Chapter Text
The forest was endless and rich. Its canopy was claimed by Willow, Crab Apple, and endless green trees. The twinkling lights bursting through their crowns allowed for a patchwork of plants to grow in the boulder covered grounds below. There was an array of bundled climbing plants that grasped most trees, and a variety of flowers which were seen occasionally. All of this added more life in the otherwise unchanging lower level.
Everything would have been perfect, but the harmonious landscape was thrown into dissonance by twigs snapping and a cacophony of panic. A boy raced through the canopy, his wings were frantically trying to avoid clipping branches as he leapt high in the canopy. His breathing was erratic as he constantly looked behind him, waiting for someone to appear behind him. The boy tried to shake the thought out of his head He winced as he felt one of his wings snag on a fragment of tree stump, and he gasped as he spun towards the ground. He braced himself for impact and landed next to a crystal clear river, letting the sound wash over him. He listened to everything around him, trying to ground his chaotic mind.
The peaceful atmosphere was accompanied by a mishmash of beastly sounds. Most of them belonged to small creatures that echoed in the air, and formed a chaotic orchestra with the trickling sounds of the gentle river. The boy sat up and groaned as his arm ached from the fall, he brushed down his clothes and stood up slowly taking in his surroundings.
‘Alright, you need to get it together, Virgil!’ He forced the thought to the front of his mind. Virgil ran his hands through his short, chestnut hair that awkwardly hung over his face. His Amber eyes frantically looked around the clearing he had fallen into, he had no idea where he was. At least that might be a good thing, they wouldn’t be able to find him for a little while which was comforting. He turned his back to the water and stared at his reflection in the water and hissed at the damage the fall had caused. His translucent black wings were like a damselfly’s blended with elm leaves, but the hole in the centre of his right wing meant he wouldn’t be able to fly away anytime soon. Virgil felt tears start to form in the corner of his eyes, he had never damaged his wings before and he couldn’t go back to them for help. He was alone. He brought his knees up to his chest and hung his head as the sun slowly began to set around him.
As the light faded, it was almost as if nature sympathised with him in this moment. Some fireflies emerged from the trees surrounded Virgil and they created a light show before his eyes. The lights formed images of happiness and of freedom. The most prominent vision was of a bird flying over a stream towards the rising moon, and Virgil felt an overwhelming sense of calm consume him. He stared at the fireflies in amazement and he forgot about everything he was running away from. He continued to watch them and as he laid back on a fallen tree trunk, he dipped his hand into the water of the river lightly, the fireflies moved above his head and created stars in the sky. It was a comfort because the trees covered the sky in this tranquil little space. Virgil watched as they made little constellations and he didn’t feel so alone anymore.
Virgil sat up as he heard a noise coming from the darkness behind the fireflies, but it wasn’t a noise that caused him to worry. It was soothing and melodic, it sounded like it was coming from a piano but that was a ridiculous notion, there couldn’t be a piano out here in the middle of scenic nowhere. Despite everything, Virgil began to stand up and he decided to follow the sound. It was too beautiful to ignore, the music started to swell. The light and dark notes combined together to create a plethora of colours which Virgil could see flying above him like a firework display. The notes in the music are limited, but the colours and the emotions created by the simple melody were endless. The fireflies began to glow different colours as well, and the whole section of the forest glowed in a way that Virgil had never seen before. He smiled widely and his wings spread out once again. The translucent black wings reflected all the colours he could see, it was beautiful to feel so free. Virgil began to spin around and fully embrace the wonders around him. He danced and spun for what felt like hours, it must have been a good few hours because the sun was starting to rise and it bathed the whole portion of the forest in a bright orange and yellow light. The music came to an end and the fireflies began to head back into the darkness and Virgil waved them off with a smile. He turned around and realised that he was on the edge of some smooth rocks; a deep, dark and seemingly never-ending crevasse stared back at him. Virgil stopped himself and breathed a sigh of relief as he slowly backed away.
A loud bang caused him to jump and the sense of panic overrode the calm he had been feeling. He turned sharply and stared into the darkness, the only light being made by sunbeams fighting their way through the thick trees. Had they found him somehow? He should have known that the colours would have given him away, he couldn’t let them find him. Not yet.
Another loud bang occurred and it was significantly closer than before. Virgil instinctively stepped backwards, one step at a time, completely forgetting the crevasse that loomed behind him. He took slow and cautious steps, watching everything in front of him for any signs of movement. As he moved his foot back one more time, he noticed that his foot was floating in the air and he remembered what was behind him the whole time. He took a deep breath and allowed himself to fall backwards. His wings tucked in once again, something that happens when he was ever consumed by fear and he watched as the light slowly faded away. The music had begun once again, it was apparent that it was definitely a piano, and that it was coming from somewhere down below him. Virgil felt like he was falling in a slow motion, was he going to just fall for eternity now? He closed his eyes and let it happen, it was oddly relaxing.
He jolted back to reality when he felt himself stop falling. There were two strong arms under him, protecting him from hitting the ground. He didn’t know how far from the ground he was or who had caught him, but he didn’t care. He was alright, that was the most important thing. He felt himself being placed onto a surface gently, he felt safe. Virgil sat up slightly and took in everything around him. He was sitting on a piano, the keys were aged with time but it didn’t make it any less beautiful. There was a small tree growing next to the piano, it had delicate blue and purple petals growing on it, Virgil smiled as he realised he had never seen a tree like it before. He heard footsteps begin to approach him and his head began to spin vigorously.
A man with light blue, shoulder-length hair stared at him curiously, and he swept his hair to the side so it stopped hanging clumsily over his face. His woeful grey eyes were reassuring to Virgil. He walked over gracefully and a deep, dark blue glow began to emanate around his body. The man placed a hand softly on Virgil’s forehead and he allowed himself to give in to the need to sleep, before the darkness took over, he heard a soothing voice call out to him.
“It’s okay. You are safe here. I won’t let any harm come to you."