They had been traveling through dense woods all day. Though Mira offered more than once, Shawna stubbornly refused to ride upon her tall back. Riding, much less riding a large unicorn, always made her extremely anxious. Yet she was regretting her decision since it felt like she was wearing cement on her feet as they trudged on endlessly. She stared down at her frighteningly furry, pink boots. As they were leaving, Capella had shoved a pair of soiled, rank, leather boots into her face.
“Here,” she said. “Some proper boots for a long, horrible, and certainly doomed journey.”
Shawna refused to wear them until the sole on one of her trendy, but cheaply made, shoes started falling apart. Reluctantly, she had to throw them aside. Putting on the leather, so-called boots, made her nose wrinkle in disgust. She had thought they were skinned weasels until Capella explained otherwise. In sympathy, Lula tried “fixing them up,” but Shawna wasn't sure which was worse: dead weasel boots or dead Easter bunny boots. At one point, she hung back a ways and smeared mud all over the boots until they were more of a dirty, rusty brown. She was modeling them, happier with muddy, though kind of smelly, boots until Lula flew up.
“Ew, how did you step in ogre dung? Here, I can clean them for you.”
She promptly returned them to a bright pink, and Shawna fumbled an awkward smile. When Lula flew ahead, Shawna sighed in exasperation. Now they smelled like cotton candy. Her fingers went to the necklace Capella had also given her when they parted ways that morning.
After handing her the boots, Capella placed a necklace of black stones into her hands. “Don't lose this, my dear. Might just destroy us all like the prophecy said.” She then cackled while Shawna looked mortified.
She tried to ask what they were, but Capella just waved her hand, turned away, and muttered something about hearing the tea-kettle screaming insults at the stove. Lula had only shrugged at the necklace, clearly as confused as Shawna. Mira, as always, seemed to have more important things on her mind and hadn’t even looked at it. They were only five, dull, black, oval stones on a leather strap.
What am I doing? Shawna unconsciously followed the sound of hooves ahead of her while she fiddled with the stones. I can't do anything. I'm not strong, or brave, or special. I don't have any talents. I'm not that smart. This is completely, one hundred percent insane.
She suddenly stopped like she’d been slapped across the face. Lula bumped into the back of her head and sneezed.
“What'd you stop for?” Lula said irritably, rubbing her nose.
“Lula. I’m crazy, aren't I? I'm a crazy person. I'm in a padded room talking to the wall.”
Lula just stared at her like she was crazy.
“Yyyes,” Lula said slowly, looking concerned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She peered at Shawna, then decided a unicorn would be better company at the moment.
“I knew it,” Shawna sighed, shaking her head and continuing to follow the mythical creatures in front of her. “Well, if I am insane, at least it's not that bad.” Then she remembered the all too real molochs and shuddered.
Night had finally fallen after a long day of traveling through ferns and massive trees, whose tall tops disappeared into low fog. Mira had provided them with a remarkable fire to huddle around. She touched her horn to the ground, and a white fire flamed into existence from thin air. It hung, suspended, burning nothing. She lay on her side, her horn glowing dully against the silhouetted forest surrounding them.
Shawna was glad for the provisions Capella had given her, though she tried her best not to wonder if the dried meat was Troll or not. Fairies, it seemed, could fend easily enough for themselves, along with unicorns, so no extra provisions were given to them. She gnawed on the hopefully-not-troll-jerky, staring at the flames.
“What exactly are molochs? Why are they after me?” She stared intensely at Mira as if it would force out an answer.
She was unable tell what Mira was thinking, but Lula jumped closer to the firelight.
“Don't talk about those!” she squeaked. “Why would you want to talk about that right now? What's wrong with you?”
She tried not to laugh at Lula's distress; instead, she turned back to Mira who replied, “We should leave such discussions, as Lula said, for some other time.”
Shawna wanted to protest, but found her lips would not work properly when she tried to repeat the question. “Then tell me how you can do that. How are you able to make people think or do what you want them to?”
“Yeah,” said Lula. “So I can tell you to go snort bees the next time you want to trample my flowers.”
“We all have powers,” Mira said. “Some we discover, some we never do, but all power comes from everything around us. It is our intention that shapes it.”
“Our intention?” Shawna said while trying to rip a piece of tough meat with her teeth.
“Yes. Belief can be a very powerful weapon.” She pointed her horn at the floating fire. “If you don’t truly believe you have the power, say, to do this. Then you’ll never even manage a flicker.”
Lula was staring intently at the white flames like they would reveal their non-pink secrets.
“But I can’t make a fire appear like that,” said Shawna, pointing the jerky at it.
“Of course not.”
“You just said if I believed I could, then I could.”
“And obviously you don’t. There’s more to it than just thinking you can. True belief and intention is not the same as just thinking you can do something. You must also mold it, let it mold you, and you will become, you will create, what you believe.”
Shawna dropped the jerky with a scoff. “Really?” It took an inordinate amount of willpower to not roll her eyes. “You sound like Mary and her, Power of Prayer and the Light Within, self-help books. With all that righteous light within her you’d think she’d…” She fell silent and picked up a stone at her feet.
A little ache started squirming its barbed emotion into her throat. She hadn’t realized how home-sick she suddenly was. Then she imagined Tara freaking out about her strange disappearance and felt guilty. Despite her longing, she’d never want her friend to experience anything like this, even if it meant seeing her again. Suddenly a few sparks of blue light leapt from her fingers, and the stone burst into sand.
“Whoa!” Shawna and Lula said at the same time.
She scrambled to her feet. “What did I do?!”
“All that righteous light within,” giggled Lula.
Shawna glared at her, and Lula blushed. “It’s okay,” she said, flying over and patting her on the shoulder. “So, little sparks fly from your fingers, and you have no idea how. Just don’t touch anyone you care about…like me.”
Shawna smiled a little as Lula continued. “Just imagine sneezing every time you use your powers, or only being able to turn things pink.” She was examining her tiny hands with disappointment.
“But isn’t that your power?” Shawna asked.
“Not really.” Lula shook her little golden head. “I actually hate that color. Pink’s ghastly. I just can’t seem to change it.”
“Too much pink righteous light within?” Shawna smirked.
“Oh, you’re funny.” Lula crossed her arms but smiled.
“You focus on it too much,” said Mira. “You focus on what a ‘ghastly’ color you think it is.” Lula looked unconvinced as Mira preached on. “There are other more important things than what color your power manifests as.”
Shawna raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes. It was a habit of hers when presented with “woo-woo,” her own term for anything she thought absolutely ridiculous. Like Tara believing she’ll be famous singer. She laughed silently, remembering the off-tune yowling noises whenever her friend tried to sing.
“You okay?” Lula asked.
“Yeah.” She ran a finger through the pile of sand. “Does everyone know I’m gone? What will happen when I go back?”
Mira turned her head towards her. “Go back?”
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Shock ignited in her limbs, making them tingle and her heart race. “But I…I am going back aren’t I?”
“This is your home. Those people that raised you were useful in their own way, however, they are no longer needed.”
“What? I’m supposed to stay here?”
“I am sorry if that distresses you.” Mira dipped her head in sincere apology. “That is no longer where you belong. It was a haven from those that would harm you. Nothing else.”
She wanted to shout back, It was my home! Instead, she just swallowed the fear thrashing inside of her. She had wanted this her entire life. Right? She had hoped every night for things to be different, for her life to be more than it was. She’d wanted this escape. Then why do I still feel trapped? She bit her lip and stared at the fire.
“EEEE!” screamed Lula so loudly that Shawna nearly stumbled into the fire as she and Mira leapt to their feet.
“What?!” Shawna yelled, frantically looking around.
Lula zipped into the air and pointed towards a dark hole in a nearby tree.
“I saw eyes! There’s something in there!”
Mira backed herself towards them, horn lowered at the eye-level hole.
“Reveal yourself!”
Then they all saw it; a pair of large glowing eyes peered at them from within the tree’s trunk.
“What is it?!” Lula cried out, then sneezed.
“Reveal yourself. I command you!” shouted Mira.
Her horn glowed brighter, and onto the stump of a branch below the hole crawled a little furred body with huge round eyes. It crept forward another inch, then sat back on its haunches. Shawna had never seen anything so cute in her life.
I nearly peed myself because of that?
It looked like a cross between a panda cub and a tailless monkey. It had a round, fat, gray-furred body, big almond eyes surrounded by two dark patches, and a tiny short muzzle with a permanent looking smile. It scratched its nose with a tiny monkey-like hand, its stubby hind legs sticking out to either side of its potbelly, then looked at them forlornly. It was nauseatingly want to squeeze it into a squishy pulp cute.
“This creature is no danger to us,” Mira said, raising her head. “It is a LorLor.”
Lula giggled and fluttered towards their little spy.
“Hel-lo,” she said slowly. “What dooo yooou waaaaant?”
The fur-ball raised two little fists up to its squashed snout as its big dopey eyes stared up at her.
“Do all animals talk here?” Shawna asked, fighting the urge to snatch the thing up and cuddle it.
“Apparently not,” said Lula.
“They are honorable creatures of the forest.” Mira was looking at the LorLor, who was scratching its rump, with great respect. “They take care of living things. They are stewards of the forest. Some say they can even touch the spirit realm.”
“Spirit realm?” said Shawna. “You mean like souls and stuff like that? You believe in that?”
“Of course. You don’t?” Mira snorted at her.
Shawna snorted back. “No. You do? Have you ever seen a ghost, or soul, or whatever?”
“Yes.”
Mira said it so matter-of-factly that Shawna’s prepared retort came out as an, “Uhh, ah…oh.”
Something wailed in the distance. Mira whirled around, ears locked towards the direction of the frightening sound.
“Moloch?!” shrieked Lula.
The LorLor had closed its eyes and covered its small round ears, scrunching up into a fluffy ball. The fact that the unicorn was obviously so worried frightened Shawna more than the second wail, this time sounding closer.
“Get on,” Mira said urgently, kneeling to the ground for Shawna.
Their furry little friend uncurled and raised its arms towards them, waving its tiny hands as if urging them to hurry away.
“Mar mar moo,” it said in a high nasally voice. “Ma numa nune.”
It sounded nonsensical to everyone but Mira. She shuddered, then said, “Thank you. We heed your warning.”
“Warning?” said Lula. “I thought it just wanted a hug.”
The LorLor looked so pleading and terrified that Shawna’s heart nearly broke. She wanted to protect the little guy from whatever it seemed so afraid of, but a second later Mira launched herself into the dark woods. The silver flecks in her horn streaked like meteor showers as the LorLor’s big doleful eyes disappeared behind them. Lula had buried herself deep inside Shawna's leather backpack with a piece of jerky pulled over her head like a shield.
It was amazing how agile the unicorn was through the thick and pitch black forest. Shawna hung on with all the strength she could, hugging the powerful neck, trying to stay on despite sudden maneuvers around trees or boulders. Every few seconds she would glance behind, afraid to see their assailant, but all she saw was darkness.
It seemed like they had been running for a very long time, her fingers gone numb from gripping so tightly, when she heard another set of thudding feet and heavy breathing behind them. The instant she heard this awful reality, Lula gave a high-pitched scream.
“It’s behind us!”
Shawna was petrified, too afraid to turn her head. Mira knotted her muscles and shot away so quickly that Shawna nearly fell before she clutched the long mane whipping her face.
“Stop fearing it!” ordered Mira. “Think of something else!”
There was a flash of light. All thoughts of the howling beast dissipated. Old memory-visions clouded Shawna’s mind.