" The moth took the bar and examined it, then opened its mouth and ate it. "O-oh, okay... usually we take the wrapper off before we eat it." Reiner grabbed another granola bar and took it out of the wrapper, then offered it. Bertholdt grinned at the way his favorite cryptid ate up the granola bars.
"I'm thirsty, will you hand me my canteen?" Reiner handed Bertholdt his canteen, then he took a large gulp of water. When he offered it to the Marleyan Moth, it seemed disinterested and didn't want any. Reiner drank from his own canteen, then put them both into their respective backpacks. "I guess it doesn't want water."
"Hey? Can I get a picture?" Bertholdt grabbed the disposable camera from his backpack and wound it up. "The Marleyan Moth curiously grabbed the camera and examined it. While it was looking straight at the camera, it clicked the button and dropped the camera in surprise as soon as the flash went off. Bertholdt grabbed the camera after it dropped into his lap. The Marleyan Moth was rubbing at its eyes; clearly it hadn't been expecting the flash.
Reiner and Bertholdt couldn't help but chuckle at the Marleyan Moth. It shook its head, then looked down at the children in its lap. Bertholdt again wound up the camera, then turned it around and scooted closer to Reiner. "Come on! Get in the picture with us!" The Marleyan Moth seemed to understand and moved so that all three of them got into the picture whenever Bertholdt snapped the picture. It didn't recoil at the flash the second time.
"I got it! I got a picture with the Marleyan Moth!" Bertholdt chirped happily. The two of them laughed and nuzzled into their new friend's chest. It was warm and cozy. Bertholdt closed his eyes and breathed steadily. "Hey, do you think you could help us?"
"We came out looking for you, because we wanted to see you. But then we got lost and now we can't get back to camp. That's why we made the fire and food. We're scared." Reiner clutched tightly at the Marleyan Moth's fur. It seemed to pick up on Reiner's fear and put a large hand on his back. "We've went to the same camp for a long time. We want to go back. That's where we live right now."
"Do you know where the camp is? Where we and all of our friends have been staying? We just want to get back safe." Bertholdt's words were soft. He felt an enormous amount of guilt putting himself and Reiner into a situation where they were lost in the woods. He wasn't sure how he could ever make it up to Reiner for coming out here with him. The moth was silent, but then it stood and held the boys against its chest. Reiner and Bertholdt both squeaked in surprise.
"Hey! It took me forever to get that going..." Reiner complained whenever the Marleyan Moth kicked dirt over their campfire and extinguished it. Reiner pouted, then frowned at the monster. "What did you do that for?" The monster didn't respond and instead adjusted the boys in its arms. Its massive wings opened, and both of them looked in awe at the massive wings that came from its back. Contrary to mothlike wings like its name implied, the wings were more similar to those of a giant bat.
The Marleyan Moth bent its legs, then jumped into the air and flew up high. Reiner and Bertholdt cried out in alarm and clung tightly while they squeezed their eyes closed. Once it felt like they weren't moving anymore, both of them opened their eyes slowly. They looked down and saw the treetops of the forest. The Marleyan Moth hugged them to its chest while it flapped its massive wings.
"Look how pretty the sky is, Reiner..." Bertholdt's words were hushed. The stars were twinkling and the moon was full. Neither of them ever dreamed of floating above the forest they way they were now. Reiner started laughing and looking around. The forest stretched out as far as the eye could see; he could see the lake they fished at, the camp off in the distance, and beautiful rolling hills. "My camera wouldn't ever be able to get a picture like this."
"Do you get to look at all of this every night?" Reiner asked. The Marleyan Moth again didn't respond. Although they could see the camp, neither Reiner or Bertholdt wanted to go back just yet. Both of them laughed while they flew around and took in all of the sights around them. Their hair blew in the wind while they hung on tight and flew with their new friend. "It's so pretty! Hahaha!"
Both of them felt sad whenever they realized the Marleyan Moth was taking them back to the entrance of the camp. Both of them wanted to spend time with their new friend, but they understood. They had to go back home, and the Marleyan Moth needed to go back to its life doing... whatever it was it did. It gently fluttered down to the entrance of the camp. It was very careful when it put them down.
"You saved us." Bertholdt approached and hugged the Marleyan Moth. It reached a hand down and pet the top of Bertholdt's head. Bertholdt felt his eyes getting misty; he'd always wanted to meet the Marleyan Moth. But... if anyone knew, what if a cryptid hunter came? And tried to kill it? A body would be proof. If their pictures got out, what if someone tried to come find it? And hurt it? "We won't tell anyone you're out here."
Reiner approached and hugged it as well. "Maybe next year we can hang out again? And fly more?" The Marleyan Moth brought a hand down and rested it on top of Reiner's head, then pet his hair. "Thank you for saving us. You're a real friend."
Tears dripped out of both of their eyes when it stepped back and started flapping its wings. They watched it fly high into the sky, then back towards the forest. As soon as it was out of their sight, Reiner and Bertholdt both sighed in relief. They were finally back to the camp. They were safe, and there wouldn't be a search party out looking for them in the morning. Their soft beds were waiting in the cabin.
"Wow, Bertl... it really is real..." Reiner shook his head and smiled a wide, dumb grin. The two of them started walking back towards their cabin. Bertholdt looked down at the disposable camera in his hands.
"I'm not going to share the pictures. I want to keep them. But I don't want anyone coming to hurt it. It doesn't deserve that. I think someone hurt it before... It doesn't deserve to get hurt ever again." Reiner hummed in agreement and quietly opened the cabin door. Marcel and Porco both shifted in their beds, but didn't wake up. They quietly put their backpacks down and stripped off their clothes. They got into their pajamas and climbed into their beds. "Reiner?"
"Hmm?" Reiner pulled the covers back and got comfortable in his bed. He appreciated it more now that he was sure he was about to spend the night in the woods. Bertholdt turned on his side to look at him.
"Thank you for going out with me tonight. I don't think I'll ever forget it." Reiner laughed and shook his head.
"You don't need to thank me, Bertholdt. Anything for you."
Reiner and Bertholdt were both pulled under into a deep sleep, with dreams of flying under a full moon making them both smile against their pillows.